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1 – 10 of 126Although bankruptcies in the TMT sector are flowing thick and fast, the collapse of the media empire built up by Leo Kirch over a 42‐year period is arguably the most dramatic…
Abstract
Although bankruptcies in the TMT sector are flowing thick and fast, the collapse of the media empire built up by Leo Kirch over a 42‐year period is arguably the most dramatic. Protected by its links with German business and financial institutions as well as politicians, the KirchGruppe appeared to be impervious to the periodic downturns in business conditions. However, not only did the “German” way of doing business behind closed doors come under increasing pressure by the end of the 1990s, but the KirchGruppe acquired enemies such as the Springer family as well as shareholders, such as Rupert Murdoch and Silvio Berlusconi, who were intent upon expanding their own empires. Because he assumed that his empire was well‐protected via his associates, Leo Kirch took excessive risks, not least the issuance of put options which, if exercised, could bring down his empire – which in the event was what transpired earlier this year.
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IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a…
Abstract
IN The verdict of you all, Rupert Croft‐Cooke has some uncomplimentary things to say about novel readers as a class, which is at least an unusual look at his public by a practitioner whose income for many years was provided by those he denigrates.
James H. Sweetland and Peter G. Christensen
Reports on a comparison of the 1992 Lambda Book Award titles and a sample of titles reviewed in the Lambda Book Report with a control group of titles listed in Publishers Weekly…
Abstract
Reports on a comparison of the 1992 Lambda Book Award titles and a sample of titles reviewed in the Lambda Book Report with a control group of titles listed in Publishers Weekly, “Forecasts”. Finds that while the Lambda Award titles received about the same number of reviews as the control group titles, the LBR sample received significantly fewer reviews. However, both samples of gay/lesbian/ bisexual books are held in significantly fewer OCLC libraries than are the control titles. Examines the content of reviews of sample books and finds that they show no apparent bias on the part of the reviewers.
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Farzad Farsio and Stacey Quade
Okun's law has been proven to be one of the most accepted theories in the macroeconomics field. It describes the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and…
Abstract
Okun's law has been proven to be one of the most accepted theories in the macroeconomics field. It describes the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) and unemployment. Arthur Okun's (1962) study was developed to help apply appropriate macroeconomic policy changes. Though the coefficient has been re‐estimated, Okun's original work states that a one‐percentage point reduction in the unemployment rate would produce approximately 3% more output. This correlation has continuously been scrutinized, its accuracy studied, and the degree of dependency these variables have on one another has been evaluated.
President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton…
Abstract
President Bill Clinton has had many opponents and enemies, most of whom come from the political right wing. Clinton supporters contend that these opponents, throughout the Clinton presidency, systematically have sought to undermine this president with the goal of bringing down his presidency and running him out of office; and that they have sought non‐electoral means to remove him from office, including Travelgate, the death of Deputy White House Counsel Vincent Foster, the Filegate controversy, and the Monica Lewinsky matter. This bibliography identifies these and other means by presenting citations about these individuals and organizations that have opposed Clinton. The bibliography is divided into five sections: General; “The conspiracy stream of conspiracy commerce”, a White House‐produced “report” presenting its view of a right‐wing conspiracy against the Clinton presidency; Funding; Conservative organizations; and Publishing/media. Many of the annotations note the links among these key players.
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Charles Margerison and Barry Smith
Managers as Actors Those of us who manage are playing on an organisational stage every day. We enter early every morning to take up our roles, whether it is as chief executive…
Abstract
Managers as Actors Those of us who manage are playing on an organisational stage every day. We enter early every morning to take up our roles, whether it is as chief executive, marketing manager, personnel adviser, production executive or any of the numerous other roles that have to be performed if work is to be done effectively.
The purpose of parts I and II is to demonstrate in detail precisely how any city law firm can transform its profitability. Part II examines the business model, the “us” and “them”…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of parts I and II is to demonstrate in detail precisely how any city law firm can transform its profitability. Part II examines the business model, the “us” and “them” divide, alternative careers for lawyers, change management and culture change.
Design/methodology/approach
Sets out how the left‐brain business model limits the ability to transform profitability, pushes firms towards becoming a low cost producer and denies the ability to gain a competitive advantage; also sets out a range of strategies to reduce the “us” and “them” divide that currently exists; emphasises the need to provide a range of alternative careers for lawyers rather than continue with an “up” or “out” approach; demonstrates the dominance of the innovative change management paradigm, the negative consequences on effective change management and what could be a successful balanced change management paradigm; considers the importance of culture, why culture change initiatives fail and the damage caused by the lack of any explicit change management paradigm, and what could be a successful explicit paradigm that would transform profitability.
Findings
The left‐brain business model denies the ability to transform profitability or to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. Profitability and motivation of graduates joining law firms would increase if a range of alternative careers was provided. Developing and implementing a balanced change management paradigm would radically improve change management and profitability. Creating a cultural competitive edge through implementing an explicit, team‐based cultural paradigm and focusing development on the core development competences of delegation and co‐ordination would transform profitability.
Originality/value
The value of part II is in enabling the reader to understand the complete range of strategies to transform city law firm profitability.
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Bala Chakravarthy and Peter Lorange
Strategic renewal requires both a top‐down and bottom‐up effort. Top management sets the broad vision for the firm and specifies the scope and pace of renewal. However, it is the…
Abstract
Purpose
Strategic renewal requires both a top‐down and bottom‐up effort. Top management sets the broad vision for the firm and specifies the scope and pace of renewal. However, it is the firm's entrepreneur‐managers who shape its renewal strategies and take responsibility for their implementation. This paper aims to profile the skills, personal traits and experiences of successful entrepreneur‐managers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses field research.
Findings
The paper finds that entrepreneur‐managers are in part corporate entrepreneurs. They are outward‐focused, cognizant of changes in their business environment and the new opportunities that these may bring. They are willing to experiment with new business models and to explore new capabilities. But they are also operating managers interested in scaling up an entrepreneurial idea and in delivering results. They have a few special personality traits. They are not risk averse and are action oriented. They are also supremely self‐confident. These traits allow entrepreneur‐managers to take risks, persist despite failures and learn from their mistakes. However, more than special traits, it is experience that grooms entrepreneur‐managers in a firm. Entrepreneur‐managers are typically not new comers to the organization. Their long tenure helps with networking inside the firm. They also have an established track record of performing well. That buys them the freedom to operate outside the usual confines of the organization and enjoy the trust that is needed to take risks on behalf of the firm.
Research limitations/implications
Like in any field‐based study, the sample size is a limitation. However, for the modest goal that this paper has set for itself, i.e. profiling the entrepreneur‐manager, this is not a severe limitation.
Practical implications
The paper provides a profile for identifying and nurturing entrepreneur‐managers. As it argues, they are the drivers of strategic renewal within the firm.
Originality/value
Prior empirical and theoretical research on intrapreneurship has focused more on creating distinct new corporate ventures. This article suggests that the real power of intrapreneurship is to help connect the future of the firm with its current core businesses. Intrapreneurship is about leverage and build, more so than transform, to use the three types of renewal strategies that are offered in this article.
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