The authors' research suggests that understanding the underlying dynamics of project status reporting can help limit the chances of nasty surprises. In particular, they identify five "inconvenient truths" about project status reporting: 1. Executives can't rely on project staff and other employees to accurately report project status information and to speak up when they see problems. Many employees have a tendency to put a positive spin on anything they report to senior management. When the organizational climate is not receptive to bad news, truthful reporting can be inhibited 2. A variety of reasons can cause people to misreport about project status. Executives tend to attribute misreporting to poor ethical behavior on the employee's part. In fact, employees misreport for a variety of reasons; individual traits, work climate and cultural norms all can play a role. 3. An aggressive audit team can't counter the effects of project status misreporting and withholding of information by project staff. Executives may conclude that the best way to address the problem of misreporting is to rely on auditors to make sure that project status reports are accurate. However, once auditors are added to the mix, negative organizational dynamics can lead to a dysfunctional cycle that results in even less openness. 4. Putting a senior executive in charge of a project may increase misreporting. Although having a senior executive as a project sponsor often proves wise politically and can help in securing resources for a project, the involvement of senior leaders does not make it any easier to track project status.

It has become fashionable to discuss business models, but there is much confusion about what business models are and how they can be used. In fact, business models can serve a positive and powerful role in corporate management. Although authors have offered definitions of "business model," none appears to be generally accepted. This lack of consensus may, in part, be attributed to interest in the concept from a wide range of disciplines, all of which have found a connection to the term. To help managers better understand business models, this paper reviews the extant literature and identifies and classifies the components of business models cited therein. Components were classified into four primary categories: strategic choices, the value network, creating value, and capturing value. Offers a definition of "business model" that integrates and synthesizes earlier work. Based on the proposed definition, the case contrasts business models with strategy. Also, discusses four problems associated with business models.

The United States and Europe exhibit very different approaches to information privacy--a condition of limited access to identifiable information about individuals--from both regulatory and managerial perspectives. Grounded in different cultural values and assumptions about the meaning of privacy (a "human rights" issue in Europe versus a contractual issue in the United States), these differences have led to regulatory and managerial conflicts. In this article, the differences between the two approaches are explored. U.S. corporations would be well served to embrace some of the premises of the European perspective. However, the United States would be poorly served by the creation of a federal regulatory structure such as some commonly found in Europe.

Both executives and academics have recently voiced concerns about how business schools can best add value to the business community. The case of Jim Martin frames the dilemma. Martin is president and CEO of Bay International Industries (BII), a $4 billion consumer electronics company. Although he attended Plymouth Business School, one of the world's most prestigious management institutions, Martin has become an outspoken critic of the research and education provided by such schools. Martin himself has grappled with the issues surrounding management education. First, reports within BII show that MBA hiring has yielded disappointing results. Second, a business school has asked BII to participate in a research study. Third, Martin's daughter, who is planning to pursue an MBA, has turned to her father for advice.

An information systems vice president has one hour to make an ethical decision: should a software program, left inadvertently on the company's computer, be copied and stored? Copying the program would protect clients' assets, but it seems to violate the vendor contract. Thus, responsibilities to various stakeholders (customers, vendors, and stockholders) can be examined in an information systems context.