HR Focus, October 2008

Copyright 2008 Institute of Management & Administration

All Rights Reserved

HR Focus

October 2008

SECTION: HUMAN RESOURCES Vol. 2008 No. 10

HEADLINE: Dos and Don'ts for Layoffs

BODY:

If layoffs become a necessity, what your organization does--and does not do--can mean the difference between minimal challenges and maximum fallout.

To help your organization to cope, consider these dos and don'ts, suggested by interviews with human resources and legal experts:

Do be rational and reasonable. While there may not be a "good" layoff, employment analysts say, a better layoff is possible if a company approaches the downsizing rationally, communicates effectively and early, supports managers conducting the job cuts, offers counseling and training for laid-off employees and their families (if necessary), and invests abundantly in the remaining workers.

"Companies are so afraid of lawsuits about favoritism that instead of creating a logical plan having to do with merit, competence, or need, what they do is the great 'fairness' thing, which is typically the first-in, first-out system," said ArLyne Diamond, founder of Diamond Associates, a management consulting firm in Santa Clara, Calif.

"They penalize some very good people, and since the rumor mill always knows what's going on ahead of time, the best people leave early and get other jobs," said Diamond.

Do be forthcoming about where you must cut. Employers should be up front about where job cuts will occur, Diamond said, to avoid unwanted attrition. Moreover, management should announce that there are some critical areas where there will not be layoffs--if this is the case--and explain the situation as early as possible, she said.

Do obtain input from divisions or other offices about reductions. Patrick M. Wright, director of the Cornell University Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies in Ithaca, N.Y., said that corporate headquarters is not always the best place to decide which jobs to cut.

"I think one way to think about it--instead of talking about numbers of jobs to cut--is to think about a reduction in labor costs," Wright said. "Let companies or business units figure out how they're going to achieve that reduction."

Do provide resources to terminated workers. If your organization can help with the job hunt or other resources, provide these, Diamond said.

Do support the managers who must do the firing. Terminating employees is one of the most stressful things a manager has to do. Diamond recommended counseling for managers conducting the layoffs. They have the burden of knowing that the layoffs will cause "great financial and emotional pain, sometimes people losing their homes," she said.

Do remember and support the "survivors." Those whose jobs are spared the layoff will feel the stress of guilt and perhaps of more work to make up for the reduced workforce, noted Laura Crawshaw, founder of Executive Insight Development Group Inc. in Portland, Ore.

If the organization has not communicated in advance about job cuts and treated exiting employees with the utmost humaneness, the remaining employees "will also be fearing that the next knock on the door" will be announcing a layoff for them.

Don't let fairness get in the way of the right action for the organization's survival. It may be better to focus cuts in certain areas, rather than across the board. Your organization could be harmed as a result, pointed out Wright. He said there can be a false sense of justice at play in such layoffs.

Don't make arbitrary cuts. Most employers only lay off workers if it appears that they absolutely must do so.

"Where a layoff doesn't make good sense is when companies do it only because their competitors are doing it or they're trying to reassure investors that they're taking some tangible action to show Wall Street that they're doing something," said author and University of Colorado business professor, Wayne Cascio. Unfortunately, he said, "it happens a lot."

Don't treat departing employees like thieves. Escorting terminated employees out of the building at the time of termination because of an excess fear of security breaches is a mistake, Diamond said. "You need to treat people with care, respect, and dignity."`

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Sidebar: Termination Resources

"Avoiding the Legal Minefields of Terminations: What HR Needs to Know," IOMA audio conference, Oct. 16. For more information, visit www.ioma.com/hr

Termination Toolkit, including information on applicable laws, sample forms, and sample policies, SHRM (www.shrm.org)

The Employment Termination Source Book: A Collection of Practical Samples, by Wendy Bliss and Gene Thornton (SHRM, 2006)

The Hiring and Firing Question and Answer Book, by Paul Falcone (Amacom, 2006)

Negotiating and Drafting Employment Agreements: Leading Lawyers on Terms of Employment, Restrictive Covenants, Termination Provisions, and Other Key Elements, by multiple contributors (Aspatore Books, 2008)

Leading After a Layoff: Five Proven Steps to Quickly Reignite Your Team's Productivity, by Ray Salemi (Adams Media Corp., 2005)

Survivors: How to Keep Your Best People on Board After Downsizing, by Gayle Caplan (Davies-Black Publishing, 1997)

Sidebar: Termination Resources

LOAD-DATE: September 16, 2008

Law & Health Weekly, September 27, 2008, Saturday

Copyright 2008 Law & Health Weekly via LawRx.com via NewsRx.com and NewsRx.net

Law & Health Weekly

September 27, 2008, Saturday

HEADLINE: CENTER ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION; First-of-a-Kind Study Reveals Nation's 25 Largest Institutional Investors' Views on Executive Compensation

BODY:

A first-of-a-kind study commissioned by the Center On Executive Compensation to identify the perspectives of the nation's largest 25 institutional investors on executive compensation matters confirms that making broad assumptions about their views on this topic often does not reflect realities, underscoring "a need for a thoughtful and reasoned approach to any executive compensation policy changes," according to the Center (see also Center On Executive Compensation).

The study was conducted on behalf of the Center by Kevin F. Hallock, Professor of Labor Economics and of Human Resources Studies and Director of Research at the Center for Human Resources at Cornell University, who concluded that "though further study is needed, it "[appears to] be the case that some of the strong views held by activist institutional investors are not generally held by the majority of or even very many of the largest institutional investors."

Through confidential interviews with senior representatives from 20 of the 25 top institutional investors based on management of U.S.-based equities, it was determined that the top issue of concern was ensuring pay-for-performance, followed by preserving the Boards' role to set compensation and being able to "trust" and rely on compensation committees, and seeking greater clarity in both a company's pay disclosures and the SEC's requirements.

The study also found that large institutional investors do not have a shared view on all executive compensation issues. "While they agree about some issues, such as favoring pay for performance and rejecting "say on pay," they are almost evenly split on others, such as the necessity of maintaining the independence of the compensation consultant and disclosure of performance targets," stated the Center in its summary of the findings.

According to the Center's report, the study was commissioned because these institutions collectively represent over $6 trillion in U.S. equities, or 65 percent of the top 300 institutional investors.

