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Organizations typically focus on Customer-centric Design in their Strategic Planning and overlook the critical driver of Performance, Growth and Operational Excellence—their employees.  With cut-throat competition now the norm the realization has become clearer that employees are:

• The face of the business and create lasting—or perishing—brand impression.
• Sources of innovation and organizational knowledge.
• Representation of the company’s service philosophy.
• Expected to live by its Organizational Cult

As the business and operating environment changes, there has been a greater demand for transparency and accountability as to the integrity of internal control. This has become very critical today as businesses drive to enhance the likelihood of them achieving their objectives and be able to adapt to changes in the global business environment.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released in 1992 the Integrated Internal Control Framework that will enable orga

A commonly quoted statistic is that 80% to 95% of the cost of a product is determined by its design and is therefore set before the item enters manufacturing. This assumption suggests that the dominant focus of Cost Management should be during Product Development and not during Manufacturing.

However, contrary to a widely held assumption, companies can integrate a variety of Cost Management techniques not only in the design phase but throughout the product life cycle.  This is to ensure that ther

There is a general belief among organizations that a large percentage of a product’s costs are locked in by design.  It is assumed that little can be done once the design is set.  This assumption has influenced cost management programs across diverse products’ life cycles. As a result, the focus during the design phase is Cost Reduction and Cost Containment during the manufacturing phase.

Yet, organizations that operated in a highly competitive market and demanded aggressive cost management showe

Post-merger Integration (PMI) can be complex, time-pressured, and unfamiliar for most organizations. It is a highly complex process. It requires swift action as well as running the core business activities simultaneously.  There is no one-size-fits-all approach to a successful PMI Process. However, careful planning focusing on the strategic objectives of the deal and the identification and capturing of synergies will help maximize deal value.

It is inevitable that some elements of information wil

The business has become more challenging as the global market becomes more demanding. This change in the global market is putting pressure not only on Management but also on the Board. Strategy Development now demands that organizations should not only be effective but there should also be Board Excellence.

Today, the demand has ceased to be about spending more time. Boosting the effectiveness of the Board is not anymore about spending more time. The urgent call now is to focus on changing the na

Family businesses are an overlooked form of ownership. Yet, they are all around us. One-third of companies in the S&P 500 index and 40% of the 250 largest companies in France and Germany are defined as a family business. A family business means that a family owns a significant share and can influence important decisions.

As family businesses expand their entrepreneurial beginnings, unique performance and governance challenges are encountered. The generations that follow the founder may insist on

In an era of digital business and rapid technology change, virtually no company can ignore the imperative to innovate. Failing to do so is an invitation to lose business.

To learn how companies are responding to this mandate, PwC conducted a major global study in 44 countries. The goal was to understand how leaders view innovation and what is being done to reap its rewards. Findings showed that companies are struggling with aligning innovation efforts with business strategy. Companies across a wi

Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.  The more we play golf, the more we realize that there is a negative correlation between how hard we swung and how far we hit the ball.  In golf, rarely is much accomplished from merely swinging hard. Sheer force does create action, but this is often negated by a lack of strategy. Life in golf, we need to learn to pull back a little, focus, and work on s