May 29, 2002

Most business leaders agree: business education in New Zealand needs an upgrade, an overhaul. Their criticism goes way beyond bricks and mortar and the fuss surrounding the Government’s support for the University of Auckland’s Business School. But is the criticism well founded?

A winter escape should be marked on the calendar every year for busy executives.

With the plethora of puns made about the knowledge wave, you have to ask: are people taking the topic of the knowledge economy seriously?

I don’t know about you, but I get the distinct impression that the evolution of technology is accelerating rapidly. I was reminded of this recently when I went to upgrade

Research and improved profit performance should go hand in hand. Too often they parade as strangers. An increasingly voluble message seems to be that managers should conduct useable research more

A self-satisfied Michael Cullen will present his third Budget on May 23. He has some reason to feel tad elated: he has won major argument. Bill English has fallen into

Ask business leaders what lobby has had the most influence on this Government and the chorus in response would be: “the unions”. Look at the rash of pro-union laws, from

Are our businesses being strangled by red tape? If Peter Drucker’s comments in recent Harvard Business Review article are to be believed, they most certainly will be. “The growing burden

New Zealand’s tax laws are more suited to vehicle leasing than anywhere else in the world. But apart from the obvious FBT considerations, many companies now believe that the operational and broader financial benefits of vehicle fleet leasing – can and often do outweigh the cost of ownership.

The Government’s plans to build an economy based on encouraging successful small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) won’t happen. The lending policies of the nation’s banks will prevent it, according to

Given the endless stream of bad press that IT gets, managers could be forgiven for being negative about evaluating the benefits of IT projects.

Insolvency is a cruel fact of life in today’s difficult commercial world. But too few enterprises recognise or willingly admit that they are struggling to stay afloat. Managers need to heed the warning signs, act decisively and be prepared for the shame that follows failure.

Business communications are undergoing both an evolution and a revolution. But it is important to see beyond the technology.

Carter Holt Harvey is hunting for leaders. As part of its strategy it has streamlined its recruitment process and reduced the number of headhunters it uses from 60 to eight.

The appointment of Ralph Norris, successful banker, to Air New Zealand’s top management job raised the argument again. How transportable are management skills? Are leaders more likely to succeed in

Advocates of trade liberalisation welcomed Oxfam’s report on trade and poverty reduction, “Rigged Rules and Double Standards: Trade, Globalisation, and the Fight Against Poverty”. Perhaps they were relieved that Oxfam

Striking the right balance between work and personal life is difficult, even for the most disciplined individual managers. Creating work environment in which employees too can achieve ‘work-life balance’ is

* The New Leaders: Transforming the art of leadership into the science of results. * Lessons for Leadership Failures: The Greenfields Approach