March 5, 2013

Only half of businesses vet suppliers for Bribery Act compliance

Image credit: <a href='https://www.123rf.com/photo_18126426_close-up-of-businessman-with-handcuffed-hands-over-white-background.html'>wavebreakmediamicro / 123RF Stock Photo</a>

Under half of British firms are failing to vet suppliers for compliance with the Bribery Act, and only 6 per cent would re-tender if they discovered their suppliers didn’t comply. A poll of procurement managers and directors by Ernst & Young found that only 48 per cent of firms carry out third- party due diligence. The study found that even though 60 per cent of firms with a turnover of £5m to £50m vet suppliers to assess if their practices comply with the Bribery Act, 16 per cent of midmarket firms would ‘do nothing’ if their suppliers failed to comply. The research also revealed that only 40 per cent of firms with a turnover of more than £50 million would remove suppliers from their supply chain if they fail to comply.

February 28, 2013

Yahoo case doesn’t tell the whole story of teleworking

by Clark Sept • Comment, Facilities management, Technology, Workplace, Workplace design

Yahoo! made headlines across the US and the rest of the world this week by announcing they are terminating the company’s telework program. Does this signal, broadly, the pending demise of telework? Here’s my take: this story is actually deeper than just about telework. Yahoo! has been wandering around aimlessly for a number of years, and it would appear that this particular measure is intended as some overdue shock therapy to jump-start a much needed culture shift and focus on what the company needs to survive in a world of rapid innovation and “big bang disruption” (see March 2013 HBR article by Larry Downes and Paul F. Nunes).

February 25, 2013

Updated: nearly all London boroughs seek exemption from office conversion plan

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property, Public Sector

City-of-London

Earlier, we reported that London’s Mayor Boris Johnson openly believes that London’s key business districts should be exempt from proposals to allow offices to be turned into homes without planning permission. Now a report emerges from CBRE that all but a handful of London’s boroughs are to seek to make themselves exempt from the rules. According to the research, only Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Croydon and Kingston are unlikely to seek an exemption. Four other boroughs are discussing plans with the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the remaining 25 are set to apply to make themselves exempt.

January 25, 2013

Mixed response to Government office conversion plans

by Sara Bean • Architecture, News, Property, Public Sector

As predicted earlier this week, the government has confirmed new measures that will allow office space to be converted into homes without the need for planning permission. Further reforms are also intended to help boost rural communities and create jobs by allowing agricultural buildings to be converted for other business use, such as shops, offices, restaurants or leisure facilities without the need for planning permission. But the scheme has met with a decidedly mixed response from organisations as diverse as the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and local authority chiefs. More →

January 22, 2013

Europe’s commercial property investors opt for safe cities

by Mark Eltringham • News, Property

German cities dominate the investment prospects for Europe’s commercial real estate sector as investors favour safe havens according to a new report – Emerging Trends in Real Estate Europe 2013. Munich tops the league table followed closely by Berlin in second place and Hamburg in fifth position, with investors taking comfort from each of the cities’ strong local micro-economic climate and resilient property market conditions. London, which is seen by many as Europe’s safest investment, is the largest riser in this year’s report taking third position. More →

January 14, 2013

Cloud computing set to transform business models

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Technology, Workplace

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As an issue explored in our own briefing on the technologies that will do most to transform the workplace during 2013, we know the Cloud is set to be adopted (and understood) by more and more organisations and individuals in the coming year. Doubtless it will follow the usual process of technological adoption as people begin to understand its unintended consequences as well as its uses but it pays to know what some of its implications will be for office designers and managers as shown by this programme from Deloitte.