Operational Excellence Publications

2013

1. Up in the Air: How some companies manage to defy gravity
   

   April 2013 | The Conference Board Review

   The authors draw on the results of a major study to identify and explain the key factors that generate long-term corporate success.

2. On the Record with Dr. Loren Skeist
   

   April 2013 | Executive Action Report

   The Conference Board interviews the president of Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corp., a mid-market industry leader in high-voltage design and manufacturing, about the 2013 results of The Conference Board CEO Challenge®.

3. 2012 Joint Ventures Conference KeyNotes Report
   

   February 2013 | Conference KeyNotes

   Developing and Managing Joint Ventures for Growth and Innovation

4. "What's the Best Business Book You've Read in the Last Year?"
   

   January 2013 | The Conference Board Review

   TCB Review's annual survey of business authors' favorite reads.

5. Design-Centered Innovation: Observe, Learn, Innovate
   

   January 2013 | Council Perspectives

   Customers value the experience of using a product or service, not just the product or service itself. Companies can use a design-centered approach to innovation to facilitate the process of selling the total “experience” to their customers.

6. 2012 Organization Design Conference KeyNotes Report
   

   January 2013 | Conference KeyNotes

   Building Capabilities and Delivering Business Value

7. Conference Board CEO Challenge® 2013 Summary Report: Countering the Global Slowdown
   

   January 2013 | CEO Challenge®

   Respondents to the latest edition of the annual survey of business leaders by The Conference Board indicate a focus on internal challenges.

8. 2012 Strategic Alliances Conference KeyNotes Report
   

   January 2013 | Conference KeyNotes

   Key Strategies for Profitable Partnerships

2012

1. Safeguarding Intellectual Property and Addressing Corruption in the Global Supply Chain
   

   December 2012 | Research Report

   Guarding against IP infringement and violation of anti-corruption laws among employees is difficult enough for multinational companies. It is even more challenging to prevent inappropriate behavior by the employees and contracted workers of third parties.

2. On the Record with Thomas J. Sullivan
   

   December 2012 | Executive Action Report

   This is a follow-up interview with one of the CEOs of a mid-market firm who participated in The Conference Board CEO Challenge 2012: Thomas Sullivan, President and CEO of Symmetry Medical, Inc.

3. Preparedness in the Private Sector: 2012 Report
   

   December 2012 | Research Report

   This report addresses joint resilience planning with local communities, supply chain resilience, effective employee training and communications, contingency plans for employees, and employee personal resilience as a business issue.

4. Link Not Found: Why CEOs still see technology as separate from “the business.”
   

   October 2012 | The Conference Board Review

   The paradox for chief information officers: You are intimately involved in every fact of the business, yet you are often considered separate and removed from it. An excerpt from Martha Heller's book "The CIO Paradox."

5. Leveraging Corporate Security for Business Growth and Improved Performance: The Transformative Effect of 9/11
   

   September 2012 | Council Perspectives

   Security has become a core function, embedded in disciplines like finance, law, human resources, quality, supply chain, marketing, and operations.

6. Board Asia Newsletter
   

   September 2012 | Periodical

   Quarter Three 2012

7. Extending Your Brand to Employees Conference KeyNotes Report
   

   August 2012 | Conference KeyNotes

   Inspire and Equip Employees to Create Customers for Life

8. 2012 Change Management Conference KeyNotes Report
   

   August 2012 | Conference KeyNotes

   Disciplined, Analytical, and Practical Approaches to Managing High-Stakes Change

9. Board Asia Newsletter
   

   July 2012 | Periodical

   Quarter Two 2012

10. Answering The Conference Board CEO Challenge® 2012: Innovation Leads, Uncertainty Lingers
    

    May 2012 | Council Perspectives

    Is today’s C-suite taking full advantage of its organization’s quality executives and function as a way to answer its most pressing challenges?

11. Who's Afraid of the Cloud?
    

    May 2012 | Executive Action Report

    This report spells out the benefits and pitfalls for midsize businesses of migrating data and IT operations to the cloud.

12. Supplier Diversity Value Proposition: What Every Organization’s Important Stakeholders Need to Know about Supplier Diversity
    

    May 2012 | Council Perspectives

    In order to serve the needs of a changing customer base, companies should review and, if necessary, rejuvenate their supplier diversity programs.

13. Conference Board CEO Challenge^® 2012: Risky Business—Focusing on Innovation and Talent in a Volatile World
    

    March 2012 | CEO Challenge®

    This year’s top challenges show a balance between concerns related to the macro business environment and company-specific challenges that are driven by management action and require a well-executed business strategy.

14. 2011 Organization Design Conference KeyNotes Report
    

    February 2012 | Conference KeyNotes

    The world is changing at a faster pace than ever. As a result, organizations are being forced to realign their focus and reinvent themselves with changing global landscapes, technologies, priorities, and customer needs.

15. 2011 Senior Sales Executive Conference KeyNotes Report
    

    January 2012 | Conference KeyNotes

    The role of the sales department has evolved into increasing value for the client through sales enablement. To ensure that your sales team does this as effectively as possible, start by changing how your sales team operates.

