Offshoring and outsourcing practices remind us that organizations often make “sourcing” decisions – where to do what work – that help to define their supply chain. These decisions raise concerns about reliability (will they deliver) and responsiveness (can they meet changing needs). Those risks, in turn, require risk management approaches.
By Alexios Arvanitis & Antonis Karampatzos
The authors suggest that negotiation is guided by the truth, rather than interests alone, and present to us the basic principles of ‘true’ negotiation. However utopian this idea may prima facie sound, the authors firmly believe that the truth can indeed guide negotiation and help parties converge on a negotiation ‘solution’, which reflects the parties’ joint decision to recognize the other’s claims.
By Tony Agresta
Technology to store, manage, search and analyze Big Data leaps to the top of the agenda for Financial Institutions as enterprise NoSQL databases come of age.
By Chris Zook & James Allen
Contrary to today’s common wisdom, the key to success in a dynamic world is a simple business model that can be applied and reapplied in market after market—a Great Repeatable Model®. The most effective models are built on three fundamental principles: a clearly differentiated core, a set of nonnegotiable principles that everyone in the organization understands and well-functioning systems for learning and adapting to competitive threats or changing circumstances. IKEA, NIKE and the mutual fund company Vanguard are among the companies that have thrived for decades on the basis of a Great Repeatable Model.
By Christopher J. Frank and Paul Magnone
How do you find the truly essential nuggets of information and use them with confidence to effectively grow your business and distinguish yourself in your company?
Managing Business Risks from HR Sourcing
Peter Cappelli
Innovation
The Big Data Tidal Wave
Tony Agresta
Quantitative Intuition: Effectively Using Information to Make Smarter Decisions
Christopher J. Frank and Paul Magnone
Do You Own The Decisive Moment of Truth With Your Customers?
Craig Pumfrey
Communication
Not Just Talk
Boris Groysberg & Michael Slind
The Truth of Negotiation
Alexios Arvanitis and Antonis Karampatzos
Regulation
Google versus the Law
Tatiana-Eleni Synodinou
Twitter, the ‘Snoopers Charter’ and Online Privacy
Paul Reilly
Americas
How the United States Can Improve Energy and Climate Policies
Daniel C. Esty & Steve Charnovitz
Asia
Sino-Russian Relations: More rhetoric than substance?
Robert Bedeski & Niklas Swanström
Middle East
The Rise of the Arab Second Society
Sami Mahroum
World Economy
Keynes, Kant and Capital Flows
Oliver Bush
Is Venture Capital In Crisis?
Douglas Cumming & Sofia Johan
With the rise of new organisational forms with flat structures and invisible boundaries, teams have gained tremendous importance as an organisational apparatus for execution of innovations. Organisations not only rely on teams for implementation of innovations but also for generation of fresh ideas. This has made it pertinent for a manager to understand factors that affect idea generation in teams. During one of my research interviews a senior executive of a big organisation told me this personal story. “I was asked to set up a team and develop some new ideas to compete in a very dynamic market. My track record as an efficient administrator had convinced top management of my capability to deal with the new task. I started very enthusiastically. I didn’t choose my team personally but I had laid down certain criteria and accordingly management had put together a team of highly motivated individuals for me. For first three months it all went well. I found everyone to be bubbling with ideas. However, gradually the group started falling apart. There wasn’t any apparent reason. But it just started getting too much immersed in routines. There came a point where new ideas stopped coming from the team and finally a big shake-up was needed. Some people were asked to leave while some offered to leave. In the end I left as well.” This story could be anybody’s story. Often a problem for a manager or a team leader is that at some point the team loses its creative impetus. Teams undergo different phases of creative fluency. There are times when the atmosphere in a team is buzzing with new ideas while there are times when that’s not the case.
By Gary Hamel
The experience of growing up online will profoundly shape the workplace expectations of Generation F. The author has compiled a list of twelve work-relevant characteristics of the social Web that tomorrow’s employees will use as yardsticks in determining whether your company is ‘‘with it’’ or ‘‘past it.’’
By Rajiv Lal & Jose Alvarez
“Category killers” – those highly focused retailers that specialize in a category of goods including Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, and Staples, were once the bane of mass-market retailers’ existence. Their wide assortment, aggressive pricing, large stores, extensive store network, and deep expertise in the categories they served proved a massive competitive advantage.
By Andy Simpson
Since 2009, there has been a 192.6% increase in volumes of Single Malt Scotch Whisky (SMSW) sold at auction in the UK, a testament to the increasing popularity of SMSW, not just as a drink, but a valued collectable and an increasingly viable investment.
