QUESTION Some companies, such as Wal-Mart, Goldman-Sachs, Asea Bro n Bo!eri, Goo"le and #NN ha!e mana"ed to thri!

e in the post-Septem$er %&&' "lo$al recession, hile others, such as (ehman Brothers, Merrill ()nch, (lo)ds Ban*+,BOS, Water-ords and Wool orths ha!e not. What mana"ement approaches to these international $usinesses account -or these di--erences/

(ON0ON, En"land 1#NN2 -- On that Friday in September last year when (ehman Brothers collapsed and fellow banking giant Merrill Lynch was hurriedly sold off, the sense of shock that reverberated through the world financial system and was reflected in media headlines across the globe.

ehind the headlines -- is there more to the recesion story!

"t was an implosion of confidence said newspapers, #$ and the "nternet, which labeled events % lack Friday.% ut, after several more months of doom-laden coverage, what e&actly has been happening within corporations at the center of the storm! #hat is e&actly what one leading '( business school decided to find out. Since )ecember last year, (evin *ower and +ndrew )ay, respectively a consultant and business psychologist at +shridge usiness School near London, interviewed do,ens of business leaders personally and -ui,,ed others via surveys. #heir -indin"s cast a slightly more comple& light on the aftermath of the credit crunch and the way companies are coping with recession. /hile many find things difficult, a lot are also using current events as a catalyst to re-think and shake up their own business models. %Many organi,ations are working under severe resource and financial constraints which means they have to work with what they have got,% *ower and )ay told 011 2ointly via email. %#he old wisdom of 3necessity being the mother of innovation3 is very relevant here.

%#he more adaptable and responsive organi,ations are having to energi,e their people to stay close to their customers, and generate new ideas and possibilities for improving products, services and ways of working. + common theme we heard was, 3/e should have been doing some of these things a long time ago -- now they are essential if we are to survive and stay competitive.3%

0on3t Miss

Bi4 schools -i"ht $ac* a"ainst the do nturn Is the ,o orst o- the recession o!er/ #uttin" $i4 tra!el could $e a -alse econom) to a!oid $o"us $usiness 5uali-ications In 0epth6 E7ecuti!e Education

+ number of companies, they note, are attempting reforms that would have been seen as too radical, or too likely to antagoni,e unions, before the crisis. ut while their report gives a glimpse of a more comple& world behind the headlines, the authors stress that the tone of the coverage, while not always helpful, was e-ually not necessarily the culprit. %+ few did blame the media for accelerating the downturn in their particular sector, for e&ample the property and housing industry. %4owever on the whole, most accepted that this was a global phenomenon and perhaps the bubble had to burst at some stage,% they said. %+ll our participants commented on the amplified levels of an&iety in their organi,ations, which they associated with the economic events, and their coverage by the media. %Most leaders did say they had to respond to media coverage, pointing out to their employees the health of their organi,ation, or being transparent with employees about the difficulties confronting their business.% #here is, according to *ower and )ay, nonetheless a feeling that some of the coverage has been oversimplistic and doom-laden. %/hilst there are an awful lot of people losing their 2obs in particular business sectors, we are also showing that businesses are being affected in a number of other different ways and even some of those in survival mode are showing remarkable resilience and wisdom. #here are plenty of people who are saying this is a time of opportunity and renewal. %Our personal reaction to what we have heard is that something very interesting and e&citing is happening in organi,ations, and society, which is perhaps not being acknowledged in the media. %Leaders are -uestioning the values and purpose of their organi,ations. + new attitude to rewards, short term growth and greed is emerging, and trust in government and financial institutions seems to be changing.%

Overall, they say, events have given them %a uni-ue research,% and one through which they hope they can %uncover learning that would be genuinely helpful to organi,ations rather than to reinforce the feeling of helplessness.%