Monthly Archives: January 2008

Channel 4 Chairman Luke Johnson had a go at the HR function in yesterday’s FT. As well as repeating the usual gripes, he injected a whiff of conspiracy theory into his polemic. Of course, senior executives understand that HR is powerful … Continue reading →

Here’s another one for my collection of useful tags. ‘Marmite’ is a term I heard a couple of days ago to describe a certain type of employee. Before I go any further, for the benefit of non-British readers, Marmite is a food spread … Continue reading →

I wonder what would happen if Dr Paul Thomas (see previous post) were to suggest to managers at Societe Generale that they should get rid of hierarchy and empower their employees. I think they would probably kick him down the stairs. The £3.7 billion loss run up … Continue reading →

A lot of business schools are still more ‘school’ than ‘business’. The University of Glamorgan’s Business School, it seems, is no exception, if the profile of Senior Lecturer Paul Thomas is anything to go by. It tells us all about his … Continue reading →

The Guardian’s Lynsey Thomas wrote a piece on body language on Saturday. I started to notice the body language of the successful: the straight back, the easy manner in which they spout on about nothing in particular, all the while … Continue reading →

I was sad to hear of the death of John Harvey-Jones last week. He was a great business leader, running ICI when it was still Britain’s biggest company, before Zeneca was sold off. He was also probably the first business guru in … Continue reading →

Following a link from Ask a Manager, I discovered Frank Mulligan’s Talent in China blog. In his New Year post he gives some advice to non-Chinese managers who are working in China. As you might expect, cultural differences account for many of the  potential … Continue reading →

Here is an interesting suggestion. Professor Raghuram Rajan thinks that high performing investment managers should have part of their bonuses for successful years held back as insurance against their investments bombing in subsequent years. His argument is that a lot of people are rewarded for … Continue reading →

It’s bonus time in the City again and former investment banker Andrew Clavell has written a couple of blog posts about the process. Unless you have worked in an investment bank, it is difficult to imagine the frenzied atmosphere as the annual bonus round … Continue reading →

Well, everyone finally seems to be getting back to work this week. Some had an extended break and did not return to work until this Monday, others have been at their deaks since the 2nd of January but, because the office was half empty, didn’t actually … Continue reading →