In today’s highly competitive business environment, all functions in an organization are increasingly expected to justify their existence by the contribution they make to that organization’s competitive advantage. This is especially true for administrative functions: traditional perceptions...

Getty Images believes that the Internet is the only way to reach a worldwide, disparate and multilingual employee group. Information technology is beginning to enable the company to deliver state‐of‐the‐art HR services. The company is a market leader in providing visual content primarily...

Companies introducing cellular manufacturing have concentrated on such technical issues as classification methods, the design of the workflow sequence and the physical arrangement of machinery for reducing set‐up times. The experience of one Australian manufacturer indicates, however, that the...

Reinsurance and financial‐services organization Swiss Re has repositioned its alternative risk resources after a radical reorganization. Strategic imperatives included establishing a new performance culture among its 500 associates, who mostly work in virtual teams as part of the new Swiss Re...

Any organization can only be as strong as the collective strengths of the individuals within the set‐up. As statements of the obvious go, that must rank pretty high. It follows, of course, that sustaining that strength through succession planning should be of prime importance to companies...

Employee turnover at Alberto‐Culver North America, which was running at more than twice the industry average, has been halved over the past seven years and the company’s ability to attract top people from other firms has increased. Lavin Bernick describes how the turnaround has been achieved...

Over a five‐year period, AT&T Consumer Services experienced radical structural change, in preparation for US deregulation of the telecommunications and information‐services markets in 1996, and afterwards. This had far‐reaching internal impacts, including waves of downsizing, growth and...

Deutsche Bank (DB) is using project‐orientated learning, new technology and academic input as part of a radical transformation of its HR function. In 1999, after acquiring Bankers Trust, DB had more than 90,000 employees at five globally‐operating business divisions and a corporate center,...

South African Breweries (SAB) Group, one of the world’s largest beer distributors, is at the forefront in addressing social inequities in its hiring, promoting and training practices, and combating discrimination. The 49,000‐employee, multidivisional company operates in 19 countries around...

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...