Appendix I General Management Questionnaire

About you

1. (a) Which age band do you come under? under 30

31-40

41-50

over 50

(b) Do you have any formal business training, e.g. MBA, Advanced Business Programmes?

(c) When were these courses undertaken in relation to your first general management post?

(d) Was your first general management appointment within the organisation in which you were then working or in another outside company?

2. When you were appointed to your first general management position, what training did you receive? (e.g. company, reading, courses)

3. What were the first actions you took in that role? (e.g. learning, strategy, organisation, changes) Can you also give some idea of the time frame within which these actions took place?

206

General Management Questionnaire 207

About your views

1. What are the most important characteristics in a general manager (choose up to four)

Ability to communicate

Drive, energy

Intellectual capacity

Interpersonal skills

Knowledge of industry

Leadership qualities

Successful track record

Others (specify)

Put in priority order

2. What is the best way to choose potential general managers?

3. Do you believe that formal training in general management is desirable as a precursor to the first appointment? If so, what would you recommend?

About your company

1. How do you identify potential general managers?

2. What training in general management skills do you provide? Do you provide this training prior to a new appointment?

3. What success factor have you had with newly appointed general managers in their first role who have come from different functions?

208 Appendix I

4. Is there any background that has a higher success rate than others? (e.g. sales, marketing, finance, production, technical etc.)

About your time

How much of your time do you devote to the following areas? (approximations only are needed)

Approx.%

Strategy (creation and implementation)

Controlling (meetings, performance, measuring)

Communication (internal and external)

Maintaining relationships (with customers, suppliers, government and community)

Management Development (top staff selection, succession planning, training, education)

Personal Development

Others (would you kindly specify main areas)

100%

Would you prefer your views to be anonymous or may I quote any of your comments?

Anonymous

May quote

General Management Questionnaire

Would you like a copy of the summary?

Name

Company

Address

Yes No

209

Thank you very much for your help.

Appendix II Professionals' Questionnaire

Survey on general management

1. What is the best way to identify potential managers for their first assignment?

2. Are there any backgrounds that give a new general manager a better chance of success?

3. Rank in order four of the following as key characteristics in a general manager.

Ability to communicate

Drive, energy

Intellectual capacity

Interpersonal skills

Knowledge of industry

Leadership qualities

Successful track record

Others (specify)

Put in priority order

4. Thinking about the next 5-10 years, would you change this list? Please explain why.

210

Professionals' Questionnaire 211

5. On average, how would you expect to see a successful general manager who is leading a company allocate his time?

Strategy (creation and implementation)

Controlling (meetings, performance measuring)

Communication (internal and external)

Maintaining relationships (with customers, suppliers, govt., community)

Management development

(top staff selection, succession planning, training, education)

Personal development

Others (kindly specify)

Thank you for your help.

I would like a summary report

Name

Address

Yes .....

Approx.%

No .....

Glossary of Terms

Activity-based costing (ABC) A method of allocating all costs to activities in an organisation as distinct from cost centres. ABC focuses on where the costs came from rather than the traditional view of allocating overhead costs.

Activity-based management (ABM) An extension of ABC which provides manage­ment with information that is helpful to manage the business by associating costs with special activities. Examples would include true customer profitability -profitability by product groups.

Asset turn The ratio of sales to capital employed. Balance sheet A statement of assets and liabilities of an enterprise or organisation at

a particular date. Biotechnology The use of biological materials and processes more frequent in the

food industry and the health industry. Book value The value of an asset as recorded in the company's books. This is often

at historical cost by may also be at valuation. Bottom line (of the profit and loss account) The residual profit (usually net profit

before tax). Business plan Sometimes called a strategic plan. This is a short document that

describes the goals and how the business will get there, usually over a three to five year period.

Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) A method of examining business processes from first principles to remove those that do not add value thus significantly reducing costs or improving the service to customers.

Capex Capital expenditure. Career development review The process to discuss with an employee his/her

aspirations for progress in the organisation and to contrast this with opportunities seen by the employer. Training needs will flow from these discussions.

Career planning The planning of steps in an individual's career. Chaos theory A body of thinking that suggests that in a fast-changing world the

greatest imperative is to be reactive. Precedents and plans are of very limited use for current situations.

Corporate governance The rules and procedures put in place to see that a company is properly run.

Cost of capital The cost to the firm of servicing its total capital base including equity and debt.

Current asset An asset on the balance sheet which would normally be convertible into cash within a year.

Current Hability A liability on the balance sheet that would normally be payable in a year.

Data processing Computing. Debt/equity ratio (Sometimes called gearing). This is the proportion of a firm's

assets financed by debt, as distinct from the equity. Demographics The study of changing patterns of population according to age, sex or

nationality.

212

Glossary of Terms 213

Depreciation The amount provided for the diminution of an asset over the year. This is not a cash cost but is a charge against the profit and loss account.

Discounted cash flow (DCF) A technique usually used in capital project evaluation of adjusting future cash flows for the time value of money (called the discount rate). This then enables comparisons to be made over time.

