Browsing articles from "June, 2010"

T-Mobile Survey of Business Owners – results

Jun 25, 2010 // by paulgreen // SME News // No Comments

T-Mobile asked 1,500 business owners and senior managers these questions:

1. Size is becoming less important. 58% of business leaders think the amount of staff in the business is no longer a benchmark of success.

2. Mobile working is clearly widely accepted. 94% of our respondents say they are happy to judge their team on the results they

achieve rather than how much time they spend in the office.

3. Tax unfairness is a particular bugbear. 88% of business leaders agree it does not make sense that the tax office can wait until the next quarter for any tax mistakes to be resolved yet small businesses have to resolve their own tax errors immediately.

4. Youth is no barrier to respect or success. 47% do not believe you must be over a certain age to be trusted as a business leader.

5. Looking the part isn’t everything. 39% who disagree with the idea that the size, design and location of your office reflects the success of your business.

6. Is being a member of a trade body important? 38% don’t think so, in order to be taken seriously in business.

7. In the current climate, caution is an issue. Of those surveyed, 30% feel it does not make sense for rental contracts to get longer when the future is less certain.

8. Flexibility is expected from staff. Just over a third (36%) disagree with the traditional idea that the working week lasts from Monday to Friday.

Source: http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/business/business-sense/business-facts/

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King Hints At Interest Rate Increase

Jun 17, 2010 // by paulgreen // Finance // No Comments

Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, has hinted that a hike in interest rates may be necessary to stop the economy overheating.

In his Mansion House speech, he prioritised raising rates over a reversal in quantitative easing and selling gilts back into the market.

Said King: ‘[Monetary tightening] is most likely to be through a rise in bank rate with asset sales being conducted later in an orderly programme.’

The warning follows a fall in consumer price inflation to 3.4 per cent last month from April’s 17-month high of 3.7 percent. But King said he was concerned about an ‘apparent rise in inflation expectations’.

He added: ‘We have always explicitly recognised that there is a significant chance that inflation may turn out to be above target.’

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Company Information Must Be On OFRs Say HR Boffins

Jun 3, 2010 // by paulgreen // SME News // No Comments

Companies must be forced by the Government to include employee information on their annual reports, HR industry representatives have urged. The measure should be included as part of the Operating and Financial Review (OFR), which is a written account of how a company is being run. The OFR should include details covering directors’ social and environmental duties in annual reports.

However, the requirement for employee information has not been confirmed. The requirement was first proposed by the Labour Government, and the new Government has announced its commitment to implementing the mandatory OFR.

For more on this story go to:
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2010/05/27/
55741/ofrs-must-include-people-information-says-hr.html

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