Aims to discover how general managers are selected, what support they received in their first post, what their first significant actions are, and the current and future success criteria against which general managers could be measured. Uses a survey of 90 international senior managers and...

Discusses a survey, carried out by Cranfield School of Management for the Xerox Corporation, of senior executives in 100 large and medium‐sized companies in the UK, Germany, France, Ireland, Benelux and Scandinavia. Used face‐to‐face interviews, review of academic and specialist...

Presents a pragmatic approach to knowledge management. Points out that managers have only recently realized that they have had to rely on knowledge for all of their careers. Suggests the good news about knowledge management is that ‘common sense goes a long way’. Posits that a degree of hype...

Provides an important perspective on the subject of strategy. Posits that not many top managers would wish to be described simply as good administrators ‐ although tens of thousands of people each year try to reach MBA standards, not realizing perhaps it is not an MBM, so is administrative...

Contends that Asia is not isolated from global market forces and there are signs that these forces may usher in an altered form of human capital management bearing more resemblance to a Western model — just as Western management has been influenced by Asia. Uses a highlighted panel to show...

Looks at alternative choices for change that managers may look to bring in. Asks various questions about change and whether organizations ate indeed ready for it. Uses a Figure of organizational change context to emphasize all the points within. Posits managers will have to understand the change...

Predicts that the next 12‐18 months will not be ‘business‐as‐usual’ as the Y2K deadline approaches and passes. Suggests there are three basic options in the run up to the change of date: first, ignore a short‐term problem leaving existing corporate plans; second, view Y2K, and its...

Discusses that the difference between disaster recovery and business continuity management is mostly one of scope and the disaster recovery end of the spectrum is characterized by a focus on technology‐based problems (e.g. computing), triggered by external factors (natural disasters, bombs,...

States there are there different methodologies for managing alternative futures: intuitive logic; trend‐impact analysis; and cross‐impact analysis. Goes on to give in‐depth examples and explanations of each one of the alternative futures. Concludes many industry associations and some...

Proclaims much depends on managers’ capacity to move to a dynamic form of control that is the antithesis of routine management. States the era of mass production was at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, which saw jobs become standardized and management tasks more specialized as control and...