What's Size Got to Do with It? Implications for Contemporary Management Practices in IT Companies
基于澳大利亚信息技术产业调查，比较中小型公司在人力资源管理、质量管理和一般管理实践上的差异，发现小公司更少工会化、更集权、研发投入更高，中型公司更常用即时生产和统计过程控制。
JOHN RODWELL IS A RESEARCH OFFICER AND doctoral scholar and Mark Shadur a Principal Research Fellow in the Australian Centre in Strategic Management at the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. The study reported here explores differences between small and medium-sized companies across a range of human resource management, quality and general management practices, based on a survey of the Australian information technology industry. Small companies were less unionised, subcontracted less, had a more centralised structure and had higher levels of research and development. Medium-sized companies reported greater use ofjust-in-time (JIT), greater use of statistical process control (SPC), more successfulJlT systems and SPC systems. Despite the lower levels of quality system use and success, small companies were found to have a stronger espoused quality philosophy than the medium-sized companies. It is proposed that using non-unionised labour across a range ofjobs while maintaining a higher level of research and development and a quality philosophy allows small business to keep its flexibility while maintaining control, aiming for quality and focusing on the future.