Management Today articles from June 2004

Management Today archives from June 2004

MT - Food, booze and big cheeses: These local barons wield power despite the march of the multinationals.
June 1, 2004... Trundling and lurching my way into work recently on the London tube, I found myself sitting opposite a poster, the headline for which read 'Fear the Pie!' This latest effort from the British Heart Foundation is designed to scare us into eating...

Contributors.
June 1, 2004... ANDREW PURVIS 'Food has never been so political,' says Purvis, author of Big Food and Drink Bites Back. 'Whether it's GM or McDonald's, people care about what they eat.' Purvis contributes to Observer Food Monthly and writes about travel...

In my opinion: Chartered Management Institute.
June 1, 2004... Chartered Management Institute companion Richard Bowker, chairman and CEO of the Strategic Rail Authority, argues for cultural integration Across the rail industry we need one kind of change more than any other: cultural change. The first...

The MT diary: Howard Davies.
June 1, 2004... A Parisian dinner with Jane Birkin and dash of intellectual diplomacy in Buenos Aires Centenary celebrations of the Entente Cordiale have come at a difficult moment in Anglo-French relations. That is appropriate in a way, as 1904 was also...

Brainfood: Ten ways to ... win contracts.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Get on the pitch list Ask detailed questions about the brief Understand the purchasing process Understand the purchasing people Know what the competition offers Have beautifully prepared case studies Coach your references on how to...

Brainfood: It'll never fly low-cost airlines.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Here's a really good idea: start an airline where you refer to your customers as 'cattle' and often treat them as such; where you give them a miserly baggage allowance of 15 kilos; where you fly to airports often tens of miles away from a city;...

Brainfood: Unlikely managers.(Michael Eavis)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... Festival organiser Michael Eavis, founder and organiser of the Glastonbury Festival When did you become a manager? I wasn't that involved with the festival when it first started. In 1979, the team started getting scared because...

Brainfood: Earning curve - War and reconstruction.
June 1, 2004... Amec/Fluor, Iraq water supply reconstruction contract pounds 600m Dick Olver, chairman-elect, BAE Systems, p.a. pounds 500k Geoff Hoon, Secretary of State for Defence, p.a. pounds 127,791 Mercenary, ex-SAS, p.a. pounds 50k-pounds 100k...

Brainfood: Workplace rights - Duty to ease stress.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Work-related stress, depression or anxiety accounted for an estimated 13.5 million lost working days in 2001/02, making this the largest contributor to ill-health absenteeism. Last year, a TUC poll revealed stress as the biggest single health...

Brainfood: Look after the pennies - Thunderflies are go.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Lateral thinking paid off for Shropshire fireman Anthony Derricutt. Changing his cat's flea collar one day, he wondered whether such accessories might solve a seasonal problem at work. Every summer, the station made numerous emergency call-outs...

Brainfood: Your route to the top calming the storm.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Don't take offence. People often don't mean what they say in the heat of the moment. Either let it pass or ask an open question that gives them a chance to put it in less emotive words. Avoid the caustic opener: 'It's 6pm and I still can't...

Brainfood: Wordsworth - Step change.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... In today's dynamic business world, announcing a mere change is not dynamic enough. What you need is a 'step change'. Don't believe me? Listen to any cabinet minister, senior police officer or business guru and you won't have to wait long to...

Brainfood: Are you suffering from ... Irritable desk syndrome.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Bet you haven't heard of deskologists, and bet you didn't know you were suffering from Irritable Desk Syndrome. According to researchers at NEC Mitsubishi, 67% of us feel tied to our desks. And 40% suffer from too much clutter, 35% manifesting...

Brainfood: We'd hate that job - England goalkeeper.(David James)(Brief Article)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... David James, goalkeeper, Manchester City FC What do you do? I usually play on a Saturday, have Sunday and Wednesday off, and do strength and conditioning work for the rest of the week, but my training schedule will change as I go into...

Brainfood: Remember this.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... If you have a job without any aggravations, you don't have a job' MALCOLM FORBES SAID IT 'Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned' MILTON FRIEDMAN SAID IT.

Brainfood: Sir Bill Morris - If i had to start again ..(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... A football manager would describe football as a game of two halves; well, I could describe my life in the same way. Up to the point I retired, I always said there was a cricketer in me trying to get out. I had my schoolboy dreams like most...

