IT Solution for Talent Management

Here is a resource you may want to investigate further.

WorkForce OS announced this week the introduction of its Talent Inventory Management System, TIMS(TM). By focusing on talent retention, TIMS adds immediate value for companies involved with Mergers and Acquisitions, Restructuring, and Succession Planning.

"We realize that retaining an organization's most valuable asset, their workforce, is both critical and daunting for managers," states Susan Magrino, President of WorkForce OS. "That's why we designed TIMS as a self-service, configurable environment for employees and managers. Virtually everything within the talent pool can be inventoried, including tests, certifications and project history."

TIMS allows companies, from the Fortune 500 to emerging enterprises, to inventory and track internal talent and make the best hiring decisions to support their business needs. "As the job market improves, companies need to understand and value every aspect of an employee, from the languages they speak to their commuting preferences." Magrino continued, "After all, the value of a company is based on its intellectual capital -- its people."

Here for more.

Wyoming Educators Have Say on ED

The future of Wyoming's economy is rooted in its educational system, panelists addressing the Governor's Summit on Workforce Development agreed earlier this week.

Representatives from the University of Wyoming, the state's community college system and the superintendent of schools said the collaboration between training workers and creating sustainable industries is key to a strong economic future.

Here for more.

ED Job Turnover

Turnover in ED field is a reality of the business. Here are the headlines of some of the staff changes that popped into my search program just this morning:

New President for Amarillo Economic Development Corporation

Pinellas Economic Development director resigns

Jefferson Economic Development Council selection quits job

McDonald retires from Director of Economic Development position

Cooper, 26, fills long-vacant economic development post

Tacoma names three finalists for economic development position

CITY OF TOLEDO Ford taps Black to take charge of development

Blue Ash hires economic development director

Gibbens steps aside 'reluctantly and under duress'

When they describe spring as the season of change and renewal, they weren't kidding!

Maybe Happiness Should Be an ED Performance Measure

An increasing number of scholars and academics are taking a closer look at the relationship between money and happiness in order to see if insights into what makes people happy can lead to more effective social policies.

Some of those in the forefront of studying the "economics of happiness" took part in a panel today at the Brookings Institution. The social scientists are wrestling with a dilemma described by Brookings Visiting Fellow Gregg Easterbrook in his recent book, The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse.

Panelists at a recent Brookings Institute seminar said that the research on economic well-being, once a vague abstraction, is now comprehensive and statistically sound. Cost-benefit analyses can now be used to put dollar values on such non-economic indicators such as satisfaction of life, work, marriage, depression, stress, trust, and security.

Placing greater emphasis on the economics of happiness, according to panelists, could yield several important policy advances. Brookings Senior Fellow Carol Graham showed data measuring economic mobility and well-being in Peru (1991-2000) and Russia (from 1995-1999), and she said the data could more clearly suggest potential problems than traditional economic indicators.

I look at Tibet, which has Gross Domestic Happiness as one of its measures of success. I work in lots of communities across the country on ED strategies. All of them are trying to "make people more prosperous." Maybe we should add happiness to our strategic planning agenda in the future.Why not?

Here for more.

GDP Per Capita

Economist Magazine had an interesting recent article on GDP per capita. Here is the essence of its analysis.

Comparisons of economic output on a purchasing-power parity (PPP) basis take account of the variations in prices of the same goods in different countries. Unlike comparisons at market exchange rates, PPP reflects the real purchasing power of each country's residents.

In PPP terms, Japan's output per person is about three-quarters of America's. Output in Poland is $11,400 in PPP terms, compared with $5,700 at market exchange rates. India's output per person in PPP terms is $2,800, which is about 7% of per-person output in America, and around half of China's.

Check out the chart here.

Forbes Top Ten Places for Business

Those who know me, know I'm not big on ratings, but here is top ten list for business from Forbes Magazine's perspective.

1. Madison, WI
2. Raleigh-Durham, NC
3. Austin, TX
4. Washington, DC
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Provo, UT
7. Boise, ID
8. Huntsville, AL
9. Lexington, KY
10. Richmond, VA

Here for more.

Another Take on Offshore Outsourcing

Here is how corporate and government advocates (the Bush Administration) of massive offshoring of US jobs are trying to cover their tracks. They are saying that investment by foreign-owned companies in the US is the same thing as the offshoring of US jobs to foreign locations. I say maybe yes and maybe no. Read on.

Businesses worldwide have been engaged in foreign investment for years. That is not new, nor a great reason for concern. What is a concern is when the balance is off between US investment abroad and international business investment in the US. Offshoring of US jobs to foreign locations is creating an significant imbalance now because of the sheer number of jobs being shipped abroad. That is my major concern.

I just read an article about Tennessee economic development that is fodder to feed the debate out there during this tough national election year.

