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Daily Dash Headlines

2009: Year of Change For HR Professionals, Business Owners
With the new year and a new administration well under way, 2009 promises to be a year of change for business owners and HR professionals. And the new administration doesn't appear to be wasting any time getting started.

Pay Equity Legislation Creates Stir Among Business Leaders
Newly sworn-in lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives wasted no time passing legislation that would make it easier for workers to sue employers over pay issues. And in an already tough economic climate, some business groups say if the legislation is enacted, it will have a chilling effect on companies already struggling to stay afloat.

National HR Organization Attempts to Block Federal E-Verify Mandate
By law, federal contractors will have to start using the U.S. government's controversial electronic employment verification system in mid-January. But the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and four other organizations have filed suit in federal court in an attempt to spare employers from what they believe is a flawed system.

Time to get your Annual Financial Check-up
With the ever-challenging Michigan economy and the roller-coaster ride of recent months in the stock market, now, more than ever, everyone needs to have a Financial Check-up. How can you be sure you have the best advisors surrounding you? Get a second opinion of course.

Companies Providing Quality Service to the Community
At a time of tremendous economic turmoil in our country, it’s good to know there are still some bright spots on Michigan’s horizon and there are still companies that are committed to providing quality service to the community. One such company is ITC Holdings Corp., headquartered in Novi, which is the owner and operator of the high voltage electric transmission system in most of Michigan’s lower Peninsula.

Mixed Bag for Business: Litigation Is Recession-Proof, Court Action Is Avoidable
With all of the layoffs, reorganizations, and buyouts going on these days, legal experts say companies need to take the right steps to avoid ending up in the courtroom. The combination of poor economic conditions and disgruntled, laid-off workers makes the current business environment especially ripe for lawsuits, legal experts say. And with budget crunches on a grand scale across corporate America, few companies can afford to get hung up in expensive court actions.

The Best Electricians in the World
Michigan has long been recognized for its highly skilled workforce. In fact, Michigan has led the way in quality and talent in the manufacturing sectors for decades. Now, as we face some of the biggest economic challenges since the Great Depression, the question many are asking is “Where do we go from here?”

What is a Life Settlement?
A Life Settlement, also known as a Senior Settlement, is the sale to a third-party purchaser of an in-force life insurance policy for its “fair market value” – an amount of money greater than the contract’s cash surrender value but less than its death benefit. The Policy Owner/Seller is not restricted in the use of the cash proceeds received from the sale. In return for the cash payment made to the former Policy Owner/Seller, the Settlement Company acquires ownership of the policy, names itself the beneficiary, is then responsible for paying the ongoing future premium payments, and ultimately will receive the death benefit at the insured’s death.

Help Ease Employees' Financial Fears With Communication, Education
It's hard enough to crank out the same amount of work with a skeleton staff, but many employees who have managed to survive rounds of layoffs and buyouts have much weightier matters than work projects on their minds.

Time for Open Enrollment
It's not quite holiday shopping season yet. But it is Open Enrollment season for more than 80-million Americans who are shopping for their employee benefits for next year. Stephanie AuWerter, editor of SmartMoney.com, offers some tips on getting the most out of your company benefits.

Archive

Decision Making in the Real World
One of the realities of owning a company with 25 branches that stretch from Lithuania to California is that I spend a lot of time on airplanes. That, in turn, means a lot of time that I’m not in meetings, on the phone or on the Internet, which in turn gives me a lot of time to think. In recent months, a lot of that thinking has turned to the financial crises that face our city, our state, our nation and our world. It’s hard to find optimism anywhere these days.

Entrepreneurship Across the Curriculum
Last October I wrote briefly about several of the steps we have taken at Kettering University over the past three years to enable the institution to deliver on its promise to be a collaborative contributor to regional socio-economic development. That promise is codified in a newly articulated mission statement which proclaims that Kettering University is dedicated to adding transformational value to its stakeholders by engaging in collaborative partnerships that contribute to the well-being of our region and society.

A Vocabulary for Success in 2009
The New Year brings with it challenges few of us have seen in our lifetime as this country faces its most uncertain economic conditions since the early 1930s. In spite of what is happening nationally and locally in our economy, I remain a positive person as I look forward to 2009.

Cooperative Education - An effective way to build a productive professional work
Last Saturday, December 13th, I presided over the Kettering University Commencement Exercises as I always do. But this time was different. For the first time in the three and one-half years I have been at Kettering, I was going to deliver the commencement address, and for the first time I saw science, engineering and business graduates who were truly facing uncertainties in their future – new and troubling economic realities ranging from a financial crisis and a deepening world recession to the threatened viability of the U.S. auto industry – a threat that had reached a critical stage just the day before.

What can we learn from this?
S3 just marked 18 consecutive years of growth with a focus that for a variety of reasons has never included the auto industry. As a result, some people were surprised recently when we enthusiastically signed on as part of an effort to highlight the importance of the auto industry to both this region and to the nation as a whole.

Barriers on the Road to the New Economy
My last six CEO Corner columns have focused on some of the things that need to be done as we build a new economy for this region – one built on the foundation of rediscovered science and technology-based entrepreneurism. However, there are barriers to achieving this objective that we must overcome. Conceptually I group these into three categories: governmental barriers, insufficient venture capital, and small thinking.

Cynthis J. Pasky: Community Involvement and Charitable Giving
It takes much more than a strong bottom line to make running a business a truly rewarding experience. Financial success, if it is not coupled with a strong commitment to community involvement, can be a very hollow success.