European Business Forum articles from December 2005

European Business Forum archives from December 2005

Letter from the editor.(Editorial)
December 22, 2005... How much communication is too much? Everyone complains about information overload. Yet businesses are having to shout even louder to get their messages heard above the noise. Frances Cairncross, author of The Death of Distance, points out...

The quality of search engines must improve. If it doesn't, the communications revolution will be futile. The online world will be like a country without enough roads to join its towns and villages.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... Time is the scarcest resource for most people who are reading these words. Even those who don't think of themselves as being "time poor" are becoming ever more impoverished, as the quantity of information to be communicated soars whereas the...

Don't try to dazzle the financial community with false promises about your company's performance. Investor relations managers who tell too positive a story or oversell a particular strategy risk disappointing the market later on.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... Is it possible to over-communicate? Yes. To me, the phrase "over-communicate" is the same as "oversell". By this, I mean giving too positive an impression about a particular strategy and the likely future returns to be generated by the company....

Transparency with clients and shareholders is a crucial business value. but it should come through self-regulation, not the heavy hand of government-imposed regimes, which force unnecessary communication.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... Financial transparency in any company, large or small, is essential to promote good internal financial controls and to protect the interests of clients and shareholders. It is also vital to any organisation that wants to do business in the US...

Is it possible to over-communicate during a corporate crisis? No, so long as the information you disclose is relevant, considered and concise. You can never overprotect your company's reputation.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... A corporate crisis can have a disastrous impact on an organisation's reputation if it does not handle it properly. Take Ahold's response to the accounting scandal back in 2003. By consolidating foreign subsidiary companies in its annual report,...

The more information we disseminate, the more value we create, right? Wrong. bombard your customers and employees with too much irrelevant data and they'll switch off. Managers must learn to tap into the killer content.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... In the past 20 years there has been a revolution in organisational behaviour. This revolution involved email, the web, instant messaging, texting and, most recently, blogs. It is a revolution in - wait for it - writing. Yes, writing. Never...

The digital lifestyle and the constant flood of information is damaging the productivity of knowledge workers. Our experts have become willing victims of technology, not the beneficiaries of it.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... Is over-communication damaging our productivity? To tackle that question, we first need to define what we mean by "information" and "knowledge" as there is confusion between the two terms. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Information work is...

Far from forcing us to over-communicate, new mobile services blending content and communications will provide us with greater convenience, a richer experience and a powerful tool for real social change.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... There is no doubt that the volume of communications has shot up substantially since mobile phones became ubiquitous. There are now more handsets in use in the UK than there are people. The total number of global mobile-phone users is expected...

You've read the hype about blogging. You've probably even tried it yourself. But is this new communications channel just another gimmick? On the contrary, blogging will revolutionise the way we publish information.(The Babel of business: do we over-communicate?)
December 22, 2005... Late last year, The Associated Press reported that "blog" was the most popular search word in the online version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Less than one year later, Technorati, a leading authority on what's going on in the world of...

France.(DOES HUMOUR TRAVEL?)(Cartoon)
December 22, 2005... SMS SMS Bip Bip Bip Bip SMS GAH! GAH! GAH! FRANCE IL SEMBLE QUELQUE PELI ACCRO A' LA COMMUCICATION! "He seems a bit hooked on communication!" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

US.(DOES HUMOUR TRAVEL?)(Cartoon)
December 22, 2005... US "Of course I communicate with her. I sent her an email last week" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Italy.(DOES HUMOUR TRAVEL?)(Cartoon)
December 22, 2005... CONNESSIONE INTERNET LENTA! HANNO PENSATO A TUTTO! www.PIEROTONIN.COM ITALY "Slow internet connection! They think of everything!" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The NetherLand.(DOES HUMOUR TRAVEL?)(Cartoon)
December 22, 2005... WAT ZEG JE? WAT ZEG JE? THE NETHERLANDS What are you saying?" What are you saying?"

UK.(DOES HUMOUR TRAVEL?)(Cartoon)
December 22, 2005... UK To be honest Robin, I can't help thinking life was simpler when we just had the bat phone"

Belgium.(DOES HUMOUR TRAVEL?)(Cartoon)
December 22, 2005... JE CROis QUE JE SURCOMMUNIQUS... PRECISEZ VOTRE PEN SE'E... JE CROis QUE JE SURCOMMUNIQUS... BELGIUM Paient: "I think I'm communicating too much" Psychiatrist: "Tell me more..."