16. Sweat the Small Stuff to Improve Your Business Forecasts
    

    January 2012 | Executive Action Report

    While waiting for the clouds to part over worldwide economies, small and midsize businesses can do much to bring greater rigor to their short-term forecasts and eliminate costly errors.

17. American Pastoral
    

    January 2012 | The Conference Board Review

    When companies needed more space, they moved to the suburbs, placing headquarters and R&D facilities in office parks and on lush campuses. But as Louise Mozingo explains, we’re all paying a price now.

2011

1. Preparedness in the Private Sector – 2011
   

   October 2011 | Research Report

   This report is based on a survey of executives regarding their companies’ resilience planning and security planning. The survey asked about companies’ levels of physical security, IT security, business continuity, crisis management, and pandemic planning.

2. From Like to Love
   

   October 2011 | The Conference Board Review

   According to Adrian Slywotzky, "very good" isn't good enough anymore—your product needs something extra.

3. Getting to New and Improved
   

   October 2011 | The Conference Board Review

   The science—yes, science—of innovation.

4. On the Record with Stephanie Hickman Boyse
   

   August 2011 | Executive Action Report

   Following The Conference Board CEO Challenge survey, a number of CEOs volunteered to go “on the record” with The Conference Board to share their thoughts and challenges in more depth. This is a Q&A with the CEO of Michigan-based Brazeway.

5. How Much Do You Know? Too Much and Not Enough
   

   July 2011 | The Conference Board Review

   The most important thing that companies have learned in the past twenty years is that managing knowledge requires knowing more about both knowledge and management than a lot of big firms seem to know.

6. Leading Outside—and Inside—the Lines
   

   June 2011 | Executive Action Report

   Drawing on the work of Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Khan, this Mid-Market Conversation Starter suggests ways in which informal networks can help address business problems.

7. Answering the 2011 CEO Challenge: Accelerating Growth through Quality
   

   June 2011 | Council Perspectives

   This Council Perspective examines the role the quality function can play in meeting the top challenges identified in the latest edition of The Conference Board CEO Challenge™, an annual survey of top executives.

8. It's Not Just Your Children's Facebook Anymore
   

   May 2011 | Executive Action Report

   Companies that use social media to improve knowledge transfer will see employees benefit from more informed thinking, better ideas, and big steps forward in innovation.

9. Watch Your Back, Goliath
   

   April 2011 | The Conference Board Review

   How companies of any size can hijack the conversation, fight dirty, and do the unthinkable.

10. Corporate Governance and Business Preparedness
    

    March 2011 | Research Report

    A survey of The Conference Board paints a detailed picture of how businesses are balancing security, business continuity, and operational risk management as part of governance.

11. Connecting to Customers
    

    February 2011 | The Conference Board Review

    Corporate leaders too often keep their distance from the people that are the most important.

12. Mismeasure of Work
    

    January 2011 | The Conference Board Review

    Where performance metrics go wrong.

2010

1. Good Execution Isn't Just Stuff Leaders Delegate
   

   December 2010 | Executive Action Report

   Many CEOs rate consistent execution of their firms' strategic objectives as a major concern. This report examines five critical requirements for good execution that can help CEOs achieve the results they expect.

2. Best Practices in Managing Information Vendor Portfolios
   

   November 2010 | Council Perspectives

   This council perspective outlines a set of best practices to help content managers ensure the organization gets the best value for its investment in licensed information resources.

3. Between Utopia and Exploitationville
   

   October 2010 | The Conference Board Review

   Author Hardy Green explores America's experiment with company towns.

4. When the Supply Chain Snaps
   

   August 2010 | The Conference Board Review

   How Cisco started to get things right after things weren't right from the start.

5. Failure Imperative
   

   July 2010 | The Conference Board Review

   How to build trust by forgiving mistakes.

6. Worst Thing About Best Practices
   

   July 2010 | The Conference Board Review

   Companies should look to others' best practices only as a last resort, not as a first idea.

7. Risk and Security in Corporate Supply Chain Networks: Moving From Operational to Strategic Concern
   

   June 2010 | Executive Action Report

   Supply chain risk management is a critical strategic activity that should take center stage in the decision making of any corporation

8. Supply Chain Benchmarking: Process and Methodology
   

   June 2010 | Council Perspectives

   Supply chain operations within an organization should be constantly reviewed to identify where improvements can be made.

9. Strategies for Winning Government Business—and Making It Profitable, Too
   

   April 2010 | Executive Action Report

   How three midsize companies build relationships with federal and state agencies and avoid perils in the contracting process.

10. Up in the Air / Down to Earth
    

    April 2010 | Executive Action Report

    Is there a more deflating pronouncement to hear from your boss than "I’m going to start incorporating humor in my staff meetings?" A Mid-market Conversation Starter.

11. Nothing to See Here
    

    April 2010 | The Conference Board Review

    Richard Tedlow explains why so many CEOs refuse to see the truth.

12. Shotgun Blues
    

    April 2010 | The Conference Board Review

    A scattershot approach to innovation guarantees that you’ll miss the mark most of the time.

