Corporate planning in medium-sized companies in the U.K.

The past decade has seen the publication of a considerable amount of research into the corporate planning practices of industrial giants. More recent work has investigated corporate planning practice in small businesses. However, little attention appears to have been paid to actual practice in medium-sized companies. This article reports the results of a study designed to investigate corporate planning practice in medium-sized companies in the U.K. The results show that while corporate planning is widespread among medium-sized companies, it is not the well-balanced and integrated system envisaged in the literature. Also, the majority of chief executives are not truly satisfied with corporate planning as practised in their organizations, but are, at the same time, largely unable to suggest changes to make corporate planning more effective. This points clearly to a need for action by researchers and consultants in the area.     

The Social Dimensions of Business Excellence

In an era of dynamic markets, globalisation, telecommunication and volatile stock markets, the board of directors of listed companies have grown familiar with the pressure of shareholders. Nowadays CEO's discus corporate responsible behaviour and sustainability more often. They feel the pressure of external stakeholders. They are aware of the increasing vulnerability of their corporate reputation, an increasing number of financial institutions start demanding social and environmental criteria — and it is more and more difficult to attract new talented people and at the same time, keeping existing employees satisfied. These developments make companies aware of the social dimensions of their organisation, their corporate identity, their role within society and their duty towards future generations.The business environment is beginning to accept that prosperity, profitability and shareholder value alone do not represent the value of the company. The companies’ ability to grow and to improve continuously is also determined by its social competences, ethical responsibility and environmental contributions. This shift of focus leads to a reorientation of the concept of business excellence. At first, quality management focused on the quality improvement of products and services, later on the processes providing these products. Quality was renamed into business excellence when corporations oriented themselves on the quality of the organisation and the chain (or network or hub) in which it operates. With the present challenges at hand, companies are beginning to focus on the quality of society while taking care of their core businesses, an objective that transcends and includes the former quality orientations.This article first introduces the European Business Excellence Model (EFQM model), which have facilitated the transformation toward an integral management approach, including openings to corporate social responsibility (CSR). We will than elaborate on the cultural context of companies engaged in CSR and social responsible investing (SRI) activities. We will end this article with an overview of CSR activities, structured according the EFQM model.     

Setting corporate objectives using market required earnings

This paper examines and illustrates a new approach to corporate planning. The authors provide a framework which can overcome some of the more pernicious effects of long term corporate planning such as the gearing of the more fundamental commercial goals. The authors produce a rigorous framework as to the criteria upon which a corporate strategy should be based and then tested their model against the corporate planning activities of several large companies whose profitability rates were relatively high. Finally, the paper analyses the optimal method of utilizing the proposed model.     

Coaching im Mittelstand – Wer ist der Mittelstand?

Medium-Sized companies usually have a specific organizational structure and corporate culture. This has implications for Human Resource Management, which is less systematized in medium-sized companies in comparison to larger organizations. What does ?medium-sized business“ mean and who is meant with that? Which typical values form its culture? What are the specific conditions for coaching in medium-sized businesses? Does a coach need special qualifications for this sector? This paper attempts to answer these questions and stays close to the everyday business of medium-sized companies. Concrete Examples will explain specific topics and coaching solutions for medium-sized businesses.     

Managing diversity: Strategy and control in diversified British companies

Many large companies today operate in a range of different businesses. These companies need to fine tune their management styles to the specific requirements of each business in their portfolio. But they also wish to avoid unmanageable organizational complexity, and, as far as possible, to operate with a single, consistent, widely understood corporate culture throughout the company. Managing diversity therefore causes particular problems and conflicts. This article puts forward three alternative philosophies for managing diversity that the authors have encountered in extensive research on this topic with 16 large U.K. companies. It brings out the advantages and disadvantages of each philosophy and discusses the results that companies following each approach achieve.     

Will Hong Kong's entrepreneurs move to planning?

This article is based on a research study carried out in Hong Kong on a group of eight of the most significant companies in that area. The study found that in general Hong Kong businesses did not undertake much corporate planning but that the situation was changing and organizations were becoming more appreciative of the need to plan, particularly as business became ever more complex and competitive. The author describes how two somewhat exceptional organizations undertook corporate planning.     

Planning for changes in stages of corporate development

A considerable amount of research has demonstrated how companies evolve in terms of strategy and organizational design. The evolution of firms reflects the dynamic response of companies to their changing environment. It is logical that planning must also change in response to changes in overall corporate strategy. This dynamic aspect of planning requires a different approach than planning for the continuing growth of existing businesses based on a consistent strategic outlook. This difference is illustrated by reference to two components of planning: fixed and variable. These distinctions are used to demonstrate the dynamic aspect of planning and how planning can, and should, change to accomodate changes in management strategies.     

