Management Today articles from June 2009

Management Today archives from June 2009

Editorial: It's hair shirts all round.
June 1, 2009... A year ago, the last place Richard Atkinson thought he would wind up was on the cover of MT. Now he's there for all the wrong reasons. The former business development manager for a West Country marketing consultancy lost his job in January when...

In my Opinion: Chartered Management Institute.
June 1, 2009... Ian Reynolds, a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, urges leaders to remember that change is needed in good times as well as bad. It's a paradox that the more successful your organisation becomes, the harder it is to change....

The MT Diary.(Management Today)
June 1, 2009... On yer Velib, Boris; Manhattan perks up; Darling buds of May; finance boffins lose out. A weekend in Paris, like nostalgia, is not what it used to be. But is it worse than a weekend in London, with every other street dug up and gloomy...

Don't you believe it ... the fD can manage cashflows.(finance department)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Many businesses are feeling the squeeze on cash, and relying on their finance department to help. They're looking in the wrong place The first step in solving a cashflow squeeze is to get rid of the idea that it's the finance department's job....

Do it right: Negotiate with suppliers.(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Do what you must. The big supermarkets may attract vitriol for squeezing dairy farmers by the udders, but in a sink-or-swim predicament, you have no choice but to cut costs. Just be open with suppliers about your reasons. Give them time....

Slogan Doctor: ITV1: 'the brighter side'.(ITV Network Ltd. ITV1)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... ITV1's slogan, the first it has used in 10 years, is part of a brand campaign designed to articulate what the channel stands for: in its own estimation, 'the most entertaining, upbeat, optimistic programming in the UK'. That might fit Britain's...

Critical list: Tiscali.(Tiscali A/S)
June 1, 2009... What a tangled web the Sardinia-based ISP has woven since the glory days, when it was one of Europe's biggest internet providers. Surfing the Noughties wave of economic prosperity and the massive growth in broadband use allowed Tiscali to...

Remember This.(Quotation)
June 1, 2009... 'A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business' - Henry ford 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: Hilary devey, pall-ex group, Founder of the pounds 100m palletised distribution network.(Interview)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... MY BEST... It's my best decision because, right from the start, absolutely everything was crystal-clear. I didn't mismanage their expectations, and vice versa. We all knew what was expected of each other. Another good decision was in...

Ten ways to ... cut human error.(Brief article)(List)
June 1, 2009... 1 - Check your processes 2 - Train people properly 3 - Set time-frames realistic to tasks 4 - Allow for regular breaks 5 - Instil a sense of pride in the work 6 - Spot mistakes before they happen 7 - Check everything 8 - Accept you...

Suffering from ... Hubris syndrome?(politicians' conduct )(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... We all know that politicians believe their own myth, but it's only recently that scientists have been able to prove it (and publish their results). All that posturing, narcissism and limelight-hogging is now considered a psychiatric disorder...

Why business is like ... parenting.(management styles)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Interfering parents may have their beloved offspring's best interests at heart, but their instincts can be counterproductive. In the 1950s, pediatrician Donald Winnicott argued that 'good-enough' parenting was better than 'perfect' parenting....

Earning curve: Fish.(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Fish farming, global value, p.a. pounds 55bn Black-market fishing, global value, p.a. pounds 17bn UK fish-and-chip sales (Jan-Nov '08): pounds 717m Nobuyuki Matsuhisa, founder, Nobu sushi chain, earnings p.a. pounds 3.4m JA Rutherford,...

Words-worth: Out of the box.(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... 'It's an out-of-the-box, left-field type of a deal,' said an analyst about the dollars 7.4bn acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle in April. But what is this box that we are always encouraged to think outside? 'Box' is an Old English word,...

Workplace rights: Captives of industry.(taking executives as hostages)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... France has witnessed an extraordinary wave of 'bossnappings' - workers taking company executives hostage - this year. Dating back to the rebellious days of 1968, the practice is proliferating as more French workers face business closures and...

Your route to the top: Nurturing survivors.(handling corporate reorganizations)
June 1, 2009... Say it straight. For the survivors of a restructure, one question matters: what happens next? When sharing details of the new way, be candid ('sadly, things can't be as they were') and clear ('the new structure looks like this'). Be prepared to...

Stat of the month: Bangers and cash.(finance of the automobile industry)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... EUR5bn - Total cost of Germany's car scrappage scheme Following huge demand from drivers, the German government has had to increase funding of its car scrappage scheme from an expected EUR1.5bn In the first two months of the scheme, 1.2...

How he made his pile: Michael Bloomberg, Financial data tycoon and politician.(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Who is he? The 67-year-old founded financial information group Bloomberg and is one of New York's most popular mayors. He's believed to be worth dollars 16bn. How did he make his billions? A partner at Salomon Brothers, he was fired when...

If I had to start again ... David Bull.
June 1, 2009... I wouldn't do anything radically different. You won't get rich working for a charity, but you get rich experience. I've travelled to 58 countries, from earthquake emergencies to Darfur and Kosovo; and I've met grandmothers looking after 18...

Crash Course in ... communicating in the recession.
June 1, 2009... The recession has left you reeling from one crisis to the next. And everyone - the newspapers, suppliers, your customers and your own people - wants to know what's going on. You could bury your head and talk to nobody, but you sense that's not...