13. Problem With Giving Back
    

    April 2010 | The Conference Board Review

    The implication of "giving back to society" is that it’s fine to take whatever you want, for as long as you want, provided that at some stage you get around to handing a bit of it back. How about not taking so much in the first place?

14. What's Your Next Big Thing?
    

    April 2010 | The Conference Board Review

    Beyond the search for the really cool idea.

2009

1. Going Non-traditional to Create a Successful Shared Services Organization
   

   December 2009 | Council Perspectives

   Budget squeezes and demands for even greater cost savings are forcing shared services organizations to look at non-traditional approaches to help hold the line and improve efficiency.

2. Supplier Diversity in the 21st Century
   

   December 2009 | Council Perspectives

   Today the the main task of supplier diversity executives is ensuring that the organizational commitment remains intact during turbulent economic times.

3. Culture Crash
   

   October 2009 | The Conference Board Review

   A Lehman Brothers insider reveals why the firm's best traits turned out to be its worst.

4. Need for Speed
   

   October 2009 | The Conference Board Review

   Can executive decision-making keep up with today's accelerating pace?

5. Shift in U.S. Policy on Climate Change Opens a New Era for Business
   

   May 2009 | Executive Action Report

   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.

6. Waddayaknow? Knowledge Management Can Be an Organization's Key to Survival
   

   May 2009 | Executive Action Report

   This Executive Action report uses three case studies to build a business case for implementing Knowledge Management, and provides tips for making KM work.

7. A Leadership Prescription for the Future of Quality
   

   May 2009 | Research Report

   This report, created by The Conference Board Quality Council, looks at the future role of quality throughout the enterprise.

8. A Leadership Prescription for the Future of Quality
   

   May 2009 | Council Perspectives

   This report, created by The Conference Board Quality Council, looks at the future role of quality throughout the enterprise.

9. Restoring Quality
   

   May 2009 | The Conference Board Review

   Subir Chowdhury implores America to change its mindset.

10. Hopeless?
    

    March 2009 | The Conference Board Review

    CEO Steve Miller explains the real reason why U.S. automakers are in trouble—and the right way to launch a corporate turnaround.

11. Right, Now
    

    March 2009 | The Conference Board Review

    What does it mean to be a good global citizen?

12. Why Are We in Business?
    

    March 2009 | The Conference Board Review

    Ad man Roy Spence wants to know what your purpose is.

13. Tighten Your Supply Chain to Wring Out Costs
    

    January 2009 | Executive Action Report

    This report features insights and practical advice from corporate executives and supply-chain experts, and helpful suggestions for recruiting logistic specialists.

14. All the Options
    

    January 2009 | The Conference Board Review

    Scenario planning aims to prepare you for your next crisis, whatever it may be.

2008

1. Preparedness in the Private Sector
   

   December 2008 | Research Report

   This report offers baseline metrics that are broadly representative of the level of preparedness among U.S. businesses, and are further broken down by size of business, type of ownership, and industry type.

2. How Effective Information Services Can Contribute to the Bottom Line
   

   December 2008 | Executive Action Report

   The five case studies in this report demonstrate how having the right information at the right time and in the right format can create a competitive advantage and help top executives more effectively manage the bottom line.

3. Can You Gain the Whole World Without Losing Your Soul?
   

   November 2008 | The Conference Board Review

   While supply chains and markets are global as never before, the typical corporate-globalization model remains stubbornly colonial in its ambition and execution as organizations colonize one market at a time.

4. Bridging the Logistical Divide: Integration of Poor Countries in Global Supply Chains
   

   August 2008 | Executive Action Report

   This report analyzes the reasons behind the lagging development of the world's poorest countries and offers some solutions for conquering the divide to help those nations achieve sustainable growth.

5. Harnessing the Perfect Storm: Business Executives in Mid-Size Companies Are Seizing Green Opportunities
   

   May 2008 | Executive Action Report

   Mid-size businesses that may have only considered taking small affordable steps toward energy efficiency or that originally balked at government regulation are actively seeking ways to become environmentally friendly.

6. Company Approaches to Green Products and Services: What's Working and What's Not
   

   May 2008 | Executive Action Report

   How can companies use the growing customer demand for so-called green products to their business advantage while minimizing financial and reputational risk?

7. Benchmarking Business Preparedness: Plans, Procedures, and Implementation of Standards
   

   April 2008 | Executive Action Report

   This report reveals the preparedness and business continuity practices put into place by a wide range of companies.

8. Coordinating Business Preparedness: Managing Public and Private Efforts
   

   April 2008 | Executive Action Report

   An effective partnership between the public and private sectors is essential to ensure the resilience of America's critical infrastructure.

9. Security Metrics as a Management Tool
   

   April 2008 | Executive Action Report

   Modern security management requires a toolkit of effective metrics to relate security operations to the reduction of risk.

2007

1. Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost?
   

   November 2007 | Research Report

   This report is based on detailed analysis of 250 opportunities for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases thought to contribute to global warming.

2. Designing Organizations That Execute New Strategies and Create Capabilities for Change
   

   July 2007 | Executive Action Report

   Since organizations are experiencing constant change — driven by today's global and hyper-competitive environment — they need to build an internal design capability to realign organizational components on an almost continuous basis.

