essay - GMAT: Issue 26

The best strategy for managing a business, or any enterprise, is to find the most capable people and give them as much authority as possible.

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion stated above. Support your views with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Answer:
I agree that finding the best people and giving them the environment where they freely work is the best practice for any type of organization. However, a few considerations should be taken place. That is, the effectiveness varies with the industry, and the extend to which authority should be given depends on the maturity level of the organization. I'll first show my thought about the effectiveness of the policy and then reveal two aspects that should be taken into consideration.

First, I believe that finding the best people and giving them an appropriate environment is the best strategy that any corporation could take. All activities that corporations perform come from the people. All success factors depend on the people. And all machinery is invented by the people. Therefore, hiring the best people is the first strategy that any corporation should take. Besides, empowerment is a key practice in the case, especially for the best people. Various studies show that the best people need to be empowered (i.e. delegated) in order to exert their performance fully. Therefore, I totally agree with the statement that these practices are essential for any organization

What I'd like to insist is, however, that the effect is strengthened or limited by the circumstance where the organization stands. I mean, the effect is in proportion to the room that the organization has for human resources. For instance, in case the organization is a manufacturer of iron sheets, the performance of the company most depends on the physical assets such as the factory and the machinery, not on human resources. In this case, the effect is limited to the extent that the people can exert their influence. On the other hand, in case the organization is in the service industry like the hotel or the food service industry, the degree is heightened. Therefore, at the time thinking of the effectiveness of the strategy, this point should be highlighted.

In addition, the degree of given authority should be taken into consideration when thinking of this strategy. That is, giving people authority sometimes causes trouble in case the people are not ready to be given or in case the environment of the company is not appropriate for it. For instance, if the employee's maturity level is low (maturity level means the constituent's skills or proactivity, say, the professionalism), delegating power to the employees will cause unexpected catastrophe such as sabotage. Or, if the company faces serious or extremely fast-changing situation like a crisis of bankruptcy, giving the employees authority is not a good option (since the clear chain of command and the fast decision making is necessary in this case). Therefore, this aspect should be considered, when empowerment takes place.

To sum up, as a whole I support the idea that getting the best people in place and giving them authority is the best strategy for any organization, although some considerations should be taken as I mentioned above.