Archive

As world leaders prepare for Rio+20, Desso’s Andrew Sibley sketches out the new environmental agenda. Cradle to cradle thinking, he says, provides a blueprint for manufacturing.

New Zealand has an almost ‘corruption free’ global business and political reputation. Transparency International (TI), the world’s leading watchdog of corrupt practices, ranks us second only to Denmark as the

My brother-in-law is fanatical about ‘use by’ dates on grocery store items. He would rather die of thirst than drink milk two days beyond its so-called expiry limit. little extreme

Board behaviour analysis is simple technique that can be use to improve governance and make meetings more effective. It’s based on classifying what directors say in board meetings and also

Underperforming boards and directors are delivering poor company performances and too many company failures. Companies that should be doing well are doing little more than surviving. Directors’ and boards’ reputations

Competition has been an important contributor to the rapid economic growth achieved during the past 200 years. The most effective businesses are rewarded with profitable growth while the least effective

In wired and wireless workplace, technology is meant to help manage the tidal wave of information that pours in each day. But it can end up complicating matters. Here are

Working remotely is an increasing trend in New Zealand businesses and Robert Half data shows many Kiwis harness the power of technology to ‘check in’ when away from the office.

PricewaterhouseCooper’s Public Sector Research Centre outlines three far-reaching priorities for governments nationally and internationally in its latest report in its government and CEO series. 

Deloitte’s global energy and resources practice has released a report pinpointing key concerns around the world’s water resources. 

It’s just three months until the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. So it’s no surprise we’re seeing a burst of activity from global consultancies and institutions on the environmental megaforces that will increasingly influence our personal and business worlds.

Executive Update Edition 39

• By Andrea Kates • McGraw Hill • RRP $49.00 Constant genetic modification is as natural as – well, nature really. Genomes make us unique but the similarities they deliver

New research from KPMG International identifies 10 “megaforces” tipped to significantly affect corporate growth globally over the next two decades. 

The next big business opportunity will come from the Global Emerging Middle (GEM) – those people who are just below the middle income market segment. That’s according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers International (PwC) report, “Profitable growth strategies for the global emerging middle – Learning from the ‘Next 4 billion’ markets”. 

Motu, NIWA and the Land and Water Forum are running a public symposium on markets and water quality in Wellington on 3 April.

• By Richard Branson • Virgin/Random House • RRP $36.99 For anyone who five years ago read Richard Branson’s book Screw it, let’s do it, his latest book is both

• By Thomas L Friedman & Michael Mandelbaum • Little, Brown • RRP $39.99 Pulitzer Prize-winning Tom Friedman (the man behind The World is Flat) collaborates with foreign policy university

The United Nations and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have bashed their heads together for some new thinking on how Asia-Pac countries could tackle the constraints of limited resources.

Are we as clean as we seem?

My brother-in-law is fanatical about ‘use by’ dates on grocery store items. He would rather die of thirst than drink milk two days beyond its so-called expiry limit. little extreme

Board behaviour analysis is simple technique that can be use to improve governance and make meetings more effective. It’s based on classifying what directors say in board meetings and also

Board and director accountability

MARCH 2012 • Vol 59 No 2

Deloitte/ Management magazine Executive or the Year 2011

Tim Bennett NZX has appointed Singapore-based New Zealander Tim Bennett to take over from Mark Weldon as its chief executive, effective early May. Bennett has almost 20 years’ financial services

March 12-13 Writing for the Web. Auckland. Bright*Star Training. brightstar.co.nz 12-13 Strategic Planning and Implementation. Auckland. University of Auckland Short Courses. shortcourses.ac.nz 12-13 Human Resource Management (Dip in Management Advanced).

Entries are now open for the EEO Trust Work & Life Awards 2012. Now in their 15th year, the awards showcase employers who help employees make the most of their

Business leaders are invited to lace up their walking shoes, grab water bottle and join New Zealanders from all walks of life for the Big Walk 2012. This is the

I relished Reg Birchfield’s article “Flawed governance” (NZ Management, February 2012, page 22) and applaud him for stating the facts. It may have created some angst in boardrooms but he

Calls for an overhaul of the beleaguered Christchurch City Council raise far-reaching constitutional issues. What are the options available to the Government and how might these work? Local government legal expert Michael Garbett, of Anderson Lloyd, examines the alternatives.

