Management Today articles from April 2009

Management Today archives from April 2009

Editorial: Are you experienced?
April 1, 2009... There's a sense abroad that we could all do with a dose of good old-fashioned wisdom at the moment. Some common sense, born of experience, might help us come up with sound ideas to get out of the mess we find ourselves in. So, this month,...

Chartered Management Institute: In my opinion.
April 1, 2009... Ian Smith, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, warns that the recession will test the quality of UK management. When writing a commentary on a recession, one of the worst things that can happen is that the recession turns out...

The MT Diary.
April 1, 2009... Broughton in for the long haul; Pandit's road to recovery; Merv shops on bond street. It's not much fun running any sort of business in a galloping recession, but in the past year managing airlines has been a special challenge. The...

Don't you believe it ... recession can be managed.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Over the past 18 months, much time, effort and money has gone into attempts by both politicians and businesses to resolve the financial crisis. The benefits have been marginal, at best. Whether you're a world leader or the boss of a...

Do it right: Pricing in a downturn.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Don't be slash-happy. Price is supposed to reflect the value of what you're offering, so indiscriminate discounts can make it seem like a cheap commodity. And you don't want punters getting a taste for those low prices. Find another way....

Slogan Doctor: KFC - 'Finger Lickin' Good'.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... It disappeared for many years, but KFC's venerable slogan is back, at least in Britain. 'Finger Lickin' Good' was revived last year in a new ad campaign by BBH, featuring finger-painted pictures of KFC products, from popcorn chicken to...

Critical List.(revenue of Eastman Kodak Co.)
April 1, 2009... KODAK These are negative times for the US photographic equipment manufacturer Kodak lost dollars 137m in the fourth quarter of 2008, then it announced it was sacking 4,500 people - 18% of its workforce. And the developing picture looks no...

Decisions: John Timpson, Timpson, Chief executive of the shoe-repair chain.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... MY BEST... The other fantastic decision was made in the late 1980s when we were growing fast. The Sock Shop and others were floating at fantastic price/earning ratios, and people were making a lot of money. We were going to be next. We...

Ten ways to ... Use twitter.(Brief article)(List)
April 1, 2009... 1. Drive users to your website 2. Search for customers' opinions 3. Promote offers 4. Highlight industry news and research 5. But don't just brag about successes 6. Get involved in the community 7. Inject some personality 8. Network...

Suffering from ... moral disengagement?(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The papers are full of stories of bosses paying themselves six figures while thousands of employees risk losing their jobs. Bernie Madoff faces 150 years in prison, yet hardly seems overwhelmed with remorse. This is because he and the...

Why business is like ... Hitchcock's Vertigo.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... When Vertigo was released in 1958, The New Yorker described it as 'far-fetched nonsense' and Time magazine lamented 'another Hitchcock and bull story'. The critical mauling led to poor box-office returns, and Hitchcock took the film out of...

Earning curve: Retirement.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... UK economy, contribution from 60 to 80-year-olds, p.a. pounds 59bn Roger de Haan, sale of Saga Group ('04) pounds 1.35bn George Foreman, ex-boxing champ, aged 60, salary ('07) pounds 120m Sir Fred Goodwin, RBS retirement package,...

Words-worth: Bonus.(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... A bonus is a good thing - or meant to be, etymologically speaking, at least. The word is Latin, though not correct Latin: the word for 'good thing' is not bonus but bonum, which also means wealth, benefit, profit, etc The mistake was made...

Workplace rights: 65 not out?(Age Concern)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... The UK's age-discrimination laws controversially allow employers to force staff aged 65 or older to retire. Age Concern brought a legal challenge, arguing that this was not permissible under EU law. The recent judgment of the European Court...

Your route to the top: Create a can-do spirit.
April 1, 2009... Get together. Research shows that a strong sense of purpose improves employee engagement and performance, as well as organisational success. Create a shared purpose in the form of a mission statement and your team will work better together. ...

