European Business Forum articles from December 2007

European Business Forum archives from December 2007

An authority in management education.(CEMS)
December 22, 2007... COMMUNITY OF EUROPEAN MANAGEMENT SCHOOLS AND INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES www.cems.org The Community of European Management Schools and International Companies (CEMS) is an alliance of leaders in business and higher education. Founded...

Annoucing the winner of the Nokia-EBF PhD Award 2007.(Nokia-EBF Award 2007)
December 22, 2007... And the winner is... Erik Kole, assistant professor of financial econometrics at the Erasmus School of Economics and Business Economics, Rotterdam. In the first year of the award, EBF's editorial board decided to focus on finance. The...

Letter from the editors.
December 22, 2007... When in Rome, do as the Romans. The saying can be a two-edged sword. On the one hand, it indicates that we should try and fit in with local cultures wherever we find ourselves, to live by the values of our hosts rather than trying to impose our...

Leading marketers by the nose.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... Smell has always occupied an ambivalent position in Western culture. For years, it was seen to lie between the "distant" - thus "noble" and "intellectual" -senses of sight and hearing, on the one hand, and "near" - thus "animal" and "sensual"...

Web 2: some bubble.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... Last year Time magazine chose YOU - the online collaborator, as The Person of the Year. But that was so 2006! Sure, social networking is exploding. MySpace is growing at many thousands of new registrants per day and is on track to a billion...

Mapping the space that houses your brain trust.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... Here's the rub: most business leaders - most people for that matter - don't see space, only the objects, or assets, that occupy space: people, computers, furniture. To see space as an asset and to measure its "performance" is an item not...

Time for a new drug discovery model.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... The viability of the current business model for discovering and commercialising drugs is under threat, as investors and governments grapple with ever-higher costs, multiplying risks, and lengthening timescales. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

When in Rome, behave as the Romans? Some cultures are hostile to concepts of human rights. The course of action you take abroad may need to differ markedly from the one you take at home.(Debate)
December 22, 2007... You are the on-site representative of a Western firm that has just acquired a manufacturing plant in Asia. An employee tells you that his immediate superior treats him unfairly, giving him the worst job assignments in his group while not giving...

Ethics should not dominate boardroom discussions. But they should be a part of marketing efforts; by building brand equity, firms can raise sales and profits.(Observations)(Financial report)
December 22, 2007... The emergence of China is challenging Westerners to rethink what we tend to take for granted. Ethics, or mores, arise from, and are part of, social conventions. For example, having two wives at the same time is ethical in Utah, but not in...

Those against universal codes of ethics are defeatist: managers should be more bold. Over the longer term, maintaining brand integrity will pay dividends.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... The question "is it possible for a company to have one code of ethics in its international operations?" presumes a negative answer. In the words of the playwright Neil Simon; "Please, let's not build down our hopes." Perhaps less defeatism...

When governments fail, managers have to be prepared to take up the slack. like it or not, that's one of the roles of the modern leader.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... You are CEO of a successful global company. You were brought up to believe that the goal of business is to maximise shareholder value. You agree with Milton Friedman's view that "there is one and only one social responsibility of business - to...

Debate when in Rome..? There are three commonly held objections to universal codes of conduct. None of them is compelling.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... Three objections are typically raised against international corporations adhering to a single code of conduct: 1) local conditions vary and so different moral standards are needed; 2) in some cases, business cannot be done unless the firm...

Ethical guidelines may do more harm than good. Managers should instead be encouraged to pursue personal reflection.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... The essential question is not whether ethical guidelines home and abroad should be the same, It is how single employees confront ethical issues and dilemmas. What is paramount here is sincere personal reflection. It may be a useful process...

Managers need to distinguish between matters of universal principle and cultural norms.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... One of the great contributions of the globalisation has nothing to do with economics, but concerns ethics. During the past few years, business leaders have learned that it is not adequate to assess markets overseas within the parameters they...

Aside from human rights, each issue is specific and should be treated on its merits. Talking to stakeholders is critical.(Observations)
December 22, 2007... In today's globalised world, companies face many moral conflicts. Take Google and Yahoo! Both have been widely criticised for co-operating with the Chinese government in censoring search results and handing over information about dissidents....

