What will the new decade bring for employment and career prospects? An interesting set of statistics posted by the Bureau of Labour offers some insight into trends and provides information on where career and business opportunities might lie.
1) Management and consulting services

Leading the list of five industries with the largest wage and salary employment growth potential in the ten years from 2008 to 2018 is the category of management, scientific and technical consulting services.

The sector falls under professional and business and could see an increase of 82% in employment figures. It will certainly prove to be the decade for consultants and professional advisors.

2) Services for the elderly and persons with disabilities

There is no prize for reckognising this as a growth area for employment. This field, falling under health care and social assistance, is considered to grow by 73% in providing employment and business opportunities.

With the ageing population in almost all parts of the world, it is not difficult to see that providing care for elderly people will be a substantial growth industry. Furthermore, as civilisations become more aware of the rights of disabled people, this in turn will lead to more inclusive care facilities for disabled people.

Besides the trend towards mainstreaming disabled people in schooling and the work environment there is a further push to allow disabled people to live independent lives. This particular trend will lead to a growth in the category described in number three.

3) Home health care services

Another winner in the health care and social assistance sector is the home health care service industry. This is considered to have growth potential of 46% for wage and salary employment.

Allowing the elderly to remain at home and providing assistance with care will become a more humane way of dealing with frail people. Add to this the care of disabled people at home rather than at institutions and one can see this sector could be in for a growth in employment opportunities.

4) Computer system designs

Systems design and related services falling under professional and business sector is considered a growth area in terms of wage and employment and is said to be growing by up to 45% in the period under discussion.

Technological innovation will provide for a large scale requirement for computer systems. Every gadget has a computer chip and operating system. Designing these will allow for more employment. Could it mean that computer science should become a compulsory subject in schools?

5) Retail trade

The retail trade may be growing and showing an increase in wage and employment opportunities of 40% during the term under discussion. Some of this growth could be diversified though in that the retail sector is showing particular growth in the online environment.

Some parts of retail will migrate more towards the computer system design skills set and move away from stacking shelves and ringing up goods on a cash register. Either way, retail will employ more people.

These are some interesting trends and it might be advisable for young people and members of the older generation finding themselves without traditional jobs to focus on acquiring skills in any of the above industry sectors.

Maybe it’s the holiday season, or maybe it’s just the rare sense of appreciation I felt when I noticed the missing number on the monthly invoice. An epiphany even! This company actually wanted, appreciated, and knew how to retain my business.

Moments earlier, after wrestling with a 300 pound Sumo telephone menu system, and after too many wasted minutes waiting to speak to a “representative”, my final conclusion was that I really needed to find a more responsive insurance company.

Consumers waste millions of hours annually punching numbers into keypads, just hoping for the opportunity to scream “representative” at the top of their lungs out of terminal frustration. Yes Virginia, the last thing most companies want you to do is actually speak to a person.
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If I were really cynical, I might even theorize that the larger companies purposely place their dullest, rudest, and most aggravating employees in their service departments. Companies that once had golden reputations now resort to nickel-and-dime service fees that they hide fraudulently on their statements, unfair late-charge practices, and exorbitant credit card interest rates.

Someday I hope to call a major company and speak to a real live person with the ability to get me to the person I need to speak with, without ever listening to a menu.

So let’s all take a minute to show our appreciation to those businesses and professionals out there who don’t torture us with telephone menus and rude employees. Let’s give a firm pat-on-the-back, a written standing ovation, even, to those we have done business with lately who remember what fair, and personalized service is all about.

Please, limit your praise to those you deal with infrequently, where you are not the big customer. And, if you can use services provided by the two companies I mention below, please do so. If we all take the time to find the merchants, professionals, service providers, and general good guys in business out there— well maybe, we’ll convince some of the others to get their heads back on straight.

Vision Payroll is located in Leominster, MA and I forgive their employees for being Red Sox fans. I have no clue how big or small they are, but a friendly and helpful human being answers the phone whenever I call.