3. Strategic M&A:
   Creating Tools and Capabilities for Successful Integration
   

   May 2007 | Research Report

   This survey based report examines the procedures companies are currently using to pursue their M&A activities.

4. Managing for a Carbon-Concerned Future
   A Decision-Making Framework
   

   May 2007 | Research Report

   This report addresses a subject on which much less has been written — the decision-making process for companies wishing to develop new carbon management approaches and opportunities.

5. Risk and Opportunity in the Gathering Climate Change Storm
   

   February 2007 | Executive Action Report

   Converging trends and forces are raising the profile of climate change and the need for carbon emissions reduction. Business must prepare to minimize risks and realize the opportunities that are rapidly emerging.

2006

1. Toward a Framework for Supply Chain Leadership
   

   December 2006 | Executive Action Report

   With no management framework to effectively guide the implementation of Supply Chain Leadership programs, it has largely been a learn-as-you-go endeavor, with many companies learning the same lessons, over and over again.

2. Stopping the Profit Drain from Higher Energy Costs
   

   October 2006 | Executive Action Report

   Corporate America can expect little respite from soaring — and volatile — energy prices. Smaller companies can protect profits by strengthening the ways they manage energy use.

3. Navigating Risk — The Business Case for Security
   

   October 2006 | Research Report

   This report details survey results, regarding managing and mitigating risk, of 213 senior corporate executives working for a broad range of companies.

4. Carbon Footprint a Growing Management Concern
   

   October 2006 | Executive Action Report

   Companies are increasingly focusing on greenhouse gases and their implications for business. Based on 2006 survey results from the research project "Managing for a Carbon-Concerned Future: Obligation or Opportunity?"

5. Pandemic Preparedness: Frequently Asked Questions
   

   September 2006 | Executive Action Report

   The Conference Board has presented a number of programs to help businesses better prepare for and understand the challenges posed by an avian flu or other human influenza pandemic. Here we address the recurring questions elicited by these programs.

6. Are Businesses Doing Enough To Prepare for a Pandemic?
   

   July 2006 | Executive Action Report

   As the effectiveness of a world response to any pandemic depends upon the quality of advance preparations, this research seeks to clarify the role business plays.

7. Threat, Vulnerability, and Consequence: A Framework for Managing Security
   

   June 2006 | Executive Action Report

   This Executive Action report examines the specification of risk and its application to a commonly employed analytic tool, the Security Risk Equation.

8. Making the Business Case for Security
   

   June 2006 | Executive Action Report

   A survey of corporate decision-makers by The Conference Board and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security finds that executives give most weight to security concerns on issues of operational risk, such as compliance and certification.

9. Safety, Health and Environmental Management Excellence Yields Business Benefit
   

   May 2006 | Executive Action Report

   This report highlights the Environmental Health & Safety programs of two recent winners of The Robert W. Campbell Award.

10. Is Avian Flu the Next Y2K? Can We Afford To Think So?
    

    May 2006 | Executive Action Report

    Coping with a potential pandemic requires a different approach to continuity planning. Is your company preparing properly?

11. Challenge of Meeting Public Expectations on Sustainable Development
    

    March 2006 | Executive Action Report

    Industries that are perceived to be a risk to health, safety, and the environment are adopting new approaches to relieve public concerns regarding their new developments and products.

12. A Strategic Approach to Security: Compliance, Certification, and Competitive Advantage
    

    February 2006 | Executive Action Report

    Should companies be viewing security as a strategic tool for anticipating and managing risk?

13. Strengthening Corporate Governance: A New Age of Entrepreneurship in India
    

    February 2006 | Executive Action Report

    How is India benefiting from coming late to the game of developing globally accepted corporate governance standards? By reaping the results of years of experimentation and trial and error by others.

14. Preparing for the Worst: A Guide to Business Continuity Planning for Mid-Markets
    

    February 2006 | Executive Action Report

    Why are smaller companies creating disaster survival plans? Because regulators, investors, and customers are demanding they do so.

2005

1. Incredible Shrinking Corporation
   

   December 2005 | Executive Action Report

   In trying to please Wall Street, companies have starved themselves nearly to death.

2. Globalization: Will Your Company Be Left Standing?
   

   December 2005 | Executive Action Report

   New market realities may compel mid-market companies to adopt a business model that powers growth through product innovation, as well as improved operational effectiveness.

3. Making It in Manufacturing: Becoming Lean to Compete Globally
   

   December 2005 | Executive Action Report

   What are some steps companies in higher-wage countries can take to remain competitive globally?

4. Aligning the Organization: Management and Human Resource Concerns
   

   November 2005 | Research Report

   This document shows the benefits of using overseas labor and shows the obstacles that must be overcome for a successful transition.

5. Expanding the Investment Frontier: Factoring Environmental, Social and Governance Criteria into Investment Analysis
   

   October 2005 | Research Report

   Environmental, Social and Governance Criteria are becoming more recognized as an essential tool in investment analysis.

6. Keep It Simple: Getting Your Arms Around Enterprise Risk Management
   

   October 2005 | Executive Action Report

   The savviest companies approach to Enterprise Risk Management is to focus on the fundamentals. Is your company one of them?

