Offshoring a Top Priority for European Ceos
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Board EuropeA newsletter for members of The Conference Board in Europe Volume 20 • Number 1/2 • January/February 2005 OffshoringOffshoring aa TopTop PriorityPriority forfor EuropeanEuropean CEOsCEOs In this issue ore European chief executives regard relocating operations abroad as a top priority than their counterparts in either the US or Asia, according to a new 1 CEO Challenge 2004 M Conference Board study of CEO opinions, “CEO Challenge 2004”. In a sign that European companies are beginning to recognise the inevitability of the EU KLEMS project outsourcing and offshoring trend and the consequences of an ageing workforce, 31% 2 of chief executives of European companies see relocating to cross-border labour 3 Economic Briefing: markets as one of their key business issues. This compares with 24% of CEOs in the Strategic Choices US and 21% of Asian CEOs who share a similar priority. for Global Business Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP and Trustee of The Conference Board said: “As a The Future of the AGM great many European companies have found to their cost, the slightest reluctance 4 to respond to demographic and economic change can prove painfully expensive. 5 Conference: This Conference Board research confirms that, for many European businesses, Enterprise Risk Management offshoring has become not just desirable but crucial.” 6 Council News “CEO Challenge 2004”, sponsored by Heidrick and Struggles International, Inc. and • Three new Council directors PeopleSoft, is based on the responses of over 500 global business leaders from • Strategic Manufacturing 40 countries. Initial results, “CEO’s Top Ten Challenges” were published last summer. • Global Supply Chain • Health & Safety Top three priorities for CEOs worldwide, identified in the study, are: ● Adapting to change 8 Business Information Service ● Maintaining top-line growth ● Retaining customer loyalty. (➢ 2) www.conference-board.org 1 (➢ 1) The report highlights a number of key trends which are shaping CEOs’ agendas: ● CEOs in Asia are more likely to see pressure from foreign investment in their home market as a top priority than are CEOs in Europe or the US. Contrary to the established view that EU KLEMS global competitive pressures are a Project one-way, East-to-West street, the report finds that only one in three US The Conference Board Europe is one of 14 research business leaders view pressure from organisations from across the European Union that are foreign investment as important consortium members of the EU KLEMS project. compared to 73% of CEOs in Asia. The European Commission has provided a budget of The increasingly common trend for € 5 million to the consortium to do research on productivity Asian manufacturers to relocate in the European Union. The consortium will be responsible operations in Europe and North for developing productivity measures for EU member states America is an example of how (as well as comparisons with the United States and Japan) offshoring has become a win-win and for conducting research in the areas of productivity, phenomenon, benefiting economies technology, labour markets, etc. The three-year project is which are traditionally seen as funded through the European Commission’s 6th Framework inevitable competitors. Programme for Research. ● Outsourcing is being driven by This project is of great importance for a better assessment of economic imperatives rather than a the goals established by the EU in the Lisbon Agenda. lack of skills in developed markets. According to this agreement, member states will need to Indeed Asian business leaders are more carry out a range of structural reforms in order to make the concerned about the availability of EU the most dynamic and competitive economy in the skilled labour (66%) than CEOs in world. Until now, adequate measures of one of the most Europe (51%) and the US (42%). important goals of the Lisbon agenda, namely the Similarly CEOs in Asia are more likely improvement of productivity growth, were lacking. to view the availability of talented managers as a top priority than are The purpose of this 3-year project is to develop productivity CEOs in the US. measures for about 60 industries for each individual member state of the Union, and to carry out an analysis of ● The dispersed nature of companies’ the causes of differences across countries. As a result it will workforces places a priority on be easier, for example, to determine in which industries transferring knowledge within the individual member states have competitive advantages, or company and managing cross- by how much an increase in expenditures on R&D cultural relations. Three out of stimulates growth. An important aim of the project is to give four CEOs of European companies support to statistical agencies in continuing the development regard sharing ideas internally as a of productivity measures after the research has been top priority and more than half of all completed. CEOs see the development of cultural understanding as a key issue. The