Brainfood: How she made her pile - Donatella Versace, Head creative director, Versace.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Who is she? The flamboyant sister of the late designer Gianni, Donatella owns 20% of fashion house Versace and is worth dollars 500 million. How did she make her millions? After modelling part-time for Gianni, she worked on his PR...

Brainfood: Us and them.(India )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... INDIA India has the world's second-largest population (1.025 billion), which is growing so fast that it's expected to overtake China by 2030. More than a third of its population are under 15. India also has the second-longest road network...

Brainfood: Speaking out - Mervyn King - Governor of the Bank of England.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... So after Steady Eddie, would it be a case of Swervin' Mervyn? It would have been nice to report that Sir Edward George's successor would differentiate himself by offering a little flamboyance, but it was not to be. King comes across as a safe...

Brainfood: How to get ahead in advertising.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... 1. Demonstrate a genuine passion for advertising and creativity. Get work placements and read Campaign every week. 2. Aim for top ad agencies like TBWA, BBH, WPP, McCann-Erickson, Abbott Mead Vickers, JW Thompson, Ogilvy Mather, Publicis,...

Brainfood: The slogan doctor - L'Oreal: because you're worth it.(Management Today)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... If you had a slogan that had worked for nearly 30 years, you'd need a good reason to change it. But that's what L'Oreal has done - and hardly anyone has noticed. In 1973, the New York office of the McCann ad agency came up with 'Because I'm...

Brainfood: Crash course in ... Succession planning.
June 1, 2004... One of your key managers has handed in her notice, but the person you had earmarked to take over has already jumped ship. The other candidates in the department are all duds. How could you do better in your succession planning? Put it in...

Brainfood: MT Masterclass - Shareholder value.(corporate finance)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... What is it? Shareholders invest capital, which company directors manage, generating profits. Some profits are reinvested, and some returned to shareholders as dividends. As the company flourishes, its share price rises, which means more capital...

Brainfood: Decisions Rod Aldridge - Capita Founder and CEO of the UK's biggest support services firm.
June 1, 2004... MY BEST... I was MD of CIPFA Computer Services when the opportunity arose to mount a management buy-out. MBOs from the private sector were unheard of at the time and this was charting new territory. Leading the MBO was a brave decision of...

Brainfood: Behind the spin - Shell.(Royal Dutch Shell Group of Cos. forced to cut proved reserves by 20%)
June 1, 2004... THE DILEMMA The Anglo-Dutch energy goliath has had a calamitous few months. For a company that includes 'honesty' and 'integrity' among its core values, its admission that it over-stated its oil and natural gas reserves (a crucial...

The bid to rescue WHS.(Bear Factory)
June 1, 2004... The instigators of the Permira proposition have a point, as well as a profit, to make Keith Hamill has resisted saying publicly: 'I told you so.' But his involvement in the takeover bid for WH Smith shrieks the sentiment as effectively as...

Real leaders just do it.
June 1, 2004... The drive for 'authenticity' is spreading to business, and much of this advice is guff Simplicity is the new sophisticated. The search for 'real' food, organic clothes, decluttered lives is driving demand for magazines with titles like...

Techno life.
June 1, 2004... Lewis Findlay, managing director of spread-betting company Cantor Index, takes advantage of the latest technology to ease his back pain. Short on time, he's aware that he doesn't get the most from his gadgets, so everything he learns is on a...

Books: The fear chain that binds suppliers to supermarkets.(Shopped: The shocking truth about British supermarkets)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... This book sets out in illuminating detail the abuses of power that occur in food retailing. It's a gripping read even for those not in the business, reports Craig Sams I have supped (with a long spoon) with supermarkets for nearly 30 years...

Books: Three of a kind - How to avoid the culture crunch.(Brief Article)(Bibliography)
June 1, 2004... Business Across Cultures Fons Trompenaars & Peter Woolliams Capstone pounds 12.99 Working Abroad - The complete guide to overseas employment Godfrey Golzen & Jonathan Reuvid Kogan Page pounds 12.99 Working with Americans Allyson...

