Management Today articles from May 2005

Management Today archives from May 2005

Editorial: A turnaround and a dead end.
May 31, 2005... In the late 1980s, I spent a few days on the road with a Heinz salesman. He drove his beans, baby food and sandwich spread samples around independent chemists and small supermarkets south of Manchester, but one of the places he was not allowed...

Chartered Management Institute: In my opinion.
May 31, 2005... Chartered Management Institute Companion Ann Chant, director general, HM Revenue & Customs, argues that CSR should be a two-way partnership. The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained common currency over the past 20 years...

The mt diary: Howard Davies.
May 31, 2005... Cracked mirror of Aussie press and politics; hell over the Pacific; my old pen pal Flight. It's not surprising that the Australians have a jaundiced view of the Poms. A week's concentrated exposure to the Sydney and Melbourne press gives...

Brain Food: Ten ways to ... retire gracefully.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Plan in advance for your life after work Be diligent in your handover Hold a big farewell party to celebrate Take a holiday as soon as you leave Put your plans into practice on your return Remember it will affect your...

Brain Food: It'll never fly - Porsche 911.(Ferry Porsche )(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... If you wanted to create one of the world's most enduring sports car icons, would you start with a VW Beetle? That's what Ferry Porsche did with the very first Porsche 911 in 1963. From the bugeye headlights at the front to the overhanging,...

Brain Food: How does she manage? - RNLI station manager - Janet Kelly - Tower Pier, London.(Royal National Lifeboat Institution)(Brief Article)(Interview)
May 31, 2005... When did you become a manager? In 1979 when I became a police sergeant. I joined the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in September 2001. What does management mean to you? It means bringing together the wonderful full-time and...

Brain Food: Earning curve - Medicine.(medical personnel compensation)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
May 31, 2005... pounds Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO, GlaxoSmithKline ('04) 2.4m GP, practice partner, average earnings, p.a. 100k Hospital consultant, basic pay, p.a. 24.6k-34.5k Locum staff...

Brain Food: Workplace Rights - Transfer talk.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... After years of agonising, the Government is reforming the law protecting employees' rights when the business for which they work changes hands. The legislation is known as TUPE - pronounced 'chew pea' - (Transfer of Undertakings...

Brain Food: History Lessons - Publicity Pays - Henry J Heinz.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Where would we be without our baked beans or ketchup? Heinz owes its revered place in the hearts and minds of students and fry-up fans to its 19th-century founder, whose approach to self-publicity broke the mould. Desperate to spread the...

Brain Food: Your route to the top - How to be trusted.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Keep surprises to a minimum - even nice ones. Better to give hints beforehand, otherwise people will always be wondering what you are going to spring on them next. Be careful. When there's an ethical choice, ask for advice or err on the...

Brain Food: Speaking out - Gavin Neath, chairman, Unilever UK.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... 'How to attract, retain and develop top talent' is a bit of an old chestnut at management conferences. Usually, speakers ignore the title and say what they want to say. Not so Gavin Neath. He stuck to the brief from the organisers of 'MT...

Brain Food: Business manners - At the job interview.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Dress appropriately. The first 30 seconds are critical, so make sure your appearance fits the bill. A sharp suit and haircut will boost your confidence, and subtle details - natty accessories, shoes, umbrella - get you noticed. Stay cool....

Brain Food: Slogan Doctor - Coca Cola: Life tastes good.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Some Coca-Cola slogans have been memorable; others less so. On the one hand, 'Coca-Cola Adds Life' and 'Things Go Better With Coke'; on the other, 1908's 'The Satisfactory Beverage' and the recent 'Life Tastes Good'. Launched in 2001 as...

Brain Food: We'd love that job - Theatre director.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Tim Supple 'The Cosmonaut's Last Message', Donmar Warehouse, London What do you do? I create an event in the theatre, which means that I often choose the play, but not always. I conceive of the approach to putting it on stage with my...

