Business Quarterly articles from June 1994

Business Quarterly archives from June 1994

Employee empowerment: turnaround at Kodak Park. (response to Stephen Frangos, et. al., Business Quarterly, Spring 1994, vol. 58) (Dialogue)
June 22, 1994... Our Spring 1994 issue contained an article, "Turnaround at Kodak Park," in which the authors described an amazing turnaround in the black and white film division of Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N.Y. One of the two authors, Stephen Frangos,...

Creating a winning team.
June 22, 1994... Cohesion, a strategy and goal commitment are the key elements of a winning team... besides strong leadership Self-managed teams and empowerment were the key concepts that Jim Chambers, manufacturing vice president of Azco, came away with from...

Loblaws: putting the super back in supermarket. (Loblaw Companies Ltd.)
June 22, 1994... How do you take a company with few assets, high costs and debilitating leases and turn it into a finely-tuned, efficient, competitive machine? Here's how The condition of Loblaw Companies two decades ago was atrocious after many years of...

Effective director dissent.
June 22, 1994... KNOWING WHEN AND HOW TO SAY NO IS A CRITICAL PART OF A DIRECTOR'S JOB. DONE APPROPRIATELY BY ALL DIRECTORS, DISSENT CAN LEAD A COMPANY TO SUCCESS Asked what went wrong at General Motors that led to its calamitous decline in the 1980s, Roger...

Wanted: the perfect tiny acquisition.
June 22, 1994... A small acquisition is risky...success comes if it receives the same intense attention as larger ones When it comes to acquisitions, good things do not always come in small packages. Larger acquisitions enjoy a dramatically higher success...

A sacket's harbor weekend. (culture shift at Lawson Mardon Group Ltd.)
June 22, 1994... EAGER TO TRAIN ITS EMPLOYEES TO WORK AS TEAMS, A PACKAGING COMPANY PUT A GROUP OF THEM THROUGH A FUN EXERCISE AWAY FROM THE PLANT. IT WORKED The morning was bright and crisp. It was one of those days that signal the end of autumn and the...

Stable prices: a new day dawning? (price stabilization in Canada) (Viewpoint)
June 22, 1994... Inflation in Canada appears to be dead, at least for the time being. If so, the manager's job is tougher, not easier A FAULTY VIEW OF THE EMERGING MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT IS OFTEN AT THE HEART OF MANAGERIAL DECISIONS THAT DO NOT WORK OUT...

Human resources - the hottest place in hell. (management of pension plans)
June 22, 1994... "The hottest place in hell is reserved for the guy who screws up the company's pension plan." Professor Donald Thain THE "GUY" PROFESSOR THAIN REFERS TO MIGHT BE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, A SENIOR EXECUTIVE, A MANAGER WHO HAS SOME...

The manager's job is still to manage. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... Despite dramatic changes in the political and economic environments of business, the single characteristic that distinguishes successful companies from the others is the calibre of management WHATEVER THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, THE TASK of...

The globalization of manufacturing. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... Canadian manufacturers can no longer rely on governments to protect them from the forces of economic change. They need to streamline their entire processes IT IS INDEED QUITE REMARKABLE HOW MUCH AGREEMENT can be reached about the general...

The tasks and responsibilities of public affairs. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... One of the most misunderstood and untapped resources of modern manager is that of the public affairs function. Paradoxically, it is also becoming one of the most important "MANAGEMENTS OF ALL INSTITUTIONS ARE RESPONSIBLE for their by-products,...

Psychedelia in labor relations. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... The social changes of the '60s created a new breed of workers. Managements and unions had to keep up. Did they? LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS ARE AT A CRISIS STAGE. We can go in either of two directions. One direction leads to demands for more and...

Science and the human condition. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... Scientists possess enormous potential to improve the human condition. But leadership is required IN THE 16TH CENTURY, WELL BEFORE THE SCIENTIFIC expansion of the Enlightenment had come to full flower, the great French essayist Montaigne...

Can Canadians be successful entrepreneurs? (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... Canadians tend not to be willing to strike out as entrepreneurs. There are some steps that large institutions could take to encourage people to take the plunge -- and succeed WHY HAVE THERE BEEN SO FEW SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEURS in Canada? That...

Government intervention and corporate government relations. (includes related article) (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... Corporate executives often appear to operate in a kind of vacuum when it comes to understanding the relationships between business and government in Canada. A competent public affairs unit can help THERE IS A DISCERNIBLE TREND AMONG CANADA'S...

Managing corporate external issues. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... An analytical framework, or model, can be of tremendous help in addressing public policy issues. Here is one that works SENIOR EXECUTIVES OFTEN CONTEND THAT THE ACHIEVEMENT of long-term corporate financial and operating objectives is just as...

The crisis of corporate boards. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... Corporate directors today face a growing crisis of accountability versus loyalty GONE ARE THE GOOD OLD DAYS WHEN THE GOOD OLD BOYS met casually, approved the minutes of the last meeting, went through a safe agenda, maybe approved a few...

Management requirements for the late '90s. (The Best of the Best)
June 22, 1994... The one certain condition for managers in the latter half of the '90s is change. Skilful managers will adapt and thrive THE PURPOSE OF A RETROSPECTIVE LOOK IS NOT TO GLORIFY the past; it is to gain insights for the future. Previous experience...