Dividend load The number of times the dividend payment is covered by earnings after tax.

Earnings per share (eps) Tax paid profits before dividend distributions divided by the weighted average number of shares issued.

Earnings yield Earnings per share divided by the share price multiplied by 100 per cent.

Electronic data interchange (EDI) A paperless transfer of data between two compatible computer systems.

Electronic mail (E-Mail) Sending letters or documents via computer. Gearing (see debt to equity ratio) Interest cover The number of times the total interest payments are covered by profits

before interest and tax. Internal rate of return (IRR) The compound interest rate (usually after tax) that is

earned from the future cash flows when compared with the initial investment. Market value Generally used to indicate the total value of the company on the stock

exchange at a particular time. It is calculated by multiplying the share price by the total number of shares in issue.

Mentoring Where a senior, experienced manager in an organisation guides and advises a younger, developing manager. The mentor is usually not the individual's direct boss.

Mission The major purpose for which the company exists. Net present value The resultant sum when all future cash flows have been discounted

by the appropriate rate. This discount rate is usually the rate required by the investor.

Operating cash flow (OCF) Operating profits plus non-cash items less capital expenditure plus or minus changes in working capital.

Operating profits (OP) Profits before interest and tax and before dividend distributions. (Sometimes also referred to as EBIT or earnings before income tax.)

Payback (payback period) The time it takes to repay the total original investment in cash terms and after all expenses.

Payout ratio Dividends as a percentage of the profits after tax. Price/earnings ratio (P/E) The company's share price divided by the earnings per

share. (The higher the ratio the more highly regarded the company.) Profit Before Tax (PBT) Sometimes called the pre-tax profit. Profit after all

expenses but before income tax. Return on capital employed (ROCE) Operating profit divided by capital employed.

It is also useful to understand that trading margin (OP to sales) multiplied by the asset turn will also yield the ROCE.

Shareholder value In a general sense, this focuses actions on improving the long-run net wealth of a company for the benefit of shareholders. Shareholder value is created if investments earn more than the cost of value or if executive decisions improve the shareholders' funds.

Share options Rights given (usually to employees) to buy shares in the future at a price fixed today.

Sourcing Procurement of supplies often from a third party. Strategic alliance A co-operative agreement between two or more independent

companies for a specific purpose, usually of a long-term nature, to achieve strategic objectives that would not be possible independently.

214 Glossary of Terms

Strategic business unit (SBU) A profit centre within a company. Succession planning The process of preparing succession for key executives in an

organisation. Supply chain The relationship between customers, manufacturers, distributors and

suppliers. Synergy The ability to derive greater benefits from a total than from the sum of the

individual parts, for example, 'two and two will equal five'. Value engineering Analysis of the costs of raw materials and processes then

comparing these costs with the benefits. This enables a judgement to be made whether costs can be taken out of the process without reducing customer value.

Working capital Funding for short-term requirements of the business. Essentially, working capital is debtors plus stock minus creditors.

Zero-based budgeting Budgeting without reference to historical levels of spend. A device to remove unnecessary costs by challenging the benefit of each major item of proposed expenditure.

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the Corporation of the Future, McGraw-Hill, 1993. De Bono, Edward, Lateral Thinking for Management, Penguin Books, 1982. De Bono, Edward, Opportunities, Penguin Books 1983. De Bono, Edward, Sur/Petition, Creating Value Monopolies when Everyone Else is

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215

216 References

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Index

Accounting controls 160 Activity-based costing 171, 175, 178,

212 Agent provocateur 23 Aggregation 81 Alliances 78, 192 Alternative strategies 93 Annual report 135, 137 Appraisals 39-40 Argyll Group 158 Asea Brown Boveri 117 Assessment, 360° 7 Assessment centres 6, 43 Average value (stock) 161 Auditor 159

Baden-Fuller, Charles 109 Balance sheet 161-2 Band, Prof. David, xviii Bennis, Warren 26, 33 BHS 112-13 Big Idea 88-9 Biotechnology 75-fJ, 212 Blockages 40, 41-3 BOC Group 138 Board 40, 119-22, 188 Board reports 163-fJ, 167 Boss, managing 65-fJ, 67 British Rail 109 BS5050 49 BT 71, 74 Budgeting 13 Business model 69-71 Business process re-engineering 28, 29,

111-13, 212

Cadbury Committee 120-1, 137, 179-82, 188

Cadbury, Dominic 145 Cadbury, Sir Adrian xiii-xiv, xviii Cadbury Schweppes 138, 141, 145, 161 Career development reviews 40 Career planning 56 Career stages 58 Cash flow 162-3

Centre, the 117-19 Chairman 120, 122-3 Champy, James 113 Change 27, 28, 32, 69-76, 80, 126,

145-7, 200 Chaos theory 86 Charismatic leadership 23 Coats, J. & P. 143 Coats Viyella 35-fJ, 114, 118, 120, 137,

