Category: Your Business (Page 24 of 30)

25 Most Profitable Growth Companies

February 2, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Apple

A recent Forbes article has named the 25 most profitable growth companies in the U.S. Locust Valley, NY based EVA Dimensions compiled the list by using a metric called EVA Momentum. The metric is designed to single out big companies with snowballing profits.

The equation used to determine EVA Momentum is simple: The change in a company’s economic profit in one period divided by the company’s sales in the prior period. Despite its streamlined nature, the equation does a good job of intricately balancing performance and momentum of a company.
The numerator drills down to the change in a company’s economic value added. EVA itself already accounts for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles shortcomings (like the expensing of R&D investments and the practice of keeping rented assets off the books); it also allows for comparison across industries by charging for the opportunity cost of all capital.

Apple, Google, and Priceline.com made the cut, along with others the average American probably has never even heard of. The top 25 most profitable growth companies range from offshore drilling companies such as Diamond Offshore Drilling to networks such as CBS. To watch the slideshow, click here or review the top 25 below.

1. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
2. IntercontinentalExchange (ICE)
3. Gilead Sciences (GILD)
4. JDS Uinphase (JDSU)
5. Celgene (CELG)
6. Google (GOOG)
7. Discovery Communications (DISCA)
8. Apple (AAPL)
9. Southwestern Energy (SWN)
10. Diamond Offshore Drilling (DO)
11. Freeport-McMoRan Cooper & Gold (FCX)
12. Priceline.com (PCLN)
13. Salesforce.com (CRM)
14. Broadcom (BRCM)
15. Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH)
16. Teradyne (TER)
17. Red Hat (RHT)
18. Biogen Idec (BIIB)
19. MasterCard (MA)
20. El Paso (EP)
21. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN)
22. CBS (CBS)
23. Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK)
24. Altera (ALTR)
25. Akami Technologies (AKAM)

Your Business, Your Workplace

Should You Go to Work Sick?

January 29, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Sick at Work

If you’re sick (and contagious) and come Monday morning you ask yourself “should I go to work sick?” the answer should always be “no.” Unfortunately, a shocking 72 percent of workers go to work when they’re sick and 53 percent of employees say they have gotten sick from a sick co-worker. Only 12 percent of respondents to the CareerBuilder survey stated that they became ill from sitting next to a sick person on public transportation during their commute.

Besides the fact that this is one of the most irresponsible things a worker can do concerning others’ health, it is one of the most irresponsible things he can do concerning his own health. In a recent OC Register article, CareerBuilder’s vice president of human resources offered her opinion about workers that show up to work sick.

“It’s important for employees to take care of their health and the health of others by staying at home if they aren’t feeling well,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder. “Even if workers feel pressure to be at the office, they should talk to their managers about staying home if they are sick, or ask about other options such as working remotely. Most employers are flexible and understand that employees are more productive if they are feeling their best.”

Many employers offer paid sick days, so use them if you need to. If you are fresh out of sick days and you feel you absolutely must go to work, there are a number of steps you can take to minimize the chances of infecting your co-workers. However, Haefner still says, “if you are sick, stay home,” or just try telecommuting for the day.

If you must go to work sick, you should:

-Work in an isolated area so you don’t spread your sickness.
-Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze.
-Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer throughout the day.

If you are around sick people at work, you should:

-Avoid shaking hands with people.
-Regularly clean your keyboard, phone, desk, etc.
-Skip meetings where you know attendees are sick.
-Use hand sanitizer often.
-Wash your hands often.

To review the CareerBuilder survey, click here.

Your Business, Your Career, Your Workplace

employment jobs work environment

Green Jobs Growing

January 19, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Green Jobs_II

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has two definitions for green jobs. A green job is one that produces goods or provides services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. Green jobs are also jobs in which workers’ duties involve making their establishment’s production processes more environmentally friendly or use fewer natural resources. Green jobs can be found in industry sectors such as construction, natural resources and mining, public transportation, trade, transportation and utilities, manufacturing, public administration, education and health services, information, and professional and business services.

The number of establishments in these sectors is close to 2.2 million, which means, the number of opportunities for aspiring green collar workers is promising. According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, which discusses a study by Next 10, a San Mateo, Calif.-based independent research organization, the opportunities for green jobs are greatest in certain parts of California.

The strongest growth in green jobs has been in the San Francisco Bay area, with 109% growth since 1995, the study said. The region is home to 28% of the jobs in the sector. Second in that statistic is the Sacramento area, where green jobs grew by 103%. In Los Angeles, green employment is up by just 20% since 1995, but it still comprises 23% of the sector’s jobs in the state.

