Generations X and Y are different, so tailor your benefits accordingly
HR Magazine
The bottom line has long been the business focus, across public and private organizations. However, as budgets continue to tighten, it is clear that organizations must invest both time and money in their greatest asset — talent. An effective compensation and benefits strategy is an opportunity for an organization to differentiate itself from its competitors, which might otherwise force talented individuals away.More

Spreadsheets: Lining up column widths
CFO Magazine
Trying to line up wide and narrow column widths that are pulled from different report sections can be frustrating, unless you're using this latest trick from MrExcel.More

Accountability arrives
Modern Healthcare
A new health care delivery model promises heavy scrutiny from the nation's top federal agencies, scores of clinical-measure requirements, downside risk and uncertainty for success. Any volunteers? More

10 ways to improve your credit score instantly
ABC News
Elisabeth Leamy says she's like the doctor who's always getting approached at cocktail parties by people who want free medical advice. Only my friends, family and co-workers are after consumer advice. She says , "Actually, I don't mind a bit, because living vicariously through these queries helps keep me up to date on real issues that real consumers are facing."More

Fixing the broken education system
Management-Issues
The U.S. education system is broken and it doesn't look like it will fix itself. In fact, if fundamental reform isn't undertaken soon, it is very likely that U.S. businesses will find themselves grossly short-handed in the coming years. There's nothing more strategic today than business leaders taking the steps necessary to ensure that there remains an ample pool of qualified and educated workers at the ready to staff the businesses of tomorrow.More

Let's make tax code fair for small businesses
Buffalo News
It is a sad, but true fact: Health insurance is a luxury item for many small business owners, purchased when times are good and forsaken when times are lean. This is especially true for self-employed and micro-businesses — our nation's smallest businesses. Thanks to a minor quirk in the tax code that has a major effect on their bottom lines, the self-employed are the only business entities that receive no tax benefit for purchasing coverage.More

Switching careers midlife
The Seattle Times
The statistics tell the story: About half of the women 55-plus who are looking for work have been unemployed at least 27 weeks; many have been looking for 45 weeks or more. No one knows how many have stopped looking. Nor does anyone know how many have decided to reinvent themselves, to change careers at a time when they expected to be thinking about retirement. "There is no way to count the women who have chosen to take a new route," says Linda Edwards, director of development for WomanSage, an education and support organization for women in midlife. More

Succession management versus succession planning
Human Resource Executive
Succession planning — a mainly "one-deep" exercise to ensure you are preparing for the expected or sometimes unexpected departure of a CEO or other top executive is important. However, it is no longer sufficient to manage talent risk and drive your business forward. Neil Neveras, U.S. practice leader and global co-leader for Leadership Services at Deloitte Consulting LLP, says when he works with clients, he often starts with a discussion of a broader view of succession — something his firm calls succession management.More

Not a good time to drop life insurance, experts say
The News Journal
As American families are struggling to pay their bills, it's not surprising that many are putting off life insurance. Individual life insurance hit a 50-year low last year, according to LIMRA, an industry-sponsored group. But during tough economic times, people should not sit back and think they're immortal, says Gordon Bernhardt, a fee-only financial planner in McLean, Va.More

ThinkSmart to go paperless
Computerworld
Computer and office equipment financing company, ThinkSmart, plans to deploy a paperless office solution from U.S. vendor Silanis Technology. ThinkSmart said it would use Silanis' paperless application processing system in both its online and in-store operations worldwide. The company said the upgrade is a bid to improve operational efficiency by eliminating the time delays, costs, errors and processing risks associated with the need to hand sign documents, and to expand its distribution reach.More

This is what resistance looks like
Truthdig
The phrase consent of the governed has been turned into a cruel joke. There is no way to vote against the interests of Goldman Sachs. Civil disobedience is the only tool we have left. We will not halt the laying off of teachers and other public employees, the slashing of unemployment benefits, the closing of public libraries, the reduction of student loans, the foreclosures, the gutting of public education and early childhood programs or the dismantling of basic social services such as heating assistance for the elderly until we start to carry out sustained acts of civil disobedience against the financial institutions responsible for our debacle. More