Archive for September, 2008
Survivors: Businesses that change with the times
Not long ago, the dime store sold pet rocks. Secretaries typed letters and memos, deliberately key-stroking on a manual typewriter; office bookkeepers filled in ledgers with sharpened pencils. Homes fueled furnaces with oil; gasoline cost less than a dollar. Some doctors made house calls, and prescriptions were filled at the drug store.
Times have changed – [...]
Business Watch offering a closer look
Tinkering, a time-honored American tradition, describes best what Business Watch editors and writers have done to the current issue.
Readers will discover a number of new sections that have particular relevance to North Dakota business.
For instance, inside Business Watch special attention has been given to the state’s energy industry – facts and figures, briefs on issues [...]
Industry Updates
Rock breaks scissor, paper covers rock. In Oliver and Morton counties there’s a similar conflict over access wind and coal resources. Minnesota Power in July expressed concern over where Florida Power and Light and others plan to put additional wind turbines, as many as 1,000 turbines in the two counties. If you erect a tower for a wind turbine, how [...]
Farm Stats
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture will meet in Bismarck Sept. 19-24. Speaking at the annual meeting will be U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer.
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Small grain harvest in western North Dakota refl ects a mixed bag, depending upon rainfall that wasn’t consistent and a crop that got a late start.
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Lifeline Farms [...]
Once upon a time…Corporate Storytelling
Story by Debora Dragseth
When Pamela Schmidt wants to explain why she left a career in television to start one of the first longterm care insurance agencies in the country, she tells the story of her grandfather’s pride; when Randy Hatzenbuhler wants to inspire 300 seasonal employees at North Dakota’s largest tourist attraction to rise to a higher level of customer service, [...]
State government briefs
Delays and production problems related to a new computer system for state lawmakers, a $5.7 million overhaul, has been delayed. That means the Legislators will be using the same system that they did in 2007, which is based on hardware and software that’s nearly 40 years old. The company involved in the overhaul is PTC Corp., of Needham, Mass.
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North Dakota’s [...]
Online Marketing Grows in Effectiveness
Rod Austin,
Online Manager
Bismarck Tribune
As more Americans use the Internet for work, fun and general communication, it seems logical that businesses would shadow these activities with their marketing efforts. Online research indicates 73 percent of North Americans went online in March 2008, and advertising dollars are following.
According to Veronis Suhler Stevenson, a private equity firm, [...]
Business Briefs
Gate City Bank recently gave away 100,000 reusable shopping bags, in a
move to help customers be green.
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The Minot Area Chamber of Commerce presented iNet Technologies
with the 2008 “Above and Beyond” Award for the website the company
developed pro bono for the Minot Young Professionals Network at www.ypminot.com.
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Allegiant Air announced in August it [...]
Don’t just say no
By Bob Brady for HR Daily Advisor
I was recently asked how to deal with “negativity,” specifically, employees who can see only the dark side, people for whom the glass is always half empty. My first thought was, “Are you talking about me?”
Negativity is one of my bad natural tendencies. Left to my own devices, I [...]
Rehabilitation Consulting Services - Partner Profile
Disability-related employment issues in North Dakota’s marketplace can be intimidating for business owners. Equally daunting is the search for employment for those individuals with disabilities.
Each end of the spectrum poses challenges. Employers must staff, train, and retain employees; individuals with disabilities fi nd the process of seeking employment a challenging task.
Rehabilitation Consulting Services, an initiative of the North Dakota Division of [...]
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