Conceiving the system: from Brainwashing to family therapy: understanding complex human systems requires looking from many angles. From his own work, the author describes some of the most useful.(Indepth)
December 22, 2007... Neither individual health nor organisational/systemic health can be understood without the ability to Sake three different perspectives. These are (1) an individual perspective based on psychology;(2) a systemic perspective based on...

Human systems.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... * In order to understand organisations as human systems, it is necessary to use multiple perspectives.

Insights.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... * These different perspectives give insights into the complexities of organisations, and each offers particular truths about organisational dynamics.

Hands-on experience.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... * Hands-on experience can be equally valuable, If not more so, than experimental work in developing new perspectives.

Highly important for managers.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... * It is highly important for managers to learn and use these multiple perspectives if they are to manage effectively.

Institutional voids as spaces of opportunity; when institutions fail, the normal response of business is to stay away. Looked at another way however, the void may be an opportunity.(In depth)
December 22, 2007... For multinational companies, doing business in emerging economies often involves overcoming hurdles created by the weakness or complete absence of institutions that support markets. These institutions, whose presence is usually taken for...

Institutional voids occur.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... Institutional voids occur when the institutions necessary to support markets either do not exist or are failing.

Social entrepreneurs.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... When this happens, "social entrepreneurs" step in to help develop institutions that can deliver goods and services to those most in need.

Challenge existing assumptions.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... Social entrepreneurs, like all entrepreneurs, challenge existing assumptions and see opportunities where others see only problems.

While businesses cannot fill institutional voids alone.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... While businesses cannot fill institutional voids alone, partnerships between businesses and social entrepreneurs can be forces for change.

The secrets of intrapreneurship: what drives the selling and acceptance of entrepreneurial ideas within an organisation?(Indepth)
December 22, 2007... It has long been recognised that one of the keys to developing an entrepreneurial organisation is the promotion of a culture where people in all parts of the organisation feel free to promote their own ideas. Although top managers may develop...

Entrepreneurial organisations.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... Entrepreneurial organisations encourage junior managers to "sell" ideas to top management.

Forward their ideas.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... While we understand the process, we still know little about why people put forward their ideas, or why ideas are accepted.

Personal skills.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... Research suggests that people are more likely to come forward if their ideas wilt be accepted. Personal skills and strong networks are key determinants.

Open channels of communication and a culture.(In Brief)
December 22, 2007... * To foster participation, top managers need to ensure open channels of communication and a culture that encourages people to be proactive.

Telenor's third way; Knowledge sharing is vital to Telenor's future. Will its new model work better than the old one?(Case study)
December 22, 2007... Telenor Mobile of Norway is one of the world's mobile pioneers. As early as 1966, it launched its first public mobile service, and during the early 1980s it introduced the world's first automatic cellular service. Today's GSM system is to a...

Owners and managers: the timeless struggle: far from natural allies, Burnham saw owners and managers as two classes in a struggle for power. His ideas still resonate.(History lesson)(Company overview)
December 22, 2007... In the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the United States but to a lesser extent in Europe, professional management was becoming dominant. Big firms had always employed professional managers, but increasingly these professionals, sometimes...

Varin has been credited with reviving the fortunes of the UK-Dutch steel-maker Corus. He talks about the outlook for the industry, climate change, and working on a merger with Indian conglomerate Tata.(Leaders)
December 22, 2007... Philippe Varin is a happy man. France has just beaten New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup. And now he is betting this interviewer that they'll beat England in the Semi Finals too ("How much do you want to bet?"). Clearly, he's done very nicely...

Statoil's chief discusses the multiple challenges of merging with a long-time domestic competitor, corruption, and the promise of "new energy".(Leaders)
December 22, 2007... When Helge Lund took up the position as CEO in Statoil in August 2004, he was one of the youngest and most promising CEOs in Norway, He faced a considerable challenge in restoring the corporation's reputation after the previous CEO had to step...

Why do so few women make it to the boardroom? A senior HR executive shares her thoughts.(Leaders)
December 22, 2007... Barbara Beck is president EMEA of Manpower, one of the world's largest recruitment companies. A US citizen, she was in charge of Manpower's US operations before arriving in Europe in early 2006. Having been on both sides of the Atlantic, she's...

Many aspire to be leaders, but few know what leading really entails. Lots of managers are "leaders in name only", says Brown.(Last word)
December 22, 2007... * Your book provides advice for aspiring leaders. What are the key skills they need to master? I've always felt that communication is crucial to leadership. It's one of the things, in general, that people do badly. I've been to so many...