Salary levels as well as benefits vary widely across Europe. If you have operations in a number of countries, it is easy to compare salaries to see which location is “cheapest”, but looking at salaries alone will not give you the full picture. Working hours, number of holidays, vacation days and average sick days plus […]
Now that gasoline prices in the US are higher than $3.50 per gallon, consumers and the government are beginning to act. US markets for SUVs and light trucks are down considerably, as consumers look at smaller models, including the new smart fortwo. After years of no action, the US government has announced new regulations for […]
Recently I toured a John Deere production facility in Mannheim, Germany. John Deere is an excellent company - great brand, great products, good growth and profitability. They have used Lean Management techniques for years and have been able to reduce their hierarchy levels down to four (!). Production workers work in teams without supervisors and […]
For those who don’t know, the US has a tax stimulus program for 2008 which can result in significant refunds from the US tax authorities. As for taxpayers living abroad, some of you will get the rebate, some won’t (including some who pay significant taxes in the US). Check out this post from taxgirl to […]
The average number of days employees were sick went up in Germany last year from 15.4 (2006) to 16.3 (2007).
That’s a lot of sick days and I am happy to say that my company in Munich is significantly under this level.
The news item prompted me to look for a comparison table of average sick days […]
Most Europeans start learning English as a foreign language in grade school, with some schools starting in first grade if not kindergarten. A very high percentage of business people in Europe speak English fluently (or close to fluent) and all job ads you see for anything but entry-level positions require good English skills.
With that in […]
For many years now, the management mantra “save costs by producing in low cost countries (LCC)” has ruled. A number of recent studies and news items makes me wonder if the LCC-wave is about to turn around. Consider this:
Wages in many LCC have been increasing considerably for a number of years. (Earlier post)
Companies expanding abroad […]
I read a great commentary by British historian Paul Johnson in Forbes about the challenges facing the next US President regarding the BRIC countries.
Johnson provides some insightful views into these important countries. About Russia, Johnson writes: “The Russian people oscillate between a love of freedom, ending in anarchy, and a profound respect for strong leadership, […]
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act is designed to prevent bribery, a business practice which is as old as - well, as old as the oldest profession, I would say. Whatever one may think of the US’s attempt to forbid a practice which is commonly accepted in much of the world, the US Department of […]
Here’s an interesting article on some of the pros and cons of generating cash through an overseas subsidiary, reminding us that investment in a high-growth region may well do more than just improve distribution to local customers.
Tags: cash, overseas, subsidiaryShare This
Doing business across cultures
Written by J. Christopher Erb [email], and Jean Mercedes [email] for b5media.
Accounting Solver
Behind The Buzz
Biz Chicks Rule
Biz Levity
Boss Hatch
Brandcurve
Business & Blogging
Buzz Networker
Common Sense PR
Contract Worker
Copyblogger
Daily Blender
Digital Money World
Doing Biz Abroad
E-shop Owner
Everyday Networker
Franchise Pick
Greener Assets
Health Care Insiders
Home Biz Notes
Interview Chatter
Just Make Money Online
Leadership Turn
LifeDev
My Organized Biz
One Vote Matters
Pimp Your Work
Project Management 411
Property Crossroads
Second Life Pros
Slacker Manager
Small Business Boomers
Startup Spark
Successful Blog
Talk Stock Trading
Taxgirl
The 501(c) Files
The Golden Pencil
Viva el Negocio
Work Boxers
Yielding Wealth
Recent Comments