Blog

Les Owen, Group Chief Executive, AXA Asia Pacific Holdings, speaks to Susan Heron about cultural change, management, leadership and the AXA experience.

Q: When you arrived from the UK in 2000 you set ambitious and aggressive goals for AXA, which were known as K5. It has been generally agreed that you achieved the objectives set by K5. What do you attribute that success to?

How can a manager keep an eye on staff without overstepping the mark? Cameron Cooper looks at the options and the impact on staff who feel that they are being spied upon.

Video cameras in toilets, software monitoring staff email, and satellite tracking of workers' movements in vehicles: at first glance, it seems that Big Brother - the George Orwell version, not reality TV's - may be invading the workplace.

What is the legal status, however, of workplace surveillance measures? And what are the rights of employers and staff?

Corporate responsibility is much more than business throwing money at worthy causes, it's about environmental and social sustainability - and building customer trust. By Gillian Bullock

For the past four years Westpac, in partnership with Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships, has been sending employees to Cape York in far north Queensland to provide the indigenous community there with the skills and knowledge they need to help improve their lifestyle.

Two outstanding business leaders who rely on their diverse experience and religious faith to inspire their communities and organisations speak to Cameron Cooper

Tim Costello
CEO, World Vision Australia

The sheer scale of World Vision Australia would be daunting enough for most chief executives: about 400 staff, an annual revenue of more than $360 million, and in excess of 365,000 children under sponsorships.

Developing a powerful corporate culture is crucial for senior managers. How do you lead an organisation through change while plotting a course for the future? Derek Parker looks at two leaders who have, in different ways, tackled the issue... and won.

What could possibly go wrong whilst managing a franchise of a proven brand or service? Plenty. Chris Sheedy discovers that success is all about having the right attitude. Gary Harley would love to employ male aerobics instructors at his three Fernwood Women's Health Clubs in Victoria, but the franchisee is not able to do so as the franchisor's rules of compliance don't permit this.

As part-time and casual work become a reality for many Australians, managers are feeling compelled to respond effectively to the needs and demands of this section of the workforce. Bina Brown reports.

The challenge of keeping a motivated and happy workforce, despite inadequate hours or infrequent work, calls for fresh thinking and a flexible and varied style of management.

A company's culture can be its best asset. When it's more than just hype it can inspire and empower staff to take the business to great heights, writes Gillian Bullock

Corporate culture is the hidden force that shapes behaviour. It's like gravity, you can't see it, but you can feel its pull.

Every company has a culture that drives the way its employees behave. When a new person joins an organisation they will adapt to the prevailing corporate culture in order to assimilate with their fellow workers.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has predicted that, by 2020, depression will be the world's second biggest health problem behind heart disease. What does this mean for your workplace? Penny Sutcliffe reports. Depression is shaping up to be one of the most serious challenges confronting the modern workplace. It costs the Australian economy about $4.3 billion in lost productivity each year.

Developing a positive point of difference into workplace culture is a complex issue. Penny Sutcliffe interviews two leaders who have built cultures in different sectors of the marketplace. Restructure, change management, new strategies, mergers, acquisitions, resignations, new managers on board - just some parts of the corporate merry-go-round that often demand a reassessment of "company culture". Yet a change at the top does not automatically instil any new values into other members of a team.