Journal of Business Strategy articles from January 1999

Journal of Business Strategy archives from January 1999

The Times That Try Men's Souls.
January 1, 1999... Strategic, financial, and tactical planning takes up to nine months and 25,000 person-days in some firms, according to a study by Hudson, Ohio-based The Hunter Group. But benchmark firms have condensed planning to less than four months and...

Web Watch.
January 1, 1999... The secrets to making a profit on the Web? Music and romance. WMZQ in Washington, D.C. (www.wm zqfm.com) reported 100,000 hits and a profit from banner advertising in its first month after launch. The station regards the site's high level of...

Just the Facts.
January 1, 1999... Productive Ideas. Contrary to popular opinion, it's still possible to squeeze more productivity out of the American worker. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 10% of U.S. manufacturers increased productivity by 40% over the past...

Manufacturer's Alert.
January 1, 1999... The problem afflicting manufacturers today, believes Eliyahu Goldratt, author of the widely read business novel The Goal, is that they are measuring the local effects, which are misleading, rather than company-wide effects of specific...

Information Age: It's Later Than You Think.
January 1, 1999... From The Shape of Things to Come: 7 Imperatives for Winning in the New World of Business, by Richard W. Oliver, McGraw-Hill, New York. The evolution of the global village during the Information Age created a huge powershift from...

Alliances: Return of the T-Rex.
January 1, 1999... From The Trillion-Dollar Enterprise: How the Alliance Revolution Will Transform Global Business, by Cyrus Freidheim, Perseus Books, Reading, Mass., 1998. The relationship enterprise is a network of alliances that operates as a single...

Performance Measures: Vendor Management.
January 1, 1999... From Operational Performance Measurement: Increasing Total Production, by Will Kaydos, St. Lucie Press, Boca Raton, 1998. Vendor Performance * Product defects * Delivery performance * Quality improvement rate * Process...

Competition: Let Sleeping Giants Lie.
January 1, 1999... From Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft, by Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie, The Free Press, New York, 1998. Trojan horse strategies depend on the enemy being asleep. If you moon the...

Real Time Strategy: The End of Inventory?
January 1, 1999... Richard W. Oliver Everyone is aware of the radical shift-pioneered by the Japanese in the 1970s- from "just in case" (safety stock) inventory philosophy to "just in time." But new competitive realities are pushing the inventory ante up...

Driving inventories Toward Zero.
January 1, 1999... Ensure that your inventory managers are familiar with new inventory and logistics technologies. They can gain this familiarity by attending professional development activities-including even certification such as CPIM (Certified in...

Due Diligence: More Than a Financial Exercise.
January 1, 1999... Aaron L. Lebedow Today, more than ever, an essential element of any corporate growth strategy is growth through acquisition. Not since the turn of the century has the economy seen such a massive restructuring. And the current tidal wave...

Why Things Go Better at Coke.
January 1, 1999... Rick Wise Traditional business strategy wouldn't have helped this lumbering behemoth trapped in a mature, slow-growth market. It took a whole new business design. They may be apocryphal, but among corporate legends are stories of...

The 1999 Strategist's Guide to Software.(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 1999... Sunny Baker and Kim BAker For the sixth year, JBS takes a look at the newest software and gadgets designed to help executives run their businesses better. On the technology front, this year's news isn't just aisles stuffed with...

The Business Strategist's Software Directory.(Buyers Guide)(Directory)
January 1, 1999... Sunny Baker and Kim Baker Hundreds of companies offer software appropriate for improving data analysis and increasing productivity. Obviously, we cannot list all such products here. Instead, we tried to present a rich sampling of what's...

An ERP Game Plan.(enterprise resource planning)
January 1, 1999... Stephen P. Laughlin Don't believe vendors who tell you it will be easy to implement an enterprise resource planning system. It won't be. But it's not impossible, either. Want to start a lively conversation the next time you're with...

ETHICS: Global Standards, Local Problems.
January 1, 1999... Meryl Davids "When in Rome" doesn't work anymore. More and more global firms are finding a correlation between ethical standards and economic success. Ah, the good old days. Back 30, 20, even 10, years ago, companies could run their...

Caux Round Table General Principles.
January 1, 1999... 1.The Responsibilities of Businesses: Beyond Shareholders Toward Stakeholders. Businesses have a role to play in improving the lives of all their customers, employees, and shareholders by sharing with them the wealth they have created....

True Leaders.(Review)
January 1, 1999... Bristol Voss All the books in this Stack try to capture timeless principles as illustrated by historical figures (Grant, the "Founding Fathers"), war/defense philosophies (The Marines "Way," Aikido), or both (Machiavelli and The Prince)...

Secrets of Life in a Technocracy.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Remember those kids we used to beat up in elementary school? You know, the geeky ones? Well, let's face it--they're taking over the world. While we were collecting letters for our BM(W)OC sweaters, they were learning about computers. Of course,...

The Times That Try Men's Souls.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Strategic, financial, and tactical planning takes up to nine months and 25,000 person-days in some firms, according to a study by Hudson, Ohio-based The Hunter Group. But benchmark firms have condensed planning to less than four months and...

