Latest audios published on the INSEAD Knowledge website. http://knowledge.insead.edu/home.cfm INSEAD March 2007, All rights reserved. EN 25-Jun-08 FeedForAll Mac v2.1 (2.1.0.1); http://www.FeedForAll.com/ http://knowledge.insead.edu/images/favicon.png http://knowledge.insead.edu/home.cfm 64 64 INSEAD Knowledge showcases faculty research with emphasis on practical solutions for businesses INSEAD Knowledge showcases faculty research with emphasis on practical solutions for businesses. New episodes are added each month. INSEAD Knowledge INSEAD Knowledge inseadknowledge@gmail.com INSEAD, Knowledge, Research, Business, Business school, China business, India business, Leadership, strategy, transcultural no no 2008-06-05 09:22:52.0 Small and large businesses have been searching for decades for the holy grail of organisational change: the perfect way to motivate employees to change their old ways for what management (or consultants!) deem to be better, new ones. The prevailing wind of change is a “top down” change of an organisation’s structure or reward system. Some experts espouse putting a “champion” in the executive suite to drive and implement change down to the lowest rung of the corporate ladder. The notion – get a big gun upstairs to push change to the organisational depths. INSEAD professors Stewart Black and Hal Gregersen take a fresh approach in their book ‘It Starts With One’, believing that an organisation changes only as fast and as far as the front-line individuals implementing that change. Therefore, they need to be considered first, in the change paradigm. Audio Podcasts 2008-06-05 09:22:52.0 Measuring diversity in terms of broad demographic categories such as gender, race or age fails to take into account the underlying dynamics that can play a more decisive role within groups of people – diversity in attitudes, skills, knowledge and power, for example. “It’s hard to just say ‘oh, there’s a group whose members vary in their age’ and to really understand what that dynamic will be,” says Katherine Klein, Professor of Management at Wharton. Audio Podcasts 2008-06-05 09:22:52.0 According to Robin Ely, a Professor of Organisational Behavior at Harvard Business School, women often end up in a ‘double bind’. “If they try to enact the traits that are seen as ‘leaderly’ – and these tend to be the traits that are more associated with idealised images of masculinity – they tend to be respected for that, but not necessarily liked. Whereas if they take up a more stereotypically female role of being nurturing and caretaking, they may be liked but not necessarily respected.” Audio Podcasts 2008-06-05 09:22:52.0 Indian Railways is the world’s largest employer and one of the biggest and busiest rail networks in the world, carrying some 17 million people and more than one million tonnes of freight daily. It was, however, until very recently, a loss-making organisation, which was heading for bankruptcy. Starting his term in 2004 with a budget of just $200 million with which to save the national institution, India’s Minister of Railways Lalu Prasad engineered a dramatic turnaround. Last year, Indian Railways’ revenue came to $6 billion. Indian Railways is one of INSEAD’s biggest executive education clients, and the Minister visited the school’s Asia campus as part of his tour of Singapore and Malaysia. During his visit to INSEAD, he told a gathering of MBA participants, alumni and executives about his strategy for bringing the rail network into the 21st century. Audio Podcasts 2008-06-25 05:51:19.0 Building a nation-state “out of the ashes of destruction is not easy,” but the President of Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor), José Ramos-Horta, says his country will seek to become a viable nation by eliminating unemployment in the next two to three years by creating new jobs from its investments in infrastructure projects. Audio Podcasts 2008-06-25 05:52:20.0 Over the past two years, approximately 100 million people have been pushed into poverty globally as a result of increased food prices. Gains in poverty reduction efforts in developing countries are at risk if governments fail to protect the poor from rising food prices, says Vikram Nehru, the World Bank’s Director of Poverty Reduction and Economic Management and Acting Chief Economist for East Asia. “It’s like a silent tsunami in the sense that there’s no dramatic footage that can bring home to people the misery and the human suffering that such price increases can exert on the poor.” Audio Podcasts 2008-06-25 05:53:24.0 When Le Monde exclaimed in a front-page headline: “Danone prepares to shed 3,000 jobs in Europe, including 1,700 in France”, on January 10, 2001, Danone -- France’s national ‘champion’ and one of Europe’s biggest food and beverage firms -- faced a major crisis. The announcement led to public and political protests, and a massive boycott of Danone’s products. Mark Hunter, INSEAD Adjunct Professor and a former investigative journalist, says “suddenly Danone, the most respected company in France, found themselves facing not only a social (or labour) crisis but also a societal crisis, unlike any other … We think they underestimated the extent of the forces that were facing them … and the impact of certain stakeholder groups on the outcome of the crisis.” Audio Podcasts 2008-06-25 05:53:54.0 Denmark and the Nordic countries again dominate the rankings in the Global Information Technology Report, but this year the United States and South Korea make progress in the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) for 2007-2008, which covers a record number of 127 developed and developing economies around the world. “Today with the benefit of seven years of data, we have concrete, hard data to support the statement that technology does in fact make a country more competitive,” says Soumitra Dutta, the Roland Berger Chaired Professor in Business and Technology at INSEAD, who co-authored the report which is published by the World Economic Forum. Audio Podcasts 2008-06-25 05:54:20.0 INSEAD professor Jean-Claude Larréché reveals the secret to delivering growth that is both efficient and sustainable. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:48:54.0 A new INSEAD-European Business Summit report on climate change has highlighted a surge in ‘green’ activities by US entrepreneurs, backed by venture capital. Until 2005, the amount of VC funds invested in clean technologies such as solar and wind power had been running almost neck and neck in the US and Europe. But then there was a sudden surge of VC interest in the US in 2005, the report says, which resulted in US firms raising $4.5 billion in VC funds to invest in ‘clean’ technology the following year, while the EU raised $1.5 billion. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:49:44.0 Tackling climate change for Europe is “an incredible opportunity to innovate and compete with the rest of the world.” That’s the view of Microsoft International President Jean-Philippe Courtois. Technology can help by linking entrepreneurs to academics, venture capitalists and big business, Courtois says. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:50:23.0 The United States will need to improve its capacity to innovate if it wants to maintain its economic position in the world, says Craig Barrett, Chairman of Intel Corporation. Furthermore, government must make R&D more of a priority, as should private industry. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:51:09.0 Airlines cannot shirk the responsibility that comes with being major producers of polluting greenhouse gases and must aggressively pursue policies to minimise their environmental damage. That’s the view of Jan Ernst de Groot, managing director of the Dutch company KLM Airlines, which by its own estimate gives off some 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from its fleet of 194 aircraft. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:51:33.0 As the EU looks to the post-2012 horizon for regulating emissions of greenhouse gases, Rhodia CEO Jean-Pierre Clamadieu has expressed interest in ways of implementing an auction of emission rights, which since 2005 have been issued cost-free based on past emission levels and then traded. He calls for a sector analysis to identify which industries are most energy-intensive and could thus be hardest-hit by a new auction system. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:52:03.0 If governments do not intervene, industries will meet the growing demands for energy in the cheapest way possible, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will increase. That puts Jeroen van der Veer, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell plc, one of the world’s leading petroleum companies, in an odd position: a leading capitalist campaigning for more government regulation. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:52:34.0 Mankind will keep using fossil fuels to generate electricity for many decades to come, and will need all the help it can get to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, or CO2, that go with burning fossil fuels. That’s according to Alstom, a leading manufacturer of power turbines and a company which sells equipment to make coal power stations cleaner and more efficient. It is also developing techniques to capture and store CO2. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:53:05.0 Steel is one of the industrial sectors under intense pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions. By its very nature, producing steel consumes a lot of energy, which in turn produces a lot of carbon dioxide. But it’s not as bleak as all that: the steel industry has been trying for decades to find ways to cut CO2 emissions, says Michel Wurth, a member of the management board of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:53:43.0 The telecoms sector isn’t regarded as a major polluter, but that isn’t stopping firms in that industry from doing what they can to help tackle climate change. One such telecoms firm, Ericsson, took part in the European Business Summit held recently in Brussels -- a summit devoted this year to ‘greening’ the economy and reducing carbon emissions. One might wonder why a company that is neither a big polluter, nor present in the energy sector, would feel the need to participate in such a summit. Yet, Ericsson believes that information and communications technology (ICT) can help companies in other sectors reduce their carbon ‘footprint’. Audio Podcasts 2008-03-27 04:54:30.0 Energy companies are being asked to meet growing world energy demand, but at the same time, they’re expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions. World energy demand is growing at 1.5 per cent a year. Meanwhile, negotiations are underway under the auspices of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change to broker consensus for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. It’s