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FUNNY BUSINESS: Spare me from the dreaded brown-bag lunch

All right, boys and girls, what are we to make of the survey that says worker morale in America is tanking? Harris Interactive conducted the survey for staffing agency Randstad and came up with figures showing only 40 percent of employees said morale at their workplace was good or excellent, down from 44 percent a year ago. This, of course, raises the question: How did it get so high to begin with? I see little good coming from this survey….

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Diversifying economy requires new mind-set

The microwave oven has been a staple in most American kitchens for so long that there is now a generation of young adults who’ve never lived without them. And for that same generation, the doughy, limp texture of foods like pizza quick-cooked in a microwave, in contrast to the crisped, browned texture produced over a longer time by conventional heat, is associated with the food, not the technology. If you’ve grown up eating from a microwave, that’s the way food’s…

Circle Centre’s 4th floor may drum up office tenant: Percussive Arts Society lease could spawn other deals

The Lawton, Okla.-based Percussive Arts Society might announce as early as next month that it’s moving its 12 headquarters employees into 15,000 square feet on the troubled fourth floor of Circle Centre mall, according to a source familiar with the discussion. Roughly 10,000 of those square feet would be a museum that might get bongo enthusiasts and the curious alike to stop by and check out some Thai button gongs and West African talking drums. If all goes as planned,…

Star meetings unusual, not necessarily ethical breach: Political candidates invited to informational meeting

An Indianapolis Star program for political candidates that mixes information about advertising and news policies is raising eyebrows among some area politicos and media specialists. As part of their Campaign Connections program, Star officials hold cocktail receptions for Republican and Democratic candidates to discuss advertising possibilities and to explain news processes, including candidate endorsements on the editorial page. Star officials said the program dates back to the 2002 election. Star Editor Dennis Ryerson said it is made clear that buying…

EYE ON THE PIE: Values, economics go hand in hand

“Why,” I asked myself, “do I write so much about politics when my interests are in economics?” “That’s easy,” I answered myself. “As an economist, I am interested in the decisions that determine who gets what. Many of those decisions are made by politicians. They decide which roads are repaired, whose children get a good education, who gets good medical attention, and who gets mediocre services. They decide who pays how much in taxes, thereby deciding how much we have…

NOTIONS: After Easter, a resurrection of the theocratic kind

On a recent Saturday, after a week of visiting colleges, my son Austin and I found ourselves with most of a day to kill before our return flight from Boston. The Red Sox were on the road. We’d already walked a fair piece of the Freedom Trail. So my friend Alan suggested we hit the Museum of Fine Arts and he’d drive up from Hartford to join us. Austin has a thing for Monet (I’m not sure how many other…

Paid boards spur not-for-profit debate: Critics: If directors won’t give time, who will?

Indianapolis-based USA Funds is a large, complex organization, and members of its governing board are busy people. Same goes for the NCAA, another local not-for-profit with a national reach, a nine-figure budget and directors who are anything but professional volunteers. The two organizations have one key difference, though: USA Funds pays its board members. The NCAA does not. “It’s simply the nature of the world,” said Norm Lefstein, an Indiana University law professor who chairs the compensation committee at student-loan…

INVESTING: Don’t fret over inflation-debt’s a bigger concern

If you have yourself in a lather about rising inflation, maybe I can offer a little relief. You can work your rosary beads over a lot of things, but runaway inflation is not one of them. There’s a little twist here, though. And it’s one that will add a challenge to your long-term strategy. According to our federal government, inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, has not been much of a problem. Excluding food and energy, prices are…

State will grant parking perks for Prius, other hybrid vehicles:

The right car-not an early arrival or high rank-will soon get state workers the best parking spaces at the Indiana Government Center. As an incentive for its workers to drive less-polluting cars, the state plans to give drivers of hybrid cars the coveted spaces in the basement of the parking garage at West and Washington streets. Those would be the spaces right outside the tunnel entrance to the government center. The hybrid parking signs should go up within a month,…

NFL pulls plug on local TV crews: Team owners vote to oust videographers from games

Indianapolis TV stations say a new National Football League policy that bans them from the sidelines during games is a violation of their First Amendment rights and threatens a major source of income. A league-wide rule that was passed 32-0 by team owners March 28 allows only the licensed broadcast rights-holder to shoot sideline footage during games. The National Association of Broadcasters, Radio-Television News Directors Association and Society of Professional Journalists have petitioned to have the rule overturned. Though owners…

