High crimes and misdemeanors

Someone once said, "The open network is like the open society—crime thrives, but so does creativity." Leaving aside the network for the moment, in the U.S. today, nearly two million people are in prison. Some few are white-collar criminals who used '90s-era excess as their personal

Corporate governance and politics intersect, and in the opening pages of this month's Views section, the power of political influence—howsoever obtained—to impact manufacturing industries is cited in relation to China policy, textile industry tariffs, and patent law.

On the other hand, a cynic would point out that some amount of corruption in society is a good thing because it acts as a guarantor of freedom. No matter how total a system of control might be imposed, there's at least—through corruption—the possibility of a back door.

Where does that leave us, then, when it comes to issues of regulatory compliance? Hopefully, it takes us beyond the knee-jerk reaction that any and all regulation is excessive. It's been proven that if someone can game the system, someone undoubtedly will.

Although President Bush made little progress on the issue of intellectual property rights in China during his November visit there, it's an area where the Chinese and U.S. governments share common interests. One reason there aren't any Chinese global brands—as Samsung is for South Korea or Sony is for Japan—is that there the ideas of innovative companies are stolen by others before innovation can deliver the growth needed for global scale.

You'll find discussion of intellectual property rights in two separate features in this month's magazine.

Coverage of these issues in Manufacturing Business Technology is certainly apropos, as they all—corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and intellectual property rights—are addressed by information technology.

Some jailed executives undoubtedly rue the day they discovered the efficacy of e-mail. Soon-to-be-indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is said in his heyday to have sent more than 400 e-mails daily—a veritable virtual feast for Congressional committees and federal prosecutors. Enron's Ken Lay and HealthSouth's Richard Scrushy, however, refused to have anything to do with e-mail, and to this point it's helped keep them out of jail.

As illustrative as these examples may be of the need for judicious use of resources, there's more to it than that, and, in 2006, Manufacturing Business Technology will devote special coverage to business and governance issues of interest to corporate, operations, and IT executives—at that point where management concepts, IT infrastructures, and business processes come together.

This expanded coverage will not supersede the magazine's focus on strategies that support manufacturing and supply chain productivity in a global landscape, which include lean, product innovation, increased services, performance management, and better use of IT.

We will, however, point out that the politics of productivity profoundly impact manufacturing and use of IT, and that rule of law, including seemingly pernicious regulations, is the basis for secure business processes that must constantly be reevaluated in light of IT advances.