US Business Management |
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Documents sent by US Embassy in Paris:
choice and classification by GEOSCOPIE
BUSINESS STRATEGIES
See US Economy
and USforeigneconomy.html
Killer Strategies That Make Shareholders Rich
Fortune, June 23, 1997, pp 70-84
"Between 1986 and 1996, just 17 companies of
the FORTUNE 1,000 grew total shareholder return by 35% or more per year. Their secret?
When you dig into the workings of these wealth creators, you find that most managed to
grow their return rates by radically changing the basis of competition in their
industries. They either invented totally new industries or completely reinvented existing
industries... Taking risks, breaking the rules, and being a maverick have always been
important, but today they are more crucial than ever... Unless today s established
corporations learn to reinvent themselves and their industries, much of the new wealth
will be created by newcomers."
The Next Best Thing to Free Money
Fortune, July 7, 1997, pp 52-62
"Stock options, and the belief that they
may someday be worth a lot of money, make it far easier than it used to be to start and
build a company... A uniquely American phenomenon, the options culture helps explain why
more than 400 public companies have sprung up in Silicon Valley, and why another 148
startups there got venture-capital backing in the first quarter of this year alone."
Brain Power: Who Owns It... How They Profit From It
Stewart, Thomas A. Stewart, Thomas A. Fortune, March 17, 1997 pp
105-110
Corporate America is now built on intellectual
capital rather than bricks and mortar... This change upsets the nature and governance of
corporations.
Operations of U.S. Multinational Companies:
Preliminary Results from the 1994 Benchmark Survey
Mataloni, Raymond J., Jr.; Mahnaz Fahim-Nader.
Survey of Current Business, vol. 76, no. 12,
December 1996, pp. 11-39
U.S. multinational companies invest in foreign
production primarily for sale in markets near the production sites -- not for cheap labor
or for access to natural resources or for export back to the United States. Nearly 70% of
their foreign affiliates' output of goods and services was produced in the wealthy
countries of Europe and the Pacific. U.S. multinational companies account for a large
share of U.S. trade -- 66% of goods exports and 38% of goods imports in 1994 -- but less
than in 1982, when they accounted for 77% of goods exports and 50% of goods imports. From
1982 to 1994, the foreign affiliates' share of U.S. multinational companies' output rose
from 37 to 46%; their share of employment rose from 21 to 23 percent.
The Porter Prescription
Goozner, Merill (Chicago Tribune) Goozner, Merill (Chicago Tribune) The American
Prospect, May-June 1998, pp 80-87
"Michael Porter, management consultant
extraordinaire, has now brought his theory of competitive advantage to the inner city.
Bold new ideas -- or an old elixir in a new bottle?"
International Business: The New Bottom Line
Kogut, Bruce (University of Pennsylvania's Wharton
School of Business)
Foreign Policy, no. 110, Spring 1998, pp. 152-165
The globalization of markets, and rapid changes in
economic and political systems, have forced scholars to rethink the meaning of
international business concepts like location, comparative advantage and transmission of
knowledge among countries. Today, international business focuses on the ability of
managers to direct and organize people despite large variations in their national origins
and culture within the boundaries of a single multinational firm.
New Thinking on Business Strategy
The Washington Quarterly, Winter 1998, pp 157-205
"As the world forges ahead in its historical
transformation from an industry-based to a knowledge-focused era, the context of business
strategy and management is changing rapidly and fundamentally." This file contains
four articles: What Should Policymakers Know about Economic Complexity by Steven Durlauf
(University of Wisconsin); The Rise of a New Corporate Form by James M. Moore (Geopartners
Research, Inc.); Waking Up to the New Era of Hypercompetition by Richard A. D’Aveni
(Dartmouth College); The Living Company: A Recipe for Success in the New Economy by Arie
de Geus.
