Electronic government can provide faster, more convenient, and more accurate services that will improve the lives of the people.

The Titanic still rests on the bottom of the ocean, but we can resurrect the truth. The lessons we learn can help us become better leaders.

"Europe's top performing employers see people as a vital strategic asset. In a survey undertaken by Hewitt Associates in France, Germany, UK and Austria top performers ranked human resources (HR) first when asked what would have most impact on their ability to compete in Europe...Hewitt Associates' 'Best Employer Best Results' survey sought to understand how the management and development of an organisation's people resource affects business. Furthermore, it aimed to identify what makes the best, the 'Best'."

Expense Management Automation (EMA) software helps companies control spending by automating the filing, approval and payment of employee expense reports.

More companies are pumping up the volume of their radio advertising. Here are 10 tips for making the most of your airtime.

What can a man born in 356 BC teach business leaders today? Plenty, says Professor Manfred Kets de Vries in this new Working Paper about Alexander the Great of Macedonia, one of history's most successful leaders. His successes and failures, says the author, offer insights into what makes for effective leadership and what contributes to leadership derailment.

Valuing stock-option grants with Black-Scholes may cause some confusion on the income statement.

Do big deficits increase interest rates? There is a strange debate on this question going on between the Brookings Institution and The Wall Street Journal editorial page.

Editor's Note: this is a topical piece centered on the 2003 Bush budget proposal, but the concepts addressed are not topical.

Industry standards let customers mix and match best-of-breed systems--but it's far from a snap.

When you are pitching your proposal to VCs, tell them an emotional story, says Nick Morgan. And put away the PowerPoint!

Are you unsure how to extend the use of your organization's intellectual asserts? Scant progress has been made in defining and calculating the value of intellectual assets, despite their obvious importance. The Accenture Institute for Strategic Change applies a physical resources life cycle perspective to help managers clarify how, and how well, intellectual assets are used, and reused, in business processes. The framework enables managers to perceive the whole range of innovations that can be derived from the same assets.

The Globalization Ledger™ offers a comprehensive analysis of global economic integration in 34 countries that comprise more than three-quarters of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). Using a unique statistical gauge, the study ranks countries based upon the scope and pace of their integration with the world economy, then analyzes how they have fared against a range of social and economic indicators, including political freedom, air and water pollution, and rates of economic growth. By quantifying these abstract ideas, the study helps to illuminate important policy questions related to globalization in as empirical and non-ideological way as possible.

Edtior's Note: this is an excellent report...

see also A.T. Kearney's "Measuring Globalization" at
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=866&file=links

and the EBF article by Jean-Jacques Lambin, "The benefits of globalisation" at
http://www.ebfonline.com/main_feat/trends/trends.asp?id=231

The man who lost $3 billion for Sony wants to make your brand the hero of his next film. And you thought TiVo was scary.

It's every company's goal -- but it's one that few manage to achieve. Here are strategies and tactics to make your company grow again, drawn from in-depth research on companies that have been registering double-digit growth for years. Tired of cutting costs and downsizing dreams? This is your wake-up call.

Stop missing sales and earnings estimates by putting a unified forecasting process in place that's based on industry best practices.

Employers should seize this opportunity to celebrate the arrival of their new team member and communicate that employees are their most valuable asset. These guidelines for conducting an effective corporate-level orientation will help you do just that.

Editor's Note: contains a thoroughly useful and mostly comprehensive bullet-point list of items to cover...

"An astute observer of large corporations, Professor Todd R. Zenger noticed that many companies appeared to switch back and forth irrationally between a centralized and decentralized structure. Traditional organizational theory dictates that organizations choose a structure based on the notion of "contingent fit." That is, an organization's structure is matched to market strategies, exchange conditions, or the environment. As long as these factors remain stable, the organization will maintain a stable structure.

But Zenger heard a different story from his MBA students, many of whom worked at the nation's largest corporations.

Together with Jackson A. Nickerson, Zenger decided to reconcile the observations of his students with a theory that explained why companies vacillate in their structural choices."

Nonprofit organizations should focus on building a lasting organization and on developing effective performance metrics. To make this possible, donors must change their approach to philanthropy.

About the time their box company, Atlas Container, was rising from the ashes, the Centenari brothers decided that a business should be founded on the philosophy of treating employees like human beings rather than interchangeable parts. Of all the brothers' smart moves, that was the topper.

Disruptive innovation enables companies to do business in ways they never could before, but its turbulent track record promotes scepticism among managers. New research shows how to harness its strategic value for the long-term by following a three-step blueprint.

Looking for efficient solutions to tough problems? Forget corporate case studies. Embrace the offbeat.

Editor's Note: If you find these topics interesting, check out the following...

Can You Predict the Unpredictable?
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=1934&file=links

take a look at the work being done on artificial societies at
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=1910&file=links

Trying to Grasp the Intangible
http://www.mbadepot.com/redir.php?ID=1085&file=links

Americans expect results from their business, government, and nonprofit organizations. We also expect information about the performance of those institutions: Who's in charge? How is money spent? And what have they accomplished? In the business world, the demands imposed by lenders and investors -- and, of course, the Securities and Exchange Commission -- force companies to disclose precise details of their operations -- earnings, expenses, performance, and levels of executive compensation relative to peer groups.

Yet when it comes to 39 percent of the national economy -- the nearly $3 trillion consumed by government and social sector organizations -- Americans have few instruments for collecting information and comparing results. For all the talk of reinventing government and strengthening the social sector, there is still no way to systematically gather and disclose information about their performance.

Companies are increasingly looking to external sources to ramp up their levels of innovation in new products and services, but most lack a strategy for innovation sourcing. Research by the Accenture Institute for Strategic Change pinpoints how leading companies have been successful in creating a diverse set of innovation "channels" and managing an entire innovation-sourcing network to drive profitable growth through innovation.

Integrating and streamlining payroll systems helps companies build efficiency and improve business strategy.

Firms about to go public zip up and hide during a so-called "quiet period" -- but don't blame the SEC.