A microscope on small businesses: The productivity opportunity by country

The McKinsey Global Institute aggregated a richly granular data set of micro-, small-, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) and large companies across 12 broad sectors, 68 level-two subsectors, and more than 200 level-three subsectors for 16 countries that account for more than half of global GDP. In these countries, MSMEs on…

Chrome without third-party cookies: what will your data strategy look like?

  • Post category:Elixirr
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Ninety percent of the world’s data has been created in the last two years, and this huge influx is already growing exponentially in 2024. However, Google’s move to phase-out third-party cookies and prioritise user privacy will limit businesses’ access to customer data. Given today’s focus on the hyper-personalisation of customer…

Model makeover: Turning a telco into a customer-centric techco

For all the financial, operational, and market challenges incumbent telecom operators have faced over the past decade-plus, they still retain real competitive advantages in their efforts to spur renewed growth. Global brand recognition, a large customer base, a rich data set, and a broad array of sales channels are all…

Microsoft Teams announces updates for Town Hall

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Our goal in Teams is to make hybrid work and communication easier and more inclusive than ever before. This pursuit is core to the effort we put into creating meaningful connections between people through our end-to-end events platforms, whether one-to-one meetings or large one-to-many hosted digital events. We introduced our…

Job Search Advice for a Tough Market: Think Broadly and Stay Flexible

New graduates entering the job market will face a very different landscape from even a year ago, with a murky economy and potentially more limited career prospects. Though unemployment figures in the US remain near historically low levels, the pace of hiring in April slowed, according to the Bureau of…

AIA’s Lee Yuan Siong on building success for the long term

This interview is part of the Leading Asia series, which features in-depth conversations with the region’s most influential leaders on what it takes to lead in Asia today.Asia–Pacific’s changing demographics, growing middle class, and insurance protection gaps are just a few trends shaping opportunities and challenges in the region's life…

New Study Highlights Significant Increases in Cannabis Use in US

  • Post category:Carnegie Mellon
  • Reading time:4 mins read

A new study by a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University assessed cannabis use in the United States between 1979 and 2022, finding that a growing share of cannabis consumers report daily or near-daily use and that their numbers now exceed those of daily and near-daily alcohol drinkers. The study concludes…

Scenarios for What Could Transpire Following a Hostile Exchange Between Israel and Iran

Both Tehran and Jerusalem, while performing political and diplomatic manoeuvres, and, if necessary, demonstrating military capabilities, still strive to refrain from direct confrontation. The regional balance is extremely unstable – and therefore not a single potential scenario should be completely ruled out. Iran-Israel relations have remained extremely tense for several…

Why is tax planning important?

Tax planning sits at the heart of every successful wealth management strategy. Talking tax can be difficult. It doesn’t have the glamour of planning an investment portfolio or discussing a lucrative business exit, but tax planning is pivotal to your financial future. Everyone can benefit from understanding the fundamentals. Tax…

Development Imperatives in Africa: What of Tech?

There are many, ways to evaluate Africa’s expensiveness in the tech space and determine what drives African development. Conclusions may point to interests in robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and telecommunications. This paper attempts to add to the body of literary commentary on this issue a view of the nature of the…

Tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and their impact on Europe

  • Post category:Bruegel
  • Reading time:12 mins read

On 14 May, United States President Joe Biden announced new tariffs on China under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (unfair trade) . The additional tariffs – on top of earlier tariffs, including those imposed by President Trump – cover imports from China in several sectors, including semiconductors (tariff…

Ceasing to be UK Tax Resident – Don’t Get it Wrong

  • Post category:Dixcart UK
  • Reading time:6 mins read

It is January 2025 and two people are sitting at the departure gate at Heathrow waiting for their (inevitably) delayed flight to the Bahamas. They start a conversation and talk about why they are flying to this Caribbean island. Person A, Mrs Sunseeker, explains to Person B, that she had…

Serbia and the Republic of Srpska: Is a Common Future Possible?

[After the start of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Western pressure on the Republic of Serbia, the Republic of Srpska and all Serbian people on the territory of the former Yugoslavia increased. The fact that the Republic of Serbia has not imposed sanctions against the Russian Federation has contributed…

The Six Dimensions of Winning Teams

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Goals, values and rules: securing the team’s missionGoals, values and rules are three distinct and complementary ways to bond team members. Together, these elements create the solidarity needed for group members to become a true team. Goals are the foundational element of teams. They provide a shared purpose and direction for the team's efforts.…

Owning The Oceans

The fascination with the sea is as old as man. The famous cry—thalatta, thalatta—of Xenophon’s beleaguered 10,000 Greek soldiers (or of what remained of them) upon seeing the familiar waters of the Black Sea after returning from war, showed a loving familiarity with the sea. The Romans embraced the Mediterranean…

‘This is what my school was missing’

If Lerone A. Martin, the faculty director for Stanford’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, harbored any doubts about teaching his popular undergraduate course via the Internet to high schoolers in Los Angeles, they vanished when the results of a student survey arrived midway through the semester. When…

Global governance: Goals and lessons for AI

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:7 mins read

As AI policy conversations expanded last year, they started to be punctuated by repeated references to unexpected abbreviations. Not the usual short names for new AI models or machine learning jargon, but acronyms for the different international institutions that today govern civil aviation, nuclear power, and global capital flows. This…

New Maryland Law Places New Restrictions on Noncompete Agreements for Health Care and Veterinary Professionals

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:4 mins read

Quick Hits Maryland’s HB 1388 imposes greater restrictions on Maryland employers entering noncompete and conflict of interest agreements with both health care and veterinary professionals. HB 1388 prohibits restrictions for certain employees who are required to be licensed under the Health Occupations Article and certain employees who are licensed as…

