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Professors Robert H. Hayes and William J. Abernathy have harsh words about a common, if not typical style of American management:

\u201c\u2026an\xa0overdependence on analytical detachment\xa0\u2013 what they call \u201dmanagerial remote control.\u201d

They say it is an approach that exalts financial analysis,\xa0not line operations. It rewards executives who see their company primarily as a competing set of rates of return, who manage by numbers and computer printouts.

Further, they say, it is a seductive doctrine that promises the bright student a quick path to the top and that piles its rewards on executives who force through\xa0impressive short-term performance, at indeterminate cost to long-term health.

Fearing any dip in today's profits, American companies keep research and technology on short rations, skimping the investment critically needed to insure competitiveness tomorrow.\u201d

These are warnings about:

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• Prioritizing financial analysis over an operations focus
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• Emphasized and rewarding short-term performance over long-term perspectives
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Is that from a recent article that I've read? Yet another article about\xa0Boeing's troubles?

No. It's a 1982 article in the New York Times. Hat tip to\xa0Tom Ehrenfeld\xa0for sharing it with me.