Clinic can’t pull its weight: Forest Health leaves behind $11M hospital

“They’re not the most communicative people in the world, so I don’t really have a good reason, other than the fact that I think at one point they thought they had a group of doctors to operate the clinic with, and it fell through,” said Jack Hogan, a senior vice president for Indianapolis-based Lauth. Forest Health corporate attorney Marie Paratto referred questions to Laurence H. Lenz Jr., an A bariatric surgery center built for roughly $11 million a couple years…

CFO had humble start: Eli Lilly veteran lands in high-profile, high-pressure role

Derica Rice started figuring out his future the day he glanced in his mother’s refrigerator and actually paid attention to the insulin vials stored there. Eli Lilly and Co.’s new chief financial officer recalled being home at the end of a summer. He was fresh off an internship with another company and was in casual job talks with Lilly representatives. He had seen the clear vials his mother, Inez-a Type II diabetic-stored in her fridge, but he never read the…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: At home with that old computer? Prepare to be frustrated

Microsoft is yanking our chains again, and it’s your fault. Oh, perhaps it’s not your fault personally, but you’ve contributed-as has almost every businessperson in the world. We all buy Windows machines, then use Windows software on them. In return, Microsoft treats us to heaping piles of frustration, like when the company recently said that, contrary to prior announcements (and mine a few weeks ago in this space), some versions of the new Windows Vista operating system won’t be available…

BULLS & BEARS: Expect irrational behavior, and learn to profit from it

Investment theories that have dominated thinking in the last half century or so have all stemmed from the efficientmarket hypothesis. These theories assume investors make rational decisions, all financial information is known by everyone, and all markets are efficient because prices are a combination of all those things. But in the last decade or so, behavioralfinance studies have postulated that irrational behavior by investors is actually a strong driving force behind markets-and that irrational behavior can be measured and acted…

VIEWPOINT: Fraud stings firms that let down guard

Contrary to myth, occupational fraud, or white-collar crime, can attack any business at any time, especially companies that do not recognize or refuse to deal with its devastating potential. A recent study by the Association of C e r t i fi e d F r a u d Examiners estimated that 6 percent of all revenue is lost to fraud annually. That translates to more than $660 billion in annual losses across the country. The reality is fraud affects…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: A silent productivity killer: executives with addictions

Productivity losses-every business executive looks for ways to avoid them. Yet, an astonishing $40 billion in productivity gains were lost last year due to preventable selfinflicted behavior. This productivity killer typically openly manifests itself on days like Jan. 2, or more recently, on the Monday after the Super Bowl, when an estimated 1.4 million Americans called in sick after a Sunday of intense partying. A big loser? Indiana’s economy This major loss in productivity reflects rapidly growing excessive alcohol use…

Separating emotion from reality: Home-staging companies help ‘sell that house’

Shakespeare wrote that “all the world’s a stage,” but when it comes to the competitive home-sales market, one might say all the world’s about staging. Home staging-the process of making a home more appealing to potential buyers-has gained recognition through popular cable television programs such as “Designed to Sell” and “Sell This House.” It can run the gamut from repainting walls to tearing them down, or from changing window treatments to replacing windows. Interior designer Marion Stewart and her longtime…

IndyGo claims take their toll: Payout for injuries, damages hit 3-year high, a big financial hit for cash-strapped system

“If it had been a bigger bus, I’d have been dead,” said Williams, who was injured and his car totaled. IndyGo settled his case out of court for an undisclosed sum. Williams filed one of 20 tort claim notices with the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. last year. Those, and 10 lawsuits, seek a total of more than $2.6 million in damages. IndyGo attorneys estimate the company’s total potential liability is more like $784,350, according to records obtained by IBJ. The…

Local facility first to offer overnight help for anorexia: Lotus House fills void for those with eating disorders

A spacious home near Stony Creek in Noblesville once known as the Hare estate has been transformed into an intensive treatment facility for young women struggling with severe eating disorders. Dubbed Lotus House, the three-story residence began hosting patients in October. Partners Patrick Hall, 40, and Misty Rees, 33, founded the facility to provide an inpatient alternative to standard care. The facility, which offers therapies for anorexia nervosa and bulimia, is just the second in the Indianapolis area to treat…