Thinking outside the blue box on recycling
In response to receiving a brown bin, blue box and some green bags, John writes a letter to Cherwell District Council questioning the rationale of recycling paper and calling for more practical environmentalism initiatives.
Bonuses are a problem diet for financiers
Heads, we win; tails, they lose! Managers, traders and advisers who take more of gains than of losses have incentives to support risky courses of action that are not in the best interests of the principals they represent. John explains why this scheme can never really align the rewards of the individual with the objectives of the organisation.
Nobody wins when there are too few taxis
Most bad economic policies can be abandoned, but the harmful effects of restrictive licensing systems are usually irreversible. By illustrating the flaws of taxi regulation, John explains why governments and licensing authorities should think twice before being caught in a transitional gains trap.
Why a privatised railway drew bad reviews
David Hare’s play on rail privatisation, The Permanent Way, offers drama along classical Shakespearean lines – what is foredoomed to fail, fails. However, as an intriguing conversation reveals, Hare seems to have missed a key point.
Boeing and a dramatic change of direction
John used to teach students that Europe could never regain supremacy in civil aircraft manufacture. He was mistaken. What went wrong with Boeing’s strategy?
Television networks are dying in a flurry of reality
Wouldn’t it be better if quality broadcasters embraced a future as publishers of quality rather than broadcasters of rubbish? John illustrates why broadcasters invent markets that suit their organisation, instead of inventing an organisation structure that suits their market.
A touch posting for any captain of industry
Sometimes there are stranded businesses - once successful companies whose competitive advantage has disappeared. Does Barclays new chief executive find himself in this position?
Electricity failures should come as no shock
Are the increasingly frequent failures in electricity supply the result of privatisation and deregulation?
Big media can never be truly creative media
Is it inevitable that media industries will be dominated by conglomerates? This is the industry where scale creates more problem than its advantages
Vodafone triumphs, Britain picks up the bill
So farewell, Sir Chris. The imminent departure of Sir Christopher Gent calls for an examination of the rise of Vodafone.