Management Today articles from November 2008

Management Today archives from November 2008

No contrition in the city.
November 1, 2008... Conducting the interview with the ex-Lehman Bros banker for our Black September feature was a chastening experience. Several points struck me during our Canary Wharf lunch. First, anybody who thinks the City is going to co-operate willingly...

Contributors.
November 1, 2008... Finally, an MT regular in the House of Lords. That doesn't mean our editor is up there dazzling the peers with his shirts - rather that Baroness Kingsmill joins us as a columnist. Her wide experience includes deputy chair of the Competition...

In my Opinion: Chartered Management Institute.(Judith Isherwood)
November 1, 2008... A high-performing board is vital for eliminating short-term thinking, argues Judith Isherwood, CEO of the Wales Millennium Centre and a Chartered Management Institute Companion. The turmoil in the global economy and the spectre of a...

The MT Diary.(Viewpoint essay)
November 1, 2008... The reckoning for Reykjavik; watch those bubbles burst; mystery brief for Mandelson. Late in 2000, my wife and I spent a long weekend in Buenos Aires - as you do. We had one free evening, and the friendly neighbourhood ambassador...

Ten ways to ... market in a downturn.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... 1. Remember, it's an investment 2. Don't cut the budget.. 3.... but do your sums 4. Find the growth markets 5. Measure returns where you can 6. Reward loyal customers 7. Target recession-proof custom 8. Integrate the different...

Don't you believe it ... monthly accounts help you to manage.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... As the banking crisis deepens, you may be using your monthly management accounts as the basis for tough decisions. Beware. They hide more than they reveal. Management accounts ignore commercial logic. It says 'marketing costs' on the...

Dave's eco-nomics: Recycle your kit.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... GREEN ALERT Gadget-users are slaves to upgrades, kitting the team out with the latest mobiles or boosting a fleet of PCs so that they don't puff as they process. But as well as consuming vast amounts of energy to run (Gartner reckons...

Earning curve: Physics.(physicists)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Bryan May, guitarist/astrophysicist, estimated wealth: Pounds 75m CERN, UK contribution to Large Hadron Collider, p.a.: Pounds 34m Albert Einstein, merchandise income ('07): Pounds 9m Vincent de Rivaz, chief exec, EDF UK, p.a.: Pounds 600k...

Workplace rights: Downsizing dangers.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... With the UK teetering on the brink of recession, another 'r' word is on everyone's lips... redundancy. Economic forecasts are predicting widespread job cuts and higher unemployment in 2009. Employers planning large-scale layoffs should tread...

History lessons: Image counts - Kennedy vs nixon.(John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Richard Nixon)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... In 1960, Democratic senator John Fitzgerald Kennedy was campaigning for the presidency of the US. Though young, attractive and smart, he faced an uphill fight - would voters accept a Roman Catholic of Irish descent as president? In September...

Your route to the top: Brave conversations.
November 1, 2008... Stand up and be counted. Research shows that those with the courage to speak out are listened to, respected and rewarded. Dare to have the conversations that others shy away from. Get ready. Prevent difficult conversations from becoming...

Why business is like... a forest fire.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Five thousand acres of California's San Fernando Valley were ablaze last month, whipped up by the warm Santa Ana winds whistling through the canyons. Every year, forest fires destroy tens of millions of acres, consuming up to 1,000 acres an...

Do it right: employment disputes.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Avoid them. Steer clear of nasty disputes by treating your staff fairly and consistently and establishing clear policies on pay and disciplinary and grievance procedures. Hardly rocket science. Nip it in the bud. If an employee has a...

Slogan Doctor: Lidl - 'Where Quality Is Cheaper'.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Budget supermarket chain Lidl is famously down-to-earth, and this slogan expresses its values perfectly. Devised internally, and used for the past four years, it consists of just four words, each doing an important job. 'Where' brooks no...

How does he manage? Tattooist - Darryl Gates, owner-manager, Diamond Jacks.(Interview)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... - When did you become a manager? I used to be a computer programmer. I got my first tattoo at 18, and started helping out here about 11 years ago, in my late twenties. After an apprenticeship at another place, I was offered a job here. I...

