Claus H. Widrig has been elected president of the new industry representation for interim management. He will lead the organization together with attorney Marcel Gross and entrepreneur Daniel E. Bubendorf. Widrig has many years of experience in management functions and is active in various business associations. He is a profound expert on this form of work of the future in business and at the political level.

Interim management is the temporary assumption of line, project or result responsibility and is likely to gain further importance as a future work model. the industry association interimsuisse therefore wants to "communicate through various channels with leading exponents from business, politics, science and the media world", as it states on the website www.interimsuisse.com is called. As a network for the Swiss interim market, the organization also wants to make an important contribution to creating legal certainty in the use of interim managers.

Companies are interested in keeping their employees healthy. Absences, absenteeism and reduced performance as a result of illness or stress cost billions each year. Fit im Job specializes in sustainable occupational health management (OHM). The consulting firm uses scientific methods to analyze areas for action and measure the impact of individual measures.

Comprehensive offerings for corporate customers

The Medbase Group offers medical and therapeutic services in its 13 Medbase Medical Centers and 23 Santémed Health Centers in Switzerland. Medical and preventive offerings for corporate customers are combined in the Corporate Health unit. The current subject area is being expanded with the acquisition of Fit im Job. The Medbase Group's broad portfolio of services enables companies to solve their health, human resources and leadership challenges in a holistic manner, according to the company. Medbase has also been working closely with Migros Fitnessparks for over ten years. The idea: medical offers and intervention mutually support preventive measures such as fitness training or wellness.

Occupational Health Management 4.0

To ensure that health promotion measures have a long-term effect, Medbase and Fit im Job work with innovative online tools that complement each other ideally. Fit im Job, for example, has developed a health portal that can be customized for companies and digital tools such as the Micropause or the Drink Timer to improve employees' vitality at work with minimal effort. Medbase offers online coaches for exercise and nutrition, which help to sustainably anchor health-promoting behavior in employees' everyday lives.

Information: www.medbase.ch, www.fitimjob.ch

Family businesses are an important element of economic life in practically every country in the world. For them, the regulation of business succession plays a particularly important role, and, depending on the case, so do inheritance taxes. Inheritance taxes can be decisive in determining whether and how a business finds its way into the next generation of the family. The question therefore arises: Who pays the most inheritance taxes where in the world, and who pays the least?

The Center for Family Business at the University of St.Gallen (CFB-HSG) has worked to answer these questions together with EY published the "Global Family Business Tax Monitor" for the first time. The results of the research project show a worldwide comparison of the resulting inheritance taxes in 69 countries around the globe based on a standardized case of a business succession in family businesses.

In addition, there is a lot more information on the website:

• An interactive world map shows at a glance the minimum and maximum inheritance taxes of the respective country, the inheritance taxes in the standardized succession case and the legal system applicable there.
• Various economic indicators are compared with the respective maximum tax rates.
• The legal systems are compared in the context of the resulting inheritance taxes.
• A sortable and searchable table summarizes the results from the countries studied.

The website (only available in English) can be found under http://familybusinesstaxindex.com/

At the beginning of the 1970s, kits and hobbyist systems such as KIM-1, AIM 65, Ohio Scentific, Altair and IMSAI kicked off the PC era, but from 1977 onwards, companies such as Apple, Commodore and Tandy Corporation made it possible for private users to enter the computer age without any problems.

The role of the West Coast Computer Fair

On April 16-17, 1977, Jim Warren and Bob Reiling organized a trade show in San Francisco at the Civic Auditorium to popularize the emerging home computer. It would soon become the most important trade show for the nascent personal computer industry. At this fair, a certain Chuck Peddle showed an all-in-one device called the Commodore PET (Personal Electronic Transactor) and two young computer enthusiasts named Steve Wonzniak (27) and Steve Jobs (21) showed a well-built Apple II. 180 exhibitors, including Intel, MITS and Digital Research showed their revolutionary products and ideas to the 12,000 visitors.

