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Archive for “Scrapplenomics” news
After Building Collapse, What to Know About Hiring Contractors
By Gene Marks 6/13/2013
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A building collapses in Center City Philadelphia and six people are killed. It turns out that the demolition being done at an adjacent site was performed by a crane operator who tested positive for marijuana that day and had a lengthy police record. The crane operator was employed by a company that was contracted by the building’s owner. Neither the owner or the demolition company have been charged … yet. But it’s likely that they will be.
And they all share in the responsibility, especially the building owner. Because this is what happens when you don’t contract things out correctly. This is a lesson for any business person who employs subcontractors. And we all do. All the time.
Don’t Blame Philly for Being So Small-Business Unfriendly
By Gene Marks 6/06/2013
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I must apologize to the City of Philadelphia. Just this week, a new survey put Philadelphia #27 out of 30 cities as “friendly” for small-business employees. Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Cleveland actually ranked higher than us. Can you believe that? Cleveland! It’s better to work for a small business in … Cleveland … than in Philadelphia. Hard to believe, but true.
Hard to believe because, as much fun as I poke at our city, it really is a great place to work for a small business. Sure, there’s a high level of crime, our transit system is bankrupt, our schools are falling apart, and since 1970, Philly has lost 25 percent of its jobs even as Boston, NYC and D.C. grew, which many blame on our excessive income and property taxes. So I can understand why some may feel that Philly isn’t the best place to work.
9 Totally Ridiculous Personal Questions Your Employer Might Ask You One Day
By Gene Marks 3/28/2013
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Are you an employee? Is it 2013? Then welcome to the new reality! Because it’s a great time to be an employer. Those in the workforce just have to bend to a company's demands. So forget about working from home. And toss away your online privacy, too; bosses want to see everything you’re doing, saying and tweeting. Oh, and ladies, don’t even think about having a baby unless you’ve cleared it with your employer first.
10 Mysteries About Girls Gone Wild Declaring Bankruptcy
By Gene Marks 3/07/2013
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A wild and mysterious thing happened last week: The company that owns Girls Gone Wild, and all its related brands, went bankrupt.
11 Questions to Ask Employees Who Want to “Work From Home”
By Gene Marks 2/28/2013
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Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo! made big news last week when, in an internal memo, she told her employees that they must now come in to the office to do their work. In other words: no more working from home.
Surprising, isn’t it? Many of us are used to working from home nowadays. It’s not only a trend, but a cost-saving measure for many employers. A whole industry of remote collaboration technologies exists to help people telecommute. And besides, it’s cozy working from home. How could she be so mean?
Successful Businesses Don’t Close for President’s Day
By Gene Marks 2/21/2013
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I love writing for the Philly Post, but I feel obligated to point this out: Businesses don’t shut for President’s Day—at least businesses that plan to stay in business for a long time. Need proof? Just look at who does shut for President’s Day. The federal government ($16 trillion in debt). State governments (most with large deficits). The U.S. Postal Service ($16 billion loss last fiscal year). The Philadelphia School District ($1.1 billion budget shortfall). This is the company you want to keep?
Can Our Local Banks Improve?
By Gene Marks 2/14/2013
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A few months ago, I called my big, national bank and asked to do what I thought would be a simple thing: a wire transfer. No problem in this electronic age, right? Except it wasn’t such a simple thing. That’s because my vendor was a software development company that had the audacity to be located in the Ukraine. How dare they! I could understand if such a transaction were difficult in, say, 1973. But this is 2013. And this is a big bank, with branches throughout the Philadelphia area (their name is on one of our sports stadiums).
Survey: Fewer Than 1 in 4 Philly Businesses Looking to Hire in 2013
By Gene Marks 2/07/2013
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A group of about 50 small-business people gathered in Center City last week for a “think tank” session sponsored by Dell Computer. I was hired to moderate. The point of the session was to discuss issues facing the region’s small-business owners, particularly the need for financing, better technology and talent.
Employers Should Be Allowed to Ask Women Job Candidates: “Do You Plan to Get Pregnant?”
By Gene Marks 1/31/2013
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It’s 2013 and you know what? It still sucks to be a woman in the workplace. And if you want to be CEO of a large company? Good luck with that too.
Can Manufacturing Make a Comeback in Philadelphia?
By Gene Marks 1/24/2013
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Just last week, Mayor Nutter created a 25-person task force for the purpose of finding ways to bring manufacturers (back) to the Philadelphia region. I’m sure that the idea came from his recent trip to Tianjin, China, where he enviously observed the impact that government investment can have on a major industrial city. "Seeing what goes on here is a reminder of the things we can do and must do to maintain our presence on the world stage," Nutter said. It also underscores "what our federal government can do if we would have, at times, a little less debate and a whole lot more work and understand that investment brings job and activity and furthers American interests."
