Mar. 2

Member Exclusive

Labor Market Transitions: from Recession to Recovery
This report explores the factors in a recovery that drive the employment level and the unemployment rate. It offers an analysis of where the U.S. labor market stands and where it may be headed.

Feb. 24

Member Exclusive

Does Your Company Need a Don’t Do it List?
This Conversation Starter – the first in a new series of short provocative pieces commissioned especially for our mid-market members – suggests some ways that small- and mid-sized businesses can focus better on what really needs to be done.

Feb. 24

Member Exclusive

Getting Fit For Leaner Times
This Mid-Market Conversation Starter considers the possibility of lateral growth for an entire company.

Feb. 24

Member Exclusive

Reengaging Lost Customers
What can be done to win back customers that have proven loyal in the past and who may account for a significant portion of profits? A Mid-market Conversation Starter.

Feb. 24

Member Exclusive

Solving the Customer’s Price Issues.
This Mid-Market Conversation Starter gives you a couple of new perspectives from which to think about solving customer price issues.

Feb. 23

Member Exclusive

Ready or Not: Companies and the Sustainability Tipping Point
The challenge for companies is how to make sustainability-centric approaches deliver not only on the financial bottom line but also on a broader platform of ecological and social accountabilities and goals that make up the sustainability blend.

Feb. 17

Member Exclusive

Directors' Duties under the New SEC Rules on Disclosure Enhancement
This report discusses the new SEC rules and reform in detail and touches on the implications for boards of directors.

Feb. 4

Member Exclusive

The Duty to Monitor under Delaware Law: from Caremark to Citigroup
Have corporate governance laws struck the right balance between risk taking and risk mitigation? This report provides an overview of Delaware law developments on the fiduciary duty to monitor.

Jan. 20

Member Exclusive

The 2010 Productivity Brief: Productivity, Employment, and Growth in the World's Economies
The recession left its mark on global productivity, which fell in 2009. With recovery expected in 2010, advanced economies will see renewed productivity gains but continue to shed workers.

Jan. 15

Member Exclusive

From Compliance Governance to Strategic Governance
With both companies and investors under pressure and looking for redemption, the 2010 annual meeting season will be a shadow referendum on the crisis and an inflection point in the evolution of corporate governance.

Jan. 14

Member Exclusive

Directors’ Duties and the Pursuit of Social Investments
This report examines the implications of sustainability on business corporations and on the body of law that governs them.

Dec. 17

Member Exclusive

Clearing Paths for Critical Foreign Talent to Work in the United States
The future growth of many smaller businesses may depend upon recruiting highly skilled foreign workers for key jobs. That means becoming better acquainted with the complexities of the immigration code.

Dec. 8

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics: Reflections from The Conference Board
This Executive Action report contains insights from expert researchers at The Conference Board that link Elinor Ostrom’s and Oliver Williamson’s work to today’s business concerns.

Nov. 30

Member Exclusive

Social Networking: How Companies Are Using Web 2.0 to Communicate with Employees
Companies are revamping their intranets to mirror the function and applications of social networking and they are seeing benefits such as keeping work-related ideas inside company firewalls and increased employee engagement

Nov. 30

Member Exclusive

The Impact of Workforce Reductions on Layoff “Survivors”
This Executive Action features data on how layoffs were conducted, what support is being offered to employees who are leaving and who are staying, and some write-in comments on how respondents’ roles and companies are changing.

Nov. 20

Member Exclusive

Director Notes: The Role of the Board in Risk Oversight—Adapting to Regulatory Developments and Emerging Practices
This report highlights a range of considerations for directors as they approach the assessment and oversight of their risk management programs.

Sept. 30

Member Exclusive

Recession Lessons for Mid-Market CFOs: Successfully Obtaining Loans in the New World of Credit
Even though signs of an economic recovery are emerging, recession challenges and a shutdown of easy credit have changed the lending world for CFOs of small- and mid-sized firms

Aug. 26

Will You Want to Hire Your Own Kids? (Will Anybody Else?)
Workforce entrants are caught between an educational system that teaches and measures one set of skills and a rapidly evolving workplace that demands another. But who will close the gap?

