Global Organizations

Anyone who has sat in enough teleconferences has experienced a special kind of meeting hell. The discussion drifts and sags until, to try to get things back on track, the facilitator says, "John, what do you think about the proposed initiative?" Then, after an awkwardly long pause, John responds with: "Oh, sorry, what was the question again?"

It’s fitting that 2012 is a leap year, since a number of converging market trends are driving HR organizations to make significant leaps in capabilities and performance. HR faces a critical, dual imperative in 2012 — a focus on enabling both their organization’s overall growth agenda and on driving efficiency in the business of HR. This dual focus demands decisive action as the stakes are greater than ever.
The top eight human capital trends outlined in the report include:

• In 2012 growth is job #1
• Operation globalization
• Fast-track to the top
• People risk is risky business
• Seeing around corners
• #social #mobile @work
• Clouds in the forecast
• Stay in front with an effective sales force

Businesses are calling on HR to leap ahead and help manage change in the face of complex challenges that touch so many parts of the enterprise. Understanding the 2012 Human Capital Trends — what they mean for both leading HR and for leading the business — is a great place to start.

Global teams face the challenge of having to operate with limited face-to-face contact and across vast distances, time zones, language backgrounds, and contexts, as well as cultural differences. In turn, these differences generate disruptions to team cohesion and top performance outcomes.

Across industry sectors, multinational companies face a common obstacle in developing the Chinese market -- attracting, developing and retaining the local Chinese talent needed to accomplish this goal. Compensation and cultural norms in the rapidly growing economy are particular sticking points
 

PARIS—Alcatel-Lucent SA plans to reorganize its European work force in a move that union officials said eventually could mean the loss of 1,800 positions.  Striving to return to consistent profit in a weak European economy, the company said Thursday that it will take some outsourced jobs back in house and relocate some workers.

Healthcare organizations around the world are challenged by pressures to reduce costs, improve coordination and outcomes, provide more with less and be more patient centric. Yet, at the same time, evidence is mounting that the industry is increasingly challenged by entrenched inefficiencies and sub-optimal clinical outcomes. In this study we interviewed more than 130 healthcare executives to get answers to some key questions including

• How are healthcare provider and payor organizations applying analytics today, and how might they need to think about its future use?
• How do high performing organizations use it differently than their peers?
• What are the barriers to adoption?
• What forward-looking analytics innovations can healthcare organizations apply to meet their mounting challenges?

Download this paper to get answers to these and other interesting findings.

Employers are continuing to reduce individual workspaces to allow for more collaborative and offsite arrangements, leading to communication issues for HR leaders.

Newell Rubbermaid is wrapping up a move of its Europe-Middle East-Africa headquarters from France, Belgium, and Germany to Geneva, a consolidation that talent acquisition director Carlos Vazquez says involved a “gargantuan task of staffing over 80 roles during the last six months.”

Monster got a boost Friday when investment bank UBS upgraded the company’s stock to a buy.

The rising economic tide that follows a global recession typically swells highest in developed countries. Not this time.  In the aftermath of the worst recession in a generation, Western businesses continue to be dogged by stubbornly slow growth and depressed domestic demand. Persistent unemployment, higher taxes and continued volatility in asset values only aggravate their task. Meanwhile, having experienced only a mild crisis of consumer confidence and subsequent quick recovery, a number of emerging economies are now enjoying world-beating growth.  

A new study reveals that companies, concerned about competition for leaders, expect to spend more on talent management this year.

Imagine if you could tap the brainpower of proven innovators from around the globe to help your company create its next business breakthrough and enhance its environmental record. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced today that it is teaming up with InnoCentive, a global leader in crowdsourced innovation, to help companies do just that through a new Eco-Challenge Series to accelerate green innovation in business.

The 50 companies on our 2011 list have chosen a unique path. Today's business landscape is littered with heritage companies whose CEOs battle their industry's broken model with inertia, layoffs, lawsuits -- anything that squeezes pennies and delays the inevitable. How many of these companies will be dominant in 2025? Few.