European Business Forum articles from March 2006

European Business Forum archives from March 2006

Letter from the editor.(Editorial)
March 22, 2006... Finding the right balance between sharing and hoarding knowledge is a tricky challenge. How much should remain proprietary and how much should be given away for free? As anyone in the music and publishing industries will attest, the...

Finding the right balance between sharing and hoarding knowledge is an elusive art. Sharing information can boost innovation and increase demand for your products, but it can also cause the value of that knowledge to fall.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... In 1983, before the Chinese reforms had spread from the rural to the industrial sector, I was visiting a factory that manufactured electrical transformers just outside Beijing. I asked my host to tell me at what price the factory was selling...

Those who believe the best way to generate traffic online is with proprietary content and patent-encumbered software are making a huge mistake. openness, sharing and free licences are the keys to building brand loyalty.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... Traditional thinking on this topic revolves around the competitive edge that may be gained by keeping information hidden or guarded from others. If your customers do not have access to the source code of the software you sell them, for example,...

The digital revolution has had a profound impact on the publishing industry, blowing apart traditional notions of commercial value. When something is available online, there is an automatic assumption that it will be free.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... The British Library has a 250-year history of gathering, organising and providing access to the world's knowledge. Our collection includes 150 million items, occupying 625km of shelves. The material we hold dates back to 1100BC, covers most...

Energy is always devoted to protecting trade secrets, but it is essential that organisations share information to feed the never-ending task of refreshing their knowledge bases.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... Can knowledge be traded like a commodity? Is knowledge best protected within an organisation's four walls or does its value extend beyond traditional corporate boundaries? In recent decades, these questions were relevant mainly to selected...

India's caste system and the ubiquitous family business have created knowledge silos in the country. While this can create a competitive advantage, all too often a good position is squandered due to indiscretion.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... Many CEOs, Indians and Americans, woke up with a raging headache on April 6, 2005. They had just found out that three call-centre employees of MphasiS BFL had allegedly stolen over $350,000 from four Citibank customers. Like many global...

In hoarding information, the risk that it will become obsolete without ever being exploited is often overlooked. Executives must remember that sharing knowledge can help create new knowledge.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... Most business executives tend to view knowledge in terms of two extremes: either knowledge is protected or it is given away. In practice, few - if any - companies ever "give away" knowledge for free. They will often seek to share it with...

How much knowledge should a business give away? Attempts to trap knowledge within the borders of an organisation are usually futile. Unless it is feasible to chain employees to their desks, knowledge will always flow outside a company.(How much knowledge should a business give away?)
March 22, 2006... How much knowledge should a business give away? Our answer is, in short, "a lot". The benefits of a closed knowledge environment within a company are highly overrated, while the benefits of an open environment tend to be underrated. Most...

Does humour travel?(Cartoon)
March 22, 2006... J'Ai DEJA ESSAYE DE LUi ARRACHER SON SPARADRAP MAiS, LA SEULE iNFO QUE JE LUi Ai SoUTiREE, C 'EST UN * AiE * ! BELGIUM "I have already tried removing the plasters. But, even then, the only information I could get out of him was...

The adaptive corporation: technological progress has the power to wipe out businesses overnight. In the new global economy, only those that anticipate change and adapt to it will survive.(IN DEPTH)(Company overview)
March 22, 2006... The world of business is constantly changing, and the pace of that change is rising sharply. There are no longer any certainties in today's globalised world. Change is happening in three different dimensions and the successful corporation of...

Expectations unfulfilled? In the early nineties, European managers speculated on the impact of a single market. Over a decade on, has the EU helped or hindered marketing strategies?(IN DEPTH)(Company overview)
March 22, 2006... For many managers in the countries of the former European Community (EC), the prospect of an internal market in 1993 was both exciting and worrisome. They felt certain that this internal market would bring increased business opportunities as...

The future of European business leadership; As illustrated by Nestle's experience with Perrier, running a global business is no easy task. Balancing the interests of a culturally diverse and often fiercely patriotic workforce is just one of the many challenges that await aspiring European leaders.(IN DEPTH)(Company overview)
March 22, 2006... The founding fathers of the European Union, Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, dreamed of creating a community of nations that would become more convergent as the years went by. The result of their vision is the EU, the most far-reaching plan for...

Battle of the supply chains: the economic performance and commercial success of a corporation hinges on how well it designs, organises and manages its supply chain.(IN DEPTH)(Company overview)
March 22, 2006... The performance of an individual corporation rests on the strengths and weaknesses of the partners in its supply chain. Every company is linked to a series of other organisations: suppliers, customers, third-party logistics providers and...

