NEWS Exporters worry about costs


Exporters are very concerned that falling capacity andhigher fuel prices will have a major impact on the cost of getting their goods to market over the next 12 months, the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) has said. Speaking on the margins of the European Short Sea


Congress, which took place in Dublin Castle, the chief executive of the IEA, JohnWhelan, outlined a situation where the export industry is trying to re-establish itself on international markets. “Shipping rates are rising as bunker oil prices surge, with


fuel costs now amounting to 64pc of total operating costs of ships and aircraft. Also, carbon taxes are beginning to come into play for air, sea and road operators, with exporters picking up the tab. Truck capacity is expected to become scarce over the next year as bankruptcy forces fleet close- down.Exporters are very concerned that the falling capacity andhigher fuel priceswillhave amajor impact onthe cost of getting goods to market over the next 12 months,” he explained.


World Cup productivity


AHewlett-Packard (HP) survey has found that employees reportedmore industrious work days following a victory for theirnation’s teamintheWorldCup. Commissioned as part of HP’s LaserJet Pays You Back


campaign, thesurveyacrossEuropeansmall tomedium-sized enterprises found thatmore than 50pc of respondents were workingmore efficiently themorning after their teamwon. Addedtothis,workloadswerebeingdealtwithmoreeffec-


tively where organisations found their employees arranging deadlines and goals aroundmatch screenings with the side effect of amorale boost, explained LuisCasado,marketing director, LaserJet and Enterprise Solutions (LES), Imaging &PrintingGroupEurope,MiddleEast&Africa. “TheWorld Cup typically brings people together, even


those without an interest in football at all; it’s clear that en- gaging in the event and capitalising on this increased team spirit can only enhance the performance of a business both before andthemorning following the game,” addedCasado.


SMETELEWORKING


ONTHEINCREASE The number of SME directors tele- working or working from home has doubled over the last five years, accord- ing to a survey byO2. Today half (49pc) of SME directors


in Ireland telework at least one day a month, up from 25pc five years ago, according to the survey of over 300 SMEs which was conducted forO2 by Behaviour & Attitudes. “The growth in teleworking by


Alan Brown, Telefónica O2 Ireland


SMEs has been greatly facilitated by the continued uptake of services such as mobile broadband and O2’s new fixed line service for SMEs,” said Alan Brown, busi- ness sales director with Telefónica O2 Ireland. Just over a quarter (26pc) of SME directors work from home


more than four days a month, the survey showed, while 23pc say that the teleworking habit will rise in the future.Aquarter of sen- ior executives in SMEs who don’t currently use mobile broad- band are also considering using it, according to the study.


Social media under the spotlight


New research carried out in the UK is questioning the busi- ness impact of investing in social-media applications such as Facebook and Twitter. The latestUKCustomer Satisfaction Index by the Institute


of Customer Service shows that what consumers really want fromBritish business is to be able to give comment, post a re- view or make a complaint directly on companies’ websites. Just 8pc of UK consumers expect firms to run a Twitter


account, while marginally more (14pc) expect to able to in- teract with brands through Facebook. However, 41pc of the British public view an onsite facility


to provide reviews of products and services as a standard ele- ment of any good corporate website. And more than half (54pc) of consumers use such a facility when it is provided.


EUexporting survey of SMEs


Aquarter of allEU27 small tomedium-sized businesses (SMEs) export or have exported at some point during the past three years, a new study by the European Commission has revealed. According to the results of the study, entitled ‘Internationali-


sation ofEuropean SMEs’, internationally active SMEs yield bet- ter results, reporting employment growth of 7pc, whereas the figure stands at 1pc for those without any international activities. There is also a strong relationship between internationalisa- tion and innovation. Some 26pc of internationally active SMEs


introduced products or services that were new for their sector in their country, whereas for other small businesses this is only 8pc. However, the study also showed that for those SMEs who


do export, their international activities are mostly geared towards other countries inside the internal market and only about 13pc are active in markets outside the EU. That said, however, European SMEs are still more internationally active when compared with US and Japanese SMEs.


VOL 3 ISSUE 3 2010 OWNER MANAGER 9


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