European Business Forum articles from September 2002

European Business Forum archives from September 2002

Europe's opportunity.(Letter from the editors)
September 22, 2002... As EBF went to press for the autumn edition a year ago we were all reeling from the shock of the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States. Twelve months on the mood remains grim. Combined with continued fear and uncertainty about our...

How efficient are Europe's capital markets?(EBF Debate)(Cover Story)
September 22, 2002... Companies, investors, intermediaries and policymakers have had their faith in financial markets badly shaken this year. But even before the recent spate of corporate collapses questionable market practices were rife, corporate governance...

Measure for measure: underpinning the value of IT.
September 22, 2002... A radical change is taking place in the way that companies are measuring the value of their IT investment. According to a recent survey from Unisys, traditional return on investment (ROI) is no longer viewed as the most significant criteria for...

Quality in business education--the lure of accreditation.(Debate reopened: Executive Education)
September 22, 2002... Issue 7 of EBF (Autumn 2001) considered the question: Does Executive Education really improve business performance? Contributors looked at different measures which companies and others use to assess the value of this activity. One year on, the...

Adapting management education in post-Soviet countries--the case of Ukraine.(Debate reopened: Executive Education)(history and services of International Management Institute )
September 22, 2002... As the first of the post-Soviet countries to have its own MBA, the Ukraine has realised the need to import Western-style management techniques. The challenge for business schools is finding people who can integrate their knowledge of open...

An American in Stockholm.(Debate reopened: Executive Education)
September 22, 2002... It is a bit past seven on a warm, sunny Tuesday morning in early September and I am standing in front of the imposing door of the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE), waiting for the rest of my class colleagues to gather. Once assembled, we...

Why the days of 'non-execs' may be numbered.(Debate reopened: Corporate governance)
September 22, 2002... EBF Issue 5 (Spring 2001) offered readers a wide ranging and extensive debate on the origins, principles, models and benefits of sound corporate governance. Since then the topic has hardly been out of the news, with the dramatic corporate...

Does humour travel?(Cartoon)
September 22, 2002... ITALY "Make yourself comfortable so that we can discuss your raise." PIERO TONIN [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] UK ROGER BEALE--FINANCIAL TIMES [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] US SOPHIE GRILLET [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

In search of new organisational forms: the future MNC, spawned by advances in information and communication technologies, has the opportunity to tailor its organisational structure from a universe of possibilities.(In-depth: Enterprise structures)
September 22, 2002... The period around the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries saw the emergence of new enterprise structures, notably the creation of the first multinational corporations (MNCs). The spur was provided by technological advances...

Mastering strategic renewal--lessons from the financial services sector: a new cross-border study suggests that some of Europe's most established financial institutions are failing to adapt to regulatory and technological change. Top management can choose from four clearly defined options.(In-depth: Strategic renewal)
September 22, 2002... How do large multi-unit firms in the financial services sector reconcile the conflicting forces of profits for today and flexibility to adapt for tomorrow? Profits for today require order, control, and stability: adaptation for tomorrow...

Italian and UK manufacturing compared: research has shown significant differences between the two countries in rates of absenteeism and in the involvement of employees in problem solving groups. The implications for managers are clear.(In-depth: Manufacturing)
September 22, 2002... Although the Italian economy has seen a steady growth in the importance of the service sector, manufacturing still plays a key role in the economy. It employs 32 per cent of the active population and accounts for about 33 per cent of the...

In my opinion ...(In-depth: Manufacturing)
September 22, 2002... This comparison of Italian and UK engineering plants comes to the rather surprising conclusion that there is no significant statistical difference where indicators such as quality or lead times are concerned. However, there are significant...

Corporate governance reform in Switzerland: the following is a summary of the highlights of the debate, attended by 40-50 senior executives from leading Swiss and international companies and advisory firms.(EBFlive)
September 22, 2002... On 13th September 2002, a workshop entitled 'Corporate Governance: empirical results and best practice' was held at the First International HSG Alumni Conference in Interlaken, Switzerland, in association with EBF. The workshop was led by...

