【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】[解析] 23-30
M: Hey, Tina, how is your assignment going? Have you finished the reading about effective management?
F: Hi, Mike, not bad. I quite like the reading of Freddie Mac. I think the CE0 Charles Haldeman did an amazing job in effective management.
M: Great. To be frank, I have no time to do the reading. So, can you help me by summarizing it briefly?
F: Sure. Charles "Ed" Haldeman, Jr., former chairman of Putnam Investment Management, LLC, would accept the daunting task of running Freddie Mac. In this reading, Haldeman explained the conditions he faced when he joined the company in July 2009, and what drew him to accept the challenge in the first place. More importantly, he argued that the principles which have served him well, both at Putnam and as Freddie Mac's new CEO, can be applied to managing any business.
M: What conditions did he face when he entered this company?
F: The company was experiencing a tough time. Besides being blamed for the housing crisis, Freddie Mac had a leadership vacuum. Its 6,000 employees had no CEO, CFO or COO. And there had been a significant turnover among senior management. When he took the job, he was the sixth CEO in six years. The company's situation created a sense of hopelessness among employees.
M: Then why did he accept this job?
F: The reason why he accepted this task was that he thought the job presented an interesting management challenge: how to energize and motivate 6,000 people to stay the course and get the job done, given all the negatives.
M: What should we remember and learn from this case?
F: The most important part of this reading is the template created by him. Haldeman applies the same management principles to any company he joins. "The first day you come in," he said, "you literally don't know any person. You've got to have a template... some philosophy to bring" that can be applied to an organization and the culture that already exists. Haldeman said his ideal management model has five necessary ingredients.
M: Interesting. What is the first?
F: Well, a lot of business people think there's a trade-off between ethics and making money, Haldeman said, but "in my experience it's not that way... Integrity and ethics are a sort of precondition for business success". He encouraged leaders to establish "a personal brand" that is based on those qualities. When Haldeman was brought in to manage Putnam, the company had "an ethical problem" that ultimately killed the brand. "It cost us billions of dollars" in market value.
M: He is really different from others. What about the second in his template?
F: The second tip is to create a workplace that's open, direct, candid and honest. Haldeman e-mailed all his employees when there was a House Financial Services Committee meeting, saying, "It's likely they're going to trash us, so be ready for it. " He faced up to the uncertainty of the next two years, telling staff to focus on what they can do today. We let employees feel that they know what we're thinking, what our strategy is.
M: An open and honest working environment is critical for a business. Did he give any suggestion to administrators?
F: Yes. He thinks that senior managers must spend time walking around. "You can't stay in your office," he advised. "Too many CEO operations are cocooned and separated. " Not only does circulating make employees feel more connected to management and the company, in many cases it's the best way to hear what's really going on.
M: Actually, in many companies, employees don't know what they are supposed to do.
F: Yes. It is always a big problem. Therefore, Haldeman suggests developing a business plan that all employees can understand and repeat. As an example, Haldeman cited a time at Putnam when morale was low, clients were leaving. He directed employees to think about what the company actually did, that their job was "taking care of other people's money. " Then he developed a clear, four-step business plan: reestablish the public trust; bring great investment professionals on hoard; deliver great investment results and bring funds flowing in with better marketing and distribution.
M: This is a good way to solve this problem. What about the last suggestion of his effectiveness template? What should a CEO do every day?
F: Well, the last one you need to remember is about the CEO's duty, which is to communicate the mission and plan constantly. In one of his weekly dinners with company officers, Haldeman was asked, "So basically what you do is schmooze, chat with others all day, right?" He accepts that characterization as critically important in his job—to transmit the values, the sense of mission and the business plan, not only to employees, but also to directors, the regulator, Congress, customers and clients. Basically, that's all you need to know about this reading.
M: That's very useful, and thank you so much, Tina. You really have done me a big favor...