"During his first trip to Japan in 1987, Matt Kisber thought the governor of Hokkaido, a prefecture in the northern part of the country, might need a little help recognizing his home state of Tennessee."

"Being from Tennessee, I tried to pinpoint it for him — Jack Daniel's and Elvis," recalled Kisber, who at the time was a young member of the Tennessee General Assembly. And he said, "Oh, I know exactly where Tennessee is. You're the one taking all of our jobs."

"The reference, of course, was to the scores of Japanese companies that had set up operations in Tennessee in the previous decade. Of these, the most notable was Nissan, whose landmark decision in 1980 to build its first U.S. automotive assembly plant in Smyrna represented the largest foreign investment ever by a Japanese firm."

So, is offshoring to India and China today the same thing as Japanese investment in US production facilities over the past two decades the same thing? No, not if offshoring is basically a ploy by US companies to beam jobs anywhere anytime to get the work done in the cheapest fashion possible. And no if the outsourcing creates devastating large-scale job dislocations for domestic workers. That is where we need to be careful. It's the scale that concerns me the most.

Enough of this rant. Here for more.

Houston's Role as Energy Hub

Over the past couple decades, Houston has grown its role as a national and global energy hub. That role is expanding even further, according to a recent news article. The article talked about how New Orleans-based Tulane University just set up an MBA Program in Houston to attract more energy industry managers into its program. To advance, this was a smart move for Tulane. It probably does not make Houston unversities turn cartwheels though.

Houston's role as an energy center is hard to overstate. According to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 63,400 Houston workers were employed in the mining industry in 2003. These included workers in the oil and gas extraction sector, as well as employees involved in supporting the exploration and production business. New Orleans, by contrast, had just 9,200 workers employed in the field.

Here for more.

Create Detroit

Detroit economic developers believe being a more cool place will increase their odds of economic success, and therefore they have created Create Detroit as a program to help that process along. Go here to read more.

Young Folks: Fight for Your Own Cause

All is not a bed of roses for our younger generation. Just ask my two 20-something sons. I read an interesting article about the challenges facing the younger generation. This is an issue worthy of economic developers' attention.

Here are a couple clips from the article:

"Why don't young people yet realize they constitute a class at a systemic disadvantage?"

"Which is all fine and admirable, but the fact remains that the social safety net in this country, now in tatters, was built through enlightened self-interest, by workers and women and retirees, not by people fighting for causes a world away. If young people don't march on their own behalf, who will march for them?"

Here for more.

Measuring the Global Economy

Silly question: How big is the world economy? This is a relatively important question for economic developers to contemplate, given the global competition and market share issues they face in their work. How otherwise does Ohio or another state know what it's global market share is in an industry sector like manufacturing

So, how does one measure the "global economy?" Simply to add up the size of all the world's national economies would seem to be the obvious way to answer it, but how that is done yields radically different results, and therein lies a tale. The most commonly used method is to convert national economic outputs to a single measure, namely the American dollar, using the market exchange rates of all the national currencies. That produces a figure of $36 trillion for 2003.

But many economists think that it makes much more sense to use what they call purchasing-power parities (PPP), which take account of differences in prices of the same goods between countries, and so tries to measure the real purchasing power of inhabitants in each country, no matter what the world's fluctuating currency markets happen to be doing to exchange rates. Using this method, the world economy last year was worth $50 trillion.

The precise size of the world economy may not matter much from a policy point of view, though a $14 trillion difference is hardly small change. However, which method of measurement is used also affects more important matters: the global rate of growth, the relative size of economies, and the extent of inequality between rich and poor. In these cases, using market exchange rates can produce misleading results and hence stimulate bad policies.

This is an important question for economic developers to give some attention to. Your thoughts?

Here to read more.

Job Offshoring Update

This one will interest you, if you are tracking offshoring issues and impacts.

Just how many non-manufacturing jobs are heading overseas? It depends who you ask. Goldman Sachs estimates U.S. companies have sent 400,000 service jobs overseas since 2000, and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) says that 104,000 tech jobs moved abroad in that period.

Two years ago, Forrester Research Inc. predicted that 3.3 million U.S. service jobs would be sent offshore by 2015, but that analysis is now called conservative by experts like Cynthia Kroll, senior regional economist at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Kroll estimates that as many as 14 million U.S. jobs — ranging from investment research to tax preparation — are at risk of being sent offshore, because they are easily standardized and don't involve face-to-face interaction.

Clearly, offshore outsourcing is growing. Sixty-four percent of those already outsourcing plan to use more overseas workers in the next two years.

While US jobs are increasing at this point, we still have a long way to go to make up for what we lost in the past 4 years.

Your thoughts?

Here for more.

