Research

Tortillas, and the corn used to make them, have been a Mexican staple for thousands of years. So it's no surprise that tens of thousands packed into Mexico City's central Zocalo plaza to protest a spike in the price of tortillas and other staple goods.

For Marianne Jennings, a healthy market economy depends on four pillars — business, investors, government and customers. Each relies on the others in a symbiotic relationship that leads to mutual benefit and smooth operations.

Many companies have noted that attrition among women and minorities in the professional and managerial ranks hampers progress on building a diverse workplace.

A lot of companies focus on competition, innovation and cost-cutting to drive cash flow. But according to Ruth Bolton, marketing professor at the W. P. Carey School of Business, successful firms understand that cash flow is derived from customers.

"85 percent of CEOs have innovation on a short list of strategic priorities. But then they put it off," said Tom Kelley, the featured speaker at Arizona State University's 2007 Design Excellence Dinner.

Cognizant of the way information ricochets through the media these days, companies need to redouble efforts to be sure that the information they release about themselves is the right data at the moment, and that it's accurately transmitted.

Phoenix, now the fifth largest city in the United States, could be the poster child for metropolitan areas where a bursting residential housing bubble has created economic discord.

The attitudes judges hold toward auditors have eroded since the accounting debacles of Enron, WorldCom and others earlier in the decade. Not only do judges have lesser views of auditors, they also have conflicting views with auditors.

There are plenty of judgment calls associated with accrual accounting, giving managers some wiggle room in recognizing expenses and income. But can investors spot the wiggle? Do they identify and price that discretionary portion of earnings correctly?