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Major planning is done by groups because a group can, in general, embrace more expertise and more specialized knowledge than an individual. Many would add that a group tends to be more logical, more objective than an individual, but this is surely not always the ease; some forms of group distortion or bias are so common that we have invented special terms for them, such as "bandwagon effect." When a negative effect of this kind endangers the validity of a company's planning, serious losses can occur. To avoid exactly this, Corning Glass Works took a forecasting technique which had originally been designed to obviate the negative effects of group interaction and adapted it as a technique for managing a planning group. So far as the company can judge, this new management tool is working very satisfactorily. In this article the authors describe the key principles of the technique they devised for CGW and give two examples of its application in the area of new product introductions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the application of permissive management by Non-Linear Systems Inc. (NLS) of San Diego, California. It says that NLS allows its workers to manage itself and motivates them to work in order to fulfill their needs. The company's program puts worker teams on their boosts output and promotes participation in management. It adds that NLS president Andrew F. Kay consults with president R. F. Farson of Western Behavioral Sciences Institute on the progress of management.