Exam 14: People Management: Bridge or Barrier to Scm

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As an SC leader, Procter & Gamble invests in its people as a bridge, placing them at the heart of P&G's collaboration strategies. P&G's emphasis on people is new. In fact, managers at P&G still talk about the following 1947 quote from then CEO Richard R. Deupree: "If you leave us our money, our buildings, and our brands, but take away our people, the Company will fail. But if you take away our money, our buildings, and our brands, but leave us our people, we can rebuild the whole thing in a decade." These managers claim that the essence of the quote still holds true today-people are still P&G's most valuable asset.P&G's emphasis on people emerges from its belief that winning the hearts of customers (both retailers and consumers) requires just the quest for high productivity but also the unleashing of people's passion to collaborate. Richard Antoine,P&G's global human resource officer es that collaboration is critical to success. "The days of the lone-ranger manager who thinks, 'Everyone else is my rival,' are over. Individual performance still matters, but you won't perform well in this complex world if you aren't collaborating with and getting help from lots of people."P&G's emphasis on teamwork starts with the CEO, A. G. Lafley. He encourages teamwork by example. P&G's Antoine says, "He always asks managers to give him two different approaches and present the pros and cons of each. And at meetings, A. G. says, 'Before you jump in and inject your own point of view, make sure you listen and truly understand the other's point of view.' " A. G. Lafley insists that teamwork take place everywhere at P&G. As a result, managers are now working across divisions to cross-promote products like Gillette's Venus razors and P&G's Always feminine-care products. Just a few years ago such collaboration would have happened. Managers from different divisions were too busy competing to see who could outsell one aher. Lafley also stresses collaboration with customers, asking employees to watch how customers use products and to find out what their real needs are. P&G also works with retailers, helping them devise new and better performance measures. P&G even helped one retailer improve its distribution operations, going so far as to pay half of the costs of upgrading the dock where P&G products were delivered.