Remember This.(quotations)(Quotation)
November 1, 2008... 'The basis of optimism is sheer terror.' - Oscar Wilde said it 'For myself, I am an optimist. It doesn't seem much use to be anything else.' - Winston Churchill said it. -------------------- Did you find this article useful? Why...

Are you suffering from: Money Disorder.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Do you get anxious just thinking about money? Do you spend too much or not at all? Do you practise financial infidelity (eg, not telling your spouse about your spending and then hiding the receipts)? Do you think you should enjoy your...

Words-worth: Toxic.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The word 'toxic' has become ubiquitous. The financial crisis has introduced us to 'toxic loans', 'toxic debts' and 'toxic assets', while politics is awash with 'toxic briefings', 'toxic language' and 'toxic' personalities. And you might find...

Stat of the month: Financial freefall - Pounds 340bn - Value lost by FTSE-100 firms, 10 Sep-10 Oct.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The City awoke on 10 September to a FTSE-100 sitting pretty at 5,366.2 points - worth pounds 1,279.8bn. The mood was relatively, if still tentatively, upbeat: since the American bail-out of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, perhaps the worst of the...

How he made his pile: Tony O'Reilly - Food and media magnate.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Who is he? A 72-year-old former Irish rugby international turned baked-bean baron and media mogul. He's worth pounds 954m. How did he make his millions? After a glowing rugby union career, O'Reilly joined the Irish Dairy Board as general...

If I had to start again: David Davies.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... I've been a football fan for more than 50 years. In 1993, the FA offered me the role of director of public affairs. My football friends said I wouldn't put up with it longer than three months. I left 12 years later, having become executive...

Crash Course in ... Entertaining in a downturn.
November 1, 2008... Christmas is coming, and it's time to organise the staff party and think about which clients you're going to wine and dine. But, hang on, maybe that's not going to look too clever with doom all around. Is it time for a wholesale re-think of...

Masterclass: Corporate turnaround.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... What is it? 'Buy when there is blood in the streets,' advised Baron Philippe de Rothschild. He was alluding to the fact that economies and markets recover, even from the worst recessions. Firms can be turned round too. That is the good news....

Decisions: Garvis Snook - Rok - Chief executive of the 'nation's local builder'.(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... MY BEST... I'd long thought about this and came up with a theory that if you really care about those who do the work, you should make them feel valued and, in turn, expect them to deliver a great service. That's win-win. In 2001, I...

Behind the spin: Land of leather.(Wasteland of Leather)
November 1, 2008... THE DILEMMA Wasteland of Leather, more like. The home-furnishings company has suffered an 87% drop in annual profits, saying its pre-tax profit for the year to 3 August was pounds 2.3m, down from pounds 18.5m a year ago Total sales fell 3%...

Navigating the board.
November 1, 2008... MT welcomes a distinguished new columnist who dispenses advice for those brave enough to take on a non-executive role. I didn't know what being a NED entailed when I took up my first plc directorship in the early 1990s. I'd been persuaded...

Books: Is Buffett beyond criticism?(The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life)(Book review)
November 1, 2008... This is as close to an autobiography as the stock market maestro's fans will get, says an admiring John McLaren. But some awkward questions go unasked... If Gordon Brown has had a good war with his wheeze of sticking bucket-loads of our...

Books: Where does Google go now?(Planet Google: How One Company is Transforming Our Lives)(Book review)
November 1, 2008... We couldn't imagine life without it, but after a decade at the top, is there trouble on the horizon for the ubiquitous search engine? John Naughton lauds an expert view. Few companies become so embedded in our culture that they change the...

Books: An Orwellian vision of neuromarketing.(Buy-ology: How Everything We Believe About Why We Buy is Wrong)(Book review)
November 1, 2008... Brain-scanning as the key to understanding consumer motivation? Cilla Snowball prefers the intuitive approach. Buy-ology: How everything we believe about why we buy is wrong Martin Lindstrom Random House pounds 17.99 As Martin...

