For at least two decades, Toyota has been the benchmark in manufacturing. For automobiles, of course, but also for all other types of manufacturing, “the Toyota way” has been a path to success. Toyota’s attention to details, unrelenting expectations regarding perfect quality, the selling of “self-assurance” to buyers that their cars will be trouble-free, and building an organisational culture that delivered on these promises over and over again are all areas in which Toyota did better than anyone else on the planet.
This is the fifth in a series of six articles on Business Community Centres (BCCs) as a "third place" alternative work location. For those just tuning in, we've covered a discussion of the forces driving commercial real estate in this direction, what makes these workplaces different and where to locate them. Now we are zeroing in on the business aspects of the operation. This month we focus on how BCCs get designed to maximise their use.
Going forward into 2010, the UAE real estate market is moving away from the off-plan sales model towards a longer-term model based on secure cash flows. Real estate investment vehicles are being redefined as more interest is shown towards co-investment vehicles. However, the general downturn in market performance is not affecting all locations or asset types equally.
A.T. Kearney’s recent Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index ranked the UAE as the 11th preferred FDI country destination globally, in spite of a flurry of negative publicity during the survey period. This was supported by the city rankings of Dubai, which ranked first place in the Middle East, closely followed by Abu Dhabi at second place. The Index is a regular assessment of senior executive sentiment at the world’s largest companies.
Singapore has come a long way since its first official elections in 1959. Realising that the island had nothing to offer apart from its inhabitants, successive governments have worked miracles in creating a modern, vibrant and successful economy. In addition to economic success, the island is also a fine example of harnessing multiculturalism and creating a relatively tolerant society.
In today’s global investment environment, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the ever-expanding universe of investment choices. Often, investors will follow market trends as an alternative. But trying to achieve financial goals by pouring all of one’s assets into emerging markets today, telecommunications tomorrow, and Japanese small-cap stocks next week is not a guarantee for achieving a sound financial plan.
One outcome of the economic crisis has been a call for fresh and innovative approaches to the financial markets. Many debates – whether in government forums or in the Op-Ed pages of major newspapers − have focused on what characteristics today’s financial leaders must possess. There is no lack of examples − both present and past – of business and financial leadership.
A comprehensive survey of senior executives at nearly 900 major companies worldwide by Ernst & Young reveals a very different business environment compared to twelve months ago, but highlights a corporate world that for the most part is still nervous about recovery. More than 50 C-suite executives of major corporations in Middle East and Africa took part in the study.
Prompted by the robust performance of emerging markets following the global financial crisis, the 2010 Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2010 focuses on what role emerging markets should have within global equity portfolios and what returns can be expected from them. It also examines the closely related questions of whether economic growth is a reliable indicator of future equity returns, and whether equity markets reliably anticipate future growth.
There is a big difference between being a winner and an also-ran. But the margins are tiny. For example, the average margin of victory in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 races over 10 years was 1.54 seconds! Yet the runner-up earned less than half the winner! It hardly seems fair, does it?
We live in a world filled with conflict. Whether wars between nations, disagreements in the workplace or tensions between individuals, humans seem destined to be in a constant state of discord. In fact, recent research in neuroscience has confirmed this and demonstrated that our brains are hard-wired with a bias toward conflict.
For at least two decades, Toyota has been the benchmark in manufacturing. For automobiles, of course, but also for all other types of manufacturing, “the Toyota way” has been a path to success. Toyota’s attention to details, unrelenting expectations regarding perfect quality, the selling of “self-assurance” to buyers that their cars will be trouble-free, and building an organisational culture that delivered on these promises over and over again are all areas in which Toyota did better than anyone else on the planet.
This is the fifth in a series of six articles on Business Community Centres (BCCs) as a "third place" alternative work location. For those just tuning in, we've covered a discussion of the forces driving commercial real estate in this direction, what makes these workplaces different and where to locate them. Now we are zeroing in on the business aspects of the operation. This month we focus on how BCCs get designed to maximise their use.
Going forward into 2010, the UAE real estate market is moving away from the off-plan sales model towards a longer-term model based on secure cash flows. Real estate investment vehicles are being redefined as more interest is shown towards co-investment vehicles. However, the general downturn in market performance is not affecting all locations or asset types equally.
A.T. Kearney’s recent Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index ranked the UAE as the 11th preferred FDI country destination globally, in spite of a flurry of negative publicity during the survey period. This was supported by the city rankings of Dubai, which ranked first place in the Middle East, closely followed by Abu Dhabi at second place. The Index is a regular assessment of senior executive sentiment at the world’s largest companies.
Singapore has come a long way since its first official elections in 1959. Realising that the island had nothing to offer apart from its inhabitants, successive governments have worked miracles in creating a modern, vibrant and successful economy. In addition to economic success, the island is also a fine example of harnessing multiculturalism and creating a relatively tolerant society.
In today’s global investment environment, it is easy to feel overwhelmed with the ever-expanding universe of investment choices. Often, investors will follow market trends as an alternative. But trying to achieve financial goals by pouring all of one’s assets into emerging markets today, telecommunications tomorrow, and Japanese small-cap stocks next week is not a guarantee for achieving a sound financial plan.
One outcome of the economic crisis has been a call for fresh and innovative approaches to the financial markets. Many debates – whether in government forums or in the Op-Ed pages of major newspapers − have focused on what characteristics today’s financial leaders must possess. There is no lack of examples − both present and past – of business and financial leadership.
A comprehensive survey of senior executives at nearly 900 major companies worldwide by Ernst & Young reveals a very different business environment compared to twelve months ago, but highlights a corporate world that for the most part is still nervous about recovery. More than 50 C-suite executives of major corporations in Middle East and Africa took part in the study.
Prompted by the robust performance of emerging markets following the global financial crisis, the 2010 Credit Suisse Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2010 focuses on what role emerging markets should have within global equity portfolios and what returns can be expected from them. It also examines the closely related questions of whether economic growth is a reliable indicator of future equity returns, and whether equity markets reliably anticipate future growth.
There is a big difference between being a winner and an also-ran. But the margins are tiny. For example, the average margin of victory in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500 races over 10 years was 1.54 seconds! Yet the runner-up earned less than half the winner! It hardly seems fair, does it?
We live in a world filled with conflict. Whether wars between nations, disagreements in the workplace or tensions between individuals, humans seem destined to be in a constant state of discord. In fact, recent research in neuroscience has confirmed this and demonstrated that our brains are hard-wired with a bias toward conflict.
