In essence it seems quite simple: look after your customers and they will look after your business. But as with all such management theories, customer relationship management (CRM) is hard to do – properly. One recent survey found that 70 percent of companies that had implemented CRM have...

It is one of the founding mottos of the modern age that information is power. Without the ability to harness the skills and abilities of employees, companies simply will not survive the increasing pace of change. Another well known fact is that even the best teams can struggle without the right...

Sick of feeling like a criminal when the sales clerk scrutinizes your every dollar bill before allowing them in the till? Tired of the jangle of pockets full of coins round the office? Irritated by the days you wait for a check to clear? Well thanks to Visa, it looks like these days are nearly...

The importance of supply chain management (SCM) has grown steadily, as managers recognize the strategic potential that it can offer. Far more than just “logistics”, SCM encompasses every effort and interaction that goes into planning, sourcing, making, and delivering a final product. As a...

The idea that investors are only interested in short‐term results carries more than a grain of truth. It does, however, begin to look a little bit shaky when the fortunes of DuPont are examined. The US chemical company’s shares are underachievers compared to those of 3M. And it is 3M which...

For most airlines, the last 12 months have proved to be some of the hardest their balance sheets are ever likely to suffer. Big names have gone, even bigger ones are balancing on the brink, and thousands of jobs have been lost. The far‐reaching impact of shattered passenger confidence,...

Over the past two years most leading technology stocks have halved in value according to Business Week . For tech firms, the competitive landscape has become as barren and unforgiving as the Siberian plains. And whilst the sector has suffered depressions in the past, this time it is deeper and...

Despite the Internet boom and bust, the e‐economy is the future, and many national governments have recognized this fact. In the UK, the British Government’s Office of the e‐Envoy (OeE) is leading the drive to get the UK online, and to ensure that the country, its citizens and its...

Knowledge management aims to bring intellectual resources together and make them available for everyone in the organization. As well as broadening horizons, knowledge management systems can help break down organization barriers, which leads to the sharing of knowledge and experiences.

In the past couple of years IBM has frequently hit the headlines, and mostly the press has been good. New chairman and chief executive Sam Palmisano made waves with two high profile moves when he bought the management consulting arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and then announced that IBM’s...