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Flexibility: Flexible Companies for the Uncertain World
by Gill EapenWe are in an era of high volatility and uncertain outcomes, driven by accelerating technologies, shortened product cycles, fast-changing information, an increasingly mobile workforce, more demanding customers, complex financial markets, ad-hoc public policies, and many other factors that add layers of uncertainty to all future possibilities. While
Flexible Firm: The Design of Culture at Bang & Olufsen
by Jakob Krause-JensenBang & Olufsen, the famous Danish producer of high-end home electronics, is well known as an early exponent of value-based management: the idea that there should be consistency in what the organisation does, a certain continuity between what the company develops and sells, and the beliefs and practices of the employees. This study investigates how company values are communicated and the collective identity is articulated through the use of such concepts as ‘culture’, ‘fundamental values’, and ‘corporate religion’, as well as how employees negotiate these ideas in their daily working lives. As this book reveals, the identification of values, meant to create cohesion and solidarity among employees, came to symbolise and engender a split between the staff and the other parts of the company. By examining the rise and fall of the value-based management approach, this volume offers the indispensible insight of anthropological enquiry to expose how social realities challenge conventional management strategies and therefore must be considered in the development of new management techniques.
Flexible Shift Planning in the Service Industry: The Case of Physicians in Hospitals (Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems #640)
by Jens O. BrunnerThe introductory chapter consists of four sections. In Sect. 1. 1 we reveal the c- rent situation in hospitals that is faced by the management. We address the general issue of personnel scheduling in the service industry in Sect. 1. 2. Then we motivate our research by considering physicians as the scheduling object. In particular, we show the complex nature of physician scheduling in a hospital environment. The focus of the research is presented in Sect. 1. 3. Finally, we conclude the chapter by illustrating the outline of the thesis. 1. 1 General Economic Situation in Hospitals The mounting pressure in the health care industry to reduce costs is forcing hos- tals and related facilities to take a closer look at their staf?ng policies (see [111]). A primary dif?culty in reducing personnel costs, the major component of the budget, is the variability in demand and the need to assign staff to ?xed shifts. Furthermore, government run facilities, especially those in the European Union, are seeing their budgets cut in terms of real dollars despite an aging and more acutely ill patient population (e. g. , see [96]). It has been reported that up to a third of the hospitals in Germanyplan a reductionin staff (see [91]). The schedulingprocess is furtherc- plicated by the generally recognized importance of taking individual preferences intoaccount. Moreattractiveschedulespromotejobsatisfaction,increaseproduct- ity,and reduceturnover(cf. [2]). However,withoutimprovedschedulingprocedures that better match supplyto demand,the level of care that theynow providewill soon become unsustainable. 1.
Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones
by Joseph JaffeWhy customer retention is the new acquisition If there's anything the recession of 2009 taught us, it was the importance of investing in our customers, but when was this any different? So says Joseph Jaffe, bestselling author of Life After the 30-Second Spot and Join the Conversation, and a leading expert and thought leader on new media and social media. In most businesses, it costs roughly five-to-ten times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one, and yet companies continue to disproportionately spend their budgets into the "wrong" end of the funnel – the mass media or awareness side. What we haven't paid enough attention to is the "right" end of the funnel-the word-of-mouth component that essentially acts as a multiplier for future business. The economic impact of an active, engaged and loyal customer is tremendous. And the same is true of the opposite scenario, namely the impact of angry customers and negative word-of-mouth or referrals. It is this thinking that Jaffe has channeled to challenge marketers to "flip the funnel" once and for all. With a renewed focus and energy on customer experience, it is possible to grow your sales, while decreasing your budget – in other words, getting more from less. Engaging a few customers to spread the word to many. Using this new "flipped funnel" model, together with a set of new rules of customer service and a revolutionary customer referral and activation process, you'll learn how to transform your existing customers into your best salespeople. In addition, Jaffe will explain how to best introduce and combine both digital and social media tools to boost your loyalty arsenal, deploy "influencer marketing" and implement word-of-mouth strategies that inspire your loyal, opinionated, and most vocal customers to become credible, persuasive, and influential endorsers of your products and services. Explains how to cut your marketing budget AND grow sales! Illustrates practical ways to use existing customers to reach out to new prospects Outlines the authentic role of social media Demonstrates key ideas with rich, real life examples including Comcast, Apple, The Obama Campaign, Dell, Panasonic, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and many, many more Written by one of the most sought-after consultants, keynote speakers, and thought-leaders on new marketing change and innovation; renowned blogger and podcaster at Jaffe Juice (www.jaffejuice.com) and host/presenter of web video show, JaffeJuiceTV (www.jaffejuice.tv) Visit www.flipthefunnelnow.com to join the conversation.
