Management Today articles from March 2009

Management Today archives from March 2009

Contributors.
March 3, 2009... ROGER PARRY Times are tough for business leaders, and there's no instruction manual for running a company board. So we asked Parry for his take on how to be a chairman. A veteran himself, chairing several firms, including Media Square and...

There is no time for despair.
March 3, 2009... You're can't attend any gathering these days - dinner party, conference or bus shelter - without hearing the Fourth Estate receive a good kicking. I attended a conference last month at which the media took a savage shoeing from a senior ad man...

Chartered Management Institute: In my Opinion.
March 3, 2009... Gideon Franklin, a Chartered Management Institute Companion and a managing director at Mizuho International plc, argues that the Japanese ability to cope with shocks offers lessons for UK leaders. Japanese people thrive on shocks. Japan...

The MT Diary.
March 3, 2009... Can Walker fix the boardroom?; Chinese PM gets shoe'd; Putin's personal iron curtain. Well, that'll learn David Walker not to write smart letters to the newspapers. He dropped a line to the Financial Times in December about banks' boards...

Do it right: Managing team morale.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Don't be a downer. The times may demand a 'state of the nation' address, but remember to promote your achievements. Tap into the spirit of what makes your company tick, and turn concerns into grounds for excitement. Be open. If you don't...

Slogan Doctor: Thomas Cook - 'Don't just book it, Thomas Cook it'.(slogan of Thomas Cook Airlines UK Ltd.)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Old slogans may live on in people's minds but they rarely come back. But here's an exception. Thomas Cook's slogan was created in 1984 by ad agency Wells Rich Greene and used successfully until 1993. But last year the travel agent conducted a...

Don't you believe it ... in a downturn, discounting works.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... You've probably long since recovered from Christmas by now, but many retailers haven't. Even those who avoided the fate of Woolworths, Zavvi, Land of Leather et al and remained in business had little reason for festive cheer. The frenzy of...

On the Slab: Waterford wedgwood.
March 3, 2009... After six years of operating losses, the Anglo-Irish tableware manufacturer went into administration in January with debts of EUR450m Until then, it had been bankrolled to the tune of EUR400m via a series of rights issues by its non-exec...

Remember This.(Quotation)
March 3, 2009... 'The engine which drives enterprise is not thrift, but profit' - John Maynard Keynes said it -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why not subscribe to the magazine? Please call 08451 55 73 55 for more information or...

Decisions: John Woodward - Busy Bees Group; Co-founder and group chief executive of the nursery chain.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... MY BEST... At the time, our investors were very circumspect, because childcare vouchers were taxable, but I believed that this might change. We were lucky - the Government made them non-taxable in 2005, and we became the largest voucher...

Ten ways to ... ride redundancy.(Brief article)(List)
March 3, 2009... 1. Be prepared for it 2. Know your rights 3. Negotiate the best deal 4. Remember: it's no slur on your ability 5. Allow yourself to be upset 6. Take some time out to regroup 7. Work out how it can be a good thing 8. Put yourself...

Suffering from ... Reality Readjustment Disorder?(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Do you find it intolerable that your firm has cancelled all corporate gym memberships? Was having your BA gold card downsized to silver like being punched in the stomach? If so, you are in the early stages of Reality Readjustment Disorder....

Why business is like ... an ant colony.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The UK is on the verge of an ant invasion - Lasius neglectus is marching across Europe and heading our way. These ants may look like their British cousins but operate in super-colonies a hundred times larger. In the recent BBC series Swarm,...

Words-worth: Bankrupt.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Technically, only a person can be 'bankrupt', but that hasn't stopped the word being applied lately to everything from the banks to the country. It has been used since the 16th century, when Henry VIII brought in bankruptcy laws. In those days,...

Workplace Rights: Foreign matters.(compensation of foreign workers)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... The recent dispute at a Lincolnshire oil plant raised pertinent questions about employment rights in a global economy. The refinery granted a construction contract to an Italian firm, which sent its own staff to work on the contract, rather...

