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Global executives who participated in Bain & Company’s Management Tools & Trends survey see economic conditions improving in their industries. But their confidence has waned amid a slower recovery than many anticipated. As a result, 55% of executives surveyed are concerned about meeting their earnings targets in 2013. Their priority is to grow revenues, and they're taking a more strategic and focused approach.
Top 10 tools through the yearsThis interactive chart shows the most popular tools cited by executives in the latest survey and how they compare to the most widely used tools of past years. View
Strategic Planning is a comprehensive process for determining what a business should become and how it can best achieve that goal.
Customer Relationship Management is a process companies use to understand their customer groups and respond quickly—and at times, instantly—to shifting customer desires.
Employee Engagement Surveys measure whether employees are fully involved and enthusiastic about their work and company.
Benchmarking displaced strategic planning from the number one spot during the downturn. Although benchmarking still tops the list in this year's study, its use varies by region as executive priorities begin to shift toward growth and the tools that support it.
A Balanced Scorecard defines what management means by "performance" and measures whether management is achieving desired results.
Core Competencies are areas of deep proficiency that can help distinguish a company from its competitors because they are hard for competitors to copy or procure.
Outsourcing is among the cost-cutting tools that appear to be losing favor as executives seek growth. Along with downsizing and shared service centers—which also are used to reduce headcount—outsourcing earns below-average satisfaction scores.
Change Management Programs are a new addition to our study this year, and are particularly favored by European firms, who are the leading users.
Supply Chain Management synchronizes the efforts of all parties—suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, dealers, customers, and so on—involved in meeting a customer's needs.
Along with strategic planning, mission and vision statements are among the most widely used tools, and consistently rank above average in satisfaction.
Management Tools identifies and explains the most important concepts and tactics used in business today, based on Bain & Company research.
Management Tools: An executive's guide
