Management Today articles from September 2005

Management Today archives from September 2005

Public-sector challenges.
September 1, 2005... Leighton's kind of itchy-footed pluralism is becoming ever more common. A minor coup for MT this month. For as long as I've been editing this magazine, we've been on the trail of Britain's busiest businessman, a guy with fewer windows in...

Contributors.
September 1, 2005... RON CONDON With a degree in French and Spanish, Condon decided the logical area to join was computers. But after concluding that IT was better as a spectator sport, he switched to journalism and has been covering the industry ever since....

MT agenda.(Management Today)
September 1, 2005... Much more than just a magazine, MT also organises awards, breakfast seminars, dinners, parties and round-table discussions with our corporate sponsors and associates. Here, we look forward to the editorial and events planned for the coming...

Chartered Management Institute: In my opinion.
September 1, 2005... Chartered Management Institute Companion Patrick Dunne argues that good judgment is the key to executing a successful business strategy. Fantastic! 'You liked her then?' 'You bet, brain the size of a planet and charming as hell. She's going...

The MT diary: Howard Davies.(Management Today)
September 1, 2005... Turnbull's chip off an old block; Gordon's hatchet man; what is worrying Mervyn King? It was the end of an era. Tony Blair, John Major, Margaret Thatcher, Geoffrey Howe, Nigel Lawson, Norman Lamont and Ken Clarke were all on hand to mark...

Brainfood: Ten ways to ... blow the whistle.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 1, 2005... Keep personal grievances out of it Talk to friends before you do anything Consider possible outcomes, even your exit Don't exaggerate your allegations Do it in your own time, not your employer's Don't be ashamed of what you're doing...

Brainfood: It'll never fly the tie.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... What is the secret of the much-maligned necktie? It's only real function is to give hot-headed bosses a means of throttling their staff, yet it survives in the arid desert of men's accessories - even after WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell praised MT's...

Brainfood: How does he manage?(St Alfege with St Peter's C of E Primary School)(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... Head teacher Lee McAuliffe St Alfege with St Peter's C of E Primary School, Greenwich When did you become a manager? I qualified in 1998 and taught under a head who believed in sharing authority. She made me a team leader in...

Brainfood: Earning curve - Accidents.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
September 1, 2005... WC Weldon, CEO, J&J (manufacturer of Band-Aid), p.a. pounds 3.2m Richard Harvey, group CEO, Aviva insurance ('04) pounds 1.2m Stella Liebeck, McDonald's coffee spill award ('00) pounds 285k Roger Holmes, CEO, St John's Ambulance, p.a....

Brainfood: Workplace rights - For old-timers' sake.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The biggest employment law reform in a generation is a step closer, following the publication of draft legislation outlawing ageism in the workplace. From October 2006, unjustified discrimination on grounds of age will be unlawful in all areas...

Brainfood: History lessons.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... AGGRESSIVE TAKEOVERS BOUDICCA What might today's manager learn from the blade-wielding, ballbreaking ancient British queen (aka Boadicea)? Well, when it comes to aggressive takeovers, the modern-day executive can take some tips from...

Brainfood: Your route to the top - Find work/life balance.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Blur the boundaries. Treat work as part of your life, not a separate entity. Manage expectations. Be clear and honest with people upfront if you're going to be working late. If it means you need to say no to something, say it, rather than...

Brainfood: Speaking out.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... DR MICHAEL LYNCH CHIEF EXECUTIVE, AUTONOMY Michael Lynch's speech at a recent management awards ceremony showed that a bit of self-deprecation can get the audience on-side. After an unsteady start, he questioned the logic of being...

Brainfood: Business Manners - Ready for the trade show.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Set your objectives. Trade shows are a fountain of opportunity for wheeling and dealing, so decide what you want to achieve. You don't want to go home having failed to make that sale or meet that important contact. Plan your slots...

Brainfood: Slogan Doctor Pedigree: It's a dog thing.(advertising)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... For a long time, Pedigree Chum was the dog-food that top breeders recommended - or so its slogan said. But breeding and showing are not what dogs mean to most owners. Pedigree's current global campaign (it has ditched the Chum) belatedly...

