公司董事会请注意

    现在，收入分配不平衡是折扣零售商和快餐企业面临的一个非常严峻的考验。任何一个有眼光的董事会成员都会告诉你，一家公司首先需要的是一种行之有效的商业模式。如果没有人来购买你所销售的产品，或者不能与公司员工保持恰当的关系，你的公司注定要走下坡路。

    沃尔玛CEO迈克•杜克在公司最近的一次季度电话会议上阐述了他在与不同地域的顾客接触和沟通的努力。但是显然他所谓的努力都将是徒劳，因为他没有向那些被称为“同事”的普通员工伸出援手、予以加薪。

    沃尔玛和麦当劳目前的管理层是否能打造屹立不倒的商业模式还需拭目以待。他们也明白，CEO并不是终身制。因此董事会必须确保这些问题能得到应有的关注，这一点显得尤为重要。同时，投资者（据《财富》杂志统计占最富裕阶层人数50%）也需要好好想一想。当然，沃尔玛和麦当劳这样的大公司不会很快从投资者的股指基金中消失。

    本文作者系董事会咨询机构价值联盟和公司治理联盟的首席执行官。

    译者：默默

Corporate boards, this is your cue

    Right now, economic inequality is a very serious risk for discount retail and fast food firms. As any good board member will tell you, the first thing a company needs is a business model that works. And if you don't have people who can buy what you sell or the right relationship with the people at your company, your company is headed downhill.

    On Wal-Mart's recent quarterly conference call, CEO Mike Duke discussed his efforts to get out and talk to customers in different geographies. But he's missing the boat by not reaching out to what the retailing behemoth calls its associates.

    Whether the current management at Wal-Mart and McDonald's are able to create sustainable business models is up for grabs. CEOs are short-timers, and they know it. That's why it's important for boards to make sure these issues receive the attention they deserve. In the meantime, investors, who represent about 50% of the wealthiest adult population according to Fortune, have a lot of thinking to do. Firms like Wal-Mart and McDonald's aren't disappearing from investors' index funds any time soon.

    Eleanor Bloxham is CEO of The Value Alliance and Corporate Governance Alliance

    (http://thevaluealliance.com), a board advisory firm.