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<h2 class="MsoTitle" align="center"><span style="font-size: 18.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">10
WAYS TO BE A BETTER MANAGER NOW</font></span></h2>
<p class="MsoBodyText2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">There
are hundreds of tips that can improve your management skills. But sometimes
the basic steps are so obvious that we don�t see them. Below are 10 things
you can start doing now to become a better manager, to improve your team�s productivity,
advance their careers and yours and to assure your company�s chances for survival
and success.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Pick
one now and start it today! Pick another one tomorrow. In two weeks you
will be a better manager!</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1.
Select The Right People.</b> Cheat, stack the deck in your favor.
Instead of relying on just your own talents and efforts, pick really good people.
Pick the best right from the start. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2.
Be A Motivator</b>. We all do things because we want to. Sometimes
we want to do them because of the consequences of not doing them. But
we do our best because of what we get out of it. It�s no different at
work. People will do good work for the pay, the recognition, the prestige
or for the satisfaction of doing something new or even to impress someone.
There are many motivators. Identify the motivators for your team members
and show them how to get what they want by doing what you want.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>3.
Build Your Team.</b> �Doing your own thing� is highly overvalued. There
are very few jobs where the lone wolf, individualist is called for. If
we just wanted them to �do their own thing� we wouldn�t need you as a manger
trying to mold them into a team. Developing the team concept instead of
creating lone wolves is part of being a leader. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>4.
Be A Leader And A Manager.</b> You�ve built the best team from the best
available employees. You�ve motivated them to get what they want by doing
what you want. Now you must communicate the vision, provide the direction
and identify the goals. That�s the start of leadership.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>5.
Be A Better Communicator</b>. This may be the manager�s most important
skill. After all, everyone depends on it. You can�t be an effective
leader if you can�t communicate your vision. You can�t motivate people
if they can�t understand what you want. Learn to communicate.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>6.
Manage Money Better.</b> Your company won�t stay in business if you can�t make
a profit. That means bringing money in the door and it means spending
less than you bring in. Understand labor costs, material costs, overhead,
budgeting and profit. You can�t be a successful manager if you can�t make
money.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>7.
Be A Good Time Manager. </b>The only thing you have less of than
money is time. The better you are at managing time, yours and your team�s,
the more effective you will be as a manger. Find out where you�re wasting
time. Create time management goals. Prioritize ruthlessly and learn
to delegate.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>8.
Improve You.</b> It�s not just about developing and improving others,
it�s also about making you a better you. Identify your strengths and your
weaknesses. Improve both. The fact that you are reading this shows
that you understand the concept. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>9.
Ethical Management Is Your Standard. </b> Enron like scandals have driven
home the point about how important ethics are in business. Ethics and
principles should become a habit, a way of life. Don�t ruin your future
by taking unethical short cuts today. Lead by example. Your team
will do as you do.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>10.
Take Care Of Yourself.</b> Learn to handle your stress. Whether
it�s through mental or physical means, don�t let stress rob you of your health
and your future. Ulcers are no longer considered a badge of success. Confidence
in-control management is. Stressful people become less tolerant.
They snap at people more. No one wants to be near someone like that.
Give yourself a chance to relax and recharge your batteries. If you can�t
take care of yourself, you won�t be able to take care of your team or your company�s
business for long.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Management is a skill that can be learned. You can get better at it every
day. Start now and see how far you�ve improved in two weeks.</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: February 2006</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="67">
<tr valign="top">
<td width="100%" height="370">
<blockquote> <span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">WHAT�S
GOOD FOR THE GOOSE�</font></span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Thousands
of companies have been charged with discrimination by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and have paid millions of dollars in
fines, restitution, settlements, lawyer�s fees and other costs.
Sometimes these cases seemed frivolous or week, but the public relations
nightmare and the potential legal fees scare many companies into settlements.
Such risks are now considered a cost of doing business.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">So
there were few tears shed when the EEOC was charged over one million
dollars in losing a lawsuit against them for a �frivolous� charge
against a company. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The EEOC had previously charged a company (a law firm) with sexual
harassment and pregnancy discrimination. The company had to
spend a great deal of time and money defending themselves. In
the process they found that the EEOC case against them was not only
weak but had established no evidence of wrongdoing. So the company
sued EEOC for their costs.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The courts found that although EEOC claimed to have discovered discrimination
against 12 persons, in fact they had only talked to 3 people each
of whom were found to be biased. They found that the EEOC case
had been entirely baseless and its investigation woefully inadequate.