The China challenge: The economic rise of Asia poses a huge challenge to European business. The question is: will Europe respond to change and remain an energetic player in the global arena? Or will it retreat and be relegated to the periphery?(IN DEPTH)
December 22, 2005... In 1967 a leading French opinion-maker, Jean-Jacgues Servan-Schreiber, published a book entitled Le Defi Americain (The American Challenge) that had a huge impact at the time and was translated into numerous languages. This was just 20 years...

Preparing for a pandemic: H5N1 is the most virulent bird flu to emerge for years. As the threat of a global pandemic creeps closer, just how geared up is the business community and which sectors are most at risk?(IN DEPTH)
December 22, 2005... Outbreaks of the deadly bird flu known as H5N1 were first spotted in Vietnam and Thailand in 2003. It spread to several other countries in the region, and has now established a foothold in western Turkey and Romania. No one knows if H5N1 will...

The 86 per cent solution; For generations, global businesses have devoted their attention to the wealthiest 14 per cent of the world's population. But these markets have become over-saturated. The real opportunities for growth lie in the developing countries.(IN DEPTH)(Company overview)
December 22, 2005... Most global businesses focus on, selling their "products arid-services the richest 14 per cent of the world's population: the developed world.-But these markets are over-competitive, over-saturated and ageing.-The biggest opportunities for...

Winning through diversity; For multinational companies looking to win over new customers and recruit the brightest talent, workforce diversity can be an important source of competitive advantage.(IN DEPTH)
December 22, 2005... How do firms achieve and sustain competitive advantage? This is one of the paramount questions in the field of strategic management. The example of Procter & Gamble shows that a diverse workforce can be developed into what is known as a...

Leading from the front: the performance of frontline employees can have a crucial impact on the way customers perceive your brand. So how can you keep them at the top of their game?(IN DEPTH)(Company overview)
December 22, 2005... A telltale sign of any high-performance organisation is the engagement and focus of its frontline workers. These vital employees can build lifelong relationships with customers by delivering the right kind of experience through sales, service...

Navigating the web of financial reporting: with investors demanding instant access to corporate information, internet financial reporting can be a powerful tool for building shareholder value. But issues of trust and reliability still loom large.(IN DEPTH)
December 22, 2005... Two trends are combining to change the nature of financial reporting in the modern world. First, technology, particularly the internet, has altered the way that information is presented and communicated. Traders, stakeholders, institutions,...

The Economic Value Of Eco-Efficiency.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
December 22, 2005... A team of researchers from RSM Erasmus University, including Kees Koedijk, Nadja Gunster and Jeroen Derwall, along with Rob Bauer from Maastricht University, have won the prestigious 2005 Moskowitz Award from the American Social Investment...

The Crisis Of Anti-Capitalism.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
December 22, 2005... A century after the publication of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, a new work by Eve Chiapello, of HEC Paris and Luc Boitanski, of HESS Paris, re-examines critiques of capitalism and how relevant they are in the...

Corporate denial during the Enron scandal.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
December 22, 2005... "It couldn't happen here" was a common response around the world to the Enron affair and other similar corporate scandals in the US. In part, this was simple schadenfreude but there was also a strong tendency among policy-makers and regulators...

Are art markets rational?(RESEARCH BRIEFS)
December 22, 2005... The fine art market is often criticised for its irrationality. Observers claim that prices paid for pictures, in particular, bear no relation to their value; buyers base their decisions on sentiment rather than rational analysis. In many...

The dynamics of demographics.(RESEARCH BRIEFS)
December 22, 2005... Ever since John Graunt made his pioneering study of mortality in London in 1662, demography and economics have always been linked. Demography provides economists (and subsequently business people) with crucial raw information. Are populations...

Consumer spending in a time of crisis.(RESEARCH BRIEFS)
December 22, 2005... The fact that people change their buying patterns in times of crisis is well known. Much less is known about exactly how they change. A working paper, Buying Less But Shopping More: Changes in Consumption Patterns During a Crisis by David...

