Journal of Business Strategy articles from May 1999

Journal of Business Strategy archives from May 1999

Cyber Crime Update.
May 1, 1999... Y2K isn't the only computer problem you should be worrying about. According to a 1999 survey by the Computer Security Institute and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, computer system penetration by unauthorized users has increased for the...

Just the Facts.
May 1, 1999... 401(k) Matches. If you offer employees a 401(k) plan, chances are you also offer an employer match. According to a recent study by New York-based Buck Associates, 89% of employers offer matching funds. The most prevalent matching formula is a...

Go for Growth.
May 1, 1999... If you're not taking ginkgo to bolster your brain cells or St John's Wort to calm your savage beast, you probably know someone who is. So think about whether you want to have a stake in what may be the next growth sector-herbs and vitamins....

Colors for a New Millennium.
May 1, 1999... According to 600 professional color designers from Alexandria, Va.-based Color Marketing Group, the forecast colors for 2000 include: * Innocent Blush (sheer pink with peach undertones), which "envelops the viewer in softness and comfort"...

Innovation: Performance Measures.
May 1, 1999... From The Alchemy of Growth: Practical Insights for Building the Enduring Enterprise, by Mehrdad Baghai, Stephen Coley, and David White, Perseus Books, Reading, Mass., 1999. An established company's primary performance measures may...

Diversity: Haven't You Forgotten Something?
May 1, 1999... From Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America, by David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro, Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1999. In 1977, during President Jimmy Carter's term in office,...

Management: On Backseat Driving.
May 1, 1999... From the "Chairman's Letter" in the Berkshire Hathaway 1998 Annual Report, by Warren Buffett, March 1999. At Berkshire we feel that telling outstanding CEOs, such as Tony [Nicely, CEO of GEICO], how to run their companies would be the...

Strategic Planning: Executioner's Song.
May 1, 1999... From "Brilliant Strategy, But Can You Execute?" by Claudio Aspesi and Dev Vardhan in The McKinsey Quarterly, 1999, Number 1. There are two basic kinds of strategies: transformational and operational. A strategy is transformational when...

Marketing: What's in a Name?
May 1, 1999... From The OmniPowerful Brand: The New Gold Standard in Brand Management, by Frank Delano, AMACOM Books, New York, 1999. Jaguar's Sovereign and Vanden Plas sedan sales have stalled in the U.S. market. Both names are difficult for...

Retailer-Manufacturer Relationships.
May 1, 1999... 1970s Manufacturers Dominant Manufacturers bigger/ more sophisticated Back brands with heavy advertising New product technologies led by manufacturers 1980s Retailers Consolidate Retailers grew larger Learned to...

The Red Queen Rules.
May 1, 1999... When Alice's journey through Wonderland took her into the Queen of Hearts' croquet garden, she found a world short on logic, rules, and common sense. What rules there were came from the "Red Queen" herself, who expected everyone to know...

You Get What You Ask For.
May 1, 1999... It doesn't take much outsourcing experience to learn you can't take vendor promises on faith, but many companies do just that. When management is under the gun to slash service delivery costs, or under siege from dissatisfied internal...

The Importance Of Requirements Discovery.
May 1, 1999... Before you can outsource a service or function, you need to know what its users, or customers, actually need. This is difficult for a variety of reasons: Customers don't know what you are asking for. Customers may have an overview of...

Value Opportunities In The Supply Chain.
May 1, 1999... About four years ago, Southern California Edison Company (SCE) undertook a Strategic Sourcing Initiative, which included a cross-functional examination of our material and services purchasing practices. We developed a total cost model that...

180 Days to a 180-Degree Turnaround.
May 1, 1999... A poorly performing company, one in need of a complete turnaround, typically lacks resources for new strategic initiatives. The usual remedies are lay-offs, cost-cutting, and asset sales. However, these remedies often undermine the company's...

Smiling for the Camera.(Once the exclusive purview of huge multinationals, videoconferencing is now being used by to businesses of all sizes and types.)
May 1, 1999... In the olden days-a few years ago-some 20 New York-based clothes buyers of specialty catalog retailer Newport News made a monthly pilgrimage to the company's headquarters in Hampton, Va. There the employees participated in a ritual known as...

What's It Worth To You?
May 1, 1999... The videoconferencing set-up you choose will depend on how you intend to use the technology. If you want to enable single individuals to conference with others using their PCs and are relatively unconcerned about video quality, the investment...

