Management Blog

Economy strong heading into '07

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of economic activity indicates the Australian economy strengthened by 1.2 points (0.5 per cent) during October, The Age reports.

This increase takes the economy's annual growth rate to 5.5 per cent; a movement economists say indicates a long term trend of 4.2 per cent growth over the next three to nine months.

Westpac says that due to its impact on inflation, continued growth will put pressure on the Reserve Bank to increase interest rates this year, possibly as soon as early February.

Handling a growing concern

Acquiring another business can help fast growing enterprises overcome barriers to their own capability and capacity roadblocks, Smart Company argues. 

The benefits of acquisition include access to specialist staff, new technology and key customer relationships; it can also be a way of connecting to new suppliers and markets.

The article says acquiring finance to support an acquisition can be straightforward if the acquired firm has assets or is generating sufficient free cash to support the borrowing.

It's claimed the key to a successful acquisition is to fully understand the contribution of a new company in an overall growth strategy and to stay focused on the investment objectives of the process.

Wages on the rise

Australians are taking home larger pays than this time last year according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that show a 4.2 per cent increase in wages over the year to September.

Citigroup economists say the increase is not a cause for concern with regard to interest rates as wages would need to rise by more than 4.5 per cent for the RBA to take immediate action.

The HSBC is also positive about the news saying the figures prove wage pressures are under control even though the economy is booming and the labour market is tight.

Facebook divides the market

Social networking site Facebook has launched HyperTargeting – an initiative that divides its over 100 million users into targeted advertising categories, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

In order to give advertisers a clearer picture of audience segments these categories are based on information contained in users' profiles and from details gathered from their online conversations.

There's good reason to take notice of this development. After a similar approach was used by rival MySpace advertisers enjoyed a 300 per cent improvement compared to other targeting methods.

But will it cost more? Apparently not according to Fox Interactive Media, which says HyperTargeting won't result in an increase in advertising rates for Facebook spots.

2007's 'dumbest' products unveiled

Inc. magazine is celebrating the silly season by announcing what it considers to be the dumbest products of 2007. The list includes:

iCarta+ – an iPod dock and speaker that doubles as a toilet roll holder

Windows Vista – it's claimed many people are actually paying US$150 to downgrade to the system's predecessor Windows XP

VitaSea Clothing – calm inducing yoga wear made from seaweed fibre that tests found didn't actually include any seaweed

Quadruple Bypass Burger – an 8,000 calorie burger featuring nearly a kg of beef, 12 slices of bacon and four layers of cheese

Woof Water – boutique bottled water for dogs; at least it's a name dogs can easily pronounce

The year's mega-trends

Corporate Australia is more environmentally aware, more into PDAs and more focused on workers' needs than it was 12 months ago Smart Company proclaims in its list of 2007's mega-trends.

Here's the web publication's mega-trends list:

1. Boomers vs. Gen Y - apparently 2007 was the year tensions flared between older workers and their younger teammates

2. Facebook and Google - Google grew bigger, more diversified and extremely powerful while Facebook became a household name

3. Green Biz - consumers started to listen to warnings about global warming and businesses took note

4. BlackBerrys everywhere - the PDA staked its claim as a necessary (and highly addictive) item for business people

5. Workers flexed their muscle - low unemployment rates gave workers more power with many requesting greater flexibility

A green revolution for accountants

An Australian software company is hoping to turn the dream of a paperless office into a reality with the world's first zero carbon footprint accounting system, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Attache Software says it has already helped to save a stack of paper equivalent in height to Sydney Tower; looking forward, the company hopes to save double this amount during 2008.

To achieve its green goals, the software reduces the amount of paper used in accounting processes by placing a greater emphasis on fax and email rather than sending out documents in envelopes.

Attache says it is time the IT industry brought itself up to speed with environmental issues; it's claimed the industry currently produces more greenhouse gas emissions than the aviation sector.

UK floating office unveiled

Looking for a workspace with a difference? The unveiling of a rates-free floating office on the Edinburgh River in Scotland could be a sign of things to come, the BBC reports.

The floating office has been built on Barge 1502, a vessel that had previously served in the Falkland Islands before being rescued from dereliction last year by the developer behind the project.

The barge cum office will accommodate creative consultancy Omina, which will move 20 staff members on the fully telecommunications equipped vessel.

After beating off stiff competition to secure the lease, Omina hopes the barge's unparalleled water views will help its team think more innovatively.

Spam reaches the 95 per cent mark

Figures released by US web security firm Barracuda Networks indicate 95 per cent of emails sent during 2007 were spam, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

This figure represents an increase in unsolicited junk email from 70 per cent in 2004, the year in which the US Government introduced restrictions and penalties for spammers.

According to Barracuda, junk email has continued to proliferate because spammers are becoming more adept at secretly routing emails through other people's websites, blogs and computers.

Surviving the Christmas Party

Revelers beware: It's that time of year when good office parties can turn very bad as a result of rampant overindulgence, news.com.au reports.

To help you survive the office party season, business etiquette expert and author Patsy Rowe offers the following advice:

Don't talk about your private life - personal information, such as marital problems, may be used against you

Don't show too much flesh - both women and men should understand that a promiscuous look isn't appropriate

Don't sing - you'll probably end up making a fool of yourself

Don't go too hard - stay in control by enjoying a standard drink an hour and drinking lots of water