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7C BUSINESS/irie ctarlotu $ot Thursday, May 5, 2005 Holeman wields considerable clout in U.S. energy industry Continued from page 8C “We manage all of the oper ations from power plant to customer” he said. Although the position keeps him very busy, Holeman makes time to mentor and extend himself to young people. He is on the Charlotte regional board of Inroads and a board member of the Central Piedmont Commxmity College Foundation. Holeman knows the importance of reaching out to young people for corporations, especially minorities. ‘I’m pleased we have made the ri^t intentions, but we still have work to do,” he said “And Duke has made the effort.” Holeman says Duke has forged relationships with historically black colleges, the National Society of Black Engineers and Inroads. Holeman says that the industry has changed over the years and is more accept ing and willing to promote minorities. According to Holeman, the energy industry has its cycle of ups and downs and on the upturn there is more oppor tunity for new ideas. Holeman predicts that there will be a significant work force turnover in the next 10 years, which will allow for new people to revolutionize the industry As for Hol^nan, he still finds his career exciting and interesting. His goals are simple: “Tb leave my mark. It’s a continuing journey and any of us are ever finished. There’s continued learning, relationships to build, impressions and tracks you need to leave.” Duke-Cinergy creates powerhouse Continued from page 8C gent on coal plants ” Rogers said. The combined company will own or operate 54,000 megawatts of electric gener ation with operations in two thirds of the United States, Canada and internationally primarily in Latin America. The company wiU have 3.7 million retail electric cus tomers and 1.7 million retail gas customers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Ontario, Canada. Duke Energy is a diversi fied energy company with natural gas and electric busi nesses and a real estate port- foho. Cinergy, based in Cincinnati, operates Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., Union Light, Heat & Power and PSI Energy Analyst Mike Heim of A.G. Edwards & Sons said the deal wifi prompt rivals to reconsider the need to get bigger. But he doubts the industry is on the verge of a new wave of consolidation. as happened in the late 1990s when utilities, as a result of deregulation, were forced to shed generation or distribution assets. That left them significant cash with which they could make an acquisition. In the wake of Enron’s col lapse and the economic downturn, however, the power industry went throu^ a slump, deregula tion stalled and companies that tried to expand too quickly into new businesses or countries were left with high levels of debt. Now, as this highly frag mented industry returns to a more conservative approach to making and seUing power, some analysts believe the revival of merger activity is inexorable. “Consolidation will contin ue because shareholders demand growth in revenue and profitability,” said Vance Scott, who heads consultant A.T Kearny’s utilities prac tice in Chicago. Loretta Cross, a Houston- based managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, which advises financially troubled companies, also expects an increase in merger activity, particularly between small companies with high levels of debt and larger companies that can squeeze inefficien cies finm their operations. “The entire industry was looking at deregulation to fund profit growth over the next 10 years,” Cross said. “Well, deregulation is not going to happen.” Dtike and Cinergy believe it win take at least a year for regulators to approve the merger. Cinergy and Duke Energy expect to cut 1,500 jobs, pri marily through attrition, early retirement and other severance programs. The companies have 29,350 workers. Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken and the Ohio Consumer’s Counsel said they win intervene to be sure consumers aren’t hurt by higher rates. Under the agreement, each Cinergy common share wiU be converted into 1.56 shares of Duke Energy. Fonowing the merger, Cinergy shareholders wffi own 24 percent, or 310 nul- hon shares, of the combined company, and Duke Energy shareholders wfil own 76 percent of the total 1.3 bfi- Uon shares. Anderson wffi become chairman, and Rogers will become president and CEO. Duke expects the deal to add to earnings in the first full year of operation. Following the completion of the deal, the company will be based in Charlotte. Local headquarters of the operat ing utilities wfil remain the same. Cinergy posted 2004 net income of $400.9 million on sales of $4.69 billion. Duke Energy reported earnings of $1.49 bfilion on revenue of $22.50 billion m 2004. On the Net: Cinergy Corp.: www.cinergy.com Duke Energy Corp.: '‘Spring” Into New Business Ideas, •Call Dr. Arrington 704-591-1988 Globalization breeds interminable work day Continued from page 8C cycles and lets the 6-year-old company stay ahead of bigger semiconductor rivals. Thousands