"Given the top 25 institutional investors' massive representation of investors' interests, we believed that the views of this important shareholder constituency should be better understood and factored into the on-going national dialogue about how best to inform and structure executive pay practices and the rules and regulations that guide them. Moreover, the Center's members were interested in securing the findings as a part of their individual efforts to expand and enhance their dialogue with shareholders on these topics," said Charles G. Tharp, the Center's Executive Vice President for Policy.

The Center said its findings are being made available to senior human resource executives, directors, compensation consultants, law makers and regulators, academics and the media as a part of its effort to contribute a balanced and reasoned view "into what often can be a complex and highly individualized process ... "

Keywords: Center On Executive Compensation.

This article was prepared by Law & Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2008, Law & Health Weekly via NewsRx.com.

LOAD-DATE: September 18, 2008

Environment News Service, September 25, 2008, Thursday

Environment News Service

September 25, 2008, Thursday

Environment News Service

UN: Tens of Millions of New Green Jobs on the Horizon

NEW YORK, New York, September 25, 2008 (ENS) - Efforts to tackle climate change could result in the creation of millions of new green jobs in the coming decades, according to a new report from the United Nations on the impact of the emerging global green economy. Green jobs reduce the environmental impact of enterprises and economic sectors, ultimately to levels that are sustainable.

The report says that delivery of a "deep and decisive new climate agreement" when countries meet for the crucial UN climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in late 2009 will be vital for accelerating green job growth. The subject of intense international negotiations for the past two years, the agreement would be the successor to the Kyoto Protocol which expires at the end of 2012.

Entitled "Green Jobs: Towards Decent work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World," the UN report released Wednesday finds that changing patterns of employment and investment resulting from efforts to reduce climate change and its effects are already generating new jobs in many sectors and economies, and could create millions more in both developed and developing countries.
Worker at Planar Energy Devices holds an advanced lithium-ion battery (Photo courtesy Planar Energy Devices)

Yet, the process of climate change will continue to have negative effects on workers and their families, especially those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and tourism, the UN report also finds.

"What this report is about from the perspective of sustainability is to show the policymakers that with the right incentives, the right research and development support programmes, there is massive potential here for new economic sectors to emerge," UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said at a news conference in New York on Wednesday.

He noted that amid the current financial turmoil seen in different parts of the world, countries will spend hundreds of billions of dollars in coming months to stabilize the global economy.

"Imagine for a moment if some of the stimulus packages that are now being developed could be targeted towards not maintaining and sustaining the old economy of the 20th century but investing in the new economy of the 21st century," he said.

Action to tackle climate change as well as to cope with its effects is "urgent" and should be designed to generate decent jobs, the report states.

The report was funded and commissioned by the UN Environment Programme under a joint Green Jobs Initiative with the International Labour Office, and the International Trade Union Confederation and the International Organization of Employers, which together represent millions of workers and employers worldwide.

It was produced by the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization based in Washington, DC, with technical assistance from the Cornell University Global Labour Institute.

Green jobs are already being created throughout the world. In China, 600,000 people are already employed in solar thermal making and installing products such as solar water heaters, according to a study cited in the new report. In South Africa, 25,000 previously unemployed people are now employed in conservation as part of the Working for Water initiative.

Green jobs are on the horizon for other countries as well. In Nigeria, a biofuels industry based on cassava and sugar cane crops may sustain an industry employing 200,000 people.

India could generate 900,000 jobs by 2025 in biomass gasification of which 300,000 would be in the manufacturing of stoves and 600,000 in areas such as processing into briquettes and pellets and the fuel supply chain, the study estimates.

Though the report is generally optimistic about the creation of new jobs to address climate change, it also warns that many of these new jobs can be "dirty, dangerous and difficult."

Sectors of concern include agriculture and recycling where all too often low pay, insecure employment contracts and exposure to health hazardous materials needs to change fast, the report states.

The report warns that too few green jobs are being created for the most vulnerable.

These vulnerable people are the 1.3 billion working poor, who make up 43 percent of the global workforce and earn too little to lift them and their dependants above the poverty threshold of US$2 per person, per day, and the estimated 500 million youth who will be seeking work over the next 10 years.
International Labor Organization Director-General Juan Somavia introduces the report at UN Headquarters. (Photo courtesy UN)

"We need to make sure that green jobs are decent jobs," said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia. "As the report makes clear, building a low-carbon economy is not only about technology or finances, it's about peoples and societies. It's about a cultural change to a greater environmental consciousness and opportunities for decent work."

"New jobs will be created, others adapted and some will fade out. In order to keep the political will and the public support, we will have to put policies in place that have to focus from the beginning on those at the receiving end of this transition," he said.

The report focuses on green jobs in agriculture, industry, services and administration that contribute to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment. It also calls for measures to ensure that they constitute "decent work" that helps reduce poverty while protecting the environment.

The report calls for "just transitions" for those affected by transformation to a green economy and for those who must also adapt to climate change with access to alternative economic and employment opportunities for enterprises and workers.

According to the report, meaningful social dialogue between government, workers and employers will be essential not only to ease tensions and support better informed and more coherent environmental, economic and social policies, but for all social partners to be involved in the development of such policies.

Among other key findings in the report:

* The global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from US$1.37 trillion per year at present to US$2.74 trillion by 2020, according to a study cited in the report.
* Half of this market is in energy efficiency and the balance in sustainable transport, water supply, sanitation and waste management. In Germany for example, environmental technology is to grow fourfold to 16 per cent of industrial output by 2030, with employment in this sector surpassing that in the country's big machine tool and automotive industries.
* Sectors that will be particularly important in terms of their environmental, economic and employment impact are energy supply, in particular renewable energy, buildings and construction, transportation,basic industries, agriculture and forestry.
* Clean technologies are already the third largest sector for venture capital after information and biotechnology in the United States, while green venture capital in China more than doubled to 19 per cent of total investment in recent years.
* 2.3 million people have in recent years found new jobs in the renewable energy sector alone, and the potential for job growth in the sector is huge. Employment in alternative energies may rise to 2.1 million in wind and 6.3 million in solar power by 2030.
* Renewable energy generates more jobs than employment in fossil fuels. Projected investments of US$630 billion by 2030 would translate into at least 20 million additional jobs in the renewable energy sector.
* In agriculture, 12 million could be employed in biomass for energy and related industries. In a country like Venezuela, an ethanol blend of 10 per cent in fuels might provide one million jobs in the sugar cane sector by 2012.
* A worldwide transition to energy-efficient buildings would create millions of jobs, as well as greening existing employment for many of the estimated 111 million people already working in the construction sector.
* Investments in improved energy efficiency in buildings could generate an additional 2-3.5 million green jobs in Europe and the United States alone, with the potential much higher in developing countries.
* Recycling and waste management employs an estimated 10 million in China and 500,000 in Brazil today. This sector is expected to grow rapidly in many countries in the face of escalating commodity prices.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.

