Developed in Japan, lean manufacturing introduced tools, processes and a mindset that eliminated waste and ensured the smooth flow of production without sacrificing quality. Kanban, a system that sounds the alert when a component in the production process is running low, and TPM, a proactive approach to equipment maintenance, are just two examples of lean […]
Read More… from Lean Manufacturing More Effective in Collectivist Cultures
Sceptics of enterprise risk management believe that the 2008 financial crisis proves their point: risk management practices do little to prevent risks. Instead, according to these sceptics, focusing on potential risks only leads to a fear of innovation and initiative. Companies stay in their safe zones, becoming sitting ducks for competitors who are not afraid […]
Read More… from Effective Risk Management to Secure Change and Growth
Despite its best intentions, a company may have structures and processes in place that allows it to construct its own misfortune. This is organizational ‘zemblanity’, a term coined by writer William Boyd. Zemblanity is the antonym of serendipity, which, in an organizational context, occurs when an organization purposefully puts itself in position to take advantage […]
Read More… from Bad Luck Doesn’t Just Happen: The Case of the Costa Concordia
Canadian banks are now strong, stable and profitable. They have become sterling examples of successful Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). Yet, it wasn’t very long ago that Canadian banks were in a worse position than many banks in other countries. Traditionally, Canadian banks had a greater exposure to high-risk assets and loans. Their exposure to less-developed […]
Read More… from Enterprise Risk Management: Lessons from Canada’s Banks and Burning Platforms
Learning from errors is central to human development. Learning in a business context occurs best when there is a mind-set of acceptance of human error, and furthermore the experimental trials that lead to successful innovation, new processes and better performance necessarily entail errors on the way. Due to the potential costs and negative, sometimes disastrous, […]
Read More… from Better Error Management Can Foster Innovation and Learning
Highlighting the continuing challenge of information systems security, more than 80% of companies around the world have been hacked by cyber-criminals, including more than 80% of companies in the U.S., and more than 85% of companies in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa, according to a worldwide survey of CFOs. The goal in these attacks […]
Read More… from CFO Survey: Most Hit by Hackers Otherwise Optimistic
The extensive damage caused by computer hackers accessing the confidential information held within a company’s information technology is, unfortunately, well documented. But beyond compromising millions of customers or accessing company secrets, a cyber attack on an SITE (systemically important technology enterprise) could be even more catastrophic, potentially damaging the global economy and undermining the value […]
Read More… from Cyber-Attack Catastrophe: Lessons from a Plausible Risk Scenario
Mined materials are in many if not most of the products we buy — from the obvious such as jewellery to the not so-obvious, such as the number of mined materials in our ubiquitous cell phones. Mining, however, is known as the industry that degrades the environment, causes birth defects from polluted waters, and destroys […]
Read More… from The World Needs Mining, but Mining Must Change
In 1997, a fire at the only Toyota supplier providing the carmaker with P-valves inspired a change of policy: from then on Toyota would dual-source every part. By 2000, however, Toyota, citing the economies of scale possible through single sourcing, once again consolidated its supply chain. Companies that experience a significant disruption in their supply […]
Read More… from Supply Chain Risk: Diversification Vs Under-diversification
Founder and director of the China Supplier 1000 Project, Neale O’Connor, a former visiting associate professor at the National University of Singapore Business School, conducted face-to-face interviews with 1,000 suppliers in China and Hong Kong. Among the core lessons for buyers, Neale writes, is that China retains its strength vis-à-vis other countries, but is facing some […]