The West Coast Computer Fair continued to be a source of new announcements. For example, at the 4th edition (May 79), Dan Bricklin introduced the first spreadsheet, "VisiCalc". Or at the 5th edition (March 1980) Microsofts showed its first hardware product, the Z-80 SoftCard, which gave the Apple II CP/M capability (operating system by Gary Kildall of Digital Research). And a year later, Adam Osborne announced the first transportable, 11 kilogram, computer, the Osborne 1 (designer Lee Felsenstein). Or at the 7th edition (March 1982) the Winchester hard disk with 5 MB from Davong Systems for the IBM PC (announced in August 1981) experienced its baptism.

From the basic developments of the PC to today's everyday life

Around all these basic developments, a large industry was built up worldwide in a short time, whose products and services were to fundamentally change our daily lives in business as well as in private life. But most people never realized this fact, because mobile devices, wireless communication and the Internet are part of everyday life. To illustrate this rapid development, the first PC history poster was created in 1997 to mark the 20th anniversary of the PC. To keep up with the pace of constant innovation, the poster had to be changed, updated and expanded again and again.

From computer history to digital evolution

This is already the 5th poster by Micha and Robert Weiss on the history of digital evolution. Increased requests for when an updated poster would be released (last edition 2009) prompted them to produce a greatly expanded new edition. The redesign includes an extensive expansion of the prehistory from the beginnings of writing, numbers and arithmetic to the birth pangs of the PC. Furthermore, the future section was significantly expanded with the help of the IBM research laboratory in Rüschlikon. The focus of the content has also been set in line with the latest trends. Cognitive computing, cloud computing, 3D printers, security, wearables, virtual worlds, big data and tablet computing are all of great importance.

Dimensions and use

The new two-part poster is a total of 256 cm long and 90 cm high. It includes around 1,500 images, logos and graphic elements, over 30,000 words with around 215,000 characters. If this content were converted into a book in A4 format, the result would be between 550 and 600 pages. The poster is suitable for schools as illustrative material, for anyone interested in computers and technology as a reference work and, thanks to its high-quality printing, also as a decorative element in any office, computer room, classroom or even at home.

The link www.computerposter.ch/download.html allows a detailed view of the poster and under www.computerposter.ch it can also be ordered.

Everything talks about change - and SMEs are right in the middle of it. This inspired those responsible for SME Day 2017 to choose this year's motto: Confidence in Change. The title can certainly be understood ambiguously: The ongoing change around digitalization, Industry 4.0, the world of work, etc. also requires companies to have new forms of confidence...

Entrepreneurs and thinkers among the speakers

Host Prof. Dr. Urs Füglistaller from the KMU-HSG and his team succeeded in putting together an interesting panel of speakers for the SME Day 2017:

• Ludwig Hasler, publicist and philosopher
• Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jenewein, Full Professor of Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen
• Philipp Riederle, Digital Native and Young Entrepreneur (Image)
• Wolfgang Frick, Managing Director Marketing of SPAR Switzerland
• Gabriela Manser, head of the smallest mineral spring in Switzerland
• Martina Gerster, CEO of Härterei Gerster AG

Poetry slammer and columnist Hazel Brugger will provide pointed "heckling". This year's moderator will be Patrizia Laeri, business journalist at Swiss Television.

The detailed program will soon be available on www.kmu-tag.ch is switched on.

Why did we choose Coople as our name? The name is short, simple and concise and embodies the simplest connection between employee and employer. Last but not least, the rebranding is also a consequence of the global expansion course that the company started last year with a major financing round and the market entry in the UK. The previous name was already protected there.

Synonymous with the modern working world

The timing for the name change is also ideal for the company because Coople has evolved significantly since the company was founded six years ago, according to a media release. Coople's vision is to use digitization and automation to create opportunities for all, not just benefits for a few. The new name stands for a job market where the relationship between employee and employer is not one of dependency, but of mutual benefit. "Coople connects people who want to adapt their jobs to their lives, and not the other way around, with companies that meet a changing world of work not with rigid concepts, but with flexibility," it continues.

