In the context of the regularization process of untaxed client assets from abroad, various horror scenarios regarding the outflow of client assets from Switzerland have been read in recent times. For some time now, a large number of participants in the Swiss financial center have been committed to a consistent white money strategy and have largely cleaned up the legacy of the past. Where can new models of Swiss banking lead?

One thing up front: the international regularization process has not led to any significant outflow of client assets at Swiss banks. Total client assets under management in Switzerland are currently almost at the level of the peak year 2007. "The Swiss financial center has been able to defend its position as the number one offshore asset management center even in times of automatic exchange of information," sums up the clear PwC report.

More details on the "Future of Swiss Private Banking" and on Banking Trends at

www.pwc.ch/finanzdienstleistungen

Based on its more than 400 million user profiles worldwide, the business network LinkedIn has now determined the top 10 most-used buzzwords in Germany as well as globally in 2015. "Anyone who uses terms from our buzzword list in their profiles does not necessarily have to delete them," says Alexandra Kolleth, member of the management board for Germany, Austria, Switzerland. "However, members should always provide good evidence for their description in order to stand out from the competition. Successfully completed projects or recommendations that refer to a specific characteristic are ideal here."
The top 10 most used keywords in Switzerland

strategic
Leadership skills
Success story
motivated
Passion
expertly
International experience
creative
successful
dynamic

The international top 10 most used keywords

Leadership skills
motivated
creative
Passion
strategic
successful
dedicated
dedicated
extensive experience
Success story

Differences in occupational groups
The evaluation of the LinkedIn buzzwords also revealed subtle differences between individual occupational groups: Marketing experts and sales specialists always work strategically, while HR specialists have particularly strong leadership qualities. Students, on the other hand, prefer to describe themselves as "passionate. But it's not just the Swiss who use these terms to describe themselves. On average, most users worldwide claim to have leadership qualities. The attributes of motivation and creativity also rank highly globally.

Tips for the business card on the net
To present a good image of yourself online, Alexandra Kolleth also advises: "A strong online profile is very important in today's job market. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is complete and up to date. You should add a photo, detail your expertise, as well as map your professional history. On LinkedIn, a user's contacts can also attest to the skills they attribute to themselves. So if you have the opportunity to get a public recommendation on LinkedIn, you should take advantage of it. Nothing provides more credibility than third-party confirmation, and a meaningful profile increases the likelihood of ranking high in search engine rankings." (Source: LinkedIn)

The election result in January 2016: "Haufe-umantis is and remains an employee-led company."

The two-day strategy meeting of Haufe-umantis AG is an annual event at which employees and management work together to develop the company's strategy and define the tasks for the coming fiscal year. This year, the most important topics included the increasing internationalization of the company, the organizational model, brand management, technology and, as every year, the democratic elections of executives.

The election result in January 2016: "Haufe-umantis is and remains an employee-led company."

Haufe-umantis Manifesto

The basis of democratic corporate governance is the Haufe-umantis Manifesto, which describes the applicable values in areas such as decision-making, performance or team recruiting. By voting on the new constitution, employees defined the company's fundamental processes, rules and values. This also includes the democratic election of managers, which was held for the third time this year.

Spiral career paths

At the strategy meeting in Schaffhausen, the entire management team once again stood for election and achieved good results. Two managers voluntarily resigned from their positions in the run-up to the elections and decided not to run again. Both were convinced that they would be able to use their knowledge and skills more effectively in another position. Back in the team, they have the opportunity to contribute their strengths in a suitable position and learn from the leadership behavior of their successors. They can stand again in the next election.

Hermann Arnold, co-founder and Chairman, himself stepped down as CEO to clear the way for Marc Stoffel. He affirms: "Spiral career paths must become a normal process. This creates an enormous learning effect between team and leadership: after your own leadership experience back in the team, you observe the new leader who leads differently, draw comparisons and thus learn from your own leadership period and that of your colleagues. I can't imagine a more comprehensive leadership development experience." Incidentally, the new CEO of the St. IT pioneer is Marc Stoffel.

www.haufe.com/umantis

The participant documents are available for download at www.egovernment-wettbewerb.de until the application deadline on March 14, 2016.

In addition to eGovernment measures, efficient administrative management is also proving to be an important field of action for sustainable modernization of public organizations. The creative minds that implement groundbreaking solutions, cooperate with each other across departments and authorities, learn from others and bring lighthouse projects to the field are crucial.

Digital management is a location factor

Exemplary modernization concepts may include the introduction of goal-oriented control, process management, quality management or portfolio management, participatory approaches to involve employees and citizens, or the establishment of holistic strategic human resources management.