Increasing Returns: Competing for Customers in the
Global Market
Vandermerwe, Sandra. Vandermerwe, Sandra. Journal of World Business,
vol. 32, no. 4, Winter 1997, pp. 333-350
The author discusses how successful modern
corporations such as Xerox, IBM, Citibank and Price Waterhouse are implementing
"increasing returns" management strategies in lieu of the industrial-age
"diminishing returns" model. Enterprises based on increasing returns focus on
long-term corporate growth, developing enduring relationships with customers, and creating
new "market spaces" that emphasize value-added services (i.e., "document
management," "global networking capability," and "global financial
management"). According to Vandermerwe, increasing returns is an essential,
competitive strategy for all global manufacturing and service corporations, not only
high-tech firms.
Is Foreign Infrastructure Investment Still Risky?
Wells, Louis T. Harvard Business School); Gleason, Eric S. Harvard
Business Review, September/October 1995, pp 44-55
"Have conditions changed enough to justify U.S. and foreign
utilities, equipment builders, engineering and construction companies, and other investors
spending billions of dollars in what was formerly such a risky business? How can investors
manage these risks?"
Growing More by Doing Less.
Nation's Business, December 1995. pp 18-24
Outsourcing portions of the manufacturing or production process-- or
a company's administrative activities -- is becoming an increasingly popular and
profitable way to do business, especially for small firms. As author Dale Buss relates,
business owners say outsourcing, which involves contracting out activities to other
companies, reduces personnel turnover because they can avoid the cycle of hiring people
for every company function when business is good, having to shed them when times are bad,
and then trying to rebuild when business picks up again. And it brings them in touch with
high-quality potential employees.
Corporate Governance
See Economy and Society
The Big Business of Business Ethics
Across the Board, May 1997, pp 23-29
"Trying to solve its ethical crisis, U.S.
business has turned to ethics testing and training -- in short, vetting employees for
virtue. But is any of it changing the way companies and businesspeople actually act?"
The Evolution of Business'Role in Society
Sehti, S. Prakash; Steidlmeier, Paul; Business and Society Review,
Summer 1995, pp 9-12
"The corporation cannot confine its role to responding to
societal goals advocated by other groups. As a dominant institution in society, it must
assume its rightful place and contribute to the articulation of the public agenda
itself."
Over the Edge National Journal, May 3, 1997, pp 870-873
"Although the America economy has been chugging
along nicely, personal bankruptcies jumped a whopping 22% last year. Are reckless
consumers taking advantage of outdated bankruptcy laws? Or are greedy creditors too free
with their money?"
International Cooperation Against Corruption
Klitgarrd, Robert (RAND graduate school) Klitgarrd, Robert (RAND graduate school) Finance
& Development, March 1998, pp. 3-6
When corruption becomes systematic, fighting it
"requires administering a shock" that goes beyond traditional liberal economic
policies. The author urges governments to establish national coordinating bodies along
with citizens' oversight boards to devise strategies against corruption and to identify
major offenders -- in Klitgarrd's words, "a few big fish" -- whose cases can be
prosecuted quickly. International cooperation also can engender both the will to fight
corruption and the capability to do so. He proposes regional studies of sectors prone to
corruption and potential remedial measures.
The New Corporate Philanthropy
CQ Researcher, February 27, 1998, pp 169-191
"As print and TV ads frequently boast,
corporate America takes pride in supporting worthy causes, from fighting breast cancer to
feeding the hungry. Indeed, American firms donated $8.5 billion in cash and products in
1996, making them the most charitable in the world. Yet the percentage of corporate
earnings set aside for philanthropy has fallen steadily for the past ten years, even as
corporate profits have tripled."
Rethinking Assumptions Behind Corporate Governance.
Blair, Margaret M. (The Brookings Institution) Challenge,
November/December 1995. Pp 12-17
"Maximizing shareholder wealth has increasingly become the most
important objective of corporate management, especially in an age of aggressive corporate
acquisitions and the rising power of institutional investors. Is there a theoretical
economic case for ranking worker welfare alongside shareholder rights? This economist
definitely thinks so."