Completely redesigned platform

In parallel with the rebranding, the company is going online with a completely revamped version of its platform, through which employers and employees can find each other directly for work assignments. Built on the latest technology, the architecture allows for the handling of any volume of data. It features intuitive and more user-friendly navigation and provides even better support for employers to create and manage their own pools of favored employees. The platform is regularly developed according to the latest market and customer needs.

From staff leasing company to HR service provider in the modern world of work

Coople is currently strategically repositioning itself to pave the way for the future of the working world. Viktor Calabrò, Founder, CEO and Chairman, says: "We have big plans. We want to make history with Coople and change the way the world works. We've evolved from being just an online staffing company for short-term and short-term work assignments to a comprehensive HR service provider for the flexible work world." With its new strategic approach, the company continues to expand its business areas and also becomes a software and services company. In this way, Coople aims to help companies find the right answers and solutions for the increasing complexity of the labor market. With the strategic application of the HR concept of the "Flexible Workforce" in connection with Coople's software, the company can have a direct influence on increasing the efficiency of the value chain and optimizing results. This includes, among other things, work planning, pooling, recruitment, competence evaluation and the processing of work assignments. With transparent work assignments, Coople supports employees in making self-determined work a socially accepted and secure way of life.

Source

If you want to understand what waves may be coming to your company and your industry, it is imperative that you operate a technology radar. In other words, you need to be able to observe closely and assess the situation. There's even a saying in Silicon Valley for this. It's "Which Technology or Business Model is going from deceptive to disruptive." There are eight areas that are turning your industry upside down, that are currently undergoing major upheaval, and where development is progressing very exponentially:

1. Communication and networks
2. Energy
3. Fight against diseases and cancer
4. Stem cells and longevity
5. Transportation
6. Robotics and Workforce
7. Materials, production and 3D printing
8. Computation and artificial intelligence

Ask questions

The following examples show how difficult it is, however, to make the right decisions from such exponential questions that are currently being asked. An important basic prerequisite for this is to ask the right questions. These include: What does it mean for my company if

• suddenly billions of additional people have access to the Internet?
• Everyone has the opportunity to continue their education online?
• Transportation costs can be reduced enormously by autonomous cars and trucks as well as drones?
• The transport of energy becomes less important than the storage of energy?
• diseases like cancer can suddenly be successfully fought?
• Artificial intelligence can make better diagnoses than doctors?
• people can live to be 100 or 150 years old?
• Robots and 3D printing make the manufacturing process a commodity?
• Can organic cells be combined with technology?
• Artificial intelligence becoming omnipresent in everyday life, for example to read lips or diagnose?
• When the simple daily tasks in the office are taken over by machine learning

Two variants are available

If you want to make your company competitive in the face of these challenges of our time, you can basically choose between two variants: First, you can reduce costs compared to your competitors, thereby producing more cheaply and offering correspondingly lower prices. Or secondly, you can increase the benefits of your products and services for customers and thus increase both your sales and your margin.

But no matter which variant you choose, in any case IT plays an extremely important role. Companies that operate successfully in their respective markets today have long since recognized that they must not view IT as a mere cost factor. In fact, IT is in many cases a business enabler or even a business catalyst. However, the approach is usually more straightforward and obvious when it comes to reducing costs. If IT is used as an enabler, significant savings can be achieved in the area of both process optimization and process automation. In addition to "electrification," the area of process optimization also includes "digitization," namely the complete conversion of the previous analog process flows so that they can be completely redesigned and made more efficient in the overall context.

