Section Advocate SUNDAY April 23, 2000 i 0 Have a comment, suggestion or story idea for Business? Call Business Editor Mark Shaw at 328-8553, or send e-mail to mark.shawthomnews.com. INSIDE: Classified20 01D1W BUSINESS DIGEST El Deborah Kocsis MM jhl ,1.11 a. I I I ODD mm run i rmmmm tt it in. I Tt 'ir 1 "We never thought we had a shot at winning," Stottsberry said. "I was in the top of the bleachers filming the awards ceremony when they called our names for first place." There were five events at the" competition, with names such as pallet ballet, basket slalom, trailer hitch and hot shot.
Participants were required to stack wire baskets on top of each, maneuver through a very tight, blind corner course and drop basketballs just like professional ball players. There was also a written exam that each member had to take. "The basketball hot shot is harder than it looks," Miller said. "If you knock the ball off the cone, you lose 10 points." To prepare for the rodeo, the Diebold team practiced at the Walker Building near their plant. Several courses were set up and the team practiced after work, on their own time, for two weeks.
"If we didn't care, didn't have pride in the company, we wouldn't do this at all," PH I I 'i 'A 1 i Jury says Disney coerced dying man a0S ANGELES A federal jjiry Friday found that the Walt Disney Co. coerced a dying executive into signing away millions of dollars in benefits. Jurors disregarded Disney's argument that Robert Jahn gave up the benefits to avoid being fired for taking kickbacks. J'Tt's a moral victory. This is the appropriate verdict.
And I hope this corporation gets the message. It shouldn't conduct business like this," said attorney LMTy Sackey, who represented Jahn's estate. Disney's lawyer had no comment after the unanimous 8-0 verdict. Microsoft insurer tries to dodge legal bills 'SEATTLE Microsoft general insurer has asked a federal court that it not be required to pay for legal bills stemming from the tide of third-party antitrust lawsuits filed in the wake of the U.S. Justice Department case.
I Both Microsoft and Zurich American Insurance Inc. con- firmed Friday that they have each filed suit against the other over the issue. Zurich American, which filed first, contends Microsoft's liability insurance does not cover antitrust issues. There are nearly 140 private antitrust suits filed in 38 states gainst Microsoft, all stemming from the ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's that Microsoft broke antitrust law.
Paeon orders gets pork industry sizzling again 1 NEW COLUMBIA, 111. More bacon on the menu at fast-food restaurants is helping reverse a (Jollapse in pork prices that drove thousands of hog farmers out of business nationwide. The pork industry is in the fourth month of a turnaround that has hog farmers turning a profit for the first time since October 1997. Although there are fears that falling slaughterhouse capacity could spark a return to the "hog crisis" of 1997-99, pork consumption is higher than it has been in two decades. Restaurant demand for pork products has increased 17 percent in the last year, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
That is critical because 64 percent of the nation's pork is served through restaurants, the group said. Class action suit alleges iuction house collusion NEW YORK A judge agreed Friday to give class-action status to lawsuits alleging that Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses conspired to flianipulate prices they were naid by sellers and buyers for at least seven years. Sotheby's did not oppose the Request for class-action status. Christie's did oppose the request, arguing that class-action status is inappropriate in a damages case. The issue is whether there as collusion between the auction houses that control 95 percent of the $4 billion worldwide auction market.
Compiled from Advocate wire services. Diebold crew shows well at forklift rodeo By LB. WHYDE Advocate Correspondent Just like the cowboys of old, four employees of Diebold, demonstrated their abilities and their competitive spirit in a recent rodeo. But they didn't have to put on boots and instead of horses, they had horsepower. They climbed aboard forklifts and demonstrated their skills and safety procedures while performing pallet ballet, four square and basketball.
The Diebold team brought home the overall title in the first annual All-Ohio Forklift Rodeo. Held recently at the Greater Columbus Convention Center during the 2000 Ohio Safety Congress Expo, 20, four-man teams, from all over the state competed in the all-day event. The Diebold team included Ron Auck, Garry Stottsberry, Steve Miller and team leader Tom Hornsby. To qualify for the rodeo, teams had to qualify at a Local rodeo planned The Newark and Licking County Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring the first-ever forklift rodeo to be held in the county. The event is for certified forklift operators and is tentatively scheduled for September 22 at the warehouses of Bear Creek.
For more information or to register to be one of the 20, four-man teams, call Heather Homan at the Chamber of Commerce at 345-9757. local event. Diebold has been competing for the last three years in the Springfield-Clark County Forklift Rodeo. "It keeps you on your toes," Stottsberry said. "It is all about safety.
It's challenging. You learn more each time you compete." The rodeo is actually a test of driving skills, maneuverability and safety, all on a timed basis. All safety rules apply, such as honking horns first when backing up, looking while backing up, fastening seat belts and forks only two to six inches off the ground when carrying a load. Points were added for any mistakes or deviations from the safety rules. Like golf, the lowest score wins.
Three members of the Diebold team placed in the top 10 individually and Auck was named the top driver in the state with the least amount of points. "It was unbelievable," Auck said. "I was really surprised. I told Tom maybe we should just quit driving, because the pressure will be fierce next year." In addition to being the team captain, Hornsby has been the fork lift instructor at Diebold for the last six years. He was the main instigator in getting involved in the rodeo and is also on the steering committee at the Chamber of Commerce to start a Licking County rodeo.
"I've been in competition of one form of another all my life. The rodeo is just another way to. compete," Hornsby said. "This win was quite an honor. Our pride really excelled in this event.
