Sunday Business Post - Motoring section - Feb 22 2009
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Leading figures in the Irish motor industry are calling on the government to introduce a new scrappage scheme to address a dramatic drop-off in sales this year. In January, new car sales totalled just 16,000, down 66 per cent on the 47,000 sold in the same month last year, according to figures compiled by Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).
‘‘I would be very fearful if the sales in January are replicated for the rest of the year - with that, you get a full year figure of 63,000 units. That is down from 151,000 in 2008, and 186,000 in 2007,” said Eddie Murphy, managing director of Ford Ireland. ‘‘You do not need to be a rocket scientist to see that there will be a lot of job losses, and a huge drop in the government’s VRT and Vat receipts.”
Motor sales resulted in about €2 billion in VRT and Vat returns to the exchequer in 2007, which fell to €1.5 billion last year. Murphy said returns this year would be significantly lower. ‘‘The government has a huge hole in terms of the money they are going to get from the motor industry. Unless they do something very quickly, that hole is going to get bigger,” he said.
A scrappage scheme - where a VRT rebate was offered to new car buyers -would stimulate car sales at minimal cost to the exchequer, said Pearce Flannery, chief executive of Pragmatica, a management consultancy specialising in the automotive industry.
‘‘It is a win-win situation from a government point of view,” said Flannery. ‘‘It will not result in any net cost to the exchequer. At a time when they should be beating down the doors to secure any money generating opportunity, their silence on this one is deafening and frustrating.”
The initiative could, Murphy said, operate in a similar manner to an earlier scrappage scheme which ran from1995 to 1997.
‘‘The last scrappage scheme was aimed at vehicles that were ten years or older,” said Murphy. ‘‘There was a lot of logic in doing that, as there were cars driving around that were dangerous or clapped out. Fourteen years on, there are actually more cars [that are] around ten years old or older than there was then.”
The old scheme offered a rebate of IR»1,000 (€1,270) for each car traded in. Murphy said any new scheme introduced should offer at least the same amount to participating motorists.
‘‘The rebate should at least equate to 50 per cent of the Vat and VRT payable. We would argue that is just the minimum required,” he said.
Flannery called for a significantly higher rebate to encourage large-scale uptake.
‘‘A scrappage scheme of €8,000 to €10,000 would make it worth people’s while,” he said.
The VRT rebate could also be targeted at taking environmentally unsound vehicles off Irish roads, said Flannery.
‘‘They could take hugely-emitting vehicles off the road by giving a 50 per cent VRT rebate on the new car if it emitted 50 per cent or less than the old vehicle. That would change hugely polluting vehicles into highly fuel-efficient cars.”
Murphy said it was likely that distributors and dealers would offer their own incentives alongside a government run scrappage scheme, if it was introduced.
‘‘I am sure that all of the distributors would embrace it aggressively and run with the opportunity, whether in the form of a price discount, or some other form of incentive,” he said.
According to SIMI, 3,000 motor industry jobs have been lost since September, and another 3,000 are at risk.
Flannery said the situation facing the industry was potentially far worse.
‘‘There are 75,000 people employed in the Irishmotor industry, and it is now probable that 50 per cent of those will lose their job,” he said.
‘‘There will be massive closures of franchise dealers. January, February and March are supposed to be the lucrative sales months of the year, and what is coming down the line is dismal altogether.”
Monday 23 February 2009
Calls for scrappage scheme intensify
New Windows security features revealed
Sunday Business Post - IT security supplement - Feb 22 2009
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Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system will include a new feature to allow users to encrypt data on memory keys and data sticks. The system, due to replace Microsoft Vista, is due to hit the market before the end of the year.
‘‘One of the new features in Windows 7 will allow users to encrypt data on memory keys or USB sticks,” said Declan Faller, infrastructure product manager with Microsoft Ireland. ‘‘A lot of memory keys with important data are being lost at the moment, and the ability to encrypt memory keys will be an important feature in Windows 7.”
Recent reports on the new operating system, which is also expected to have smart cards and biometric identifier capabilities, have pointed to the possibility of a security flaw within its User Account Control (UAC) system.
Although he declined to comment on specific details, Faller said the development of the product was at beta stage, and changes to the UAC would be made prior to its full release. He said Microsoft was working with major global security vendors to develop applications to run on Microsoft-enabled PCs and servers, and that the aim was to ensure that all would be compatible with the new version of Windows.
