Business Gift: Recruiting Tool
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Melinda Sherwood, Teena Chandy, and Barbara Fox were published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on June 9,
1999.
All rights reserved.
Virtual New Jersey: Also `Open’ for Business
When Prosperity New Jersey launched the Exits to Opportunity
television ad campaign, the handiwork of Princeton Partners ad agency
and some other Princeton area production talent, it mixed humor and
sentiment to patch the potholes in New Jersey’s reputation and provide
more visibility to businesses.
But with the launching of the online Business Resource Center (https://www.njbrc.com),
the business advocacy organization chose not to go down the same route.
Instead of using clever self-promotion, it opted to appeal to the
intellect of business people. The website is jam-packed with meaty
information on New Jersey demographics, economy and infrastructure
— data that will be invaluable to someone putting together a business
plan or considering relocating a business to the area. Best of all,
there’s little hype: you don’t have to trudge through ads, back out
of commercial sites or subscribe for a password.
Chuck Jones, director of business advocate and information at
the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, thinks that
going with the “straight facts” will pay off. “What businesses
need today is information, not a marketing tool,” he says. “Other
states only accentuate the positive. We know that there are negatives
as well as positives.” To avoid controversy, he adds, the data
was collected but not created by the state. Several of the links go
directly to U.S. government sites and other outside data sources.
The two agencies overseeing the creation of the site — Prosperity
New Jersey and the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission
— hired the services of an outside consultant, Brad McDearman
of McDearman Associates in Baltimore, Maryland. The New Jersey Technology
Council handles the technical development of the site.
McDearman advised the agencies to forgo flashy images in order to
attract the no-nonsense business types. He also suggested the state
site remain open — visitors are not asked to register, subscribe
or use a password to get beyond the home page. Jones says this is
a big selling point; many state sites are monitored and require people
to jump through hoops to get the critical data. Business speculation
may be highly confidential, so the open site preserves privacy as
well.
The no-fuss site also means less work for an already stretched staff
at the Commerce and Economic Growth Commission. That was the reason
for creating the site in the first place, Jones says: “The problem
we had is that we could not respond to relocation consultants as fast
as other states could.”
Whether you are putting together a business plan, considering a relocation,
conducting market research, or trying to E-mail a government official,
information in the following areas is only a mouse-click away:
Demographics (census reports, state and county).Largest companies (by industry).Largest research facilities.Taxes and Insurance (also compared to nearby states).Utilities (also compared to nearby states).Transportation infrastructure (rail, port, air, road).State incentive programs.State financing programs.Top Of PageBusiness Gift: Recruiting ToolDid you know that New Jersey was the home of organizedbaseball, the first target in a Martian invasion of the planet, andthe first state to produce a glass bottle larger than an NBA player?”New Jersey Firsts: The Famous, Infamous, and Quirky of the GardenState” (Camino Books Inc., 1999) by Tom Wilk and HarryArmstrong delves into the curious history behind everything fromNew Jersey’s infamous traffic engineering — the cloverleaf –to the out-of-the-ordinary athletes that arrive every year for theNational Marbles Tournament in Atlantic City. Not only are the anecdotesfascinating, the book also makes a good recruiting tool. Among themilestones captured here are the births of at least five differenthi-tech industries — a definite confidence-builder. Wilk willbe at Encore Books on Thursday, June 17, at 7:30 p.m. to answer questionsand sign copies.Wilk is a copy editor at the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, a graduateof Rider University, Class of 1980, with a BA in journalism, and alifelong Jersey resident. “I’ve been in journalism since ’74 sosome of these things — like the 10th anniversary of Cold War Summitat Glassboro — I covered at the time,” he says.Writing the book, Wilk says, forced him to consider the significancein being “the first” to do something. “I’m thinking aboutit as a parent now — the first steps your children take, the firstteeth, your first full-time job. It’s just a way of remembering thingsand marking milestones.”Each of New Jersey’s firsts are tightly written into micro-chapters:Most Complete Dinosaur Skeleton, First Transcontinental Highway, FirstRock `n’ Roll Star, Vice President to Kill in a Duel, and so on.New Jerseyans may take their history for granted, but recent transfersand business travelers may be surprised and impressed by the illustrationof the state’s genius and innovation. “New Jersey has such a largepopulation coming into the state — people transferred from jobsin Philadelphia or New York — that it’s a good way to learn aboutthe heritage,” Wilk says. Among the confidence-building milestones:The Birth of Teflon, Bell Labs: Touch Tone Dialing and More, the NewJersey Knee, the Bar Code, and, of course, the Band-Aid.