The Cornell Daily Sun, September 25, 2008, Thursday

The Cornell Daily Sun

September 25, 2008, Thursday

The Cornell Daily Sun

Study Highlights Gender Inequality in the Workplace

By Brian Karlovitz

Overworked husbands push their wives out of the workforce, according to a study by Youngjoo Cha, a graduate student in Cornell’s department of sociology.

The study, presented Aug. 1st during a meeting of the American Sociological Association in Boston, was based on data from the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation, a longitudinal study managed by the U.S. Census Bureau. It was funded by a research grant from the Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center.

The data indicated that women whose husbands worked over 60 hours per week were 44 percent more likely to quit their jobs than women whose husbands worked regular hours. Furthermore, Cha found that the subgroup of professional women with overworked husbands were 52 percent more likely to quit their jobs than similarly-situated women with husbands who worked normal hours.

The study also found that the number of workers who are classified as overworked has risen by more than 3 percent since 1983 and that 30 percent of professional husbands in two-income households work more than 50 hours per week, whereas only 12 percent of their professional wives do the same.

Cha noted that the implications of the study were clear and important.

“I found that there is a kind of neotraditional trend going on, in which overworked husbands drive their wives from the workforce, thereby causing a return to the traditional homemaker-breadwinner family structure,” she said.

She explained that this trend is due to the American norm of working extremely long hours.

“The problems identified in the study are caused by the workplace norm of long hours,” she said, “which forces husbands and wives to choose between work and family, with the wife often taking on most of the home-related duties.”

The study was well received by many researchers in related fields.

Dr. Francine Moccio, director of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations’ Institute for Women and Work, said that the study was important because it established an empirical relationship between overwork and the perpetuation of gender inequality.

Moccio also noted that the trend identified by the study has negative implications for men as well as for women.

“The study established that men who wish to engage in family responsibilities on an equal level with women may face a great degree of workplace discrimination,” she said, since decreases in the number of women in the workforce mean that men can be expected to work still longer hours.

Moccio added that the study supports the common conclusion that the average American worker is highly overworked compared to the vast majority of his or her foreign counterparts.

She also suggested some ways in which the trend identified by the study could be combated without huge social reform.

“We need to make sure that workers can make use of the ‘work / life’ policies put in place at most organizations without fear of retaliation,” she said. “We need to create national laws protecting maternal and paternal leave and other forms of family absence, something that some European countries have already done.”

Prof. Pamela Tolbert, chair of the Department of Organizational Behavior, agreed that the study has important ramifications for American society.

“The situation is obviously a quandary … particularly in this day and age, when many people feel that their jobs are precarious.”

She noted, however, that many younger people are taking action against the sort of trends examined in the survey.

“Young people are really starting to consider these issues,” she said, “they’re asking potential employers about what percentage of their workers take advantage of work-family policies, they’re favoring family-friendly organizations,” she said.

Current Cornellians of both genders are certainly aware of the problems associated with trying to advance professionally while raising a family.

Olivier St.-Louis ’11, said, “As someone who is considering becoming a medical professional, I’m aware of the strain that overwork can put on a family situation. However, I also know that husbands and wives find ways to balance their careers and I’m hopeful that this will still be possible in the future.”

Alexandra Grossbaum ’11, vice president of the ILR student government association, said that the situation is particularly relevant to women.

“I think that it’s something that women especially have to think about these days,” she said, “because as much as you want to pursue a career, if you also want to raise a family, you’re definitely going to have to choose between the two to a certain extent.”

The Financial Times Business Recorder, September 25, 2008, Thursday

Copyright 2008 Financial Times Information

All Rights Reserved

Global News Wire - Europe Intelligence Wire

Copyright 2008 Emmayzed Publications (PIT) Ltd, Source:

The Financial Times Business Recorder

September 25, 2008, Thursday

HEADLINE: IMPACT OF GLOBAL 'GREEN ECONOMY' BID TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE MAY CREATE MILLIONS OF JOBS

BYLINE: ITRAT BASHIR

BODY:

Efforts to tackle climate change could result in the creation of millions of new "green jobs" in the coming decades, observed a new study on the impact of an emerging global "green economy" on the world. The new report entitled "Green jobs: towards decent work in a sustainable, low-carbon world," which was produced by the Worldwatch Institute, with technical assistance from the Cornell University Global Labour Institute.

It was funded and commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) under a joint Green Jobs Initiative with the International Labour Office (ILO), and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), which together represent millions of workers and employers world-wide.

The report says changing patterns of employment and investment resulting from efforts to reduce climate change and its effects are already generating new jobs in many sectors and economies, and can create millions more in both developed and developing countries.

However, it also finds that the process of climate change, already under way, will continue to have negative effects on workers and their families, especially those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and tourism.

Action to tackle climate change as well as to cope with its effects was, therefore, urgent and should be designed to generate decent jobs, it added. Though the report is generally optimistic about the creation of new jobs to address climate change, it also warns that many of these new jobs can be "dirty, dangerous and difficult".

Sectors of concern, especially but not exclusively in developing economies, include agriculture and recycling where all too often low pay, insecure employment contracts and exposure to health hazardous materials needs to change fast.

It focuses on "green jobs" in agriculture, industry, services and administration that contribute to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment. It also calls for measures to ensure that they constitute "decent work" that helps reduce poverty while protecting the environment. Among other key findings in the report include the global market for environmental products and services is projected to double from 1,370 billion dollars per year at present to 2,740 billion dollars by 2020. Half of this market is in energy efficiency and the balance in sustainable transport, water supply, sanitation and waste management.