‘‘We recently announced the Windows 7 Ecosystem Readiness Program, where we’ll be working closely with software, hardware and peripherals vendors,” said Faller. ‘‘A key area for us is to ensure that each of the different vendors - like MacAfee and Symantec and many others - work very closely with the product team developing Windows 7, to ensure the products are ready to go.”
Microsoft is also set to release new versions of its ForeFront range of security products later this year. These will be used to protect company’s desktops, servers and applications.
‘‘The next wave of these products will be released before the end of this calendar year,” Faller said. ‘‘They will begin to really integrate the world of security with the world of infrastructure management, helping to automate security processes and giving users one console to look at all the potential vulnerabilities within their organisation. This will enable people to be much more proactive in how they manage their IT infrastructure security.”
IT managers and business owners facing falling IT budgets should not opt to scrimp on security.
‘‘We are very much aware that IT budgets are being reduced dramatically or, at best, remaining stagnant. It is very important that companies assess exactly where they make those cuts,” Faller said.
‘‘We are seeing that companies realise that they still have to spend a certain amount on security to protect their systems. Most organisations realise that maintaining the security of their systems is not negotiable.”
There could be potential savings for companies that were not utilising all of the security features on offer in their existing systems.
‘‘We are advising customers to look at their existing licensing agreements and maximise what they have paid for,” said Faller.
‘‘Sometimes, a customer might be licensed to use products that they might not be using. Another area is to make sure they are using all the features in the products that they have.”
Microsoft Office has a number of features to ensure data security. ‘‘There are a number of security features within the Office products which can restrict what can be done with a document,” said Faller.
‘‘If you are sending a sensitive document to a colleague that you do not want forwarded on, and you do not want to get into the public domain, you can set the rights of a particular document or spreadsheet so that they can only just view it, not forward it or print it off.
‘‘There are also password protection features for documents, such as spreadsheets from the finance department, that they want to share. They can restrict access to it using settings within the active directory, on who has the right to view that document.”
Businesses with valuable customer information held within their SQL databases or Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems should be using encryption and following strict information management processes, Faller said.
‘‘It is very important that databases are encrypted, whether the information is sitting locally on people’s machines or somewhere centrally,” he said.
‘‘If information goes missing - for example, if a laptop with customer details is lost - you should know where the information sits, and if that laptop was encrypted.”
Dunwoody expects top racing at Fairyhouse
Sunday Business Post - Business of Sport page - Feb 22 2009
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Three-time champion jockey Richard Dunwoody, who is the official ambassador for the Irish Grand National, expects a top weekend of racing at Easter.
Dunwoody was announced as the ambassador for the 2009 Powers Whiskey Irish Grand National at a Racing Legends event in Dublin’s Merrion Hotel last week. The event, which is celebrating its 140th anniversary, will take place over Easter weekend (April 12-14) and has a prize fund of €250,000.
‘‘The Grand National at Fairyhouse is always a great race, and the festival is always a fantastic three days of racing,” said Dunwoody. ‘‘Racegoers get to see the best jockeys and the best horses. It’s a really good social occasion as well.”
During his career, Dunwoody rode 1,699 winners, including two English Grand Nationals, the Champion Hurdle, the Cheltenham Gold Cup and an Irish Grand National victory with Desert Orchid in 1990.
‘‘Winning the Irish national on Desert Orchid was one of the most memorable days of my career,” Dunwoody told The Sunday Business Post. ‘‘I made a bad mistake at the last, but fortunately we survived it. The reception Desert Orchid got was just amazing to witness.”
Last year’s race saw 33/1 shot Hear the Echo stun Fairyhouse to win by 12 lengths. Dunwoody said the Michael O’Leary-trained eight-year-old had a chance again, if declared.
‘‘At the moment, it is too early to know who will definitely run,” he said. ‘‘Horses like Hear The Echo and last year’s Welsh grand national winner Notre Pere, if they run, will be up there but, whoever runs, it will be a top-quality race.”
Although he has his hands full as a racing pundit for the BBC, sports columnist and inspirational speaker, Dunwoody is also something of an adventurer. In 2003, he completed a 350-mile ski race to the magnetic North Pole. And in January of last year, he completed a 680-mile, 48day un-resupplied trek to the South Pole, along a route attempted unsuccessfully in 1918 by legendary explorer Ernest Shackleton.
‘‘We set out on December 1 with all our provisions and, 48 days later, we got there,” he said. ‘‘A year on, I look back on it and have to say that it is certainly my greatest-ever achievement.”
