The future of business leaders is in question, with 75 percent of executives worldwide worrying about the leadership of their companies. Unlocking the DNA of the Adaptable Workforce, a global human capital study by IBM, found the danger to growth strategies is from experienced personnel retiring, during growth in emerging markets. "In today's business environment, […]
Prime Minister John Howard denied that the Coalition would take WorkChoices further if re-elected but is backing the controversial industrial relations policy as an election winner. Channel Seven yesterday lost a battle to publicise the contents of a 2005 draft, which the TV station says provides the blueprint for further reforms. The documents were withheld […]
Making false statements on credit applications is becoming a habit, with 2.7 million Australians admitting they’re guilty. A Veda Advantage study found Australians underestimate expenses and credit commitments, exaggerate work history, and overestimate their assets. Interestingly, men are twice as likely as women to tell fibs on their credit applications.Now with credit repayment struggles increasing, […]
Full-fee university courses for local students will be phased out by 2009 according to a Labor Party pledge. Labor’s education spokesman Stephen Smith estimated it would cost $300-$400 million to compensate universities for the loss of fees but said it would address the increasing cost of tertiary education and the skills shortage. Under its policy, […]
Governments should offer incentives, for businesses to encourage staff working from home, believe 87 percent of Australians. Reducing the number of people driving to work would also reduce thousands of tons of pollution each year, found the LinkMe survey. Currently 68 percent of full-time workers drive to work, and more than 30 percent of drivers […]
Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott has admitted that the Coalition’s WorkChoices laws have eroded worker’s rights but says that due to the deregulated labour market it should be easy for workers to get a new job. "I accept that certain protections, in inverted commas, are not what they were,” he said. "[Finding alternative employment] is […]
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has launched an investigation into the controversial custom of domain tasting. Domain tasting permits businesses and other users to register domain names, to test whether they increase online traffic, and then allows them to cancel the registration before any fees can be charged. The realisation that […]
Economists have warned that public spending will fuel higher inflation. With less than ten days to go until the election, both the Coalition and the Labor Party spent yesterday playing down the dollar value of their respective policy announcements to convince voters that they were sound economic managers. Labor leader Kevin Rudd unveiled a modest […]
Most SMEs would find it difficult to match the incentives many corporate companies are offering employees—cars for their spouses, nine-day fortnights, subsidised gym memberships, yearly train tickets, rainwater tanks and iPods—all in the name of recruiting good staff and keeping them. But as Charisse Gray reveals, small businesses can compete with the bottomless pockets of […]
Apprentice wages have come under scrutiny following a report that an apprentice wage is only marginally above the dole, putting trainees below the poverty line. The survey, undertaken by Group Training Australia, shows first-year apprentices could not afford an adequate living standard unless their award provided them generous allowances. Federal Vocational and Further Education Minister […]
