Mergers, acquisitions would be major driver for FDI flows in world economy: Survey
International Business Times
A rebound in the cross-border mergers and acquisitions market would be the major driver of the world economic growth in foreign direct investment (FDI), said UNCTAD's survey. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is a promoter of the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy. According to the survey, the global FDI growth prospects for the next three years are brighter in the primary sector principally extractive industries and to a lesser extent in the services sector than in manufacturing.More

Any time, any place, any way
The Guardian
At the turn of the millennium, storing your entire record collection on a device no bigger than a deck of cards might have seemed inconceivable — never mind high-speed internet access in your pocket and daily 'chats' with friends on social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter. The rapid pace of social and technological innovation has had a far-reaching effect on all aspects of life, including the workplace. So, given the astonishing rate of change, what does the next decade hold for learning and development? Undoubtedly, technology will have a crucial role to play, but with innovations being rolled out all the time, trying to predict what learning and development might look like in 2020 is a big challenge. More

Getting your business investment-ready
Management Today
If somebody offered you a huge sum of money for your business tomorrow, would you accept it? Tempting, isn’t it, especially when the economy is as challenging as it is. But wanting that investment and being ready for it in the eyes of your potential backers are two entirely different things. Imagine getting in front of an investor and not being able to seize the opportunity with both hands. You often don’t get a second chance, so you have to be ‘investment ready’. To access any type of finance requires a sound business proposition, a quality business plan and often a presentation to investors focused on the investment opportunity. And it's like any sales pitch: you need to know your customer's needs. In this case, what’s driving your investor. Our model for 'investability' identifies four key areas on which a business wishing to raise finance needs to focus.More

More U.S. businesses abandon outsourcing overseas
The Seattle Times
The story of Bailey Hydropower Private Limited might sound like that of many U.S. manufacturers, except it happened in India — one of the world's top destinations for offshore operations. Bailey Hydropower was a 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in Chennai, India, producing hydraulic cylinders. Anticipating costs savings from an overseas operation, parent-company Bailey International built the plant in India in 2000 from the ground up to meet its own specifications and fitted it with the latest equipment. More

Companies must take steps to defuse workers' stress
Kansas City Star
Like many workers, Nancy Topolski found herself with more work piled on after her law firm laid off 11 legal secretaries. Topolski soon began stressing over work, losing sleep and making mistakes. One day, the stress erupted into a full-blown panic attack in the office. Trying to keep your cool in workplaces these days has become more difficult. The recession has brought a new set of issues, driving stress to a new level. Three out of every four American workers are on the brink of a meltdown, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University report. More

Career vs. culture: Do you have to choose?
Virginia Business Magazine
Do you speak up in a meeting when you know your answer is correct? Or do you not speak until spoken to? Do you join a conversion about golf, even though you do not like the sport? Or do you display a genuine interest to create common ground? For some, these are easy decisions. For others, these are major hurdles that can become roadblocks on the path to success. The best decisions for our career advancement may often appear to contradict our cultural values, forcing us to face a difficult choice between staying true to our upbringing and achieving success in our careers. There are ways to make smart business decisions without feeling as though you are sacrificing your cultural values. More

Study: Women navigate motherhood differently than in the past
Detroit Free Press
She is taking care of business at home and on the job. She is savvy about caring for herself and her family — even if it sometimes gets overwhelming. She taps the Internet for information and resources to lighten her load, ease her mind and share her burdens. Increasingly, she not only controls the purse strings, she's putting a bigger share in the purse. She's "the New Mom," according to a recent report by Waterford, Mich., based Sphere Trending, compiled for Inforum, a professional women's alliance. It's the second in a series of reports commissioned by the alliance to examine the status of women in 2010. More

Small business owners see changes headed their way under health care reform
Kansas City Star
Ask small business operators how they're preparing for health care reform and they all but throw up their hands. They haven't had time to digest it. The devil's in the details. They don't have the details. Employers with 50 or more employees know this: The new law has employee coverage mandates looming for them in 2014. Employers with fewer than 50 employees will escape the coverage mandate. But they’re not resting easy. More

Control corporate financial risk
SC Magazine
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was revolutionary in that it forced public companies to take responsibility for internal risk management, controls and review. Specifically, Section 404 called on companies to protect the integrity and accuracy of financial data by implementing internal controls, which are continuously assessed and evaluated. Since the passing of Sarbanes-Oxley and other federal regulations such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), entitlement reporting has been widely adopted as part of the process for evaluating internal corporate financial risk and data integrity. Entitlement reporting, simply put, is an audit performed against a corporate environment to ensure the right employees have access to the appropriate resources, such as financials and personal customer data. Entitlement reporting is one small piece of a corporate risk management strategy. More