Accenture High Performance Business Research

Top Issues Facing Health Insurance and Managed Health Care Plans in 2008 and 2009

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:54:20 GMT

The health insurance and managed health care industry (collectively referred to hereafter as payers) operates in an environment of continual change and pressure. The pressures themselves may not radically change from year to year, but how leading payers address them continually evolves in the quest to achieve—and maintain—high performance. Payers strive continually to lower administrative costs and improve efficiencies, manage health care costs and grow the business, but successful solutions from the past do not necessarily assure success in the future. Further, while many of the pressures are always present, new pressures do arise, often in unpredictable ways.

Achieving High Performance in the Payer Industry through Mergers and Acquisitions

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:46:04 GMT

Mergers and acquisitions have been a part of the health insurance and managed health care industries, collectively known as payers, for many years. In the for-profit sector alone, industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions has resulted in more than 45 percent of commercial enrollment being concentrated in only four companies, with a concurrent reduction in the number of medium to large payers. Overall, in 2007 alone there were 21 completed and four proposed mergers and acquisitions.

Four Key Imperatives for the Economic Downturn Podcast

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:35:08 GMT

When times get tough, instinct says to hunker down and wait it out. But high-performance businesses don’t do that. They tackle immediate pressure points in a calm, disciplined, fact-based manner—and they use the challenging times to hone their operating efficiencies and growth capabilities so they can outrun their competitors during the downturn and accelerate ahead of them as soon as the economy recovers.

Customer Acquisition and Retention: Front-Office Cost Management

Wed, 06 May 2009 09:45:00 GMT

The prospect of an extended period of economic uncertainty presents organizations with a difficult challenge: reduce front-office costs while remaining responsive to changing customer needs, new competitive risks and growth opportunities. Yet even in challenging times, organizations seeking to achieve high performance have opportunities to strengthen valued customer relationships and expand their markets while remaining cost-competitive and profitable.

The G20 Summit and Beyond

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:57:02 GMT

To position for growth and high performance, financial institutions must anticipate regulatory reforms and devise their own strategies for success in the emerging environment.

Are Emerging-Market Multinationals Creating the Global Operating Models of the Future?

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:10:00 GMT

For multinational enterprises, the rise of the multi-polar world— a phenomenon in which traditional centers of economic power are being dispersed more widely across the globe—makes global operating model configurations and organizational capabilities more important than ever. However, a recent Accenture survey shows that 95 percent of senior executives say that they doubt that their companies have the right operating model to support their international strategy.

What to Focus on in Good Times and Bad

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:23:00 GMT

Daniel R. DiMicco, chairman, president, and CEO, Nucor Corp., doesn’t predict things ahead of time. He follows a business model that focuses on long-term success.

Investing in Confidence

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:40:00 GMT

Bruce L. Downey, chairman and CEO, Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., uses a risk-management strategy that focuses on the long-term and worries only about the things he can control.

Lessons Learned While Managing Risk in Turbulent Times

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:29:00 GMT

James E. Rohr, chairman and CEO, The PNC Financial Services Group, shares how risk management is integrated into the corporate culture so that all employees adopt risk management as one of their values.

Managing Risk

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:20:00 GMT

Risk management is critical in today’s volatile global economy. On any day, a company may need to address political, economic or currency risk. It also needs to secure the business itself—its people, operations and data. Yet, to avoid risk completely means missed opportunity.

Managing Risk

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:56:00 GMT

Balancing Opportunities and Risk

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:23:00 GMT

Bruce L. Downey, chairman and CEO, Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc., analyzes risk by looking at its impact on the survival of his company as well as the prosperity that can be gained by taking the risk.

Transformation: Changing Ahead Of the Curve

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 19:11:40 GMT

Many companies wait too long to attempt transformations, doing so only when the signs of trouble have become obvious. But that's almost inevitably too late. High performers, by contrast, change before they must, knowing that the best way to transform is from a position of strength.

Trends: Back to the Future

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:03:24 GMT

High performers don’t just find themselves in the right place at the right time. They aggressively scan the horizon and act now to take advantage of opportunities and hedge against risk. A new study of critical trends and the business imperatives that follow from them can help companies do just that.

Managing in Extraordinary Times: New Choices for New Challenges

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:02:00 GMT

The greatest changes in companies' relative positions within their industries occur in times of economic turbulence, not calm. To benefit from such seismic change, a company must quickly make the right decisions and act on them with conviction—a core characteristic of high-performance businesses.

Managing in Extraordinary Times: New Choices for New Challenges

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:19:21 GMT

Shock Absorbers

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:15:00 GMT

Flexible and fine-tuned to react rapidly to oil price surges, raw material shortages and other disruptive changes, dynamic supply chain management frees companies from rigid assumptions of the past, enabling them to achieve high performance in an era of heightened uncertainty.

