Executive Action Reports - The Conference Board

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Executive Action Reports

These brief reports address the most pressing business issues of the day. Download them free by clicking on the links below. Click here for help downloading pdf files.

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June 2010

June 22	Member Exclusive	Risk and Security in Corporate Supply Chain Networks: Moving From Operational to Strategic Concern Supply chain risk management is a critical strategic activity that should take center stage in the decision making of any corporation
June 15	Member Exclusive	Goals and Incentives for a New Day This new Conversation Starter by Howard Muson poses a number of provocative questions about goals and incentive systems in today’s economy.
June 10	Member Exclusive	Sustainability in the Boardroom Despite formal assignment of responsibilities to top business leaders, many companies still lack the structural framework to enable proper director oversight of corporate sustainability.
June 7	Member Exclusive	Euro Area: Looking Through the Turbulence in Financial Markets Despite the overwhelming sense of crisis in the Euro Area, recovery from the global recession is still underway.

May 2010

May 27

Member Exclusive

Harnessing the Power Within: Using Your Employees to Help Deliver the Brand Promise
This report discusses how creating an internal branding model will help employees understand and connect to your core brand, then communicate that brand message to your customers.

April 2010

Apr. 29	Member Exclusive	Examining the Impact of SEC Guidance Changes on CEO Succession Planning In late 2009, the SEC made a policy change that effectively removes the defense used by companies reluctant to disclose their CEO succession process to shareholders. The change means a new wave of corporate governance scrutiny.
Apr. 29	Member Exclusive	Strategies for Winning Government Business—and Making It Profitable, Too How three midsize companies build relationships with federal and state agencies and avoid perils in the contracting process.
Apr. 14	Member Exclusive	A New Era in Global Anti-Corruption: Governments Get Serious about Enforcement The year 2010 has seen a surge in FCPA enforcement, producing a buzz among corporate executives that the old ways of doing business with “a wink and a nod” are over.
Apr. 9	Member Exclusive	Survival Lessons from Family Businesses What accounts for the longevity and success over time- of these multi-generational family businesses? A Mid-market Conversation Starter.
Apr. 9	Member Exclusive	Up in the Air / Down to Earth 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.
Apr. 7	Member Exclusive	Investor Engagement in Europe in the Wake of the Shareholder Rights Directive Implementation This report briefly outlines major governance issues that, in light of the new legal and economic environment, the boards of European public companies should consider, especially in connection with their general meetings.

March 2010

Mar. 31	Member Exclusive	Financial Services Offshoring: Moving Toward Fewer Captives and Global Cost Competitiveness Financial services companies show greater interest than other sectors in contracting with large international providers and becoming more cost competitive by moving operations to lower labor cost locations
Mar. 31		Increasing U.S. Business Investment in Postsecondary Credentialing for New Workforce Entrants Can businesses be persuaded to invest in tomorrow's workforce through increased postsecondary credentials?
Mar. 30	Member Exclusive	Is the Pressure Easing? The 2010 Philanthropy Agenda The economic downturn took its toll in the U.S. corporate philanthropy arena but the negative impact seen in 2009 may have reached its peak.
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.

February 2010

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.

January 2010

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.