MittelstandsWiki

Many markets are very dynamic and subject to ever faster changes. In this context it becomes obvious that on the basis of a backward planning one can easily miss one´s objectives and set the wrong priorities. Furthermore, incorrect assumptions on sales and turnover may put at risk the financial result. In addition to analising the trends of the two recent planning periods it is therefore also necessary to take into account customers´ modified purchase behaviours, technological innovation while at the same time constantly monitoring one´s competitors in order to keep one´s planning completely up to date. +++

Apprentices and training centres, students and young professionals from the building industry should come up with some smart ideas and take part in the sixth edition of an ITcompetition called »Built upon IT – Career prospects in the building industry«. For the competition it is possible to submit individual as well as teamwork. Professors, training supervisors are called upon to encourage possible future professionals of the building industry to take part and to make use of the possibility to present innovative works to a wider expert audience. The best participants can win up to 2.500 Euros in prize money. +++

The risk of fraud involved in doing e-commerce is overestimated to a large extent. This is the conclusion drawn by the Pago 2006 report, which on the basis of 50 million real purchases has analysed the »Trends of the year 2005 in the purchase and payment behaviour in the relevant e-commerce branches«. The figure on which this conclusion is based represents the charge back rate which describes the share of credit card transactions which are re-credited to the card holder´s account after his objection to the debit – most of the time due to attempted fraud. +++

According to a report by the University of Bremerhaven for the first time in Germany there will be a course of studies called “change management in SMEs” starting in Bremerhaven in the winter semester 2006/07. It is a fact that SMEs are particularly affected by the change of the general economic environment. The master course which is practice-orientated and lasts four semesters is to teach the know-how needed for the management of change processes. The challenges of being able and competent enough to adapt to these changes is the thread running through the entire course. +++

Mrs. Manuela Franzò, who is a consultant and a “inner boss”, is absolutely sure that the job of an executive assistant in a small or medium-sized entity (SME) represents a real management challenge. The scope of duties of such an executive assistant who is quite often the only such person in SMEs is in most cases much larger than that of her counterparts in major enterprises. Furthermore, when work is piling up she does generally not have the possibility to take recourse to service departments or writing offices. +++

For the European Commission small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) are at the centre of their policy. For that reason a day dedicated to SMEs is celebrated today in Brussels. Its motto: The EU is good for SMEs and SMEs are good for Europe. Similar events will take place in the first two weeks of June in several other European capitals. +++

The Fraunhofer Institute for fabricating technology and automation IPA in co-operation with several SMEs and the industrial organisation Spectaris e. V. have set up a project called »Wiki-Med« for knowledge management. +++

According to a report by Pressetext Austria there is quite an intriguing development going on in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which was identified by the GFK Austria experts for Eastern Europe: According to their observations, Eastern Europe is rapidly adopting the consumption behaviour of Western European countries. At least this is the opinion voiced by the experts on the occasion of the 5th CEE market research conference by FESSEL-GfK. »The first stage of a prosperity consumption process is approaching its end. A new individual lifestyle dimension will follow now«, assumes Eike Wenzel, editor in chief of the Horx future research institute. In particular in the fields of fashion and electronics articles there was still a backlog demand. According to Mr. Wenzel it was important for business to carry out a smooth switch from products off the peg to lifestyle articles in order to please the consumers of Eastern Europe for whom quality products are quite important. +++

On the first of June the European parliament adopted the first Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). For the period from 2007 to 2013 financials aids of 3.6 billion Euros will be made available to about 350.000 small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) by the EU. The programme is to enhance competitiveness of SMEs, to promote all kinds of, including ecological, innovations, to accelerate the development of the information society as well as to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of new and renewable sources of energy. These objectives will be put into practice by the implementation of three specific programmes: +++

As was reported by today´s Financial Times Deutschland, the Federal Finance Minister and his counterparts in the Federal States plan to increase inheritance tax to be paid on SMEs. From the year 2007 onwards inheritance tax is to be levied on one-man businesses and holdings in business partnerships in the same way as on major enterprises. +++