Aug. 12

Member Exclusive

The Role of the Board in Turbulent Times... CEO Succession Planning
Management succession is one of the most critical strategic risks a corporation faces and a favorite topic of discussion on the role of the board in business crises.

July 15

Member Exclusive

Relieving Pressures to Eliminate Jobs
Smaller companies are finding ways to "redeploy" employees rather than lay them off. Three models for surviving recessions without losing your investment in human capital.

June 30

Member Exclusive

Ethics and Compliance Enforcement Decisions – the Information Gap
Senior executives and corporate directors want to know whether companies have "received credit" (i.e., avoided prosecution or obtained sentence reductions) for having effective ethics and compliance programs - but such information is in short supply.

June 25

Member Exclusive

The Role of the Board in Turbulent Times: Responding to Unsolicited Takeover Offers
An overview of issues a board may consider in evaluating its corporation's governance profile, given the potential increase in unsolicited offers in the current market environment.

June 15

Member Exclusive

On the Record with Barry Melancon
Barry Melancon, President and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, discusses some of the successful initiatives that the AICPA has taken to build a strong pipeline for the accounting profession.

June 9

Member Exclusive

Mission Accomplished? What Every Leader Should Know about Survivor Syndrome
This Executive Action report explores the concept of "survivor syndrome," how it materializes, and what to do about it.

May 28

Member Exclusive

Shift in U.S. Policy on Climate Change Opens a New Era for Business
It's no longer business as usual when it comes to climate change. A significant change of direction for U.S. regulatory policy on the issue will eventually affect all of business.

May 26

Member Exclusive

The CEO View . . .Managing through the Global Financial Crisis
CEOs of five of the world's leading companies predict that the current global financial crisis will leave its mark on how business is done in the future. But how, to what degree, and for how long?

May 21

Member Exclusive

Waddayaknow? Knowledge Management Can Be an Organization's Key to Survival
This Executive Action report uses three case studies to build a business case for implementing Knowledge Management, and provides tips for making KM work.

May 18

Key Questions in Pandemic Planning
This report addresses questions of concern to business managers across sectors, industries, and regions in light of the current resurgence of a global pandemic health threat.

May 8

The Potential Economic Impact of the 2009 A(H1N1) Influenza (Swine Flu) Pandemic
While it's too early to determine the ultimate scope of the A(H1N1) influenza pandemic, a comparison to the 2003 SARS outbreak shows the economic impact may be short-lived and will not significantly alter long-term trends in global macro economic activity

May 1

Action Plans for Dealing With a Global Pandemic
This report summarizes the business and health lessons from previous epidemics and provides important insights to managers about dealing with today's pandemic-related issues.

Apr. 15

Member Exclusive

The Role of the Board in Turbulent Times: Avoiding Shareholder Activism
This report provides board members with a checklist of issues they should consider addressing in their relations with shareholders and, in particular, how to avoid a costly and disruptive battle with an activist investor.

Mar. 19

Member Exclusive

How to Compete and Win In a Broken Economy
While many small and midsize firms are struggling to survive, stronger companies will find opportunities to improve their competitive position.

Mar. 12

Member Exclusive

Changing Attitudes to Work - What Should HR Do?
Participants at The Conference Board’s European Human Resources Council Summit issue a set of management recommendations to deal with changing work attitudes.

Feb. 19

Member Exclusive

The Role of the Board in Turbulent Times: Overseeing Internal Investigations
This report provides boards of directors of SEC-reporting companies with guidance to consider when confronting material evidence of internal misconduct or the prospect of investigations by the federal government or a self-regulatory organization.

Jan. 28

Member Exclusive

Tighten Your Supply Chain to Wring Out Costs
This report features insights and practical advice from corporate executives and supply-chain experts, and helpful suggestions for recruiting logistic specialists.

Jan. 12

Member Exclusive

A Crisis of Confidence
Despite ongoing concerns that the current economic crisis could end up resembling The Great Depression, data so far shows that this recession is in far better shape than the circumstances of 1929.

Jan. 8

Member Exclusive

The Role of the Board in Turbulent Times: Assessing Corporate Strategy
This report provides U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reporting companies with a checklist of issues that their board members, in collaboration with top executives, should consider addressing.