Satisfying customers through corporate social responsibility: a convincing business case for CSR continues to prove elusive despite a welter of academic studies. BT Group, however, believes it has quantified a highly significant link to the bottom line.(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... With so many corporate leaders now convinced of the need for businesses to contribute to the wider societal goal of sustainable development one would expect no lack of convincing proof that corporate social responsibility (CSR) actually works....

In my opinion ...(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... BT's approach to measuring the impact of corporate social responsibility and reputation on customer satisfaction is clearly a good step along the right path, but there is still much further to go. Other companies should be encouraged to follow...

The challenge of investor marketing: a growing headache for many executives is how to achieve a fair market valuation for their company. Success in courting shareholders requires the same professionalism as in other parts of the business.(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... It may seem odd to say so at a time when financial markets have just lost 40 per cent of their value 18 months--but the undervaluation of shares is becoming a growing preoccupation for the CEOs of traditional European companies. ...

Nailing the myths of an international assignment: people's motivations for accepting an international assignment are rather different from their most positive experiences, according to a new survey.(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... International assignments have become increasingly common as multinational companies seek to integrate and co-ordinate their businesses in a rapidly globalising world. In Europe, the main destinations for assignees (or 'expatriates' as they...

Building an innovation engine: disruptive innovation enables companies to do business in ways they never could before, but its turbulent track record promotes scepticism among managers. New research shows how to harness its strategic value for the long-term by following a three-step blueprint.(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... Think 'innovation' and the chances are you think start-up business before you think FTSE100 organisation. Conventional wisdom has it that large companies are too bureaucratic, too invested in the status quo, and too focused on the next earnings...

Lobbying in Brussels: informing the political process.(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... Lobbying has long been a dirty word, conjuring up visions of nefarious activity and usually involving payment for political favours. The title of a new book by the professor of political science at Rotterdam University does little to dispel...

Why capitalism badly needs ethics: it is not enough to change or re-regulate the rules of corporate capitalism. The present crisis requires a more substantive transformation of business.(Sounding Board)
September 22, 2002... The moral foundation of capitalism needs to be re-considered and renewed. With the collapse of communism and the accelerated trend of globalisation a new stage of capitalism has arrived. Street protests in recent years in Seattle, Washington,...

Atlantic crossing: EBF talks to Professor Mark Fishman of Novartis.(View from the top)(Interview)
September 22, 2002... Novartis re-ignited fears of a scientific brain drain from Europe to the US earlier this year when it unveiled plans to relocate its R & D headquarters to Boston and place Harvard Medical School professor Mark Fishman at the helm. ...

University challenge: EBF talks to Viviane Reding, the European Commissioner for Education and Culture.(View from the top)(Interview)
September 22, 2002... Viviane Reding is the European Commissioner for Education and Culture--a less high profile portfolio than trade, competition policy or agriculture perhaps but one which lies at the heart of the EU's ambition to become the world's most dynamic...

Masterly conductor.(Corporate Governance and Chairmanship. A Personal View )(Book Review)
September 22, 2002... Corporate Governance and Chairmanship. A Personal View by Sir Adrian Cadbury. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Oxford University Press October 2002 ISSBN: 0199252009 250 pages. George Lyman Kittredge, Harvard's great...

Removing the 'black box'.(Cross-Cultural Management A Knowledge Management Perspective)(Book Review)
September 22, 2002... Cross-Cultural Management A Knowledge Management Perspective by Nigel J. Holden. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Financial Times/Pearson Education. January 2002 ISBN: 027364680X 288 pages. Nigel Holden's book is important...

Avoiding disaster.(Les decisions absurdes Sociologie des erreurs radicales et persistantes)(Book Review)
September 22, 2002... Les decisions absurdes Sociologie des erreurs radicales et persistantes by Christian Morel. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Paris, Gallimard, 2002. A large number of management books and articles are devoted to the analysis individual...