PRODUCTIVITY
See US Technology
U.S. and Foreign Productivity and Unit Labor
Costs
Monthly Labor Review, February 1997, pp 26-35
"Between 1979 and 1995, output per hour in U.S.
manufacturing grew at a slower rate than in several other countries, but modest growth in
hourly compensation helped the United States to restrain growth in unit labor costs
relative to its foreign competitors."
Managing Our Way to Higher Service-Sector
Productivity
Van Biema, Michael; Greenwald, Bruce Van Biema, Michael; Greenwald, Bruce Harvard
Business Review, July/August 1997, pp 87-95
What s preventing a productivity revival in the U.S.
economy? Clearly not the manufacturing sector, which has rebounded since the early 1980s.
The service sector, on the other hand, has seen productivity growth stagnate. Why?
"Several incomplete explanations have been offered and have resulted, in our view, in
some serious misconceptions. We hope to show their limitations here and present a new
explanation that lays the blame in two places: the ineffectiveness of many U.S. business
managers at improving productivity and the inherent complexity of the sector itself. A
management-based approach to improving the service sector s productivity offers hope for a
rapid and significant turnaround of the sector s productivity growth rate."
Is a Productivity Revolution Under Way in the United States?
Oliner, Stephen D. And William L. Wascher (Federal Reserve System)
Challenge, November/December 1995, pp 18-30
"Despite all the discussion about a productivity revolution in
America, two economists examine the data thoroughly and can't
find one. They then explain why so many analysts have exaggerated
the likelihood that rapid productivity growth has returned."
Corporate Surveys Can't Find a Productivity Revolution,
Challenge, November/December 1995, pp 31-34
"Surveys by the American Management Association show that
corporate downsizing, restructuring, and other organizational changes are not working as
well as managers had expected.Entrenched corporate cultures and management inattention may
be the main reasons."
Productivity to the Rescue.
Business Week, October 9, 1996, pp 134-146
"A few years ago, it looked as if the U.S. might join Britain
and Austria-Hungary on the list of has-been economies. But thanks to a remarkable upsurge
in productivity, Corporate America has risen from the ashes -- and U.S. companies have
regained the edge over their global rivals... For U.S. workers, the productivity payoff is
on the horizon."
HUMAN
MANAGEMENT
See Economy and Society
Six Dangerous Myths About Pay
Pfeffer, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Jeffrey Harvard Business Review,
May-June 1998, pp 108-119
"Every day, executives are bombarded with
advice about pay. Unfortunately, much of that advice is wrong. The author exposes six
particularly costly myths about the role of compensation in today’s workplace...
Companies that have successfully transcended the myths about pay know pay cannot
substitute for a working environment high on trust, fun, and meaningful work."
The Alternative
Workplace: Changing Where and How People Work
Apgar, Mahlon Apgar, Mahlon Harvard Business Review, May-June
1998, pp 121-136
"From sharing desks to telecommuting, more
employees than ever before are working in nontraditional ways, and organizations are
beginning to reap the benefits."
SERVICES
See US Trade sectors and Information technology
Are you Ready for Electronic Partnering?
Inc. Technology, November 14, 1995, pp. 43-51
Many large companies are forcing their suppliers to abandon
telephones, the mails and fax machines and go on-line for ordering and invoicing. In this
article, several small-scale entrepreneurs relate how electronic data interchange (EDI)
systems, which hook computers together via telephone lines to swap information, have
impacted their businesses. The author notes that for growing companies, being prepared to
utilize EDI can make the difference between being a coveted electronic partner with a
larger company and being an EDI casualty.
Reinventing the Store.
Business Week, November 27, 1995, pp 84-96
"Brutal forces are fast driving out the slow and the
inefficient in supermarkers, hardware stores, and car dealerships. Meanwhile, new retail
formats are springing up, from vast megastores to tiny one-product kiosks."
The Future of Services.