Up, up and away; Emirates Airline has bucked industry slumps with a 25 per cent annual growth rate since it was founded in 1985. What lies behind its success and what challenges does it face as it prepares to step up its expansion?(CASE STUDY)
December 22, 2005... It was July 2004, and Emirates Airline had surprised industry observers once again. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum (chairman of the Emirates Group) and Maurice Flanagan (vice-chairman and president) had just announced at the...

The real Machiavelli: for the past five centuries, the political genius of Niccolo Machiavelli has been overshadowed by his reputation as a cold supporter of corrupt ruling. Only recently have his true beliefs come to light.(HISTORY LESSON)
December 22, 2005... Few European writers and thinkers have been so consistently criticised, and so consistently misunderstood, as the Florentine statesman and diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli. To most people he is known solely for his statement that "the ends justify...

Sir Digby Jones, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), speaks out on the "Brussels elite", the urgent need for European reform and better skills provision, and what the young manager of today should be learning.(LEADERS)(Interview)
December 22, 2005... EBF: Policy makers and politicians in Europe are split over the Lisbon Agenda. Some are saying that it is still on track, while some are saying that it will never happen. What is your view? DJ: I actually don't think the Lisbon Agenda is on...

Jean-Claude Le Grand, director of corporate strategic recruitment at L'Oreal, discusses the company's novel approach to attracting talent and why it prefers business games to headhunters and traditional recruitment methods.(LEADERS)(Company overview)
December 22, 2005... If social commentators and analysts are to be believed, a "job for life" is as out-dated a concept as a nine-to-five job. But try telling that to L'Oreal, the largest beauty products company in the world, which recruits more than 90 per cent of...

Bjarne Riis, former tour de France winner and Team CSC manager, explains how a values-driven approach coupled with meticulous planning has enabled his Denmark-based professional cycling team to rise to the top of the 2005 world rankings.(LEADERS)(Interview)
December 22, 2005... EBF: Was becoming the number-one cycling team in the world high among your goals this season? BR: It is certainly an accomplishment -but it's only a first step. We should be proud of what we have achieved, but it should also heighten our...

Andrew Crane, director at the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, says the roles of corporations and governments are beginning to blur. But can businesses ever really work for the greater good of society when their loyalties lie with shareholders?(LEADERS)
December 22, 2005... Are corporations becoming more like governments? At one level, the answer has to be a resounding "yes". After all, many of the roles, responsibilities and functions that we once considered to be the sole preserve of governments are increasingly...

Raymond Madden, executive director of education and training at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), believes that corporate universities will offer their own degrees. But they will remain reliant on academic institutions.(LEADERS)
December 22, 2005... In 1993, there were corporate universities (CUs) in around 400 companies worldwide. By 2001, that figure had jumped to 2,000. Today, the proliferation continues, and, for many companies, the establishment of a CU is beginning to look like best...

Georges Haour, professor of technology and innovation at IMD, believes that Europe has much to learn from the burgeoning entrepreneurial scene in Israel and the country's bold investments in technological innovation.(LEADERS)
December 22, 2005... When people think of the Middle East, entrepreneurship isn't the first thing that springs to mind. But Israel is establishing itself as one of the most prominent high-tech innovators in the world. Its venture capital (VC) activity is similar to...

Ingar Skaug, group CEO of Wilh. Wilhelmsen, faced an unusual and difficult situation when he took over at the helm of a Norvvay-based shipping company: how would he rebuild the firm and motivate distraught employees in the wake of tragedy?(LEADERS)
December 22, 2005... The start of Ingar Skaug's career at Wilhelmsen Lines, the liner and car carrier arm of shipping giant Wilh. Wilhelmsen, was marred by tragedy. The previous management team had all been killed in a plane crash on their way to a, ship-naming...

Professor Henry Mintzberg, McGill University, hits out at the current fixation on shareholder value, shattered trust and our "childish" view of leadership.(LEADERS)(Interview)
December 22, 2005... EBF: You have said that this is an era of "heroic leadership". What do you mean by that? HM: We have created a cult of management where everything centres around the chief executive. The CEO has become a celebrity. Just look at our...