THE McKINSEY QUARTERLY ARCHIVE
- The Evolving Role of the CMO
Many chief marketers still have narrowly defined roles that emphasize advertising, brand management, and market research. They will have to spread their wings.
- Bringing Best Practice to China
As the country merges into the world economy, best practice in China will become best practice globally, products developed in China will become global products, and industrial processes developed in China will become global processes.
- Cracking the Complexity Code
There are two types of complexity. Understanding where to intervene is the key to managing them to create value.
- How Companies Can Make the Most of User-generated Content
The success of online participatory media—video-sharing sites and corporate wikis alike—depends on the quality contributions of a small core of enthusiasts.
- The Link Between Profits and Organizational Performance
McKinsey research indicates that organizational and financial performance are strongly related.
- Spurring Value Creation in IT Services
The founder and chairman of Satyam details the philosophy that has underpinned the company’s rapid ascent through the ranks of the world’s top IT services providers.
- How to Improve Strategic Planning
It can be a frustrating exercise, but there are ways to increase its value.
- Strategy's Strategist: An Interview with Richard Rumelt
A giant in the field of strategy ruminates on strategic planning, diversification and focus, and the role of the CEO.
- A Quiet Revolution in China's Capital Markets
Reforms that attracted little attention in the Western world mark a major step forward in the modernization of China's capital markets.
- Focusing on the Customer: An Interview with the Head of Merrill Lynch's Operations and IT
Merrill Lynch has combined operations with IT in a single unit. Diane Schueneman, the head of the company’s Global Infrastructure Solutions, explains how she is changing both to focus on the customer.
- How Businesses are Using Web 2.0
By and large, executives are satisfied with their previous investments in Internet technology, and most are investing in trends that promote automation and networking online.
- How Companies Spend Their Money: A McKinsey Global Survey
Companies strive for effective resource allocation, but despite the involvement of senior executives and the best of intentions the end results are often decidedly mixed.
- Delivering Software as a Service
A new delivery method is shaking the software industry's foundations. Traditional vendors should take heed.
- Applying Lean to Application Development and Maintenance
Lean techniques, originally developed to reduce waste in manufacturing, are boosting performance in more and more service environments.
- Integrating Diverse IT Systems: An Interview with the CIO of Credit Suisse
Tom Sanzone explains how his broad authority within the company helps keep IT aligned with the business strategy.
- The CEO as CIO: An interview with the head of India's top private bank
Information technology is so crucial for the success of India's top private bank that K. V. Kamath says he oversees it himself.
- Coaching Innovation: An Interview with Intuit's Bill Campbell
A veteran Silicon Valley CEO and mentor of CEOs talks about his years in high tech.
- Mapping the Global Capital Markets: Europe Rising
A recent analysis of the world's financial markets shows how they are changing, with the eurozone countries wielding ever more influence.
- CEOs as Public Leaders: A McKinsey Survey
US business executives say they should play a much greater role in shaping debate about sociopolitical issues and leading efforts to effect change.
- Improving Productivity in Product Services
Services operations are variable, and measuring their performance is complex. But a company can raise their productivity by managing demand, assigning tasks by the cost of resources, and increasing labor's efficiency.
- Are Companies Getting Better at M&A?
The latest boom in merger activity appears to be creating more value for the shareholders of the acquiring companies.
- What’s on CIO Agendas for 2007: A McKinsey Survey
CIOs are focusing their plans on more flexible architectures and more efficient data centers.
- China's and India's Financial Systems: A Barrier to Growth
Reducing government interference in the financial sector and strengthening its market orientation are essential to make it allocate capital efficiently and meet the needs of savers.
- 2007 Update: Ten Trends to Watch in 2006
Macroeconomic factors, environmental and social issues, and business and industry developments will all profoundly shape the corporate landscape in the coming years.
- The Elusive Art of Postmerger Leadership
Mergers that appear to be successful in the short term often destroy value later on. By concentrating on five issues, CEOs and top teams can increase the odds of a genuinely happy ending.
- Going from Global Trends to Corporate Strategy
Will your business catch them before they catch it?
- Divide and Conquer: Rethinking IT Strategy
Just as a company manages different businesses differently, it should manage the IT that supports them differently.
- Mapping the Value of Employee Collaboration
As collaboration within and among organizations becomes increasingly important, companies must improve their management of the networks where it typically occurs.
- Learning to Let Go: Making Better Exit Decisions
Psychological biases can make it difficult to get out of an ailing business.
- The Adaptable Corporation
To survive, organizations must execute in the present and adapt to the future. Few of them manage to do both well.
- Connecting CRM Systems for Better Customer Service
Few companies gracefully pass sales leads and service information across the barriers of departments and business units. But those that do enjoy substantial rewards.
- Creation Nets: Getting the Most from Open Innovation
A typical large company can no longer rely solely on its own resources. Creation networks are a promising way to move beyond them.
- Habits of the Busiest Acquirers
M&A executives at the most successful U.S. companies understand not only how acquisitions create value but also how to enlist the support of the organization.
- An Executive Take on the Top Business Trends
Executives report an accelerating pace of change in an increasingly competitive business environment, driven by knowledge and information trends and the forces of globalization.
- What Executives are Asking About China: From Entry to Execution
The head of McKinsey's offices in China answers the questions that senior managers of multinational companies are asking.
- Toward a Leaner Finance Department
Borrowing key principles from lean manufacturing can help the finance function to eliminate waste.
- Measuring Performance in Services
Services are more difficult to measure and monitor than manufacturing processes are, but executives can rein in variance and boost productivity - if they implement rigorous metrics.
- The Next Generation of In-house Software Development
How leading-edge companies are streamlining applications development.
- Leading Change: An Interview with the CEO of P&G
Alan G. Lafley discusses how to stretch a company's aspirations without overpromising as part of a series of interviews with leading executives on change management.
- How Foreign Companies Can Compete in China's High-Tech Market
The emergence of strong local high-tech companies is creating a formidable challenge for multinationals seeking to grab a share of the Chinese market.
- Ten Trends to Watch in 2006
Macroeconomic factors, environmental and social issues, and business and industry developments will all profoundly shape the corporate landscape in the coming years.
- The "Moment of Truth" in Customer Service
Focus on the interactions that are important to customers - and on the way frontline employees handle those interactions.
- The Changing Role of IT in Pharma
Pharma's health will depend on a dose of IT to improve efficiency and innovation.
- Distortions and Deceptions in Strategic Decisions
Companies are vulnerable to misconceptions, biases, and plain old lies. But not hopelessly vulnerable.
- Smoothing Postmerger Integration
It takes less time than you think for a clean team to make valuable contributions to the integration of businesses.
- Beating the Odds in Market Entry
How to avoid the cognitive biases that undermine market entry decisions.
- The Next Revolution in Interactions
Successful efforts to exploit the growing importance of complex interactions could well generate durable competitive advantages.
- Strategy in an Era of Global Giants
The world's biggest companies are learning to manage complexity.
- Transforming Sales and Service
Incumbents can serve the whole market without getting stuck in the middle.
- Reducing Risks in Offshoring Projects
Identifying and tracking risks throughout the life of a relocation effort can greatly improve the odds that it will succeed.
- Building Stronger IT Vendor Relationships
Low costs aren't everything - particularly for critical systems.
- Better B2B Selling
Although collaborative relationships with customers can be complex and time consuming, when they are done well the rewards can be substantial.