Flip the Funnel: How to Use Existing Customers to Gain New Ones
by Joseph JaffeWhy customer retention is the new acquisition If there's anything the recession of 2009 taught us, it was the importance of investing in our customers, but when was this any different? So says Joseph Jaffe, bestselling author of Life After the 30-Second Spot and Join the Conversation, and a leading expert and thought leader on new media and social media. In most businesses, it costs roughly five-to-ten times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one, and yet companies continue to disproportionately spend their budgets into the "wrong" end of the funnel – the mass media or awareness side. What we haven't paid enough attention to is the "right" end of the funnel-the word-of-mouth component that essentially acts as a multiplier for future business. The economic impact of an active, engaged and loyal customer is tremendous. And the same is true of the opposite scenario, namely the impact of angry customers and negative word-of-mouth or referrals. It is this thinking that Jaffe has channeled to challenge marketers to "flip the funnel" once and for all. With a renewed focus and energy on customer experience, it is possible to grow your sales, while decreasing your budget – in other words, getting more from less. Engaging a few customers to spread the word to many. Using this new "flipped funnel" model, together with a set of new rules of customer service and a revolutionary customer referral and activation process, you'll learn how to transform your existing customers into your best salespeople. In addition, Jaffe will explain how to best introduce and combine both digital and social media tools to boost your loyalty arsenal, deploy "influencer marketing" and implement word-of-mouth strategies that inspire your loyal, opinionated, and most vocal customers to become credible, persuasive, and influential endorsers of your products and services. Explains how to cut your marketing budget AND grow sales! Illustrates practical ways to use existing customers to reach out to new prospects Outlines the authentic role of social media Demonstrates key ideas with rich, real life examples including Comcast, Apple, The Obama Campaign, Dell, Panasonic, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and many, many more Written by one of the most sought-after consultants, keynote speakers, and thought-leaders on new marketing change and innovation; renowned blogger and podcaster at Jaffe Juice (www.jaffejuice.com) and host/presenter of web video show, JaffeJuiceTV (www.jaffejuice.tv) Visit www.flipthefunnelnow.com to join the conversation.
Flying Off Course IV: Airline economics and marketing
by Rigas DoganisThe airline industry presents an enigma. High growth rates in recent decades have produced only marginal profitability. This book sets out to explain, in clear and simple terms, why this should be so. It provides a unique insight into the economics and marketing of international airlines. Flying Off Course has established itself over the years as the indispensable guide to the inner workings of this exciting industry. This enlarged fourth edition, largely re-written and completely updated, takes into account the sweeping changes which have affected airlines in recent years. It includes much new material on many key topics such as airline costs, ‘open skies’ , air cargo economics, charters and new trends in airline pricing. It also contains two exciting new chapters on the economics of the low-cost no frills carriers and on the future prospects of the industry. The book provides a practical insight into key aspects of airline operations, planning and marketing within the conceptual framework of economics . It is given added force by the author’s hands-on former experiences as a Chairman and CEO of Olympic Airways and as a non-executive Director of South African Airways while he is currently a non-executive Director of easyJet.
Focus: Use the power of targeted thinking to get more done
by Jurgen WolffFeeling distracted? Scattered? Time is slipping away from you? You're not alone. But it doesn't have to be that way. Using revolutionary time management techniques you will find out how to super charge your mind power and focus on what matters most - your goals and your achievements. Focus shows you how to direct energy without distraction to the key tasks that lead you to success. Based on the latest research, these techniques make it easy for you to overcome information overload, stress and procrastination and concentrate on what's really important. Using these recent discoveries in time management, like how to achieve a state of flow that can lead to maximum achievement in minimum time, Focus will show you how you can move swiftly towards your most important goals. The result: you reach your goals quickly and with less effort.