Books: Three of a kind - What's new in the innovation game?(Brief article)(Recommended readings)
November 1, 2008... The Truth About Innovation Max McKeown Prentice Hall pounds 10.99 Creativity Unlimited Micael Dahlen John Wiley pounds 19.99 The New Age of Innovation CK Prahalad and MS Krishnan McGraw-Hill pounds 16.99 ...

Books: Drowned out by wisecracks.(Don't Be Needy Be Succeedy: The A to Zee of Motivitality)(Book review)
November 1, 2008... Comedian Neil Mullarkey wields a relentless schtik on stage as a spoof life coach, but does his act stand up on the page? For Peter York, it's just an alphabet soup. Don't Be Needy Be Succeedy: The A to Zee of Motivitality L Vaughan...

The MT Interview: Andy Bond.(Company overview)
November 1, 2008... With his whippet-like energy, Asda's boss is a tough operator who doesn't like to lose (especially at arm-wrestling). He enjoys a respectfully distant relationship with US parent Wal-Mart and is relishing the prospect of taking the bargain...

One week in September.(Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.)
November 1, 2008... The collapse of Lehman Brothers only weeks ago triggered the most dramatic financial crisis in a generation. As the business environment gets more hostile by the minute, Andrew Saunders looks at what happened, what's next and how we might...

Why mood matters.
November 1, 2008... A leaders' attitude is highly contagious, so you'll need to lift yourself in order to lift others. David Bolchover reports. It's Monday, winter is rapidly approaching and the radio is buzzing with the latest story of recession, redundancy...

Craftsman's renaissance.
November 1, 2008... Demand for well-designed and finely made things was enhanced during the boom. But leaner times won't spell the end for the craft professionals if they reach out to find new customers, says Emma de Vita. Climb the Acropolis to the Parthenon...

Britains Most Admired Companies: How to survive and thrive in a challenging market.
November 1, 2008... The best-managed companies adapt quickly to hard times and establish a lead that they hold onto in the recovery too. But what separates these high-performers from the rest? DAVID MANN, head of management consulting, Accenture UK and Ireland,...

Feel The Strategy: Leaders must engage hearts as well as minds.
November 1, 2008... When it comes to delivering big corporate ideas, a dash of inspiration is worth more than a thousand impenetrable spreadsheets, says Stefan Stern. The following scene took place in a crowded meeting room in London a few weeks ago. Around...

Britain's most admired companies.(Awards list)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The winners of the 2008 Britain's Most Admired Companies awards will be revealed exclusively in December's MT. Which company and leader will win the acclaim of their peer group in these prestigious corporate awards? The top contenders are...

Motor Mouth.(BMW M3)(Product/service evaluation)
November 1, 2008... The BMW M3 saloon's engine can do 200 million calculations a second, but Sathnam Sanghera finds this car fun as well as clever. I was recently asked whether I consider myself to be British or Asian and, after a short pause, replied that I...

Table talk: Where Tom Stiles eats..(Venturi's Table Corporate Cookery Centre)(Restaurant review)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... I was looking for a way to bond with a team of Chinese partners, and Venturi's Table struck me as a perfect idea. It worked out brilliantly. You walk in and it's like you're on the set of a TV cooking show. It's this beautiful professional...

What's your problem?(hostile work environment)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Q: Management recently decided to run an art exhibition of employees' works in the office. I thought long and hard about entering a painting I'd been working on during an evening class, and which I was quite proud of. I've since overheard...

What's your problem?(employee promotions)
November 1, 2008... Q: I have been working happily for the past seven years at a small training company as a trainer. I was doing so well that they promoted me six months ago to manager of a team of four people, but I hate it. I thought I was cut out for...

First-class coach.
November 1, 2008... Q: I'm in my thirties and a senior manager in a large corporation. I've never led people in a downturn before and I'm finding it a bit of a challenge. The loss of morale, the impending redundancies and the increased direction that my staff...