7. Gaining Momentum in Mainstream Investing . . . or Not?
   

   October 2005 | Executive Action Report

   The potential for ESG integration is at a critical point. Has the importance of ESG factors in mainstream investment analysis been set?

8. Navigating Energy Management: A Roadmap for Business
   

   September 2005 | Executive Action Report

   Businesses today are more focused on “managing” energy than at any other time in recent decades. However, are business opportunities being missed because many companies are approaching energy management in an unsystematic fashion, or not at all?

9. Managing Corporate Citizenship Implications of Offshoring
   

   July 2005 | Executive Action Report

   How can companies handle operational downsizing/offshoring while treating its departing employees with respect and maintaining its reputation in the community?

10. Roadmap for Strategic Energy Planning and Management
    

    July 2005 | Research Report

    This report is intended as a guide for companies interested in a systematic appraisal and decision-making process in regard to energy management.

11. New Corporate Reality: External and Market Considerations
    

    July 2005 | Research Report

    This report focuses on anticipating the requirements of the variety of shareholders and stakeholders—including government agencies, the press, and the general public—who will examine your offshoring operations.

12. Corporate Social Responsibility In China: Can Voluntary Codes Succeed?
    

    July 2005 | Executive Action Report

    Is there an alternative to laws that are unevenly administered and enforced? A question well worth asking about business practice in all developing economies -- including China.

13. China: Creating An Unlikely Edge In The Global Market Share Battle
    

    July 2005 | Executive Action Report

    In the quest for market dominance, is the ability to exploit the mass market more important than cutting edge innovation?

14. Going Global: Challenges for Indian Business
    

    June 2005 | Executive Action Report

    At The Conference Board 2005 Global Leadership Development Conference a number of top Indian CEOs shared their experiences as emerging global leaders in the business marketplace. This piece highlights some of the key discussion points from said meeting.

15. Beyond Costs: Financial and Operational Risks
    

    June 2005 | Research Report

    This report explores a number of important factors that must be taken into account when initiating offshoring, ranging from a consideration of unexpected setup costs to how to decide on a location.

16. Using Ethical Analysis to Guide Offshoring
    

    June 2005 | Executive Action Report

    When considering offshoring, how can companies significantly reduce their exposure to risk?

17. Can U.S. Corporations Change the Way People Think About America?
    

    June 2005 | Executive Action Report

    There has been a gradual global erosion of faith in the United States and its government, and in turn consumers worldwide are losing trust in American corporations. Is it time for U.S. corporations to help change the way the U.S. is viewed?

18. Why Organization Design Is Critical To Global Leadership Development
    

    April 2005 | Executive Action Report

    Talented individuals cannot contribute to their full capacity and potential in a top-heavy organization that stifles initiative. Why is the crucial connection between effective organization design and successful leadership development often ignored?

19. Minimizing Risk and Maintaining Ethics in Asia–Pacific
    

    March 2005 | Executive Action Report

    In order to cope successfully when doing business in the Asia-Pacific world, one must take into consideration the region's unique culture and the higher incidence of certain kinds of risks.

20. Corporate Security Measures and Practices
    

    March 2005 | Research Report

    This piece encapsulates information from a series of reports regarding security issues, which were originally published by The Conference Board in 2003 and 2004.

21. Energy Management Goes Strategic—An Operations-Only Issue No More
    

    February 2005 | Executive Action Report

    Now that energy is viewed as having an impact on so many critical areas, innovative companies are taking the issue out of the operational arena and giving it strategic focus.

22. Thinking Offshoring Through
    

    February 2005 | Executive Action Report

    For a topic that has been so widely and so hotly debated, the answers to many questions about offshoring are still somewhat hazy. Why is that?

23. On the Record With...Julien De Wilde
    

    February 2005 | Executive Action Report

    An interview with Julien De Wilde, CEO, N.V. Bekaert S.A., Kortrijk (Belgium), regarding current forces in management and the marketplace and the trends expected to be faced in the future.

24. Future of Knowledge Management
    

    January 2005 | Executive Action Report

    The revolution never came—but that doesn’t mean that Knowledge Management is dead. In the ’90s, there was a belief that knowledge was critical of business and the gateway to innovation. KM was going to make a difference.

2004

1. On the Record With...Stan Shih
   

   November 2004 | Executive Action Report

   An interview with Stan Shih, Chairman, CEO, and Founder, The Acer Group, Taipei, Taiwan, regarding current forces in management and the marketplace and the trends expected to be faced in the future.

2. Security in Mid-Market Companies: Tackling the Challenge
   

   November 2004 | Executive Action Report

   Will the most important incentive for smaller companies to upgrade their security operations come from standards imposed by major corporations rather than those imposed by the government?

3. On the Record With...Alain J.P. Belda
   

   October 2004 | Executive Action Report

   An interview with Alain J.P. Belda, Chairman and CEO, Alcoa, Inc., regarding current forces in management and the marketplace and the trends expected to be faced in the future

4. Cops, Geeks, and Bean Counters: The Clashing Cultures of Corporate Security
   

   September 2004 | Executive Action Report

   Bridging the clash of cultures and creating a common frame of reference is essential if companies are to manage their total security needs in an effective manner.

