Tesco is to close all of its stores in Japan after failing to become a major player in the country, despite a nine year push.
The supermarket giant said it would sell its smallest international operation, which has 117 Tsurakame and Tesco stores in the greater Tokyo area because they could not build the business to a big enough scale to be profitable.
The exit will be expensive for Tesco, which has struck a deal with Japan's biggest retailer Aeon, as it will only receive a nominal sum for the sale and, as part of the agreement, it will have to inject £40 million for restructuring costs.
Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke said: "We are very pleased to announce this deal with Aeon today and are confident that this will deliver the best outcome for our staff, for our customers in Japan and for our shareholders."
Tesco has around 1,400 stores in Asia and is understood to be planning to focus on its larger businesses such as China, Korea and Thailand.
Source: www.itn.co.uk
The Tesco guide to public services: cut management and keep it simple - The Guardian
"Why is it so difficult to get things done around here?" It's a question that reverberates around many organisations, and brings politicians padding to businesses' door. Flattered as I am that ministers are said to be following some of the practices developed by Tesco as they look at restructuring the civil service, no organisation is ever the embodiment of perfection. That said, there are traits of good management.
Some of these relate to how an organisation is run, day in, day out. To get a plan implemented, first get an agreement on what the problem is, and then on how it is to be solved. Establish clear lines of accountability, and agreed deadlines. When a mistake is made, stop and learn from it. Blindingly obvious, yes: but how many IT projects would never have begun had people asked "what's the problem here?" rather than saying, "here's a new IT solution"?
Next, keep things simple: complexity is the curse of any organisation, and the refuge of those who use it to cover up their incompetence or – more likely – to guard their "turf". My advice to any public sector organisation – and the ministers who run them – would be to cut layers of management, spend a week in the frontline yourself, and then ask every one of your managers to follow you. We did that at Tesco, giving everyone the chance to see just how difficult some tasks are; to remind them of the impact their plans would have on thousands of our employees; and to put their finger back on the pulse of the customer.
So much for some simple – but overlooked – practical ways to improve the operations of an organisation. But good management is obviously determined by the traits, approach and mentality of those in charge. Good managers seek out the truth about their organisations. The temptation is always to look at the good things, to hope that challenges will disappear and problems will be resolved without making difficult decisions. They aren't. More important still, these managers have the courage to ask "what's the point of this organisation?" An obvious question, but surprisingly few ask it – the result being that different, hidden ambitions are driving people.
Next is the need for courage: in any organisation, big plans get salami sliced. Only if you think big, and double up on your ambitions, can you achieve real change. That's especially so in the public sector: the regeneration of Liverpool, for example, would not have happened but for the big ambitions of those who wanted a complete renaissance, not a half-hearted rebuilding.
Good managers also stick to their values. Brought up in a socialist household, I used to think that business equalled dark, satanic mills. Far from it.
Businesses – and every organisation – need to articulate the principles and beliefs which guide decisions. Those values should be created by the organisation: Tesco's values were shaped by its workforce, who were asked for their views. These need to be communicated by the leaders – I spent years going to every store, talking about not just the business but the values that were driving us. And they need to be stuck to when you are making tough decisions. "Treat people how you would like to be treated": it was this value that stopped us from ditching our company pension scheme, costly though that decision was for the company at the time, as it was the right thing to do for our employees.
Truth, values, courage: any organisation, public or private, can – and should – aspire to these qualities.
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Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Kent says Canada still plans to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies - Calgary Herald
OTTAWA — Canada still plans to phase out subsidies in its oil, gas and coal industries, Environment Minister Peter Kent said Monday in the House of Commons.
He made the comments in response to questions about recent Postmedia News coverage of Canada's efforts at an international environmental summit in Brazil to block a firm commitment by all countries to phase out the incentives for production or consumption of fossil fuels.
Kent noted that Canada has already made this commitment along with its counterparts from the G20, but suggested that any further commitment at the Rio+20 Earth Summit would compromise Canada's sovereignty.
"Let me remind my colleague that Canada is committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, at least as a member of G20, and our position at Rio has not changed," Kent said, in response to NDP deputy leader Megan Leslie.
"However, I will also remind my colleague that Canada will not, in the development of the outcome documents, surrender sovereignty over either our environmental policies or responsible resource development."
Leslie said that members of the Conservative government were trying to protect oil and gas companies.
"Basically they are doing whatever their big oil friends want them to do," Leslie said.
According to a leaked draft text that was obtained by the Guardian newspaper, Canadian negotiators at the Brazil summit have asked the conference to "consider" a phase-out of the subsidies, instead of backing stronger language proposed by the European Union calling for a firm commitment to eliminate the subsidies.
Globally, the subsidies are estimated to total hundreds of billions of dollars per year, according to the International Energy Agency, a partnership of 28 countries that offers advice and analysis of energy policies.
Many energy and environmental experts suggest that eliminating the subsidies would make it easier to lower greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuels since the funding or incentives actually encourage consumption of oil, gas and coal by artificially lowering prices.
David Sawyer, an environmental economist and director of climate change and energy at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, recognized that the government has taken some steps in recent years to reduce the subsidies. But he estimated that it could still save more than $1.3 billion a year if it phases out all of the subsidies for the oil and gas industries.
Former Conservative environment minister Jim Prentice, who left politics in November 2010 to accept an executive position at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, urged Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in a memorandum to phase out the oil and gas subsidies and honour Canada's G20 commitment. But Flaherty has protected many of the tax incentive programs for oil and gas exploration and development.
Kent is scheduled to travel to the Brazil summit later this month to lead Canada's delegation at the Brazil conference on sustainable development, which marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The concept of "sustainable development" emerged following a 1987 United Nations report called "Our Common Future" that was prepared by a commission led by former Norwegian prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
The report said "humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." It provided the basis for major international environmental agreements reached at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to protect biodiversity and crack down on heat-trapping pollution linked to global warming.
The government's lead negotiator at the 2012 summit is Keith Christie, an assistant deputy minister from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Christie has been involved in Canada's diplomatic efforts to promote the oilsands industry and jokingly referred to the exercise as "doing God's work," in an internal e-mail from June 2010 obtained by Postmedia News.
mdesouza@postmedia.com
Source: www.canada.com
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