Sectors that will be particularly important in terms of their environmental, economic and employment impact are energy supply, in particular renewable energy, buildings and construction, transportation, basic industries, agriculture and forestry. Renewable energy generates more jobs than employment in fossil fuels. Projected investments of 630 billion dollars by 2030 would translate into at least 20 million additional jobs in the renewable energy sector.

In agriculture, 12 million could be employed in biomass for energy and related industries. A world-wide transition to energy-efficient buildings would create millions of jobs, as well as "greening" existing employment for many of the estimated 111 million people already working in the construction sector.

"A sustainable economy can no longer externalise environmental and social costs. The price society pays for the consequences of pollution or ill health for example, must be reflected in the prices paid in the marketplace. Green jobs, therefore, need to be decent work", the report says.

It recommends a number of pathways to a more sustainable future directing investment to low-cost measures that should be taken immediately. It include assessing the potential for green jobs and monitoring progress to provide a framework for policy and investment; addressing the current skills bottleneck by meeting skill requirements because available technology and resources for investments can only be deployed effectively with qualified entrepreneurs and skilled workers; and ensuring individual enterprises' and economic sectors' contribution to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases with labour-management initiatives to green workplaces.

The report finds that green markets have thrived and transformation has advanced most where there has been strong and consistent political support at the highest level, including targets, penalties and incentives such as feed-in laws and efficiency standards for buildings and appliances as well as proactive research and development.

Copyright 2008 Business Recorder

LOAD-DATE: September 25, 2008

Business Wire, September 22, 2008, Monday

Copyright 2008 Business Wire, Inc.

Business Wire

September 22, 2008, Monday

DISTRIBUTION: Sports Editors

HEADLINE: Aaron Jones Named New York Titans President; Former NBA and NFL Executive to Lead Professional Indoor Lacrosse Team

DATELINE: NEW YORK

BODY:

Aaron Jones,a former NBA and NFL executive and an All-American lacrosse player at Cornell University, has been named Team President of The New York Titans ( www.nytitans.com ) replacing Timothy Kelly. Jones will report directly to team ownership and will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of lacrosse and business operations.

"Aaron's love of the game and his background in the world of professional sports and entertainment management will be invaluable in our efforts to grow the franchise and the popularity of lacrosse in one of the most diverse sports and entertainment markets in the world," said New York Titans owner Gary Rosenbach. "With the addition of Ed (Comeau) as our head coach we are also looking forward to another successful season on the field this year as well."

Jones brings more than two decades of sports and entertainment industry experience to the Titans and a comprehensive knowledge of marketing, brand development and professional franchise management. Prior to joining the Titans, Aaron ran Jones Marketing & Management (JMM), a full-service marketing firm he launched in 2002 specializing in sports, entertainment and corporate initiatives. Mr. Jones also served as the Team President for the National Basketball Development League's franchise in Greenville, SC. In addition to his NBA experience, Jones spent ten years with the National Football League, five years as Senior Manager of the Club Marketing division of NFL Properties where he was responsible for developing programs to enhance local marketing efforts, further brand development and increase promotional opportunities for NFL's business partners and teams. Jones also served a five year tenure with the NFL Players Association as the Assistant Vice President of Players Inc., the marketing company for the NFL player's union.

A native of Long Island, NY, Jones received his Bachelors of Science degree at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and also a Masters of Science from the University of Massachusetts.

CONTACT: GIBSON Communications, LLC

Tom Gibson, 201-476-0322

C - 201-264-3646

URL: http://www.businesswire.com

LOAD-DATE: September 23, 2008

Time, September 22, 2008, Monday

Copyright 2008 Time Inc.

All Rights Reserved

Time

September 22, 2008, Monday

U.S. Edition

SECTION: Pg. C2 Vol. 172 No. 12

HEADLINE: Business Books

BYLINE: Andrea Sachs

BODY:

Afraid that the ax is about to fall? How to clean up your act and avoid the chop in a slumping economy. Understanding urgency--or stopping the 24/7 clock

Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies To Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work

By Stephen Viscusi

Collins Business; 171 pages

So you're sitting at your desk, waves of anxiety running through you. Your industry is going through rocky times, or worse, there are rumors of a layoff at your company. Corporate loyalty is history. Outsourcing is moving up the food chain. Is there anything you can do to protect your job? Not always, but this book offers a good road map for surviving an economic downturn. Don't sit there smugly and assume that your sterling credentials will save you, says the author bluntly: "Got a swanky Ivy League degree? How nice. Here's the cold hard truth: if you don't click with your boss, all that merit and pedigree won't get you anywhere when your job is on the line."

Viscusi is a believer that a last-minute conversion to better business behavior can improve your chances for continued employment. The author's manifesto on how to be a winning employee is neatly divided into four major pieces of advice:

Be Visible "If your superiors don't see you or know who you are, you're very easy to let go," he says. That means showing up early and leaving late. (This is the Sneaky Pete School of Management, though. It's fine to arrive five minutes earlier than your boss and leave 10 minutes later.) Skip the two-hour lunches, and go to all those boring meetings.

Be Easy This is a toxic time to kvetch. There are easy babies and cranky babies, and you know which one you are. "Does your commute suck? Too bad," says Viscusi with a big dollop of tough love. "Is your cubicle too small? Don't want to hear it."

Be Useful Going that extra mile will label you as an asset: "It's time to become Mr. or Ms. Above and Beyond." Be a utility player who is capable of filling in anywhere, or be a specialist and razzle-dazzle your superiors.

Be Ready Just in case your last-minute maneuvers don't pan out, the author strenuously advocates fortifying your position with a solid bank account, a fresh resume and a network of contacts.

Even though these tactics can work, it's still better not to wait till late to recast your image, say Viscusi and other job experts. "Don't be the employee that the clock is already ticking on," warns John J. Haggerty of the Cornell University ILR School. "The best thing to do is rely on the record that came before. We're looking in the rearview mirror." In other words, shape up or get shipped out.

A Sense of Urgency

By John P. Kotter

Harvard Business; 196 pages

Complacency is the enemy of corporate success, says management guru Kotter. So he tries to light a fire under America's managers. But be careful, he warns: There's constructive, true urgency, and there's destructive, false urgency. "With an attitude of true urgency, you try to accomplish something important each day, never leaving yourself with a heart-attack-producing task of running one thousand miles in the last week of the race," he says. False urgency is marked by frenetic activity, meeting upon meeting, task force after task force and an anxious, angry and frustrated workforce. Guess which urgency is more common?