Learning from start-ups when it comes to disruption

If, on the other hand, the aim is to increase the benefits for customers, the optimal approach is no longer so obvious. This is why this area in particular is considered the absolute supreme discipline in dealing with new business models and technologies. For this reason, improving customer value is appropriately feared by large corporations. The main reason for this fact is that, thanks to the democratization in IT and technology that has already been taking place to an increasing extent for years, small start-up companies can act much more agilely on the markets and bring "improved customer value" to the market much faster than is the case with large corporations - not least because of the structures established there and the fear of their own cannibalization. Because these processes are exponential in most cases, it is much more difficult for market participants and analysts to make accurate predictions.

I invite you to dive a little deeper into the matter! Since my research would blow up this blog, I have for those interested a small Whitepaper compiled with many examples and sources from these 8 exponential areas. Be surprised with many practical examples and learn which technologies are already very advanced and where currently investors have their focus.

Social collaboration has been proven to increase work efficiency and empower employees to tackle current challenges in a targeted manner. In addition, modern collaboration tools support new forms of collaboration and change fundamental behaviors and attitudes of employees - especially by strengthening the innovation orientation and the sense of belonging within the workforce. These are the findings of the recently published German Social Collaboration Study 2017, the second wave of a joint time series study by the Department of Information Systems at Darmstadt University of Technology and the management consultancy Campana & Schott.

Social collaboration aims at digitalization and lived corporate culture

As the current survey shows, social collaboration is becoming increasingly important as a strategic element of digital transformation. "Most study participants use networked forms of collaboration not primarily to save costs, but first and foremost to further develop their corporate culture and drive the digitalization of their business activities," says Dr. Eric Schott, Managing Director of Campana & Schott. Specifically, 57 percent of respondents named cultural change in their company as a key motive for using collaborative technologies. In second place among the most important goals, at 53 percent, was the striving for greater innovativeness among employees. Only in third place, with 47 percent, is the desire to reduce costs and increase work efficiency.

Engine for greater efficiency and innovative strength

According to the study, the efficiency effects of social collaboration have a multi-layered interaction with corporate cultural factors: For example, an enterprise social network (ESN) increases work efficiency the more intensively the workforce uses the network in everyday work. Depending on the usage scenario, ESN users work up to 42 percent more efficiently than non-users. In addition, the intensity of use correlates statistically significantly with the innovation orientation of employees. "Social collaboration promotes network-like collaboration and has a positive effect on innovative strength, agility, technology affinity and corporate culture - all of which is also impressively proven by the second social collaboration study," comments Boris Ovcak, Director Social Collaboration at Campana & Schott and initiator of the study.

Conversely, the existing corporate culture also influences the success of social collaboration projects. The previous year's survey already clearly showed this connection. The current study builds on the results and provides more in-depth insights. And there is another study result from which direct conclusions can be drawn for practical implementation in the company: Wherever collaboration tools are available from the cloud and are used intensively, the efficiency gain is up to 13 percent greater than with conventional tool provision. Even 17 percent more efficiency can be achieved if various social collaboration solutions are optimally coordinated with each other.

Most opportunities are still open

So far, however, much of the potential demonstrated in the study remains largely untapped: On a scale between 0 and 3, the average degree of social collaboration maturity is currently 1.14. The 0 stands for exclusively conventional technologies or analog forms of collaboration, while the 3 indicates the universal use of advanced collaboration solutions. Due to the large increase in the number of participants, valid statements on the progress of adaptation since 2016 can only be derived from the responses of those companies that already took part in the initial survey in the previous year: In this segment, the maturity level increased by four percentage points.

Source and further information: www.collaboration-studie.de

With insider knowledge and best practice examples, practitioners and thought leaders from various positions in business and other organizations show how they can remain fit for the future with networked leadership and different forms of cooperation. The following film excerpt from the 50-minute film "Vernetztes Führen" by cinco.systems provides initial impulses in this regard."

