The Pasona Group is one of Japan’s biggest HR consulting firms engaged in providing talent recruitment solutions to its clients. The company’s founder cum CEO is a major advocate of a more independent and flexible workforce citing benefits to both sides of the equation. About four decades back when YasuyukiNambo started out, there were few independent, gig workers. But now the makeup of the workforce has changed with two-fifths of Japanese employees being non-regular. Pasona’s staffing solutions are now spread out across countries such as Germany, China, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, USA and Thailand. With demographic and technological changes afoot, certain aspects will gain further credence such as flexibility, retraining of older employees and equal pay for female workers. Nambu has even invested time and money in tackling certain national issues such as depopulation of rural areas and the country’s reducing food security. Nambu’s approach towards long-term fulfilment of the corporate strategy is second to none, yet he has faced scrutiny regarding the limited short-term financial growth. So, Hong Kong-based Oasis Management has taken over a substantial stake to drive further business.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Can-More-Flexible-Workforces-Solve-Societys-Problems?gko=25640

Uploaded Date:22 June 2018

In a workforce increasingly manned by millennials, baby-boomers are in a quandary. As per business intelligence provided by the Pew Research Center, the former is soon likely to replace the latter as the most dominant group across corporate America. This is creating complications in talent recruitment policies. Conventional wisdom suggests that the workforce reflect the customer base. That is why increasingly, even market leaders such as IBM are distorting the age-profile within their teams. While a lot of focus is paid ot workforce diversity in terms of gender, ethnicity, skin color and sexual orientation, the problem of ageism has barely been addressed. A Pro Publica study even highlighted the plight by stating that several of the older employees aged between 52 and 70 at IBM were fired in spite of good performances in favor of youngsters. The present 21-35 age group need not be the same as previous ones. For a start, the numbers are already quite diverse, with white-male proportions reducing ever since the ‘greatest generation’. Due to current rapid pace-of-change, older generations are often unable to keep up with the latest trends. Many of the boomers defy the lazy stereotypes and are actually adept at learning newer things. They need to go out of their way to demonstrate this quick-grasping ability.

Source:http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/can-baby-boomers-survive-rise-millennials/

Uploaded Date:22 June 2018

The Global Private Equity Report for 2018 has been released by management consulting giant Bain. Looking back on 2017, there was increased investment, attractive returns, proactive fund-raising activity and strong exit margins. A total fund raising of US$ three trillion was concluded in 2017. One challenge which could come back to bite is that the deal count has reduced. In the detailed report, some PE firms have given their verdict on how best to further enhance benefits further. Companies in addition, have also made returns up to eleven times pre-taxes, depreciation and amortization from their initial investments.

Source:http://go.bain.com/global-private-equity-report-2018.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=WEB-2018-Global-Private-Equity-Report

Uploaded Date:19 June 2018

Big four audit firm PwC recently concluded its Global Consumer Insights Survey 2018. This study was first published in 2010 and since then has been an annual affair. Twenty-two thousand online shoppers were surveyed across twenty-seven territories worldwide. Most are optimistic about their local economies, the figure touching nearly three-fourths of respondents. They are willing to spend extra provided they get extra comforts such as same-day delivery or personalized services. The corresponding figure here is eighty-eight percent. Digital marketing is the best way to reach most, as all seek inspiration from social networks, but are ambivalent about use of artificial intelligence. To help with shopping related queries, about two-fifths are willing to or have already purchased a consumer AI device.

Source:https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/retail-consumer/consumer-insights-survey.html

Uploaded Date:19 June 2018

A lot of companies experience a gap between their lofty corporate strategy documents with the actual execution of the same. That is why a thinktank has listed out ten principles which can reduce this gap. In spite of the obvious differential, companies must for a start nonetheless aim for the stars. Brands must leverage their inherent strengths. They need to be ambidextrous to the point that they can dabble in a number of work styles. The right talent management would dictate that each person’s role within the overall strategy be well explained. The entire structure must ultimately be aligned with this overall strategy. Functional teams are just for convenience sake but must not act as silos or barriers. The aim must be to be get as digital as possible. The management team must try to keep things simple. The value chain must also be shaped accordingly. To ensure coherence, collective mastery has to be inculcated.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/10-Principles-of-Strategy-through-Execution?gko=7f785

Uploaded Date:18 June 2018

Usually when a CEO departs due to performance related reasons, many of the directors can point to some warning signs being there throughout. No director could take the strong decisions earlier, as proof was missing. In such cases though, waiting for the opportune moment may get too late. Deviating substantially from the policies set out by the directors could be one such early warning sign that all may not be well. Such leaders often stop listening, relying too much on their personal attributes. They often do not take up ownership for failures but pass on the buck. Quantifiable numbers often go missing. Disengagement with the employees is a sure sign on poor talent management abilities. Even seniors in the team then lose focus, so meetings become pointless charades. External distractions often pose visible stress on some CEOs. Being overly protective of some of the team members is also not healthy.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/How-to-Prevent-a-Faltering-CEO-from-Damaging-Your-Company?gko=fd83f

Uploaded Date:15 June 2018

The term Design Thinking was first applied after a certain article written by the CEO of IDEO on a 2008 edition of the Harvard Business Review. Since then the term has been in vogue, used for a diverse range of solutions from Airbnb’s model to solar panel sales in Africa. For doing it the right way, the first step is to identify the problem before exploring a range of solutions. One needs to iterate by extensively prototyping and testing. Deployment is the last stage. Creativity needs to be applied to real-world problems. Users need to be involved at each stage. This concept of using design and creativity has worked wonders in the education field as exemplified through a case in Peru where IDEO was used to improve the learning experience at school level.  Tech giant IBM has designed a corporate training course specifically for their employees to understand these design concepts.

Source:http://mitsloan.mit.edu/newsroom/articles/design-thinking-explained/?utm_source=mitsloantwitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=designthinkingexplainer

Uploaded Date:14 June 2018