With more than 800 members, National Grid’s Women in Network resource group plays a key role in the professional development of the company’s women employees.

On the hit TV show Mad Men, the office is largely white and largely male, and those who don’t fit that profile are largely left out. Though today’s workplace is infinitely more diverse than what we see on Mad Men, it’s still true that homogeneity can limit inclusivity.

In this issue, we complete our tour of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) with which we’ve kicked off the “Culture Matters” column. We have suggested that for a variety of reasons—their natural resources, their human resources, their potential as markets—these four nations loom large in almost everyone’s future. They will be key players in the global arena, and if you too aspire to play in that arena, knowing more about the cultures of these four nations will give you a leg up.

Businesses throughout the United States are facing a crisis: Many of today’s youth are unprepared to enter the workforce and our current educational system is overburdened and unable to bridge the gap between education and workforce readiness.

Swan has served as president and CEO of Lansing, Michigan based Sparrow Hospital and Health System since 2005, and has served as a member of the organization’s leadership team for nearly three decades. In that time, he has witnessed many changes in health care and in the Sparrow organization, and since becoming CEO has been a change agent for some of the most significant improvements in the 114-year-old organization’s history.

One Project with which I was involved as director of finance was a contract renewal for IT support with an outsourcing vendor. The challenge was to lead a team in structuring a deal with pricing, terms, and conditions that were in line with the company’s expectations.

Pitney Bowes has a long history of encouraging volunteerism to help build healthy communities. Volunteering in the communities we live and work in offers an opportunity for employees to develop technical, leadership, and team-building skills.

For the first time in American history, four different generations are working side-by-side in the workplace.

Dan Amos CEO, Aflac Incoroporated Corporate Headquarters: Columbus, Georgia Website: www.aflac.com Primary Business: Supplemental Insurance Revenues: $18 billion Employees: 8,000 including U.S. and Japan 2011 CEO in Action As I write this essay, a colleague sent me an interesting article detailing a study from the California State Education Department. It notes that Latinos now make… Read the full article

Don R. Knauss Chairman and CEO, The Clorox Company Headquarters: Oakland, California Website: www.thecloroxcompany.com and www.cloroxcsr.com Primary Business: Consumer Packaged goods Revenues: $5.53 billion Employees: 8,300 2011 CEO in Action At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, gay or straight, tall or short. What does matter is the… Read the full article