Dunwoody said he would soon be announcing details of his next challenge.
‘‘I cannot say a lot about it yet, but it involves walking quite a long way,” he said. ‘‘We are hoping to launch that in the next month.”
Wednesday 18 February 2009
Animation company bags lucrative Noddy deal
Sunday Business Post - Done Deal page - Feb 15 2009
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Dublin animation company Brown Bag Films has secured a second international contract following its Olivia deal with US children’s TV channel Nickelodeon.
The Nickelodeon deal saw the first episode of a new Brown Bag animation series, based on the Olivia series of children’s novels by author Ian Falconer, broadcast last month.
Brown Bag bagged a hefty €6.2million production budget for the 52-episode series and is now working on another deal for a 52-part CGI animation series, Noddy in Toyland, for Chorion and British broadcaster Five.
‘‘Noddy is due to complete production by late summer, and we are currently in the final stages of contractual negotiation s wit h a global broadcaster for another project we hope to announce before then,” said Cathal Gaffney, managing director, Brown Bag.
Gaffney said the Olivia animation series, produced in high-definition CGI, would also air on television channels in Britain, Australia, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland.
Gaffney, who was also an executive producer of the series, said that the company worked hard to convince Nickelodeon of its credentials during the pitching process.
‘‘We did a series of tests on the show before we landed the job,” said Gaffney. ‘‘Olivia is a very big property outside of Europe, and lots of animation studios were keen to win the contract. Our creative approach and the vision of the director, Darragh O’Connell, secured the work for us.”
Gaffney said producer Gillian Higgins had been hired at the outset to oversee Brown Bag’s end of the project and liaise with US media giant Chorion, which held the rights to the award-winning Olivia book series.
‘‘Gillian joined us after working in the US for over 10 years, and her US broadcast experience made for relatively smooth sailing,” he said. “’Olivia took 14 months of production and over 80 people are credited. We worked extremely closely with Chorion at every step of the production.”
Gaffney said that the project, the company’s biggest so far, had required investment in some new equipment.
‘‘We produced and post-produced almost ten hours of high definition in 14 months, which brought huge technological challenges for us in terms of rendering, editing and storage,” he said.
Brown Bag is owned jointly by Gaffney and O’Connell, who set up the business in 1994. The company employs 50 staff across television commercial and production divisions based in Dublin and Toronto.
‘‘We have a slate of our own original television properties, as well as family feature films, in development,” said Gaffney. ‘‘A huge part of our business is about generating, producing and exploiting our own copyright internationally. One 2006 TV series, I’m an Animal, has sold to over 110 countries worldwide.”
Thursday 12 February 2009
Move onto the right career path
Sunday Business Post - Recruitment Section - Feb 08 2009
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Career coaching services, such as psychometric testing, can help people who are made redundant to devise a viable career plan.
‘‘For many, the goal is getting straight back into employment, thus job-hunting strategies are critical,” said Paul Mullan, director of Measurability.ie. ‘‘Companies may provide professional support, but if not, individuals can pursue the professional support option themselves.”
Joe MacAree, managing psychologist at Pearn Kandola, said career coaching had particular appeal for candidates looking for work in a tight and highly competitive market.
‘‘If there are more people vying for fewer jobs, those who are successful will have to be better prepared,” MacAree said. ‘‘Unfortunately, it is a numbers game, and any advantage that you can get is very valuable.”
Re-entering the job market
Individuals who are made redundant following long-standing service with one employer or in one particular role often need help to decide how best to re-enter the jobs market, according to Joe Ungemah, regional manager for Ireland, SHL.
‘‘Maybe someone has not had to change job or role for 20 years and is looking to understand what their preferences are,” said Ungemah. ‘‘Psychometrics and career coaching can be a good place to start.”
Ungemah said the technique could help candidates to understand fully what they have to offer a prospective new employer. It can help to give them a clearer picture of how they will be perceived in terms of their working style, competencies, skills and experience.
‘‘This means giving them a diagnosis of what they have to offer, and using that to present themselves in the best possible way in an interview or meeting with their potential next company,” he said.
Candidates who have been in one position for a protracted period may not be aware of all they have to offer a new employer.
‘‘Some people may not always realise the depth of experience or skills and attributes they have developed if they have been in a job for some time,” said MacAree. ‘‘They might be able to look at other jobs and see how those would now apply to a new position. In that way, we can see opportunities for people.”