Does Your Company Have an IT Generation Gap?

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:48:00 GMT

By Gary A. Curtis, Kelly Dempski and Catherine S. Farley

A Passage To India

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:00:36 GMT

When it comes to cracking the conundrum of the Indian consumer, the key to success is adaptability. The winners will be those who enter into the fabric of society and work with Indians as partners.

Target Practice

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:52:00 GMT

Consumer product innovation is often a hit-or-miss affair—but it doesn’t have to be. By letting customers and employees tell them what works and by aggressively culling what doesn’t, the industry’s high performers are scoring consistently well.

It's a Networked World, After All

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:49:47 GMT

Consumers everywhere are waiting for the communications, high-tech, and media and entertainment industries to make good on three promises: a seamless experience, a common platform and superior service.

The Missing Link: How Employee Mindsets can be Assessed to Improve Business Performance

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:53:15 GMT

Executives instinctively know that fundamental employee attitudes and behaviors matter. To date, however, most efforts to measure this key organizational trait have come up short. A new approach promises to change that by helping companies comprehensively assess the employee mindsets that are most critical to high performance.

Rise of the Chief Strategy Officer

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 20:29:18 GMT

High performers know that a robust organization design is a key competitive asset. This begins at the top, with the creation of a senior leadership team that can quickly realize the benefits of strategy. For more and more companies, this team includes a new role—the chief strategy officer—for just such a purpose.

Pole Positioning

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:44:00 GMT

The high performers in this industry are exceptionally lean and customer-centric enterprises. But can they retain their lead as competition from emerging-market carmakers mounts?

Accenture 2008 Consumer Satisfaction Survey

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:09:00 GMT

Insights from the 2008 Accenture Customer Satisfaction Survey underscore the critical importance of delivering a customer-centric service experience in the current global economy. Based on the responses of 4,189 consumers surveyed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, customer centricity appears more essential than ever to acquiring and retaining profitable customer relationships.

A New View of What is Possible for Health Care Payers

Thu, 07 May 2009 02:31:00 GMT

Download the full article—A New View of What's Possible for Health Care Payers [PDF, 444KB] PDF Help

Adapting to the Multi-Polar World: The New Globalization Playbook

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:37:00 GMT

The dynamics of global competition are rapidly moving away from the traditional mix of product exports, reliance on local partners and single-nation headquarters. High performers are adopting a new way of doing business that exploits the power of being simultaneously global and local.

Customer Acquisition and Retention: Customer Loyalty

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:47:00 GMT

As brands become increasingly commoditized and competition fiercer, keeping and expanding customer relationships depends on the ability to create loyalty by delivering a customer experience tailored to changing customer needs and values and consistent with the brand promise.

Going the Distance

Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:18:31 GMT

After three years of original research, industry analysis and rigorous testing, Accenture has developed a compelling set of practical insights for companies that aspire to uncommon business success.

Customer Acquisition and Retention Podcast

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:40:09 GMT

The global economy has entered a new and complex phase, bringing with it a heightened sense of uncertainty and risk. The contours of the commercial landscape have been reshaped by unprecedented levels of competition, the quickened pace of innovation and eroding customer loyalty.

Strategies for Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:25:55 GMT

Listen to the Podcast View Executive Interviews Accenture’s third report on the emerging multi-polar world, Strategies for Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World, presents a playbook of options drawn from the experiences of high-performance businesses from around the globe, including emerging-market multinationals. It sets out the practices and management ideas that may help businesses withstand short-term pressures generated by the current economic crisis, while laying the groundwork for growth in the upturn.

Strategies for Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:39:03 GMT

Strategies for Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:57:00 GMT

Customer Acquisition and Retention: Price with Confidence

Thu, 07 May 2009 01:59:00 GMT

When market demand starts to slacken and future customer behavior becomes harder to predict, managers often lose confidence. This discomfort can be especially acute for those responsible for pricing—and particularly among sales teams in tough negotiations with corporate procurement. In these situations, sales people often agree to less advantageous pricing and this loss of confidence undermines plans for new business acquisition and lowers revenues.

Engineered Standards for Grocery

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:51:16 GMT

Accenture recognizes that developing labor standards in an industry where workforce management is so complex can be a daunting prospect. Attempts to come to grips with the sheer quantity of data often flounder in a sea of detail, exhausting the time and patience of far too many retail grocers.

Business Week 50: Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 07:06:00 GMT

Globalization has evolved. It now includes developing countries with large and fast-growing populations that may be customers and may also be part of a global workforce. This new multi-polar world, characterized by multiple centers of economic power and business activity, requires a new model to attain business performance.

