European Business Forum articles from June 2003

European Business Forum archives from June 2003

Leadership oath.(Hippocratic Oath)
June 22, 2003... The Hippocratic Oath is one of the oldest binding documents in history. Believed to have been written as early as the sixth century BC, its invocation to doctors to treat the sick to the best of their ability, to preserve patient privacy and to...

Do companies get the leaders they deserve?(EBF Debate)(Cover Story)
June 22, 2003... Everyone has their own idea of what makes a good leader. But while leadership has long been linked to corporate success, many see it now as a critical boardroom element if public faith in the integrity of business is to be restored. What should...

Future shock: are banks failing to capitalise on their ageing assets?(Sponsored Section)
June 22, 2003... The shock waves of the future are already bringing upheaval and uncertainty to Europe's financial services. The severe difficulties facing public and private pension providers are symptoms of deep underlying trends that pose acute problems...

Entrepreneurs or leaders? As an extension of this EBF debate we asked the owners of four small businesses (all alumni of the Community of European Management Schools) to offer a front line perspective.(EBF Debate: Entrepreneurs)
June 22, 2003... SamSari Entrepreneurs have a business idea and lots of energy--otherwise they would never get around to actually starting their own business. But are they necessarily good leaders? I often feel that an entrepreneur is the best leader in...

Uncertainty is the new certainty.(Debate reopened: risky business)
June 22, 2003... IS IT TOO RISKY TO RUN A COMPANY? The Spring 2003 edition of EBF (Issue 13) posed the provocative question: Is it too risky to run a company? Contributors reflected on the nature and number of risks now faced by companies and on various...

Flaws in Europe's new motor regulation.(Debate reopened: European car buyers)
June 22, 2003... ARE EUROPEAN CAR BUYERS POISED FOR A BETTER DEAL? The Spring edition of EBF featured a four-way debate about recent moves to liberalise car distribution across the EU. Here an economist adds his voice, warning that while the changes may...

EBF live: corporate governance remains one of the most pressing issues for boards and CEOs--and EBF continues to be in the thick of the debate.
June 22, 2003... EBF editor Tim Dickson chaired a special session on Principles of Corporate Leadership at the International Students' Committee (ISC) Symposium at St Gallen, Switzerland, in May 2003, and an all day conference on Corporate Governance and...

Are mergers of equals really possible? DaimlerChrysler gave this acquisition style a bad name in the late 1990s. But the experience of AstraZeneca so far may require sceptics to revise their views.
June 22, 2003... "The advantage of a merger of equals, compared to an acquisition, is that there is no premium to be paid--and in our industry acquisition premiums are huge. The other major benefit is that you can start fresh and say, 'what do we want this...

In my opinion ...(In depth: Mergers)(automotive company mergers)
June 22, 2003... Shortly before Bob Eaton stepped down as co-Chairman of DaimlerChrysler, I asked him whether he had any regrets about the historic merger between Chrysler and Daimler-Benz. That was in February 2000, nearly two years after the deal was...

Casting off the chains: the Value Shop and the Value Network are two additional models of value creation. Managers need to re-think some familiar strategic insights.(in depth value shops and value networks)
June 22, 2003... The world has changed. From 1960 to 1999 manufacturing companies' share of GNP in the US, as well as its workforce, fell from 30 per cent to 15 per cent, with the consequence that such businesses are now a minority of the S & P500. Banks,...

Tapping into the Silicon clique: the case of Silicon Valley provides valuable lessons for multinationals trying to exploit regional networks.(In depth: Silicon Valley)
June 22, 2003... Silicon Valley remains a byword for shared technical excellence--but the 'pull' of the region can take several forms. Many multinational companies use their operations there as a centre of sales and marketing activities for the US or North...

In my opinion ...(In depth: Silicon Valley)
June 22, 2003... Sigrid's and Lars' article struck many chords as I read it. A Brit by birth and education, a midwesterner by virtue of fifteen years in Chicago, I moved to San Francisco in 1999 in the midst of the high-tech boom. Although my clients were not...

