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Date Published: May , 2012
Where: Machinery and Equipment (Digital Edition)
Title:
Business Confidence improved in early 2010 in Canada |
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The Conference Board of Canada’s Index of Business
Confidence rose 6.6 points in the fourth quarter of 2011 and gained
another 2.5 points in the first quarter of 2012 to reach 101.8 (2002
=100). These results follows 3 straight quarters of declining
confidence. Of course, with the European debt crisis far from
resolved and the upcoming U.S. election in the fall, the good news
might be short lived. Let's hope not. |
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Date Published: April, 2012
Where: Industry Canada
Title:
9 tech
resolutions for your business |
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This article begins with "Investing in technology can
be a challenge for entrepreneurs. But if done properly, information
and communications technology can be a game-changer for your
business. It can boost productivity, accelerate sales, and even open
up new markets. Here are nine resolutions to help ensure your
business reaps the benefits." It's worth the read. |
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Date Published: April, 2012
Where: The Washington Post
Title:
A Flashback
trojan shows Macs do get viruses |
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For those of you working on a Mac, please note that
you too are subject to those annoying viruses. Dr. Web has put up a
website that enables you to enter your Mac info to see if your
system is infected. The Dr. Web website can be found at
https://www.drweb.com/flashback/ Good Luck! |
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Date Published: March, 2012
Where: New York Times
Title:
As New iPad
Debut Nears, Some See Decline of PCs |
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Tablet sales continue to soar even though the
business functionality from a word processing/ spreadsheet point of
view is still inferior. Nevertheless, the size, convenience, price
point and other fun apps make the businessman want to own one, even
if it's just for whiling away the endless hours spent in airports,
on planes and in away from home hotel rooms. This is an interesting
look at a future that may be closer than we think! |
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Date Published: February, 2012
Where: New York Times
Title:
Traveling
Light in a Time of Digital Thievery |
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Following the recent Canadian Trade Mission to China,
if your company is planning on opening up relations, or already have
personnel travelling back and forth between the two countries, this
article is a must read. In this age of digital phones and laptops,
we forget that these devices can easily be hacked, especially in
countries that have distinctly different views than ours on
intellectual property. Forewarned is forearemed! |
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Date Published: January, 2012
Where: Banrate.com
Title:
www.bankrate.com |
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This month, rather than provide you with a single
article, we thought you might enjoy being made aware of Bankrate.com.
For example, in the past month Bankrate.com, originally a print
publisher for financial information, has provided readers with
articles including The 4 Risky Places to Swipe Your Debit Card,
and 12 Credit Card Tips for 2012. Enjoy! |
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Date Published: December, 27, 2011
Where: The Canadian Press
Title:
Blackberry
maker Research In Motion enters 2012 with a lot riding on its name |
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The future of RIM is of great concern to Teeger
Schiller Inc. Our Funding Division, with staff across multiple
cities in Canada relies heavily on BBM to make sure we are in
constant contact. We continue to look at the iPhone and Android
Smartphones, but keep concluding that RIM makes the most business
functional phone for us. Or, as one of our consultants recently said
"The BlackBerry is the best phone for work, and the iPhone is the
best phone for the rest of my life. Looks like another BlackBerry
for me" |
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Date Published: December, 2011
Where: Canadian Intellectual Property Office Website
Title:
Intellectual Property for Exporting Businesses |
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Intellectual property is an important component to
ensuring your innovation remains your property. The Canadian
Intellectual Property Office recently added this informative 8 step
guide to their website. It's worth the time spent to read it. Pay
particular attention to the employee / employer IP ownership issue,
and if need be, develop a new employee contract to ensure that your
company owns the IP! |
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Date Published: December, 2011
Where: CRA Website
Title:
Changes to
the rules for deductiong Canada Pension Plan contributions |
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If you are over 65 and have elected to start
collecting CPP, be aware that you are personally responsible for
filling out and submitting form CPT 30 to CRA, and a copy to your
employer in order to stop having contributions to CPP deducted from
your pay. This changes goes into effect on January 1, 2012. |
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Date Published: November, 2011
Where: BizActions
Title:
What Type
of Relationship Exists? |
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Many companies make the mistake in believing that the
way an individual is paid, either by contract or salary determines
if they are a contractor or a salaried employee in the eyes of
Canada Revenue Agency. Not so. This article provides you with a list
of questions that depending on the answer determine if you should be
paying Employment Insurance for an individual regardless of the way
you pay them. |
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Date Published: October, 2011
Where: McKinsey Quarterly
Title:
Competing
through data: Three experts offer their game plan |
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A recurring theme with consultants is business
intelligence, i.e. the ability to use your existing data as a
strategic advantage against your competition. Many companies,
especially the small, to medium sized businesses (SME's) don't feel
that they have the time or staff who have the ability to query data
for intelligence. Still, we harp on the theme. Why, because it's a
valuable tool that is dramatically under used! So, here we go again.
