Michael A Milgate

Alliances, Outsourcing and the Lean Organization
M. Milgate
Describes how to assess whether alliances and outsourcing will actually help your organization achieve its goals, and if they will, how to strategize and operationalize them. Never have pressures on corporations to trim down in size been so great. But Milgate's research shows that corporations' efforts to make themselves lean, to focus on core competencies, and to create mutually advantageous alliances with other corporations have not paid off. The lean organization is clearly the paradigm for business at the start of the new millennium, but how is it achieved? Instead of pure theory, Milgate offers practical advice and illustrates it with real-world case studies, chosen for their ability to demonstrate best practices in lean organizations and to provide answers to questions that, inevitably, arise repeatedly. He agrees that corporations must focus on the basics and leverage their core competencies up through a range of alliances and outsourcings, toward the goal of creating a "best of everything" organization. But too many alliances and outsourcing strategies are initiated for the wrong reasons, improperly thought out, and--as quick solutions to difficult problems--they just don't work. Milgate tells us why and gives us strategic guidance on the critical issues that corporate decision makers must address as they strive to make their organizations as competitive as they must be in order to compete in the new global economy.
258pp numerous figures, 2001
Hardback RRP$126.32 OURPRICE A$106.25

Endorsment From Ray W. Cooksey
Professor of Human Resource Management
University of New England:
Alliances and outsourcing as strategically desirable actions? Milgate shows us that, with appropriate processes, competencies, and modes of thinking, the answer to this question is a solid yes. In a balanced and engaging presentation laced with current corporate examples, Milgate reveals what is needed to get these `new-age networks' right and explores what can make them go wrong. This is a book destined to both challenge and inform the interested reader. But be warned that the processes and ideas advanced in this book are not for the timid or risk-averse! Read and learn.