Category: Business Today

It’s Called Coworking, not Co-working, and it May be Here to Stay

Back in 1980, Alvin Toffler coined the concept of the Electronic Cottage. While this might sound like a feature from Tomorrow’s World, it was essentially the idea that people, particularly those engaged in “knowledge work” – using their brains – would in the future be less bound to a traditional workplace. Technology would increasingly make working from home possible.

Is Uber Just a Software Company?

Uber’s arm’s-length relationship with its drivers just got a bit closer after the California Labor Commission ruled that one of the ride-hailing company’s motorists in San Francisco is an employee, not a contractor, as it contends.

This is a big deal because the rights of Uber drivers depend sharply on whether they are employees or self-employed independent contractors hired for particular jobs. By extension, the success of Uber’s business model may hinge on the question as well, but that is for another article.

Calculating the Cost of Blowing the Whistle

The recent Francis Report into how poor care at Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust was allowed to happen was another lesson in just how valuable whistleblowers are to society. Yet as a society, we don’t seem to care that many struggle to survive.

The Credit Risk Database in Japan is a Model for the Rest of Asia

Considering the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for employment and GDP and the number of such firms in Asian countries, there needs to be further efforts to offer SMEs access to finance. Asian economy characteristics are having bank-dominated financial systems and underdeveloped capital markets, and as a result, banks are the main source of financing for SMEs. However, the financial health of SMEs is difficult to evaluate since many do not have solid accounting systems and many SMEs in Asia resort to borrowing money from moneylenders at high interest rates.

What Now That the NFL is No Longer Non-Profit?

Recently, the National Football League (NFL) announced it was giving up its nonprofit status. This is a much-coveted designation because it exempts the entity from taxation.

Some lawmakers have been trying to take away its tax-exempt status for years, with Senator Tom Colburn and Congressman Jason Chaffetz leading the charge. But their bills to limit who qualifies have gone nowhere.

Businesses Highlight the Strengths of Autistic Employees

Microsoft has announced its intention to hire more autistic people – not as a charitable enterprise but because, as corporate vice-president Mary Ellen Smith said: “People with autism bring strengths that we need at Microsoft.” Employing autistic people makes good business sense.

Large and Small Businesses Have their Place Driving Economic Growth

Last August, South Main Kitchen, a little restaurant in Alpharetta, Georgia, a small town outside of Atlanta, opened its doors near my wife’s office. Julie, and I, and our friend Mike, were the first ones on the scene and were quick to order a few drinks.