Aussie Rules

(16min 43) The government has tried various techniques for reducing the impact of the global economic crisis, from guaranteeing bank deposits to one-off payouts to encourage spending.

Today on BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to Nicholas Guren, Chief Executive of Lateral Economics, about the likely effectiveness or otherwise of these initiatives. What else could the government be doing?

Add your thoughts in the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(16min 44) According to Kerry Barwise the proposed National Broadband Network will add about $15 billion per year to the Aussie economy, but a lot of the benefits disappear if the operator of the network demands too high a return on their investment.

On today’s BTalk Australia Kerry, who is Director for the Centre for International Economics, talks to Phil Dobbie about the economics of broadband. What is the relationship between ROI for the operator and the impact on GDP? It’s an important question to ask with the deadline for submissions for the contract now just days away.

Add your views on this contentious issue in the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(17min 27) James Packer has got out of the media game and Tony O’Reilly wants to bail out of APN, yet Kerry Stokes is increasing his stake in Channel Seven. So what is happening in the media industry?

Today on BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to Glenn Dyer, who writes on media for crikey.com.au, about Australia’s changing media landscape. How will the economy and technology change things?

Add your thoughts and observations in the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(7min 45) How do you value a business? On today’s BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to John Gibson, who chairs the Business Valuation Special Interest Group for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. To what extent will prices be impacted by the economic crisis?

For a deeper analysis of business valuaton see the white paper on Valuation from New York University.

Add your comments,thoughts and advice to the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(13min 38) Jana Matthews has written a number of books on starting a business and, in the process, has studied what makes successful CEOs tick.

On today’s BTalk Australia she talks to Phil Dobbie about how you can build an awesome business from scratch, including finding investors, turning your idea into a reality, then positioning the company for growth.

Share your observations, comments and experiences in the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(14min 09) Is cash flow becoming a big issue for your business? Are you facing the prospect of slashing your spending to survive?

Before you remove the water cooler, send away the potted plants and lay-off loyal staff, have a listen to today’s BTalk Australia. Phil Dobbie talks to Michael Fingland, Managing Director of specialist corporate turnaround firm Vantage Performance, who explains how to improve the efficiency of your business without necessarily putting your best people out to pasture. Michael also argues that there is a significant competitive advantage if you can keep growing and innovating during an economic downturn.

Do you have your own suggestions on how to improve the performance of a business? Add them to the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(7min 07) A study by Hays Specialist Recruitment has shown that word of mouth continues to be an important way of finding a job.

On today’s BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to Jacky Carter from Hays about these findings and what it means for people on the hunt for their next role.

Has word of mouth worked for you in the past? Add your comments to the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(8min 29) Whilst conventional media forecast a slump in revenues, the latest quarterly expenditure survey from Australia’s Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) shows that online advertising continues to enjoy high growth.

Will this growth continue? On today’s BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to IAB’s CEO Paul Fisher about the results and what’s round the corner. We might not be heading into a full recession, but what effect will the economic downturn have a marked effect on the online advertising sector? Will online ever be able to offer FMCG advertisers the brand-building power of TV?

Add your thoughts in the Talkback section at the end of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(7min 06) When you’re studying company performance are you really comparing apples with apples? It can be difficult to know from statutory reports how listed businesses are really doing.

Finsia (Financial Services Institute of Australasia), together with the Australian Institute of Company Directors, recently released a discussion paper that recommended a consistent approach to the reporting of underlying profit, so investors and interested parties have a clear idea of the health of a company’s ongoing bsuiness activities.

Today on BTalk Australia Phil Dobbie talks to Dr Martin Fahy, the Chief Executive Officer of Finsia, about the proposal and how it could be implemented.

Add your comments in the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.

(14min 59) How can you cut the cost of answering customer enquiries without compromising the quality of your service? The answer is an integrated eService strategy, with a knowledge base serving information through all your customer channels.

Brett Waters is the Australian MD for RightNow. On today’s BTalk Australia he talks to Phil Dobbie about how to implement a service strategy that can enhance the customer experience whilst cutting your operational costs.

Add your experiences on customer service in the Talkback section at the bottom of this post.

Subscribe to BTalk Australia on iTunes.