How to deliver better returns in the long-term: new research shows that out-performers emphasise the strategic, the external and change, whereas under-performers focus on the tactical, the internal and control.(In depth: Out-performance)
June 22, 2003... It is fitting that the Spring edition of EBF should have asked the question: 'is it too risky to run a company?' Research we have just completed demonstrates that companies which understand the corporate finance perspective of risk--namely...

The art of change in the public sector: important lessons can be drawn from Arts Council England's radical improvement to the national system for supporting the arts.(In depth: Public sector change)
June 22, 2003... How can you modernise a government organisation to produce a step change in its delivery performance within a limited period of time? And what capabilities do you need to manage an organisational change programme successfully to achieve that...

Does humour travel?
June 22, 2003... US "I'm having to let you go, my new swivel chair was very expensive". EDWAR SMITH [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] AUSTRIA "Mrs Muller, I had explicitly requested: NO VISITORS!" OSWALD HUBER [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Democracy, community and chocolate: the management philosophy of the Cadburys and the Rowntrees, 19th century commercial rivals, resulted in happy and well-paid workers and strong, profitable and creative companies.(EBF HISTORY LESSON)
June 22, 2003... The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw a wave of interest in industrial democracy and worker participation in management. As with many issues in management, the subject was more talked about than practised, and many business...

Why Europe must participate in the debate on expensing options: the unopposed adoption of option expensing will result in a flawed standard based on labyrinthine methods. It will significantly reduced European company earnings leading to a reduction in employee financial participation in their enterprises.(Sounding boardreur)
June 22, 2003... Recent corporate scandals have provided commentators with an opportunity to generate headlines berating business executives for all manner of corporate governance abuses, real and imagined. However, executive compensation has increasingly...

Keeping disputes under control: commercial disputes can derail successful businesses. Why do so few companies take the time to manage them properly?(Sounding board)
June 22, 2003... Business disputes are on the increase. The financial fall-out from scandal-hit companies like Enron, WorldCom and Tyco, for example, is by no means limited to the US; isolated product liability actions can rapidly spiral into...

Create a culture of disciplined empowerment: new thinking is needed on the relationship between corporate centre and business units.(Sounding board)
June 22, 2003... Large complex organisations are struggling to reconcile two imperatives. On the one hand, the compliance duties of the corporate centre have become more exacting as successive scandals have rocked the confidence of shareholders and the public...

Matching global growth to industry structure: as companies expanded globally in the 1990s, most of them failed to prosper. Why was this and what did the winners do to succeed?(Sounding board)
June 22, 2003... The world is a cold place these days for businesses seeking profitable international growth. That was so even before global economic slowdown, war and epidemic made an already difficult objective even harder to achieve. Think of the companies...

Managing brands across stakeholders: although the brand accounts for the lion's share of many companies' valuation, it is often the worst managed aspect of their business.(Sounding board)
June 22, 2003... The task of Brand Management has changed radically in the past two decades. Twenty years ago, most brands were marketed to a single stakeholder--consumers--and classic brands like Marlboro, Pampers and Nivea still are. Increasingly, though,...

Why the EU needs a 133-cent coin.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... A Canadian mathematician has conducted a study to find out which coins could be introduced to optimise the circulation of dollars and euros. Jeffrey Shallit found that US and Canadian currencies lacked a 32-cent coin, while Europe would benefit...

Too hot not to handle.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... A survey on salary increases by Hewitt Associates found a drop in Western Europe, of an average of one percentage point (down to 2.9 per cent) in 2002 compared with 2001. However, the survey also saw record levels of companies using...

Hug away the economic blues.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... A middle-aged holy woman from India has come up with a remedy for Japan's economic blues that has escaped even the most astute politician--give everyone a hug. Thousands of Japanese have flocked to a hall in Tokyo for a loving embrace from...

