Many companies make an effort to promote and compensate their employees based on performance rather than, as in the past, seniority. Specifically, companies will implement merit-based routines and written policies and performance management systems, all with the goal of ensuring that the most effective and successful employees and managers are compensated based on their performance. […]
Read More… from Meritocracy at Work: Well-Intention Systems Can Cause the Reverse
Customers make a decision about which product to buy in two ways. The first method is to search for information about the product. For example, a customer might read online reviews of restaurants or hotels. The second method is to infer information they don’t have from information they do have. Litter in a parking lot […]
CEOs are responsible for knowing what is going on in their companies. No matter how large, complex or global the organization, CEOs do not have the luxury of pleading ignorance; it is their job to keep abreast of all the important facts and developments: what their employees and competitors are doing, what big new ideas […]
Read More… from Ensure the CEO Gets the Right Information at the Right Time
When in May 2013, software giant SAP announced that it would hire hundreds of people who were diagnosed with autism, the assumption among casual observers might have been that SAP was engaging in a laudable act of social responsibility. However, SAP executives, working with researchers and consultants in the field of autistic individuals in work […]
Read More… from Competitive Advantage through Individuals Outside the Norm
Supply chain management has become increasingly sophisticated over recent decades with improved financial performance as a result. Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing; sole-source suppliers; outsourcing to low-cost locations; common parts; and centralized inventories – these among other measures have helped leaders run supply chains more efficiently and guard against recurring risks such as changes in demand, supply […]
Read More… from Is Your Supply Chain Prepared for the Unexpected?
Competing aggressively and repeatedly on price can threaten the future of companies. The losers of price wars have been known to go out of business, and the survivors to suffer a long-term squeeze on profitability. Generally, the winners are companies that have a superior cost structure. It is, however, possible for a ‘weaker’ company to […]
Long-distance relocation of the whole of a company’s headquarters remains rare. Long-distance relocation of the offices of members of the top management team and of core functions such as finance and R&D, on the other hand, is becoming more common. The phenomenon is most clearly seen in small but highly internationalized economies such as Finland, […]
Customer word-of-mouth is a hot topic in marketing today. Positive customer-to-customer reviews, whether verbal or written, are powerful marketing tools because they have more credibility with customers than company-generated marketing. In addition, once customers help spread the word about a company’s products, they are more engaged and committed to that company. Customer participation, on the […]
Strategic renewal is not an easy process to begin, fund, or lead, because it entails making changes before disruption occurs. The problem for many businesses, stretched as they are by myriad pressures and mounting costs, is they don’t want to go ‘looking for trouble’. Yet recent research suggests that is exactly what they need to […]
Read More… from Rapid Response Teams: Strategic Renewal for Organizations
Most organizations are split into different business divisions that all report to a corporate office. This office houses the CEOs and other corporate functions, such as HR, finance and IT. In recent years, these functions have often underperformed and corporate offices have failed to add value. Could the reason behind this be that CEOs do […]
Read More… from Four Ways CEOs Can Align Function Heads with Corporate Strategy