We've been beaming ever since." The team already has received challenges from the other companies It is looking forward to participating in a Licking County rodeo, scheduled for September. All the Diebold team members work in the shippingreceiving area of the plant. Hornsby and Auck have both been there for 22 years, Stottsberry for 17 years and Miller for 6 years. -r TTTfl Above, Tom Hornsby maneuvers through one of the courses at the first annual All-Ohio Forklift Rodeo in Columbus recently. At left, from left, Gary Stottsberry, Ron Auck and Steve Miller review the course layout for the event.
(Submitted photos) Stottsberry said, who is also the president of the union, Local IUE 710. Miller was the standby on the team and the rookie, having never competed in a rodeo before. He had the luck of drawing the lowest card and was the very first driver out of the gates to start the competition for the rodeo. He set the pace for the rest of the competition. "I didn't get to watch anybody else," Miller said.
"It makes you feel good about yourself, when you come in first." Now that they have sent the standard, Diebold team members have gained more respect and more interest in their 'sport' throughout the plant. Since the recent rodeo, other employees have expressed an interest in competing. "We're all proud of them," Diebold Facilities Manager Ed Killoran said. "Since they received one team trophy for their efforts, the company will have duplicates made so each member can take one home." rm Hi 3BB Predicting the future may be shortsighted What would it be worth to you as a manager to be able to predict the future? An entire industry of analysts, futurists, and others has developed to supply predictions about the future. Managers study these predictions and strategists debate them.
As prudent as this all sounds, chasing predictions can be an unwise use of time. That's because each of us uses a mindset of thinking comprised of unspoken assumptions, from which we project and predict the future. Most of the time these mindsets serve us well, but their power is large enough to allow us to ignore other equally valid realities. Dee Hock, founder of Visa International, said, "We tend to fall in love with the things that we think are true. We treasure those truths and we can't bear to part with them." So what follows from our personal projections are arguments and debates about who's right and who's wrong.
Eventually, managers collectively arrive at one preferred prediction and then hope that it happens, while discarding predictions deemed less probable. This leaves the entire organization vulnerable to important external events that lie outside of the accepted mindsets. A helpful example of this mindset and its vulnerabilities is the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973, where the American mindset of plentiful and cheap energy was toppled by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Few organizations had been able to anticipate and act upon this sweeping chain of events. So if our mindsets prevent us from accurately predicting the future, what other ways do we have of being better prepared for what lies ahead? The scenario approach.
By taking the scenario approach, managers can make strategic decisions that will work in any future probable or improbable. Debate no longer focuses on picking a most probable future, but instead focuses on being prepared for whatever happens. Scenario discussions focus on driving forces that influence the outcome of events. Driving forces come from society, technology, economics, politics, and the environment, shaping and propelling events locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. But not all driving forces are important for every business, so the scenario discussion then brings to focus those driving forces which are both important and uncertain for the business.
Without picking a favorite scenario, managers can look at all scenarios influenced by these important and uncertain driving forces. The scenario approach means that managers are no longer vulnerable and blind-sided. Strategic decisions are made that will work in any given future. The organization is prepared for whatever happens, and is now on a path of ongoing organizational conversation and learning. Predicting the future can still be fun, but the scenario approach will produce better results for your business.
Deborah Kocsis is a business consultant and owner of Cornerstone Consulting in Granville. She can be reached at 522-8707. IRS mails notices repeatedly, for small amounts O.UISS.VJSll For more infor they had paid up, often because the IRS failed to record the payment in time to stop another notice from going out. Last year, the IRS also sent out 31 million notices telling taxpayers about mistakes in returns, such as math errors, and adjustments made to their accounts. According to a second GAO audit, 1.5 million of those involved net amounts due of less than $5 or refunds of less than $1.
The IRS says it is working to improve its communications with taxpayers a long-standing source of complaints and legislation passed by the House is aimed at exploring ways to use technology, such as e-mail, to speed things up. In letters to the GAO, IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti said the report on multiple notices "mirrors our concerns for minimizing the burdens placed on taxpayers and the costs of sending unnecessary notices to them." As part of its long-term modernization effort, Rossotti said the IRS is developing an updated computer system to improve how it deals with receipt of payments. "We are committed to sending clear and concise notices to taxpayers detailing what is expected of them, while ensuring accuracy," Rossotti said. WASHINGTON (AP) Tax headaches haven't ended yet for tnillions of Americans who will get IRS notices for taxes due or because they made mistakes. Yet an audit says many of these Notices are repetitious and many involve $5 or less.
Depending on the circ*mstances and manpower used, Oiese notices can cost the Internal Revenue Service between 42 cents and $14.32 each to prepare and send, according to the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. A GAO audit found that about 39 percent of the 14.8 million taxpayers who got IRS collection Regarding the notices for errors involving low-dollar amounts, Rossotti noted that the law requires the IRS to inform taxpayers of any change to their account. In addition, the GAO pointed out that some of these notices initially involve larger amounts, such as a return claiming a refund of $300 that is adjusted because of an error to $4 in taxes owed. "There would be times when sending a small-dollar notice is appropriate," Rossotti said. "If a taxpayer is expecting a refund but ultimately has a small balance due, we would certainly want to notify him or her of the reason." mation see Internal Revenue Service's Web site: www.lrs.gov notices between January and November 1999 received multiple notices for the same tax assessment.
Most of these taxpayers got extra notices because they hadn't paid their taxes, penalties and interest in full on time. But 270,000 received them even after 1 wataA-airj si -S'i.
