Watch and learn.

In a Globe and Mail article published in February, Gordon Pitts, Working Life editor, wrote about the prevailing business trends of 2001. The list consisted of 11 concepts that will be occupying the minds of managers for the next several months. Businesses will be settling into the reality of how to create growth and profitability from their online endeavours. Companies will look at getting back to basics or getting the fundamentals of the business right. They will explore different ways of dealing with tech stress and the negative effect technology can have on planning the business day. Demand for wide-ranging privacy policies will increase as more organizations embrace e-commerce. Customer relationship management, maximizing the impact of information technology, and stepping-up corporate governance will also be items on managers' "to-do" list. Organizations that acquire other organizations will integrate acquisitions on a continual basis rather than as one-off events. And establishing a brand identity, crea ting spinoffs, and forming alliances will become agenda items at board meetings.

This issue of CMA Management explores some of these management trends. "Building your Brand" looks at how to establish your brand online and off. Companies are quickly discovering that creation of a brand identity is critically important if they have hopes of making it in cyberspace. But branding initiatives, as Michel Viau, president and CEO of Toronto-based Ove Design and Communications explains, should not just be a part of your e-business strategy. "Whether your business is based on the new or old economy, an effective branding initiative should play a critical role in your strategic business plan." Viau goes on to say that, "Branding cultivates intimate, credible and trusting shareholder relationships for a corporation's products and services, and combines with supporting marketing plans to influence purchasing decisions and ongoing loyalty levels."

The concept of corporate governance continues to play a major role in the accountability of a company to its stakeholders, which are comprised of customers, employees, suppliers, activist groups and the public. According to PricewaterhouseCooper's 1999 Millennium Poll on Corporate Social Responsibility, which surveyed over 25,000 consumers, two in three citizens want companies to go beyond their historical role of making a profit, paying taxes, employing people and obeying laws; they want companies to contribute to broader societal goals as well. "Striking a Balance" examines the benefits of social responsibility, which, according to George Gekas, CMA, are substantial enough to suggest that adopting a socially responsible corporate approach is a sound strategic decision that is expected to enhance a company's bottom line.

The third trend we explore is how many companies are starting to maximize the impact of IT by strategically deploying the new resources that the Internet brings. "Reinventing the @nterprise" illustrates how having a business model that is centred on the Internet is indispensable for a company operating in the new economy, whose very mission is to harness new information and communication technologies (NICT). Hugues Boisvert, FCMA, argues that, "Success in this era necessitates a major investment in NICT, improvement in security and reliability of information systems, development of customer-centred systems, a global business model and a multinational communication plan."

Kristin Doucet

Editor