Management Today articles from July 2009

Management Today archives from July 2009

Editorial: Our Best List of Heroines Yet
July 1, 2009... Observant readers will notice I'm the only male featured on this page. July is traditionally our women's special, with the announcement of our 35 Women Under 35 list, and we have as many female contributors in this edition as we could...

Contributors.
July 1, 2009... JOANNA PITMAN - 'The incentive culture of banking is here to stay,' says former Times Tokyo correspondent Pitman in her feature on bonuses this month, 'but that's not such a bad thing.' The busy freelance author took time out from her coverage...

Chartered Management Institute: In My Opinion
July 1, 2009... Dr John Roberts, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, wishes leaders would see how going green makes good business sense. Too many managers are failing to get to grips with the environmental challenge. This is bad for business....

The MT Diary: Spain Encapsulated
July 1, 2009... Spain encapsulated; thanks for all the fish, St Petersburg; RBS recruits as Beijing revives. Travelling on a British passport is less fun than it used to be. We're starting to understand how Americans felt under George W, or Italians do now,...

Don't You Believe It ... Hanging on to Customers Is Good
July 1, 2009... In tough times, most firms try even harder to hold on to existing customers and to gain new business on the best terms they can. But the right thing to do may be exactly the opposite. In a harsh market, it's vital to be highly selective about...

Do it right: Jazz up your CV.(curriculum vitae)(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... Be concise. A stand-out CV doesn't mean a novella about how great you are. Keep it brief, to the point and fuss-free; aim for just two pages No-one cares about your life story, apart from your parents. Don't rely on bullet-points. You may...

Slogan Doctor: YouTube: 'Broadcast Yourself'.(YouTube Inc.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... YouTube's slogan, conjured up by founders Steve Chen and Chad Hurley, was introduced in late 2005, shortly after the site's launch. Replacing a dull line - 'Upload, tag and share your videos online' - it taps into the impulses of an...

Critical List: Royal Mail
July 1, 2009... Prospects for the Royal Mail are far from first-class these days. Hamstrung by decades of political vacillation over whether to privatise it or not, it has been left dangling as competition in the postal market has been opened up. Neither...

Remember This.(Quotation)
July 1, 2009... 'I never trust a man unless I've got his pecker in my pocket' - Lyndon B Johnson said it. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please call 08451 55 73 55 for more information or visit...

Decisions: Fredericks Dairies - Frank Frederick, MD of the Pounds 40m Lancashire Ice Cream-Maker
July 1, 2009... MY BEST... I inherited a small business from my father - a shop and a few ice cream vans. In the early '80s, I bought a big automated choc-ice machine to supply the supermarkets with own-label 10-packs. That was my best decision because that...

Ten ways to ... deal with flak.(List)
July 1, 2009... 1. Don't take it personally .. 2.... but do take stock: are the jibes fair? 3. Act on them only if they are 4. Don't rush to respond 5. Use it as a chance to self-examine 6. Change what doesn't work 7. Celebrate what does 8. Thank the critic for...

Suffering from ... Reward Deficiency Syndrome?(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... This term was coined to describe an affliction of addicts, but it explains the behaviour of many of our top bankers and politicians. We all like things that feel rewarding: great food, wine or sex; but for some members of the population,...

Why business is like ... The Roman Army.(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... As the famous Monty Python question goes, 'What have the Romans ever done for us?' Well, aside from sanitation, roads and aqueducts, it seems we might do well to follow their business model too. A military analyst in the 4th century noted:...

Earning curve: Horse racing.(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... Betfair's total global revenue for 2008 - pounds 240m. Winnings of Patrick Veitch, UK's top turf gambler - pounds 10,049,983.03 Price of world's most expensive colt, Green Monkey, 2006 - pounds 6.3m Prize money, Aintree Grand National...

Words-worth: Analyst.(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... No business-page story is complete without a quote from an analyst, second-guessing what's going on inside a company. An analyst in this sense is an investment expert, whose job is to examine the figures before making buy or sell...

Workplace rights: Blacklisting outlawed.(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... The Government plans legislation to prevent trade unionists being denied employment as a result of covert blacklists. This follows an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) into a secret database of 3,200 workers, used...

Your Route to the Top: Make a Graceful Exit
July 1, 2009... Talk before you walk. It's usually line-manager behaviours, such as performance management and inspiration, that sap staff commitment. If your reason for leaving is that you feel undervalued and bored, a courageous conversation with your manager...

Stat of the month: All guns blazing.(military spending )(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... Pounds 914bn - Global military spending in 2008. News of a sector's buoyancy during economic turbulence is usually met with approval, but when the industry is defence, good cheer can be harder to muster. Global military spending rose by 4% in...

How he made his pile: Joaquin Guzman, Drugs Baron.(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... Who is he? One of the world's most wanted men, the 52-year-old Mexican, aka 'El Chapo', has made it onto Forbes' rich list. As head of the Sinaloa drugs cartel, his ill-gotten gains have netted him about dollars 1bn. How did he make his...

If I Had to Start Again ... Lord Lamont
July 1, 2009... I would like to try something different, so I might be a barrister. Miscarriages of justice make me angry, and it would be satisfying to stand up for people against the whims of fashion and public opinion Also, I think the life at the Bar is...