Salary expectations are growing source of tension between businesses and employees, according to Hudson’s “Salary and Employment Insights 2012” series of reports. “Employers are under pressure to simultaneously improve the

Some 86.6 percent of business decision makers rate the service being provided by their banks as good, very good or excellent. They are less likely to give their banks an

The troublesome issue of our aging population and its impact on the labour market got sound airing at National Institute of Demographic and Economic Analysis (NIDEA) workshop in Hamilton recently.

The Sir Peter Blake Trust once again is searching to recognise individuals who have Dared to Dream as part of the country’s premier leadership awards. The Sir Peter Blake Emerging

One of New Zealand’s most valuable academic prizes is up for grabs again as applications open for the 2012 Cranfield New Zealand Alumni Scholarship. The successful applicant will complete an

ANZ New Zealand’s institutional MD David Green warns Kiwis will need to seriously change their mindset if we’re to benefit from the Government’s new China strategy.

Executive Update carries a distinctive Asian flavour this time as the Government unleashes its big plan for Kiwis to make inroads into China and ANZ’s David Green warns Kiwis they need to brush up their thinking on the Middle Kingdom.

Pundits’ predictions on the shape of the future keep pouring in. Here’s our pick of the latest lot. They laser in on the future of financial services, how tribalism inevitably carves world trade into Anglo-, Sino- and Indospheres, and what’s on the horizon this year for consumer technology. 

Anyone wanting a stronger fix of Asian economic news can now get it on a daily basis.

The Commerce Commission has released a discussion paper on how it intends to implement the new Telecommunications Development Levy liability allocation process.

CampaignAsia weighs into the debate on who owns and controls online information in a recent article by PR practitioner Jeremy Woolf.

Demand for consumer technology will continue to advance this year with record numbers of smartphones and tablets likely to be sold, according to Deloitte’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) Predictions 2012 report.

Businesspeople need to factor in the influence of the Anglo-, Sino- and Indosphere according to a recent Schumpeter column in The Economist.

Executive Update Edition 38

On the positive news front, a new HSBC report reckons New Zealand will top the league table of developed countries with 2.9 percent GDP growth in 2050.

A new report by London-based L3F (Long Finance Forum of Futurists) scopes out four possible scenarios for the global financial services market over the next 40 years.

The recent approval for the Shanghai Pengxin Group to buy New Zealand’s Crafar farms was a seminal event in this country’s economic evolution, says David Mahon in his latest “China Watch” review.

McKinsey’s Shanghai-based director Gordon Orr has come out with 10 predictions for China this year. In essence, he says that despite food price inflation and a stagnant housing market, China should maintain a rapid rate of growth.

Changes brought about by digital marketing are now having a significant impact on both up- and downstream business, according to a new report by research-based business consultancy TNS.

People in Asia are more trusting of businesses and governments than their counterparts in the US or Europe.

A new Havas Media study shows consumers in fast-growing economies are significantly more positive about brands than people in more mature markets.

Raising governance standards and the reputation of directors are the key drivers for Ralph Chivers in his new role as CEO of the Institute of Directors.

New Zealand’s SMEs are this country’s greatest potential economic resource. To grow, they need to accept the advice and support of knowledgeable and experienced board members.

Executive Update Edition 37

General manager at Pacific Coilcoaters, Hamish McBeath was recently acknowledged as the NZIM/Eagle Technology Young Executive of the Year.

• Grand Pursuit: The Story of Economic Genius • By Sylvia Nasar • Harper Collins • RRP $64.99 For all the stick it gets, economics profoundly impact our world. Even

• By Carmine Gallo • McGraw Hill • RRP $36.00 and $41.00 Dropping Steve Jobs’ name and reputation into book title is smart. It has paid handsome dividends for presentation,

February 2012 • Vol 59 No 1

When I went hunting online for cheery economic forecasts recently I didn’t come up with anything too perky. Fair to say, the pre-Christmas NZIER Consensus Forecasts should not drive anyone

Sponsored by The University of Auckland Business School Short Courses www.shortcourses.ac.nz 0800 800 875 NZIM Courses see page 63 www.shortcourses.ac.nz 13-14 Managing People. Auckland. University of Auckland Short Courses. www.iod.org.nz

Meetings with posse of heavyweight players in the South China region were part of the programme for two young New Zealand managers recently. NZIM picked Hamish McBeath and Matt Carter

David Chapman, for 17 years the New Zealand Institute of Management’s National chief executive and its indefatigable advocate for better management education and training in New Zealand, died in Wellington

Taxi billing specialist TaxiCharge NZ has gained carboNZero certification for third successive year. In 2009, TaxiCharge was the first company in the local taxi and passenger transport industry to gain

