September 2003 Online Extras

24/7 SERVICES The Coming Commoditization of Compensation (Topline Online Exclusive) 1.4 million U.S. jobs will be moved offshore by 2015. Find out where, why and how (much). Foreign Worker Debate Visas for foreign workers have raised eyebrows amid technology job losses. Here’s a roundup of reports on the subject. Case

Corporate Performance Management

What is it? An umbrella term for systems that monitor the key metrics of business performance. A corporate performance management (CPM) suite contains software to help plan initiatives, track progress and analyze the results. Where did it come from? From corporations themselves. In 2001, research firm Gartner Inc. recognized it

Calculating Costs of Developing An Insourcing Strategy

It all seemed so easy five years ago. Outsourcing technology was hotter than the stock market, and an easy sell to the board of directors: We’ll reduce costs, improve performance and ensure competitiveness—it’s that darling of corporate-speak, a “win-win.” But that win-win has turned into a technology hangover. Your company,

Clorox Brightens Its IT with SAP

When Gerald E. Johnston was promoted from chief operating officer to chief executive of Clorox, he deemed the installation of SAP software one of his “personal priorities.”That SAP rollout is a big chunk of the company’s “Project Delta,” an effort to save $250 million a year by 2005, partially through

Innovate. (But Delegate.)

Colgate-Palmolive is nearly a $10 billion company, and we operate literally everywhere in the world. The company’s strength has been building new business, country by country. Historically, it was appropriate that that also included building our technology country by country as well.But that’s just not appropriate anymore. We started a

Novell, Ximian: Opposites Attract

After Novell’s announcement this week that it plans to acquire Ximian, industry observers might be forgiven a collective “Huh?” At first glance, the two seem to be the least-compatible of couples. Novell is first and foremost a server company; Ximian is primarily a Linux desktop company best-known for Linux’s GNOME

Auditing An Oracle

Shareholders nearly deify Warren Buffett for the way he manages his diverse holding company, Berkshire Hathaway of Omaha. There’s little doubt that he’s squeaky clean in how he operates. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that other companies can or should follow the way the avuncular champion of business ethics conducts

Step One: Get the Job(s) Done

Projects are complicated creatures. From software development to building construction to nuclear maintenance, each initiative has specialized needs, and tackling them all calls for the continual juggling of finite resources—both human and mechanical. Each project’s leader has to know what’s available, decide what’s needed, deploy what’s required, balance what’s uneven,

Against the Grain

Less than a week after two of the largest U.S. furniture manufacturers ran up a white flag in the face of inexpensive imports, John Bassett III exhorts his troops to keep on fighting. Pacing the windowless conference room at the headquarters of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co. in Galax, Va., sounding as

Thirst for Truth

When Qwest communications’ corporate Strategy Director Trent Tishkowski transferred data from a jumble of spreadsheets into a new computer model his team created in early 2002, the goal was to produce better forecasts and guide better business decisions. As it turned out, Tishkowski’s biggest challenge had nothing to do with