OverSuccess: Healing The American Obsession With Wealth, Fame, Power, and Perfection

By Jim Rubens

Greenleaf; 451 pages

The author's own brush with American urgency has soured him on the 24/7 work life: "The intention of this book is to free me and tens of millions like me from the hamster's treadmill," he says. Rubens ties mindless ambition in the U.S. to major depression, addiction, personal and public debt and even the popularity of American Idol. "Unless we change our nation's culture," he cautions, "we will die alone and unhappy with our basalt countertops, Sub-Zero wine storage and massive credit-card debt." Wait--is that bad?

GRAPHIC: ILLUSTRATION: ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY TERRY ALLEN

LOAD-DATE: September 11, 2008

FLORIDA TODAY, September 16, 2008, Tuesday

Copyright 2008 FLORIDA TODAY (Brevard County, FL)

All Rights Reserved

FLORIDA TODAY (Brevard County, Florida)

September 16, 2008, Tuesday

Final/All Edition

SECTION: PEOPLE/LIFE; Pg. 8E

LENGTH: 1437 words

HEADLINE: HEALTH NEWSMAKERS

BYLINE: COMPILED BY FLORIDA TODAY For more information, call Tammy Harris at 633-2076, e-mail tammy.harris@brevardcounty.us RSVPs are requested by Friday.

BODY:

Therapy dog joins Hospice of St. Francis.

Therapy dog Bailey has joined the Hospice of St. Francis team to provide therapy dog visits to Brevard County patients.

Bailey, a 10-year-old standard poodle, completed his therapy dog training and certification test earlier this year and has started making rounds to visit patients. His owner, Rebecca Emery-Stalls, community access liaison at Hospice of St. Francis, takes Bailey out every week to visit patients at Parrish Medical Center and assisted living and nursing facilities across Brevard County.

Bailey has been a huge hit with the patients and the facilities, said Bruce Wolters, executive director at Hospice of St. Francis.

"He is very comfortable giving and receiving the attention. We are proud to have him on our team," Wolters said.

In addition to Bailey, Rebecca's 2-year-old toy poodle Abby also has completed her training and certification and has joined the team.

Anyone interested in having Bailey visit, call Rebecca Emery-Stalls at 506-2167.

New family practice opens in Suntree.

Dr. Josie Arcand has opened Arcand family practice at 21 Suntree Place, Melbourne.

Arcand has practiced in Brevard for more than five years at Harris Family Medical Center. With office hours Monday to Friday, she will offer services ranging from general and female physicals, immunization, weight loss, routine check-ups, wound care and all family health-related needs.

Arcand accepts new patients and most major insurance. To make an appointment, call 821-0838

Physicians host open house.

First Care Family Physicians have relocated to 1051 Eber Blvd., Suite 101, Melbourne. In celebration of the move, the group will host an open house from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

The event includes free health screenings, refreshments, office tours and health information sessions. Manny the Manatee, the mascot for the Brevard County Manatees, and Cheerio the Clown make appearances.

Husband and wife team Drs. Eduardo Nevarez and Myredsi Soto opened First Care Family Physicians in March 2007 after relocating from Puerto Rico. Both are undergraduates of the University of Puerto Rico, holding bachelor's degrees in biology. They both attained medical degrees from the Universidad Central Del Caribe in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, before moving to the mainland in 2004 to begin their residency at Pennsylvania State University in Hershey.

First Care Family Physicians offer services including joint injections, laceration repair and cyst removal. For more information or to make an appointment, call 723-1074.

Wuesthoff receives $1,000 grant.

Wuesthoff Health System received a $1,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Brevard to purchase tote bags and lunches for upcoming elder fall prevention seminars.

Brevard County has hosted four fall prevention seminars during the past year with sponsorship support from Wuesthoff Health System and the cities of Cocoa, Rockledge, Satellite Beach, Palm Bay and Titusville, in conjunction with the Brevard Commission on Aging.

With more than 1,000 Brevard residents attending four events during the past year, seminar organizers are expecting another 300 participants per seminar during the upcoming year.

"The Community Foundation is proud to help sponsor such a worthwhile service for Brevard seniors," said Gary Lang, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Brevard.

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths among older adults and the leading cause of emergency department visits and hospitalizations in Florida.

"The recent grant from the Community Foundation of Brevard is very much appreciated and will help support these ongoing educational seminars for our seniors," said Dotty Allen, Wuesthoff Health System Foundation president.

The next seminar will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 24 at the Great Outdoors RV & Golf Resort, 145 Plantation Drive, Titusville.

Elder fall prevention presentations will be held along with lunch, door prizes and a health fair. CVS Pharmacy will have Medical Compliance consultants on hand to discuss medications.

For more information, call Tammy Harris at 633-2076, e-mail tammy.harris@brevardcounty.us RSVPs are requested by Friday.

Nurse On Call Home Healthcare moves branch.

Nurse On Call Home Healthcare has relocated its primary Brevard County branch to 3150 N. Wickham Road, Suite 1, Melbourne. The phone and fax numbers have not changed.

Nurse On Call Home Healthcare has provided home health care since 1989. The offices service Medicare, VA and Tricare for Life patients with skilled nurses; physical, speech and occupational therapists; medical social workers and home health aides.

To celebrate the move, Nurse On Call has planned an open house at the new location. The event will be from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday. It will include tropical cuisine and beverages, as well as door prizes and tours. Call Jennifer Curry at 794-8886 for more information.

Health First names media relations specialist.

Elliot Cohen has joined the Health First Marketing & Communications Department as media relations specialist. In this role, he will serve as media spokesman and direct all media efforts for Health First's three hospitals, as well as the organization's network of Outpatient and Wellness Services.

Most recently, Cohen served as director of media relations for the Broward County Sheriff's Office. Previously, Cohen served as chief public information officer for West Palm Beach and has nearly 10 years of radio and television reporting experience. In his media positions, he served as reporter and assignment editor for the ABC television affiliates in Miami and West Palm Beach, as well as for the CBS affiliate in Memphis. He also was a correspondent for several radio networks in New York City.

Cohen is a graduate of Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial and labor relations.