Web Watch.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The secrets to making a profit on the Web? Music and romance. WMZQ in Washington, D.C. (www.wmzqfm.com) reported 100,000 hits and a profit from banner advertising in its first month after launch. The station regards the site's high level of...

1997 I/T Revenues as % of Total Consulting Revenues.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 1999... 1997 I/T Revenues as % of Total Consulting Revenues 1997 Global 1997 I/T as % of Management Global Management Firm Consulting...

Just the Facts.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Productive Ideas. Contrary to popular opinion, it's still possible to squeeze more productivity out of the American worker. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers found that 10% of U.S. manufacturers increased productivity by 40% over the past five...

Start Eating Apples.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Thought your health care costs were finally under control? Think again. Hewitt Associates found that health care costs will rise from a national average of $4,033 per employee in 1998 to between $4,315 and $4,436 in 1999. Rate hikes of 7% to...

CFO Fashion Don't: Green Eye-shades.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Almost all (91%) of 152 CEOs of firms with annual revenues from $1 billion to $50 billion regard their CFOs as strategic business partners. What's wrong with the remaining 9%? Executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles found that those CEOs...

The Well-Honed Ax.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... Downsizing announcements exploded in September, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Announced job cuts averaged 3,432 per day in September, October, and November. Electronics, industrial goods, computer, financial, and consumer goods...

Neatness Counts.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 1999... A survey conducted by Steelcase of Grand Rapids found that workers spend an average of 20.1 minutes per day organizing their work areas. Presumably, this average includes the 33% of employees who classify themselves as "neat freaks," and maybe...

Manufacturer's Alert.(Brief Article)
January 1, 1999... The problem afflicting manufacturers today, believes Eliyahu Goldratt, author of the widely read business novel The Goal, is that they are measuring the local effects, which are misleading, rather than company-wide effects of specific actions....

It's Later Than You Think.(Review)
January 1, 1999... From The Shape of Things to Come; 7 Imperatives for Winning in the New World of Business, by Richard W. Oliver, McGraw-Hill, New York. The evolution of the global village during the Information Age created a huge powershift from centralized...

Return of the T-Rex.(Review)
January 1, 1999... From The Trillion-Dollar Enterprise: How the Alliance Revolution Will Transform Global Business, by Cyrys Freidheim, Perseus Books, Reading, Mass., 1998. The relationship enterprise is a network of... alliances that operates as a single...

Vendor Management.(Review)
January 1, 1999... From Operational Performance Measurement: Increasing Total Production, by Will Kaydos, St. Lucie Press, Boca Baton, 1998. Vendor Performance * Product defects * Delivery Performance * Quality improvement rate * Process...

Let Sleeping Giants Lie.(Review)
January 1, 1999... From Competing on Internet Time: Lessons from Netscape and Its Battle with Microsoft, by Michael A. Cusumano and David B. Yoffie, The Free Press, New York, 1998. Trojan horse strategies depend on the enemy being asleep. If you moon the...

The End of Inventory?
January 1, 1999... Everyone is aware of the radical shift--pioneered by the Japanese in the 1970s--from "just in case" (safety stock) inventory philosophy to "just in time." But new competitive realities are pushing the inventory ante up at an alarming rate....

Due Diligence: More Than a Financial Exercise.
January 1, 1999... Today, more than ever, an essential element of any corporate growth strategy is growth through acquisition. Not since the turn of the century has the economy seen such a massive restructuring. And the current tidal wave of mergers and...

WHY THINGS GO BETTER AT COKE.
January 1, 1999... Traditional business strategy wouldn't have helped this lumbering behemoth trapped in a mature, slow-growth market. It took a whole new business design. THEY MAY BE APOCRYPHAL, BUT AMONG CORPORATE LEGENDS are stories of Coca-Cola's CEO, M....

THE 1999 STRATEGIST'S GUIDE TO SOFTWARE.
January 1, 1999... For the sixth year, JBS takes a look at the newest software and gadgets designed to help executives run their businesses better. ON THE TECHNOLOGY FRONT, THIS YEAR'S NEWS ISN'T just aisles stuffed with $499.95 PCs (inadequate for corporate...

AN ERP GAME PLAN.
January 1, 1999... Don't believe vendors who tell you it will be easy to implement an enterprise resource planning system. It won't be. But it's not impossible, either. WANT TO START A LIVELY CONVERSATION THE NEXT TIME you're with executives from other...

GLOBAL STANDARDS, LOCAL PROBLEMS.
January 1, 1999... "When in Rome doesn't work anymore. More and more global firms are finding a correlation between ethical standards and economic success. AH, THE GOOD OLD DAYS. BACK 30, 20, EVEN 10, YEARS AGO, companies could run their overseas business...

True Leaders.
January 1, 1999... All the books in this Stack try to capture timeless principles as illustrated by historical figures (Grant, the "Founding Fathers"), war/defense philosophies (The Marines "Way," Aikido), or both (Machiavelli and The Prince) and then try to...

Logistics.
January 1, 1999... The word logistics has a distinctly military flavor, maybe because logistics is so vital to the conduct of war. The fact is, you can't win a battle unless you can get your troops and materiel to the battlefield. Consider the Gulf War, an object...