Journal of Business Strategy articles from July 2001

Journal of Business Strategy archives from July 2001

Strategy Boot Camp.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... You don't have to be a veteran to have heard about basic training. For those of us who have never been in the military the phrase conjures up images of an endless period (maybe nine weeks) of acute physical and mental torture. It all starts...

The Pendulum Swings.(employment statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... For most of 2000, potential job hoppers rejoiced in a seller's market. Needy employers were imploring job candidates to come on board, and sweetening the pot with generous "signing bonuses" and other perks. The shoe is now on the other...

Just the Facts.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Homework. A Roper Starch survey found that although one in three Americans describe home as a combination office/workshop (30%, up seven points), the work-at-home trend itself has slowed. Rising from 9% in 1982 to 19% in 1998, the share of...

HR Outsourcing.(human resources)
July 1, 2001... According to a survey by IDC, a corporate technology research company, the U.S. market for HR consulting and outsourcing services will more than double in size in the next five years, reaching $46 billion in 2005. Spending on business process...

The Best Offense Is No Defense.(Review)
July 1, 2001... From Judo Strategy: Turning Your Competitors' Strength to Your Advantage, by David B. Yaffie and Mary Kwak, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2001. Successful judo strategists stay on the offensive at all times. "Be a leader, and stay...

Making the Grade.(Review)
July 1, 2001... From The New Market Leaders: Who's Winning and How in the Battle for Customers, by Fred Wiersema, Free Press, New York, 2001. Each Solectron [a contract manufacturer of electronics, based in Milpitas, CA] customer is assigned to a...

Big Brother Is Watching.(Review)
July 1, 2001... From The Attention Economy: Understanding the New Currency of Business, by Thomas H. Davenport and John C. Beck, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2001. Because the attention of knowledge workers is the most valuable commodity that a...

Intellectual Property Management.(Review)
July 1, 2001... From Protecting Your Company's Intellectual Property: A Practical Guide to Trademarks, Copyrights, Patents & Trade Secrets, by Deborah E. Bouchoux, AMACOM, New York, 2001. Many Web sites display links, allowing users to click on a word or...

When Good Enough Is Best.(Review)
July 1, 2001... From The Myth of Excellence: Why Great Companies Never Try to Be the Best at Everything, by Frederick A. Crawford and Ryan Mathews, Crown Books, New York, 2001. Just because you believe your products are the best doesn't necessarily mean...

Heroic Leadership Is Not Enough.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Heroic Leadership Is Not Enough Effect of hiring new CEO on total returns to shareholders TRS under TRS under former CEO Transition Date new CEO * Procter & Gamble 34 ...

The Return on Human Capital.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Historically, one of the key financial measures of corporate success is return on assets (ROA). Corporate strategists and financial investors use ROA to compare management's use of the firm's total assets to industry averages as well as to the...

Kodak Embraces Disruptive Technology.
July 1, 2001... For Kodak, digital technology and the Internet were good news and bad news. We realized they threatened products we've been putting out for 120 years, namely film and cameras. At the same time, we understood they presented perhaps our greatest...

Shared Services Grows Up.(stand alone shared services divisions)
July 1, 2001... A decade ago, a Few major corporations independently started asking the same questions: Since nearly all their staff functions addressed the same fundamental business unit needs, why perform the work individually for each unit? And if staff...

INTERNET STARTUPS: SO WHY CAN'T THEY WIN?
July 1, 2001... It may be that it's the new economy firms, not the old standbys, that "just don't get it." It wasn't that long ago that some pundits were arguing that the rules of economics, and of business, no longer applied; that the Internet changed...

BACK TO THE FUTURE.
July 1, 2001... Shareholder value is "in," but most companies must take their game to the next level to deliver on this renewed promise. Value is hot again. A year ago, Graham and Dodd, Modigliani and Miller, and even Warren Buffett were decidedly "unhip."...

SEVEN STRATEGIES FOR RETAINING TOP TALENT.
July 1, 2001... With the economy slowing, retaining good employees is more important than ever. Less than a year ago, companies were scrambling to find and keep great employees. The fierceness of competition in the job market was reflected in numerous...

HOW TO ENSURE THAT KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
July 1, 2001... Collecting the right information and then sharing it with those who need it is vital. Make sure your technology and management systems can handle the job. THE INCREASINGLY SOPHISTICATED tools of information processing have created a flood...

IN VISIBLE COMPETITION: SOME LESSONS LEARNED.
July 1, 2001... If competitors are coming out of left field, it's time to start watching left field. On the face of it, there's no reason why Nestle, a manufacturer of chocolate confections, should have any dealings with Baxter International, a medical...

DOES THAT MBA REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
July 1, 2001... If Michael Dell, Dill Gates, and Jack Welch succeeded without MBAs, why would anyone need that piece of paper? LAST YEAR, 29-YEAR-OLD JOE FATH LEFT THE PRESTIGIOUS Wharton School in Philadelphia a year shy of completing his MBA. He was...

The Value of Value.(Review)
July 1, 2001... OK, listen up. Here's how to win the 500-meter freestyle swimming event at the next Olympics: Swim faster than your competitors do. Simple, absolutely true, but not easy advice to work with. You'll find the same sort of advice in the books in...