Business Up Front

Consumer Electronics Industry Sales to Jump The consumer electronics (CE) industry is projected to post a 6.1 percent increase in revenues in 2008 with total shipments forecast to top $171 billion. The Consumer Electronics Association released its estimate of final shipment revenues for 2007, which totaled $161 billion, up 8.2 percent over 2006. The overall projection for … [Read more...] about February 2008: Business Up Front

Lack of Innovation Cripples Organizations’ Performance What does it really mean to be an innovative company, and how does an organization know if it is innovative? Companies can perform their own innovation health check by looking closely at some of the key variables that affect innovation, according to Andrew Graham, CEO of Kepner-Tregoe, Inc., an international consulting and … [Read more...] about January 2008: Business Up Front

Mortgage Sub-Prime Crisis Examined As Congress scrambles to fix the sub-prime crisis that plunged mortgage lenders into bankruptcy and homeowners into trouble, a new report by the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains why Congress should not get involved. The report comes in advance of a likely vote in the House of Representatives on the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory … [Read more...] about December 2007: Business Up Front

Personal Relations Still Rules The business world is changing to incorporate technology into day-to-day interactions, meaning that managers must remain on top of the newest innovations while encouraging workers to maintain connections on a personal level. Peter Handal, president, chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training said technology can be an effective tool to enhance … [Read more...] about November 2007: Business Up Front

IRS Regulations Affect Compensation Plans The final IRS Section 409A regulations, which will become effective Jan.1, 2008, will impact hedge fund managers’ nonqualified compensation plans. The final regulations clarify several issues impacting fund managers, but subsequent guidance is still pending with respect to many issues. David Simonetti, senior manager in Grant … [Read more...] about October 2007: Business Up Front

Poll Shows Good Deeds Often Go Unrewarded More than one-third of professionals recently polled by OfficeTeam said businesses are ineffective at rewarding their employees’ strong performance. Thirty percent of managers who were surveyed agreed. Here are some suggestions to effectively recognize staff: • Say thanks, either in writing or in person; • Give the gift of time, … [Read more...] about September 2007: Business Up Front

Complying With New Tax Rules On Jan. 1, 2005, new rules for nonqualified deferred compensation plans under Internal Revenue Code Sec. 409A went into effect. Grant Thornton LLP, a global accounting, tax and business advisory organization, offers seven suggested steps to help companies follow the new rules: • Identify arrangements that provide for a deferral of … [Read more...] about August 2007: Business Up Front

Building Design Leaders Collaborating on Carbon-Neutral Buildings by 2030 The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), Architecture 2030, Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IESNA), and the U.S. Green Building Council, supported by representatives of the U.S. Department of … [Read more...] about June 2007: Business Up Front

Business Leaders Struggle to Find Good Talent Many of today’s top CEOs describe the quest to find quality talent like searching for a needle in a haystack. Recruiting and training staff is such a plight for businesses that they recently selected it as the No. 1 challenge in today’s workplace, according to the 2007 Management Action Programs (MAP) Quarterly CEO Survey. Despite … [Read more...] about May 2007: Business Up Front

Addicted to E-mail? We have become a nation so reliant on e-mail that if our internet connection shuts down for an hour, we feel lost, unable to accomplish anything,” said Marsha Egan, CEO of Egan E-mail Solutions. When e-mail was introduced, there were no guidelines on how to use it. Consequently, individuals have developed bad e-mail habits – like using e-mail as an urgent … [Read more...] about April 2007: Business Up Front

Virtual Offices Improve Bottom Line According to recent studies, home-based businesses represent 52 percent of all small businesses and provide 10 percent of the total receipts for the economy. Virtual means having an actual office and a prestigious address for a minimal cost. Small and home-based businesses are opting for true virtual offices, while working from home or in a … [Read more...] about March 2007: Business Up Front

Public-Private Water Utility Partnerships Urged American Water, the largest water services provider in North America, urged municipal officials to consider partnerships with private companies as a way to manage the enormous task of providing reliable water supplies to cities with aging infrastructure and growing populations. The company made its presentation at the 2006 … [Read more...] about February 2007: Business Up Front

Litigation as a Growth Industry American business, known the world over for its entrepreneurship, innovation and competitiveness, might just as easily be recognized for another attribute – its time spent on legal disputes. That’s the conclusion of a new survey of corporate counsel from international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. In its third annual survey of … [Read more...] about January 2007: Business Up Front

Government Website Aids with Compliance A newly launched federal government website, business.gov, provides business owners with a one-stop resource that searches federal government agencies for compliance information and resources. The site makes it easier to find information on taxes, immigration laws, workplace safety, environmental requirements and other regulations that … [Read more...] about December 2006: Business Up Front

New Law May Affect Tax Returns The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) recently completed a five-year effort to get legislation enacted to change appraisal standards. President Bush signed Senate Bill H.R.4 into law in late August, ensuring that in the future only “qualified appraisers” will be eligible to submit appraisals for charitable gift tax purposes. Future … [Read more...] about November 2006: Business Up Front