something of a conundrum. Audio Podcasts 2008-04-23 11:34:02.0 When entering into negotiations, we should always take into account cultural factors such as the educational or religious background of the person sitting across the table, but, says INSEAD professor Horacio Falcao, many people both underestimate and overestimate the cross-cultural aspects. Audio Podcasts 2008-04-23 11:39:19.0 “Marketing variables not only influence people’s perceptions and expectations, they actually influence the real efficacy of products such as medications.” This is according to Ziv Carmon, INSEAD Professor of Marketing, who, along with Rebecca Waber and Dan Ariely from MIT and Baba Shiv from Stanford, tested the effect of price on the efficacy of a medication by administering electric shocks to those taking part in the study to test their resistance to pain. Audio Podcasts 2008-04-23 11:39:47.0 Owners of private companies normally sell their shares at a 20-30 per cent discount during mergers and acquisitions. The ‘private firm discount’ is one reason the stock market reacts more favorably when companies announce a private acquisition than whenthe target is a publicly-listed firm. From the buyer’s point of view, says INSEAD Associate Professor of Strategy Laurence Capron, the discount reflects a presumed higher risk associated with the value of private assets due to a lack of information about the target firms, their lack of liquidity and their lack of visibility. From the seller’s point of view, the discount can reflect naivety, a lack of financial advice and the choice of a preferred buyer rather than the highest bidder. Audio Podcasts 2008-04-23 11:40:32.0 Are men or women better at investing? “This is not only a fun question but it is of great practical value,” says INSEAD Assistant Professor of Finance Lily Fang, who hosted a Women and Money forum at INSEAD recently. Some studies suggest that women are better investors than men. Dig a little deeper and the picture isn’t so clear. Audio Podcasts 2008-04-23 11:42:53.0 “Today more than half of the total stock market value of corporations lies in intangible assets such as brands … The brand is the business.” This statement by Shelly Lazarus, chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide at the World Effie Festival 2008, sums up why brand building is important for companies. In this climate of the brand imperative, advertising gurus converged on Singapore for the conference which celebrates advertising effectiveness. Audio Podcasts 2008-05-08 04:27:47.0 Africa is so diverse, with its variety of countries and resources, that almost any type of business in the world could take advantage of the continent’s economic growth. That was the view of panellists at the INSEAD Leadership Summit 2008. Simon Harford, West Africa head for private equity group Actis and INSEAD alumnus (‘94D) says “virtually any business that can talk to the consumer base of Africa is already growing at remarkable rates, 30 to 60 per cent year on year.” Audio Podcasts 2008-05-08 04:28:58.0 Emeka Onwuka, CEO of Diamond Bank, talks to INSEAD Knowledge about Nigeria's economy. Audio Podcasts 2008-05-08 04:30:30.0 By the year 2040, only 15 per cent of the world’s population will be living in what are now called developed countries. It’s therefore essential for today’s business planners to start focusing on the rest of the planet. Fortunately a strategy centred on emerging markets can be both financially profitable and socially responsible, says Barbara Kux of the Dutch multinational Royal Philips Electronics. “Developing countries are a fantastic source of opportunities for companies,” says Kux, who is a member of the electronics giant’s group management committee. Audio Podcasts 2008-05-08 04:31:19.0 Corporate India is just as committed as Europe and the United States to sustainability, asserts Vineet Nayar, CEO of HCL Technologies Ltd. “Indian businessmen are global businessmen - they are not isolated in India,” he says. “And the entire economy is global so you just can’t say the economy is isolated.” Audio Podcasts 2008-05-08 04:31:50.0 Sustainability is becoming an increasingly hot topic in business circles, but when it comes to grasping the sense of urgency surrounding the issue, many of the current generation of business leaders aren’t very good at ‘getting it’. That’s according to the outgoing CEO of BT plc, Ben Verwaayen. Business has to play a focal role in sustainability, he says, adding it’s in the interest of businesses to take the issue seriously. Audio Podcasts 2008-05-08 04:32:49.0 “I think one of the basics of transcultural leadership is empathy,” says Carlos Ghosn, the man who is credited with turning around major Japanese car maker Nissan. “I would say even though the term today is not very popular, love the country and love the culture in which you are in. And try to learn about its strengths, don’t focus on the weaknesses, and make sure that all the people you are transferring with you are of the same opinion.” Audio Podcasts 2008-04-23 11:49:34.0 Branding expert Ken Cato is the man that some major companies turn to for help with overhauling their branding. His clients include Taiwan’s BenQ, Germany’s Siemens, Australia’s Commonwealth Bank and most recently, Dubai World Central, the world’s largest planned airport. He believes that building iconic brands require companies to dare to be different and have a clear idea of their corporate identity. Audio Podcasts