If a top executive of your company suddenly wasn't able to work, who would take over? Chances are the answer is not clear.

It seems a large number of companies do not have a clear cut succession plan currently in place.

The employment picture is expected to brighten in 2011, but in a rather unconvincing manner.

The big question is whether the long-term unemployed lose their patience, or worse, their marketable skills, before they find a job.

Raises are starting to make a comeback.

Reports Wednesday that Google plans to give a 10 percent pay raise to all of its 23,000 employees in January reflects a wider trend. According to a new survey from CareerBuilder, 31 percent of employers said they are willing to negotiate 2011 salary increases with current employees even though the job market is still very tight and companies are still not exactly staffing up aggressively.