outsourcing

Survival Of The Fittest? Don’t Make Me Laugh!

The horsemeat scandal and an aggressive piece by Mark Ritson in Marketing Week (Kill the Weak: It's the Marketing Way) has again highlighted exactly what’s wrong with modern business practice. A basic lack of responsibility and morality which has enabled companies to build and abuse extraordinary levels of power. I know Ritson loves to court controversy, but this time he’s stepped over the line. His ridiculous assertion, when we are knee deep in another breach [...]

Restructuring for efficiency?

Last week the annual Marketing Week/Ball & Hoolahan salary survey welcomed us all into the New Year with the grim, if unsurprising, news that 53% of marketers expect department ‘restructures’ (aka redundancies and mergers) and budget cuts this year. The survey cited a number of big companies who have recently restructured “in a bid to improve the efficiency of their operations.” It made me wonder how many ‘restructured’ companies really become more efficient? More cost [...]