Your Route to the Top: managing change.
March 3, 2009... Start with yourself. Consultant William Bridges says: 'It isn't the changes that do you in, it's the transitions.' In other words, problems lie not in the new role or structure but in how you adjust. The better you manage your own transition,...

Stat of the month: Downturn hits dubai - Dollars 80bn - Dubai's National Debt.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Insuring Dubai's sovereign debt would cost almost as much as insuring Iceland's. With oil revenues down, the emirate's reliance on finance and a tottering property sector makes it more exposed to economic peril than its less ostentatious Gulf...

How he made his pile: George Soros, Hedge-fund manager.(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Who is he? The 'man who broke the Bank of England' in 1992. Soros also predicted the current economic collapse. He's 78, and worth dollars 11bn. So he's all right, then. How did he make his billions? Having survived the Nazi occupation of...

If I had to start again ... Josephine Fairley.
March 3, 2009... I'm a world-class shopper, and would have loved running a shop where I could sell things I've found all over the world. But I have a leaf-in-the-wind approach to work. I'm very open to other people's ideas of what I can do. I never planned to...

Great Escapes.(investment management)
March 3, 2009... As the financial cyclone was silently gathering, six self-made entrepreneurs plotted their exit - and slipped away with a massive payoff. Was it judgment or jamminess, asks Rhymer Rigby. What it is to have timed it just right. We all know...

Programmed for recovery.(business recovery )
March 3, 2009... Smart CIOs realise that there's a lot more to surviving a downturn than cutting costs and waiting for the storm to pass. A bold IT strategy can boost productivity today as well as laying the foundations for growth when the upturn comes. Paul...

MBA & Business Education Guide: Spring 2009 - Your mini MBA.(Excerpt)
March 3, 2009... You can get your fix of high-quality business inspiration without spending two years back at school. This shortcut to business brilliance is offered by Richard Reeves and John Knell. We know you're busy. Too busy to read many of the...

MBA & Business Education Guide: Spring 2009 - Back to school?
March 3, 2009... Many MBA providers report a rise in demand for their courses as executives, fearful for their employment prospects in a downturn, seek to boost their credentials and market value. But will the better jobs be there? Philip Delves Broughton seeks...

Motor Mouth.(Product/service evaluation)
March 3, 2009... In an executive sector where every car resembles the BMW 3 series, the Citroen C6 is magnifique, says Sathnam Sanghera. In January's MT, I reviewed the revamped Mercedes ML, remarking that in the current environment, acquiring a big,...

Table talk: Where Rob Shreeve eats ..(The River Cafe)(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... For about 10 years, I ran the publishing wing at Virgin, based on the top floor of Richard Rogers' building in Hammersmith, above the River Cafe. As tenants, we were part of the family, and I used to go there three times a week. It's just...

What's your problem?
March 3, 2009... Q: Until recently, I had a lucrative career as an IT consultant But since the beginning of the year, my earnings have all but dried up. I'm anxious about the situation, but my wife, who is an HR director, has been able to go from working...

What's your problem?(Brief article)
March 3, 2009... Q: My colleague is always late in the office in the morning. My boss turns a blind eye, but I'm fuming because it's always me who has to pick up the work he doesn't get done. He's oblivious to the comments I make on his tardiness, and I'm just...

What's your problem?
March 3, 2009... Q: I'm a graphic designer just out of university. I've been pitching for work and getting constantly rejected without being told why. I'm now demoralised and also incredibly frustrated, as I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. Is it okay for...

First-class coach.
March 3, 2009... Q: I've got quite a senior role but have been told I won't progress in the organisation because occasionally I get angry when I see people doing stupid things. Since I only do it when others are making mistakes, I don't see why I should be...

The Sharp End: Car sales crash course.
March 3, 2009... Combing his Swiss Toni quiff, Dave Waller rattles round a Cornish forecourt. With the car industry apparently heading for the scrapheap, it's time I gave this ailing sector a jump-start by selling a few motors. I can see it now: 'Check out...