Business Week 50: Achieving High Performance in a Multi-Polar World

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:52:00 GMT

Microsoft: Order Management Services

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:33:06 GMT

Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) outsourced many of its key operating activities to Accenture in support of its growing business. Costs are down and service delivery is up, prompting excellent customer-satisfaction scores and positioning Microsoft to achieve high performance.

How Retailers Compete on Analytics to Achieve High Performance

Tue, 22 May 2007 18:09:47 GMT

Jeanne G. Harris and Eric M.Lowitt

Striving for High Performance through Operational Excellence

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:52:00 GMT

Commodity price volatility and the liquidity and credit crises have thrown the world into economic turmoil. In the current climate, having the right operating model can make the difference between just surviving and outperforming your competitors. According to High Performance Business research from Accenture, companies can take one of three approaches to achieve operational excellence.

Managing for High Performance in an Economic Downturn

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:37:00 GMT

A natural reaction to an economic downturn is to batten the hatches and ride out the storm. Yet the ability to make smart decisions now may be the key to sustaining high performance or positioning the company to achieve it in the future according to ongoing High Performance Business research conducted by Accenture, the global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company.

Managing for High Performance in an Economic Downturn

Fri, 08 May 2009 07:26:00 GMT

Staying Power and Adaptability Are Key to Corporate Success in China

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:31:31 GMT

By Catherine Bolgar You can't get ahead by standing still. For companies, that means constantly entering new markets. China is the biggest new market of all, and the success stories of high-performance businesses there can teach companies everywhere about entering new territory.

Corporations Need a Global Mindset to Succeed in Today's Multipolar Business World

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:57:15 GMT

In physics, the world has a North Pole and a South Pole. In economics, it's much more complicated—it's a multipolar world.

Corporate Resilience Comes from Planning, Flexibility and the Creative Management of Risk

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:47:45 GMT

Results, not excuses. That hurricane, strike, supply shortage, fire or flood might not be the fault of you or your company, but your customers don't care. They want products now—and faster, better and cheaper. If your company can't deliver, another company will.

Recognizing and Respecting the Cycle

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 08:56:00 GMT

Achieving high performance requires business performance over the long-term, through industry and economic cycles. Companies, such as Nucor, share how they harness the waves of change to create their future rather than predicting their future.

Savvy Firms Can Find Opportunities in the Current Economic Crisis

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:43:00 GMT

By Catherine Bolgar

The Game Doesn’t Change: Globalization Agenda

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:02:00 GMT

Accenture Chairman and CEO William G. Green, shares his globalization agenda that includes operating with a business strategy that protects market share and economic value in the changing global business environment.

High Performance Culture at Best Buy

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 08:30:00 GMT

Brad Anderson, vice president and CEO, Best Buy Co., describes how Best Buy’s corporate culture encourages employees to use insight from customer interactions to develop new growth opportunities for the company.

Global Expansion Challenges: Establishing Leadership Positions in Markets of Tomorrow

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:04:00 GMT

Accenture Chairman and CEO, William D. Green, believes that creating leadership positions in new developing markets helps in understanding how to be locally responsive.

Flexibility as a Strategy

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:26:00 GMT

Brad H. Anderson, vice chairman and CEO, Best Buy Co., and William D. Green, Chairman and CEO, Accenture, discuss how today’s leadership needs to ensure flexibility exists in their business strategies. They also recommend developing a corporate culture that is open to change.

Managing the Brand

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:31:00 GMT

Great companies master the art and science—the logic and magic—of brand management and use a variety of marketing tools to communicate the brand in the market.

Aligning Business Model to Advertising Promises

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:12:00 GMT

James D. Weddle, managing partner, Edward Jones, and Thomas (Tom) W. Storey, president, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, discuss how corporate culture needs to support the brand to enable employees and partners to engage as an important extension of your brand strategy.

Enhancing the Brand through Your Website

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:34:00 GMT

Tom W. Storey, president, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, explains how his company’s brand strategy provides a differentiated guest experience through personalization that is based on technology and market segmentation.

Sustainable IT Cost Reduction

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:24:18 GMT

Current economic uncertainty has major implications for companies' efforts to achieve and sustain high performance. Chief information officers (CIOs) face the challenge of reducing IT costs while maintaining service and supporting the business-efficiency agenda. Accenture's experience has shown that a significant and sustainable reduction in costs—as much as 25 to 40 percent—can be achieved while improving organizational performance. The Accenture cost reduction approach aims to deliver sustainable savings in tandem with greater business agility.