Yesterday I realized that my payroll package had not arrived on time (maybe the first time in the four or five years of our relationship). I called; they investigated. They called, took the blame for what was probably a misunderstanding from a conversation a week earlier, and overnight packages to three locations for an on time, no problem, payday.

I am perhaps their smallest client, but they charged me not for anything— not even the normal monthly fee. Not a lot of money, but a wealth of business character.

ImprovementsCatalogue is an Internet Marketing Company located in West Chester, Ohio. Yes, they have a telephone menu, but in the height of the Holiday Season, when our brand new “pop-up” lighted Christmas tree was flawed out-of-the-box, they were mounted on their white horse, ready to save the day for the grandchildren.

One section of lights wasn’t working, and we certainly could have dealt with it.

With a wink of an eye and one little phone call, the real live elf at the end of the line arranged for pick up and delivery (still at the sale price of yore). Our living room was seasonally aglow again in three business days— shipping and handling included.

Let’s all try to spread the idea that smart business practices and true personal service are valuable. Businesses like these deserve recognition— and our patronage. Think about it. Most of the companies you deal with really tick you off— don’t they.

Steve Selengut
sanserve (at) aol.com

But the root problem they were correctly speaking to is the source of the spending money, not the spending itself. Spending is essential for demand creation, and increasing demand is what produces jobs.

So why we ask, does government remove the dollars from the economy before they accomplish the demand stimulus “thingie” (highly technical economics jargon)? Nearly half the survey responses observed that consumption taxes (The Fair Tax) are far more productive/creative than income taxes.

The other half wants to replace the IRC (Internal Revenue Code) with a Flat Tax on all forms of income. Both suggestions are simple, and quantum leaps better than anything being seriously considered by congress— “seriously” being the operative word.

A combination of the two— priceless, but later!
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The single, easiest, fastest, biggest, consumer-spending instant winner bonanza is not even a twinkle in an old politician’s eye— there are far too few new politicians. Replace the Social Security Retirement Program with a plain vanilla pension plan, pre-funded by smaller, mandated employee contributions.

The current methodology is simple: it takes money out of our pockets (and our employers) puts it though governmental blenders, and spits out IOUs for a meager benefit at retirement. Why not let the private sector provide pension benefits to all employees under the direction of a trimmed down Social Security bureaucracy?

How? By purchasing Social Security Retirement Income Annuities (SSRIAs). Google “A Capitalist’s Social Security Reform” for the nitty-gritty details, but here’s what we accomplish:

We stimulate spending immediately by only withdrawing 3% of income from 300 million pockets and pocketbooks, and nothing from employer treasuries. We provide demand-push spending money and reduce demand for consumer credit.

And, looking forward an article or two, we collect a tax on every dollar spent in the economy— except those for food, healthcare, and higher education; even from our friends and neighbors in the Underground and Internet economies.

Some SSRIA details include: (1) No sales commission, no more than 10% in an approved list of equities, no multilevel derivatives or open end Mutual Funds, and no speculations; (2) Limited voluntary contributions and unemployed dependent eligibility; (3) Phased in transfer of existing Social Security and government employee pensions (including congress).

Using life annuities + a 50% of cash value, pre-retirement, term-life insurance benefit could prepay retiree Medicare benefits as well!

There are several other ideas on the more-spending-money-in-consumer-pockets agenda, and some thoughts about consumer confidence. It’s tough to be confident, for example, when you click the links between congress and business lobbyists.

It’s tough to be confident when we see Wall Street control its regulators, constantly produce the same speculative garbage, and reward its senior employees and sales persons from the carcasses of mutilated shareholder-owners and “hostaged” taxpayers.

These confidence destroyers can be dealt with, but first the rest of the story, on increasing consumer spending without credit abuse:

One: Reduce the interest rate on all mortgages at least twenty-five basis points, and adjust monthly payments accordingly. The banks owe us, and will make-up the difference from increased business activity.

Two: Bring the credit card mafia to its knees by enforcing reasonable usury laws (a 15% APR cap, for example) and include all fees, late charges and other debris in the calculation. Make minimum payments include a percentage of principal, and treat credit abuse like drug abuse.

