261 Posts found for Source: European Business Forum (EBF)

Confucius was once asked what should be done for the betterment of the people. His answer was to do two things: educate the people and make them wealthy. Education bred an understanding of the uses of wealth; wealth made possible the benefits of education, and both led to personal development.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Wisdom

Growing attention has been focused on top people’s rewards, notably on so-called ‘rewards for failure’. But rewards systems remain a difficult challenge at every level of the organisation.
* Are we any nearer to agreement on what constitutes fairness?
* What is the next generation of employees looking for?
* What balance in work/life issues?
* How does the collapse of the pension promise in … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

The tension between competitors keeps markets active, inspires managers to innovate and creates value for consumers.

Content: Article | Author: Eric Waarts | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Management, Strategy

Empowerment and compliance are crucial: the former, to unlock value, and the latter to avoid scandals which can destroy the business. But these two imperatives yield an apparent paradox. On the one hand, organisations are trying to devolve responsibility away from the corporate centre, putting power into the hands of those best placed to use it. On the other, they need to become more accountable … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

An organisation’s values reflect its beliefs and standards, while the brand values translate these into benefits for the outside world. They may differ but must be closely aligned.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Brand, Marketing / Sales

Ambition drastically discounts the value of anything achieved in the present, while overvaluing what may be possible in the future.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Ambition

At the heart of Western thinking is the notion that the individual, rather than the group, is the fundamental moral and ethical unit. Companies have rights accorded them by law, systems have functions, but individuals have the responsibility to determine right from wrong.

Since systems are really only groups of people tasked to do certain things in certain ways, they can be subverted. And, while individuals … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Ethics, Organizational Behavior

This article suggests the need to build a four-part plan to win the take-off battle. This encompasses finding the right application, partnering in the value chain, pre-marketing before launch and minimising the customer’s adoption hurdle. Interviews in the US and Germany across a range of industries showed the value of these key factors in accelerating early sales and winning the take-off battle for new technologies. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Sabine Kuester, Thomas Robertson | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Management, Marketing / Sales

New thinking is needed on the relationship between corporate centre and business units.

Content: Article | Authors: Allan Gasson, David Pettifer, Tania Coke | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

The job of the directors is to represent the shareholder and the board’s primary tool for doing that is by asking tough questions that elicit insightful responses. The best outcome from being ‘grilled’ by the board is not that management receives the authority to do what it wants to do. The best outcome is that management sees the world differently. Its powers of analysis are … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Corporate Governance

The management philosophy of the Cadburys and the Rowntrees, 19th century commercial rivals, resulted in happy and well-paid workers and strong, profitable and creative companies.

Content: Article | Author: Morgen Witzel | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: History

A study of 125 mergers suggests that there is a link between performance and tackling the cultural challenge head on.

Content: Article | Author: Till Vestring | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Organizational Behavior

A study of the psychometric data of 8,000 UK managers by Ashridge Business School sheds interesting light on the future challenges for management and leadership development.

Content: Article | Authors: Eddie Blass, Fiona Dent, Judy Curd, Melissa Carr | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: Organizational Behavior

China has learned hard lessons from its long history of revolution and reform, but the country now seems poised to achieve its aim of catching up with the West.

Content: Article | Author: Allan Zhang | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subject: International – China

The world economic system is like a global highway – a network of linkages and laws that allows ideas, goods and capital to circulate quickly. But there is one big problem with this highway: it does not have enough access roads. It bypasses too many poor and marginalised communities and there are not enough institutions – economic, social, legal and political – to enable people … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Economics, International

A survey of the UK investment community shows that today’s regulatory reporting model is failing to make visible some of the most basic building blocks of good financial reporting.

Content: Article | Author: Alison Thomas | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Accounting, Finance

We should stop talking about ‘company and society’. We should talk about ‘company in society’. The market is always situated in social contexts; society should not be subordinated to the market. There are no alternatives to globalisation without companies – the point is, though, that not all models of companies are acceptable or viable in a globalised world.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: International, Social Responsibility (ESG)

The economic case for free trade is that it produces mutual gains for countries. These gains arise from the workings of the principle of comparative advantage. Comparative advantage results from different countries having different opportunity costs of producing one traded good in terms of another; for example, the cost of a gallon of wine in terms of yards of cloth. The ratios of wine to … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Economics, International

Economists are blind to the loss of US industries and occupations, because they believe these results reflect the beneficial workings of free trade. Whatever is being lost, they think, is being replaced by something as good or better. They are unable to identify what the replacement industries and occupations are, but they are certain they are out there somewhere. It does not occur to them … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Economics, Outsourcing / BPO

Globalisation offers short-term opportunities: economies of scale, efficiencies from larger markets, and cost savings from cheaper production or services. But with the ‘quick buck’ comes greater vulnerability. As the business chain lengthens, the risk of failure from one weak link increases. Risks – structural and reputational – are compounded as business extends around the world.

Content: Quotation | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Economics, International