How the Right Choices Today Can Prepare Companies for a Rebound

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:04:00 GMT

What divides the winners from the losers in a recession? For many companies operational excellence is the key.

Customer Acquisition and Retention: Back to Basics

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 06:39:00 GMT

Listen to the Podcast

The Rise of the Multi-Polar World

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 21:11:55 GMT

Developing economies—spearheaded by China and India—are challenging the collective dominance of the United States, Europe and Japan, giving rise to a "multi-polar" world economy. This study looks at the drivers and characteristics of this latest phase of globalization and the implications for businesses looking to achieve high performance.

Optimize Your Product Portfolio to Appeal to Customer Preferences

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:04:37 GMT

It has become a common belief that more choices are better than fewer choices. Yet, Accenture and AMR Research have found that not to be the case with many consumer packaged goods companies and retailers. While truly innovative new products usually find a receptive audience, many product introductions merely add complexity—to operations, sales portfolios, supply chains and retailing—while not contributing to profitability. As discussed in the article Innovation in Consumer Products, reaching the right balance of efficient production, product differentiation and profitability is part art and part science—with a growing emphasis on the science.

Cotton made in Africa: Corporate Social Responsibility

Thu, 07 May 2009 02:15:00 GMT

The Aid by Trade Foundation was established by Dr. Michael Otto, former CEO of Otto Group, in 2005 to focus on and emphasize Otto Group’s commitment to sustaining global development. An independent venture by Dr. Otto, the foundation’s basic philosophy is “retail trade can help combat poverty.” Otto Group is a leading international trading and services corporation and the parent organization for 123 companies, which all strive to balance their economic, ecological and social responsibilities. With more than 51,000 employees, the group reported revenues of €11.5 billion (approximately US$17.1 billion) in fiscal year 2007-08.

Portfolio Optimization for Consumer Packaged Goods Companies

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:56:02 GMT

While most consumer packaged goods companies aim to optimize their portfolio and related processes, as well as identify products that should be discontinued or developed, their efforts may not yield optimum and sustainable results.

Transforming Your Operating Model for High Performance in the Digital World

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:01:13 GMT

The increasing digitization of the business world is a megatrend that no company can escape. As a result, business models are changing and so, too, must operating models. Accenture helps companies understand the implications and how to craft innovative operating models that will enable high performance in this new environment.

Procter & Gamble: Application Development Services

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:23:00 GMT

P&G saw an innovation opportunity in trade promotion. It believed it could achieve even greater benefits by accelerating the delivery of trade promotion management application upgrades and enhancements. Achieving this goal would require the company to create a Siebel CRM application development capability that would streamline and standardize the trade promotion management applications, improve productivity and lower P&G’s total cost of application ownership.

Achieving High Performance in the Asia Pacific Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Industry

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:19:00 GMT

Asia Pacific’s rising power and importance in the world economy offer unprecedented opportunities for the consumer goods and services industry. Certainly that includes a generous share of business for the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector. After all, 60 percent of the world’s population lives in Asia Pacific. By 2020, that will mean three billion people, including 700 million new consumers. With the region’s booming economy and rising middle class, those consumers will be able to spend increasing sums of money, much of it on food and beverages.

The Information Future of the Corporate Board

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:54:31 GMT

Boards won’t be well positioned to take on greater responsibilities for company performance unless they can have access to the right information at the right time. However, despite the growing availability of information about publicly traded companies, directors traditionally rely solely on information that comes from management when they make boardroom decisions.

Winning Strategies for Uncertain Times: How Retailers Can Achieve High Performance in a Downturn

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 07:34:00 GMT

Accenture’s most recent global survey of cross-industry consumer sentiment shows that though a clear majority (55 percent) expect their financial situation to improve within the next year, 67 percent also believe it could take up to three years before they are confident enough to spend freely again. Until then, most plan to shop economy stores, avoid premium-priced products, postpone the purchase of big-ticket items, eat out less and wait for a sale rather than buy at the full retail price.

Survey: Growth and Innovation—Moving from Strategy to Execution to High Performance

Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:10:32 GMT

Driving growth through innovation is high on corporate agendas, yet many executive teams find it difficult to achieve due to budget shortages, an absence of experienced resources and the sense of being restricted by "the way we've always done things."

Delivering High Performance: Focusing on Emerging Markets

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:23:39 GMT

While the shortest route between two points is usually a straight line, sometimes it's faster to follow the contours of the land. When it comes to selling products and services in new markets that means learning the terrain to determine the unique characteristics of the market. Unfortunately, many companies overlook this basic marketing tenet, assuming that what is popular in one country will automatically be popular in another or that a new country can be seen as a monolithic market.