StrategyDriven Podcast Special Edition 50 – An Interview with Marshall Fisher, co-author of The New Science of Retailing

StrategyDriven Podcasts focus on the tools and techniques executives and managers can use to improve their organization’s alignment and accountability to ultimately achieve superior results. These podcasts elaborate on the best practice and warning flag articles on the StrategyDriven website.

Special Edition 50 – An Interview with Marshall Fisher, co-author of The New Science of Retailing examines the use of analytics to improve an organization’s supply chain performance in a way that ultimately enhances the bottom line. During our discussion, Marshall Fisher, co-author of The New Science of Retailing: How Analytics are Transforming the Supply Chain and Improving Performance, shares with us his insights and illustrative examples regarding:

  • actions business leaders can take to improve their forecasts
  • what a ‘Flexible Supply Chain’ is and the benefits it provides
  • capabilities an organization needs to possess and steps leaders must take to develop a ‘Flexible Supply Chain’
  • methods to determine the amount of supply chain flexibility needed
  • how leaders can align their supply chain operations with the organization’s goals
  • key factors executives should consider when making decisions regarding which technologies to pursue in order to enhance their supply chain operations

Additional Information

Marshall’s book, The New Science of Retailing, that he co-authored with Ananth Raman, the UPS Foundation Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, can be purchased by clicking here.

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About the Author

Marshall Fisher, co-author of The New Science of Retailing, is the UPS Professor of Operations and Information Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and co-director of the Fishman-Davidson Center for Service and Operations Management. To read Marshall’s complete biography, click here.

Corporate Diversity Still Coming Up Short for Women

Review of S&P 100 Shows Women Account For Fewer Than 1 in 10 Top Paid Executives, 1 in 5 Board Members.

Women may make up more than half the workforce1 but continue to be significantly underrepresented on corporate boards and in C-level executive positions, according to a major new study released today by Calvert Investments, a long-time leader in advocating for corporate diversity.

Examining the Cracks in the Ceiling: A Survey of Corporate Diversity Practices of the S&P 100 shows that out of the 100 CEOs represented in the survey, 92 were Caucasian males. Women make up approximately 18% of director positions within the S&P 100, and only 8.4% of the highest paid executive positions within the same group of companies.

Four Key Findings From the Report

  1. The C-Suite is Still Hard to Reach – The study shows that non-white, non-male officers are rare. Over half – 56 companies – in the S&P 100 have no female and/or minority representation in their highest paid executive positions and only 14 companies have two or more diverse officers in these positions.
  2. No Disclosure = No Accountability – The report found that 37% of the S&P 100 companies disclose no demographic data on employees, such as race, ethnicity and gender. Only 8 companies disclose full EEO-1 data, that is, a full breakdown of the workforce by race and gender across employment categories.
  3. Integration and Innovation Abound – According to the report, 30% of the S&P 100 companies include some oversight of diversity issues at the board level and 34% of companies include diversity measures within their compensation plans.
  4. Corporate Commitment Remains the ‘X’ Factor – Overall, 38% of the S&P 100 companies demonstrate a robust commitment to diversity, both internally and externally.

As an investor, Calvert recognizes that those companies that combine competitive financial performance with fair and equitable working environments where diversity is not only tolerated but embraced are likely to recognize gains in both the workplace and marketplace and be better positioned to generate long-term value for their shareholders.

“We are very concerned about the fact that women and minorities continue to be under-represented at the highest levels of management,” said Barbara J. Krumsiek, President & CEO of Calvert Group, Ltd. “Without a pipeline of female and minority executives in highly-paid, highly responsible positions, it will be very difficult to achieve board diversity, which is critical to strong governance and good management.”

Calvert’s study, published in October 2010, evaluated S&P 100 companies according to ten indicators, including: EEO Policy, Internal Diversity Initiatives, External Diversity Initiatives, Scope of Diversity Initiatives, Family-Friendly Benefits, EEO-1 Disclosure, Highest Paid Executives, Board Representation, Director Selection Criteria and Overall Corporate Commitment.