Crash Course in ... Building a Portfolio Career
July 1, 2009... You're feeling jaded with your corporate career and want a bit more variety in your working life. The idea of mixing a number of roles in a portfolio career intrigues you, and with the employment outlook uncertain, this is a good time to see...

MT Masterclass: Remote Working
July 1, 2009... What is it? Would Reggie Perrin have cheered up if he hadn't had to perform his daily commute? That's the question devotees of remote working might ask. Spending hours of your life travelling to and from a depressing office is a waste of time...

Death of the Worker Bee
July 1, 2009... Apiary colonies are collapsing through stress, and the same fate threatens recession-hit execs. Should we rethink our attitude? The honey bees are dying. Across the world, these social little creatures whose sophisticated colonies play a...

Books: Signs on the road to failure.(How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In)(Book review)
July 1, 2009... Jim Collins offers a sequel to Good to Great for our apocalyptic times. It's an enjoyable read, says Julian Birkinshaw, but don't use it as your map to success. How the Mighty Fall: And why some companies never give in Jim Collins Random...

Books: Priceless insights into a digital world.(Free: The Future of a Radical Price)(Book review)
July 1, 2009... Chris Anderson explains how the economy is turning normal commercial thinking on its head. Roger Parry is intrigued. Free: The future of a radical price Chris Anderson Random House pounds 18.99 Anderson is an excellent writer and...

Books: Three of a kind - Handle the press with confidence.(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... Can I Quote You on That? William Essex Harriman House Publishing pounds 44.99 Manage the Media William J Holstein Harvard Business Press pounds 11.99 Online Public Relations David Phillips and Philip Young Kogan Page pounds 19.99 ...

Books: Life and soul of the party.(Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World)(Book review)
July 1, 2009... The modest HSBC chairman delivers a stunning tour de force analysis of the state of the world. Just don't expect a blueprint for action Review by John McLaren. Stephen Green is a terrific person to sit beside at a dinner. Entertaining,...

35 Women under 35: Heroines for Hard Times
July 1, 2009... The current recession is bringing out the steel in this year's list of 35 women under 35 - the youngest of whom is just 19. Top of their field, they excel in every sector, from commercial real estate to cosmetics. Our high achievers are unafraid...

The MT Interview: David Nicholson
July 1, 2009... It's hard to imagine anyone with greater commitment to the National Health Service than its present CEO, an NHS lifer who has gone from communist footsoldier to champion of managerial change. He is unfazed by the role's vast responsibilities -...

Bonfire of the Bonuses
July 1, 2009... It's now clear that huge 'performance' payouts - which encouraged bankers and company bosses to chase risky mega-deals - played a major part in the financial crisis. Businesses need new means of incentivisation that motivate effectively and...

FDs Take the Tiller
July 1, 2009... As companies retrench, the buccaneering age of dealmaking bosses is passing. Boards are favouring seasoned money-managers to steer the corporate ship safely through rough seas. The search for realistic, risk-averse leaders is good news for FDs,...

Supermarkets Branch out into Banking
July 1, 2009... Britain's biggest retailing chains aim to exploit their close relationship with customers by offering them a full range of banking services, cashing in while trust in high street banks is at a low ebb But, asks Sarah Butler, do they really have...

Wish You Were There?
July 1, 2009... Farming out whole departments such as customer services to cheaper locations abroad has long been a way for companies to cut costs and gain efficiencies. But the choice goes way beyond Bangalore. Ian Wylie suggests some unlikely new outsourcing...

Motor Mouth
July 1, 2009... Taking the pounds 200k Ferrari Fiorano F1 to a literary festival - as you do - draws unexpected admirers, Sathnam Sanghera discovers. Last month, I reviewed two people-carriers, an experience so lowering that I arranged to borrow a top-of-the...

Table Talk: Where Jeff Turnas eats ..(Prince Regent)(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... The Prince Regent on Gloucester Road, south-west London, is a lovely pub that doesn't serve the pub food you might expect. It has a great atmosphere and the service is always excellent Helpfully, it is near both my home and my office in...

What's Your Problem?
July 1, 2009... Q: I work for a law firm. Over the past six months, three of our biggest clients have asked us to re-pitch. We've done this and easily won the work, but the strain and effort are exhausting the team and taking up valuable client time. As a...

What's your problem?(Brief article)
July 1, 2009... Q: The large pharma company I work for offered me the chance to work in the Paris office for a year. I thought it would be good for my career to get some international experience, but after three months I'm hating it. My French colleagues are...

What's Your Problem?
July 1, 2009... Q: I work for a large financial services firm in the City. I've missed the first couple of rounds of redundancies but I'm not confident I'll still be in my job at the end of the year. Quite a few of my colleagues have taken positions in New...

First-Class Coach
July 1, 2009... Q: Before my maternity leave I loved my job, and my work was just about the most important thing in my life. Since the birth of my son last year and my return to work, I've felt extremely dissatisfied. My priorities have changed but also,...

The Sharp End: Waterway Maintenance
July 1, 2009... Aboard the narrowboat Hanwell, Rhymer Rigby helps declutter a London canal. Inspiration is where you find it. A few weeks ago, I was cycling along one of London's less salubrious backwaters and saw a British Waterways maintenance boat hoiking...