July 25, 2006

This time next year we may well be getting used to power cuts. That could be critical to Labour’s 2008 election chances. The politics of electricity are the politics of

An ironic sign of increasingly commercialised times is the current trademarking battle over the ubiquitous ‘smiley face’. The bright yellow circle with its two black oval ‘eyes’ over an upwardly

Seems it’s fading thing – loyalty. For younger employees in particular it’s no longer given but something an employer has to put serious effort into earning. A recent online survey

Stephen Tindall, founder of The Warehouse and sustainable business proponent, has been named as this year’s recipient of the Blake Medal – New Zealand’s supreme award for leadership. This recognition

The KiwiSaver Bill may have admirable aims – but will it work? Its stated aim is to “encourage long-term savings habit and asset accumulation by individuals who are not currently

Hunter Lovins has lot of statistics at her fingertips – some are heartening, others just plain scary. The woman declared “hero of the planet” by Time magazine for her 30-year

Migrants continue to face barriers to employment – and only 11 percent of organisations have formal programmes to help integrate the newcomers into their workforce. Those findings emerge from survey

Power, fame, money – it’s the triumvirate of status and the occupations regarded as having the lion’s share of it all are the usual suspects: doctors, lawyers and politicians. But

If you have half memory and think the latest, best, breakthrough bit of management advice has familiar ring, you’re probably right. That’s according to Robert Sutton, professor of management science

• 25 • marketing project manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise. • Taking part in Excelerator’s Future Leaders Leadership Development Programme. • Vice president of the YWCA Wellington-Hutt Valley.

Business has long borrowed the language of leadership from the military. What can it learn from the modern warrior chief?

As anyone who has ever used Skype will tell you, it is far from perfect product. However, while it has had its limitations, this increasingly popular technology has certainly raised

Why New Zealand benefits when owners let go of the reins.

What Western companies can learn from Eastern models of governance.

Imagine if your company could come up with plan to save customers up to $6 billion year on their power bills. And what if this proposal would also save one

Benchmarking is one of the most versatile and powerful improvement techniques available to managers today, enabling them to look at companies anywhere in the world for the ideas and inspiration needed to achieve breakthrough improvements. Laura Longmire explains the fundamentals and benefits of benchmarking, and how it can lead to world-class process improvements.

New Zealand companies need to be more innovative in their approach to running organisations – and it’s never too early or late to learn.

Mary Devine No-one is saying it has been “Ezi” but Mary Devine has landed the top-shelf job of CEO at multimillion-dollar fashion clothing and home décor catalogue company EziBuy. The

The question I am most commonly asked with regard to select committees is, “If I have to appear before one, what are the rules of engagement?” The first thing to

We have recently introduced performance review system into our organisation which seems to be working well – but I’m not sure how often we should carry them out. The gap

A word that crops up frequently in discussion with The Edge’s chair David Wolfenden and CEO Greg Innes is ‘complexity’. How do they handle the challenges of a volatile industry within the political goldfish bowl of public ownership?

Far from being “fill-ins”, leased executives now play an integral part in New Zealand’s employment scene. What’s driving the change?

It’s no secret that being director today can be stressful, complex and, at times, downright risky. Indeed, Sheffield’s recent sweep through the boardrooms of New Zealand and Australia as part

A Treasury working paper published earlier this year made persuasive case for disregarding those who insist our farm sector is sunset industry when it comes to investing in research and

Politically appointed directors and enterprises monitored by “tick-the-box” methods are undermining confidence in public-sector performance. Graeme Hunt reports.

Why the Government should stop vetting and approving board members to our state-owned enterprises.

By: Scott Green Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Price: $129.95 Reviewer: Doug Matheson This is the best applied governance book from the United States that I have read. However I

(Revised Edition) By: John Carver and Miriam Carver Publisher: Jossey Bass Price: $62.95 Reviewer: Sandy Maier If you like your corporate governance served up prescriptively, then welcome, pilgrim, your search

By: Ram Charan Publisher: Jossey Bass Price: $43.95 Reviewer: Reg Birchfield Like so much of the growing body of governance literature this book is, in some measure, an outcome of

Bait and Switch: The Futile Pursuit of the Corporate Dream • Barbara Ehrenreich • Allen & Unwin • $29.99 Barbara Ehrenreich is probably best known for her best seller Nickel