ServiceNow and Microsoft expand strategic alliance using AI

  • Post category:Microsoft
  • Reading time:6 mins read

New ServiceNow Now Assist and Microsoft Copilot integration brings the power of two generative AI assistants into one seamless enterprise experience LAS VEGAS — May 8, 2024 — Knowledge 2024 — Today at ServiceNow’s annual customer and partner event, Knowledge 2024, ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced…

The growing importance of software product marketing managers

Making great products is not enough in software these days. The “build it, and they will come” mindset will no longer lead to success in this ever-competitive space. As software products become more sophisticated and customers more discerning, the path to market acceptance has become much more complicated. Companies need…

Internet use statistically associated with higher wellbeing, finds new global Oxford study

The study encompassed more than two million participants psychological wellbeing from 2006-2021 across 168 countries, in relation to internet use and psychological well-being across 33,792 different statistical models and subsets of data, 84.9% of associations between internet connectivity and wellbeing were positive and statistically significant. The study analysed data from two…

Ya Xu on building AI and machine learning products

In this episode of McKinsey on Building Products, a podcast dedicated to the exploration of software product management and engineering, McKinsey partner Rikki Singh spoke to Dr. Ya Xu, vice president of engineering and head of data and AI at LinkedIn. They discuss strategies engineering leaders can undertake to prioritize…

Reimagining the apparel value chain amid volatility

The apparel and footwear industry’s standard playbook for managing global supply chains has been overtaken by recent events and rising complexity. The sprawling footprint of global supply chains was supposed to the lower the chance for disruption, but the pandemic and resulting dramatic demand shifts punctured that veil. With volatility…

Illinois Legislature Passes Bill to Clarify ‘Per-Scan’ Damages for Privacy Act Violations, Awaits Governor’s Signature

  • Post category:Ogletree Deakins
  • Reading time:5 mins read

Quick Hits The Illinois legislature passed SB2979 to clarify that multiple alleged collections or disseminations of an individual’s biometrics constitute only a single violation of the Privacy Act and the individual is limited to only one recovery of statutory damages. Once signed, the bill will reverse a holding by the…

Imperceptible sensors made from ‘electronic spider silk’ can be printed directly on human skin

The method, developed by researchers from the University of Cambridge, takes its inspiration from spider silk, which can conform and stick to a range of surfaces. These ‘spider silks’ also incorporate bioelectronics, so that different sensing capabilities can be added to the ‘web’.The fibres, at least 50 times smaller than…

Your Culture Matters as Much as Your Legal Compliance

  • Post category:Civility Partners
  • Reading time:6 mins read

Legal compliance serves as the bedrock of any organization. While it lays the foundation, a positive workplace culture breathes life into your organization. A strong, supportive culture fosters employee engagement, boosts morale, and enhances productivity.  This balance between compliance and culture was at the heart of our discussion on last…

INSEAD Insights: May 2024 Research Picks

  • Post category:INSEAD Knowledge
  • Reading time:7 mins read

New papers published by INSEAD professors suggest gains from AI could be undermined by managers, perhaps because they have to consider wider objectives beyond measurable results. Another finding pertains to social movements on a global scale, and how they may turn consumers off specific products. Other research cover macroeconomics. One paper…

How wildfires change soil chemistry

The huge, long-lasting wildfires that have become increasingly common in recent years can cause changes in soil chemistry that affect water contamination, air quality, and plant growth. But these changes are poorly monitored and rarely factor into post-fire recovery efforts or risk assessments, according to a review study published May…

One CISO Can’t Fill Your Board’s Cybersecurity Gaps

Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images The chairman of a large European enterprise approached me over drinks at an event for board members and CEOs on…

A Teacher and Mentor to First-Generation Corporates

Growing up, Gail Ayala Taylor would have heard about business from her father, Reginald “Ricky” Ayala. To Spartans fans, Ayala was the legendary #7 basketball player for Michigan State; to others, he was a distinguished businessman and CEO in Detroit known for his more than 30-year career in hospital administration.…

Audit and Beyond: The Unbelievably True Story of AuditBoard

  • Post category:Battery Ventures
  • Reading time:7 mins read

Today we are excited to announce that AuditBoard*, a software company specializing in risk-and-compliance software for large enterprises, has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Hg, a global software-and-services investor, for over $3 billion. The last six years of Battery’s partnership with AuditBoard have been, in our view,…

Chima Ndumele: Reinventing Medicaid

Howie and Harlan are joined by Chima Ndumele of the Yale School of Public Health to discuss his research on structural changes to Medicaid that could keep vulnerable populations healthier. Harlan reports on the remarkable abilities of Google's latest medicine-focused AI; Howie reflects on a study showing the impact of…

How leaders at progressive organisations can champion AI for good

  • Post category:Clarasys
  • Reading time:6 mins read

As AI technologies continue to evolve, businesses are experiencing transformative changes across various dimensions, including efficiency, customer experience (CX), decision-making, and innovation. Amidst this profound shift, many leaders are emerging as pivotal figures, wielding influence not only in steering organisations through the complexities of AI adoption but also in harnessing…

Banned or Not, TikTok Is a Force Companies Can’t Afford to Ignore

Businesses that dismiss TikTok as merely a platform for teenagers looking to create and consume cat and dance videos do so at their own peril. That’s the message of a Harvard Business School case study tracing the video-sharing app’s explosive rise to the world's most-used platform. Owned by Beijing-based ByteDance,…