REBUILDING BEHAVIORAL CONTEXT - TURN PROCESS REENGINEERING INTO PEOPLE REJUVENATION

WHY ARE SOME COMPANIES ABLE TO REMAIN VITAL, EVEN AFTER EXTENSIVE REEN GINEERING, WHILE OTHERS FLOUNDER AND FAIL? THE ANSWER, ACCORDING to th ese authors, lies in a company's ability to rejuvenate its employees b y establishing a behavioral context with four characteristics - discip line, support, trust, and stretch. The authors trace postwar corporate history to identify the pernicious qualities that have ossified many companies, using the example of Westinghouse to illustrate an oppressi ve context based on the elements of compliance, control, constraint, a nd contract. They also show how companies like Intel and 3M have been able to renew themselves by creating an environment in which people ar e the most important resource.