Books: O'Leary left on the tarmac.(Ryanair: How a small Irish airline conquered Europe)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... A classic story, but it's a bit like Hamlet without the Prince, says Ray Webster According to our latest count, there are 54 low-cost airlines in Europe, or those masquerading as such. Some will survive; most will not. For budding...

Books: Forget management speak, learn verminicity.(The Way of the Rat: A survival guide to office politics)(Book Review)
June 1, 2004... Knowing the language of the sewer will help you win at work, according to this entertaining and un-PC book, says Cary Cooper Joep Schrijvers is a management consultant with the Dutch Employers Organisation, lecturing and writing about...

Books: On the bedside table of Ruth Spellman.(Sandcastle)(Brief Article)(Book Review)(Brief Review)
June 1, 2004... 'I'm reading The Sandcastle by Iris Murdoch. The book tells the story of schoolmaster Bill Mor, who lives a quiet life with his wife. Their life is disrupted when a young woman arrives at Mor's school to paint the headmaster's portrait. As...

Who's your Mister Big?
June 1, 2004... Britain's international business reputation may be in the hands of the FTSE giants, but a phalanx of independent business barons give the economy a healthy regional base. Emma de Vita reports, with additional contributions by Philip Beresford...

Outsourcing gets personal.
June 1, 2004... Delegation is an art you can apply to your private life, too. What kind of tasks can you afford to offload onto someone else? Rhymer Rigby offers a chore chart Charles Dunstone recently described using a private jet as his 'one inexcusable...

Big food and drink bites back.
June 1, 2004... For food and drink manufacturers, it has been a desperate 12 months. They face a tide of criticism about marketing methods and are accused of making children fat and creating a nation of binge drinkers. How are they rising to the challenge?...

The MT interview: Eric Nicoli.(Interview)
June 1, 2004... Dismissed by some as a biscuit-maker in a suit, with no knowledge of the entertainment business, the head of EMI brought an axe to its portfolio of artistes - and to the headcount. Now he leads an upbeat firm outdoing rivals in a battered...

MT Survey of surveys: Commercial property.
June 1, 2004... Rents are stable and money is pouring in, yet the key factors that make investing in this sector in Britain so attractive are under threat. David Lawson reports Suddenly, property is sexy. That might seem obvious from the way house prices...

MT business travel: Room service where David Morris stays ..(Dublin and Cape Town)
June 1, 2004... For business Dublin is a terrific city to visit. It's incredibly friendly and hospitable. I was recently there to attend some race meetings. As usual, I stayed at the Merrion Hotel. It's central, just off St Stephen's Green, so if you want...

MT business travel: On the road.(V50 Sportswagon 2.0D)
June 1, 2004... The V50 Sportswagon 2.0D helps dispel Volvo's reputation for making boxy, unsexy transport Sometimes, people choose cars for impressively arcane reasons. Years back, a schoolfriend's mum chose her Simca hatchback because of its clock,...

First-class coach.(employee counseling)(Column)
June 1, 2004... Q: I've just sold my small company to a large Plc group. I'm finding it hard to make the transition from entrepreneurial owner-manager to being someone who must answer to a board of directors and to shareholders. I'd like to increase my...

MT business travel: Frequent flyer - Nikesh Arora's guide to Cologne.
June 1, 2004... HOW TO GET THERE I normally fly from London Heathrow to Bonn, rather than Cologne, with British Airways. I fly economy class, but because I fly so often I sometimes get upgraded, which makes for a more relaxing flight. AIRPORT TO TOWN...

What's your problem?(employee counseling)(Column)
June 1, 2004... Q: I joined my company over a year ago. My line manager left on maternity leave and her assistant resigned. I was promoted to acting manager, which I've been doing for a year. However, they are now dissolving my original role, and my line...

The finalists in service excellence.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Here are the finalists in the six categories that make up the Unisys/Management Today Service Excellence Awards for 2004 - 18 businesses and organisations that have demonstrated the highest determination to serve their customers. The panel...

MT business lifeforms: The fast-tracker.(Paul Morris - junior marketing executive at Beckett & Bramble)(Biography)
June 1, 2004... Paul Morris, junior marketing executive, Beckett & Bramble In all the world of Beckett & Bramble, can there be anyone less loved than Paul Morris? He slinks in early, latest-model laptop under his arm, nasty suit rustling with an eagerness...