Synopsis
An exploration of radical new management techniques takes a look at the success of one secretive software giant to profile a thoroughly unorthodox company and the revolutionary management techniques that have made it a success story.
Reviews
Founded in 1987 by Charles B. Wang, the little-known, Long Island-based Computer Associates International Inc. is a giant operation employing 8000 people in 100 offices worldwide. Supplying mainframe computer programs to the federal government, IBM, Xerox, AT&T, Coca-Cola and other corporate giants, it tallied 1991 revenues of $1.7 billion. Former Forbes correspondent Kestin describes CA as a dynamic, loosely structured entity partial to frequent reorganization and family-style decision-making. He applauds CA management's adamant opposition to hierchical authority pyramids, PR activity, costly furniture, doors on offices, memos, bonuses and perks (except for free doughnuts). But in arguing that such CA practices as brief policy discussions, verbal agreements, universal "messy desks" and voluntary 12-hour-plus workdays presage future characteristics of American industry, he is only partially convincing.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From the standpoint of aerodynamic design, there's no way that a bumblebee can keep itself aloft. Much the same can be said of Computer Associates, a decidedly offbeat enterprise whose wayward, even perverse, approach to by-the-book management techniques quite likely has helped it become a multinational colossus in the ultracompetitive software trade. While probably no one, including its ringmasters, wholly comprehends what makes CA tick, former Forbes correspondent Kestin comes as close as any outsider could to capturing the antic, anarchic spirit that, against the odds, has carried the acquisition-minded company's annual sales close to the $2.0 billion level. He does so, moreover, without getting into the nuts-and-bolts of programming, corporate finance, distribution channels, or marketing campaigns. In a helter-skelter narrative that's longer on anecdotal evidence than data, let alone dicta, Kestin largely lets those on the inside of the free-form organization speak for themselves. Although their varied testimony defies summarization, CA folk clearly pride themselves on ignoring as well as breaking rules. For example, the company is a hotbed of nepotism at all levels, including the nominal top, where a pair of Chinese-American brothers named Wang hold sway. Further, there are precious few memo-writers, planners, or MBAs on the payroll, and major decisions are more apt to be made at pickup basketball games than around a conference table. Lines of authority shift ceaselessly, and even putatively top executives find themselves assigned to unfamiliar posts on short notice. Kestin is obliged to conclude that the ad hoc system works because CA offers genuine opportunity to talented, creative individuals able to adapt to its ways. An altogether engaging success story, albeit one that could drive management consultants to drink or worse. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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