Sir Muir Gray
is a guest editor for the healthcare community
Understanding value in health and healthcare
I look forward to meeting many of you at The Economist's Healthy Europe conference in Zurich next week.
Malcolm Keay
is a guest blogger for the energy community
Wanted: electricity market reform
It might seem strange to call for electricity market reform when the government’s Energy Bill is still making its way through Parliament. But however it has been described, the Bill is not really about electricity market reform. It is about investment instruments – the Feed-In Tariffs (FITs) and other measures designed to encourage investment in low-carbon generation such as nuclear and renewables.
James Chambers
is the contributing editor for the Healthcare community.
Long or short (trousers)
Soon the global round of angry G8 street protests will descend on London. This is in spite of the UK government's clever ploy to hold the event in Northern Ireland, a place accustomed to its fair share of civil disturbances over the years and almost as far away from the capital as these British Isles will allow. Alas, the rouse has not worked. Events are still going ahead in the capital: some peaceful and well-intentioned, others not so much...
Katja Hall
is a guest blogger for the energy community
Policy under scrutiny
With the future of the UK’s energy policy currently up in the air, it seems investors need a crystal ball to predict how energy markets may look in 20 or even 10 years’ time. This doesn’t do much for confidence in the UK’s ability to replace and upgrade its ageing energy infrastructure.
Philippa Nicole Barr
is a guest blogger for the technology community
Reciprocity in digital rights
The ease of sharing information on the internet challenges 20th century law such as the 2011 Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement signed by more than 32 countries including the US. Many internet users across the world defy these regulations with the sharing and exploitation of unpaid content. They oppose product developers, artists and publishing houses interested in controlling the distribution of content through legal or...
Erik van Druten
is a guest blogger for the Financial Services community
Banking on customer experience
Back in 1990 I entered my local bank to carry out a transaction. The clerk asked me for my ID. The only problem was, I had left my ID at home! ”Let me check with the branch manager” said the clerk. He turned around and simply asked his boss: “Do you know this gentleman?”
Dr Jonathan Trevor and Dr Mark Thompson
are guest bloggers for the Global Markets community
Strength in numbers
Traditionally, firms have succeeded by organising themselves efficiently around the production of innovative, yet standard solutions. However, technological advances are rapidly accelerating the process by which they can innovate. The implication is explosive, and clear: no one, especially big market players, can rely any longer on old-hat product development strategies to stay successful in their market. Distinctiveness of products and...
Jon Ingham
is a guest blogger for the Talent, Leadership & Education community
Talent and Big Data analytics
I'm at the Economist's Talent Management Summit today. It's been trailed, and I've trailed it, as being focused on the mobile, agile workforce. I have to say that I've not seen much about it this far (and it's now lunch time).
We did have an absolutely great kick off from Will Hutton, but that was about the new mobile, agile business - not the workforce. And after that, most of the focus has actually been pretty transactional. We...
Jon Ingham
is a guest blogger for the Talent, Leadership & Education community
Talent Managing in the Great Reset
A lot of The Economist's Talent Management Summit focused on changes in the world of work. Dean Royles (Head of NHS Employers) even nicked Peter Cheese's phrase about work, the workforce and the workplace. Here are my highlights:
Ibrahim Ibrahim
is a guest blogger for the Business Strategy community
Cashing out the till
Looking beyond the aesthetics, there are compelling business reasons for retailers to pull down the ‘Check Out’, ‘Pay Here’ and ‘Till Point’ signs hanging from the shop ceiling. For one thing, tills mean queues. Research has shown that 51% of UK shoppers refuse to even enter a store if they spy a queue. There are also studies that allude to the increasing redundancy of the till.
Brian Gardner
is the contributing editor for the Energy & Utilities community.
Room to improve
Facing low interest rates, deleveraging, recurring scandals and increasing capital requirements, banks have struggled in recent years. The prospects for many of them are no better going forward. Where once, a score of institutions aspired to be globe spanning, universal banks, the ambitions of many would-be financial titans, have been tempered by crisis and overreach.
Zoe Tabary
is the contributing editor for the Marketing community.
Who are Britain's unsung heroes?
Last year Microsoft Dynamics approached the Economist Intelligence Unit to devise a high-profile contest celebrating UK talent and innovative thinking – the Change Ambassadors programme. The competition was open to employees from businesses of all sizes throughout the UK who have been recognised for their skills and efforts in leading successful change within their business.
Paul Flatters
is a guest blogger for the marketing community.
What keeps a content marketer awake at night?
The topic under review was content marketing and the marketers were drawn from a broad spectrum of sectors (fast-moving consumer goods to energy, technology, professional services and financial services).
Dr. Ines Wichert
is a guest blogger for the Talent, Leadership & Education community
Why are there not more women in senior roles?
At the start of April 2013, Vince Cable, the UK's Business Secretary, said the introduction of UK quotas for women on boards is now a possibility given the recent stagnation of the number of women being appointed to board roles, as highlighted by research from Cranfield University.
Nick Molho
is a guest blogger for the energy community.
The EU’s climate & energy policy
The EU is at a crucial juncture of climate and energy policy. Economically, Europe is still entangled in a protracted economic slowdown, with a recent report from the Pew Centre showing that policy uncertainty is driving the centre for clean energy investment -- one of the few strong performing sectors of the EU’s economy -- away from Europe and towards Asia.