Brainfood: We'd love that job.(Brief Article)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... RALLY DRIVER GUY WILKS SUZUKI What do you do? I compete in the World Rally Championships, a huge circus of metal that visits 16 countries from January to November. Events involve three days of dodging trees and rocks, pitting man...

Brainfood: Remember this.
September 1, 2005... 'Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life' CONFUCIUS SAID IT 'Dream, diversify - and never miss an angle' WALT DISNEY SAID IT,

Brainfood: Are you suffering from false authority syndrome.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The term was originally coined for IT experts whose knowledge of computers was more basic than they let on. One minute they were fixing the office computer, the next they were being asked to treat viruses and develop software that normally...

Brainfood: Words-worth.(system)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... SYSTEM Few words add such marketing glamour as 'system'. Shampoo has been elevated to a 'hair care system', while a sharp blade and some soap has become a 'shaving system'. The idea is to confer technological sophistication on the mundane....

Brainfood: Professor Henry Mintzberg - If I had to start again ..
September 1, 2005... I could have been a journalist - I wrote a sports column in my college newspaper. Indeed, some people would say that I've become a journalist - I know I have academic colleagues who think I write things (like my book Why I Hate Flying) that I...

Brainfood: How he made his pile.(Sean Combs)(Brief Article)(Biography)
September 1, 2005... SEAN COMBS HEAD OF BAD BOY ENTERTAINMENT Who is he? Also known as Puff Daddy, Puffy and P Diddy, he is a rapper, record producer, label boss, fashion designer, marketing company chief, restaurateur and J-Lo's former squeeze. His Bad...

Brainfood: Stat of the month - Sex discrimination - 1:33 the ratio of women to men exec directors in the FTSE-100.(Financial Times and the London Stock Exchange)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... Thirty years after the Sex Discrimination Act, UK plc is still captained overwhelmingly by men. Only one FTSE-100 CEO is female, and for non-executive directors the picture is only marginally rosier - women make up 13% of NEDs (99 out of 749)....

Brainfood: Crash course in ... developing future leaders.
September 1, 2005... In the war for talent, identifying and nurturing the bright young things under your nose is not just a strategic manoeuvre, it's your lifeblood. Fail in this and your most promising people will achieve their potential elsewhere, leaving...

Brainfood: MT Masterclass.(Management Today, sustainability)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... SUSTAINABILITY What is it? Wouldn't it be nice if the 'take it, make it, throw it away' economy could be transformed into something less destructive, something that might actually last into the next century and beyond? Welcome to...

Brainfood: Decisions - Christopher Foyle Chairman of Foyles - Owner of the London Bookshop and joint CEO of Air Foyle.
September 1, 2005... MY BEST... When I started Air Foyle, I remained in touch with my aunt Christina (who ran Foyles). Six days before she died in June 1999, she invited me to see her at her country house, where she promptly made me director of Foyles. On her...

Brainfood: Behind the spin.(Volkswagen AG)
September 1, 2005... THE DILEMMA The titillating hookers 'n' bribes scandal that engulfs VW is much more than just an embarrassing glitch in the firm's history - it has shaken the very way Germans do business. In June, allegations were made that VW had bribed...

Challenging chairmen.
September 1, 2005... Boards would do better to select an outsider for the top role, rather than a chum. Those who complain that the top ranks of British business remain an old boys' club can no longer include the chairmanship of Pearson in the accusation. The...

Life in the melting pot.(Britain, multiculturalism)
September 1, 2005... We need an honest debate about the benefits and costs of a multicultural society. Britain prides itself on peaceful multiculturalism. By international standards, our race relations have long been harmonious, in spite of high levels of...

Techno life.(gadgets of an executive, SpinVox)(Interview)
September 1, 2005... Christina Domecq, co-founder and CEO of SpinVox, is a 28-year-old serial entrepreneur who started her first business aged 20. Launched last year, SpinVox's service converts your voicemail messages into text and sends them to your mobile. A...

Books: Cracking the glass ceiling.(A Woman's Place is in the Boardroom)(Book Review)
September 1, 2005... This book makes a valiant attempt to explain why women still struggle to reach the top. But, says Val Gooding, it's long on theory and short on practical guidance They'd have wanted to appoint you to the board even if you weren't a woman...

