Signifiers in Cyberspace: Pt 6
This symposium draws together a group of speakers who have been involved with ICANN and who have commented on ICANN’s various processes over the last decade or so. They address legal, policy, commercial, practical, and technological issues that have arisen, and continue to arise, as the domain name system develops.
A tale of two banks: hallmarks of the changing financial landscape
It would be difficult to find two financial institutions more indicative of the plus and minus sides of the financial tsunami that hit the world of banking this year: on the one hand, ING, the venerable international Dutch bank, forced to go to the government for a 10 billion euro bailout and now facing public evisceration at the hands of EU regulators. On the other hand, Standard Chartered Bank, a bastion of banking in Asia since the era of British imperial rule.
Taking the lead
Peter Grauer, the Chairman and CEO of Bloomberg, is a man with a mantra and he repeats it every chance he gets: “We have an aspiration at Bloomberg to become the most influential news organisation in the world.” A glance at the statistics behind the media empire started in 1981 by the eponymous Michael Bloomberg (who, on becoming the 108th Mayor of the City of New York on January 1, 2002, left the running of his company to long-time friend and associate Grauer), shows that the global media c
A case of poor corporate governance?
On August 6, Hewlett Packard’s board forced CEO Mark Hurd to resign after the conclusion of a sexual harassment investigation. Hurd had apparently been accused by Jodie Fisher, a marketing contractor, of giving her less business with the company because she did not respond to his sexual advances. Fisher worked for HP from 2007 to 2009 helping to organise networking events. Hurd denies all the charges and the HP board also agreed that he did not violate the company’s sexual harassment policie
CEO View: Paul Desmarais, Jr. of Power Corporation of Canada
In 1925, Power Corporation of Canada pioneered the development of the hydroelectric industry, supplying power to homes and business across the country. But today the company is no longer about electric power; it’s all about the financial services industry. Instead of generating kilowatts, this family-controlled management and holding company has responsibility for overseeing many billions of dollars in assets.
Leadership in a changing world: turning dreams into action
Innovation, imagination and education: key themes at INSEAD's first Leadership Summit in the Middle East, held recently in Abu Dhabi.
Where next for GE?
“Investors love certainty. I just don’t think we’re going to live in a ‘certain’ time,” says Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric, commenting candidly on the current business environment and how successful business players need to have a corporate culture and strategic process that is flexible and can adapt quickly.
New paradigm needed to mitigate brain drain in the Middle East: INSEAD has role to play
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is an interesting case study in human capital, in part because there are few places in the world where you will find a predominantly expatriate workforce. While the economies of this and other oil-rich countries are still robust, the long-term effects of relying on transient foreign talent could very well derail progress for future generations.
The leadership diversity puzzle
They say it’s never a bad time to invest in leadership. But is that still true, even during the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression? Unilever, the food and personal care products giant, thinks so and is putting its money where its mouth is.
Why women mean business
Business leaders ignore gender issues at their peril. That's the view of CEO of gender consultancy 20-First and INSEAD alumna Avivah Wittenberg-Cox. In a new book, 'Why Women Mean Business', Wittenberg-Cox and her co-author Alison Maitland say organisations that become savvy about 'womenomics' will win in the war for the best talent and leadership and the war for customers.
Unshackling the ‘double bind’ of the female leader
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 re
Facilitating upward communication: leaders must do more to break existing strongholds
Oftentimes, what separates good leaders from bad ones lies is their art of communication. Much has been said about preferred leadership styles which advocate openness, tolerance and active engagement with subordinates.
But according to James Detert, Assistant Professor of Management at Cornell University, it’s not enough to just possess good leadership traits.
Self-managing teams: Debunking the leadership paradox
Is leadership superfluous in a self-managing team? Aren’t self-managing teams supposed to be self-sustaining and self-sufficient?
Paul Tesluk, Associate Professor of Management and Organisation at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, wants to correct this misconception.
CEO view: Fadi Ghandour of Aramex
The Aramex story – that of a small player in the Middle East rising to compete against the biggest companies in the global transportation and logistics market – has been heralded by Thomas L. Friedman in his book The World is Flat as a model for companies benefiting from the ‘flattening’ of the world through globalisation – the levelling of the economic field and the destruction of barriers to entry, opening the door wide for individuals or companies anywhere in the world to collaborat
Middle managers linchpin to dynamic team leadership
Although research suggests there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach to leadership, a fixed or generic notion of leadership still gets taught at all levels, to be used at all times, for all problems. That’s according to Professor Steve Kozlowski of Michigan State University, who spoke to INSEAD Knowledge on the sidelines of the first INSEAD-Wharton Research Conference on Leadership, about his study into dynamic leadership
Putting leaders on the couch
When INSEAD Professor Manfred Kets de Vries coaches leadership teams, he effectively puts them on the couch – treating them not so much as rational actors but as emotional ones.
A clinical professor of leadership development, Kets de Vries says “the autocratic leadership style doesn’t work so well any more in a knowledge society.”
The energy 'battlefield' in Europe
In a session on the thorny issue of energy in Europe, former BP chairman Lord Simon put the case for nuclear energy and warned we should 'not get overexcited about alternative energy in the next decade.'
The Economic Growth Engine: How Energy and Work Drive Material Prosperity
The authors of this unique book explore the fundamental relationship between thermodynamics (physical work)
and economics. They take a realistic approach to explaining the relationship between technological progress,
thermodynamic efficiency and economic growth, the findings of which conclude with a fundamental explanation of
endogenous growth that is both quantifiable and consistent with the laws of thermodynamics. A major implication of
this is that future economic growth is no
Are Hedge Funds out of Control?
If you go to Amazon.com and search for books about venture capital, you get 14,114 responses, which include many text books. Andrew Metrick, a professor of finance at Wharton, has just written a new book on the subject titled, "Venture Capital and the Finance of Innovation." Unlike the thousands of other books, though, this one offers a different approach, especially in areas such as valuing startup companies and IPOs, by bridging the gap between finance fundamentals and venture capital practice
