DETROIT - On August 23rd new federal rules went into effect controlling whether executives, professional and administrative employees can be exempt from being paid overtime. Replacing rules which were basically unchanged for 50 years, the new rules are a better reflection of todays world and also designed to lessen the likelihood that employers will be
DETROIT - Are you often caught playing the waiting game during the assessment of a potential hire? Hesitant to hire someone because you just arent sure that the person is the right fit? Todays challenging and competitive business climate makes it essential for managers to place the right people with the right skills in the
LIVONIA - In todays advanced technology, robbing banks and picking pockets is becoming a thing of the past. Todays thieves can liquidate bank accounts and purchase goods in someone elses name - and purchase eBay auction items in your name as well. How? You unwittingly provide them with your personal information. In July, I received
PONTIAC Michigan companies have long recognized the importance of exportingselling more than $33 billion worth of goods and services to about 200 worldwide destinations last year alone. And the U.S. Commercial Service last year facilitated more than $1 billion of those export sales for Michigan companies. Bit more than 13,000 Michigan small and medium-sized companies
SOUTHFIELD - When IT managers consider logging and archiving, they are faced with a dilemma: Keep enough data, and audit and regulatory needs are met, business continuity is maintained, and recovery after disaster goes off smoothly. Keep too much data, though, and the cost associated with storing that data and the resources needed to maintain
TROY - The most effective Internet marketing methods in use today focus on attracting the Narrowcast Visitor to your website - the person who uses the Internet to proactively seek out providers of a specific product or service to satisfy their particular needs. Essentially these visitors represent people who are raising their hands and saying,
CLARKSTON - Studies show that satisfied customers will tell at least two people about good products and services. Other research suggests it can cost up to five times as much to acquire or replace a customer as it does to retain one. No matter what business you are in, acquiring and keeping customers is challenging
LANSING You love the deals on eBay and surfing the net, but downloading security patches, installing firewalls or updating your virus software, seems too confusing, expensive, and time-consuming to handle. Or perhaps you know someones whos identity has been stolen and you think this cant happen to me, writes Dan Lohrmann, the Michigan Chief Information
ANN ARBOR - For people who care about such things, there are two new theories making the rounds in economic development circles lately, writes Susan Lackey, President of the Washtenaw Development Council, a member of Automation Alley. The first concerns a new application of the 80/20 rule. In this case, it means that 80 percent
ANN ARBOR - Businesses across the United States have been working through requirements set down by the Americans with Disabilities Act of (ADA) for more than a decade now. Their efforts have largely been focused on compliance in the physical world: Ensuring access to persons with disabilities and putting policies into place that enabled fair