Which of the following rifles is the most appropriate for the passage A. In Defense of the Gum. B. A Sharp Word for the Guru. C. the Weakness of the Gum, D. Gums—a Guarantee for Success.
A second argument for gurus relates to knowledge. The best management theorists collect a lot of information about what makes firms successful. This varies from the highly technical, such as how to discount future cash flow, to softer organizational theories. Few would dispute the usefulness of the first. It is in the second area—the land of "flat hierarchies’ and "multi-functional teams"—that gums have most often stumbled against or contradicted each other. This knowledge is not obviously prodding a strategic recipe for success: there are too many variables in business, and if all competitors used the same recipe it would automatically cease to work. But it does provide something managers want: information about, and understanding of, other companies experience in trying out tactics—thinner management structures, handing power to workers, performance-related pay, or whatever.A good analogy may be with diets. There is no such thing as the "correct" diet, but it is clear that some foods, in some quantities, axe better for you than others: and it is also likely that the main virtue of following a diet is not what you eat but the fact that it forces you to think about it. If management diets come with a lot of hype and some snake-oil, so be it.