Journal of Business Strategy articles from September 1998

Journal of Business Strategy archives from September 1998

Don't hide from risk - manage it.
September 1, 1998... Currencies seem to be more volatile than they have ever been in the past. The pace of change in technology seems to keep ratcheting higher. Corporations are merging into ever-larger behemoths, and they are becoming more truly global than ever...

Economic profit: an old concept gains new significance.
September 1, 1998... Profitability as a measure of performance just doesn't cut it any more. On Wall Street these days, it's not good enough to know a company earned money. Instead, the focus is shifting to the quantifiable monetary value that is created for...

Burger King regains its throne. (successful turnaround under CEO Dennis Malamatinas and North America President Paul E. Clayton)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Paul Clayton didn't think it was funny. But it is a testament to his leadership style that Burger King Corporation's North America president allowed his public relations vice president to go ahead anyway with an April Fool's Day ad touting the...

Coke's new brand of CEO. (new Coca-Cola CEO M. Douglas Ivester)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... At a recent meeting to discuss his marketing strategy for The Coca-Cola Company, chairman and CEO M. Douglas Ivester told analysts that consumers around the world get thirsty every. two hours. "That's an enticing opportunity," be said. Ivester's...

Not exactly a joyride at GM. (challenges facing General Motors CEO John F. Smith Jr)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Some companies hold annual summer picnics. General Motors Corporation, it seems, has annual summer strikes. When United Auto Workers members walked out of a Flint, Mich., stamping plant in June, it seemed almost like business as usual for GM....

Kraft: the new ubiquitous brand name. (Kraft Foods Inc)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Robert A. Eckert has never been afraid to make unpopular decisions. In the late 1980s, the then-vice president at Kraft Foods, Inc. responded to price fluctuations in the government-regulated dairy business by cutting prices. "These were the days...

Mattel faces a baby bust. (Mattel CEO Jill Barad contends will falling Barbie sales)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... What do you do when you can no longer count on your best girlfriend? For a long time now, Jill Barad, CEO of Mattel, Inc., has been there for Barbie. She may need to break some ties. The world's largest toymaker reported double-digit drops in...

Pushing the envelope at Office Depot. (CEO David Fuente)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... There he was, on the cover of the final edition of Office Depot Inc.'s internal newsletter, The Merger Minute Eyes wide, eyebrows raised, mouth open, feigning surprise. "Never mind!" David Fuente, chairman and CEO of the world's largest office...

Winning the Oracle way. (Oracle founder and CEO Lawrence J. Ellison's business strategy)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Larry Ellison's penchant for fast planes and yachts, his Silicon cowboy swagger, and his tendency to deliver impromptu speeches to investors, often leave the causal observer wondering if Oracle Corporation's founder and chief executive has a...

Raytheon's top gun charts a new course. (CEO Daniel P. Burnham)(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Acquiring the defense businesses of Texas Instruments Inc. and Hughes Electronics Corp. last year, catapulted the Lexington, Mass.-based Raytheon Company from the mid-tier ranks of contractors to number three in the nation behind Boeing and...

Royal Caribbean's vast ocean view.(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. split 2-for-1 in July, after rising nearly twice as fast as the S&P 500 for much of the year. It's easy to see why the stock is hot: Capacity in this, the nation's second largest cruising company, has been...

3Com gets back to basics.(Strategists to Watch: Our Sixth Annual Survey of Business Leaders Worth a Close Look)
September 1, 1998... Last year wasn't a good one for 3Com Corporation. The Santa Clara, Calif., telecommunications company was plagued by inventory problems - it had misconnected with customers over its staple line of 56K modems. And then there was the fallout from...

What every business should learn from Microsoft. (includes related article on Microsoft-Intel connection)
September 1, 1998... A former Microsoft insider believes that Microsoft prevails not because of its ability to innovate but because of its capacity for covering all the bases. If you've never been part of microsoft, it's hard to sort through the reality behind the...

My enemy, my friend. (strategic business alliances)
September 1, 1998... When would a manufacturer build a competitor's products in its own plants? When would a major oil company decide to market arch-rivals' products? When would a local newspaper print a national challenger's edition, for distribution in the local...

A war room can be heaven. (Citibank adopts war room model)
September 1, 1998... In the military, a war room is the central collection point for intelligence information about the enemy that needs to be analyzed. Then, after senior officers review analyses of the information and formulate battle plans, they send orders out...

Mergers, acquisitions and alliances. (new books)
September 1, 1998... Mergers and acquisitions are something that everyone who's been in the business world for more than a few years is extremely, if not intimately, familiar with. But can anyone synthesize all the knowledge that's out there and figure out the right...