Cohen can be reached at 434-4359, or on the Health First Media cell phone at 412-8810. He can be reached by e-mail at Elliot.Cohen@Health-First.org

General surgeon Mark Talbert joins MIMA.

Dr. Mark S. Talbert recently joined MIMA as a general surgeon. His office is at 1130 S. Hickory St., Melbourne. Talbert performs the spectrum of general surgery procedures including breast, advanced laparoscopy and pediatric, but has a particular interest in diseases of the thyroid and parathyroid.

"We are very pleased he has selected MIMA as his home to practice medicine," said Al O'Connell, MIMA's chief administrative officer. "Dr. Talbert brings with him unique experience coupled with a wonderful bedside manner patients value."

Talbert graduated magna cum laude from Marshall University, where he received a bachelor of science degree. He attended medical school at Marshall University, where he received his medical degree and served as president of the local Christian Medical & Dental Association chapter. Shortly after medical school, Talbert was commissioned a captain in the United States Army Reserves. After finishing the five-year general surgery residency at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn., he became attending surgeon at the VA Medical Center in Johnson City, where he also was chief of general surgery.

"Serving our country's veterans provided me with a rewarding and deep experience," Talbert said. "During my three years at the VA, I was deployed by the U.S. Army to serve in Fort Irwin, Calif., and Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, during the time that Kosovo declared their independence."

Talbert and his family then took a one-year Sabbatical to Medelln, Colombia, to allow him the opportunity to become more fluent in Spanish.

He holds certifications in advanced trauma life support and cardiac life support, as well as pediatric advanced life support.

He lives with his family in Melbourne and is active in his church and community. His wife is Dr. Ana Restrepo, who practices family medicine in Melbourne.

For an appointment, call 725-4500, ext. 7420. Hospice of St. Francis seeks volunteers.

Hospice of St. Francis is seeking volunteers.

No previous experience is needed.

Training is provided at no cost to the participants. Volunteer positions are available throughout Brevard County. The new training class will begin at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 1. Class will meet every Wednesday for six weeks at Century Oaks, 4001 Stack Blvd., Melbourne.

For more information or to register for the volunteer training classes, call Vicky Hamilton, Volunteer Coordinator at 269-4240 or 866-269-4240 (toll free).

-- Send health news items, in addition to related headshot photos, to Health Newsmakers, FLORIDA TODAY, P.O. Box 419000, Melbourne FL 32941. Or e-mail health@floridatoday.com

LOAD-DATE: September 19, 2008

Education Week, September 3, 2008, Wednesday

Copyright 2008 Editorial Projects in Education, Inc

All Rights Reserved

Education Week

September 3, 2008, Wednesday

HEADLINE: NEA Locals Slowly Start to Join Giant Labor Federation

BYLINE: Honawar, Vaishali

BODY:

When the National Education Association gave its affiliates the green light to join the AFL-CIO two years ago, there was no stampede to the giant federation of labor unions, and it looked as if the national teachers' union was more eager to take the step than its state or local groups were.

But in recent months, a steady trickle of NEA locals, many with long-standing informal relationships with AFL-CIO central labor councils in their areas, have begun to affiliate formally with the umbrella group as economic and political pressures on teachers grow.

Today, nearly one-third of the NEA's 3.2 million members are dues-paying members of the AFL-CIO, partly as a result of those bonds but mostly because of state-level mergers of NEA and American Federation of Teacher affiliates. The forerunner of the AFT has belonged to the labor federation since 1916.

Labor experts say that both state and local affiliations are set to increase as teachers seek strength in numbers to fight battles over tenure, salaries, health care, and No Child Left Behind Act mandates.

"For years, teachers [in the NEA] felt that if they were in the AFL-CIO, it would feel unprofessional," said Charles B. Craver, a professor of labor law at George Washington University in Washington.

But today, he said, as districts under a budget squeeze seek to make changes in areas including tenure and health care, teachers are beginning to see the importance of aligning with a larger labor coalition to protect their interests.

Earlier this month, three NEA locals became affiliated with the AFL-CIO. In March, six others did, bringing the number of NEA-only affiliates in the AFL-CIO to 13 locals with 14,000 members.

Symbolic Action

The four merged NEA-AFT state affiliates, in Florida, Minnesota, Montana, and New York, share 650,000 teachers' union members.

"It's important to know that close to 30 percent of NEA members are already part of the AFL-CIO by being members of AFT," said Nancy Mills, the deputy chief of staff for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, the formal name of the AFL-CIO.

Richard W. Hurd, a professor of industrial and labor relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said he would not be surprised to see more state affiliations in the future. They are, he added, more significant than local affiliations because of the much larger numbers of members involved.

"It is misleading to look just at locals. ... You need to look at the total picture here," Mr. Hurd said. "The act of allowing locals to affiliate is more symbolic," he added.

When the NEA announced in 2006 that it was willing to allow members to join the AFL-CIO, many saw it as a willingness on the part of the nation's largest teachers' union to tighten ranks with the rest of the American labor movement in the face of economic and political changes.

Membership in industrial and private-sector unions has declined over the decades, under pressure from globalization, mechanization, and deregulation. In recent years, even public-sector unions have faced a political climate unfriendly to their views, and while their membership continues to grow, the increase is slower than before.

Shift in Thinking

Assaults on the interests of workers and the overall decline in the numbers of people joining labor unions have led to a slow shift in the thinking of teachers' unions, making them more amenable to coalitions, union officials say.

Michael Edwards, the director of labor outreach for the NEA, pointed out that five decades ago, one in three workers in the country belonged to a labor union. Now, only 12 percent of workers do. "There is a greater sense of urgency than in the past [because] as the numbers in unions dip, this has implications for working people and their families," Mr. Edwards said.

More recently, attempts to alter or eliminate teacher tenure as states come up with performance-pay plans could also be giving impetus to such associations with bigger federations, observers say. Even some Democratic policymakers, who are usually considered natural allies of labor, have joined in calls for merit pay, which teachers' unions have long opposed.

Being part of a larger labor federation, said Mr. Craver, gives local unions access to better legal expertise as they grapple with such issues in collective bargaining. Smaller locals, which until now might have seen themselves more as professional associations, may want to learn more about how to begin arbitration, something they haven't had to do in the past, he said.