Three: Eliminate all nuisance fees, taxes, surcharges, etc, forced on businesses and passed through to consumer statements. A $65 motel room should be a $65 motel room.

Four: Reduce state and local property taxes 10% per year for all persons over age 65, and devise a way to prorate this into rents paid by seniors— i.e., require landlords to pass through their savings.

Five: Eliminate all toll collections on highways, bridges, tunnels, subways etc.— everyone benefits from our transportation resources, the green impact is obvious, and demand for gasoline would be reduced significantly.

Six: Establish a combined federal/state/local $1,000 per month tax-free program for all workers. (The first $12,000 of each person’s income is untaxed). Workers earning less than $12K annually receive the difference in bank account debit cards. Usage could be restricted to essentials (no alcohol, gambling, tobacco, guns, jet skis, etc.)

Seven: Establish a $750 per month workfare program for the unemployed actually seeking work, but requiring no less than twenty hours of community service per week. Offset would be reduced numbers of government workers, shorter unemployment lines, and lower employer overhead expenses.

Thank you again for participating. I hope you all appreciate how important it is for you to help get simple ideas like these into the legislative arena. Find the time to address some of them aggressively in blogs, networks, and communications with elected officials.

Wall Street’s “Emperors New Clothes” game plan has infiltrated the federal government. The financial community has no interest in protecting investors from speculation and our elected representatives seem interested only in expanding their power by catering to the most generous special interests.

Do I hear congressional term limits as a “write-in” candidate for number eight?

Author
Steve Selengut
sanserve (at) aol (dot) com
Author of: “The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read”, and “A Millionaire’s Secret Investment Strategy”

“Golf is a powerful networking tool when used properly. Top executives in many parts of the world know that once you get a potential client on to the golf course, you can learn all about them. Inevitably it leads to a business relationship. It’s a bond based on competition and rivalry… and friendship,” says Jamie Cunningham, founder of the Corporate Masters tournament and managing director of Professional Sports Group.

It’s easy to see why: top executives would be loath to clear their schedules for a five-hour meeting, but more than willing to play a game of golf. Business need not even be mentioned, until one is at the clubhouse – the 19th hole – which is when most deals are closed.

Cunningham recalls the time he worked with Mark McCormack, IMG founder and the man who invented sports marketing as we know it today. McCormack set up a golf game between top Ryder Cup golfer Bernhard Langer who was brand ambassador for Mercedes Benz and the then Japanese ambassador to Germany. That game directly resulted in upping the quota of imported Mercedes cars in Japan.

Cunningham’s own Middle East Corporate Masters tournament held in the UK is a corporate networking event par excellence. The British telecom company O2 used it as a platform to introduce their services to business leaders, with its corporate sales director closing £5 million worth of business during the event. Closer home, Leisurecorp sold significant amounts of real estate on the back of the Middle East Corporate Masters as its title sponsor.

Donald Trump once declared that some of his biggest business decisions were made on a golf course. The real estate mogul simply uses his playing companion’s on-course behaviour to decide whether he would be a worthwhile business associate.
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“After 18 holes of golf and spending time on the 19th hole, doing actual business is like playing the 20th hole,” he says. Cunningham agrees. “There’s no question that you know more about the person when you play golf together – it’s a very individual game, you discover how they handle success and failure, and whether they are the people that you would want to do business with.”

As for the etiquettes to be followed while doing business on the course, Cunningham is a great believer in being who you are. “Stick to the rules of the game. I don’t believe in letting the opponent win – it’s a bit condescending. A competitive round of golf is enjoyable irrespective of whether you win or lose. If a client relationship hinges on the fact that you let the client win, it perhaps does not augur well for the long- term prospects.”

One of the most fruitful ways of expanding your network is participating in corporate events. Generally, each sponsor and organiser invites their top clients from within the local business community.

While corporate golf is mostly about relaxing and closing deals, what makes it special for professional golfers is the opportunity to find corporate sponsors at the Pro-Am. All one needs to do is pop the question to your multi-millionaire playing partner at the right time… preferably after he has made his first birdie on the 17th hole.