Stat of the month: Pipe dreams shattered - pounds 195bn.(deficit in final-salary pensions)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Total deficit in UK final-salary pensions This unfeasibly large figure dwarfs both the annual NHS budget (pounds 100bn) and the UK's spending on education (pounds 81bn). It's more than five times the pounds 37bn that the country will...

If I had to start again ... Sir Roy Gardner.
April 1, 2009... At school, I wanted to be a professional footballer. I had trials at QPR, but, fortunately, I didn't make the grade. If I did, I wouldn't have had the career I've had. And I wouldn't want to go back and be a footballer now. I didn't...

How experience failed us.
April 1, 2009... The banking meltdown reveals a failure of old hands to curb youthful excess. We need a new template for more diverse leadership. What's age got to do with it?, as the amazing Tina Turner might have sung as she strutted her stuff in gold...

Books: St Vince calm in the tempest.(The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What It Means)(Book review)
April 1, 2009... There's no political point-scoring in Cable's slim book on the global economic meltdown - just a cool, timely analysis of how it happened, says Tim Harford. The Storm: The world economic crisis and what it means Vince Cable Atlantic...

Fresh strategies for the big fightback.(business management during a recession)(Discussion)
April 1, 2009... In association with Towers Perrin, MT invited seven business wiseheads to a round table debate on the nature of our economic predicament and how it should be confronted. Matthew Gwyther: The subject of this round table is the recession....

If I were chancellor for the day ..
April 1, 2009... From free bacon butties to cutting corporation tax - MT grants absolute financial power to six UK leaders, and elicits some interesting policies, finds Emma de Vita. SIR HOWARD DAVIES, DIRECTOR, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS The first...

Untangling the crisis.
April 1, 2009... The Great Recession was brought on by the implosion of the global financial system. But what triggered this collapse? GILLIAN TETT unravels the Gordian Knot that made catastrophe inevitable. The good news is that lessons can be learned. ...

Things my boss taught me.
April 1, 2009... Survival lessons from leaders who have proved themselves, presented by Helen Kirwan-Taylor and Emma de Vita. Even the very successful were young and inexperienced once. They, like the rest of us, floundered and made mistakes, learning...

What's work really for?
April 1, 2009... The prosperity of the past decade has left too many of us with unrealistic expectations about what our daily efforts should bring. We look for both money and meaning. But now recession is upon us, says Alain de Botton, maybe we should relax...

Motor Mouth.(Product/service evaluation)
April 1, 2009... Funkily designed and fun to drive, the Vauxhall Insignia smartly shakes off its dodgy Vectra inheritance, says Sathnam Sanghera. I realise the sentiment is unusual, right up there alongside fancying Simon Schama, feeling pity for Fred...

Table Talk: Where Jon Holmes eats ..(Arbutus)(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... I like to challenge people to take me to restaurants I haven't tried, and they don't often succeed. Somebody once said that there can't be many people who have had as many business lunches as me. They're probably right. Arbutus is a busy...

What's your problem?
April 1, 2009... Q: I work as an events organiser and although I accepted the job in the knowledge that it would eat into my own time, I'm finding the increased demands outside of office hours difficult. Since redundancies were made last month, I've been...

What's your problem?(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Q: I have a suspicion that a colleague is logging on to my computer and looking at my confidential correspondence with clients. There have been a number of incidents in the past couple of weeks where it's obvious that he can only have known...

What's your problem?(Brief article)
April 1, 2009... Q: My company has offered all staff the chance to work reduced hours or take unpaid leave as a way to cut costs. I'm tempted to take advantage of this, not least to spend more time with my two young children, but I'm worried that management...

First Class Coach.
April 1, 2009... Q: The family firm I work for has never made anyone redundant in its 30-year history, but now we're having to, and it's me who has to do it. How should I go about it? A: My sympathies: redundancies are always painful, since they involve...

The Sharp End: Meat in the sandwich.(working in Subway Sandwich Shops Inc.)
April 1, 2009... In the lunch-hour rush at Subway, Dave Waller's filling skills are put to the test. Time to slap on a have-a-nice-day smile as I join the team at Subway, feeding the workers of London with mutant foot-long sandwiches. It's 11am when I...