As of 2010, there were more than 890,000 green jobs across the U.S. By 2015, this figure is expected to grow to nearly 1.4 million. This growth represents a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 9.2% between 2010-2015. It is important to note that these figures do not include the renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE&EE) industries, which represented 9 million jobs and $1,045 billion in U.S. revenue in 2007. The renewable energy industry grew three times as fast as the U.S. economy with 25%+ annual revenue growth in the solar thermal, photovoltaic, biodiesel, and ethanol sectors.

If you are interested in a green collar job, read How to Land a Green Collar Job: 15 ways to rev up for a job that’s good for the environment, fills your wallet, and makes a difference by The American Solar Energy Society.

Your Business, Your Career

cool jobs job market jobs

100,000 IT Jobs Gained in 2010

January 14, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Information Technology

When it came to employment, the IT industry ended 2010 with a bang by adding 3,500 jobs in December. This represents the 13^th consecutive monthly increase for IT employment.

According to a monthly index of IT jobs developed and published by TechServe Alliance, a collaboration of IT services firms, clients, consultants and suppliers, in December, IT employment stood at 3,911,900 jobs; reflecting incremental growth of 0.1 percent. Along with December’s positive news were upward revisions of both October’s and November’s IT employment numbers. On a year-over-year basis, IT employment was up 2.6 percent, approximately 100,000 jobs, compared to only a 0.9 percent increase in total non-farm employment.

Mark Roberts, CEO of TechServe Alliance mentions that the industry has not yet gained all of the jobs back that were lost during the economic downturn, but gaining 100,000 IT jobs in 2010 is “most welcome news.” This is also great news for graduates and anyone entering college with their eye on establishing a career in the IT industry.

So what does it take to get your foot in the door at one of the nation’s top IT firms? A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for most IT positions, no matter where you apply. For management positions, most employers require a graduate degree, specifically an MBA with a technology focus. Common majors for undergraduates include management information systems (MIS), computer science, or information science. Job experience through an internship or other IT position is also required.

While IT employment is expected to grow overall, some career fields within the IT industry are expected to grow faster than others. For example, employment for “computer and information systems managers” is expected to grow by 17 percent for the 2008-2018 decade while employment for “computer software engineers and computer programmers” is expected to grow by an impressive 21 percent. Even better is “computer network, systems, and database administrators” at 23 percent.

IT salaries are at an all-time high as well. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. IT professionals can expect to earn an average median salary of anywhere from $69,740 on the low end, up to $112,210+ per year on the high end.

Image Credit

Information Technology Services of Cabarrus County, NC
www.cabarruscounty.us/ITS

Your Business, Your Career, Your Compensation, Your Education, Your Workplace

cool jobs job market jobs tech jobs technology jobs

Widespread Layoffs Lead to More Workplace Discrimination Filings

January 12, 2011 / Michelle Burton

Hearing Impaired Person at Workplace_Wikimedia Commons

It happened after the 2001 recession and it’s happening again. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a report stating that workplace discrimination filings increased from 93,277 to 99,922 between September 2009 and the end of September 2010. The 7.2 increase is the highest level of new discrimination cases ever recorded.

Workplace discrimination cases are typically filed when a worker feels he has been unfairly treated based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected category. The EEOC report shows that the largest increase in filings was from disabled workers. According to a recent NYT report, “this increase may be linked to recent changes in the legal definition of disability to make it more expansive. The Obama administration’s growing reputation of greater interest in discrimination cases than its predecessor may also have increased filings. But experts say the chief reason for the increase in accusations of prejudice is most likely tied to the broad layoffs of the last few years.”

Many employer’s feel that most of the discrimination case filings with the EEOC are “spurious attempts by workers with no job opportunities who have not experienced discrimination.”

“The majority of the time, the EEOC is still finding no reasonable cause for the charges being filed,” said Michael S. Burkhardt, an employment partner in the Philadelphia office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius who represents employers in discrimination class-action suits. “In some cases, people are just upset that they were terminated, and they happen to be in a protected category. Even if that has nothing to do with why they were terminated, they still file a charge.”
He added that employers have had to become increasingly careful about how they structure layoffs when they reduce their work forces, as many have done since the financial crisis began several years ago.

If you feel that you have been discriminated against in the workplace, contact the U.S. Employment Opportunity Commission at 1-800-669-4000 (1-800-669-6820 TTY) or visit the official EEOC website at www.eeoc.gov.

Your Business, Your Career, Your Network, Your Workplace

job market jobs Labor Department recession unemployment