Have you seen these figures?(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... In keeping with its theme of transparency in financial transactions, one insurance company in the US featured a naked man in its annual report. The Progressive insurance company spiced up its usually straight-laced financial document with...

Danish study doubts injury risks from computers.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Using a computer does not appear to increase the risk of developing the wrist and hand ailment known as carpal tunnel syndrome, according to a Danish study. The syndrome, marked by tingling and numbness in the palm of the hand and fingers,...

Globalisation is narrowing the poverty gap.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Far from widening the gap between rich and poor, globalisation has helped to bring about unprecedented improvements in the living conditions of many of the world's poorest people, according to an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) economic...

The world's oldest family firm?(Did you know)(Kongo Gumi )(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... The Kongos know a thing or two about running a business. They should do. The family's construction firm in western Japan has been a going concern for over 14 centuries, spanning 40 generations and surviving everything from feudal wars to the...

Socially responsible vacuum.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... According to the fourth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Monitor survey of over 21,000 consumers, shareholders and corporate employees in 21 countries, significant proportions of people in most countries are unable to name a...

Cut the 'bull from corporate communications.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Deloitte Consulting in New York admits it helped foster confusing, indecipherable words like 'synergy', 'paradigm', and 'extensible repository'. Now it plans to make ammends with the release of 'Bullfighter' which helps writers of business...

Lead it like Beckham.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... A new study shows UK managers admire celebrities more than their boss. The ideal 21st century business leader should have the charisma of David Beckham, the negotiation skills of Kofi Annan and the financial acumen of Eddie George, according to...

Online shopping in the new EU countries.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... According to Aqute Research online shopping in the EU accession countries is constrained by cultural and other factors. In Cyprus, for example, buying online does not appeal to those who traditionally prefer haggling, other accession countries,...

The world's most expensive cities.(Did you know)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Tokyo has replaced Hong Kong as the world's most expensive city, in the latest cost of living survey, compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Moscow is in second place, followed by Osaka, which has moved up three places since last year....

The listening leader: EBF talks to N.R. Narayana Murthy, founder of Infosys Technologies.(View from the top)(Interview)
June 22, 2003... N.R. Narayana Murthy is one of India's most admired business leaders. His company is one of India's five most valuable companies, and two years ago it was voted India's most desirable company to work for in a poll of Indian managers. He has...

Missed window of opportunity.(Book Review)
June 22, 2003... Internet Entrepreneurship in Europe: Venture Failure and the Timing of Telecommunications Reform By Niko Marcel Waesche, April 1, 2003, 334 pages, ISBN: 1843761351, Edward Elgar Publishing. The technology gap between Europe and the US...

Profits and the planet.(The New Economy of Nature: The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable)(Book Review)
June 22, 2003... The New Economy of Nature The Quest to Make Conservation Profitable By Gretchen Daily and Katherine Ellison, Shearwater (Island Press), Washington, DC, 2002. 260p. ISBN 1-55963-945-8. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Earth's...

Bad medicine.(Book Review)
June 22, 2003... Globalization and its discontents By Joseph Stiglitz, Penguin paperback, April 2003, ISBN: 0-141-01038-X, 304 Pages. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What, if anything, has changed in the world since the publication a year ago of Joseph...

Blind ambition: Americans--and others--should look to an eighteenth century French philosopher for guidance.(business ethics)
June 22, 2003... For more than 18 months the news media has been following the business scandals in the US and in a number of other countries. A broad array of new governmental and regulatory measures have been put into place around the world in response to...

News from EBF founders.(European Business Forum)
June 22, 2003... PricewaterhouseCoopers is active in understanding the evolving business environment and its implications. Here are some recent examples: Global InfoComm Review Volume 8, No. 2 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This issue examines the...

CEMs launches a unique Quality Assessment procedure ...(Community of European Management Schools)
June 22, 2003... CEMS (Community of European Management Schools) faces a clear challenge in bringing together academics and students across Europe to create a forum for intercultural exchange. There is the risk that different work methods and concepts of...