CMA Management articles from May 2004

CMA Management archives from May 2004

Fiscal prudence.(From the Editor)
May 1, 2004... The recent federal budget has received a lot of press, much of it very critical of its measures. All agree, however, that it proposes a cautious, fiscally prudent plan. As you will read in this month's government issues column, the 2004 budget...

Death by Meeting.(The Pursuit of Happiness)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 1, 2004... Patrick Lencioni is making quite a career out of his series of business fables. His most recent, Death by Meeting: A leadership fable about solving the most painful problem in business, is likely to be as popular as other titles like The Five...

Who Stole My Customer?(The Pursuit of Happiness)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 1, 2004... This book is rooted in an ageing mantra--current customers are much more profitable than new ones. Of course, keeping customers is getting harder. The author of Who Stole My Customer? Winning strategies for creating and sustaining customer...

Kingmaker.(The Pursuit of Happiness)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
May 1, 2004... A career can simply be a means to an end--a job to pay the bills. But most people want more from the work that takes up so much of their time. It is possible to get ahead in business without selling out or allowing your environment to erode...

Innovation challenges mapped in new study.(News and Views)(Deloitte's report Mastering the Innovation Paradox)
May 1, 2004... Deloitte released the most recent installment of its Global Manufacturing Supply Chain Benchmarking Series research, Mastering the Innovation Paradox, at National Manufacturing Week (NMW) 2004. The latest findings, based on research gathered...

Electricity dominant in 2003 energy M&As.(News and Views)
May 1, 2004... Last year marked a historical low for mergers and acquisitions in the global electricity and gas market, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' annual report Power Deals. The deal numbers fell marginally from 424 in 2002 to 398, but values fell...

Wireless roaming goes international?(High Tech)
May 1, 2004... International roaming with wireless LAN may soon be possible for many road warriors if a new pilot in Japan and Singapore is successful. NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and Singapore Telecom Mobile Pte Ltd. recently announced that they will conduct a trial to...

Jam science: improvisation is essential for good jazz--and a great tool for effective teams.(Human Resources)(Bryan Hayman of Getting in the Groove)
May 1, 2004... Sunday morning: a four-piece jazz combo--guitar, drums, piano and stand-up bass--are playing bossa nova in the sanctuary of the Aurora United Church north of Toronto. After a short set featuring a generous variety of jazz stylings, the piano...

Talent wars: the voluntary sector needs the skills management accountants offer. In return, the sector gives these individuals a valuable place to hone those skills.(Management Trends)
May 1, 2004... "Strong leaders build strong organizations, which meet the needs of Canadians, making the lives of Canadians better." - National Learning Initiative Report Voluntary sector organizations play an important role in the Canadian economy...

Profit driver management: when you review all the factors involved in creating and selling a product, you plan a better operation. Make sure you're seeing the whole picture.(Business Strategies)
May 1, 2004... Business leaders are compelled to intensify their efforts to reach profitability targets by ever increasing market pressure. Identifying new opportunities to bolster financial results is critical in this process. Guesstimating profits is no...

A flight path to precision? How the Commissioner of Competition's case against Air Canada offers insights into the definition of some important cost accounting terms.
May 1, 2004... In July 2003 the Canadian Competition Tribunal, a specialized court charged with hearing certain matters arising under the Competition Act, issued its decision (1) in Phase I of an application brought by the Commissioner of Competition against...

A foreign affair: Canadian companies are making big inroads internationally through mergers and acquisitions, and this creates both great opportunities and big challenges. Examples from here and abroad demonstrate how foreign acquisitions can be a boon to all involved.
May 1, 2004... After peaking in 2000, the mergers and acquisitions market in Canada continues to slide down a slippery slope. According to Crosbie & Company Inc., a Toronto-based investment banking firm that compiles and analyzes Canadian M&A data, the total...

Legislating safety--a contentious claim: Bill C-45 is redefining the criminal liability of organizations of all descriptions, but will it really make a dent in solving past problems?
May 1, 2004... On May 9, 1992, 26 miners were killed in a mine that had documented safety problems. That event is now known as the Westray mine disaster and Bill C-45 is a response to it. The Bill's stated purpose is to ensure health and safety standards are...

File fundamentals: Are your document retention policies up to snuff? Make sure you're meeting the expectations set by current legal standards, and make those standards work for you.
May 1, 2004... Document retention policies weren't really top of mind in many businesses prior to the file-shredding scandal at Arthur Andersen two years ago. And although that certainly brought the issue into the spotlight, it didn't necessarily change the...

Message in a bottleneck: if your clients are like 77% of all e-mail users, they receive as many as 100 spam messages a day. How can you make your company's legit e-mail marketing message stand out from the infamous crowd? And how can you ensure your clients don't see you as a spammer too?
May 1, 2004... It starts innocently enough. You receive a "joke of the day" e-mail from a colleague, open it, and send it along to 15 recipients, thinking, "This will brighten their day." It's at that point you become a spammer, at least according to...

From Abidjan to the big apple: Colette Turmel, CMA, adapts Canadian financial management techniques to support international aid.(Profile)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2004... United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has dedicated staff around the world making a difference in the lives of women and children. With operations in more than 150 countries worldwide, the organization needs strong financial management to...

Measured IT success: how to drive value through all of your IT implementations with the help of the Balanced Scorecard.(Value Driven IT Management)(Book Review)
May 1, 2004... A review of Value Driven IT Management, By Iain Aitken (Butterworth Heinemann, 2003) The IT function is often considered simply part of the cost of doing business--a necessary adjunct to a number of much more critical business issues. For...

Service basics: define the relationship with your managed service provider and you will be able to maintain your online properties more effectively.(Information Technology)(service level agreements)
May 1, 2004... Managed service providers (MSPs) offer a range of services that can include everything from simple server hardware and network management to complete database and Web server management. However, finding the right service provider for your...

Budget breakdown: although some of CMA Canada's recommendations for small business support were adopted, the federal budget could have gone further.(Government Issues)
May 1, 2004... The 2004 federal budget, tabled by Finance Minister Ralph Goodale on March 23, contained few surprises for anyone with their ear to the ground in Ottawa. Many of the measures outlined had been announced or leaked to the press in the preceding...

Entrepreneurs take on China: large North American corporations have taken advantage of the changing Chinese market, but the advances capitalism has made in this country now mean that entrepreneurs of all stripes can do the same.(Global View)
May 1, 2004... When China's annual legislative assembly convened in March this year, Premier Wen Jiabao introduced a program that would continue to actively promote capitalism in China. Focusing on social policy, he acknowledged that China's rural population...