Debate: Business Performance: Over-emphasis on financials?
By: Mike BournePublished on: 01/10/2011
Description: Are companies in danger of over-emphasising the financials? This issue is explored by Professor Mike Bourne. He contends that whilst companies have got to survive for today, especially in the market that we are in, they must not ignore wider aspects for the future since it will hit their long term survival. We’d like to hear YOUR VIEWS by clicking on the 'Tell Us What You Think' icon above.
Faculty Biographies: Mike Bourne
Comments:
On 08/03/12, Steve Parker wrote:
Having worked for several PLC manufacturers before I started my own business, I can confirm that being financially led is the route cause of many of today's UK problems. For years I used to get to the final negotiation stage of major projects overseas, only for the UK manufacturing company MD to turn down the business because the margins were not quite high enough and the share price might then go down! So the overseas competitors then got the business and the prestige and the profits and the project references, just because the 'Financeled MD' did not want to accept a still significant but lower % margin. Finally, slowly, UK PLC seems to be realising that this is, was and never will be a great strategy. Everything now has to be geared towards profitable sales,whatever percentages that might be. Therapy over!