MT Masterclass: Succession planning.(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... What is it? The graveyards are filled with indispensable men, it is sometimes said. Even if the remark is ironic, it reminds us that managers who are here today may be gone tomorrow - to a rival business, into retirement, or to the great...

How to fail successfully.
June 1, 2009... Bouncing back after personal setbacks is a necessary life lesson, but failures on the scale of the banks' cannot be tolerated. Failure. There is a lot of it about these days. Personal and public, individual and corporate, the stories of...

Books: Did it really go so smoothly?(A Book About Innocent: Our Story and Some Things We've Learned)(Book review)
June 1, 2009... The runaway success of Innocent is an inspiring tale indeed, but then there's that Coca-Cola stake. William Kendall wonders what the founders were thinking. A Book About Innocent: Our story and the things we've learned Richard Reed and...

Books: So who needs a business model?(Winners and Losers: Creators and Casualties in the Age of the Internet)(Book review)
June 1, 2009... This author claims that the most original entrepreneurs of our time had no plan. An interesting idea, says John Naughton. Winners and Losers: Creators and casualties of the age of the internet Kieran Levis Atlantic Books, pounds 25.00...

Books: Three of a kind - Take charge of that project.(Recommended readings)
June 1, 2009... Manage Projects Successfully A&C Black pounds 6.99 The Project Manager's Book of Checklists Richard Newton Pearson Prentice Hall pounds 12.99 The Handbook of Project Management Trevor L Young Kogan Page pounds 29.95 ...

Books: Insights of the Den's diva.(Book review)
June 1, 2009... Deborah Meaden exploits her television fame in the most constructive way with this practical guide for would-be entrepreneurs, reports Alastair Dryburgh. Common Sense Rules - What you really need to know about business Deborah Meaden...

Books: Self-doubts of an ad genius.(King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the Making of Modern Advertising )(Book review)
June 1, 2009... This biography of David Ogilvy captures the paradoxes of a charismatic pioneer whose outer confidence hid a fretful uncertainty Review by Jeremy Bullmore. The King of Madison Avenue: David Ogilvy and the making of modern advertising...

Join the queue.(unemployed workers)
June 1, 2009... Unemployment has hit 2.2 million and it's getting worse. Unlike the previous recession, white-collar workers are bearing the brunt. But who are the people behind the statistics? EMMA DE VITA spent a day at Bristol's main job centre unearthing...

The MT Interview: Richard Caring.(Interview)
June 1, 2009... Over 40 years, he cornered the UK fast-fashion market, supplying 70% of the clothes sold by his pal Philip Green and other retailers. In a late change of tack, he built a portfolio of blue-chip clubs and iconic restaurants. Now, recession or...

The Hidden Dangers of Target-Setting.
June 1, 2009... Obsessively chasing ill-conceived goals can be bad for your corporate health - as bosses at Northern Rock, the NHS and Merrill Lynch can attest. Organisations need a healthy diet of consistent excellence, not the sugar-high of quick wins, says...

How the Celtic Tiger lost its teeth.(Ireland's economy)
June 1, 2009... For 20 years, the Irish economy was the most dynamic in Europe. But now the country faces mass unemployment and a budget deficit that will take a generation to clear. What went wrong? Alan Ruddock reports. It was a bitterly cold morning...

Travel Economy.
June 1, 2009... Thanks to the recession, budgets for planes, trains and accommodation are being slashed as never before. The good news is that technology is on your side, and you give the planet more breathing space. Rhymer Rigby finds the way to go in this...

Mobile working: The best biz gadgets.(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... One thing we've learned from this recession is that things can change fast. Stay productive and in the loop wherever you are with this pick of the latest technology, by Nick Renshaw of Stuff magazine. BLACKBERRY BOLD Price: pounds...

Motor Mouth.(Citroen Grand C4 Picasso and the Fiat Multipla. )(Product/service evaluation)
June 1, 2009... Fiat's Multipla has had a facelift and Sathnam Sanghera could just about bring himself to check it out - strictly for a friend, of course. Sometimes it's important to consider those less fortunate than ourselves. The residents of Walsall,...

Table talk: Where Christina Domecq eats ..(Umu)(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Umu has the most amazing sushi - it's the best in London. It tastes really good and they are quite creative with it. They'll mix different ingredients into the sushi so it's not just traditional salmon. They will have dishes like foie gras...

What's your problem?
June 1, 2009... Q: I'm a senior manager within a branding agency and would like to know how to get successful, optimistic people to be realistic without damaging their motivation and confidence. A: I assume that the problem that's prompted this question is...

What's your problem?(Brief article)
June 1, 2009... Q: I need to make a handful of redundancies in my retail supply business. I'm finding it a very difficult process, and in several instances have to choose between one person's skill and knowledge and another person's can-do attitude but little...

What's your problem?
June 1, 2009... Q: I'm in conflict with our company's communications manager. I head a division in a large multinational and believe that the best way to manage my staff right now is to be as open and honest as possible But our comms manager wants me to couch...

First-class coach.
June 1, 2009... Q: I am joint MD of a small firm and although I get on well with the other MD, we have very different styles. He's very directive, but he can be a bit of a bully as well. He sees me as sometimes being too soft, and while it's true I don't like...

The Sharp End: The pawnbroker's chain.
June 1, 2009... Beneath the golden balls sign, Dave Waller views this arcane trade through a lupe. Two to one you won't get your stuff back. So goes the old pawnbrokers' joke to explain the three golden balls hanging over their doorway. I don't like those...