Uncertainty: The New Rules for Strategy.(Traditional valuation techniques totally ignore options, but there can be a quantifiable value to what might happen.)
May 1, 1999... Most growth opportunities share a common feature: uncertainty. In today's economy, executives must make strategic investments without a pinpoint forecast of the future. At first, the root of the problem seems to be question of bad...

A Real Options Application: Valuing A New Venture.
May 1, 1999... Portlandia Ale is two guys and a dream. The company needs $4 million to begin product development and manufacturing and another $12 million in two years for its market launch. The entrepreneurs are very optimistic about their business...

GOING THE DISTANCE for MBA CANDIDATES.(Sponsoring an employee for an MBA costs a company a great deal-in time as well as money. But now, employees can earn their degrees without leaving the office.)
May 1, 1999... The phrase "distance learning" may have a touch of the new about it, but it describes a concept that has been around for decades. Precursors took the form of so-called correspondence courses offered first through books, then through radio and...

Computing The Payoff From It.(It's not enough to measure the dollars and man-hours an IT project consumes. You must also measure whether it is delivering the business benefits you're looking for.)
May 1, 1999... "Snap-On software leads to $50M dip," "Bankrupt firm blames SAP for failure," "Just-in-time technology puts the brakes on GM line productivity." Headlines such as these (from computer industry publications) are becoming all too common. It is...

Trends in Financial Management Systems.(When integrated accounting packages were the only game in town, the finance department held strategic data hostage. This is no longer the case.)
May 1, 1999... In a recent online survey labeled, "For Love and Money," conducted by Intuit's Quicken.com, visitors revealed that "today's romantic relationships are more focused on love than on money,"-but not by much. The survey results indicated that,...

Accounting System Vendors.
May 1, 1999... The vendors and products listed here represent a broad range of solutions that span a variety of industries and specific business needs. While they share the common strength of availability, credibility, and performance, similar or more...

Some Questions To Ask.
May 1, 1999... There are many things to consider when making the final selection of a financial management system, including: 1.Does the system fulfill the majority of the company's requirements or at least certain critical requirements? 2.How...

Cover-to-Cover Drucker.
May 1, 1999... Given that Peter Drucker's career has already spanned 60 years, that he's an extremely prolific writer, and that he's the most frequently cited author in the management field, it's safe to say that the final word on the man, his ideas, and...

Correspondence Courses Revisited.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... Dear Agony Editor, Coke is willing to pay for my degree, provided it's from an accredited university. But Kyrgyzstan is in the middle of Central Asia, smack dab between two mountain ranges, with an economy largely dependent on...

401(k) Matches.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... If you offer employees a 401(k) plan, chances are you also offer an employer match. According to a recent study by New York-based Buck Associates, 89% of employers offer matching funds. The most prevalent matching formula is a fixed amount...

Merger Mania Continues.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... U.S. deal makers announced 1,974 M&A transactions valued at $357.9 billion in the first quarter of 1999, according to Los Angeles-based Mergerstat. Although the number of deals was close to last year's activity level for the same period, the...

How the Inventory Turns.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... Between 1977 and 1997, the typical U.S. high-tech manufacturer nearly doubled its inventory performance--from 2.5 to 4.8 turns per year, according to a study by Stamford, Conn.-based Pittiglo Rabin Todd & McGrath. The gains are primarily due...

In the Land of Oz.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... The Asian crisis doesn't seem to have affected Australia. In 1998, economic growth down under was 4.7%, outpacing U.S. economic growth of 4.3% for the same period. Australia also outperformed member nations of the G7 and OECD; G7 economies...

Have Electronics, Will Communicate.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... When RHI Management Resources of Menlo Park, Calif., asked CFOs, "V/hat is your favorite electronic communication tool?" more than half cited the cell phone; only 26% gave the nod to their laptop PCs. But they're not boycotting computers...

Where the Boys Are.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... Why do consultants charge so much? Could be because top firms pay newly minted male MBAs about $141,000 a year in salary, benefits (a signing bonus that averages $20,000), and tuition reimbursements in their first year. You might be able to...

Casual Days under Attack.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... The fashion industry clearly is worried about the casual clothing trend. The Tailored Apparel, Jewelry and Accessories Council (TAJAC) has announced a nationwide campaign to "promote dressing up as a fun and contemporary lifestyle statement."...

Colors for a New Millennium.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... According to 600 professional color designers from Alexandria, Va.-based Color Marketing Group, the forecast colors for 2000 include: * Innocent Blush (sheer pink with peach undertones), which "envelops the viewer in softness and comfort"...