More information: cinco.systems

Pi2 Process AG is a specialized, internationally active subcontracting company in Lachen SZ. The business areas are mechanical solutions and processes respectively the production of precise parts, assemblies of components and devices as well as the support of SMEs in the improvement of processes. The company recently received an award from SAP Switzerland for the smooth implementation of SAP and the fast live. According to the statement, the decisive factors for the successful project were primarily the company's own convincing approach as well as the experience of the consultants from the partner company GIA Informatik AG in Oftringen, who came up with a ready-made ERP template. Pietro Pignatiello, CEO and Project Manager of Pi2 Process AG: "My team and I are very pleased to have won this SAP award. It shows that we have set a new standard with our rapid project execution, which is being recognized nationally." The partner company GIA is also happy about this award. Martin Ryser, Member of the Executive Board and Head of Business Solutions at GIA: "Pi2 Process showed a lot of passion right from the start and focused on the essentials during the course of the project. This enabled a fast implementation of this digital core. We will continue to be happy to accompany Pi2 Process AG on the way to digitalizing its business."

Continuous flow of data and values

Pi2 Process AG relies on the ERP system from SAP ("SAP Business Suite on HANA") as the basis for bringing together all relevant data and due to the holistic networking and flexibility. Pietro Pignatiello: "Our goals are a continuous flow of data and values as well as current and transparent key business figures. The smaller a company is, the more important it is to network these flows in an integrated complete solution. With SAP, Pi2 Process AG has the basis to realize its vision of 'Pi2-MTO (connecting people, technology, organization)' in the sense of Industry 4.0."

GIA Informatik AG from Oftringen took over the implementation. In an initial project phase, it mapped the quotation, order processing, procurement and accounting processes, including integrated document management, in the ERP system. Important elements were the meaningful management cockpit as well as the SAP HANA platform and the use of the new, central business partner, which already serves as preparation for the S/4 HANA deployment.

Introduction lasted only 75 days

The project lasted from the beginning of September to mid-November 2016. Pi2 Process AG was able to start productive operation just 75 days after the start of the project. No investments were necessary; the financing model was on a subscription basis. Pietro Pignatiello: "With GIA, we have a partner at our side who understands the requirements of an SME well due to its experience. By using the new and simple industry template 'gia//fertigung', the IT company implemented an ERP solution tailored to our needs, which we are now gradually expanding. The basis for the success of the project was the common language and the understanding for each other."

Source and further information: GIA Informatics

KPMG's "Swiss Tax Report 2017" compares the profit and income tax rates of 130 countries and all 26 cantons. With a few exceptions, the current edition shows no significant shifts: Following minor reductions in 2016, a trend towards stagnation in ordinary corporate income tax rates is again apparent for the current year, it says. Over the last ten years, the average tax rate in the Swiss cantons has fallen by 2.99%, the Tax Report continues. A similar picture emerges for individual taxation: After a moderate downward trend, average top tax rates seem to have stagnated in recent years, with the majority of top tax rates varying only marginally. Various political developments at home and abroad could provide more momentum in tax competition in the medium term.

Central Switzerland undisputed leader in corporate taxation

In a national comparison, the tax ranking continues to be led by the cantons of central Switzerland. In terms of ordinary profit tax rates, the majority of Swiss cantons made no change. While Lucerne slightly increased its tax rate from 12.32% to 12.43%, Schaffhausen lowered its ordinary profit tax rate from 16.04% to 15.97% and the canton of Graubünden from 16.68% to 16.12%. A further reduction in tax rates from 15.01% to 14.92% was recorded in the canton of Uri. Tax rates also remained largely unchanged in the lower tiers, which are shared by Western Switzerland, the Central Plateau and the city cantons. Only Solothurn has reduced its profit tax from 21.85% to 21.49%. In connection with the upcoming Tax Bill 17, however, further reductions are to be expected, especially in the high-tax cantons.

Switzerland in the front third

In a European comparison, there were no significant changes in 2016 - except for those in Hungary and Italy: While Hungary made a drastic tax rate cut from 19% to 9%, the rate in Italy was reduced from 31.40% to 24%. Looking at Europe, the cantons of Central Switzerland in particular remain well positioned, led by Lucerne (12.43%). Lower ordinary profit tax rates are only applied by the Channel Islands and a few Southeastern European countries. The biggest competitor in Europe is still Ireland, with an ordinary profit tax rate of 12.50%.