5. Climate Change: Clear Trajectory—Haze in the Details
   

   August 2004 | Executive Action Report

   Climate change is a fact of life for business in the 21st century, and those that ignore the potential implications do so at their own peril.

6. Adding Value in Shared Services . . . Insourcing, Outsourcing, and Offshoring
   

   July 2004 | Executive Action Report

   Companies are closely examining insourcing, outsourcing, and offshoring to decide which approach delivers the best support services at the lowest cost. What is the best solution?

7. Security Practices ... Security in Mid-Market Companies: The View From the Top
   

   July 2004 | Executive Action Report

   Is corporate security an expense that should be minimized or an investment that increases business value?

8. China’s Experience with Productivity and Jobs
   

   June 2004 | Research Report

   China has undergone extensive industrial restructuring. While these changes have led to enormous productivity gains, they are also closely linked to the rapid loss of manufacturing jobs.

9. Shared Services and CRM
   

   April 2004 | Research Report

   This report investigates how organizations are using the new emphasis on both internal and external customers to confront the significant cultural and operational challenges they encounter when implementing new shared service initiatives.

10. Can Manufacturing Survive in Advanced Countries?
    

    March 2004 | Executive Action Report

    Job losses remain high in the manufacturing industry in the U.S. and in other developed nations, and are not being made up by greater job creation in expansions. What is the long-term impact of such job losses on a country’s ability to compete globally?

11. International Business Cultures . . . Corporate Governance: An Asian Perspective
    

    March 2004 | Executive Action Report

    Corporate Governance initiatives in the U.S. are causing many countries around the world to review their best practices. Hong Kong is no exception, but their business leaders believe they should be implemented with characteristics unique to the region.

12. Strategic Energy Management - The State of the Debate
    

    March 2004 | Research Report

    This report is based on a survey of senior executives to determine how businesses currently view and manage energy.

13. New EU Directive Means Greater Corporate Environmental Liability Exposure
    

    February 2004 | Executive Action Report

    Once a new controversial law is passed, companies already operating in the EU will see their environmental liability exposure increase.

14. Taking Global Brands to Japan: A Luxury Goods Market that is as Profitable as it is Unique
    

    February 2004 | Executive Action Report

    This report delves into how the profound social changes in Japan - brought about by a decade long recession - have allowed global luxury brands to blossom there.

15. On the Record With....S. Dhanabalan
    

    January 2004 | Executive Action Report

    An interview with S. Dhanabalan, Chairman, Temasek Holdings (Pte) Ltd., Singapore regarding management and market challenges.

2003

1. Aggressive Energy Productivity Management Pays Big Dividends
   

   December 2003 | Executive Action Report

   Many companies have recognized that energy productivity is not a “nice to do” activity, but an important part of their business operations that can yield quantifiable cost savings and less directly-measurable general productivity improvements.

2. Guanxi – In Chinese Business, the Relationship is Everything
   

   November 2003 | Executive Action Report

   Failing to understand and abide by the concept of guanxi, a set of relationships which links millions of Chinese firms into a social and business network, can mean the difference between success and failure for companies seeking to do business in China.

3. Driving Toward ''0''
   

   November 2003 | Research Report

   This study is a benchmark on corporate safety culture and a rating of the policies and best practices that affect corporate safety performance.

4. Is "Crisis Mode" The New Energy Management Norm?
   

   September 2003 | Executive Action Report

   In the United States, the traditional assumption about energy—abundant supplies at low cost—is being challenged by frequent "crises".

5. Managing Corporate Security in Mid-Markets
   

   September 2003 | Executive Action Report

   Compared to large companies, security spending is more of a burden for smaller companies when expressed as a percentage of annual sales and they are less likely to feel that their security spending is adequate.

6. Corporate Security Management: Organization and Spending Since 9/11
   

   July 2003 | Research Report

   This comprehensive study reveals business spending patterns since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

7. Managing Corporate Security: Patterns of Organization
   

   July 2003 | Executive Action Report

   Despite raised expectations and heightened visibility, corporate America is undergoing an evolution rather than a revolution in the management of security concerns.

8. Managing Corporate Security: Patterns of Spending
   

   July 2003 | Executive Action Report

   Except for risk management and insurance, corporate spending on security has increased only moderately since 9/11.

9. Mixing Politics and Business ... Conflict Everlasting?
   

   June 2003 | Executive Action Report

   Just how deep an impact the current atmosphere of distrust that pervades international political relations will have on global commerce depends on from which side of the Atlantic you view events.

10. Human Resources at Corporate Headquarters: A Management Update
    

    June 2003 | Research Report

    This study of how companies currently organize the human resources function at their corporate headquarters highlights key roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships.

11. Regional Headquarters: Roles and Organization
    

    May 2003 | Research Report

    This report examines a number of issues that are central to the existence and management of a regional organization and its headquarters in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

12. Designing a Healthy Regional Headquarters
    

    April 2003 | Executive Action Report

    The key questions to answer when designing a regional headquarters are: How does it add value to the subordinate business unit? And how does it differ from the corporate office?