Books: Three of a kind - They're all dying to meet you.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2005... The Ultimate Guide to Successful Networking Carole Stone Vermilion pounds 4.99 *** Brilliant Business Connections Frances Kay How To Books pounds 9.99 ** Personal Networking Mick Cope FT Prentice Hall pounds...

Books: No way to steer you out of the woods.(Bear Hunt: Earn Your Living by Doing What You Love)(Book Review)
September 1, 2005... Ditch your boring job and turn your hobby into a nice earner? Simon Mottram finds little inspiration or useful advice here. I really wanted to like this book. The idea of aligning your work life and your passions is something I've spent the...

Books: Tarring all corporates with the Enron/WorldCom brush.(Gangster Capitalism)(Book Review)
September 1, 2005... The author's contention that US companies are riddled with crookery will please only those who think that capitalism is the root of all evil, says Patience Wheatcroft. Michael Woodiwiss has produced a book that should be required reading...

The MT interview: Allan Leighton.(Interview)
September 1, 2005... Having safely delivered Asda into the hands of Wal-Mart, he famously quit the top job at the superstore to 'go plural'. His non-exec backlist features lastminute and Leeds United, and his current CV lists BSkyB, Selfridges, Bhs and the chair of...

Who's top of the pay pile?
September 1, 2005... MT's latest bi-annual Global Salary Survey tracks down the best-rewarded execs - by role, region and sector. Andrew Saunders picks out some of the surprises. Spring may be the time when the sap rises and a young man's fancy lightly turns...

Stay cool in the kitchen.(Gordon Ramsay)(Biography)
September 1, 2005... Macho head chefs have passed their sell-by date, says Dominic Midgley. Just look at the River Cafe. It's 1.15pm in the kitchen of London's Michelin-starred River Cafe and the lunchtime service is in full swing. Anyone accustomed to...

Office friends: Who needs them?
September 1, 2005... Unlike the personal kind, workplace relationships are full of ambiguities, says Mark Vernon. Do friendships and work mix? The answer, surely, must be yes, or else the office would be a desperate place indeed. And yet, while everyone wants...

The changing face of the workplace.(more employees move to countryside)
September 1, 2005... The number of people going rural will rise as work patterns shift, says Mark Vernon. Last year, about 100,000 people fled the traffic, the hustle and the expense of the city for the clean air, slower pace and downshifted living of rural...

View from the bridge.
September 1, 2005... At last a new generation of IT systems has delivered what has been promised for years - an instant and accurate picture of what is happening below decks. Ron Condon reports. Lord Weinstock had the right idea. As chairman of GEC, he would...

MT business travel: Frequent flyer Janet Gaymer's guide to Abu Dhabi.
September 1, 2005... HOW TO GET THERE I fly with Emirates because of the exceptional service. It's a seven-hour flight from Heathrow. BA also flies direct. AIRPORT TO TOWN Emirates is helpful in pre-arranging transport. Taxis take about 30 minutes and...

MT business travel: Room service where Nigel Doggett stays ..
September 1, 2005... FOR BUSINESS I travel for business a lot in northern Europe, and none of the hotels I've used there are as good as the Vineyard, which is in Stockcross, just outside Newbury. I first stayed there three years ago, and now use it for all my...

On the road.(Mazda MX-5)(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2005... Enjoy the Mazda MX-5's aplomb through twists and turns - the tackling of which has long been its forte. Sometimes, the best way to maintain success is to repeat it. That's why the new Mazda MX-5 looks much like the 721,621 MX-5s that...

What's Your Problem?(workplace problems)
September 1, 2005... Tell your bosses you wanted the job so badly that you lied to them about your degree. Q: I left university a year ago to take up a graduate trainee position at an engineering firm. The thing is, I stretched the truth during my interview...

First-class coach.(career development)
September 1, 2005... Some people jump ship without exploring the opportunities available in their present company. Q: I've been working in this company for a while and have made good progress. I like my job and the people I work with. The trouble is, all the...

MT business lifeforms: The hatchet man.(Christopher Bale, Union Alliance P.L.C.)(Biography)
September 1, 2005... Hail Christopher Bale, the CFO who has found greatness as a serial downsizer. At the right hand of the CEO sits Christopher Bale. He's no oil painting - tall, thin and with that sallow look that comes to many Englishmen in middle age....