From a global perspective, in addition to the well-known offshore domiciles, Hong Kong and Singapore in particular are among the attractive tax locations for companies. Switzerland ranks in the top third in a global comparison. Over the last ten years, there have been some significant reductions in profit tax rates, particularly in the Middle East. The UK has announced that it will reduce its profit tax to 17% by 2020.

Source: KPMG

The changes in the world of work caused by digitization are seen by many as rather positive; work is experienced as more diverse and autonomous. But issues such as job insecurity or changes in job profile are clearly viewed less favorably. This is shown by the initial results of a new study by the IAP Institute for Applied Psychology at the ZHAW. The study, "People in the World of Work 4.0," places people at the center of the digital transformation and asks how employees experience and assess the digital transformation. To this end, ZHAW researchers surveyed over 600 people in Switzerland. Of these, one-third were from SMEs and two-thirds from large companies. Two-thirds of the respondents have management responsibilities and 70 percent have at least a degree from a university of applied sciences. 45 percent of respondents are male and 55 percent are female. The average age is 45.

Majority does not see job endangered by digitization

The ZHAW study shows that there is no uniform understanding of digitalization, digital transformation or Working 4.0. "Some of the respondents understand it to mean automation and acceleration, others mobile-flexible forms of work or social media," says ZHAW researcher Sarah Genner, who conducted the study together with a team. Still others think of Industry 4.0, Big Data, robotics or artificial intelligence. "Although, according to many studies, just under half of the jobs will be eliminated by digital transformation, more than three quarters think that their job will not be replaced by machines in the future." This is possibly also due to the above-average level of education of the respondents. After all, job losses due to digitization tend to affect the less well-educated.

Mobile-flexible working mostly possible

The changes taking place in the world of work as a result of digitization also include developments that are perceived positively by the majority, such as work in smart workplaces or in the home office. In the ZHAW study, 83 percent of respondents said that mobile-flexible working is possible in their organization. Three-quarters perceive flexible working in terms of time and place as a positive change. Just under half can use mobile workstations within the organization for this purpose. Four-fifths of respondents still have their own workstation. However, 57 percent believe that this will no longer be the case in the next five years. Most are autonomous in terms of working hours and workload. Only 38 percent of respondents have guidelines as to when they have to work. 85 percent would like to have less control in this regard.

Constant accessibility burdens

Work and private life are becoming increasingly intermingled due to constant digital accessibility. However, two-thirds of those surveyed consider the separation of work and leisure time important. 80 percent almost always or frequently succeed in doing so. However, 46 percent are also digitally accessible outside of working hours. A quarter get nervous when they are not online. Constant accessibility also has an impact on health. For just under half of the people surveyed, it worsens their health or causes them to have sleep problems. 41 percent find it relaxing when they are offline.

Digital communication does not lead to better decisions

According to almost half of the respondents, the management of employees has changed: "There is more management at a distance and through digital channels," explains Sarah Genner. "Self-leadership is becoming increasingly important. In addition, there is even more leadership via identification and target agreements." Many organizations value a climate conducive to learning. Seventy-two percent of respondents say their supervisors make sure they can develop their digital skills. In teams, communication most frequently takes place via e-mail, in meetings or by means of informal agreements. Newer digital channels such as instant messaging programs, Skype or Slack, but also the telephone are used comparatively little. Thanks to digital media, many employees feel better informed. However, according to the feedback from those surveyed, decisions are neither improved nor implemented more efficiently in day-to-day work. Digitalization is also making inroads into continuing education. 55 percent would like to receive further training in a blended learning format in the future, in which face-to-face courses and digital forms of learning are mixed. Social media channels have already become established in personnel recruitment.

More information: www.zhaw.ch/iap/studie