It appears that they expected their charges to result in an out-of-court
settlement.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
�In the end�, wrote the court, �the EEOC basically sought to parley
a few isolated jokes and comments into bad faith and exaggerated allegations
of a hostile work environment. And the court ruled against
the EEOC to the tune of over $1,000,000, and maybe that�s good for
the gander.</font></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table8" cellpadding="2" height="102">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="86">
<h3 class="MsoBodyText3" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Politics
can protect me from my enemies, but only God can protect me
from my friends�</font></b></h3>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-Anon</font></h3>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</span><p> </p>
<span style="mso-ignore: vglayout"></span>
<div align="center">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">WHO�S
SUING WHO AND FOR WHAT?</font></span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoBodyText3" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
firm called Jury Verdict Research, which maintains nationwide databases
on jury verdicts in employment discrimination cases, recently reported
several interesting trends over the last seven years.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The most frequently charged claim in employment discrimination court
cases is �sex discrimination� (39%) followed by �race discrimination�
(22%). �Age discrimination� was actually the lowest in claim
numbers (14%) but age discrimination received the highest amount awarded
by juries with an average of $262,495 per case.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Employees claiming �disability discrimination received the second-highest
average jury award with $211, 272 per case. Third in award size
was �sex discrimination� at $186,250, and fourth, �race discrimination�
at $187,583. </font></p>
<p class="MsoBodyText3" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">On
average the employees suing won about 60% of their cases, but more
recently it is in the 65% to 70% range. </font></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table9">
<tr>
<td height="78" valign="top">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�If
you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn�t call it genius�</font></span></b></h3>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-Michelangelo</font></h3>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<span style="mso-ignore: vglayout"></span><span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div align="center">
<h3 class="MsoBodyText2"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">WHAT
WILL YOU FIND WHEN YOU DO BACKGROUND CHECKS?</font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Less
than one-half (1/2) of companies do background checks on potential
employees. Are background checks worth the time? It appears
so. When �InfoLink Screening Services� conducted a study of
hundreds of thousands of background checks in 2005, they found some
surprising results. Among them was that specific job groups
were identified with specific problems. Here are some of the
results: </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Construction Workers:</b> Had the highest percentage of reports for
Criminal Records (13.7%) and Negative DMV records (50.2%).</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Education:</b> Had the highest percentage of Drug Violations
(12.7%) but the lowest percentage of Criminal Records (3.3%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Non-Profits:</b> Had the highest percentage of False Employment
Records (46.2%) and Education Claims (21.7%) </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Business Support Services:</b> Had the highest claims for Worker�s
Compensation claims (11.7%) </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Food Services:</b> Second highest percentage of Criminal Records
(12.5%) and highest failure rate on Drug Tests (42%).</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>
Social Security Numbers:</u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt">
</span></b>The following job groups had above average problems with
Social Security numbers:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Real Estate:</b> (5.9%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Legal Services: </b>(5.3%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Financial Services: </b>(5.2%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Transportation:</b> (5.2%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Hospitality: </b> (5.0%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Construction:</b> (5.0%)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Other job group observations from the report:</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Automotive:</b>
High Criminal Records- Negative DMV-Drug Test Failure-Credit History.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Health Care: </b>High Credit History.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
Manufacturing:</b> High Criminal Record-Credit History</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Retail:</b> High
Criminal Records-Negative DMV-False Education Records.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Staffing:</b> Highest
Credit History-high Criminal Record-Social Security Number problems.</font><span style="font-size: 14.0pt">
</span></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table10">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="117">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Be
who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don�t
matter and those who matter don�t mind�</font></span></b></h3>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-Dr.
Seuss</font></h3>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</span>
<blockquote>
<hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></h3>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <u><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">January</font></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
2005</u><br>
$15.88</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u>January 2006</u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$16.41</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u>January 2005</u><br>
</font></span> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$535.16</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u>January 2006</u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$554.66</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$8,980</font>
</td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$18,400</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><font size="-1"><b>44.5</b> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">cents per mile<br>
</font></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="68%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.39</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr> </tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.3 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">292.3 Million</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u>
<font size="-1">
January
2004</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<u>
<span style="font-weight:700">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
January
</font></span>
</u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b>
2005 </b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">147,956,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">159,114,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">140,234,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
143,074,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">7,723,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
7,040,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">5.2</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.9</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="25%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1" height="48">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Absentee Rates (annualized)</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1997</u></b></font></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1998</u></b></font></td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>1999</u></b></font></td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2000</u></b></font></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2001</u></b></font></td>
<td width="6%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2002</u></b></font></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2003</u></b></font></span></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>2004</u></b></font></span></td>
<td width="9%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<b><u>2nd
Quarter 2005</u></b></font></span><p> </td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b><u>3rd Quarter
2005</u></b></font></span></td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="48">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Men equal
approximately 1/3 of all absenteeism<br>
Women approximately 2/3</font></td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.1%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="6%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<p><font size="-1">3.6</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
3.4%</font></span></td>
<td width="7%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
3.2%</font></span></td>
<td width="9%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
+6.3%</font></span></td>
<td width="8%" align="center" valign="top" height="48">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
+4.8%</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1st
Quarter 2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">+2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<font size="-1"><b>2nd</b></font><span style="text-decoration: none"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>
Quarter 2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
+2.1%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<font size="-1"><b>3</b></font><b>rd
Quarter 2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">+4.7%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>4th
Quarter 2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">-2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Overall 2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span>
<h3 align="center"> </h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="61"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>