A Focused Issue on Identifying, Building and Linking Competences (Research in Competence-Based Management #5)
by Ron Sanchez Aimé HeeneThe papers in this volume explore key challenges in identifying, building, and linking competences within and between organizations. The first paper describes a facilitated process through which managers may identify an organization's current competences and assess which of its capabilities may constitute the 'core' of its distinctive competences. Subsequent papers elaborate basic issues in building organizational competence, including balancing the exploration of new competences and the exploitation of current competences, creating strategic options through competence building, linking the capabilities of alliance partners to target and build new competences, using product architectures in building and maintaining competences, the recursive nature of competence building processes, and the nature and role of management processes in competence building. A final paper analyzes the intellectual structure of and influences within the competence-based management perspective.
Food versus Fuel: An Informed Introduction to Biofuels
by David Pimentel Richard Hess Rocio Diaz-Chavez R. H. Ravindranath Luis B. CortezFood versus Fuel presents a high-level introduction to the science and economics behind a well-worn debate, that will debunk myths and provide quality facts and figures for academics and practitioners in development studies, environment studies, and agricultural studies.Compiled by an internationally renowned scientist and authority, and to include perspectives from 'pro' and 'anti' biofuels experts and activists, from the North and South, the aim of this book is to bring a balanced approach to the current debate on the major issues affecting the development of biofuels in a concise and clear manner in order to provide an informed, nuanced but accessible introduction, grounded in science and economics rather than conjecture and controversy.
Football Brands
by S. BridgewaterThe media increasingly refer to football clubs as brands. Certainly concepts such as loyalty, affiliation, emotional ties with football clubs seem to parallel the relationship between consumer and brand in the broader marketing sphere. This book delves deep into the world of the lucrative business of sports branding.
Football Economics and Policy
by S. SzymanskiThis volume deals with the competitive structure of football. It examines the relationship between sporting success and economic variables, the structure of European competitions, financial problems in football, their origins and options for reform, racial discrimination in English football, and the economic impact of the World Cup.
Football Management
by S. BridgewaterFootball Managers have to deal with a number of unique pressures, yet the challenges of the football manager are similar to those of managers in other sectors. This book examines the management of football and looks at ways that managers and leaders in other industries can use tools and techniques from the sporting world within their own sector.
For the Love of an Orchard: Everybody's Guide To Growing And Cooking Orchard Fruit
by Jane McMorland HunterWhether you fantasise about having a whole orchard, just a cherry tree in a pot, or even the perfect apple pie, this beautifully illustrated book bridges the gap between the special place orchards hold in our hearts and the practicalities of growing and cooking orchard fruit.
Forbes Best Business Mistakes: How Today's Top Business Leaders Turned Missteps into Success
by Bob SellersToday's top business leaders reveal how to make even the biggest mistakes work for you Forbes Best Business Mistakes reveals practical lessons from some of today's most successful business leaders to show you how to turn a bad business situation into a success. Based on exclusive sit-down interviews with some of today's most successful men and women, author Bob Sellers shares their stories to provide valuable insights and lessons that can help you can learn from their mistakes. Those profiled in Forbes Best Business Mistakes include the likes of Wall Street guru Peter Lynch, larger-than-life media personalities Jim Cramer and Suze Orman, legendary CEO Jack Welch, and newcomer Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, who is poised to change the movie and TV industry landscape as we know it forever. Other names include PIMCO's Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian and Home Depot Founder Arthur Blank. Reveal how top business and financial leaders turned their biggest mistakes into success stories Based on exclusive interviews with some of today's most successful professionals, from Jason Kilar of Hulu to Suze Orman Contains practical lessons on how you can turn a bad business situation around As Malcolm Forbes put it, "Failure is success if we learn from it." Forbes Best Business Mistakes shares the missteps of others so you can learn from them, be inspired by them, and succeed where you may not have seen opportunity before.