Strategic innovation: how to grow in mature markets.(IN DEPTH)
March 22, 2006... For companies prepared to take risks and question the status quo, strategic innovation can create profitable growth - even in shrinking or mature markets. The idea of innovation as a source of economic growth is a recurring theme in...

CSR drives European competitiveness.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
March 22, 2006... A new report by international think-tank AccountAbility argues that responsible business practice is becoming an increasingly important driver of national and regional competitiveness in Europe. The report, Responsible Competitiveness:...

Fables for managers.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
March 22, 2006... In a new book, Aesop and the CEO: Powerful Business Insights from Aesop's Ancient Fables, writer and consultant David Noonan shows how cultural insights can produce management lessons. Even though Aesop was writing 2,600 years ago, many of his...

The rise of cyberwoman.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
March 22, 2006... Are modern women becoming more feminist, or less? In a paper entitled The (d)evolution of cyberwoman, Barbara Czarniawska and Eva Gustavsson of the Gothenburg Research Institute at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, suggest that the answer...

Toxic Technology.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
March 22, 2006... Today, communication tools as simple as email and as complex as collaborative integrated development environments support large-scale projects with out team members ever needing to meet each other. Technology is a wonder but it can also be an...

Is Italy going out of fashion?(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
March 22, 2006... In the debate over textiles quotas and EU-China trade, which still rumbles on in the aftermath of the bra wars saga, it is easy to concentrate on the regulatory issues and forget the impact on those involved. Redress comes in the form of a...

Pedalling harder on the business cycle.(SUMMARIES OF RESEARCH PROJECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD)
March 22, 2006... That businesses and economies go through cycles and periods of turbulence has long been known, but few companies take this into account when plotting strategy. In his latest book, The Well Timed Strategy: Managing the Business Cycle for...

A Whopper of a challenge: with the growing problem of obesity and the trend towards low-carb diets, can fast-food giant Burger King adjust to new demands from health-conscious consumers?(CASE STUDY)
March 22, 2006... Burger King was founded in 1954 when James McLamore and David Edgerton opened their first restaurant in Miami, Florida. The idea was simple: reasonably priced food, served quickly in an attractive, clean environment. The Original Whopper...

The change master: He turned a family-run gunpowder factory into a giant corporation, and rebuilt a faltering General Motors. Pierre du Pont proves that even the most moribund company can be rescued with the right management skills.(HISTORY LESSON)
March 22, 2006... Organisational change is one of the hardest of all managerial tasks. Trying to transform a corporation that has become set in its ways can be a slow, painful process, but it is not impossible. The example of Pierre du Pont, who rescued not one...

Philip Green, British retail billionaire and owner of Arcadia Group, on his journey from a shoe warehouse to a [pounds sterling]1.2bn pay cheque, and on why big business must start investing in the nation's next generation of retail entrepreneurs.(Leaders)
March 22, 2006... Philip Green is on the phone. He is going through the annual results of Arcadia Group - his retail empire that owns Britain's Top Shop, Top Man, Wallis, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Evans fashion chains. We discuss their...

Danica Purg, President of the Central and East European Management Development Association, believes that the burgeoning number of business schools in the region play an important role in shaping and influencing political reform.(LEADERS)(Interview)
March 22, 2006... EBF: How would you describe the current state of business education in Central and Eastern Europe? DP: The first thing we must remember is that management education in Central and Eastern Europe is only 20 years old. That is when the...

Jean-Herve Jenn, international president of Convergys, says global outsourcing and offshoring, far from being unpatriotic job killers, are not only bringing more wealth back home, but also creating a new middle class in developing countries.(LEADERS)
March 22, 2006... Jean-Herve Jenn has just arrived back from India and, as he sweeps into a London hotel for an interview, he is full of admiration for an interview, he is full of admiration for the economic developments taking place there. He describes modern...

Jean-Michel Gires, senior vice-president of sustainable development and the environment at Total, argues that while oil companies continue to attract bad press, they are now tackling the problem of climate change and investing in renewable fuel sources.(LEADERS)
March 22, 2006... How much are we prepared to pay for oil? How effectively can renewable energy sources replace traditional fossil fuels? How serious are the world's leaders about preventing climate change? These are some of the questions being considered around...

Arie de Geus, London Business School, believes archaic legislation is killing off new firms, and traditional business structures give too much power to too few people.(LEADERS)(Interview)
March 22, 2006... EBF: Why do so many companies die prematurely? ADG: The high mortality rate of corporations is worrying. Research shows that the average business lifespan has become steadily shorter over the past few decades. Why the decline? While I don't...