BITKOM is looking for Internet award winners 22. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot Until the 31st of August there is still time for small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) to submit applications for taking part in the German Internet Award competition. This year the prize is awarded for the first time by the Confederation of information technology, telecommunications and new media (BITKOM) in co-operation with renowned businesses and media …
Employees need to know their company´s business strategy 22. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot Knowing their employer’s business strategy is of high importance to German employees. More than two thirds of people questioned think that without knowing the company´s strategy they are not able to do their work properly. Only a minority believe that knowing or not knowing the plans was irrelevant to achieving business objectives. This is the …
New EU guidelines promise better access to venture capital for SMEs 20. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot The European Commission has adopted guidelines on establishing the compatibility of public grants aimed at promoting venture capital investment in small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) with the stipulations concerning grants laid down in the EC treaty (Article 87 (⇒ Wikipedia)). The objective is to facilitate the access of SMEs to financial means during their early …
Virtual Network Operator as a new business model for SMEs 20. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot Since the launch of Tchibo´s mobile communications business activities in 2004 several other companies called Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) have entered this market segment. Are activities of this kind only a method aimed at reaching new target groups by offering low prices or is the MVNO model a promising business model with real potential? …
From the 1st of July new standardized social contributions for so-called mini jobs 19. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot The Haufe Mediengruppe, which is a publishing house specialized on judicial literature, points to the fact that from July 1st employers have to pay standardized social contributions of 30 percent instead of hitherto 25 percent for employing so-called mini jobbers. According to Haufe the Taxpayers´ Confederation had found out through a survey in North Rhine-Westphalia …
Economic outlook deteriorates markedly according to ZEW 19. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot The economic forecasting for Germany by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) has been less promising for July 2006 with a fall of 22.7 points to 15.1 points on the rating scale as compared to the previous month (37.8 points in July). Above all economic development in Germany is put at risk by the …
EU officials to receive practical training in SMEs 19. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot 350 senior EU officials from the directorate general of companies and industry (GD ENTR) are to work for one week in small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). This unusual kind of work at the economic frontline is part of a so-called “company experience” programme launched on the 17th of July by the Commission. It aims at …
GEZ insists on broadcasting fees to be paid for using company computers 19. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot The German office for collecting radio and TV fees (GEZ) assumes that company computers are also used for listening to radio and watching TV, which is an absurd allegation in the eyes of entrepreneurs. Nevertheless from January 1st 2007 fees will also have to be paid for company computers equipped with an internet connection, if …
Email marketing software available free of charge to SMEs 17. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot It is a fact that email marketing is also useful to small and medium-sized entities. Whereas spam emailing is simple, but illegal, legal and serious email marketing requires some adequate technical equipment and so far could only be provided by external service providers or using expensive computer software. These solutions, however, were often too expensive …
Taxation of real assets threatens SMEs 17. July 2006 by Thomas Jannot With regard to the cornerstones of a company taxation reform which were fixed by the German government on Wednesday, Mr. Mario Ohoven, who is chairman of the Confederation of German small and medium-sized entities (BVMW), declared: “The German government has realized at last that tax cuts mean smaller revenues at first, but will lead to …