Golf could even be a perfect metaphor for business. After all, it takes pretty much the same skills to succeed at either: stick to the rules while taking risks, show integrity and honesty, establish personal trust to develop long-term relationships, and look the part. In these tough times, golf’s other big life lesson is the importance of planning ahead. You don’t simply play one shot at a time but anticipate and strategise for the course, a sure-shot method to definitely lower your handicap.

So why is golf the sport of international business? In a word, relationships. No other sport, participative or spectator, lends itself to developing lasting professional bonds like golf does. Not all deals are closed on the greens or even at the clubhouse. A round of golf can just be that, a good game with a fellow enthusiast. You win some, you lose some.

There are multimillionaires who don’t take the game seriously at all – golfers like Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan, who, if rumours are to be believed, makes more money betting on golf courses during Pro-Ams than Nike pays him as product endorsement fee. There are other champs like Lance Armstrong who gave up on golf, because it wasn’t helping his self-esteem. But he is vastly outnumbered by the legions of masochists – including Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Jack Welch and Warren Buffet – who will battle the elements for half a day, humiliated by a little dimpled ball and yet come back for more.

Cunningham captures it in a nutshell, “Golf is the perfect combination and the equal playing field for the business world today.” These businesses love golf

The now weakening automobile sector has sponsored a majority of tournaments on various professional Tours and corporate circuits in the past. Mercedes has taken a pride of place on the US PGA Tour by taking the title rights of this winners-only tournament; they also have the Mercedes Championship on the European Tour. Buick (Tiger Woods’ personal sponsor), Chrysler and Ford were all major sponsors on the US PGA Tour. BMW have a presence on both sides of the pond. Volvo has strong connections with the European and Asian PGA Tours.

Banks and consulting firms are two other big sponsors of golf, worldwide. Deustche Bank was a big sponsor on the US PGA Tour. American Express is associated with the $8 million World Golf Championship event, while HSBC hosts the HSBC Champions, one of the biggest events in Asia.

Golf makes sense to electronics and telecom giants as well: Sony, Nokia, AT&T, luxury watchmakers Rolex and Omega are all big supporters of golf. Airlines derive a lot of marketing benefits tying up with the game: Emirates is one of the biggest sponsors in the category, and while it may not sponsor an event, it is widely present in various events as the official airlines.

The tourism authorities of various states and countries like Scotland, Ireland, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, China and several others have joined hands with leading international tournaments in their countries. They not only back up the tournaments financially, but also do several promotional activities around the event.

2. Google’s search engine will lose a significant amount of market share as Live Search’s position will consolidate.

3. Google’s Q&A service, used to implement Google help forums, will become a part of Google Apps.

4. GrandCentral will be publicly available in the US and the interface will integrate with Gmail.

5. Google will launch a mobile browser for feature phones and non-Android smart phones.

6. The popular Google Bookmarks service will improve the way you manage bookmarks, by adding hierarchical labels, sharing options and more intuitive visualizations.

7. Google will bring some of the Chrome features to other browsers.

8. Google Translate will be seamlessly integrated with many Google services and applications.

9. Google Reader will list popular posts shared by the community and you’ll be able to subscribe to OPML files dynamically (the changes will reflect in your subscription list).

10. Google Maps Live – Google’s service will showcase webcams that stream from all around the world, it will include a tab for Google Earth and the most recent custom maps, reviews and map edits from your contacts.

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11. Google Contacts will become a separate application, it will offer advanced search and an option to synchronize contacts data.

12. Google’s efforts to promote Chrome will change people’s perception about Google, which will be increasingly associated with Microsoft.

13. Many high-profile Google employees, including Marissa Mayer, will leave the company.

14. Google Apps will start to be attractive again once the App Engine will be fully released.

15. Personalized search ads for users that are logged in.

16. OneGoogle – a new interface that merges all Google applications so you can quickly switch between Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs without opening a new tab or losing your work.