Since eGovernment and IT solutions already support modern administration on a day-to-day basis, singular solutions are no longer considered the main criterion for competition.

Sustainability is A and O

The organizers assume that digital innovations, their sustainable implementation as well as social change place new demands on projects or public organizations. This area includes ideas such as exploiting the opportunities presented by the Internet of Things, creating powerful and secure IT architectures, as well as process changes, informing or training employees, change management, and more intensive collaborations to develop and adapt new business models.

More under www.egovernment-wettbewerb.de

The federal government and the cantons have defined the priorities for the e-government strategy until 2019. It wants to spend four million francs a year on this.

The committee approved the first priority plan for the years 2016 to 2019, focusing on the development of basic infrastructures for the increased spread of eGovernment in Switzerland. The costs will be borne equally by the federal government and the cantons.

Since 2007, the federal government, cantons and municipalities have been driving e-government forward together. Implementation is overseen by a steering committee chaired by Federal Councilor Ueli Maurer.
E-government tools

Among other things, so-called "one-stop stores" will be set up: Companies can use them to handle official procedures at federal, cantonal and municipal level via one portal.

E-voting is also being further developed. The further development of an e-voting system is certainly classified as "strategic".

Furthermore, the electronic processing of VAT invoicing is to be supported.

www.news.admin.ch

The two-day knowledge event, which took place on January 12 and 13 in Interlaken, offered a wide range of political opinions and many useful inputs for entrepreneurs, CEOs and innovative entrepreneurs. This year, organizer Oliver Stoldt once again succeeded in attracting renowned personalities to the Bernese Oberland, who were able to make the audience think with thoroughly provocative statements.

No democratic deficit in Europe
Thus, the Greek ex-finance minister Yanis Varoufakis stated that there are no democratic deficits in the Eurozone, but a deep disregard for the democratic process. In a historical review of the creation of the Eurozone, Varoufakis tried to show that the developed system is not up to a crisis situation. He called for a pan-European political effort to find common answers to common challenges. The dream of prosperity can only be achieved with more transparency and democracy, he said. Former Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey also sees the world increasingly confronted with international challenges, risks and problems. Europe has reacted to these conditions with integration, whereas Switzerland is already a transnational democracy that can master such challenges despite different cultures, Calmy-Rey explained in a comparison of the EU and Switzerland.

Criticism of development aid
In order to be able to use intellectual capital economically as collective knowledge, one must know that one has it. The African child activist Dr. Auma Obama thus criticized conventional development aid at the Alpine Symposium in Interlaken on Tuesday, which primarily promotes a victim mentality. "Development aid" should not be explained by a question of conscience, warned the sister of the American president, who with her organization Sauti Kuu wants to build social, communicative and professional skills among children in Kenya in order to develop personal responsibility and awareness of their own potential. Obama wants to make better use of local resources in order to be less dependent on the know-how of Western development aid.

Fantastic or terrible Europe...
The two German opponents Wolfgang Bosbach (CDU) and the former opposition leader Gregor Gysi also inspired the audience with their rhetorical plain speaking. While Wolfgang Bosbach noted that the European idea is increasingly moving in the direction of national and regional political considerations, Gregor Gysi wished for more democracy in the economy: "We only have democracy in politics, but not in the economy." Gysi concluded his presentation on the most serious world problems with much irony and two sketches of a Europe: "In a fantastic Europe, planning and organization come from Germany, the police from Great Britain, cuisine from Italy, love from France and technology from Switzerland. In a terrible Europe, on the other hand, the planning and organization come from Italy, the police from Germany, the cuisine from Great Britain, the technology from France, and the love from Switzerland."

The path to becoming a "digital leader
In addition to a lot of politics, however, it was also about entrepreneurial challenges. The focus was on digital transformation. The German Mr. Creativity and backward speaker Bernhard Wolff promoted intelligent entertainment, Manuel P. Nappo (Digital Transformation) and the brand specialist Dietmar Dahmen (The Digital Wolf) took the audience into the digital world. Nappo gave the audience the following tips on how they as entrepreneurs can become a "digital leader" themselves:

• Always see the "big picture" but don't lose focus
• Putting "First Class user experience" above all else
• Building networks: "The time of the ego is over".
• Attack is the best defense: So don't wait for the competitor to attack, but roll up the market yourself
• Never underestimate small players
• Stay curious
• Create a collaborative work environment
• "Credit where credit is due"
• Less "yes, but..." and more "yes, why not..."

Economiesuisse President Heinz Karrer also called on politicians to uphold the bilateral agreements with the EU and to guarantee access for the Swiss economy through free trade agreements. Karrer also considered corporate tax reform III and a regulatory freeze to be essential in order to ensure the innovative and competitive ability of the Swiss economy in the future.