Arts and Cultural Giving

Metro area/Arts and culture contributions per capita:

1. Indianapolis $71
2. Seattle $60
3. Denver $58
4. Charlotte, N.C. $44
5. Salt Lake City $38
6. Portland, Ore. $34
7. Austin $32
8. Atlanta $31
9. San Diego $23
10. Phoenix $12

Source: National Center for Charitable Statistics

Economic Impact of the Arts

Just how much do the arts contribute to the economy?

According to Arts & Economic Prosperity: The Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts Organizations and Their Audiences, released in 2002, reveals that America's nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year, including $24.4 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.

The $134 billion total includes $53.2 billion in spending by arts organizations and $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences:

-The $53.2 billion represents a 45 percent increase (from $36.8 billion) since 1992, when Americans for the Arts last studied spending by arts organizations.

-The $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences reflects an average of $22.87 per person in spending for hotels, restaurants, parking, souvenirs, refreshments, or other similar costs-with non-local attendees spending nearly twice as much as local attendees ($38.05 compared to $21.75).

-The $134 billion in total economic activity has a significant national impact, generating the following:

+ 4.85 million full-time equivalent jobs
+ $89.4 billion in household income
+ $6.6 billion in local government tax revenues
+ $7.3 billion in state government tax revenues
+ $10.5 billion in federal income tax revenues

The most comprehensive economic impact study of the nonprofit arts industry ever conducted, it is based on surveys of 3,000 nonprofit arts organizations and more than 40,000 attendees at arts events in 91 cities in 33 states, plus the District of Columbia.

Here for more.

Indian Gaming Facts

Size:

-Total number of federally-recognized Indian Tribes: 562
-Number of Tribal Governments engaged in gaming (Class II or Class III): 224
-Number of Tribal Governmental gaming operations: 354 (several Tribes operate more than one facility)
-Number of states with Tribal Governmental gaming: (Class II or Class III) 28
Number of Tribal-State gaming compacts: 249

Revenue:

-Tribal Governmental gaming revenue in 2002: $14.5 billion (21% of total gaming industry)
-Many Tribes operate gaming facilities primarily to generate employment

Employment:

-Total number of jobs: 400,000
-National percentage of Indian to non-Indian employees: 75% non-Indian, 25% Indian
In areas of high unemployment like North and South Dakota, 80% of Tribal governmental gaming employees are Indian.

Here for more.

Eco-Tourism

What is eco-tourism? The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people."

This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should follow the following principles:

-Minimize impact
-Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect
-Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
-Provide direct financial benefits for conservation
-Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
-Raise sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate
-Support international human rights and labor agreements

Go here for more.

Cut the Red Tape

That's the message from the House of Representatives about how to help small businesses grow here, rather than moving their work abroad.

The U.S. House took a small step to ease the regulatory burden on U.S. businesses May 18, when it passed the Paperwork and Regulatory Improvement Act by a 375-54 vote. The legislation requires the Office of Management and Budget to identify steps the Internal Revenue Service could take to reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses. The IRS is responsible for 80 percent of the government paperwork that individuals and businesses must fill out.

The bill also requires all agencies to provide OMB with an annual estimate of the costs and benefits of the rules it issues, and directs OMB to integrate these regulatory accounting reports in its annual budget report to Congress. This is needed, supporters say, so that Congress can see how much government programs cost the private sector in addition to how much they cost taxpayers.

OMB also would be directed to conduct a pilot study of regulatory budgeting, which would identify the costs and benefits of regulatory alternatives being considered by agencies.

Finally, Congress could ask the General Accounting Office -- its watchdog arm -- to conduct independent evaluations of rules that have a major economic impact.

More here.

Unions Tout Their Work

Calls for "Buy Union-Made" and "Buy American" might appear nostalgic in a day when X-rays of American patients are analyzed by physicians abroad and U.S.-produced shoes are nearly impossible to find.

But the union movement hopes its 130-year-old message to buy products with the union label and more recent calls to buy American are reinvigorated amid the growing debate about overseas outsourcing of service jobs and the steady loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

The AFL-CIO admits that consumers face a tough task when they search for union-made goods and services, so it uses the annual Union-Industries Show to highlight such products. The event, which started in 1938, was held in St. Louis this April.

Last year, 12.9 percent of wage and salary workers were union members, down from 13.3 percent in 2002. The percentage stood at 20.1 percent in 1983, the first year the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics kept track of this particular statistic.

More here.

Museums Must Market Themselves

Many of you reply on your museums and other art/cultural institutions to help stimulate your local/regional tourism market. Here are some ideas for you from Michigan.

It's no secret that cultural institutions especially are feeling pinched by the slow economy. State money for the arts has decreased, as have donations from corporations, foundations and individuals. In this climate, Michigan's art museums are struggling, but surviving surprisingly well.

Not only are Michigan art museums surviving, some are planning or conducting multi-million dollar expansions. Credit that coup to inventive marketing, together with thoughtful cutbacks in exhibitions and programming, and with calibrated teamwork by staff members.

