Managing rising commodity prices is becoming a mission-critical agenda item for global food and beverage CEOs and their executive teams as unprecedented volatility in agricultural markets drives prices to historic highs and the old ways of defending territory no longer work. On the positive side, for astute companies that are ready to outdo the competition—and recognize the need for fresh, outside-the-box initiatives to gain that critical advantage—the volatility is creating more than a few commercial opportunities.
Astrong organizational culture is a business advantage that helps generate and maintain top-level performance. This is an obvious, intuitive statement that all business leaders understand and discuss. Yet, while many try to create a high-performing culture, few succeed. Why? Is it that difficult? Not really. The key to culture is understanding that the perceptions of the workforce are as significant in shaping behaviors as the formal mechanisms.
Around the world, in emerging and mature markets, Economic Clusters (ECs) have been used to jumpstart industries and accelerate the economic development journey by creating ripe economic environments for business, academia, and innovation to flourish. In response to global power shifts, Next Generation Economic Clusters (NECs) are emerging. These clusters will transcend old practices and truly differentiate themselves in order to meet the new economic development requirements under increasing capital, talent and environmental demands.
Marking 20 years since it established the CEO Retreat, A.T. Kearney's Global Business Policy Council (GBPC) convened senior business and government leaders in Shanghai in June 2011 to examine the sweeping changes under way across the planet. Shanghai is emblematic of the systemic transformation taking place around the world today. The city typifies the high-energy, high-growth trajectory on display in much of East Asia at a time when the rest of the world continues to struggle following the 2008-2009 Great Recession. The Retreat took place in the city's historic Bund district, overlooking a steady flow of barges moving down the Huangpu River. The view was a constant reminder of China's extended period of near double-digit growth.
As companies focus on growth and business development, the availability of quality information is crucial to making quick, rational business decisions. New technologies, however, can cause information overload, leaving decision makers buried under a mass of irrelevant, inadequate, and inconsistent data. Some companies manage to provide their decision makers with precise, relevant data in an easy-to-grasp format. These companies have discovered the value of effective business intelligence capabilities.
A population of more than 1.3 billion people. A middle class 200 million strong and growing. More than 450 million Internet users, including 150 million online shoppers. As China's remarkable growth continues, the conditions for the e-commerce market are only improving. But logistics, a key element in providing customer service, remains a major challenge for e-commerce players big and small. If the logistics market falters, will it bring down the e-commerce industry? Not if the e-commerce players confront the issue—and quickly.
The fact that two-thirds of non-financial S&P 500 companies did not survive during the 20-year period from 1988 through 2007 attests to the rapidly changing nature of long-term success. In a country such as the United States that lionizes success, business leaders who achieve extraordinary short-term financial gains for their companies often become celebrities. Yet, behind the headlines, larger questions remain: How does a company secure long-term success and value for shareholders? Does corporate performance correlate with CEO leadership over an extended period? And more specifically, what do we know about the importance of effective succession management?
Forty European executives gathered at the inaugural meeting of the Bad Ragaz Group to discuss the risks and opportunities during these challenging geopolitical and economic times. The discussions, sponsored by A.T. Kearney’s European practices and the Global Business Policy Council, focused on the outlook for the European economy, social media, energy and the future of the euro.
The current global services landscape is marked by countervailing trends. On one hand, firms are responding to intensifying cost-cutting imperatives by moving operations offshore. On the other, politicians are using global services offshoring as an easy scapegoat for current economic woes and high unemployment levels in their home countries, stoking resentment against globalized firms and their foreign host countries. Although signs of a slowdown in the growth of global services are evident in this environment, don't expect offshoring to end. In fact, the global services industry's full potential is ready to be tapped.
Die meisten Unternehmen mit Private Equity Beteiligung haben die Wirtschaftskrise gut überstanden und nutzen den aktuellen konjunkturellen Aufschwung sehr viel besser als Unternehmen mit traditioneller Finanzierung. A.T. Kearney hat die wirtschaftliche Performance in den letzten vier Jahren von mehr als 100 PE-Unternehmen in Großbritannien, Deutschland, Österreich, der Schweiz, Frankreich und Skandinavien untersucht. Mit dem Ergebnis: Vor allem Unternehmen, bei denen der PE-Fonds als „Supervisor“ dem Portfolio-Unternehmen sehr viel Eigenverantwortung überlässt sind ganz besonders profitabel und wachstumsstark.
The CHIMEA region (China, India, the Middle East and Africa) is poised to become a center for the petrochemicals industry, because of its large and growing population, economic growth and central location. Agility and forward-thinking will help the leaders in this industry separate from the pack.
Der Global Cities Index der Top-Managementberatung A.T. Kearney, des FOREIGN POLICY Magazins und des Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Foreign Policy untersucht den Globalisierungsgrad von 65 Städten weltweit. Danach sind New York, London und Tokio die globalisiertesten Städte der Welt. Wien belegt noch vor Frankfurt und Shanghai den 18. Platz.
As China’s economy roars ahead—and the country becomes a crucial force for stabilizing the world economy—even tier 2 and 3 Chinese cities are becoming major global players. This Index from A.T. Kearney's China Research Center rates the attractiveness of 30 Chinese cities in respect to foreign direct investment.
Some may wonder why, in the face of the myriad difficulties, from financial crisis to slow growth to global rebalancing, we are devoting precious time and energy to a topic that we could perhaps address later. Why not just put off diversity and inclusion issues until after the dust from the recession has settled? This attitude, however, misses the point. Diversity is not a fringe issue. It’s not something that leadership can put off for a sunnier day, nor is it an indulgence for the developed world. For any smartly managed company, diversity and inclusion are as central to vibrancy as profitability and growth
Der mit großem Abstand teuerste Kader hat Spanien in Südafrika den Weltmeistertitel beschert. Dass teure Spitzenspieler jedoch kein Erfolgsgarant sind, beweist vor allem das schlechte Abschneiden von Italien, Frankreich, England und Portugal. Hier stehen wohl ein weitreichender Umbau der Teams und eine Restrukturierung in den entsprechenden nationalen Fußballverbänden bevor.
Nach den aufstrebenden Schwellenländern China, Indien und Brasilien auf Rang eins, drei und vier sowie der zweitplatzierten USA kletterte Deutschland in der Liste der beliebtesten Investitionsziele deutlich nach oben und liegt nun auf Platz 5. Vor allem europäische Investoren achten darauf im nahen Ausland zu investieren und richten dabei ihren Blick verstärkt auf unser Nachbarland.
In the wake of the economic downturn, most companies have taken measures to conserve capital and control expenses. These measures work well in the short term but often have little effect on long-term growth or prosperity. By using a sustainable restructuring approach, small- and medium-sized companies can tackle today's challenges while creating future opportunities.
The world’s economic descent in the wake of Crash of ’08 is slowing. While the modest recovery of recent months has been encouraging, it was entirely predictable after the dramatic destocking by manufacturers over the past few quarters and the massive stimulus packages introduced by world governments. The question is whether or not it is sustainable.
The "New" New World Order Kontakt (E-Mail) Die A.T. Kearney-Industrie-Experten für Strategie in Central Europe stehen Ihnen gern zur Verfügung. Nehmen Sie Kontakt mit uns auf.
Top