– Melinda SherwoodTop Of PageMicrosoft 2000:Internet FriendlyMicrosoft released the latest version of its officeproductivity suite — Office 2000 — this week, so you may haveheard about some of software’s newest features. If not, you can speakto Microsoft spokesperson Bret Davis at the Princeton PC UsersGroup meeting on Monday, June 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Lawrencevillelibrary. He will be answering questions about the release. Call 908-281-3107.Free.Microsoft announced several of the software’s new tools and enhancementsbefore the release:Simplified conversion of Office documents to HTML (hypertextmarkup language) file format for immediate Internet posting.Better integration of Word with Microsoft Outlook, theE-mail and information management program.Easier-to-find files in the Open and Save boxes.A “history” folder that lists the last 75 documents.The option to save routine work to HTML files is the definitiveupgrade in Office. Saving files in the HTML format was previouslypossible, but attributes of text produced in programs like Word orExcel — bold, colors, underline, or tables, for example –were lost in the conversion. That’s no longer the case.Office documents are now “ready-to-wear” for a browser, soyou don’t have to go through the lengthy process of working in anHTML editing program. Changes to the document can even be made fromwithin the browser.The implications: the democratization (even more) of the Internet.People in business can also post important documents or spreadsheetsto the corporate Intranet or Extranet instantaneously.Top Of PageFor Kids to Achieve,Pre-School CountsChildren from low income families who received qualitypre-school education go on to be better achievers in school and areless likely to be on welfare. This has been proven by studies on theimpact of pre-school education on children, says Ellen Frede,associate professor at the College of New Jersey.Frede will be talking to a group of scientists about the influenceof quality research in her presentation, “Research in FormingPublic Policy in Early Childhood Education” at the meeting ofthe Association for Women in Science on Thursday, June 10 at 5:45p.m. at Forcina Hall 100, College of New Jersey. Call 732-274-4607.Frede majored in early childhood education from the University ofMichigan in 1976, and has a Ph.D in developmental psychology fromUtah State University. “Studies conducted by neurologists andneuro-scientists on how the brain develops has shown that there isa great deal of important structural change happening in the brainearly on,” says Frede. “Children not getting the stimulationthat pre-school education provides are deprived of its benefits.”Scientific research is important because many public policies comeout of such studies, says Frede. “The Supreme Court, based onthese research findings, ruled that all three to four-year-old childrenin 30 special needs districts in New Jersey need and should be providedwith high quality, intensive, pre-school education,” says Frede.The court made this decision because the present public policies onearly childhood education in New Jersey are lacking, says Frede. “TheDepartment of Education has been saying that the present childcareprojects are good enough, that any of the licensed child care centersmeet the court’s requirements. If the existing childcare centers inNew Jersey were good enough, the Supreme Court would not have saidthat.”Frede hopes that the Department of Education will comply with theSupreme Court ruling. “Research has also proven that there isa lower incidence of childhood pregnancy among children from lowerincome families who received pre-school education,” says Frede.”They are more likely to have jobs and be taxpayers themselves.”– Teena ChandyTop Of PageReining in TrucksUnless enough trucking companies strongly object, Route518 will be closed as a through-route for wide trucks. The New JerseyDepartment of Transportation will take comments on a restrictive proposaluntil Wednesday, June 16, and the proposal — an amendment to theadministrative code — is scheduled to be adopted on August 16.Submit comments to Renee Rapciewicz, deputy administrative practiceofficer, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Legislative Analysis,Box 600, Trenton 08625. Or fax to 609-530-3841.Also, a statewide workshop on all the proposed rules for trucks willbe Monday, June 14, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the municipal building at1001 Parsippany Boulevard in Parsippany. Call 609-530-2124.The restriction would begin at the point where Route 518 leaves Lambertville,where the road is steep and winding. Much of the shoulder along theroute is “substandard or nonexistent,” municipal officialsare claiming. It would end 20 miles later where 518 joins Route 27.Because Province Line Road is closed, the only crossroads to 518 areat Route 601, 206, 31, and Laurel Avenue (the new road built by TrapRock Industries between 518 and Route 27).The ordinance would not affect the dump truck-sized vehicles usedby Trap Rock Industries, nor would it affect trucks used by area businesses.The prohibited trucks are 102 inches wide or wider and are most likelygoing to be 18-wheelers. The prohibition would also extend to truckswith 53-foot long trailers. These trucks would be able to use Route518 only to travel a two-mile stretch for a pick-up, delivery, oraccess facilities for food, fuel, repairs, or rest.About 250 trucks use Route 518 daily, says John Dourgarian,spokesperson for the DOT, and 10 percent of those, or about 25 truckswould be affected. But Hopewell Township’s director of public safety,Jon Edwards, thinks it will have an even greater impact. “DOTuses a bizarre definition for local truck traffic,” says Edwards,who is also Princeton University’s assistant vice president for computingand information technology. “A truck that starts