Organizational PerformanceWhat a difference a word makes: Understanding threats to performance in a VUCA world
Section snippets
Living in a VUCA world
“Across many industries, a rising tide of volatility, uncertainty, and business complexity is roiling markets and changing the nature of competition.” (Doheny, Nagali, & Weig, 2012)
Observations such as this, from a recent issue of the McKinsey Quarterly, have been used to energize leaders as they rise to confront yet another day in unpredictable times—as well as to sell these same leaders consulting services. Employing an acronym for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity1
Volatility
Reid Spencer is a division manager for a technology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The industry is highly competitive and speed is a key competency for both leaders and their organizations. Like others in similar positions, Reid has a lot on his plate and only so much bandwidth. Among today's concerns is the impact a fire at a large computer chip production facility will have on the prices charged by one of his key suppliers. Margins are thin, and upon approaching his boss for advice,
Final thoughts
It isn’t just Reid Spencer who suffers from a daunting agenda. There is broad consensus that these are challenging times for leaders. Globalization has created opportunities with one hand as it has introduced threats with the other. The stubborn global recession has blunted repeated bursts of optimism for the return to a path of prosperity. Layer on the challenge of digesting technological advancements that impact industry, as well as the consequences of demographic shifts in the workforce, and
References (9)
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- Boston Consulting Group. (2013, March 21). Simplifying IT complexity a major opportunity for many companies [Press...
A life cycle view of enterprise risk management: The case of Southwest Airlines jet fuel hedging
Journal of Financial Education
(2010)- Doheny, M., Nagali, V., & Weig, F. (2012, May). Agile operations for volatile times. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from...