Tuesday, 25 June 2013

The Difference Between an SME & a Large Corporate

http://www.allaboutcareers.com/articles/post/management-consulting-business-admin/culture-shock-the-difference-between-an-sme-a-large-corporate.htm

"Objectives vs. demands…

In a large corporate, you’re protected by a hierarchy, which is wrapped in ‘HR policy’ and cushioned by process. By this, I mean you’re given very clear objectives, you have a fair timeframe in which to achieve them, and your manager is on standby to oversee, guide and advise. Moreover, ‘the way things are done’ tends to involve a certain amount of diplomacy:  nobody really says what they think because they’re so busy wrapping it up as ‘developmental feedback’ in accordance with the training they’ve received. It’s a very safe environment.
By contrast, in an SME (small and medium-sized enterprise), the CEO knows everybody and is aware of every activity. He doesn’t care about hierarchy because their probably isn’t one. If he wants something, he will come straight to you and, because time is so precious and clients are so demanding, you can often kiss goodbye to your weekend in delivering what he needs. It’s all hands to the pump and you all need to earn your salary.
An SME is much more efficient in its delivery, but a corporate is much kinder about it. Consequently, you need tough skin if you’re going to work in an SME because you're often in the direct firing line. However, you need patience in a large corporate because the process and procedures can often slow you down a tad.

Master of all trades, jack of none…

In a large corporate, you’ll often have a role profile and a set of five or six key objectives to deliver. You’ll have a personal development plan and training options. You’ll have a mentor, a manager and a coach. You’ll be in a team and a department with a certain focus and a specific area of expertise and you’ll learn the knowledge, skills and experience needed to add value to that department. To advance, you’ll need to master your topic. You’ll follow processes and track performance against key KPIs (key performance indicators).
In an SME, however, you will literally know, see and do anything and everything. You’ll learn faster, harder and in more depth than you would do in a corporate. Cross-fertilisation of knowledge and virtual working on projects is the norm. You’re very unlikely to ever do the same thing twice because everything is so bespoke and client-driven. It’s what my boss would call ‘on-demand hierarchy’, meaning the best person for the job gets the job on the day.
Obviously, the cons of this are: insecurity, randomness and the difficulty of outperforming against objectives because you probably won’t have any! However, you do get to see, touch and learn about every aspect of running a business; you become an all-round consultant (that awful C-word). You can get involved in finance, marketing, bids, PR, events management etc. Consequently, when it comes to your next interview, you can give yourself the job title that suits the role to which you’re applying. Bingo!

Sink or swim…

In a large corporate, you have such a thing as ‘performance management’, whereby you’re measured objectively against your specific core objectives (something you’ll rarely have in an SME). If you’re doing well, you get praised and maybe even promoted. If you’re not doing so well, you get mentored, guided and trained in a lengthy performance management process, which will help bring you back on track. It’s all very fair and drawn out, and it can lead to complacency.
In an SME, on the other hand, if you’re no good, you’re out the door! An SME can’t afford to carry ‘dead wood’, and so if you’re not adding value, you’re going to get your marching orders.
Consequently, in a large corporate, you can afford to have an off-month and coast through your role for a little while. You can let others in the team pick up the slack because you’re hidden to a large extent and protected by HR to an even larger extent. In an SME, however, somebody will notice the second you put your pen down, because it’s all hands to the pump and there is little luxury by way of hierarchy, HR and ‘corporate buffer’.
Having worked in both arenas, I can say that I learnt a great deal in both. I felt safe in my large corporate and I felt on edge in my SME. I learnt a lot about specific aspects of business in my large corporate, but I learnt a lot about running a business in general in my SME. A ‘win’ in a large corporate was expected, but a ‘win’ in an SME was a celebration.
Therefore, go into both areas of business with your eyes open and with an open mind. Each option has an entirely different package to offer you, and one is not necessarily better than the other; they’re just different and different can always be a shock to the system.

Written by Lisa Bean"

Sunday, 2 June 2013

Double Irish With a Dutch Sandwich

I find a very good explanation for this tax avoidance concept. The following is from zephyrxt.com:

"以下总结提炼自以下两则新闻:“避税天才”:苹果海外收入税率仅3.3%避税?

Google、微软同样都是高手

避税目的

从高税国家向低税国家转移利润以减少企业所得税

避税原理

转让定价(Transfer Pricing),指的是关联企业之间通过销售货物、提供劳务、转让无形资产等定价巧妙的交易,进行资金的转移。

具体操作手法

高税国企业向其低税国关联企业销售货物、提供劳务、转让无形资产时制定低价;低税国企业向其高税国关联企业销售货物、提供劳务、转让无形资产时制定高价。这样,利润就从高税国转移到低税国,从而达到最大限度减轻其税负的目的。

以“双爱尔兰”和“荷兰三明治”为例

四个前提

1.爱尔兰的企业所得税非常低,只有12.5%,远低于美国和其他欧盟国家

2.爱尔兰和荷兰都规定,欧盟成员国公司之间的交易,免缴所得税

3.在爱尔兰注册的公司,只要其母公司或总部设在外国,就被认定为外国公司

4.荷兰税法以公司注册地而不是总部所在地来认定公司的国籍

于是 就有以下三个公司 简称爱A B A

A:爱尔兰本土注册 本部为爱尔兰

B:爱尔兰本土注册 本部为避税天堂加勒比群岛 拥有知识产权等无形资产

A: 荷兰本土注册 本部为荷兰

操作流程

A负责接受欧盟所有销售利润,但利润的绝大部分是需向爱B公司支付的知识产权等专利费用;

但爱A不能直接向爱B公司直接转移利润,因为在爱尔兰看来这就是欧盟国家向非欧盟国家转移利润,需要缴纳高昂税费

所以,必须通过荷A公司中转,幸好有前提2,所以中转利润只需在荷兰缴纳低廉的交易税。

A再向爱B公司转移利润时则适用前提4,所以荷A向爱B公司之间转移利润属于欧盟公司之间转移,所以不需要缴纳所得税;

结果,爱B公司得到中转过后的利润,最后向本部加勒比群岛转移。在爱尔兰看来这就属于外国公司的内部操作(前提3),所以税费极其低廉;"

This is the picture of google, apple, and other large multinational American companies' tax avoidance scheme, but many people probably think it hell has nothing to do with me. I can't give any persuasive idea whether this is good or bad for most of people in the Country. Let me investigate more, if I choose this topic as project.

Further Info.:
http://www.pearse-trust.ie/blog/bid/86105/US-Companies-Their-Use-Of-The-Double-Irish-Dutch-Sandwich