More here.

Midwest Business Growing

Business activity in the U.S. Midwest expanded more rapidly than expected in May despite soaring input costs, encouraging more firms to start hiring again, a report showed last week. The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago business barometer jumped to 68.0 -- its highest level since January 1988 -- from 63.9 in April.

Here for more.

Rick Weddle's Parting Comments from Phoenix

My longstanding friend Rick Weddle has decided after seven years to leave Phoenix and accept the job as President and CEO of the Research Triangle Park Foundation. It's a big step up for Rick, or any economic development professional for that matter. Research Triangle is one of the biggest ED jobs out there, if not the biggest.

In a nutshell, Rick did an outstanding job leading the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), especially during one of the most rugged periods of economic growth the area has ever seen.

Here is what Rick said in a parting interview with the local newspaper about whatit takes to be successful. "There are four ingredients to success. One is leadership. Engaged, inspired, public and private leadership. The second is a program of substance that is technically sound and factually based. Third is strong and effective professional staff. The fourth is adequate funding."

I would agree with these four elements and add a fifth, which is an "economic location" that business finds appealing to remain in and locate to. Greater Phoenix is that. I know plenty of economic developers who have at least 3 of the 4, and in some cases all 4 of the ingredients, listed by Rick. My #5 reason completes the "charm bracelet."

Rick will do a wonderful job at Research Triangle. Like other places he has worked, he will give it his best and more. I would add that the Research Triangle region is a highly attractive place for technology and knowledge-intensive business, even more so than Greater Phoenix, which has made major strides as a emerging knowledge-based economy in the past decade.

Good luck Rick!

Read more here.

Blacks Seek Opportunity in the South

There was a day when more Blacks were headed North than South. Some say that trend may be reversing as a growing number of African-Americans are finding both job opportunities and family roots to be a good reason to move southward. While not a comprehensive analysis of these trends, a recent news article suggests there may be a trend in the making. More here.

St. Charles County, MO Sees Solid Growth

St. Charles County - collar county to St. Louis - is a growing hotbed of technology. More than 65 high-tech companies are at home in America's heartland, St. Charles County, "The Technology Triangle."

Nationally known companies including Boeing, MasterCard International, General Motors, Citigroup, National Information Solutions Cooperative (NISC) and CenturyTel house parts of their organizations in America's heartland.

Newer, fast-growth companies such as Quilogy, The Newberry Group, Auvi Technologies, Ungerboeck Systems International and Telecom Services Installations Inc. began their businesses in St. Charles County and have expanded to other communities across America.

An unprecedented grouping of high tech companies in St. Charles County is found in the 700-acre Missouri Research Park along the I-64 high-tech corridor. The research park boasts more than 1.2 million square feet of development and is home to 17 companies with more than 2,000 workers. Companies include: Linco Research, Nike IHM, 321 Studios, Novus International Research Center and Zoltek Corporation.

Information technology consulting, life sciences research, defense, automobile, communications networking and event business management systems are some areas of specialization for St. Charles County high-tech companies.

More information about St. Charles County, Missouri, a great place to grow your business and your life, is at www.stcc-edc.com.

Southern States' Growth

Southern states are still leading the charge in many respescts from an economic growth standpoint. Here are some recent trends:

Total nonfarm employment in the South grew slightly over the past four years, while the nation as a whole lost a net of nearly 2 million jobs.

• From November 2003 to April 2004, the region's jobless rate dropped from 5.6 to 5.0, the lowest rate of any U.S. region.

• More locally, Virginia has posted a net gain of nearly 34,000 jobs the past four years, despite losing some 60,000 manufacturing. Florida has added nearly 278,000 positions. North Carolina produced more jobs, too, even though it lost 155,000 manufacturing positions.

Behind the South's vigor lies a variety of forces, from low wage rates and "right to work" laws to a languid lifestyle. Certainly the region's enduring population boom contributes to the economic dynamism. More people are moving to the South - which now contains one third of the U.S. population - than any other region. Retiring baby boomers have helped boost population growth across the Sun Belt by as much as 50 percent more than some other areas. The demographic surge is reflected in robust housing numbers: In March, 613,000 new homes were sold in the South - nearly as much as all other U.S. regions combined.

In some cases, states are making strategic investments that are contributing to the South's revival. North Carolina, for instance, is funding a first-of-its-kind broadband network across the state that is intended to attract Web-based firms and software startups. The Raleigh area alone is expected to add a net 20,000 jobs by the end of 2004. In Georgia, the decision to build a new terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport sparked a miniboom in construction that helped yield a net gain of some 67,000 jobs, most in Atlanta. In Tupelo, Miss., investments in local industry helped turn the Tupelo Furniture Market into the second-largest in the country, bringing in new firms such as Bauhaus and Tecumseh.

More here.