By John Walker on January 18, 2012
QCon, the Software Development Conference will be taking place at The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London from March 7th to March 9th 2012 and would be of interest to enterprise software developers, team leads, architects and those involved in project management.
The organisers list Martin Fowler, one of the industry’s most influential authors, [...]
Posted in Business Culture, E-commerce, IT and Telecommunications Services, Ideas and Innovation, Information Security, Information Technology, Morale, Outsourcing, Procurement, Product Research and Development, Production Facilities, Project Management, Recruitment, Skills and Training, South West London (S.W.), Technology, Trade Shows, Seminars and Exhibitions, Training, UK |
By John Walker on November 29, 2011
The Chancellor has today delivered his autumn statement to Parliament, alongside the publication of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s updated forecasts for growth and borrowing. He announced permanent reductions in spending to ensure that the UK meets its fiscal targets, using some of those savings in the short term to fund infrastructure investment to generate [...]
Posted in Accounts, Business Banking, Business Continuity Planning, Commercial Property Services, Cost Management, Critical Infrastructure, Distribution Channels, Down sizing / Retraction, E-commerce, Economic Cycles, Employment Levels, Financial Capital, Forecasts, Fundability, Grants and Funding Pronouncements, Industrial Relations, Inflation, Insurance, Lending and Borrowing, Loans and Finance, Monetary Policy, Morale, Organized Labour / Unions, Outsourcing, People and Players, Political and Economic Philosophies, Politics & Legislation, Procurement, Product Research and Development, Public Sector, Public Spending and State Aid, Recruitment, Regulation, Regulatory Compliance, Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, Skills and Training, Staff, Startups, Taxation, Technology, Telecommunications, UK, UK Budget, Utilities | Tagged Air Passenger Duty (APD), Apprenticeship, Association of British Insurers, Autumn Statement, bank levy, Bank of England, Business Finance Partnership, Chancellor, Child Tax Credit, deficit reduction, enterprise, Enterprise Zones, free education, Free Schools, fuel duty increase, Infrastructure Investors Forum, infrastructure spending, Jobcentre Plus, Jobseeker’s allowance, Local Authorities, measures, mid-sized businesses, National Infrastructure Plan, National Loan Guarantee Scheme, OBR, Office for Budget Responsibility, Official Development Assistance, pension funds, Sector Based Work Academy, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS), small firms, smaller businesses, Spending Review period, State Pension age, super-connected cities, tax relief, Work Experience, young apprentices, Youth Contract |
By John Walker on August 19, 2011
Michael Wilson and James Glover of Simply Health discuss why employers are still to be convinced of the business case for investing in health benefits and links between wellbeing and productivity.
Companies are struggling to show they care about their staff, according to a new report which reveals that employees believe employers now care less about [...]
Posted in Arts, Sports and Recreation, Business Culture, Employment Levels, Fashion, Trends and Memes, Health Services, Health and Social Care Services, Industrial Relations, Industry Reports, Insurance, Morale, Personal Services, Recruitment, Regulation, Regulatory Compliance, Skills and Training, Staff, Surveys, The Work Place, UK | Tagged audio podcast, Engaging Employees through Health and Wellbeing Report, James Glover, Michael Wilson, Simplyhealth |
By John Walker on February 6, 2011
Drive, by Dan Pink - a YouTube video, first recorded on 8th April 2010.
If you are setting up a new business and trying to devise plans for staff remuneration packages this video might be of interest.
The presenter argues that the “carrot and stick” approach to staff motivation works well for simple, straight forward, mechanical work. [...]
Posted in Economic Cycles, Human Resources, Ideas and Innovation, Industrial Relations, Political and Economic Philosophies, Recruitment, Startups, The Work Place, Training, Worldwide | Tagged Dan Pink, motivation |
By John Walker on January 20, 2011
Tribunal cites lack of ‘mutuality of obligation’ as key to ruling in favour of taxpayer.
A seven-year battle with the taxman has ended in victory for PCG member Mark Fitzpatrick.
The long running IR35 dispute reached a conclusion when a tribunal cleared Mark of using his limited company MBF Design Services (MBF) to avoid tax, in reference [...]
Posted in Accounts, Bristol (Area), Design and Photographic Services, Freelancers, Human Resources, Insurance, Legal Rulings, Outsourcing, Recruitment, Regulation, Regulatory Compliance, Taxation, UK, Vehicle Manufacturing | Tagged IR35, Mutuality of Obligation |
By John Walker on November 22, 2010
Britain’s 1.4m freelance workers love life, are happier with their health, their financial situation, their prospects and their wife, husband or partners!
A ComRes survey published today (Nov 22nd) shows that nearly three-quarters (73%) of the 1,624 polled had actively chosen to become freelancers as a long-term career option in a survey to celebrate National Freelancers [...]
Posted in Employment Levels, Freelancers, Human Resources, Outsourcing, Procurement, Production, Recruitment, Surveys, UK | Tagged family friendly employers, PCG, statistics, trends |
By John Walker on October 22, 2010
Commenting on the recent Comprehensive Spending Review, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;
“The cuts announced in the Government’s spending review are a retrograde step and will have a devastating impact on vital public services, including education.
“The Government may talk about protecting schools, but schools are not [...]
Posted in Construction, Critical Infrastructure, Education, Employment Levels, Human Resources, Industrial Relations, Organized Labour / Unions, Public Sector, Public Spending and State Aid, Recruitment, UK | Tagged Building Schools for the Future, Christine Blower, Comprehensive Spending Review, cuts, National Union of Teachers, NUT, public services, public spending cuts, Sure Start |
By John Walker on October 15, 2010
When the alarm goes off in the morning are you a sunshine, happy person or do you pull up the duvet in the hope of escaping the dark, cruel world outside?
As a freelancer do you know how your skills are valued? If you engage freelancers in your company or organisation, do you welcome a talented [...]
Posted in Employment Levels, Freelancers, Human Resources, Market Research, Project Management, Recruitment, Surveys, UK | Tagged National Freelancers Day, PCG |
By John Walker on July 1, 2010
Some interesting results from a survey by Insurantz.com showing Small businesses are still not catching on to social networking.
Just 16% of UK SMEs embrace sites like Facebook or Twitter as essential tools for business
56% of businesses put off by lack of understanding
65% have yet to see any benefit from social networking
Leisure and tourism industry most [...]
Posted in Brands, Critical Infrastructure, Customer Support, Distribution Channels, Equipment & Operational Resources, Fashion, Trends and Memes, Ideas and Innovation, Information Technology, Internet Services, Market Research, Marketing, Marketing Facilities, Product Research and Development, Recruitment, Reputation, Sales, Surveys, Technology, Telecommunications Services, UK |
By John Walker on April 20, 2009
Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) and Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) announced today they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Oracle will acquire Sun common stock for $9.50 per share in cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun’s cash and debt.
“We expect this acquisition to be accretive [...]
Posted in Brands, Business Banking, Business Software, Contact Management, Critical Infrastructure, Customer Support, Deals and Agreements, Distribution Channels, E-commerce, Financial Capital, Governance, IT and Telecommunications Services, Information Security, Information Technology, Intellectual Property, North America, People and Players, Procurement, Product Research and Development, Production, Production Facilities, Project Management, Public Limited Companies - PLCs, Recruitment, Sales, Mergers & Acquisitions, Technology, Worldwide | Tagged audio webcast, Cloud Computing, Java, Open Source, Oracle Corporation, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Solaris, Sun Microsystems |
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