Corporate planning in small companies— a survey

The current state of research on corporate planning is directed at investigations of actual practices within specific industries. It is believed that by so doing, a more generally applicable theory of corporate planning will ultimately be developed. Within this broad framework, the study reported upon in this article was undertaken so that a determination could be made of the current level of actual planning by small businesses. More specifically, it focuses upon the corporate planning process within small and medium sized companies located in New England, U.S.A.     

When Do Multinational Companies Consider Corporate Social Responsibility? A Multi‐country Study in Sub‐Saharan Africa

While African countries are becoming more and more relevant as host countries for suppliers of multinational companies little is known about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in this region. To fill this gap, the present article explores CSR considerations of foreign affiliates of multinational companies when choosing local African suppliers. The article suggests a model of three types of determinants, namely firm characteristics, exports, and intra‐trade. Analyses of a large‐scale and quite unique firm level data for more than 2,000 foreign owned firms in 19 sub‐Saharan African countries demonstrate that firms importing intermediates from their parent company abroad are more likely to implement CSR. Similarly, CSR plays a larger role for affiliates that export to developed countries. Different determinants affect environmental and social CSR activities.     

Identifying the business value of superior environmental performance: Current deliberations from the aspen institute

The growing connection between the environment and economic growth has created many challenges for business. In response, a set of recent dialogues, convened by the Aspen Institute, focused on the business opportunities inherent in environmental leadership. The conclusion? In a nutshell, businesses that integrate their environmental planning with their strategic business planning can improve their corporate performance and gain a competitive edge. Investors and analysts who understand these connections will be better positioned to identify companies with superior stock appreciation in the newly emerging sustainability-driven marketplace of the 21st century.     

Intellectual Property Abuses: How Should Multinationals Respond?

This article illustrates the causes of piracy and pinpoints piracy associated with registrations and with production and distribution. Based on interviews with British and American multinational managers working in China, the authors elaborate 10 corporate actions to counter the spread of the ‘inevitable curse’. In order to implement these 10 strategies, the authors recommend that firms treat piracy as a challenge, be corporately proactive, be aware of the repertoire of possible strategies, investigate co-operative action with other companies, agencies and government and be continuously alert to the dynamic nature of piracy. The problems reflected here are common to multinationals operating businesses around the world, and the destructive nature of piracy is likely to encourage more academic study to yield further insights for practice.     

The limits of price leadership: needs-based positioning strategy and the long-term competitiveness of Europe’s low fare airlines

This article argues that a strategy of low operating costs and cheap prices is not sufficient in and of itself to establish long term competitive advantage for a growing company. Companies also need to leverage their distinctive corporate capabilities and unique experiences. In the case of service sector companies such as airlines, capabilities derive from the relationship which exists between the company, its employees, and its customers, as well as the reputation which is gradually established on the basis of reliability and quality of service. Unique experiences arise from the corporate culture and route network which an airline builds over time.     

A necessary dialogue: a South African case study exploring the role of national HRD in HIV/AIDS non-government organizations

This article makes the case for a coordinated and multi-faceted national level response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa from the field of human resource development (HRD), arguing that national policy debate on this issue must include the development of human resources in HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations (NGOs). An exploration of potential connections between HIV/AIDS and HRD was conducted with a qualitative case study in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Through this study, four major thematic categories emerged in connection to the work of NGOs involved in the management of HIV/AIDS, government policy, and the emerging theory and practice of national human resource development (NHRD). In addition, findings pointed to the need for HRD research to be conducted in HIV/AIDS related NGOs given their front-line roles in both policy and practice. Initial suggestions for dialogue between NGOs involved with managing HIV/AIDS and the HRD research and practice community are made along with recommendations for stronger linkages between NHRD and HIV/AIDs.     

利益相关者关系与企业财务绩效的实证研究——基于中国房地产上市公司的面板数据分析

本文采用2002-2008年中国26家房地产上市公司的面板数据,通过面板数据单位根检验、协整检验和误差修正模型,对利益相关者关系与企业财务绩效之间的长期和短期关系进行了实证研究。研究结果表明:利益相关者关系与企业财务绩效之间存在长期和短期均衡关系,企业应在不同时期对各利益相关者采取差异化管理策略,满足他们各自的利益需求,与利益相关者建立良好的关系,这是提升企业财务绩效的关键。     

To be or not to be corporate heritage oriented? A study of managers’ corporate heritage mindsets

Corporate heritage is a research topic in branding with managerial relevance to achieve competitive advantages. Research has mainly focussed on companies with a formal corporate heritage orientation, neglecting other companies. In this study, a novel framework has been developed for analysing managers' corporate heritage mindsets as a precondition for a corporate heritage orientation in a non-heritage-oriented company. Individual managers’ corporate image heritage depicts how managers perceive their company over time, hence revealing their corporate heritage mindset. This article proposes that two managerial mindset dimensions matter – corporate heritage recognition and stance. This abductive study combines theory and empirical findings from an industrial company with a long history, but no corporate heritage orientation. The proposed framework offers companies with a history a way to analyse whether corporate heritage could be recognised and employed. This article contributes to corporate heritage research by broadening the applicability of corporate heritage issues.     

