APQC Process Classification Framework
How the Top 20 Companies Grow Great Leaders
How do the Top 20 Companies grow great leaders? This is just one of the many critical questions answered in Hewitt’s Top Companies for Leaders research. The report identifies the combination of factors that allow financially successful companies to consistently produce great leaders. It examines the variables that influence a leader’s growth in an organization, including developmental experiences, senior leader interaction, compensation, organizational culture, and … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: Hewitt Associates | Subjects: Best Practices, Human Resources
Winning Through Mergers in Lean Times
Companies that are avoiding mergers and acquisitions in an economic slowdown may be missing a major strategic opportunity. According to this study by the Corporate Development practice of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), mergers that take place during periods of below-average economic growth have a higher likelihood of success. And they generate considerably more shareholder value, on average, than deals taking place during periods of … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Alexander Roos, Chris Neenan, Daniel Stelter, Jeffrey Kotzen | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subject: Best Practices
Value-Building Growth
Today, companies must strike a proper balance between the top and the bottom lines, while keeping in mind that neither growth for growth’s sake nor a pure profit focus offers the optimal path to superior shareholder value. CEOs who consistently achieve value-building growth do so by adhering to a strong strategy and promoting innovation, geographic expansion and risk taking.
Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Best Practices, Management
Jonathan L. Isaacs
While benchmarking works well for bringing inside the best practices of others, it often amounts to strategy by mimicry. It’s not very good for devising an original “best practice” that doesn’t already exist. Cross-functional teams are good at pooling existing knowledge, breaking down barriers, and finding new ways to work inside the existing game. But these same teams often shy away from more speculative data … [ Read more ]
Content: Quotation | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Best Practices, Innovation
Study Failures Too
If you want to learn the secrets of success, it seems perfectly reasonable to study successful people and organizations. But the research of Jerker Denrell, an assistant professor of organizational behavior, suggests that studying successes without also looking at failures tends to create a misleading-if not entirely wrong-picture of what it takes to succeed.
Content: Article | Author: Jerker Denrell | Source: Stanford University | Subjects: Best Practices, Organizational Behavior
Future Finance: How Technology Can Help Create a High-performance Finance Function
A new survey from Accenture and the Economist Intelligence Unit finds a lack of awareness about the role of technology in improving finance operations. Here are the areas of mastery – technology, structures, processes and outsourcing – that organizations need for a superior finance function.
Content: Article | Sources: Accenture, The Economist | Subjects: Best Practices, Finance
How Sales Forces Sustain Competitive Advantage: Sales Force Research Report
The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that enable sales organizations to be highly successful. After doing an extensive review of research by Forum and other companies, we interviewed 111 executives in 96 major companies around the world, representing 17 industries. We asked the executives to rate their sales force’s performance on specific results metrics, such as revenue, profitability, and account retention … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: Forum | Subjects: Best Practices, Marketing / Sales
Executive Issues 2005: High Performance and the Need for Balance
In Executive Issues 2005: High Performance and the Need for Balance, we look at the concerns of business leaders in light of their aspirations to achieve high performance and the journey that requires. In this annual survey, more than 400 leaders of the largest companies and public sector entities around the world tell us what business issues make their Top 10 list. With three years … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Source: Accenture | Subjects: Best Practices, Miscellaneous
The decision-driven organization
An effective organization is vital to success. Yet, Bain & Company research shows that only 15% of companies have an organization that helps them outperform. What separates the winners is the ability to make the most important decisions well-and then to make them happen. The key is not structure but rather an integrated organizational system that aligns five vital attributes-leadership, accountability, people, frontline execution and … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Marcia Blenko, Paul Rogers | Source: Bain & Company | Subjects: Best Practices, Organizational Behavior
Creating Value through Strategic Supply Management: The 2004 Assessment of Excellence in Procurement
A.T. Kearney’s 2004 Assessment of Excellence in Procurement global research study of more than 300 companies confirms that senior executives expect procurement to go well beyond its traditional role. Rather than focusing solely on cost reduction, today’s business leaders see procurement’s greatest challenge as capturing value beyond cost from the supply market.
Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Best Practices, Operations
Frameworks Boost Business Efficiency
Companies are seeing returns from programs and initiatives that help measure and improve processes, quality, and customer service.
Content: Article | Author: Bob Violino | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Best Practices, IT / Technology / E-Business
Capital Choices: The 2004 Capital-Spending Scorecard
A new study shows which companies are getting the most bang for their capital-investment buck.
Content: Article | Author: Ronald Fink | Source: CFO Publishing | Subjects: Best Practices, Finance
The Impact of Empowered Employees on Corporate Value
The global competitive environment is and will become more brutal for corporations this century. Most corporations, however, fail to recognize and empower their most important assets: employees. The hypothesis of this article is that those corporations that truly exhibit employee empowerment through emphasizing meaningful communication, willingness to serve, and common purpose will have statistically more favorable financial and/or investment results than corporations lacking employee empowerment. … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Author: Darrol J. Stanley | Source: Graziadio Business Report | Subjects: Best Practices, Finance
Tax Rates, DSO and the Bottom Line
High-Performing IT Organizations: What You Need to Change to Become One
In this article, we will discuss two areas of research that we believe are foundational for answering the question of what IT organizations typically need to change and what they need to change it to. We will present a working definition of what characterizes a high-performing IT organization, and then discuss the key differences in the belief systems between them and more typical IT organizations … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Gene Kim, Julia Allen | Source: BetterManagement.com | Subjects: Best Practices, IT / Technology / E-Business
Balance, Alignment and Renewal: Understanding Competitive Essence
Common to every great company is the ability to create and maintain a unique combination of business attributes that enable it to outperform its rivals. This competitive essence comprises both a company’s ability to succeed in today’s markets and its positioning for the future.
Content: Article | Authors: Paul F. Nunes, Tim Breene | Source: Outlook Journal (Accenture) | Subjects: Best Practices, Management
Using Benchmarking Metrics to Uncover Best Practices
For companies, embracing change means seeking out and adopting best practices. Benchmarking–the research and analysis of quantitative, empirical data–is a way to isolate weaknesses and strengths and to make connections between best practices and performances. Once these connections have been made, determining which practices are appropriate for an organization to adopt becomes a competitive imperative.
Metrics expert Chris Gardner recently discussed the dynamics of benchmarking for … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Chris Gardner, Emma Skogstad | Source: BetterManagement.com | Subjects: Best Practices, Management
Swamped: Why do balanced scorecards fail?
Where Mergers Go Wrong
Most buyers routinely overvalue the synergies to be had from acquisitions. They should learn from experience.
Content: Article | Authors: Diane L. Sias, Robert S. McNish, Scott A. Christofferson | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Best Practices