Brain Food: Are you suffering from affluenza.
May 31, 2005... The symptoms are subtle at first: although the used Alfa Romeo once felt like a Ferrari, it now doesn't quite cut it at the firm's garage. After all, your colleagues have all moved on to Porsches, so why should you be any different? Then...

Brain Food: Words-worth - Ethical.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... In the era of the 'ethical' business, it's no longer sensible to see 'ethics' as the name of an English county. The word comes from the Greek for character and acquired its current meaning - the professional morality of individuals,...

Brain Food: Remember this.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... 'Buy what's deliverable, not what could be' - MICHAEL BLOOMBERG SAID IT 'Failing is good as long as it doesn't become a habit' - MICHAEL EISNER SAID IT.

Brain Food: Mike Harris - If I had to start again ..(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... I would not stay as long as I did with my first big company, and perhaps not as long as an IT specialist. I joined Midland Bank in 1972 when I was only 22 and left 14 years later, by which time I'd become responsible for all systems development...

Brain Food: How she made her pile - Delia Smith - Superchef and a director of Norwich City FC.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Who is she? One of Britain's wealthiest cookery writers and TV chefs - famous for teaching simple recipes for success in the kitchen. She is also majority shareholder of Norwich City FC, where she recently made the headlines for her rowdy...

Brain Food: Us and them - Morocco.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Morocco gained independence from France in 1956. Agriculture and the extractive industries are the backbone of its economy - the country is the world's largest exporter of phosphates - although manufacturing and services are increasing in...

Brain Food: Crash course in ... Multi-channel marketing.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... You've just launched an e-commerce site, and the hits are mounting fast. But your field sales team worry that it will put them out of a job, and most customers seem to browse online then call the call centre to complete the sale. Time you got...

Brain Food: Masterclass - Diversity.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... What is it? 'Let a thousand flowers bloom,' said Chairman Mao, long before the days of gardening makeover shows. The phrase sums up the ethos of diversity - even if, as with Chairman Mao's cultural revolution, the rhetoric might cover up a less...

Brain Food: Decisions - Bruce Chizen Adobe Systems, CEO of The Global Software Company.
May 31, 2005... MY BEST... Staying with Adobe despite having decided to leave. I joined Adobe in 1994 and stayed because of the environment, the culture and the people. Then in 1997/98 the company started getting ugly: there was infighting, it...

Brain Food: Behind the spin - Morrisons.
May 31, 2005... THE DILEMMA The recent fortunes of Bradford-based supermarket chain Morrisons are like a day-old Yorkshire pudding - it started out all golden and fluffy, but soon deflated into a sodden mess. After the pounds 3.3 billion takeover of...

One hell of a marriage.
May 31, 2005... The struggle for control at Morgan Stanley highlights a flaw in the US system. That mergers and takeovers rarely add value to companies is a widely accepted view. Proponents of the macho acquisition theory of business development argue...

This time it's personal.(globalization)
May 31, 2005... When manufacturing job are lost abroad, we shrug; when it's service jobs, we flinch. Tom Wolfe, the greatest contemporary chronicler of status anxiety, captures in his latest novel, I am Charlotte Simmons, both edges of the globalisation...

Techno Life: Government CIO Ian Watmore.(Chief Information Officers)
May 31, 2005... Government CIO Ian Watmore keeps both his professional and his personal life under strict control thanks to two laptops - one each for business and pleasure. At home, he has a chic Mac G5 for video editing and watching television, but pride of...

Books: Living the Japanese dream.(Book Review)
May 31, 2005... This is a revealing account of company life in Japan by a freewheeling Irishman who bought into its stifling paternalism. Jonathan Head wonders how he stood it. The Blue-Eyed Salaryman Niall Murtagh Profile pounds 16.99 MT price pounds...

An economist in pursuit of pleasure.(Book Review)
May 31, 2005... Abstractions are not the usual grist of these specialists, and this one has barked up the wrong tree, says Stephen Bayley. Happiness Richard Layard Penguin pounds 17.99 MT price pounds 15.99 To order, visit www.mtmagazine.co.uk ...