Testing approach
A career coaching process typically begins with the candidate filling out a s et of psychometric questionnaires, according to Ungemah.
‘‘People are already familiar with their qualifications, their work experience and the usual CV stuff,” said Ungemah. ‘‘There is another type of information, and that is the stuff that psychometrics is particularly useful for. Usually these will be around personality, motivation, interests and values. These allow the individual to ask questions that they have never really asked of themselves.”
Psychometric techniques used by career coaches include motivational questionnaires, personality tools, interest inventories and emotional intelligence guides. The aim is to help to establish the candidate’s natural competencies, vocational leanings and personality traits, as well as their fit with different working environments and job tasks.
MacAree said psychometric tests were formulated to help the individual learn more about their own personal strengths and preferences.
‘‘Individuals can find out their own strengths, and areas they would like to work in,” he said. ‘‘That can be a range of things from personality questionnaires or broad based questionnaires that can help people to see where their natural strengths bring them towards.
‘‘Then, by talking to them about that, you can help to align them with particular roles or career options that might be a good fit for them.”
Combined strengths
Psychometric test results are usually combined with other information from the candidate’s career history to create a rounded picture. ‘‘The personality questionnaires are a very good starting point, but you need to then look closely at the CV as well to get an understanding of their experience,” MacAree said. ‘‘For example, the coach would ask the person how they had demonstrated a particular competency in the past.
‘‘If a person was quite extrovert, you would look at their communications skills or their people or leadership skills and experiences. By putting those two together, you would see that the person would be interested in roles with a high people content, and there perhaps might be opportunities to lead or direct other people.”
Active role
During coaching discussions, candidates plays an active role in identifying valuable information or options for themselves.
‘‘In coaching, the person themselves is very much in control,” said MacAree. ‘‘The role of the coach is to help them see what the information is telling them or suggesting to them. It is about bringing out options and potential future directions with them, in a very collaborative way, as opposed to a career guidance teacher in school who may have just told someone what job was for them.”
In some cases, Mullan said psychometric testing confirmed a candidate’s own view of their strengths and competencies.
‘‘My role is facilitation,” he said. ‘‘Individuals have the answers, they know what they want and what they enjoy. For some people, the goal could be to earn more money. For others, it could be to relocate, but others are genuinely looking for a job that offers more satisfaction and fulfilment.
‘‘Quite often, they cannot see these things through the haze of everyday life and work. A lot of the time, people have an idea what they want to do, but they need confirmation and someone to just say: ‘Go for it.’ “
Likely outcomes
Career coaches often use the information gleaned using a number of psychometric techniques to suggest potential new career directions for individuals, rather than specific roles.
‘‘If someone shows a strong preference for people, and enjoys working in groups, they are likely to enjoy activities like caring for people or helping them with their problems,” Mullan said. ‘‘This can lead into roles within, say, education and training or medical and health or travel and hospitality.
‘‘It can provide direction, but there are a lot of different roles within those. If they are then socially confident, good with people and competitive, it could then be worth considering a sales role within the health or education sector.”
Targeted selection
Mullan said the results of psychometric tests could also be used to focus on particular roles within one profession or sector.
‘‘Some people could be in field sales, and enjoy selling, but they do not enjoy the remoteness of the role,” he said. ‘‘To use a term from the personality questionnaire, they could be high-affiliated, which means they need the interaction of people and to have people around them. The sales element of the job might be right, so if you bring them into an office based sales role, it can help improve their situation.”
The coaching process can help to guide candidates out of one sector and into another that might suit them better.
‘‘We were working with somebody who came from a marketing background, who ended up moving into a HR role,” he said. ‘‘There is some overlap between the skill sets between the two jobs, but there are also some differences.”
Costs and options
The cost of psychometric assessments or career coaching varies depending on individuals requirements.
‘‘Private one-to-one career coaching can range in cost frome60 to €100 per hour, with career tests an additional €30 to €100 depending on the type of assessment,” said Mullan.
Ungemah said it was more likely for senior candidates to source career coaching services directly. Other candidates typically avail of psychometric services as part of an outplacement programme.
‘‘A process like this is quite expensive, and can be quite detailed and long,” he said. ‘‘You may have four or five meetings with your coach, and one session can cost more than €200 per hour.’ ‘The whole process might cost €1,000, which is a lot for an individual just to get a sense of what type of career they might want to go into.”