The networking game: as business picks up after the European holiday season, some of our entrepreneurs find new relationships bringing a breath of fresh air to their operations while others struggle to communicate their message to the marketplace.(Entrepreneurs)
September 22, 2002... Out with the old, in with the new WordAppeal is a London and Paris-based online corporate communications consultancy. September is a very important month in France--the month of 'La rentree'. Pupils go back to school, the government...

The United States of Europe and America: a latter day Jonathan Swift offers his modest proposal for easing transatlantic tensions.(Letter from Boston)
September 22, 2002... First allow me to apologise in advance to Jonathan Swift. Two hundred years ago, the creator of Gulliver's Travels proposed that the English eat the Irish as a remedy to the two islands' seemingly intractable assortment of woes. But time and...

Keeping it in the family.(Did you know?)
September 22, 2002... The Samuel C. Johnson Family Enterprises have won the 7th annual IMD Distinguished Family Business Award, run in co-operation with Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie. Based in Racine, Wisconsin, the enterprises are widely known for market...

Investors urged to see financial virtues of 'vice'.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... A US firm has launched a 'socially irresponsible' fund which targets alcohol, gambling, tobacco and defence stocks. The Vice Fund has been set up by Dallas-based Mutuals.com. with the motto "when it's good it's very, very good... and when...

Are your firm's internal memos online?(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... The publisher of an American website that ridicules troubled companies has launched a new service showcasing the correspondence of executives and managers. InternalMemos.com is the brainchild of Philip J. Kaplan. The website contains about...

Beggar, sick of loose change, introduces minimum tariff.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... A beggar has introduced a minimum tariff for donations because he is fed up with people dumping their loose change in his box. The Bosnian beggar who lives in the Italian town of Ventimiglia now only accepts donations of at least one euro. He...

Researchers in the US have found that brand names engage the 'emotional' right side of the brain.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... Researchers in the US have found that brand names engage the 'emotional' right side of the brain. And their impact appeared to be greater when they were "writ large" in capital letters. The researchers tested how quickly and accurately 48...

The curse of charisma.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... A flurry of research casts doubt on the value of charismatic leadership. In the latest issue of the Harvard Business Review, Rakesh Khurana of Harvard Business School argues that firms appoint charismatic bosses because they tend to...

Workers waste up to a fifth of their salaries just doing their jobs.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... A typical employee spends [euro]5,135 a year on job-related costs--from looking smart to getting to and from the office, a survey in the UK has found. With the average salary at [euro]36,750, this equates to 20 per cent of 'take-home' pay....

Managers more likely to drop off.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... Researchers in Stockholm, Sweden, found the risk of falling asleep at work was greater for staff in senior positions. Membership of higher socio-economic groups was one of the biggest factors associated with sleeping at work, along with being...

Lego building corporate bonding.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... Some management consultants are specialising in running Lego sessions to meet demand. Lego Serious Play claims to be the first application of Lego for the serious world of adults at work. The aim is for staff to 'unlock their creative...

Seeing through the lies.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... People are bad at spotting liars because they look for the wrong signals, according to research presented to the British Association's annual science festival in Leicester. "People are really dreadful at detecting when someone is lying," said...

Managementspeak is one of the fastest-changing languages on the planet.(Did you know?)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2002... Managementspeak is one of the fastest-changing languages on the planet. Many of us in the corporate world secretly understand less and less of what is being spouted during meetings and in memos. The term 'neoteny' is the latest addition. Its...

News from EBF founders.
September 22, 2002... PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is active in developing new ideas for business and disseminating them through a variety of channels. Here are some recent initiatives: Global Building Public Trust: The future of corporate reporting. ...

CEMS DAY 2002. Official launch of the CEMS Master in International Management (CEMS MIM).(News from EBF founders)(Community of European Management Schools)
September 22, 2002... From Barcelona to Bergen and from Dublin to Warsaw. October 22nd will see CEMS celebrating the official launch of the CEMS MIM, the first truly European Master's degree. The CEMS MIM offers a select group of the best students of CEMS academic...