in Hoboken andends in Philadelphia is defined as a local delivery.”The ruling would prohibit trucks from using 518 as a way to the PennsylvaniaTurnpike. Now, if they are trying to avoid traffic on Route 1, theycan take Route 518 from Franklin Township to Lambertville and go southon Route 29 to I-95. Or they can turn off 518 via 654 and 31 to getto Route 202 and the turnpike.Three counties and all the affected municipalities support the DOT’smove. Fines could be as much as several hundred dollars, says Dourgarian.Where will all these interstate trucks go? “That’s for them todecide,” says Dourgarian. “They can’t use 518.”Top Of PageEnvironmentalResponsibilityDon’t try to sell a house with a leaking oil tank, anddon’t try to sell a business with any kind of environmental liability– unless you have very good advice. In this era of rapid mergers(the United States tally of merged companies went from $906.5 billionfor 1997 to $1.62 trillion in 1998), such advice is particularly important.”Too many companies have found that just closing a merger dealdoes not guarantee success,” says James Vetter, a principalat Environmental Resources Management Inc. at 300 Phillips Boulevard(609-895-0050). “A recent study showed that nearly 60 percentof the mergers failed to meet expectations and resulted in lower-than-averagereturns for shareholders.”Vetter is leading ERM’s new Global Merger & Acquisition Advisory Servicespractice, announced in April.ERM’s 30-person Princeton office was previously located at 100 CanalPointe Boulevard and should not be confused with Environmental LiabilityManagement at Research Park. ERM is a global environmental, healthand safety consulting, and management services firm. It has 2,400employees at more than 120 locations in 34 countries, and it worksin such areas as air quality management, pollution control, communityplanning, and sustainable development (https://www.erm.com.)Vetter majored in geology at Moravian College (Class of 1984) andhas a master’s degree in that subject from Lehigh and an MGA fromSt. Joseph’s. With more than 12 years of environmental consultingexperience, he joined ERM last year as senior project manager in thesite remediation practice and is now the program director for mergers,acquisitions, and divestitures.Vetter says the solution for a successful merger is to plan for theright information to be collected and assessed from the very beginning.”Successful transactions,” he says, “use a combinationof `best practices’ that go far beyond traditional environmental duediligence requirements.”In the first area, pre-planning, consider these areas:Understand internal and external stakeholder needs;Ensure compatibility between environmental health and safetyand business goals;Schedule training and awareness sessions for workers;Study policy and regulatory issues;Design a transaction management system; andDesign a risk management plan.The second step in the four-step chain of “best practices”is assessing the M&A transaction. Will there be a business interruption?What are details on health and safety risks? What is the downside,the possible catastrophic risk? Will there be social problems, andhow long might they last? Steps three and four in the chain are post-acquisitionintegration (including such topics as change management and assetdivestiture) and on-going operations (operating efficiently and managingrisk).”Environmental matters can have a material effect on future earningsperformance and business operations if not properly assessed and accountedfor during the deal,” says Vetter.Top Of PageNew Leads SourceIf you are an attorney, accountant, or travel agent,and you are looking for leads and networking opportunities, a 15-year-oldnetworking group may have an opening for you. The Princeton Councilmeets at the Hyatt to exchange leads, contacts, and referrals. Inaddition to the three categories mentioned, it has membership opportunitiesfor an advertising agency, a computer services firm, and a heating/airconditioning company. The meeting on Thursday, June 17, at 8 a.m.is free by reservation. Call Terri Rabinowicz, the facilitator,at 732-615-9096; fax, 732-615-9620.Top Of PageCorporate AngelsB>Lucy’s Ravioli Kitchen on Route 206 will sponsorthe “carbo-load” dinner on Friday, June 11, from 6 to 9 tobenefit the Princeton Hospital Fete and feed the runners who willrace the next morning in the Fete’s annual 10K race. The dinner willbe held at Engine Company No. 1, the fire house on Chestnut Streetin Princeton Borough. Cost is $10 for adults; $5 for children under10. Call 609-924-3623.The race is also sponsored by Momentum Fitness, located at ResearchPark.The New Jersey World Trade Council awarded Mercer CountyCommunity College a $2,000 grant to enable the college to purchasesoftware for its International Business Practice Firm (IBPF) for electronicbanking transactions. Students conduct all operations — financing,purchasing, marketing, and human resources — by using internallynetworked computers, video conferencing, and the Internet. “Webelieve that IBPFs are a great way for students to learn about business,”says Axel Velden, chair of the council’s education committee.Western Pest Services, presented a $1,000 “Take Careof It” community grant award to Princeton Friends School to helpdefray the costs of administering the many community service projectsthe school is involved in. Once a month, for two hours, students ingrades kindergarten through eighth perform community outreach tasks,such as reading to children at the Carnegie Family Center, assistingwith the Princeton area Meals on Wheels program, and helping out atthe Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.Next StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
