CMA Management articles from December 2003

CMA Management archives from December 2003

New perspectives.(From the Editor)
December 1, 2003... May 2004 might seem like a dream at the moment, but it's just a few short months away, and when it arrives, the map of Europe will change. It's then that 10 new countries will join the EU, creating the world's single biggest trading...

Doing it right: publicity and marketing on a budget, and leadership for the 21st century; Getting Publicity.(Media Bites)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... Getting publicity can often make the difference between success and failure for businesses. Designing and executing an effective publicity campaign is no longer strictly the domain of PR professionals either. Getting Publicity, now in its third...

Doing it right: publicity and marketing on a budget, and leadership for the 21st century; Low-Budget Online Marketing.(Media Bites)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... Large companies have huge budgets for marketing their products and services online. But there's really not much difference between a $100,000 marketing campaign and a $1,000 campaign. Low-Budget Online Marketing for Small Businesses shows how...

Doing it right: publicity and marketing on a budget, and leadership for the 21th century; Authentic Leadership.(Media Bites)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... After all of the scandals and corporate misdeeds of the past couple of years, investors and corporations are wondering how to create lasting change in corporate culture. Bill George, former chairman and CEO of Medtronic, tries to answer that...

New and noteworthy information you can use: Ontario and Alberta lead SME growth.(News and Views)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... CIBC is predicting that Ontario and Alberta will lead the country in small business activity over the next five years, according to a comprehensive study on small business called Canadian Small Business: A Growing Force. "A combination of...

New and noteworthy information you can use: effective supply chain management boosts profits.(News and Views)
December 1, 2003... Deloitte recently released a report from its global manufacturing benchmarking initiative, called Mastering Complexity in Global Manufacturing: Powering Profits and Growth Through Value Chain Synchronization. The study reveals that only 7% of...

New and noteworthy information you can use: insurance premiums hurt Canadian small businesses.(News and Views)
December 1, 2003... A recent CIBC telephone poll conducted by Decima Research found that 55% of Canadian small businesses were negatively affected by the rising cost of insurance premiums. In comparison, 33% of entrepreneurs reported that domestic events, such as...

New and noteworthy information you can use: Ontario software piracy down.(News and Views)
December 1, 2003... The Canadian Alliance Against Software Theft (CAAST), an industry alliance of software publishers, released a study that places Ontario's software piracy rate at 35.5%, the lowest rate the province has had in four years. The province's piracy...

New software.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... Visit www.managementmag.com for more information on the following software and applications packages: * ACCPAC Sales Optimizer, a business intelligence tool for SMEs * Oracle Standard Edition One, made for SMEs * Network...

High tech: scans for the road warrior.(Brief Article)(Product/Service Evaluation)
December 1, 2003... Portable scanners are a remarkable thing, as I found out when I tested the TravelScan 464, a USB 2.0 compliant, 600 X 120 dpi optical resolution scanner. The whole unit, wires and all, slides easily into any briefcase or laptop carrier bag, and...

Streamlining HR: integrated staff planning puts the final piece into the strategic plan.(Human Resources)
December 1, 2003... Most organizations plan their business activities thoroughly. Typically, they start with a high-level strategic plan, move on to operational plans aimed at implementing those strategies, then drill down to specific project plans for each...

Leadership with a human face; let employees know who you are and they will react positively.(Management Trends)
December 1, 2003... I once attended a sales and marketing conference in which the CEO of a mid-sized company was the special guest. He spoke to 200 of his senior sales managers in his twice-annual appearance. At the close of this supposedly motivating conference,...

A blessing in disguise? A crisis in an organization can be a positive trigger that propels a company forward while strengthening its image. Deal with it properly, and a crisis won't necessarily hurt you.(Business Strategies)
December 1, 2003... Some people think that facing the media when a crisis occurs in an organization is the last thing to encourage. They fear bad publicity or a public outcry and think it might be better to hold back information and hope that nobody notices that...

What women want: gender-based marketing is a risky business, but it's a risk companies can't afford not to take.
December 1, 2003... Nineteen fifty-five. The United States and Panama sign the canal treaty, James Dean dies in a car crash, and Scrabble makes a dramatic entrance into the board game market. With 20 million American women now licensed to drive, Chrysler rolls out...

Fresh ideas for changing industries; women CMAs are taking their diverse knowledge sets and turning organizations around. These are just a few examples of how they're making a difference.
December 1, 2003... In each issue of CMA Management, we try to demonstrate the wide variety of fields in which management accountants play a critical strategic role. This month's series of four profiles of women in business is no exception. These leaders represent...

Trade tactics: women negotiators bring unique talents to the table. Don't disregard these valuable assets on your next trip to Asia.
December 1, 2003... When I stood at the lectern and looked around the audience at the 2002 Asian Franchising Conference, I realized I was the only non-Asian woman there. I had been told that men in this part of the world only wanted to do business with other men....

Project management mainstays: technology is only as good as the people who use it. Project management programs are no exception. Make sure you have the basics covered before considering software solutions.
December 1, 2003... People are sometimes so impressed with technology that they are tempted to upgrade their systems with each new function that is added. But as systems and software programs become more and more complex, many users are only able to use a small...

The importance of true balance; designing scorecard systems for success.
December 1, 2003... In the last issue of CMA Management, we discussed the macro issues faced in the implementation of a scorecarding system, including choice of the framework around which to organize the scorecard's performance measures, the levels of the...

Intellectual initiative: Debbie LeValliant, CMA, encourages innovative intellectual property practices as a key to Canadian SME growth.(Profile)(Interview)(Cover Story)(Biography)
December 1, 2003... To describe Debbie LeValliant, CMA, as dynamic is somehow an understatement. She's a woman with a dedication to making Canadian business work better. She's also a natural entrepreneur, though she has used those talents to champion innovation in...

Dangling carrots: the pros and cons of labour sponsored funds.(Money Management)
December 1, 2003... "I can show you a way to make a $5,000 investment that'll only cost you $1,250 in cash. Not only that, but I can also help you boost the foreign content limit in your RRSP to 50%. Interested?" The managers and distributors of the country's...

Positioning Canadian SMEs for world leadership; a CMA Canada submission on government's 2004 budget calls for key tax incentives to foster small business growth.(Government Issues)(small- or medium-sized enterprises)
December 1, 2003... More than 97.7% of all businesses in Canada are small- or medium-sized--that is, they employ fewer than 100 employees. But without the right taxation and economic policies in place to support them, it's unlikely they will improve their...

Going global while thinking local; Canadian companies enjoy a global competitive advantage in the repatriation of active business profits. SMEs should seize the opportunity.(Global View)
December 1, 2003... Global competitiveness is a critical consideration for every nation, particularly a trading nation such as Canada. While Canadian companies are aware of certain competitive advantages such as a relatively low dollar, good productivity, and...