Ultimately, it may not be collapse of the financial markets that sends the wider economy spiralling into depression: it may instead be the European Union’s protectionism and massive tariff walls

Organisers of the inaugural IncrediblEdge summit in Auckland are offering one complimentary ticket to Management magazine subscriber (see details below). Scheduled for 5-6 March, the summit brings together thought leaders

A year and month on from the lethal earthquake which devastated much of the Christchurch CBD, Christchurch organisations will share their learning experiences in the wake of the quakes at

I enjoy reading the articles Reg Birchfield writes for NZ Management. I figure there’s plenty more I can learn so he keeps me thinking. In the last issue December 2011

MNSBC anchor Richard Lui provides the following advice to anyone wanting to start bridging the gap between business and social philanthropy. Become part of the social venture community. Go to

Back in the 1980s, people would fret over how to spend the extra spare time that technology was about to force upon them. It was considered such serious issue that

Just over 44 percent of business decision makers think they’ll be personally better off financially during the next three years. This compares with 27.4 percent of New Zealanders overall who

NZ suffers from a lack of competent directors and too many ineffective boards. What’s wrong with NZ leadership?

There’s something deeply refreshing about finally admitting some of the old ways don’t work. This is new year with the same old economic problems and blind Freddy can see we’ve

Now managing director of London Shared, a UK-based asset management company, Jake Willis has been working abroad for eight years. His company specialises in shared accommodation for young professionals from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the UK.

For the past six months this column has told you what the Vision 2050 programme is all about. You’ve heard from the project champion, the project manager and from two

Priorities, people and promise. Reg Birchfield lifts the hood on what to expect this year.

There is rule: government is defined by its first year of its second term. That’s what National bosses believe. The pressure is on John Key and his cabinet. Key made

New Zealand’s opportunity to dive into troubled world has never been better. At present, we feed about 20 million people globally, and it’s possible that we could feed 50 million

QBE Chairperson of the Year 2011

South Korea remains rocked by the recent death of its northern neighbour’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-il. Meanwhile, its Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) think-tank predicts 10, mainly gloomy, global trends for 2012.

Executive Update Edition 36

When introducing Australian futurist Steve Tighe at an Auckland business breakfast recently, Paul Robinson, director of recruitment and HR services company Randstad NZ, told people that technology will make remote workforces a big reality in the near future.

External threats will dominate the 2012 investment landscape, pushing from centre-stage last year’s battles with inflation and overheating. Russell Investments says global deleveraging will provide a backdrop for modest growth and recovery – which will be driven by Asia and the US.

Joyce Gioia, the strategic business futurist behind the highly-regarded Herman Trend Alert, has laid out her annual wide-ranging set of predictions for workplaces round the world.

In a two-part round-up of job ops for the year, Herman Trend Alert’s strategic business futurist Joyce Gioia pinpoints “pockets of prosperity” for 2012.

Leading Korean think-tank Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) has released its list of most promising technologies for 2012.

Leadership Management Australasia (LMA) has identified the top five issues for leaders and managers this year.

The annual new-year soothsayers are out in force so here’s our pick of predictions for 2012. They cover everything from the shape of the economy and the hottest technologies, to what our workplaces will look like, where to find jobs and how to read the investment landscape.

New Zealand should shift its focus from value-add to value creation, according to Dr Bob Breault, a longstanding member of The Competitiveness Institute, a global non-profit network based in Barcelona.

A leading authority on competitive advantage says New Zealand should think carefully about which other countries it benchmarks against.

New Zealand workplaces and employers compare favourably to those in other countries that have traditionally been viewed as alternative employment opportunities for Kiwis.

Kea New Zealand continues to pump out research showing overseas Kiwis are keen to invest back home.

KPMG head of agribusiness Ian Proudfoot has called for New Zealand to develop a clear long-term vision for its agricultural sector.

Leading brand strategist Brian Richards has called for New Zealand to place more emphasis on measuring people’s economic wellbeing rather than simply charting the country’s economic production.

Small countries, regional groupings and cities will drive the global economy forward in the future.

TNS New Zealand has unleashed its latest Digital Life survey. It uncovers six market segments. Each is aligned to the extent to which people want to be involved with a brand and their desire to consume online offerings.

Executive Update Edition 35

A leading authority on competitive advantage says New Zealand should think carefully about which other countries it benchmarks against.

Mainfreight claimed two of the big prizes at this year’s Deloitte/Management magazine Top200 Awards.

Mainfreight has maintained its business, cultural and organisational integrity while growing into a billion-dollar global company.