Books: Three of a kind - Transform the way you think.(Brief Article)
May 31, 2005... Mind Laundry Gerry Kushel Thorogood pounds 12.99 To this end, tasks are designed to make you think about what you want out of life, including a slightly morbid exercise on what you'd like your epitaph to say, plus advice on how to...

Books: And the winner is ... an Irish bagel seller in Edinburgh.(Book Review)
May 31, 2005... A stand-up comic who sees the funny and touching side of service provision; and a guide for those who'd like to share a builder with Madonna. Henry Stewart reports. Inconvenience Stores Mark Bradley Ardra Press pounds 9.95 Home UK...

The MT Interview: Justin King.(Management Today)(Interview)
May 31, 2005... Youthful, vigorous and self-assured, Sainsbury's CEO has made a difference to the sickly supermarket chain after just a year in the seat: strong leadership, better staff morale, even grudging approval from the City. Everything flows, he says,...

Make waste pay.(Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
May 31, 2005... Britain's rubbish mountain threatens to overwhelm us. Will new legislation to make the producers responsible turn the tide? Andrew Saunders investigates. Things are changing in our dustbins. Forty years ago, we were simple folk and so was...

Buyer's guide to Business Psychology.(Buyers Guide)
May 31, 2005... With its promises of enhanced productivity and smarter decision-making, the brain workout market is booming. But when it comes to choosing the right type of mental exercise for your organisation, the options can seem bewildering. David Butcher...

EA goes to the movies.(Electronic Arts)(Company Profile)
May 31, 2005... Electronic Arts may be the major player in the video games world, but is it really serious about taking on the giants of the home entertainment business? Rhymer Rigby reports. Electronic Arts grabbed the headlines earlier this year when it...

IT on tap.
May 31, 2005... Being able to buy computer capacity like electricity, as and when needed, has powerful appeal, but how feasible is it at present? Mark Vernon reports. The deregulated utilities market can be confusing. It's quite possible these days to buy...

Rising Star Award: Fast-trackers fight it out.
May 31, 2005... It's crunch time as the finalists in the DDI Rising Star Award (in association with MT) are stress-tested to find 2005's most promising future leader. Alexander Garrett reports. A business park on the edge of Slough seems a dangerous place...

Business Travel: Frequent Flyer - Georg Unger's Guide to Vienna.
May 31, 2005... HOW TO GET THERE - I fly with Austria Airlines or BA to Vienna International Airport. Ryanair flies to Bratislava, 40 miles from Vienna. AIRPORT TO TOWN: Taxis take 20-30 minutes and cost about EUR30. The City Airport Train takes 16...

Business Travel: Room service where Diana Parker stays ..
May 31, 2005... FOR BUSINESS: I visit New York regularly, and had been staying in large but impersonal hotels until my secretary discovered Chambers. It's a modern boutique hotel just a few blocks from the Withers office on Park Avenue. The first noticeable...

Business Travel: On the road.(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 31, 2005... The re-engineered Mercedes A-class has bounced back from the elk test failure of its predecessor. Mercedes-Benz is going through a tough time. Not only are profits down, but it has been producing cars of such poor quality that its staple...

What's your problem?(employee management solutions)
May 31, 2005... There is not the remotest chance of keeping your job application quiet, so don't even think about it. Q: I work in the small world of architecture, where loyalty is prized After five years at my present firm, I'm looking to move on. My...

First-Class Coach.(management tactics)
May 31, 2005... If you look and sound like a critical parent, you are likely to provoke a childish response. Q: I've inherited a team of 15 people. Their previous boss was lenient and turned a blind eye when they failed to do what they'd promised or...

Business Lifeforms: The MBA student.(Master of business administration degree)
May 31, 2005... Miles Knight hopes that a part-time degree course will bring full-time wealth. In case you didn't know, Miles Knight is doing an MBA at LCE. Yes, after 10 glorious, thrusting years as a consultant (plus an ill-advised foray into...