Professional Services

In the United States, Presidents’ Day falls between the birthdays of two of the nation’s most revered leaders—George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. As the country’s schoolchildren are constantly told, both men are remembered for their honesty, but would Washington and Lincoln make it in today’s business world?

Most of us have at least on one occasion recognized the truth in the lyrics to Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi. A senior executive with a construction equipment company recent did so as he described his company’s retrospective assessment of a decision relating to a key supplier:

When Yahoo!’s Marissa Mayer recently sent a memo to employees announcing that flexible working practices would be stopped and all home workers were due to report back to the office it created much furor. A supposedly progressive company – and a tech one at that – banning remote workers? From many quarters this prompted a level of surprise, and from others tacit agreement. The press has since been awash with articles and the message boards have been lively.

It marks the first time that Australia’s central bank will invest in sovereign bonds of an Asian country other than Japan. It follows events of earlier this month when the Australian dollar became the third currency to trade directly with the Chinese yuan.

Human capital is the single greatest expense for many organizations, and CFOs are looking to manage costs, so it would seem from the start that HR and finance executives are at odds. But it doesn’t have to – and shouldn’t – be this way. With new tax laws, healthcare reform, and looming mass retirement on our doorstep, it’s more important than ever for HR and finance executives to work together.

The position of Chief Financial Officer thirty years ago bears little resemblance to the position today. Even though the markets have experienced at least six major economic downturns since the 1960s, the macro-economic trends that are a consequence of this current global recession are having a significantly greater impact in comparison with any previous recession, particularly on the way in which businesses operate, the priorities they face and the strategies they need to develop to achieve success both on a national and global platform.

America loves a fierce individualist. And yes, there is something inspiring about the lone enterpriser or business executive blazing a path into the valuable future. And yet, while our culture will always celebrate the individual, the business world must acknowledge the truth behind the (alleged) Aristotle quote: “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” In other words, the near future will be all about innovation for sustainable value creation, led by teams.

The bank has announced that it will increase its purchase of government bonds by 50 trillion yen ($520 billion), a figure that is equivalent to approximately ten percent of Japan’s annual gross domestic product.

Japan's economy has been hurt by a variety of factors, not least decades of deflation or falling prices. Falling prices discourage people from spending and companies from investing, and that has trapped Japan in a cycle of what analysts have described as sluggish growth and recession.

Franchising itself in South Africa continues to prove to be very resilient,” states the Chairman of the Franchise Association of South Africa (FASA), Derek Smith. “Analysis conducted by Bendita Gordon of Franchise Directors showed that between 2008 and 2010 in the aftermath of the global recession hitting the country showed that, while the rest of the economy lost well over one million jobs, franchising actually created 25,000 new opportunities for people.”