Union officials say that one of the chief reasons it has taken a while for locals to sign on with the AFL-CIO after the NEA made its announcement two years ago is the increased cost because of the dues the union must pay to the labor coalition. Although it is as low as $1 to $1.50 per member per month, in many cases the cost does not fit into the local's budget, and they have to pass it on to members.

Further, said Ms. Mills of the AFL-CIO, it has taken a while for the news of the pact to trickle down to locals. She said she is now aware of around half a dozen NEA locals that are in different stages of affiliation.

Despite their lack of a formal alliance, the NEA and the AFL-CIO have had long-running collaborations both at the national and local levels, observers say.

"The NEA has for at least since the mid- to late '80s coordinated its national political program with that of the AFL-CIO. They don't always agree, but they tell each other what to do. And this year there will be even more of that because both want to try to increase the influence of Congress on education," said Cornell's Mr. Hurd.

NEA officials agree that there has been a long history of collaboration, but stress that they remain a strongly independent union.

"This is a partnership and not a merger," Mr. Edwards said.

Balancing Interests

Olga Addae, the president of the 3,000-member Seattle Education Association, which joined earlier this year, said her organization has always considered itself a professional association. But it is also an organization interested in protecting member interests.

"We have to always ask ourselves two questions: Is what's happening fair to our members. Is this good for students?" Ms. Addae said. "We go back to the saying that educators' working condition is a student's learning condition. To me, it's a question of that balance."

And building stronger coalitions with all allies is important, she said. "One thing we know about labor is that they have an intrinsic interest in a well-educated populace," she added.

Chris Perillo, the president of the 1,900-member Kenosha Education Association in Wisconsin, which affiliated with the labor federation this month, said the fact that another teachers' union, the AFT, was already a member of the AFL-CIO encouraged him in into forging a formal alliance.

Besides, Mr. Perillo said, his local had already been working with the Kenosha County AFL-CIO labor council on several issues, under an agreement in 2003. The new pact, he said, only formalizes that relationship.

LOAD-DATE: September 16, 2008

Occupational Health and Safety, July, 19, 2008, Saturday

Occupational Health and Safety

July, 19, 2008, Saturday

Occupational Health and Safety

Female Firefighters May Face Increased Breast Cancer Risk

According to new research by Cornell University scientists, the toxic chemicals all firefighters can face every time they respond to a call might be especially dangerous to women responders, because many of the chemicals are known to increase the risk of breast cancer. The new study is available in a brochure published by Cornell's Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer Research and the school's Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors Program (BCERF), with support from the New York State Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation.

Report co-authors Suzanne Snedeker and Nellie Brown said their research targets the roughly 9,000 paid women firefighters in the United States and is designed to inform them of their particular risk and what to do about it.

"Our big take-home message is, wear self-contained breathing apparatus during all phases of firefighting," Snedeker said. "Put on the gear before arriving at a fire and don't take it off until the operation or inspection is completed, even during fire inspections conducted days later when chemicals can still outgas from charred remains." Studies have shown, she added, that firefighters often don't put on their SCBA early enough and take it off too soon.

The brochure outlines a variety of fire scenarios and the types of chemicals that are possible breast carcinogens that result from the thermal decomposition of a host of products, from smoldering or burning of wood, to foams, glues, resins, paints, mattresses, shower stalls, coatings for wires and cables, rubber, window treatments and vinyl tubing, as well as chemicals of concern released from brush, forest, and tire fires. The publication is available at http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/learning/alert/fire08.cfm. To request print copies, call BCERF at (607) 254-2893.

Las Vegas Sun, September 11, 2008, Thursday

Las Vegas Sun

September 11, 2008, Thursday

Las Vegas Sun

At stake in nurse union fight: Patient care
The two groups dueling in Nevada disagree on how to improve it

By Megan McCloskey

Two unions are battling to represent the bulk of the state’s nurses — and the outcome could shape how Nevada deals with patient care issues.

Most registered nurses in the Las Vegas Valley are represented by the Service Employees International Union, but the California Nurses Association is challenging the SEIU with takeover attempts at several hospitals.

Their common ground is a claimed concern for patient care. But the two diverge on how best to improve it.

Competition between the two in Nevada kicked off in earnest in fall 2007 when they targeted a nonunionized hospital in Reno. The California union won and turned to wooing nurses in Las Vegas.

The California union, part of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, said it had been turning away SEIU nurses in Nevada because of a no-raiding agreement between the two unions. But that courtesy — those types of agreements are largely symbolic — ended after the fight in Reno.

Jill Furillo, Nevada director of the California union, said it is in contact with nurses from every hospital in the area.

“We’re in the process of building a strong momentum in the state,” she said.

The California Nurses Association nearly won representation at three St. Rose Dominican hospitals when it collected the most votes in an election in May. However, it didn’t win a majority vote, which is required for victory (400 voted for the California union, 377 voted for the SEIU and 26 voted for no union). Nurses and ancillary staff are working without a contract while the two unions bicker and fight over a runoff election.

Nurses at other local hospitals — including University Medical Center, where nurses can opt out of SEIU membership in October — are having their own debate about the merits of each union.

A key issue for nurses — and patients — is nurse staffing levels. Health care experts nationwide worry that nurses are overworked and unsafely assigned too many patients, and that as a result care is suffering. Nursing practice calls for specific nurse-to-patient ratios.

Staffing levels are high on the list of priorities for both unions, but fundamental differences between the unions could affect the issue.

Ariel Avgar, an associate professor at the University of Illinois who studies labor issues in the health care industry, said the California group and its national parent have a much broader public policy focus beyond day-to-day workplace conditions.

“Most unions don’t operate on that level,” he said.

Unlike the SEIU, which as one of the largest unions in the nation has a broad constituency including other hospital staff, the California association represents only nurses. This affords it a more narrow focus.

The SEIU is a strong force in the health care industry but faces increasing competition from other unions, according to Harry Katz, dean of the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

“Employees that think of themselves in more professional terms tend to drift toward a union that represents just that profession,” Katz said.

Health care-related research backs that up in terms of nurses, and the California union has been using that point to sell itself as the better union.

Whether nurses in Nevada agree could affect how the state deals with staffing ratios.

Nationally, nurse staffing issues are being resolved either with unions on a hospital-by-hospital basis or by state law. Twelve states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation in the past few years requiring hospitals to have nurse staffing plans. California is the only state to mandate staffing ratios.

