CMA Management articles from June 2003

CMA Management archives from June 2003

Culture shift. (From the Editor).(challenges for Canadian government adopting accrual accounting and for corporate environmentalism)(Editorial)
June 1, 2003... Accountability is the big watchword of this year, without question. Last year, everyone talked about this in abstract terms. This year, companies have to show they understand what all the talk meant. At a CFO roundtable during BioFinance 2003,...

The Secret History of the South Sea Bubble. (History Lessons).(The Secret History of the South Sea Bubble: The World's First Great Financial Scandal)(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... The greatest financial scandal in history wasn't the collapse of Enron or Worldcom. The Secret History of the South Sea Bubble: The world's first great financial scandal explains how this 18th century scandal was bigger than both combined. And...

The Maverick and his machine. (History Lessons).(The Maverick and His Machine: Thomas Watson, Sr. and the Making of IBM)(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... From the mid-1930s until the 1980s, International Business Machines -- IBM -- essentially dominated the data processing industry. Over four decades it became an American institution, an international phenomenon, and one of the most successful,...

Why CEOs fail. (History Lessons).(Why CEOs Fail: The 11 Behaviors That Can Derail Your Climb to the Top -- And How to Manage Them)(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... In the last two years, CEOs have gone from being the most trusted and celebrated professionals to being the Least trusted. Scandals, bankruptcies and a sluggish economy have tarnished their images. What can aspiring professionals learn from...

Skills management. (News and Views).(new research chair at the School of Management of Universite du Quebec a Montreal)
June 1, 2003... The School of Management of Universite du Quebec a Montreal (UQAM) recently created a research chair to conduct fundamental and applied research on the development and management of skills in organizations. Given how rapidly work environments...

Sarbanes-Oxley makes publics go private. (News and Views).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... In the recent past, many private companies were in a mad rush to go public to reap the benefits of an IPO. Now that the stock market has become more erratic, and new stringent regulations for public companies have been established by the recent...

Markets pummel Canadian pension plans. (News and Views).
June 1, 2003... Canadian pension plans felt the pressures of the falling financial markets throughout the first quarter of 2003, according to Mercer Investment Consulting's quarterly survey of pooled fund performance. "With managers of discretionary...

New Software. (News and Views).
June 1, 2003... Visit www.managementmag.com for more information on the following software packages: * Microsoft Business Solutions' Great Plains 7.5 * SAS 9.1 business intelligence software * COAST Software's Web Privacy Management Solution

High tech: Customs clearance. (News and Views).
June 1, 2003... CrimsonLogic, an IT service provider, recently launched Canada's first Web-based customs clearance application into CCRA's Internet Gateway - called WebCustoms. WebCustoms allows companies to independently prepare, submit and obtain...

Sustaining a vision: Change initiatives often fall prey to "program of the week" syndrome. Make sure your plans are securely integrated to get full value from your investment. (Human Resources).
June 1, 2003... Most leaders know companies need to change to survive, and there are many programs for launching such efforts. However, experience has shown that over the long haul most change initiatives -- perhaps as many as 90% -- fail. They are expensive...

In Quebec, it's not lonely at the top: For more than 30 years, Quebec SME leaders have had a forum to break out of their isolation and improve their leadership skills. (Management Trends).
June 1, 2003... It now counts more than 900 heads of Quebec SMEs as members, but Groupement des chefs d'entreprises du Quebec (GCEQ), (Quebec Business Leaders Group, in English), wasn't always so extensive. In 1974, Marcel Bundock invited a few business...

Marketing your mettle: Raising private equity isn't getting much easier, so find out how to do it right. (Business Strategies).
June 1, 2003... As the major banks continue to tighten their lending policies, small- and medium-sized companies are forced to look for other sources of capital. Private equity has filled that void and is now considered a mainstream source of financing for...

Slow change to better governance: Sheila Fraser, Auditor General of Canada, discusses the implementation of modern comptrollership in the federal government and the importance of strategic financial management skills in public service.
June 1, 2003... For the first time in years, the most visible, vocal, and (arguably) most popular person in the political press isn't a politician. That distinction belongs to Sheila Fraser, Auditor General of Canada. Since her appointment in 2001, Fraser...

The benefits of a Scorecard System: A new North American study explains how balanced scorecard users get their money's worth.
June 1, 2003... When an organization implements any management control tool, the cost/benefit balance is vital. The decision to deploy a scorecard system requires the same analysis. The costs of implementing a new tool are relatively easy to appraise, but...

Kyoto Capital: In a new cultural and business environment where the Kyoto Protocol rules, knowledge will be a key ingredient to success. A few industry leaders explain how they're already hard at work using it to their advantage.
June 1, 2003... Making the Kyoto Protocol work to a company's economic benefit requires the skillful deployment of its human intellectual capital. Easier said than done, but it shouldn't be surprising as we shift from the industrial age into the knowledge...

The energy retrofit challenge: Improving the energy efficiency of any facility is a noble cause, but selling the project and making it a moneymaking and business-enhancing move isn't always easy. Make sure you do it right.
June 1, 2003... Energy retrofits, which generally include upgrades to both the lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, are considered the low hanging fruit of many environmental programs. They look impressive in the public eye...

Online purchasing revisited: E-procurement: Is it mature enough for you? Are you ready for it? Consider the benefits it might bring to your bottom line.
June 1, 2003... During the last five years or so, e-commerce software and its cousins, online marketplaces and e-procurement applications, promised businesses the opportunity for streamlined order processing, increased customer contact and access to new...

Field of dreams: Cargill Dow is changing the plastics industry with a little help from a traditional cash crop. Finance manager Brad Witt, CMA, is keeping the new play cost efficient. (Profile).
June 1, 2003... Cargill Dow LLC wants to be part of what it considers a second industrial revolution -- a revolution that creates products that don't deplete the earth's natural resources and doesn't compromise our lifestyles. With its NatureWorks PLA...

Built for use: Karen's Donoghue's new book explains how user experience is key for online success. (Information Technology).(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... Modern technology often seems so full of promise and seems so easy to use that we worry less about its effect on customer relations than its physical implementation. But as Karen Donoghue's book Built for Use: Driving Profitability Through the...

Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation.
June 1, 2003... Guy Saint-Pierre Jean Pierre Sabourin, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC), is pleased to announce the appointment of Guy Saint-Pierre as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating...

New labour standards: Quebec government reforms miss the target for SMEs. (Government Issues).
June 1, 2003... The Quebec government unanimously passed a major reform to the Labour Standards Act earlier this year to provide better protection for employees. But the amendments have their detractors, especially among small business owners. Before work...

Enhanced export pricing strategies: With the right approach, SMEs can enter new markets with confidence and relative ease. (Global View).
June 1, 2003... The international market differs in several respects from the domestic market. Export pricing is but one of the various factors that have to be considered before attempting to secure a new customer base overseas or in the U.S. It's...