of other tech companies have similar baton passing rituals. “Offshoring” - the migration of jobs to lower- cost countries such as India, China and Russia - remains politically sensitive because of the tepid U.S. job market. But executives insist that cheaper labor and faster work flow have made offshoring a fact of life for everyone in the indus try Even the most unapologetic ^obalization proponents nev ertheless acknowledge that offshoring has resulted in longer, stranger hours for white-collar workers in the United States. Some business experts worry that the trend could result in massive burnout if offshoring isn’t properly managed. Silicon Valley workers grum ble that communicating with colleagues overseas requires midni^t teleconferences, 6 a.m. video meetings and the annoying “pBng” of instant messages and twittaing cell phones aU ni^t long. Although many techies swapped social lives for 80- hour weeks during the ephemeral dot-com boom, the 24-hour business cycle seems even more stressful than the caffeinated ‘90s: Tbdays long hours are less likely to result in windfall bonuses or stock options, and there’s no end in si^t. ‘It’s definitely a case of work creep - everyone in this indus try is working harder ri^t now because of e-mail, wire less access and ^obalization,” said Christopher Lochhead, chief marketing ofi&cer of Mercury Interactive Inc., a Mountain \dew-based consult ing firm in 35 countries, including Israel, where Sunday is a normal working day ‘You can’t even get a rest on the weekend,” Lochhead said fix)m his cell phone in the Dallas airport after sales meetings in Mexico. “The real ity is that when you do busi ness globally somebody work ing for you is always on the clock.” Some executives who ask workers to bum the midnight oil offer flexibility - longer lunch breaks, telecommuting privileges and complimentary dinner if you work past 6 p.m. Others dismiss complainers as spoiled or provincial - after all, customer service representa tives in Asia have worked on U. S. schedules for more than a decade, so why shouldn’t Americans deal with time- zone challenges as the indus try globalizes? The staunchest advocates say whiners should find new professions. Richard Spitz, who leads the technology divi sion of the recruiting firm Kom/Ferry International, says corporate clients want employees who embrace a 24- hour business cycle. “If you want to play in the A league, you have to take on some additional challenges,” Spitz said ‘Tt might not mean that you have to work around the clock for your entire career-, then you have to com mit to this schedule for some period of time.” At what cost, however? Some worry that the ®rtra hours and unrelenting pace could have dire consequences - namely, widespread fatigue and brain drain in the technol ogy and financial services industries, the most aggres sive ®qx)itos of white-coUar jobs. Steep turnover among sleep-deprived managers could eventually lead senior executives to re-evaluate the benefits of offshoring, said Peter Morici, an international business professor at Robert H. Smith School of Business at University of Mar>dand You simply can’t keep work ing a full day, put the kids to bed, take a call finm Malaysia, then go back fiesh the next morning - itfs one thing to do it for a couple weeks, but it’s another to put up with this pain in the neck permanently ” Morici said “When executives talk about the efiBciencies of offshoring, they’re often not factoring in the long-term human toll on management.” Staffing challenges may already be taking a toll. According to a study released in April by Deloitte Consulting LLP, 62 percent of senior exec utives interviewed at 25 large corporations said offshoring required more management effort than they had originally thought. More than half said they couldn’t fi^ up enoiagh managers to supervise pro jects. Worker advocates compare the trend to the automobile industry phenomenon of “speedup” in the 19208, when Henry Ford increased assem bly line speed without paying workers more. Turnover mushroomed to 400 percent per year in some Detroit-area plants, and the fienzied pace helped the 1930s union move ment. Marcus Courtney president and organizer of WashTfech, the Seattle-based branch of the Communication Workers of America, said few employ ers pay overtime for midni^t meetings or red-eyes to Shanghai. And while many techies are proud workaholics, dawn teleconferences and 9 p.m. hand-off meetings have stretched shifts to absurd lengths. “In today’s global economy, employees are seeing longer working hours, greater job insecurity due to job exporting and fewer rewards and oppor tunity” Courtney said ‘T’m worried that the stress levels of employees continues to rise and we are seeing a further eroding of the 50-hour work week” Hours are particularly long at startups and when compa nies launch overseas opera tions. But offshoring needn’t result in burnout, seasoned executives say Peter Hazlehurst, senior vice president of engineering at financial services software company Yodlee Inc., siqjervia- es 170 engineeis, including 30 in