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Featured Organization, Talent Article, China's talent shortage
How to address China's growing talent shortage

July 2008

The imbalance between business opportunities in China and qualified executives to manage them will get worse—a lot worse—before it gets better.

Featured Organization, Talent Article, multinationals struggle to manage talent
Why multinationals struggle to manage talent

May 2008

A survey shows a strong correlation between financial performance and best practices for managing talent globally.

Featured Organization, Talent Article, talent management strategy
Premium Content
Making talent a strategic priority

January 2008

The War for Talent never ended. Executives must constantly rethink the way their companies plan to attract, motivate, and retain employees.

The Archive

2008
Succeeding at open-source innovation: An interview with Mozilla's Mitchell Baker

January 2008

The company’s chairman and former CEO explains the power of the participatory, open-source model of collaboration.

2007
Building a competitive finance function: An executive roundtable

December 2007

By focusing on talent development, new roles for finance, and creative benchmarks, CFOs can deliver a competitive advantage to their companies.

McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Economic and hiring outlook, Fourth Quarter 2007

December 2007

Executives in Western economies see inflation rising and economies declining over the next six months, but many say that their companies plan to hire. Their counterparts elsewhere are more optimistic.

The organizational challenges of global trends: A McKinsey Global Survey Premium Content

December 2007

Executives know that their companies must come up with the right organizational response to maintain a competitive edge.

McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Economic and hiring outlook, Third Quarter 2007

November 2007

Hiring plans remain strong, despite a dip in confidence as credit market troubles shook the global economy. Mainly because of competition, executives don’t expect to get increased pricing power.

What shapes careers: A McKinsey Global Survey

November 2007

Male and female executives—parents and nonparents alike—define the event that has had the most significant effect on their careers and report that factors at work are far more important than factors at home. Women are more likely than men to say they have had role models and mentors.

How companies approach innovation: A McKinsey Global Survey Premium Content

October 2007

Executives say innovation is very important, but their companies’ approach to it is often informal, and leaders lack confidence in their innovation decisions. Top managers and other professionals agree that the biggest challenge is talent but disagree on why. Nonetheless, executives agree on some steps to improve innovation.

McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Economic and hiring outlook, July 2007 Premium Content

July 2007

More than twice as many companies plan to increase their workforces as to shrink them, with most new jobs in the same country as headquarters. Executives are optimistic about prospects for the economies of their home countries, despite fear of rising inflation.

Better strategy through organizational design Premium Content

May 2007

Redesigning an organization to take advantage of today’s sources of wealth creation isn’t easy, but there can be no better use of a CEO’s time.

Building the civilized workplace

May 2007

Nasty people don't just make others feel miserable; they create economic problems for their companies.

McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Confidence Index, April 2007 Premium Content

April 2007

Executives around the world retain a positive economic outlook, despite less improvement in economic conditions than expected six months ago. Many plan to continue hiring, and the most senior executives are the likeliest to foresee larger workforces.

The role of networks in organizational change Premium Content

April 2007

Companies shouldn’t focus so much on formal structures that they ignore the informal ones.

Building global champions in Latin America Premium Content

March 2007

The region’s companies will fulfill their potential abroad only if they pursue clear global aspirations and find systematic ways to develop their talent and integrate cultures and organizations.

The McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives: Confidence Index, January 2007

January 2007

With confidence unshaken, executives are keen to hire, particularly in Asia.

2006
When should CFOs take the helm? Premium Content

November 2006

CFOs can bring much-needed skills to the CEO role, but the career path isn’t always a direct one.

Understanding supply chain risk: A McKinsey Global Survey

October 2006

Executives believe they face growing risk from disruptions to their supply chains—yet many are unprepared to manage those risks.

How global organizations develop local talent Premium Content

August 2006

Successful companies take a multipronged approach to nurture not only prospective leaders but also the community as a whole.

Mapping the value of employee collaboration Premium Content

August 2006

As collaboration within and among organizations becomes increasingly important, companies must improve their management of the networks where it typically occurs.

Who should—and shouldn't—run the family business Premium Content

August 2006

Family-owned companies run by eldest sons account for a good deal of the managerial-quality gap between the countries in a study.

An executive perspective on employee benefits: A McKinsey Survey Premium Content

June 2006

Executives say employee benefits help companies compete but have an incomplete understanding of benefits and how they perform.

Making a market in talent Premium Content

May 2006

A 21st-century company should put as much effort into developing its talented employees as it puts into recruiting them.

The people problem in talent management

May 2006

Talent-management processes can't work if managers don't think it's important to develop their people.

2005
China's looming talent shortage Premium Content

November 2005

To make the move from manufacturing to services, China must raise the quality of its university graduates.