The Sharp End: Down on the pig farm.
November 1, 2008... The gruesome secrets of hog-breeding are revealed to a wide-eyed Dave Waller. This finger has been up thousands of pigs' arses. These are the words of my taxi driver, who's proudly showing off his pioneering digit. Turns out he used to...

Green Business Awards: Introduction.
November 1, 2008... ENDS and Management Today are immensely proud to introduce the winners of the Green Business Awards 2008. This is a critical time for business, caught between economic uncertainty on the one hand and climate crisis on the other. These...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Large Company - Winner Eurostar.
November 1, 2008... If any company has benefited from increased environmental awareness among consumers and regulators, it's Eurostar. The cross-Channel rail operator has successfully capitalised on being a lower-carbon mode of transport than flying. Through...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Micro-organisation - Winner dcarbon8.
November 1, 2008... Growing consensus on the need for large carbon reductions across the economy is fostering a business-focused branch of carbon consulting and dcarbon8 is a small but innovative player in this sector. The 10-strong company is a specialist in...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best SME - Winner HJ Berry & Sons.
November 1, 2008... For a company with only 85 staff, furniture maker HJ Berry & Sons has developed a remarkably holistic approach to sustainability. The company is committed to creating a positive contribution environmentally, socially and economically. At...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Industrial or Manufacturing Company - Winner HJ Berry & Sons.
November 1, 2008... Furniture-maker HJ Berry is hardly in the manufacturing big league. Yet it processes nearly 2,000 cubic metres of hardwoods annually and faces the same issues as larger industrial firms with materials, processes, waste and energy. The...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Energy Company - Winner Dalkia.
November 1, 2008... Schools are challenging places to make environmental improvements. Energy services firm Dalkia developed a sustainable energy supply contract with North Somerset Council for its 82 schools that has successfully shown how key problems can be...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Environmental Business - Winner Green-Tech.
November 1, 2008... In Britain's competitive market for growing media (the substrate or compost used for growing plants), environmental issues have long been important, notably in the long-running controversy over the use of peat. Increasing numbers of...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Transport or Travel Business - Winner Explore.
November 1, 2008... Adventure travel operator Explore has put responsible travel at the core of its business. Its initiatives include educating staff and clients about the merits of environmental awareness and supporting sustainability in its 500-plus holiday...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Construction or Property Business - Winner King's College London.
November 1, 2008... A research-led university, whose academic ranking is among the highest in the world, King's College London also manages a lot of buildings, some of them historic. In 2003, the college appointed an environment manager responsible for...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Business Services Company - Winner DG3 Europe.
November 1, 2008... DG3 Europe, the European division of global print and communications group DG3, aims to put environmental responsibility at the heart of its business strategy. In the past year, the company has focused on obtaining environmental...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best financial business - Winner The Green Insurance Company.
November 1, 2008... Some companies start with huge environmental ambitions but then fail commercially. Others have more modest environmental ambitions but get their business model right, grow swiftly and go on to make a tangible difference. The Green...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Consumer Goods or Retail Company - Winner McCain Foods.
November 1, 2008... As the UK's largest producer of frozen chips, McCain Foods is one of the most recognisable consumer brands on the market. The family-owned firm aims to put sustainability at the heart of its business and has engaged in long-term efforts to...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best Overall Environmental Performance - Winner InterfaceFlor.
November 1, 2008... Modular flooring company InterfaceFlor, a division of US carpeting multinational Interface, is widely recognised as one of the world's greenest firms. The company launched a Mission Zero programme in the mid-1990s, aiming to become the...

Green Business Awards 2008: Best New Product - Winner Nu-Phalt.
November 1, 2008... UK roads, pavements and car parks are marked with potholes and other surface defects. Traditional repair methods are costly and create substantial waste, noise and air pollution. Warwickshire-based Nu-Phalt has developed an alternative...

Green Business Awards 2008: Highly commended and shortlisted.(Awards list)
November 1, 2008... ACCESS ACCOUNTING Highly commended - Best New Product Access Accounting sticks to its motto that you can't manage what you can't measure. In February, the business and accounting software house launched a module enabling businesses to...