13. Managing Supply Chain Risks
    

    April 2003 | Executive Action Report

    "Just-in-time" supply chain management, while providing the needed speed and visibility to operate in today's complex supply chain environment, also exposes companies to large-scale disruptions, especially in times of conflict.

14. Traveling Green: Linking Executive Travel to Corporate, Community, and Environmental Values
    

    April 2003 | Executive Action Report

    Executive travel provides the next opportunity for organizations to demonstrate to their employees, suppliers, customers, and communities that they "walk the talk" on corporate citizenship.

15. Emergency Response and Planning in Reaction to the Department of Homeland Security Advisory System
    

    April 2003 | Executive Action Report

    Corporations responding to a Conference Board survey consider a terrorist attack unlikely, but say such an event would have a major impact on their businesses. Are companies doing enough to mitigate the potential impact of a disaster?

16. Emerging Trends... Europe Shifts Burden of Waste Disposal to Product Producers
    

    February 2003 | Executive Action Report

    What companies can do now to prepare for the expanded financial and physical burden of disposal at the end of a product's useful life?

17. Security Today: The New Global Context
    

    January 2003 | Executive Action Report

    The most difficult aspect of the global security challenge is in understanding how to bring prosperity to poor countries. Government and international programs need to rethink their approaches to the incentive and market structures that drive prosperity.

2002

1. Planning for Energy-Based Business Risks
   

   December 2002 | Executive Action Report

   It is one of the true ironies of our times: growing concern over the future of energy at a time of abundant and generally inexpensive supplies of traditional energy forms. How should a company respond?

2. Mission Critical: Controlling Costs—Setting Executive Travel Policies
   

   October 2002 | Executive Action Report

   This menu of tactics and options provides useful tools for cost-conscious companies to stay flexible in this period of ongoing volatility in executive travel.

3. Mission Critical: Controlling Costs ... Compassionate Downsizing: Making the Business Case for Education and Training for Transitioned Employees
   

   July 2002 | Executive Action Report

   Few organizations consider (or have the ability to quantify) the longer-term hidden costs of downsizing to their corporate reputation, customer loyalty, and employee morale, incentive, and productivity.

4. Mission Critical: Controlling Costs ... Marketing Costs: The Efficiencies Provided by Targeted Approaches
   

   July 2002 | Executive Action Report

   One danger in attempting to contain marketing costs: If a company's value proposition is compromised then cost-cutting becomes counterproductive.

5. Mission Critical: Controlling Costs ... Overview: Cut the Costs, But Not the Trust
   

   July 2002 | Executive Action Report

   When it comes to costs, crash dieting does not make companies stronger in the long run—developing a "cost-conscious culture" does.

6. Global Climate Change: Fact or Fiction? It Doesn't Matter--The Issue is Here to Stay
   

   June 2002 | Executive Action Report

   This report argues that while science is unlikely to provide unequivocal answers to the debate, governments and markets are likely to act on their perception of the science--actions which will have an impact on global business.

7. Morality and the Bottom Line: The Growth of Anti-Corruption Programs in the Private Sector
   

   April 2002 | Executive Action Report

   Addresses global progress being made against corruption, the components of an effective corporate anti-corruption program, the effectiveness of ethics programs, and spreading the anti-corruption word.

8. Transforming the Supply Chain
   

   March 2002 | Research Report

   This report is based on a survey of supply chain executives, who comment on organizing for the supply chain effort, the role of suppliers, and the use of new technologies (including e-purchasing and B2B marketplaces).

9. World Summit on Sustainable Development: Why Business Should Care
   

   March 2002 | Executive Action Report

   Explains why businesses need to care about the World Summit on Sustainable Development and what they can expect from it.

10. Role of Business in Zones of Crisis
    

    February 2002 | Executive Action Report

    Discusses what businesses can do in zones of conflict, the role of business in failing states, and how companies can contribute to a country's redevelopment.

11. Business Conduct Codes: Why Corporations Hesitate
    

    January 2002 | Executive Action Report

    A survey of companies looks at how sensitive the issue of code and guideline endorsement is for corporations and why.

2001

1. When Disaster Strikes: Ensuring an Intact Supply Chain
   

   November 2001 | Executive Action Report

   Addresses the factors in place that lessened the damage to the U.S. global supply chain post-September 11th and those areas of supply chain function that were affected by the tragedy, the anthrax mail incidents, and the war against terrorism.

2. Corporate Security in a Time of Crisis: Bioterrorism
   

   November 2001 | Executive Action Report

   Deals with mailroom procedures and the risk of bioterrism.

3. Corporate Security in a Time of Crisis: Concerns for International Business Travelers
   

   November 2001 | Executive Action Report

   Addresses current security issues in business travel and emergency evacuation from overseas locations.

4. Corporate Security in a Time of Crisis: Management Challenges
   

   November 2001 | Executive Action Report

   Assists senior executives in becoming conversant with current security issues, including how to integrate it in the management process, the question of cost, protection procedures and contingency plans, and supply chain and product security.

5. Corporate Security in a Time of Crisis: Online Security Resources
   

   November 2001 | Executive Action Report

   Lists Web resources for current security issues, including management challenges, bioterrorism, protecting IT, and concerns for international business travelers.

