MittelstandsWiki

Total salaries of executive managers vary quite a lot. They range from less than 30.000 Euro to more than half a million Euro per year. Almost fifty percent of executive managers are paid between 50.000 and 100.000 Euro. 37 percent earn between 100.000 and 150.000 Euro and 12 percent are remunerated with more than 150.000 Euro for their work. These are the findings of the latest “executive managers 2006″ salary study by the Kienbaum management consulting firm. +++

As was shown by an US survey there are quite different expectations by experts on the future development of the internet ranging from being positive to horror scenarios. A report from “The Pew Internet and American Life Project” provides a summary on the forecasts for the World Wide Web in 2020. +++

An energy check over the internet being free of charge and offered by the Energy Agency of North Rhine-Westphalia provides the service of calculating the energy saving potential to small and medium-sized entities. It helps to discover energy saving potential in companies in an easy and yet precise way. And although it is not meant to replace consultation by an expert, it provides valuable information on how to save energy. +++

Customer service, personal customer relation management and other voice based services are labour intensive and expensive. On the other hand it is especially this personal contact with clients which is a strength and characteristic of small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). Voice systems based on special software could provide a solution at least for those cases in which standardized dialogues are sufficient. However, until recently high-quality voice systems were quite expensive too. But according to forecasts made by experts on the occasion of the “Voice Days” conference this is going to change soon. +++

On Wednesday the German government passed a draft aimed at tigthening up the existing penal code thereby closing legal gaps so far open to hackers and other computer saboteurs. Although Germany´s penal code on computer issues already being quite voluminous, breathtaking new developments in the computer field are constantly generating new criminal dangers and possibilities for abuse, says Mrs. Brigitte Zypries, Federal Minister of Justice. +++

Over the last few years the internet has developped into a huge platform for marketing, selling and work processes. However, it  is still far from having exhausted all its potential. A yearbook called “Interactive trends 2006/2007″ published by the digital media association on approx. 200 pages introduces its readers to current successful projects and selected contributions by experts from the field of e-commerce. +++

A current study by the GoodBrand & Co. consulting firm demonstrated that social commitment by companies will be rewarded by consumers. According to the study, when making their buying decisions German consumers attach increasing importance to whether the selling company is committed to social and environmental issues (Corporate Social Responsibility). Also important are ethical marketing programmes. +++

The European Commission has presented a revised draft of the new De-minimis-regulations. These rules determine up to which limit grants may be given without prior approval by the EU. So far this limit has been 100.000 Euros over a period of three years. Higher grants are subject to prior permission in order to prevent distortion of competition in the EU. Now this limit is to be lifted to 200.000 Euros in order to enable the Commission to concentrate on those cases in which grants are well beyond the established limits. +++

By awarding the German Internet Award the Confederation of information management, telecommunications and new media (BITKOM) honours small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) for their innovative use of internet applications. This award campaign is carried out under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of economic affairs and technology (BMWi). One of the sponsors is Oracle Germany. +++

This year the Systems fair will take place from October 23rd till 27th in Munich. This time the focal point will be among other things on open source and solutions for small and medium-sized entities (SMEs). “Open source issues had already been touched in the last two editions of the fair and we noticed that there was a growing interest in this kind of solutions” explains Mr. Klaus Dittrich, managing director of the Messe München (MMI), the choice of this year´s topic. +++