Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the author's five‐year investigation of various approaches to transforming performance. It aims to concentrate in particular on approaches to talent management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper explains that devoting large sums to...

Fiscal experts point out that no individual nation, no matter how apparently buoyant its economy, can be impervious to the world financial climate. By the same token, major corporations have to be aware that they ignore changing international economic forces at their peril. Gazing into its...

Two thirds of executives believe that creativity is the key to gaining and sustaining competitive advantage in today’s global business environment, according to recent research. However, the report, Harnessing Creativity to Improve the Bottom Line – by Professor Amin Rajan and Barbara...

Corporate culture has become increasingly important to firms in the past 20 years. Despite its intangible nature, its role is meaningful, affecting employees and organizational operations. And while culture is not the only factor guaranteeing success, positive cultures offer significant...

Giving junior team members a significant role in hiring decisions and encouraging employee feedback on customer‐comment forms are just two of the unconventional human‐resource management practices that have helped to make Pret A Manger one of the most admired brands in Britain. McDonald’s...

For UK bank Barclays, equality and diversity best practice is not only the right thing to do, it delivers innovation, insight and access to new resources. The bank’s four‐year objectives are to double the number of women in the most senior positions, from 11 percent to 22 percent, and to...

A UK accountancy firm which is “founded on its people and earns its licence to operate through them” allows any of its employees to take half a day each month in work time for regular volunteering. More than 2,000 employees, from all levels of seniority, take part in KPMG’s Community...

In 2000, Steve Ballmer took over from Bill Gates as chief executive of Microsoft. In so doing, he took on the massive challenge of restructuring the company’s management of finance, sales, product development, marketing and strategic planning. Ballmer was charged with reinventing the company...

All employers asked to name the single most important factor in their success story would doubtless sing the praises of the organization’s most vital resource – their staff. It follows, then, that attracting and retaining real talent has to be the big issue facing companies. They need to...

A major restructuring program helped a developer and manufacturer of advanced scientific instrumentation to reduce its huge backlog of work, improve on‐time delivery and regain its place as a world leader in its field. Central to the restructuring at the UK’s 420‐employee Oxford...