Source – Googlesystem

Toyota, like its Japanese counterparts, has been staggered by the yen’s stunning appreciation against the U.S. dollar — which makes Japanese exports more expensive overseas — as well as plunging vehicle sales in North America and other major export markets.

For the fiscal year that ends March 31, Toyota still expects to eke out a modest profit of $555 million, which looks pretty good in comparison to the billions of dollars of losses incurred already this year by Detroit’s beleaguered automakers.

But the world’s largest vehicle manufacturer by sales volume and market value said it now expects to post a fiscal-year operating loss of nearly $1.7 billion, a dramatic turnaround from the $13.9 billion operating profit Toyota had forecast earlier this year and revised operating profit of $6.7 billion that it released in November. Media reports in Japan said it would be the first operating loss since just after the firm was founded in 1937.

Executives also said total revenues for the fiscal year now are expected to fall about 18 percent, to around $239 billion, revised downward from the earlier projection of $256 billion.
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The company is facing a crisis of critical proportions after basking in eight consecutive years of record profits. In fiscal 2008, which ended last March 31, Toyota posted an operating profit of $25.3 billion and a group net profit of $19.1 billion.

In announcing the automaker’s second downward financial revision in six weeks, a clearly shaken Toyota President Katsuaki Watanabe said: “It’s a kind of emergency that we’ve never experienced before…. It’s not yet possible to tell where the market’s bottom will be.”

Watanabe also dramatically lowered the company’s vehicle sales forecast. For calendar-year 2008, Toyota now expects that global group sales, including those of Daihatsu and Hino, will drop more than 4 percent, to 8.96 million vehicles, from 9.37 million in 2007. Before the current crunch, Toyota earlier this year had forecast that sales would climb to 9.85 million units in 2008.

At the company’s year-end press conference, Toyota said it is taking a wide variety of measures to slash operating costs, from canceling directors’ bonuses to unplugging the electric hand dryers at the company’s Nagoya headquarters. Toyota last week said it is delaying construction on the new Prius assembly plant in Mississippi.

It is important to look for positive points to find a way out of the financial crisis, apart from philosophic controversy.

All countries, whether separately or collectively, are working hard to contain the crisis, or at least to reduce losses, despite the gloomy picture of the global economy and the pessimistic atmosphere blanketing the entire world.

Although it is difficult to speak about positive points while the entire world is facing such a crisis, there must be some positive aspects.

The first of these positive effects is that the financial crisis ushers in an end to the domination of the sole magnate in international financial relations, which was a major cause of the crisis.

Wall Street was the world’s most powerful investment house, just a few months ago, where investments used to pour from the East and the West. Now Wall Street means bankruptcy, and investors in fear of losing their money do their best to avoid it.

At present, there are regions in Europe and Asia, including the Gulf region, emerging as hubs of huge investments, which will bring about more stability to the world financial system. This shift is important for restructuring international relations in the post-crisis stage.

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The second positive result of the financial crisis revolves around redrafting laws and rules that regulate global financial institutions, especially the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) whose membership could not have been possible without a green light from Wall Street.

The previous rules governing economic relations were appropriate for the post-Second World War era and during the Cold War, but are no longer suitable for the globalization age and the emergence of new and influential economic powers on the map of international relations.

For instance, in China, foreign currency reserve reached $1.9 trillion at a time the US budget deficit amounted to $1 trillion, in addition to the progress achieved by Europe in the light of its single currency.

The third positive point is related to the change in the world investment map and the opportunities to be provided by the emerging investment hubs, which offer guarantees and opportunities for world capitals.

This potential change will coincide with restructuring of commercial relations, which will be done through the WTO that will allow specialization on the basis of the production priorities of each country.

This will offer middle east countries rare opportunities to take advantage of the possible outcomes of this crisis.

Fourth, the next global financial and banking system will be strictly regulated and supervised by applying the measures of control, transparency and global governance.

The last of the positive effects of the crisis would be the absence of giant financial institutions, which dominated stock markets in the world for long decades.

This in turn would allow new institutions to emerge and take over, which lays the foundation for a new sharing system in international financial and economic work.

