‘So, where should our business leaders begin?’ Searching for profitability and business success in the private and public sector
In a new 40 minute radio documentary podcast Cambridge Judge Business School explores how managers in the private and public sector can increase the efficiency of their organisations.
Academics at Cambridge Judge Business School give their view of the current economic difficulties economies in Europe are facing and how managers need to adapt and innovate to cope with an increasingly interconnected but complex world that will see traditional orthodoxies turned on their heads.
They discuss views on cutting the public sector deficit, the problems of Greece and the Eurozone, and how to start up a business.
The ten academics quoted in the podcast documentary are (in order of appearance): Professor Arnoud De Meyer, Director of Cambridge Judge Business School, Michael Kitson, Dr Christos Pitelis, Peter Hiscocks, Ben Barry, Dr Omar Merlo, Pam Garside, Dr Jim Rice, Dr Chris Tyler and Dr Jochen Menges.
Michael Kitson says cutting back the public sector in times of economic uncertainty is a mistake and that both the public sector and the private sector create wealth: “It is really muddled thinking to say the private sector creates wealth and the public sector doesn’t, both contribute to wealth. It’s like arguing that the private sector, if we have more management consultants, hair dressers and estate agents, adds to wealth, but if we have more teachers, doctors and nurses it doesn’t.”
Dr Christos Pitelis says every crisis is an opportunity. Greece maybe the focus of attention now for the Eurozone but there are lessons for all to learn: “Greek austerity measures are going to influence the prospects of the German economy, and in addition to this, the EU has to put its house in order in being able to anticipate and solve problems like this. All crisis are opportunities and as they say it is such a pity to miss a great crisis.”
Peter Hiscocks, a Fellow in Entrepreneurship, says that for those starting up businesses, making that leap from a small to a larger enterprise is as fraught with difficulties as ever. ‘Innovation’ is the key to success: “The best protection against being taken over by competitors is to keep innovating, keep developing your products faster than the competitors and keep making the products better and charge a good margin for them.”