American Demographics, November 1995, pp 30-47
"Business that provide services are the biggest and brightest
part of the economy. This article uncovers the best markets for growth, productivity, and
choice among services firms. We chart recent trends in automotive, personal, recreation,
lodging,health care, legal, professional, and business services for all metropolitan
areas. The future depends on technology, niche marketing, and customer service."
32. Big Storm Rising Business 2.0, vol. 3, no. 6,
September 1998, pp. 58-70
"It could turn trading floors around the world into
a bunch of theme restaurants," claims long-time Wall Street analyst Junius W. Peake.
The object of such vivid imagery is Durango, Colorado- based Optimark, which will soon
debut on the Pacific exchange, the third largest stock exchange in the United States.
Optimark will use computers to match profiles of buyers and sellers of a given stock,
instantaneously making the best possible match. Optimark's founders hope to use the same
technique to create electronic commerce markets for any tradable commodity, from airline
tickets to concert seats. Will Optimark revolutionize both electronic commerce and stock
trading?
33. The Scary Rise of Internet Stock Scams
Brooker, Katrina. Fortune, vol. 138,
no. 8, October 26, 1998, pp. 187-202
Brooker reports on the explosive increase in Internet
stock scams and describes prominent cases the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has investigated since establishing its online investor hotline in 1996. The author
explains that while the types of cyber stock scams, such as Ponzi and "pump and
dump" schemes are neither particularly new or clever, the Internet's speed, low cost,
and anonymity have "definitely made the business of fraud far more efficient."
According to John Stark, the head of the SEC's Internet Enforcement unit, the Internet is
a "double-edged sword" for cyberscamsters because it allows regulators to search
for and find these criminals just as easily as online investors can.
34. How Venture Capital Works
Zider, Bob Harvard Business Review, vol. 76, no. 6,
November-December 1998, pp. 131-139
Zider, president of a firm that raises money for
developing new technology for commercial use, aims to correct what he views as mistaken
impressions about the venture capital industry. First, he notes, venture capitalists spend
very little money investing in basic research and development, which is funded primarily
by government and industry. When some new company begins to commercialize its innovation,
venture capitalists step in and provide short-term, high-interest loans for manufacturing,
marketing, and selling the product. The author debunks the myth that these investors
pursue good people and good ideas. Rather, they look for good industries on the rise.
While they expect most of their investments to barely break even or to fail, venture
capitalists anticipate earning high returns from the handful of investments that really
take off.
35. The World's Most Admired Companies
Fortune, vol. 138, no. 8, October 26, 1998, pp. 206-226
In summarizing the results of the 1998 FORTUNE and Hay
Group survey of the world's most admired companies, international reporter Jeremy Kahn
writes that this year's winners are in the forefront of creating truly multinational
corporations with workforces and corporate cultures that reflect the diversity of the
markets in which they operate. He highlights several of the long-term business strategies
that have enabled these corporations to weather the global economic crisis. Kahn also
notes that these all-star companies have achieved the right management focus by selecting
senior executives from international divisions and diverse national backgrounds.
36. The Four Faces of Corporate Citizenship
Carroll, Archie B (University of Georgia) Business and
Society Review, no. 100/101, September 1998, pp. 1-7
To qualify as good corporate citizens, companies have to
go beyond making money. They also have to obey the law, behave according to high ethical
standards, and engage in philanthropy. The author says the Clinton Administration has made
a start at promoting corporate citizenship by creating the Ron Brown Award. Carroll notes
that the Ron Brown Award winners are selected for their family-friendly policies which
involve the relationship between companies and their employees. He suggests that this
notion of good corporate citizenship needs to be broadened to take into consideration the
interests of the investors, consumers, and communities in which the companies operate.
37. The Dawn of the E-lance Economy
Malone, Thomas W.; Laubacher, Robert J. Harvard Business
Review, September/October 1998, pp 144-152
"What if all businesses were like the movie business --
collections of free-lancers joining together to produce a product and then disbanding when
the job is done? The Internet is starting to make that vision possible, raising the
possibility that large companies -- and the managers who run them -- will be rendered
obsolete."
Mise à jour le 25/09/99
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