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Administration
The Corporate Administration Division
is comprised of four departments:
Board of Director Services, Human
Resources, Intellectual Property and
Contracts, and Corporate Office Services.
Administration provides essential services
to the other divisions within the company.
Key objectives within the division are:
- providing support to Board members;
- providing recruiting, benefits management
and training and development services to
the company.
- providing legal services as liaison between
staff and outside legal counsel; and
- maintaining a work environment conducive
to productivity and fulfillment of the
Company’s mission;
Administration Highlights
Board of Directors Services
Cotton Incorporated’s Board of Directors
is charged with determining the mission
and strategy of the company and ensuring
effective organizational planning. Directors
and Alternates also act as ambassadors
of the Cotton Research and Promotion
Program by keeping constituents informed
of company activities and the benefits of
these activities to producers of U.S. cotton
and importers of cotton products. The
Board of Directors Services Department is
responsible for coordinating four Board of
Directors meetings, one Executive Committee
meeting, and in cooperation with the USDA,
Caucus meetings for each of the cotton
producing states nominating new Directors
or Alternates to Cotton Incorporated’s
Board of Directors. Board Services activities
include: site selection, agenda development,
meeting planning and coordination with the
Cotton Board; tracking of Directors’ history;
compiling of information for the Board of
Directors roster; and distribution of the
Quarterly USDA Report to all Board members
and Cotton Board Members.
Over the past year, the Board Services
Department has facilitated work with the
Board of Directors sub-committees in the
development of a CEO succession plan,
reviewing and restructuring the focus of the
Board meetings; assisting in the development
of accountability standards to measure
program effectiveness, and issues related to
the company’s benefits plan.
Human Resources
The Human Resources Department
manages the company employee benefits
program, employee relations, recruitment
and retention of employees, and offers
training and development sessions to Cotton
Incorporated’s managers and employees.
In 2008, Human Resources implemented
a revised Employee Handbook to further
simplify, clarify, and modernize existing policies
to ensure legal compliance. In addition, new
policies were added to further improve internal
controls. Training was provided to staff in
interviewing and hiring best practices, and in
managing performance and productivity.
Intellectual Property & Contracts
Intellectual Property & Contracts manages
the intellectual assets of the company, which
include patents, trademarks and copyrights. In
addition, this department serves as legal liaison
between Cotton Incorporated’s staff and outside
legal counsel; is responsible for the licensing of
patents and trademarks; drafts, reviews, and
negotiates contracts; provides administrative
services for all company sponsored research
projects; and manages all office leases.
The company has seen a significant increase
in the illegal use of our trademarks as well as
challenges by third parties to the ownership
rights of innovation such as the TransDRY™
and WICKING WINDOWS™ technologies. The
Intellectual Property & Contracts department
has been actively engaged in the defense of
our intellectual property rights.
Corporate Office Services
Corporate Office Services is responsible for
property management, office environment,
and equipment and supplies. The department
maintains over 300 vendor relationships to
provide employees with a work environment
conducive to productivity.
To ensure the safety of company
property and employees, Corporate Office
Services has worked to enhance the risk
management program through the review
of property and casualty insurance programs
and enhancements to safe travel, both
domestically and overseas. Work has also
begun, and will likely be concluded in 2009,
on the development of a disaster recovery
plan, which will ensure business continuity in
the event of a facilities disaster.
As part of the Company Sustainability
initiative, Corporate Office Services has made
our facilities more “green” by:
- Implementing a smart irrigation system with
sensors that direct watering only when it is
needed. In addition, only reclaimed water is
used with this system.
- Computerizing internal controls to allow
for energy-savings directives for after
hours/weekends/holidays;
- Installing motion detector lights with timers
to conserve electricity;
- Ongoing recycling efforts for reusable
materials.
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Cotton Incorporated 2008 Annual Report