Human Resource Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

The need for skills development and training in Sub-Saharan Africa is increasing in an area where unstable economies and high unemployment create challenges on many levels. Sub-Saharan Africa is faced with great poverty, skills migration, and HIV/AIDS, which are depleting the region of skilled workers in their prime working years. The region is facing numerous challenges in the development of skills and the ability to make use of the available human resources. It can be argued that the Sub-Saharan African region needs to increase the skilled labour pool and to develop communities. Perhaps most importantly, there is an urgent need for the region to face the impact of globalization on its own terms. This involves the fusion of African philosophy and management styles with the traditional Western theories with human resource development (HRD) strategies and policies that will be suitable for the developing economies in the region.     

What’s keeping you awake at night? Challenges facing trainers in South Africa

Corporate Trainers experience many organizational challenges that require new skills. This qualitative study sought to determine the challenges faced by South African Education Training and Development university students employed as trainers in corporate roles. Findings suggest that trainers require contextual and generic soft skills to meet the requirements of their jobs and that the term trainer embraces a variety of roles of different focus and different status. While there appear to be a common set of problems facing trainers irrespective of location, the interventionist skills and employment policies of the South African government have an important influence on activity in the organization.     

An investigation of company product decision making

This article is concerned with an investigation of the approaches taken by companies in making product decisions. The first part is concerned with a review of the range of product decisions as presented within the literature. This range is established within the context of corporate planning, with a major split between long term strategic planning product decisions, and short term operational planning product decisions. The second part of the article is concerned with the results of a survey that was designed to investigate the criteria that companies use within their product decision making. These criteria included those applicable to strategic planning, but also incorporated a range of criteria applicable to short term operational planning, as proposed in a recent article by Greenley [8]. The overall conclusion to the survey results was that a common and universal approach to product decision making cannot be identified within this sample of companies. A low level of agreement as to the relative degree of importance of the criteria was evident, and, little attention to differentiating product decisions with time was also evident. The results also challenge the importance given by the literature to the concepts of product life cycle, portfolio analysis and synergy. Finally, the author suggests two implications as a consequence of these results.     

Supply Chains in Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Decision Support System for Small‐Scale Seed Entrepreneurs*

It is necessary to infuse a consistent supply of improved seed varieties into local sub‐Saharan African crop production to improve low crop yields. The best distribution channel for the improved seed varieties may be small‐scale commercial seed companies, but local entrepreneurs struggle to determine whether such businesses are viable. Using a multi‐echelon supply chain approach, a decision support system (DSS) was designed to help African seed entrepreneurs make informed decisions about small‐scale seed chain businesses. Specifically, entrepreneurs make decisions about where to locate seed enterprises, with which farmers to contract, and where to store seed. Optimization and simulation modeling are used to evaluate infrastructure variables such as distance, transportation cost, and storage loss and cost in three development level areas. Currently, the decision tool is used in Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania. The model has supported the start‐up of at least 17 small seed companies that are now introducing improved seed varieties into villages and farms. The DSS applies decision science research in a humanitarian application and offers important managerial implications about supply chain infrastructure to nongovernmental organizations and humanitarian groups. Such applications are vital as groups such as USAID, the Gates Foundation, and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi‐Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) continue to move toward micro‐enterprise, value chain, and market‐oriented development programs.     

Age,Experience and Corporate Synergy: When Are They Sources of Business Unit Advantage?

When do older businesses have a competitive advantage over new startups? When do the corporate subsidiaries have advantages over independent firms? This paper tackles these questions by comparing the performance of businesses classified according to age and affiliation in the game of competitive survival. The research is based on an analysis of 377,000 United States business units between 1978 and 1984. Our results suggest that age confers substantial advantages in competitive environments where intangible assets, accumulated through experience, are critical to success. These include industries with high-labour intensity, high skill levels and heavy reliance on push marketing. For other industries, e.g., where competitive advantage can be built through superior service or media hype, age advantage is generally much more limited. Affiliation with a corporate group, meanwhile, allows young businesses to overcome some of their handicap by ‘borrowing’ experience through their parent. Once a business is well established, however, affiliation is immaterial.