China’s Market for Mobile Phones
Untangling Underperformance
Don’t try to fix problems before you understand the complex relationships among them-and their causes.
Content: Article | Authors: David Turnbull, Matthew Robb, Paul Todd | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Change Management, Management
Eastern Europe Banking Market
Fast-forwarding digital cable
Fast Food Fight
Productivity Levers That Matter
Matching People and Jobs
Achieving the most productive combination of workers and work is about to become a great deal easier.
Content: Article | Authors: James Manyika, John E. Richards, Vivek Agrawal | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Human Resources, Management
David Reid, deputy chairman of Tesco
I don’t think scale is the key, even though it’s much talked about. Global scale doesn’t give you the right to go into a country and make money. There’s plenty of evidence of that. Capabilities are more important than scale. That’s because value comes from serving customers well, which means that most of the added value is added locally.
Content: Quotation | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Strategy
Recentralizing IT
Companies can run their IT systems more efficiently by creating new organizational structures in which IT departments and business units share responsibility.
Content: Article | Authors: Bradford Brown, James M. Kaplan, Thomas Weber | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: IT / Technology / E-Business
Much Ado About Dividends
Brand Building in Emerging Markets
When in Rome, do as the Romans do: good advice for tourists who want to blend in and, it turns out, for Western consumer goods companies that want to take their brands to emerging markets. The trappings of a polished Western brand-fancy packaging, glossy advertising-can make products too pricey for many consumers in poorer countries. Better to buy into local brands and capture markets at … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Fernando Lunardini, Gilberto Duarte de Abreu Filho, Nicola Calicchio | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: International, Marketing / Sales
Organization: Helping People Pull Together
In even the largest and best-managed companies, hundreds of organizational muddles take place every day. Throughout the economy, they add up to a staggering waste of our national resources.
Editor’s note: This article comes from the fifth chapter of Marvin Bower’s 1966 book, The Will to Manage. It is interesting how timeless the analysis is…
Content: Article | Author: Marvin Bower | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior
Paul J. Jansen and David M. Katz
Donors should recognize that gifts to effective organizations that put their money to work quickly will achieve far better results than those with strings attached. Donors who understand this are also likely to encourage endowed nonprofits to speed up disbursements. At present, many givers ask how their contributions will be put to work, but few ask when they will begin generating benefits for society.
Content: Quotation | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Nonprofit
The Psychology of Change Management
Companies can transform the attitudes and behavior of their employees by applying psychological breakthroughs that explain why people think and act as they do.
Content: Article | Authors: Colin Price, Emily Lawson | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior
Branding Electrons
The retailing of electricity is often considered a business trading solely on price, but a study of consumers in three European countries shows that more profitable offerings have an audience.
Content: Article | Authors: Jaap B. Kalkman, Michiel Peters | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Industry Specific, Marketing / Sales | Industry: Utilities
% of US Retail Sales by Category
Technology after the bubble
IT will rise again-but only if the providers learn how to help their customers make money.
Editor’s Note: in addition to discussing the future of the IT industry, the article offers 5 best practices of companies that realized real value from their IT investments.
Content: Article | Authors: James Manyika, T. Michael Nevens | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Industry Specific, IT / Technology / E-Business | Industry: Information Technology
Who’s accountable for IT?
Business leaders-that’s who. The common thread of IT management is the need for business leaders and technology managers to collaborate more closely-a development long recognized as important but still rare in practice. Most companies have failed to create true partnerships of this kind, because IT units often report only to the chief information officer, while business leaders have no incentive to run IT with the … [ Read more ]
Content: Article | Authors: Dan Lohmeyer, Scott Robinson, Sofya Pogreb | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Management
The Real Economics of Offshoring
The secret life of factory service centers
For a lucrative new source of revenues, profits, and market information, manufacturers need look no further than their own repair shops.
Content: Article | Authors: Jack J. Dempsey, Jonathan D. Vande, Sandeep Dayal, Whitney L. Alexander | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Operations