Redwood City and 140 in Bangalore, India Managers recently began alternating weekly meetings between 8 am. Wednesdays and 9 p.m. Thursdays, so nei ther Americans nor Indians get the late shift every time. “People are more receptive when they realize that this relatively challenging burden of working between time zones is a shared burden,” Hazlehurst said. It’s uncled whether Silicon Valley’s new work schedule will become the national norm -Say Yes To Success! '‘Dr. Arrington shows home-based business owners bow to add 20-30 people per week, week in and week out without fail, to their businesses. Dr. Carl Arrin^on, Director of Market Expansion Fill In The Gap Sometimes the distance between our dreams and reality can seem so great. We often think about the many things we want for life that we feel would make life so much better for ourselves. We dream of the better position at work that would give us the income that would allow us to have the house and car of our dreams. We think of one day doing the kind of work that we have imagined from the time that we were children. There are the dreams of finding that life-fulfilling relationship that we have been looking for for so long. But then what we call reality sinks in. We look at our present circumstances and conclude that our dreams are just that —dreams. We start thinking that they can never become a reality. We figure that we may as well get used to life just as it is. We come to believe that dreams are for other people who can afford them. However, despite the distance between our dreams and reality, this does not mean that our dreams are not attainable. One of the first steps to achieving any dream is to realize that when we first begin to pursue our dreams there will always be a gap. There will be a distance between what we have in the present and what we look forward to having in the future. But the key to closing the distance between what we have and what we want is to do a little day by day to get us closer to what we want. If you do not give up on your dream and keep doing something consistently each day to work on your dream, you will discover that day by day you close the gap more and more until eventually you have made your dream come true. Do not get discouraged by how far it seems from what you have and wfiat you dream of having for your life. Create a plan and determine in your heart that you will not stop going after what you want until your dream and reality are one and the same! Contact Dr. Arrington for details. 704-591-1988 cla@maximumsuccess. com Maxunum TotentiaC, Inc. Tapping into the Tozver of'J'ou! FAX: 704-568-3497 INFORMATION REQUEST FOR MORE DETAILS Name Street Address_ City _Zip Code_ Home Phonej_ E-mail Don’t Delay, Call Today! vwalk as one neej WALK-A-THON Annual Walk As One Charlotte June 5, 2005 Marshall Park 1:00 PM Registration Begins 2:00 PM Walk What is the NCCJ Charlotte Walk As One walk-a-thon and Cultural Celebration? Walk As One is a national program of NCCJ, taking place in thirty regions and cities across the country including Charlotte. Corporate and media sponsors partner with NCCJ regions to support the work of recruiting individuals and teams of walkers from all sectors of the community. Walk As One participants raise dollars and awareness in support of our Youth Leadership programs. In Charlotte, for the past three years, we have brought toge^er thousands of people to walk and afterwards to enjoy a showcase of local artists representing a wide variety of cultures. Why has NCCJ Charlotte established a Walk As One Program? Walk As One is a great opportunity to put into practice our often-expressed commitment to celebrating the diversity of our community. We encourage the companies, organizations and individuals that are building teams to be purposeful in bringing together people who are different from one another and might not work together in the usual course of events. Walk As One also brings together teams from all walks of life, cultures and backgrounds. Public awareness of NCCJ is significantly increased in each region that conducts a Walk As One. Our ability to engage with large groups representing a broad cross section of the residents of Charlotte Mecklenburg establishes NCCJ's mission and presence in the community in a high profile manner. This encourages people who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in dialogue and action to support NCCJ's work fight all forms of bias, bigotry and racism and to promote inclusion and social justice. Put simply. Walk As One builds community! What will the funds raised by the Walk As One Walk-A-Thon be used for? Funds raised by the Charlotte fValk As One walk-a-thon will be used to support youth programming and provide scholarships for youth to attend Anytown. See our website at www.walkasone.com for updated information or to ret>istci'.^ Presenting Sponsors The Charlotte Post • Microsoft • Olive Garden CN Jenkins Memorial Presbyterian Church • Food Lion
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 12, 2005, edition 1
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