Shauna Hamel, president of SEIU Local 1107, said that although SEIU supports basic legislation, it prefers to tailor nursing ratios to each hospital through contracts. Employing that hospital-based strategy last month, the SEIU filed a complaint with the Nevada Licensure and Certification Bureau alleging 84 incidents of understaffing at Valley Medical Center and Desert Springs Hospital. The union filed a similar complaint in 2006. (The hospitals denied the veracity of both complaints and called the latest one a publicity stunt to help ward off the California union’s invasion of the market.)

The California Nurses Association, on the other hand, is pushing to make the staffing ratios law.

How that plays out in Nevada could depend on who wins the union showdown.

The SEIU did present a bill during the past legislative session, but it didn’t make it out of the Health Care Committee. Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, chairwoman of the committee, said the SEIU failed in its presentation at the bill’s hearing.

The testimony was emotional with plenty of “horrendous stories but short on practicalities,” she said, adding the SEIU was unable to “answer the basic questions of how this would work in Nevada.”

With the nurses association’s experience getting legislation passed in California — albeit a much more liberal state — it might have more success moving the issue forward in Nevada.

If the union turf war ends in a draw with the two unions divided among the hospitals — not an unlikely scenario because the health care industry isn’t overwhelmingly dominated by one union — the best chance of getting legislation passed is to have the unions work together.

“The unions need to be pragmatic,” Leslie said, adding that two separate proposals will effectively kill any chance of getting legislation passed.

But in the current contentious atmosphere, collaboration is unlikely.

In these types of battles, Katz said, “sometimes unions reveal more animosity toward each other than you see them revealing toward management.”

PR Newswire, September 10, 2008, Wednesday

Copyright 2008 PR Newswire Association LLC.
All Rights Reserved.
PR Newswire

September 10, 2008, Wednesday


HEADLINE: First-of-a-Kind Study Reveals Nation's 25 Largest Institutional Investors' Views on Executive Compensation; Some views differ from activists'; confirms "reasoned approach" to policy changes needed; Pay for performance, role of the Board and need for better disclosure are top issues

DATELINE: WASHINGTON Sept. 10

BODY:
WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- A first-of-a-kind study commissioned by the Center On Executive Compensation to identify the perspectives of the nation's largest 25 institutional investors on executive compensation matters confirms that making broad assumptions about their views on this topic often does not reflect realities, under-scoring "a need for a thoughtful and reasoned approach to any executive compensation policy changes," according to the Center.

The study was conducted on behalf of the Center by Kevin F. Hallock, Professor of Labor Economics and of Human Resources Studies and Director of Research at the Center for Human Resources at Cornell University, who concluded that "though further study is needed, it "[appears to] be the case that some of the strong views held by activist institutional investors are not generally held by the majority of or even very many of the largest institutional investors."

Through confidential interviews with senior representatives from 20 of the 25 top institutional investors based on management of U.S.-based equities, it was determined that the top issue of concern was ensuring pay-for-performance, followed by preserving the Boards' role to set compensation and being able to "trust" and rely on compensation committees, and seeking greater clarity in both a company's pay disclosures and the SEC's requirements.

The study also found that large institutional investors do not have a shared view on all executive compensation is-sues. "While they agree about some issues, such as favoring pay for performance and rejecting "say on pay," they are almost evenly split on others, such as the necessity of maintaining the independence of the compensation consultant and disclosure of performance targets," stated the Center in its summary of the findings.

According to the Center's report, the study was commissioned because these institutions collectively represent over $6 trillion in U.S. equities, or 65 percent of the top 300 institutional investors.

"Given the top 25 institutional investors' massive representation of investors' interests, we believed that the views of this important shareholder constituency should be better understood and factored into the on-going national dialogue about how best to inform and structure executive pay practices and the rules and regulations that guide them. Moreover, the Center's members were interested in securing the findings as a part of their individual efforts to expand and enhance their dialogue with shareholders on these topics," said Charles G. Tharp, the Center's Executive Vice President for Policy.

The Center said its findings are being made available to senior human resource executives, directors, compensation consultants, law makers and regulators, academics and the media as a part of its effort to contribute a balanced and reasoned view "into what often can be a complex and highly individualized process ... "

According to the Center, an in-depth review of the complete study, which can be found on its Web site at http://www.execcomp.org/ , further reveals that:

-- The majority of large institutional investors do not support a shareholder vote on executive compensation, believing instead that boards should be responsible for compensation decisions and held accountable through greater dis-closure and ultimately by shareholders who determine whether to reelect them;

-- Large institutional investors are not generally concerned with the level of executive compensation, provided it is clearly and appropriately linked to company results; however, they believe the pay-for-performance link could be further strengthened and unanimously support equity as a form of aligning executives and shareholders' interests;

-- One-third of the large institutional investors raised unsolicited concerns over the influence that proxy advisory services have over the proxy voting process, including compensation matters;

-- Despite updated SEC disclosure rules, the overwhelming majority of large institutional investors has been disappointed in the rules and how companies have implemented them, especially the lack of clarity in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis. The investors believe there is room for improvement and that it will occur over time. In the meantime, they do not support a "one-size-fits-all" approach to selecting or determining performance metrics, instead preferring multiple performance metrics tailored to measure the achievement of a company's strategic goals; and

-- Large institutional investors were split on the issue of the independence of executive compensation consultants, with just under half supporting independence and the others divided between disclosure of other relationships with the company and those not seeking any disclosure.

The Center On Executive Compensation [ http://www.execcomp.org]/ is a not-for-profit research and advocacy organization dedicated to developing and promoting principled pay and corresponding governance practices that serve the best interests of shareholders and other corporate stakeholders. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Center is hosted by HR Policy Association, the organization representing the chief human resource officers of more than 250 of the largest corporations in the United States ( http://www.hrpolicy.org/ ), and supported by subscriber companies.

Contact: Tim Bartl
(202)-789-8692

tbartl@ExecComp.org
CONTACT: Tim Bartl, Center On Executive Compensation, +1-202-789-8692,
tbartl@ExecComp.org
Web site: http://www.execcomp.org/
SOURCE Center On Executive Compensation

URL: http://www.prnewswire.com

LOAD-DATE: September 11, 2008