research consortium is led by the Groningen Growth and Development Centre of the University of Groningen (The Netherlands) and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research in London. Both institutes have established an important reputation in the area of productivity analysis. The consortium also works together with research institutes outside Europe which do similar research at, for example, Harvard University (US) and Keio University (Japan). This may contribute to improved comparability of productivity measures on a world-wide scale. For further information, contact Prof. Bart van Ark, University of Groningen (co-ordinating institute), tel. + 31 50 363 3674; email: [email protected] See also: http://www.euklems.net/ CEO Challenge 2004 Report 1353-04-RR 2 Strategic Choices for Global Business François Cornélis, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, TOTAL, hosted a briefing for business leaders 1 2 3 at the company’s Brussels offices on 26 October. The speakers were Gail 1. François Cornélis, Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, TOTAL Fosler, Executive Vice President and 2. Gail Fosler, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, The Conference Board Chief Economist, The Conference Board, 3. Guy Quaden, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium and Member of the and Guy Quaden, Governor of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. National Bank of Belgium and Member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. thought that prices, inflation and interest Looking ahead to the coming months, rates would rise, but pointed to some early Guy Quaden said one could be Introducing Gail Fosler, François Cornélis, warning signals that the financial system cautiously optimistic, but the scenario of commented that “The Conference Board's may have “too much” liquidity. an ongoing recovery is subject to risks, work on leading economic indicators oil prices being the main one. and exchange rate fundamentals European economic challenges The European economy must be made are particularly valuable for global Guy Quaden underlined the major more resistant to external shock. businesses.” achievements of the euro and EU He observed that the Lisbon Agenda is enlargment, but said that the most excellent in terms of diagnosis, but, Gail talked specifically about challenges important challenge now was how to so far, not sufficiently powerful in for companies in the global business improve Europe’s growth potential. implementation. There has been environment. She predicted that rapid “Insufficient growth obscures these progress in structural reforms, but the US and global growth would continue major achievements and prevents people pace of reform needs to be significantly into 2005, but said that the acceleration from believing in the dynamism of stepped up if the Lisbon targets are to be phase of growth rates was over. She also European integration.” achieved. 4 5 6 4. François Cornélis, Gail Fosler 5 and 6. Business Briefing at TOTAL, Brussels, 26 October and Guy Quaden Welcome, Vittoria We are pleased to announce that Vittoria Presidency. She is fluent in Italian, Barbaso has recently joined the Brussels French and English with a good office as a Meetings Coordinator to work knowledge of Dutch. Vittoria worked for on the conference programme and with The Conference Board in a temporary our Human Resources Councils. Born in capacity in 2004, with special Brussels, Vittoria graduated in law from responsibility for the successful the Université Catholique de Louvain-la- conference on Productivity, Innovation 7 Neuve and has done internships with the and Value Creation organised jointly 7. Vittoria Barbaso Belgian Justice Ministry, the European with the government of The Netherlands Council of Ministers and the Italian last June. We are delighted to welcome Permanent Representation to the her as a full time member of the European Union during the last Italian European team. 3 The Future of the Annual General Meeting Annual meetings are under attack in preferential access to board members at number of options for change within the both the United States and Europe but almost any time they wish. So for them, constraints of legal requirements and are likely to survive by becoming more most of what takes place at the annual evolving expectations among investors relevant and in step with a changing meeting is often redundant and their and corporations. governance and business environment, attendance is viewed as unnecessary. It is according to a new Conference Board also charged that very little meaningful Among the major suggestions for change report, The Future of the Annual discussion takes place at many annual presented by participants at the summit: General Meeting. meetings, especially when they are dominated by single-issue activists. ● Create a series of alternate forums The report is based on the second Some critics also question the value of where investors and corporate Corporate/Investor Summit held in open voting since institutional investors management can examine critical, London in May.