6. Corporate Security in a Time of Crisis: Protecting IT
   

   November 2001 | Executive Action Report

   Discusses ensuring IT security, and IT recovery and response procedures.

7. Innovative Public-Private Partnerships: Conservation of Forests, Farmlands, and Wetlands
   

   October 2001 | Research Report

   This report outlines the current status of agreements between government, business, and non-governmental organizations for the preservation of open spaces.

8. Role of B2B Exchanges and Implications for the Future
   

   August 2001 | Research Report

   This report provides an overview of B2B exchanges and implications for the future based current activities and projections by participants in the B2B process.

9. E-Business Strategies in the Global Marketplace: E-Procurement and Other Challenges
   

   June 2001 | Research Report

   A survey of U.S. and European organizations shows that development of an e-procurement program is proving more complex, more expensive and more time consuming than originally envisaged.

10. Organizing for Global Competitiveness
    

    May 2001 | Research Report

    The Role of Corporate Headquarters and Its Leadership in Organizational Integration.

2000

1. Knowledge Management: Becoming an E-Learning Organization
   

   December 2000 | Research Report

   This report focuses on the role of knowledge management and organizational learning within the New Economy.

2. Company Programs for Resisting Corrupt Practices: A Global Study
   

   October 2000 | Research Report

   This report looks at policies, practices, and procedures that represent standards of best practice for company efforts to resist corrupt practices.

3. Corporate Governance and Cross-Border Mergers
   

   June 2000 | Research Report

   This report discusses the role of corporate governance before, during, and after a cross-border merger.

4. Corporate Environmental Governance: Benchmarks Toward a World-Class System
   

   May 2000 | Research Report

   This study probes the planning, development, and implementation processes of environmental management systems within 45 leading organizations.

5. Beyond Knowledge Management: New Ways to Work
   

   March 2000 | Research Report

   This report, based on a survey and Working Group discussions, takes an empirical look at knowledge management and organizational learning efforts occurring inside large companies.

1999

1. Globalizing the Board of Directors: Trends and Strategies
   

   June 1999 | Research Report

   Are you trying to take your organization's board global? You should. Here's a look at the ways to go about it.

2. Expanding Parameters of Global Corporate Citizenship
   

   June 1999 | Research Report

   This report examines the increasingly complex world of global corporate citizenship, and describes the efforts of leading multinational practitioners to reconcile financial and societal goals

3. Global Corporate Ethics Practices: A Developing Consensus
   

   May 1999 | Research Report

   Learn the trends and procedures being used to formulate and implement global business ethics principles, and how the formulation of these codes has become a more dynamic inclusive process.

4. Organizing for Global Competitiveness: The Corporate Headquarters Design
   

   March 1999 | Research Report

   How should you organize corporate headquarters to compete successfully around the world? This survey shows how 89 organizations do it.

1998

1. Managing Knowledge in the New Economy
   

   June 1998 | Research Report

   What is knowledge management? And why should your company be using it? Find out with this report.

2. Using Market Mechanisms in Environmental Regulation
   

   June 1998 | Research Report

   Will the market drive companies to "better" behavior regarding the environment? Here's a look at answers to that question.

3. Shared Services: Achieving Higher Levels of Performance
   

   March 1998 | Research Report

   Is shared services an idea whose time has come? Read how it's worked for these major organizations.

4. Innovative Public-Private Partnerships: Environmental Initiatives
   

   March 1998 | Research Report

   Is a partnership between your company and a regulatory agency a possibility? Maybe it should be. Here are some keys to making it work.

5. Meeting the Challenge of Global Logistics
   

   February 1998 | Research Report

   As the entire world provides you with suppliers, your challenges—and opportunities—in logistics grow. Here's a look at what you can do.

6. Global Growth Strategies
   

   January 1998 | Research Report

   How do you create global growth — and once you're growing, how do you keep going? Here's the experience of senior executives and CEOs on managing growth.

1997

1. Strategic Alliances: Institutionalizing Partnering Capabilities
   

   July 1997 | Research Report

   Why reinvent the wheel of alliances? Learn from executives who have developed a formula for repeatable success in partnerships.

2. Environmental Policy-Making
   

   June 1997 | Research Report

   A more rational approach: What are the goals when corporations do risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis?

3. EH&S: A Platform for Progress
   

   January 1997 | Research Report

   Why leave your EHS function out in the cold? This report focuses on how to integrate it at the business-unit and corporate level.

1996

1. Organizing for Global Competitiveness
   

   August 1996 | Research Report

   This overview summarizes four of the most popular reports in The Conference Board's series on global organization design.

2. European Regional Design
   

   July 1996 | Research Report

   Part of the Organizing for Global Competitiveness series, this report looks at the MNC designs for corporations in the European region.

3. Strategic Purchasing: Sourcing for the Bottom Line
   

   July 1996 | Research Report

   Here are the tools to improve your supplier management and, of course, your bottom line.

4. Corporate EH&S Reward Programs
   

   June 1996 | Research Report

   Employee-recognition programs can boost your company's performance in EHS. This report shows how such programs can aid your strategic planning.