The future of the global workplace: An interview with the CEO of Manpower Premium Content

November 2005

Jeff Joerres explains how a rapid pace of change requires both companies and employees to take a new approach to work.

Ensuring India's offshoring future Premium Content

September 2005

The country must not only produce more top-quality engineers but also show the world the depth and quality of its talent in other fields—and in cities beyond Bangalore and Mumbai.

A guide for the CEO-elect

August 2005

The days, weeks, or months between taking the job and assuming power are precious. Put them to good use.

Using branding to attract talent

August 2005

To win the best recruits, a company must know how they perceive its brand.

A dearth of HR talent Premium Content

May 2005

European companies must redefine the skills and capabilities required of their human-resources personnel.

2004
Nonprofits' untapped resource

February 2004

Alumni represent a deep reservoir of time, money, and talent. Here’s how nonprofit organizations can foster enduring relationships with them.

2003
Do you know who your experts are?

November 2003

Companies need a new approach to finding their elusive experts.

Matching people and jobs Premium Content

June 2003

Achieving the most productive combination of workers and work is about to become a great deal easier.

Getting what you pay for with stock options Premium Content

February 2003

Companies now have an opportunity to rethink their use of stock options so that they serve shareholders as well as executives.

2002
Has pay for performance had its day? Premium Content

November 2002

The way to get your employees to focus on both the present and the future is to adjust your culture and to weaken your financial incentives.

2001
Brains abroad Premium Content

December 2001

Emerging markets can win in the global war for talent by leveraging the talents of their expats.

Shall we dance? Premium Content

December 2001

Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater is undergoing its own Russian revolution.

Managing the asset manager Premium Content

November 2001

A survey shows that the message on talent from asset-management employees to their bosses is an overwhelming "could do better."

Teamwork at the top Premium Content

May 2001

When the top team isn’t working well, the whole company suffers. How can top teams fix themselves?

The war for talent, part two

May 2001

An update of McKinsey’s 1997 survey on the war for talent found that it is escalating—despite the current economic slowdown and the end of the dot-com boom.

2000
Stock options aren’t enough Premium Content

August 2000

Compensation plans linking the pay of managers to the share values of their companies can reward or penalize them for events they don’t control. A new model is needed.

The war for technical talent Premium Content

August 2000

A McKinsey survey of computer science and electrical engineering graduates, summarized in "The war for technical talent," found that falling numbers of middle-aged people, the movement of employees out of large corporations, and frequent job-hopping will force employers to offer top dollar to top performers.

How executives grow

February 2000

Talent can be bought, but the best companies develop their own.

The talent-growth dynamic

February 2000

Talent-dependent companies should be able to nurture enough high-flying managers internally to meet ambitious growth targets. An approach called the dynamic-resource view shows how.

1999
Think global, hire local Premium Content

November 1999

Building a bedrock of local managers in emerging markets is essential to ensure long-term market leadership—but getting it right is hard.

Are you taking your expatriate talent seriously? Premium Content

August 1999

To make the most of overseas opportunities, multinational companies must pay closer attention to the problems of executives transferred into them.

The US military is losing the war for talent Premium Content

August 1999

Keeping good midlevel people is the real problem—and the draft wouldn’t address it.

1998
The war for talent Premium Content

August 1998

Tell me again: Why would someone really good want to join your company? And how will you keep them for more than a few years? Yes, money does matter.

Help Wanted Premium Content

February 1998

America’s service sector has created millions of new jobs. That’s the problem. Companies will need to segment labor markets or change the way they produce a service. Turning dead-end jobs into careers.

1997
A tougher game at the top Premium Content

November 1997

Champion Paper pioneered team building in its mills. But building teams in the executive suite took ten years. Was it worth it?

Teamwork across time and space Premium Content

November 1997

Can teams that don’t spend time physically together be effective? The answer is yes—so long as they can find a way to build credibility and trust.

1996
The trivialization of management Premium Content

November 1996

An excerpt from Management Redeemed: Debunking the fads that undermine our corporations.

Putting people values to work Premium Content

August 1996

Most executives are nervous about discussing organizational values. But recent research indicates that shared values provide a framework within which people make decisions and take actions that ultimately affect the performance of their organizations.

The return of the country manager Premium Content

May 1996

Emerging consumer markets have confirmed their value. And shown that the transnational model is slow and complex. Do you want an entrepreneur or a team player?

1994
Managing CEO transitions Premium Content

May 1994

A leader’s best chance to lock in new organizational norms is usually during the first few months on the job.

Teams at the top Premium Content

February 1994

Senior managers often underestimate the range of options available to them for teamlike performance.

1993
The CEO as Chief Performance Officer Premium Content

November 1993

Leadership in defining—and delivering—the performance imperatives of strategy must come from the very top.

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