Strategic Direction

Thomas, Mark

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-01-2015-0002

Purpose – This article aims to outline how tangible objects can encourage more efficient working practices and how they can be powerful tools for leading change within an organisation. It looks specifically at how Toyota, Haier and IDEO have very powerful symbols and the type of behaviour this wish to encourage with the company. Design/methodology/approach – This paper discusses the use of objects as powerful symbols and relates this to three specific companies. Findings – It might seem strange to denote core values through such things as a long piece of rope running through a factory, a sledgehammer attached to a company wall and a small bell that is occasionally rung in meetings. Chosen carefully, however, and with real meaning behind them, those objects can be very powerful symbols that have a lasting impact on corporate culture and can encourage positive change within the organisation. Originality/value – This article outlines how tangible objects can encourage more efficient working practices and how they can be powerful tools for leading change within an organisation.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-01-2015-0013

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – One of the curious phenomena of publishing since the turn of the millennium has been the success of books in the business market that started out as being as far away from that sphere as it is possible to be. Moneyball by Michael Lewis was a huge hit, supporting as it did the use of data analysis rather than gut feel, despite the fact it centered on a plucky baseball team that ultimately never won anything. Similarly, other books that have looked at political empires, creativity, historical events and even episodes in fiction have garnered praise and sales in equal measure for the insights they purport to bring business leaders. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-01-2015-0014

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The day before the fall of Baghdad in the second Gulf War, one of the strangest, most surreal images involved the then External Affairs Minister of Iraq proclaiming that, in the distance, the explosions and smoke that could be clearly be seen from the city were not the attacks of Western allied troops, but the successful attacks of Iran’s own army on allied positions. Despite the howls of derision from the Western press who knew full well that what he was saying was flatly wrong, he maintained his line until the last moment before “shock and awe” had its full effect. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-01-2015-0015

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The effect of ‘word of mouth’ on publicising a product or service has achieved almost mythical status for marketers and marketing researchers alike. From the ‘sleeper hit’ of films such as The Shawshank Redemption to the rapid spread of successful brands of cigarettes or chocolate bars, everyone involved in understanding the how and the why of selling goods have been fascinated by a seemingly impenetrable phenomenon. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organisations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-01-2015-0012

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – The justification of the super wealthy for being, well, super wealthy, is that there is a “trickle down effect” that benefits us mere mortals. This effect supposedly sees the rich and famous spend their hard-earned cash on goods and services supplied by the great unwashed, and invest in companies and projects that require large numbers of people to be gainfully employed. If it was not for such benevolence, presumably the authors would see long lines of people snaking round the block from job centres like the darkest days of the 1980s. Practical implications – This paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – This briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-12-2014-0166

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – This paper examines some of the issues facing leaders of not-for-profit organizations, and considers ways in which this “third sector” is both similar to and different from the way that things operate in the public and private arenas. Practical implications – This paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – This briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-12-2014-0167

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – This paper considers the ways that multi-national corporations can go about their search for the best worldwide talent. It suggests that information and communications technology (ICT) has a key role to play, and examines how companies try to combine the use of ICT with global talent management. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-12-2014-0168

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Fierce competition is an unfortunate way of life in the world of business. It is obviously more intense in some industries than in others. One such sector is aviation. It does not matter whether the company is a budget carrier or the company is one marketed as full service. Securing a competitive edge is tough either way. The aviation sector is more vulnerable than most to the economic consequences of oil price volatility. That hardly helps the situation. Fuel accounts for around 40 per cent of the costs of running an airline, and profits invariably take a sizeable hit when prices are high; like in 2012, when oil soared to over $100 per barrel. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-12-2014-0169

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Employees play a major role in helping to secure a competitive edge for their organization. The need for effective human resource (HR) development is, therefore, self-evident. When it comes to improving performance, leaders invariably hold the key. Performance is inevitably affected by change. Leaders are therefore charged with the responsibility of helping the workforce understand the impact of change and how the organization should respond. Transformational leadership has become all the rage in recent times. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

2015 Strategic Direction

doi: 10.1108/SD-12-2014-0170

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – It is widely cited that any firm’s most important asset is its workforce. Little wonder then that businesses see hiring the best talent as a critical factor in achieving success. Such sentiments are echoed at the national level too. Governments increasingly take the view that a highly skilled labor force and economic prosperity go very much hand-in-hand. In an ideal world, countries would have such resources at their disposal. But talent is often in short supply. As any skills gaps obviously have to be addressed, recruiting from overseas has typically become the preferred solution. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.