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Byline: jean ende Once, corporate whistle-blowers had a hard time being heard. No longer. In these post-Enron days, when a corporate insider sounds off, an entire industry is there to [...]

The following businesses filed for Chapter 7 or 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit the week of May 5-9. Under Chapter 11, a company files a reorganization plan [...]

AS THE NATION gears up for possible war in Iraq, many U.S. employers are going above and beyond the call of duty to reduce the impact of hostilities on their [...]

The new corporate-governance legislation reminds me of a favorite children's book, Henry's Awful Mistake. While preparing supper for his friend Clara, Henry spots an ant in the kitchen. Henry sets [...]

In light of the questionable financial moves at companies such as Enron and WorldCom, have you called in your CFO and asked, ``Hey, we aren't doing any of this funny [...]

Post-Enron and post-Adelphia, major public electronic media companies are hearing the loud rings of a wake-up call regarding corporate governance. With proper attention to concerns voiced by regulators, shareholders and [...]

Once upon a time, contracting with your Big Five auditor for risk management consulting services was a noncontroversial and safe decision. Many risk and benefits managers receive various professional services [...]

In the television and radio interviews i've done in the last two weeks, I keep getting asked the same question: Will the companies that were in the World Trade Center [...]

The dot-com storm has brought a windfall of books chronicling what happened and where the Web goes from here. ``Radical E: From GE to Genron-Lessons on How to Rule the [...]

In the last few years, the combination of strong financial markets and the unprecedented pace of technological change has posed some problems for Wall Street firms determined to keep up [...]

Moving an entire division--or a whole company--is a job that takes planning, flexibility, and yes, sensitivity. Here's how four companies faced the challenge. If you've been tapped to move an […]

ACQUISITIONS ABC Driving School, Detroit, has been purchased by Top Driver Inc., a driver education company headquartered in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. Top Driver has 216 locations in seven states. Metropolitan [...]

As companies crow about global reach and multi-ethnic work forces, Linda Cook has seen the problems that can come with a sudden office culture clash. Cook, partner and executive consultant [...]

An automated job skills data bank can be helpful in the selection of the employee with the required skill for a particular job, projection of training requirements, and planning of long-term needs. The basic data are records of skills used on the job, with details of duration and supervisory evaluation of the ability level. The job skills records are separate from training records because the completion of training by an employee is not an indication of the proven ability to apply a particular skill. The design of a skills tracking program varies with the objective, and with available hardware and software. All programs must allow for frequent update of files to ensure integrity of data.

Shareholders are using the Internet to network and win more control over corporate boards. Shareholders are obtaining over 50% of the vote over issues of interest to them through communication over the Internet from their World Wide Web sites. The Internet has proven to be a cost effective way to communicate with numerous individuals.

The $8 billion Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund is moving its funds into equities. A total of $2 billion was shifted to indexed and enhanced indexes US equities. Barclays Global Investors, Brinson Partners Inc., J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. and Dimensional Fund Advisors Inc. will manage the $2 billion in funds. Active equity managers will be selected to supervise another $2 billion in funds, according to the fund's executive director Garth Dickey.

New Jersey Division of Investments Dir Roland M. Machold retires in Jun 1998 after working in the department since Jun 1975. The assets have increased from $4.4 billion to $73.1 billion during this time. Machold is proud that there were no scandals during his directorship. The achievements are credited to Machold, his 68-person staff and the State Investment Council which oversees the division.

Heitman Capital Management CEO Charles Wurtzebach resigned after the company reorganized. There were no explanations given for the resignation that became effective Mar 31, 1998. Wurtzebach was supportive of Heitman's new program to emphasize opportunistic deals, public real estate securities and intnerational real estate securities.

New defined contribution plans are not obtaining the services of large defined contribution bundled service providers unless they are large. Bundled service providers want plans large enough to cover the costs of record keeping, investment education and administration. Smaller new defined contribution plans could pay higher fees to increase assets.

The US Labor Department will issue a booklet in spring 1998 that describes the fees that employees might pay on their employer-sponsored retirement plans. These fees could include redemption fees for plans that switch providers, administrative expenses and loan processing fees. The details about the booklet on 401(k) plan fees were not discussed.

Mutual fund company, Vanguard, will enter the European retirement plan market with a strategy that puzzles observers. European clients will be presented with a narrow range of US-dollar denominated mutual funds, the Europe and global index are incorrect for UK plan sponsors and intense competition will require success through a successful pricing strategy. This strategy appears to depend on what Vanguard has had success with in the US rather than what the European retirement market needs.

FirstEnergy Corp. expects to decrease its number of money managers as it consolidates the Centerior Energy Corp. and Ohio Edison Co. pension funds. There are 22 money managers at Centerior and 13 money managers at Ohio Edison. A decrease of the seven international, 11 domestic equity and nine fixed-income managers will take place after major asset allocation and asset/liability studies are completed in Jun 1998.

The hedge fund industry will expand its portion of the $7.4 trillion US pension fund market if pension executives can handle the higher fees of hedge funds. CDC Investment Management Corp., Capital Resources and Goldman Sachs and Co. are some of the firms increasing their hedge fund efforts. Hedge funds are private investment partnerships.

A federal court has agreed with the US Tax Court and the US Internal Revenue Service that Parker-Hannifan Corp. cannot claim an income tax deduction in Aug 1988 for a voluntary employees beneficiary association trust it established in Jun 1987. This trust could have been established to take the tax savings. Labor unions and shareholders were not told about the trust.

Frank Russell Co. will become a manager of managers when it completes a joint venture plan with French bank Societe Generale. The bank's money management operation, Societe Generale Asset Management and Frank Russell Co. will market Russell's multimanager funds to high net worth, institutional and retail investors throughout continental Europe. The joint venture, equally owned by both companies, called SG/Russell Asset Management, offers several pooled products.

Utah Retirement Systems and Frank Russell Co. are suing Wellington Management Co. to allow former partner Arnold Schneider to continue to work with them. If the non-compete agreement is maintained, Utah and Russell want $1 billion in damages each. Utah estimates it will cost $9 million to move its $500 million account and Russell estimates it will cost $20 million to move its $1 billion account.

Many securities lawyers and investment experts believe that the U.S. should establish a code of corporate governance practices similar to those adopted by the U.K. and Canada. Some major U.S. corporations and pension trusts have established or are planning individual guidelines for their board of directors. However, some U.S. corporate executives object to such standards, claiming that they would prevent creativity or cause unnecessary disclosure of information to stockholders.

Appropriate development and implementation of corporate mission statements can help define top corporate priorities, build team morale and effort, and develop managers into leaders. A three-stage, 90-day plan is presented for the mission process. The experience of Pocono Produce Co (Stroudsburg, PA) in developing a mission statement is described.

Wonder why the economy's humming? Maybe it's the billions of dollars companies are spending to eliminate their 'Y2K' bugs. As we close the books on 1998, many of us look [...]

Automated teller machines, already nearing a saturation point on the streets of Manhattan, are increasingly moving upstairs into the city's larger offices. Both banks and employers, who often share in [...]

Salary-reduction savings programs or 401(k) plans describe the performance of particular portfolios but not the performance for each individual. Individuals must calculate these returns themselves which can cause some of the same errors that the Beardstown Ladies had in their returns from 1984 to 1993. Plan sponsors need to provide participants with worksheets and easy-to-use instructions to determine their own performance returns.

Mutual fund money management companies make investment decisions based upon manager self interest rather than the investors' best interests. Federal securities laws allow mutual fund money managers to profit from buying or selling the securities in the mutual fund. An internal code of ethics has been established by the US Securities and Exchange Commission governing this trading.