Read and think about how this applicable to your business. |
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Date Published: Fall, 2011
Where: Statistics Canada
Title:
Projected
trends to 2031 for the Canadian labour force |
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This report originally published by Stats Canada in
August, 2011 has now been analyzed and reported on in various
industry magazines. While the report is quite large their is a
highlights and introduction section that are small enough to easily
read and give an excellent overview of where our labour force is
headed (hint: by 2031, 1 in 3 workers will belong to a visible
minority and 1 in 4 workers may be over 55). It is an interesting
read! |
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Date Published: September, 2011
Where: CanadaOne
Title:
7 Programs
to Protect and Find Your Smartphone and Mobile Devices |
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We all worry about losing our smartphones. Nowadays,
they contain way too much sensitive information that we wouldn't
want to lose control of. Of course, we have passwords and locked
safe applications, but with the kinds of things that hackers seem to
be able to easily do, it isn't much peace of mind. Check out this
article and see if you are doing what you need to do to be proactive
in securing your smartphone information. |
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Date Published: August 29, 2011
Where: The Globe and Mail
Title:
Ten Ways to
Improve Cash Flow |
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This article suggests ten ways to improve cash
flow, including leveraging consumable spending, ordering online,
negotiating corporate cell phone plans, switching to VOIP service,
purchasing second hand office furniture, utilizing outsourcing
opportunities for selective tasks, negotiating contract terms, courier service, and in general, developing successful habits to control operational cost. |
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Date Published: August 21, 2011
Where: The Toronto Star
Title:
IT projects
are ticking time bombs |
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Based on a new Harvard Business Review report, IT
projects continue to fail at alarming rates. What the study found,
and recommends is that projects with a "master builder with a proven
track record" at the helm (such as Teeger Schiller Inc.) are far
likelier to succeed. After all these years, many companies still
don't realize that the skills needed to successfully implement new
systems are not trivial skills, but built over many years with many
projects. |
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Date Published: August 3, 2011
Where: BBC Mobile News Technology
Title:
Online
photos can reveal our private data say experts |
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Retailers have been struggling for years
to know their customers. In fact, an entire industry of products
called CRM have been developed for this purpose. Scientists at
Carnegie-Mellon University have just announced a breakthrough in
facial recognition technology. Combine that with all of the social
media software that the average consumer subscribes to, and
retailers will soon know lots more than just buying habits when a
potential customer crosses their threshold. It's a brave new world! |
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Date Published: July 6, 2011
Where: Storefront Backtalk
Title:
Albertsons
LLC Ditching Self-Checkout Chainwide |
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This article once again highlights the
subtle differences between the Canadian and American cultures. While
Self-Checkout has become a mainstay amongst the major grocery stores
in Canada, the U.S. is struggling with its implementation. And, it's
not just Albertsons who are having trouble getting the consumer to
see the advantages, but Krogers is experiencing a similar reaction
amongst its customers. |
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Date Published: May 24, 2011
Where: Infosec Island
Title:
Could the
IT Staff Hold Your Company Hostage? |
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At the April 2011 Infosecurity Europe
Conference, Venafi, Inc. surveyed over 500 I.T. executives with
frightening results. Based on access to various company sensitive
data security keys, and documents, 36 percent said that they could
hold their organization to ransom if they wanted to. Further, 43
percent said they could cause chaos even after leaving the
organization. |
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Date Published: May 5, 2011
Where: The Boston Consulting Media Center
Title:
Made in the
USA Again: Manufacturing Is Expected to Return to America |
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This provocative report predicts that
with the closing of the wage gap between Chinese and American
workers, the strengthening of the Chinese yuan, and aggressive U.S.
government incentives to business in various states, the U.S. is
heading for a manufacturing renaissance within the next five years. |
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Date Published: April 7, 2011
Where: The New York Times
Title:tThe
Long and Wireless Road to a Home Router |
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This is an excellent article to save for
future reference when your latest router burns out, or you're ready
for an upgrade. It discusses what G, N, N+, 11g, 1n single band and
dual band all mean and what to look for depending upon your
requirements. . It makes the point that spending your money on the
most expensive may not necessarily get you the best router for your
needs. |
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Date Published: March 15, 2011
Where: e-News A. Pichelli RBC Dominion Securities
Title:
Cost
Control |
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This monthly e-Newsletter focuses on
ways to control costs. Like many articles that we read as business
people, it doesn't really tell us anything new, but it serves as a
good reminder of things that we know, but may not necessarily be
doing. It's a refresher article that reminds us that in tough times,
profits are made not only from increased sales, but from better cost
control. |
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Date Published: February 11, 2011
Where: Machinery & Equipment (Digital Edition)
Title:
Safety
trumps privacy under new workplace violence law |
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This web posting discusses changes to
the Ontario Health and Safety Act that now require employers and
fellow employees to be much more vigilant with respect to analyzing
and assessing problems such as violence and harassment both inside
and outside the workplace. The article discusses the blurring of the
lines between privacy and workplace duty. An interesting read and
another glimpse into the future. |
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Date Published: January 31, 2011
Where: Moneyville (Toronto Star online eMagazine)
Title:
Is a U.S.
-dollar credit card worth it? |
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This web posting discusses the pros and
cons of companies with frequent business travelers to the U.S.
obtaining a U.S. dollar credit card rather than continue to be
charged a premium U.S. dollar conversion rate when utilizing a
Canadian credit card in the U.S. If your company maintains a U.S.
dollar account, this article is worth reviewing. |
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Date Published: January 10, 2011
Where: RFID 24-7
Title:
Retailers:
Item level RFID could be ubiquitous by the end of 2012 |
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This article explains that many major retailers including Walmart, JC
Penny, Kohls, Jones Apparel, Macy's, Dillards, Levi Strauss and
others intend to begin item level RFID trials within a few months
with very aggressive targets to implement RFID tags across their
chains. |
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Date Published: December 30, 2010
Where: The New York Times
Title:
10 Ways to
Get the Most Out of Technology |
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This article recommends 10 easy things
that we all can do to improve our technological lives. Hints on cell
phones, music, back ups, antivirus software, to buying lots of extra
charging cables on ebay can make our lives easier. We all know most
of this, but there might be one or two things that we can pick up or
remind ourselves of that could prove useful. |
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