Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk has appointed a new chairman, Jim Hagemann who is also holds the same position at Swedish tech giant Siemens. Hagemann is very young for the top position, but his command over digital practices gave him the edge. He is also a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and taught at the Copenhagen Business School. Such dual appointments are likely to reduce over time as per business research conducted by INSEAD exploring the corporate culture at present and expected to evolve across countries at top management level. The study was conducted across the UK, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Turkey, Singapore, Russia and the Netherlands. For a start, by 2027, diversity in female representation is expected to increase, especially at Denmark and the UK which report figures of 25 and 20 percent respectively. Singapore is more lukewarm while Russia seems least likely to see this revolution. Career paths are also expected to change. While for most it will be a direct progression from the CEO position and technology will lead the numbers in terms of industry, the scope should widen to include professionals from academia or management consulting. Increasingly board meetings will be virtual, though Turkey is less excited about this than Denmark or the Netherlands.

Source:https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/how-boards-will-look-in-ten-years-7196

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

PwC has highlighted certain major trends that are rocking the world of business at present. The middle-class is getting gradually erode while wealth disparity between classes is magnifying. Opportunities are reducing, while regional disadvantages are not mending. This disparity is getting force due to technological disruptions. A lot of traditional businesses or other sources of income are no longer stable. In this scenario, the public-private partnership model is the future. All this has been incorporated in the ADAPT model that business consulting giant PwC has proposed. ADAPT features five related aspects that are- Asymmetry, Disruption, Age, Populism and Trust. All of these are eroding so a new framework is needed to solve these multitude of problems.

Source:https://www.pwc.com/adapt?utm_campaign=581950bdd4dbac5ffe02febe&utm_content=5b329f498cf2c2140400e2d8&utm_medium=smarpshare&utm_source=twitter

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

Due to several uncontrollable external factors such as societal expectations, political pressures, macroeconomic uncertainty and technological disruption, corporate strategy has now become more complex than ever before. It is also increasingly attaining greater importance due to the varied nature of present business environments. The board of directors must thus get more involved in the strategy formulation. One way in which they can benefit through participation is by their focus on long-term to aid the management. Board members tend to have external contacts which they can leverage to create a sense of belonging. A lot of directors may not be fit for hands-on interference due to their career spanning classical times. But this experience can help the company through their cross-domain insights. They can then guide the execution of the strategy devised. Highly involved boards need to feature a broad range of topics during their meetings. The management likewise needs to be challenged adroitly. The members must have the pulse to gauge business intelligence on strategy execution. Their discussions must be focused towards the end result.

Source:https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/board-role-strategy-changing-environment.aspx

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

Tom Peters is one of the most renowned management thinkers of the 21^st century. His career has spanned about half a century where he has written numerous books on talent management and other business matters. His primary focus has always been on people concerns, one of the reasons why he has over 150,000 followers on social media platform Twitter. Early on in his career, he had a stint in Vietnam, where he realized the importance of developing people. That is why he pays particular focus to the importance of corporate training especially in today’s ever-changing world. His latest book The Excellence Dividend has been penned in a rather unique style where the initial draft was in the form of a power-point presentationwith a whopping four-thousand slides. He also stresses on the fact that there is no substitute to constant reading, all the more important now due to the pace of business transformation.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-Enthusiasms-of-Tom-Peters?gko=12405&sf193482600=1

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

Transformation creates opportunities for the future while change merely mends the past. That is why one must go for the former and not the latter. These two words are often used interchangeably but are not. Due to this confusion transformation is now often seen as merely cost cutting and use of new technologies. Change merely tries to address that already present. Words often used in business meetings such as hardest, faster, greater or more are comparative, so rooted in past experiences or performances. Instead of asking “what’s wrong”, transformation efforts pose the question “what if”. Business innovations often arise out of these as new fields of performance are designed. Uncontested markets are explored for this. Nokia is a perfect example of a company that tried change but could not as it was rooted to its past, namely its OS which was indeed inferior to Apple’s. Corning on the other hand has survived in this age of disruption by thinking anew.

Source:https://knowledge.insead.edu/blog/insead-blog/aim-for-transformation-not-change-9866

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

Sustainability in business is no longer on the fringes of thought leadership, but indeed one of the main driving points for the coming times. A study conducted on 297 global companies by Bain revealed that more than four-fifths of respondents say that sustainability will become even more important a factor over the next five years. It is embedded within the corporate strategy of two-thirds of these companies, endorsed widely by the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment. Thus, some “next practices” have been identified post this study to explore the means by which companies will adopt sustainable business practices. For a start, companies will need to adopt a future-back thinking as this will create transformative ambitions. This concept of “sustainable” needs to be made irresistible for customers. A wholescale systems change is needed where partnerships focus on scalable meaningful action. A suite of advanced technologies will need to be made use of for enable genuine transformation. The term “value creation” needs a redefinition, as it is still left vague among key stakeholders. If nothing else works, companies will have no option but to indeed alter the core business.

Source:https://www.bain.com/insights/transforming-business-for-a-sustainable-economy

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018

Joint Ventures (JV) remain as popular as ever as a means of business expansion. A recent example is that of Volkswagen’s with Israeli cybersecurity firm Cymotive Technologies. Another is the triple collaboration between Alibaba, Foxconn and SoftBank. However, JVs are not without due risk especially in the international markets. A study was conducted by BCG to understand the pitfalls. This business research team included academics, JV managers and BCG specialists. It was revealed post this study that nearly a fifth of all surveyed were dissatisfied with the value created while nearly-three-fourths felt things could get better. BCG lists thirteen factors as crucial to the success of such international JVs. These 13 are further classified within five broad categories which are- business strategy, governance, organization, IT protection and operational control. Included within the business corporate strategy are the overall objective and scope. Proper terms and conditions for the exit must also be outlined. Decision-making, management board set-up and the board of Directors set-up are the sub-factor within. IP protection is the sole factor within IT protection. The operational control will be determined by the quality in supply chain, production, sales and marketing, and research and development. Finally, as part of organization, factors included are the human resources alignment, JV culture and internal organization within the newly created MNC.

Source:https://www.bcg.com/en-us/capabilities/globalization/when-building-international-joint-ventures-setup-matters.aspx?linkId=55074430&redir=true

Uploaded Date:25 August 2018