ANN ARBOR - U.S. companies that offshore customer service may save money on labor costs, but they also pay the price in terms of unhappy customers, University of Michigan researchers contend. "Firms are increasingly offshoring front-office functions such as customer service call centers and back-office functions such as information technology to manage their operations and
ANN ARBOR - ProQuest has closed on its agreement to acquire the Dialog business from ThomsonReuters and named industry veteran Suzanne BeDell as Dialog General Manager. BeDell will report to ProQuest CEO Marty Kahn. Financial terms were not disclosed. "I am thrilled about what this means both to ProQuest and Dialog and to the customers
LANSING - A group hoping to amend the Michigan Constitution to allow embryonic stem cell research in the state provided itself a substantial buffer in filing 570,016 signatures toward a spot on the November ballot. That filing launched the voter campaigns for both sides, as opponents did not expect to be able to disqualify enough
LANSING - Reform Michigan Government Now! filed just shy of 500,000 signatures Monday with the Department of State, and already some of the state's top constitutional and elections lawyers are looking for holes that could keep the issue off the ballot. Though no committee has been formed to oppose the measure that would make a
TROY - Automation Alley announced Tuesday that is has signed its 900th members, Auto-Craft Tool and Die in Algonac. "The 900 member-company mark is a remarkable accomplishment for Automation Alley," said Ken Rogers, executive director. "The extraordinary growth of Automation Alley over the past nine years reinforces Automation Alley's status as Michigan's largest technology business
LANSING - Five years ago, Michigan began to approach the problem of underage drinking in a different way - vertically rather than horizontally. A law went into effect on July 1, 2003, requiring the issuance of vertical (portrait) style driver?s licenses or personal identification cards to individuals under the age of 21. As a result
ANN ARBOR - Biopharmaceutical company NanoBio Corp has appointed announced Daniel B. Dubin, M.D., to its board of directors. Dr. Dubin currently serves as Vice Chairman and a Director at Leerink Swann, a leading healthcare and biotechnology investment banking firm. "Dr. Dan�'s keen understanding of the life sciences investment banking field and his clinical experience
LANSING - Though recent legislative action leaves their place in question, alternative energy suppliers are still pushing to maintain a place in Michigan's electric market. In particular, that place appears to be in renewable power. Members of the Customer Choice Coalition, at a media roundtable Wednesday, urged legislators when they return in two weeks to
LANSING - The state has created a web site to help consumers find ways to save money on commuting, household energy use, college tuition, health care and other avenues as food and gas prices eat up a greater share of household income, said Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who also said the state should consider lowering the
LANSING - Jim Barrett, who retired on June 30 after 32 years as president of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, says Michigan is going through the most challenging economic period he has seen in that time, but is optimistic about its future. Although businesses continue to chafe under what many see as excessive tax and