The study showed that companies of this size have a significant commitment to diversity. None of the companies scored zero, and 65 out of 100 companies scored at or above 70 points. Moreover, a few of the companies emerged as genuine leaders in the diversity movement, setting an example that other companies could emulate. Among the top-scoring companies were Chevron Corp., Citigroup Inc., Coca-Cola Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Sara Lee Corp.

Still, the study also demonstrated how difficult it remains to measure progress, given major gaps in disclosure.

“We are concerned about the lack of disclosure, because data is critical to demonstrating progress in female and minority representation,” said Aditi Mohapatra, lead author of the report and analyst specializing in diversity issues in the Sustainability Research Department of Calvert Asset Management Company, Inc. “It is also important in evaluating the effectiveness of diversity initiatives. With better data, we could more readily compare the impact of various programs – such as dedicated management training for women and minorities, diverse employee resource groups, and recruitment and outreach initiatives – and recommend best practices.”

Calvert released the first edition of Examining the Cracks in the Ceiling in September 2008. That edition analyzed the corporate diversity practices of the companies held in the Calvert Social Index®. The 2008 report found that while nine companies within the survey showed no public commitment to diversity, only 3 percent demonstrated diversity excellence.

For a full copy of the 2010 study, click here.

Source

  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, February 2010 Report

About Calvert

Calvert has long been a leader in advocating for corporate diversity. In 2004, the Calvert Women’s Principles® became the first global code of corporate conduct focused exclusively on empowering, advancing and investing in women. In 2008, Calvert partnered with the City of San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women and Verité to adapt the Principles for the Bay area and launched the Gender Equality Principles (GEP) Initiative. Last week, the three partners officially launched the companion website and self assessment tool available at www.GenderPrinciples.org. This launch was the culmination of a series of roundtables over two years which brought together companies and issue experts to translate the Gender Equality Principles into practical policies, tools, and indicators for direct implementation into the workplace.

To learn more about Calvert, click here.

StrategyDriven Podcasts Receive Top Honors in October

The StrategyDriven family would like to thank you, our listeners, for recognizing our StrategyDriven podcasts as some of the best business podcasts on the internet according to Podcast Alley! In October, the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective Podcast was ranked second among the over 2,950 business podcasts listed on Podcast Alley and the StrategyDriven Podcast fourth among all business podcasts.

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StrategyDriven Project Management Best Practice Article

Project Management Best Practice 6 – A+ Players

Mission critical projects often impact not only large portions of the employee population but the ability of the company to be competitive and to carry out important functions over the long-term. In fact, some projects are so important that board members and company officers literally bet the company’s very existence on the successful outcome of the initiative. With stakes this high, the question becomes: Can company leaders afford to assign anyone other than their most talented personnel to conceive, develop, and implement these initiatives?


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Lessons from the Best Global Brands 2010: Building trust and stability in the age of transparency

This year, Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands 2010 ranking of the top 100 brands was notable for showing a remarkable shift in consumers’ spending habits. Public scandals like the BP oil spill and Goldman Sachs’ mortgage securities fraud compromised consumers’ trust in brands, and as a result, consumer loyalty was at an all-time low. At the same time, the stops and starts of the recession have created savvier, more budget-conscious consumers who are just as likely to cut spending by choosing private label toothpaste, as they are to match a Zara skirt with a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. And not only are brands more vulnerable to shoppers’ unpredictable whims, but tools like social media mean that consumers also have more control. Today’s consumers now have the ability to watch and respond to every brand’s move – positive or negative.


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About the Author

Jez Frampton is Interbrand’s Global CEO responsible for managing the firm’s worldwide interests and enhancing its strategic and creative offerings. Jez is a member of the Marketing Society, the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Market Research Society, the Design Business Association, and the Institute of Directors. He is a frequent lecturer on the subject of branding.