151-2, Cochrane, Peter 71, 74 Community 196 Communication 4-5, 18, 24, 95,

98-101, 124-40 Competences 35-fJ, 89 Competitor Forces 90 · Compton Sons & Webb 109 Confused strategy 96-7 Continuous learning 32 Controlling 16 Corporate governance 179-83 Cost of capital 169-70, 212 Cowell, Bob xviii Cultural diversity 191-fJ Customer base 77-8

Demb & Neubauer 188 Demographic issues 82, 212 Deregulation 81 Disaggregation 81 Discounted cash flow 168-9, 198, 212 Drew, Ernest H. 193 Dynacast 87-8

Earl, Michael 116 Economic Value Added (EVA) 176 EDI 114, 213 Emotional resilience 201 Entrepreneur 50 Environment xvi, 68-88, 92-3 Ernst & Young 75 Esso 191 European Works Council 48 Executive potential 41-3 External reports 159-fJ3

218

Index 219

Failure 19, 29, 150 FIFO 161 Financial criteria 199 Financial knowledge 166 First appointment 141-3 Future 10-12, 29, 72--4, 84--5

Gabarro, John 148 General Electric 44, 45-7 General Managers 5 General Motors 144 Goertzel, Victor and Mildred 19 Grand Metropolitan 127, 161

Hamel, Gary 89 Hammer, Michael 113 Hanson Pic 117 Hax & Majluf 90 High flyers 41-3 Hoechst Celanese 193 Hunt, Prof. John 58

IBM 192 IMD 121 Immersion 148 Incentive programmes 16, 178, 185-6 Information technology 113-16, 127,

213 Inspirational leadership 23--4 Integrity 27 Intellectual capacity 4--5, 12 Intuitive strategies 87-8 Investor relations report 134--5, 136--7 Investors 132-3 Investors in People 49 ISO 9000 49

Jaeger Holdings 48

Key Issues 93 Kim, W. Chan and Mauborgne,

Renee 25 Knight, Pat & Ron xix, 14

Leadership 12, 16--20, 23-6, 149, 203

Leadership assessment 15-20, 43-7 Learning organisation 34--5 LEK 82-3, 176--7 Life plan 52-5 LIFO 161 London Business School 58 London International Group 96--7

Management development 38-9, 41--4 Management tasks 16 Managerial attributes 3-5 Managerial competences 34-6 Managing your boss 65-6, 67 Marks & Spencer 114--15 Mazda 114 MBA XV, 1-3, 55, 153 Measures 172 Megatrends 81-3 Mentors 21-2, 34, 53 Middle management 100-1 Mission 91-2 MIT 31 Motorola 10

National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) 49

Non-executives 180, 181, 186, 196 Non financial measures 170-1

Objective-setting 39, 51, 55, 56, 64, 124 Openness 188-90 Organisation 24 Overhead control 171

Parkinson, Prof. C. Northcote 62 Peaked managers 42-3 Pearson, Ian 71, 74 People dependence xvi, 32, 202 Performance review 164 Personal career planning 55-6 Personal communication 124-6 Personal development 50-1 Personal objectives 50-1, 55, 56 Personnel 35, 39 Perspirationalleadership 33 Planning 13 Planning problems 101-2 Porter, Michael 90 PR 125, 128 Prahalad, C. K. 89 Presentation techniques 128-30 Process 89-95 Profit and loss 159 Preferred strategy 94--5 Priorities 63--4

Questionmarks 43

Rapid change 80 Ready, fire, aim! 200 Reality gap 34

220

Refinement 148 Regulation 76-7 Remuneration committee 186 Reports 138, 157, 159-60, 163-6 Reshaping 148 Resource 94 Rewards 24, 183-6

Sainsbury, J. 137 Sales-based growth 106, 109-10 Savile & Holdsworth 47 Schwab, Klaus 78-9 Self-assessment 57 Self-management 20-50 Statement of values 184-5 Senge, Peter 34 Shareholder communication 130-40 Shareholder research 133 Sheppard, Lord xix Shima, Dr Masahiro 107-8 Shima Seiki I 07-8 Siemens 192 Smith, Adam I I I Smith, Jack (GM) 144 Smith, Terry 157 South African Breweries 118 Stafford, Peter xviii Stages of management 61 Statement of values 184-5 Stem, Joel 176 Stopford, John 109 Strategy xvi, 86-103, 104-6, 200-1

Index

Strategy communication 95-100 Strategy process 89-95 Strategy, value 104-6, 107-8 Successful companies 9-10 Succession planning 38, 41 Survey l-12, 206-11

Tait, Ruth xviii Talent 31, 42-3, 49 Tasks 16 Taylor, Alex 144 Teams 28-9 Technology 75, 77, 80 Themes 199 Time management 7-8, 62-5 Top management 99-100 'Too-hard' basket 65, 67 Toshiba 192 Touche Ross 166-8 Trends 84 Trust 26-7

Value xvi, 104-23, 176-7, 198 Vision 15, 16, 17, 18, 24, 34-5, 64, 144,

173

Watt, James xviii Welch, Jack 44 Workbook 64 Workforce 47-9, 101 World Economic Forum 78