Forbes Best Business Mistakes: How Today's Top Business Leaders Turned Missteps into Success
by Bob SellersToday's top business leaders reveal how to make even the biggest mistakes work for you Forbes Best Business Mistakes reveals practical lessons from some of today's most successful business leaders to show you how to turn a bad business situation into a success. Based on exclusive sit-down interviews with some of today's most successful men and women, author Bob Sellers shares their stories to provide valuable insights and lessons that can help you can learn from their mistakes. Those profiled in Forbes Best Business Mistakes include the likes of Wall Street guru Peter Lynch, larger-than-life media personalities Jim Cramer and Suze Orman, legendary CEO Jack Welch, and newcomer Jason Kilar, CEO of Hulu, who is poised to change the movie and TV industry landscape as we know it forever. Other names include PIMCO's Bill Gross and Mohamed El-Erian and Home Depot Founder Arthur Blank. Reveal how top business and financial leaders turned their biggest mistakes into success stories Based on exclusive interviews with some of today's most successful professionals, from Jason Kilar of Hulu to Suze Orman Contains practical lessons on how you can turn a bad business situation around As Malcolm Forbes put it, "Failure is success if we learn from it." Forbes Best Business Mistakes shares the missteps of others so you can learn from them, be inspired by them, and succeed where you may not have seen opportunity before.
Forecasting Financial Markets: The Psychology of Successful Investing
by Tony PlummerForecasting Financial Markets provides a compelling insight into the psychology of trading behaviour and shows how "following the herd" can have disastrous results. It demonstrates how your ability to make money in the world's financial markets depends critically on your ability to make decisions independently of the crowd. Given the impact of the global credit crunch, it has become even more essential to be able to distinguish between short-term and longer-term trends at a time when panic selling and 'fire-sale' purchases are common.Forecasting Financial Markets details the three dimensions essential to achieve successful trading, including an ability to understand the forces at work in logical terms, recognize (and neutralize) any emotional responses to market fluctuations, and design an investment process or trading system that generates objective 'buy' or 'sell' signals.Taking the author's latest research into account, this important book provides you with an in-depth assessment of the phenomenon of cycles, patterns of economic and financial activity, and how to use cycles as a forecasting tool - including the author's forecasts for when the global economy will emerge from its current downturn.
Foreign Aid and Landmine Clearance: Governance, Politics and Security in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan (International Library of Post-War Reconstruction and Development)
by Matthew BoltonIn the decade since the signing of the Ottawa Treaty, which banned the production and use of anti-personnel mines, governments have spent over $3 billion on clearing up and mitigating the security threat of mines, cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance in the world's current and former war zones. However, this flow of cash into regions dominated by violent social structures raises numerous political issues. 'Foreign Aid and Mine Clearance' explores the politics behind the allocation and implementation of foreign aid by the US and Norway for demining in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan. As a case study of post-conflict reconstruction, it examines the impact of replacing the public provision of security and services with governance complexes incorporating state and private actors.Drawing on interviews and detailed archival research, this book compares the landmine and cluster munitions policy frameworks of two donor countries - the United States and Norway - with very different understandings of how the threat of such weapons should be mitigated and neutralized. Rooted in field research conducted in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan, it focuses on the micro-level of actual implementation of demining programs. Bolton finds that long-term grants to international NGOs produced demining that, while more expensive and slower, was better targeted on humanitarian priorities, safer and of better quality. Such programmes also built inclusive institutions that resisted the politics of violence. In contrast, efforts tendered out to commercial companies were cheaper and faster but also less safe and of lower quality. These companies, often with links to the private security industry, were also less able to resist capture by vested interests embedded in the political economy of war. 'Foreign Aid and Mine Clearance' offers new perspectives on the politics of post-war reconstruction and feeds into current debates on the international funding of mine clearance projects.
Foreign Competition and Firm Boundary Dynamics: An Analysis of US and German Firms (Strategische Unternehmensentwicklung und Industrietransformation)
by Florian GröneFlorian Gröne provides a systematic assessment of mounting import and FDI pressure’s influence on large US and German enterprises and explains how and why firms change their product scope, geographic footprint, and value chain configuration as a result.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook: Protecting Your Organization from Bribery and Corruption (Wiley Corporate F&A #8)
by Martin T. Biegelman Daniel R. BiegelmanForeign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook shows readers how the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has grown to critical importance to any U.S. company that does business in a global environment, as well as foreign companies that supply or have agency agreements with U.S. companies. It provides an overview of the business risks and guidance on spotting potential red flags regarding FCPA violation. Business professionals are provided with practical guidance on managing FCPA requirements as part of an overall compliance program.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook: Protecting Your Organization from Bribery and Corruption (Wiley Corporate F&A #8)
by Martin T. Biegelman Daniel R. BiegelmanForeign Corrupt Practices Act Compliance Guidebook shows readers how the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has grown to critical importance to any U.S. company that does business in a global environment, as well as foreign companies that supply or have agency agreements with U.S. companies. It provides an overview of the business risks and guidance on spotting potential red flags regarding FCPA violation. Business professionals are provided with practical guidance on managing FCPA requirements as part of an overall compliance program.