The Benefits of Board Membership.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... The Benefits of Board Membership Cash Retainer Stock Retainer Meeting/Chair Fee + Retainers 1995 $28,078 $3,528 $24,657 1996 $27,865 $6,475 $24,390 1997 ...

Performance Measures.(Review)
May 1, 1999... From The Alchemy of Growth: Practical Insights for Building the Enduring Enterprise, by Mehrdad Baghai, Stephen Coley, and David White, Perseus Books, Reading, Mass., 1999. An established company's primary performance measures may...

Haven't You Forgotten Something?(Review)
May 1, 1999... From Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America, by David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro, Harvard Business School Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1999. In 1977, during President Jimmy Garter's term in office,...

On Backseat Driving.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... From the "Chairman's Letter" in the Berkshire Hathaway 1998 Annual Report, by Warren Buffett, March 1999. At Berkshire we feel that telling outstanding CEOs, such as Tony [Nicely, CEO of GEICO], how to run their companies would be the...

Executioner's Song.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... From "Brilliant Strategy, But Can Your Execute?" by Claudio Aspesi and Dev Vardhan in The McKinsey Quarterly, 1999, Number 1. There are two basic kinds of strategies: transformational and operational. A strategy is transformational when...

What's in a Name?(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... From The OmniPowerful Brand: The New Gold Standard in Brand Management, by Frank Delano, AMACOM Books, New York, 1999. Jaguar's Sovereign and Vanden Plas sedan sales have stalled in the U.S. market. Both names are difficult for...

You Get What You Ask For.
May 1, 1999... It doesn't take much outsourcing experience to learn you can't take vendor promises on faith, but many companies do just that. When management is under the gun to slash service delivery costs, or under siege from dissatisfied internal...

SMILING FOR THE CAMERA.
May 1, 1999... Once the exclusive purview of huge multinationals, videoconferencing is now being used by to businesses of all sizes and types. IN THE OLDEN DAYS--A FEW YEARS AGO--SOME 20 NEW York-based clothes buyers of specialty catalog retailer...

UNCERTAINTY: THE NEW RULES FOR STRATEGY.
May 1, 1999... Traditional valuation techniques totally ignore options, hut there can be a quantifiable value to what might happen. MOST GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES SHARE A COMMON feature: uncertainty. In today's economy, executives must make strategic...

GOING THE DISTANCE FOR MBA CANDIDATES.
May 1, 1999... Sponsoring an employee for an MBA costs a company a great deal--in time as well as money. But now, employees can earn their degrees without leaving the office. THE PHRASE "DISTANCE LEARNING" MAY HAVE A TOUCH of the new about it, but it...

COMPUTING THE PAYOFF FROM IT.
May 1, 1999... It's not enough to measure the dollars and man-hours an IT project consumes. You must also measure whether it is delivering the business benefits you're looking for. "SNAP-ON SOFTWARE LEADS TO $50M DIP" "BANKRUPT firm blames SAP for...

TRENDS IN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.
May 1, 1999... When integrated accounting packages were the only game in town, the finance department held strategic data hostage. This is no longer the case. IN A RECENT ONLINE SURVEY LABELED, "FOR LOVE AND Money," conducted by Intuit's Quicken.com,...

Education.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1999... When it comes to education, it appears that familiarity breeds contempt. Our search for apt quotes revealed that while classical writers praised education lavishly, modern writers were more likely to damn with faint praise. "It is only...

Cyber Crime Update.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... Y2K isn't the only computer problem you should be worrying about. According to a 1999 survey by the Computer Security Institute and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, computer system penetration by unauthorized users has increased for the...

Go for Growth.(herbs and vitamins industry)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 1999... If you're not taking ginkgo to bolster your brain cells or St John's Wort to calm your savage beast, you probably know someone who is. So think about whether you want to have a stake in what may be the next growth sector--herbs and vitamins....

The Red Queen Rules.(business strategy)
May 1, 1999... When Alice's journey through Wonderland took her into the Queen of Hearts' croquet garden, she found a world short on logic, rules, and common sense. What rules there were came from the "Red Queen" herself, who expected everyone to know...

180 Days to a 180-Degree Turnaround.(corporations)
May 1, 1999... A poorly performing company, one in need of a complete turnaround, typically lacks resources for new strategic initiatives. The usual remedies are lay-offs, cost-cutting, and asset sales. However, these remedies often undermine the company's...

Cover-to-Cover Drucker.(Peter Drucker)
May 1, 1999... Given that Peter Drucker's career has already spanned 60 years, that he's an extremely prolific writer, and that he's the most frequently cited author in the management field, it's safe to say that the final word on the man, his ideas, and...