Managing for excellence in the telecommunication industry

Provides a brief history of the telecommunications industry before concentrating on today’s competitors and their products. Introduces AT&T and US West and attempts to compare the two in terms of managing excellence. Looks at factors called “a bias for action”, “value driven’, “stick to knitting”, “close to the customer”, “autonomy and entrepreneurship”, “productivity through people”, “simple from”, “lean staff” and “simultaneous loose‐tight properties”. Speculates on the future direction of these companies.