Foreign Direct Investment, China and the World Economy
by P. BuckleyChina has become such an important element of the global economy that its influence cannot be ignored in almost any field of endeavour. The phenomenal impact of FDI in China and its (largely trade-related) consequences has been well documented and now there is a significant literature on the phenomenon of outward investment from China too. This book is an in depth study of the international business relationships of China covering both inward and outward foreign direct investment, its impact and related theoretical and policy issues. This volume of highly renowned author Peter Buckley's collected papers from 2005-8 continues his interest in the theory of international business (Section I) and policies towards foreign direct investment (FDI) (Section IV) but has a major concentration on China, both as regards outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) from China (Section II) and FDI in China (Section III).
Foreign Direct Investments from Emerging Markets: The Challenges Ahead
by Karl P. Sauvant, Geraldine McAllister & Wolfgang A. MaschekCollected here are papers from the conference, Thinking Outward, which dealt with a range of issues related to the key players in this process - firms, home countries and host countries and the book will have a foreword from Jeffrey Sachs. In the wake of the financial crisis, these issues remain increasingly critical for developing countries.
The Foreign Encounter in Myth and Religion: Modes of Foreign Relations and Political Economy, Volume II
by Kees van der PijlHow do we think about international relations? There is no question that society is based upon its cultural foundations, yet this mode of understanding the world is seemingly absent from IR.*BR**BR*The second volume of Modes of Foreign Relations and Political Economy, a three-volume project changing the way we think about international relations, traces the key characteristics of 'foreign encounters' over time. It shows that myth, religion and ethical philosophies have always informed the way that societies have interacted with outsiders, from tribal relations to the imperial frontiers. Acceptance of this points us towards the future state of international relations. *BR**BR*A truly masterful work, The Foreign Encounter In Myth And Religion, is a must for upper-undergraduates and academics at the cutting edge of international relations theory.
Foresight in Action: Developing Policy-Oriented Scenarios
by Marjolein Van AsseltAssessing the future is vital in informing public policy decisions. One of the most widespread approaches is the development of scenarios, which are alternative hypothetical futures. Research has indicated, however, that the reality of how professionals go about employing scenarios is often starkly at odds with the theory - a finding that has important ramifications for how the resulting images of the future should be interpreted. It also shows the need for rewriting and updating theory. This book, based on an intensive five year study of how experts actually go about assessing the future, provides a groundbreaking examination of foresighting in action. Obtained via ethnographic techniques, the results lay bare for the first time the real processes by which scenarios are made. It is also the first book to examine foresighting for public policy, which is so often overlooked in favour of business practice. From handling of discontinuity to historical determinism, the analysis reveals and explains why foresight is difficult and what the major pitfalls are. Each chapter ends with a toolkit of recommendations for practice. The book aims to help readers to reflect on their own practices of public-oriented foresight and thus to foster a deeper understanding of the key principles and challenges. Ultimately, this will lead to better informed decision making.
Foresight in Action: Developing Policy-Oriented Scenarios
by Marjolein Van AsseltAssessing the future is vital in informing public policy decisions. One of the most widespread approaches is the development of scenarios, which are alternative hypothetical futures. Research has indicated, however, that the reality of how professionals go about employing scenarios is often starkly at odds with the theory - a finding that has important ramifications for how the resulting images of the future should be interpreted. It also shows the need for rewriting and updating theory. This book, based on an intensive five year study of how experts actually go about assessing the future, provides a groundbreaking examination of foresighting in action. Obtained via ethnographic techniques, the results lay bare for the first time the real processes by which scenarios are made. It is also the first book to examine foresighting for public policy, which is so often overlooked in favour of business practice. From handling of discontinuity to historical determinism, the analysis reveals and explains why foresight is difficult and what the major pitfalls are. Each chapter ends with a toolkit of recommendations for practice. The book aims to help readers to reflect on their own practices of public-oriented foresight and thus to foster a deeper understanding of the key principles and challenges. Ultimately, this will lead to better informed decision making.