In short, a bad situation may sometimes have good effects, and what is required now is to draw lessons from this crisis and the subsequent losses suffered by most countries.

For small businesses, one of the most convenient promotional materials to use is posters because they are easy to work with, very cost efficient and also poster printing when done well could reel you in with more customers than you expect thus, it would also mean better investment returns for you.

The innovations made in technology had totally changed the way businesses handle all their printing jobs. The introduction of online printing had totally helped business people handle all their printing projects without the need to leave the comfort of their homes. Thus with online printing business had achieved to attain fast turn around days and easy printing jobs.

Invitation printing is among the preferred printing services opted at present. Although it is often implied that invitations can be done through the word of the mouth, people still make use of invitation cards for formality, for their clients or friends not to forget about the affair that will about to happen.

Online printing can be an ideal choice of doing your invitation printing projects. Through online printing you only need to:

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1.Provide all the necessary requirements your chosen printer requires – by simply providing them your digital files online printers can easily print your cards and deliver them on the designated deadlines you had set. However in submitting your files see to it that they are on the right file format. Please always check on the file requirement your printer requires.

2.Provide a layout plan – giving your printer with the layout plan you have in mind will help your chosen printer to come up with a materials based on your perception. More likely they can achieve to print and bring up a card the way you visualized.

3.Give in the right information – as per the content of the invitation card you must accurately specify the details of the event. It must answer who, what, when and where the event will about to happen.

4.Accurately answer the printing quote provided – the printing quote provided helps both the printer and you to have a smooth print workflow. The answers you provided will guide your printer as to how ill they handle all your invitations printing jobs. with the quotes you are about to give in the number of quantities you want your invitation cards printed, what paper size to use, colors and inks to apply and turnaround time.

Having followed all the requirements set by your chosen printer will result to have a smooth and fast printing.

The coming up of different printing companies tend to provide lots of printing services and strategy that might struck you. But mind you, not all of them are reliable companies that you can trust. So if you want a proper advertising and promotions for your business you have to accurately look for an invitation printing company that can provide you with your needs.

China’s industrial output grew at its weakest pace in more than six year last month, partly due to the industrial shutdowns ordered by the government ahead of Olympics, the government’s statistics agency said on Friday. The sharp decline continued to be affected by the global economic downturn.

Industrial production in China expanded by 12.8% in August from a year earlier, the National Statistics Bureau said after a gain of 14.7% in July. The August reading was less than the 14.5% median estimate of economists. This was slowest rate since August 2002 and well below the 17.5% recorded in August 2007.

But, some economists said that the slowdown in August could be a temporary blip, and may not be indicative of a long-term trend. China’s industrial activity will pick up with the re opening of factories in Beijing and surrounding areas, JP Morgan’s local securities unit wrote in a note.

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Today’s weak data also increases the chance that Beijing will soon announce measures to stimulate economic activity. The figure adds to the week’s weaker inflation and trade reports in signaling that the expansion of the world’s fourth-biggest economy may keep slowing as growth falters in the US, Europe and Japan.

China’s policy makers may cut the proportion of deposits that banks are required to set aside as reserves and maintain a slower pace of gains in the yuan to protect jobs, according to some economists.

The reserve ratio is expected to fall 50 basis points from a record 17.5% by year’s end, dropping to 15% in 2009. The yuan fell to 6.8452 against the dollar as of 12:51 p.m. in Shanghai from 6.8449 immediately before the data was released.

During the July to August period, China’s industrial output expanded by 15.7% from the year-earlier period. Apart from a seasonal slowdown during the Lunar New Year celebrations that fall in the January to February period, the figures represent the weakest rate of industrial output growth since August 2002.

Separately, China’s retail sales grew at nearly the fastest pace in at least nine years, as rising incomes encouraged consumer spending. Retail sales rose 23.2% in August from a year earlier to 876.8bn yuan (US$128bn), the National Bureau of Statistics said today, after gaining 23.3% in July.

That was more than the 23% median estimate of economists.