MCA executive reports
Next Generation Outsourcing (Summer 2008)
The MCA’s new executive report – “Next generation outsourcing” has found that the credit crunch will drive a new wave of outsourcing and offshoring in financial services as cash becomes tighter.
However, only just over half (54 per cent) of respondents felt that their organisation understood how to get good value from outsourcing and only 24 per cent thought they adequately understood the offshoring industry.
Countering some of the negative publicity typically associated with outsourcing and offshoring, the MCA report also found that the majority of respondents to the MCA/BBA survey (89 per cent) do not think that many jobs in their organisations have been lost as a result of either outsourcing or offshoring and almost two thirds (58 per cent) also think that outsourcing has made the organisation more competitive.
Click here to download a free pdf copy of the report
A Growing Concern: How Should Business Adapt to a Low Carbon World? (Spring 2007)
The MCA report, A growing concern – how should business adapt to a low carbon world? highlights the extent to which environmental concerns have changed dramatically within businesses in the last five years.
Asked how important it was responding to climate change five years ago, almost two thirds (61 per cent) said that it wasn’t one of their top ten priorities. In stark contrast, today, 70 per cent said that it is, with over a third (36 per cent) stating it was amongst their top five most pressing concerns.
However, the survey for this report, carried out in conjunction with consultants Arup, demonstrates that there is clearly a long way to go for most businesses in reducing their carbon emissions. The report found that the majority (75 per cent) are only ‘scratching the surface’ in their attempts to reduce emissions, with only a quarter of businesses presently funding projects to reduce their emissions.
Click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.
The Upside of Risk (Autumn 2007)
The MCA’s executive report, ‘The upside of risk – Improving performance in the public sector’ has found that a difficulty in maintaining the motivation and morale of staff is seen as the biggest threat facing public sector organisations now and in the future. Reputational and people risks were rated as major current threats by 32 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, however managers said that risks related to people and resources would grow to become the biggest threat.
The report, sponsored by Ernst & Young, also found that almost all of the managers (90 per cent) see their management of ‘people and resources-related risks’ as partially effective or not effective at all. These risks included difficulties in recruitment, retention, training, motivation and morale. Motivation and morale of staff was seen as the most significant threat with 58 per cent of those polled rating it as the single most important ‘people and resources related-risk’ faced by their organisation.
Click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.
Tomorrow’s People (Summer 2007)
Tomorrow’s People – Managing talent in a diverse world, published in July 2007, sponsored by Hay Group, has found that less than a quarter of organisations in the UK believe their current talent management processes will deliver the leaders they need in the future, with nearly three quarters (70 per cent) feeling they need to change their approach. The report also found that nearly two thirds of organisations (61 per cent) see talent management as integral to their survival.
The report also found that two thirds of organisations (64 per cent) feel that changes in demographics will cause them to have a greater dependence on collaborative working, more international teams and more flexible working. In line with this, the report identifies that the key to successful working in the future will be agility – the ability to respond quickly to changing needs.
Click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.
An Arc of Certainty (Spring 2007)
The MCA report, An arc of certainty – executing strategy: what can private equity firms teach us? released in May 2007, has found that whilst nearly two thirds (61 per cent) of organisations are spending more time developing strategy than they did five years ago, over a third (36 per cent) are not adding any value.
The report, sponsored by Arup, the global design and consulting business, examines how organisations can close the gap between the effort put into strategy and its impact. It investigates what private equity firms do differently from existing managers when they take over a company, and asks whether there are any lessons that could be applied to other organisations, irrespective of their ownership model.
Click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.
Share & Share Alike (Winter 2006)
On December 6th 2006, the MCA and Shared Services Solutions presented a masterclass to public sector managers and directors as part of the launch of the MCA’s executive report, entitled Share and Share Alike, written by Fiona Czerniawska.
Click here to download the Executive Report on Shared Services.
Ensuring Sustainable Value From Consultants (Summer 2006)
Getting the most from using consultants depends on setting up joint teams, taking a flexible approach and ensuring that the people who work side-by-side with the consultants gain personally from the experience.
As one interviewee put it:‘The value of consultants is based on what they leave behind. If they leave behind a more open-minded, capable team in the longer-term, that’s money well spent.’
Please click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.
Making Sense of IT Security (Winter 2005)
More than a fifth of the companies surveyed for this report said they had suffered several serious breaches in their IT security. More than a third of these victims said they had lost profits as a result, and a similar number said the breaches had cost them a significant amount of money and had irretrievably damaged their hardware and/or software.
IT security is seen as the second-biggest risk to businesses after operational risk, and is rated as being more significant than competitive threats, falling sales or key people leaving. Although the tools that people use to hack into organisations are continually evolving, it’s the changing nature of work that is the key to the problem. IT security can therefore only ever be a relative, not an absolute, concept.
Please click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.
From Bottlenecks to Blackberries (Summer 2005)
Organisations and managers are heading for trouble. Although people believe they are more productive than they were five years ago, they attribute this gain to their own efforts rather than to their manager’s help.
This attitude points to a contradiction at the heart of today’s organisations. In a world in which more and more work is outsourced, teams may be dispersed across multiple locations and an increasing number of people work away from their office, organisations need individuals they can trust and who are engaged in and committed to their work.
Please click here to download a free pdf copy of the report.