Entrepreneurial strategies
On Wednesday, "White Shaolin" Marc Gassert awakened willpower with an impressive show. The inquisitive audience benefited from the personal and professional experiences of aviation pioneer Bertrand Piccard, FC Basel president Bernhard Heusler and innovative Swiss ski producer Benedikt Germanier. Glice founder Viktor Meier, wooden toy manufacturer Marc A. Trauffer, Schwob CEO Stephan Hirt and Volker Schmidt (CSS Versicherung) provided information about their strategies in the entrepreneur talk. As always, the speakers were skillfully presented by SRF presenter Stephan Klapproth with a great deal of humor.

Commercial aviation is an important economic and social factor in Europe. At the same time, however, it also contributes to climate change and influences the health and quality of life of people in Europe through noise and emissions.

In recent years, continuous improvements in a wide range of areas (such as technology and design) have no longer been able to compensate for the increased need for mobility and the associated environmental impact. In all likelihood, this trend will continue. The challenges facing aviation are constantly increasing and the future growth of European aviation will be inextricably linked to its environmental performance.

This is shown by the just published European Aviation Environment Report of the European Energy Agency EEA. For example, the number of aircraft movements in Europe has increased by 80% since 1990 - with the same increase in environmental pollution and CO2 emissions. NOx emissions have doubled in the same time. The EEA expects all values to increase by a further 45% by 2035.

Millions affected by aircraft noise
Aircraft noise currently affects 2.5 million people across Europe. Noise levels from jet aircraft have decreased by about 4 dB every 10 years in recent decades, but this progress has slowed to 2dB/10 years.
Limit values on noise and NOx emissions have led to improvements. The EEA expects additional regulations with regard to CO2 and particulate emissions to come into force shortly.

Slow introduction of alternative fuels

The introduction of environmentally friendly alternative fuels has been slow. Nevertheless, alternative fuels are expected to play an important role in reducing greenhouse gases in the coming decades. The Advanced Biofuels Flightpath initiative launched by the European Commission envisages the production of approximately 2 million tons of biofuel per year for aviation by 2020. The use of environmentally friendly alternative fuels has been tested by European commercial aviation. Nevertheless, it seems rather unlikely that the 2 million tons per year mentioned in the "Advanced Biofuels Flightpath" can be achieved.

The aim of the Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS) 2016-2019 is to ensure a coherent sustainability policy at the federal level. In addition to the Federal Council's guidelines, it now also contains a long-term vision and concrete goals for 2030. In this way, the SNE is intended to provide guidance for policymakers at all three levels of government, as well as for the business community, civil society and academia, on the direction in which Switzerland should continue to develop in important areas.

Switzerland pursues its goals in a networked manner

Sustainable development is often a cross-border task that requires coordination between states. This applies, for example, to global warming or the global impact of our consumption. With the global "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" and the goals adopted by the UN, the "Sustainable Development Goals", the necessary conditions have been created.

The "2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" serves to address challenges such as the eradication of poverty or the protection of the environment globally. The Sustainable Development Strategy takes these up, placing a new focus on Switzerland's international engagement and the alignment between its domestic and foreign policies.

An action plan with a long-term target framework

The core of the SDS is the action plan. This is divided into nine thematic fields of action on the priority policy areas of sustainable development. The fields of action include, for example, the competitiveness and resilience of the Swiss economic and financial system, the conservation of natural resources, social security, social cohesion and gender equality.

The fields of action each contain a long-term vision, which is concretized by medium-term goals. The goals correspond to the Federal Council's priorities for sustainable development in Switzerland up to 2030, and the Federal Council has already taken into account parts of the Sustainable Development Goals. The measures in the action plan describe domestic policy activities that the Federal Council intends to implement between 2016 and 2019.

Close cooperation during implementation

Sustainable development policy is a long-term process that requires cooperation between all levels of government as well as partners from business, civil society and science. For this reason, the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE) involved these actors in the renewal process of the SNE through a stakeholder dialogue. The results of this dialogue served as one of the foundations for the present strategy. The future design and implementation of sustainable development will also be carried out in close cooperation with the cantons, municipalities and other stakeholders. To this end, for example, greater intercantonal cooperation in the area of sustainability is being sought.

(ARE)

In 2015, 95 percent of the population rated the environmental quality in their living environment as very good or rather good. With regard to the environmental quality in Switzerland as a whole, 92 percent held this opinion. These assessments are roughly in line with those from 2011.

The quality of the environment worldwide, on the other hand, was rated less positively than four years ago: Whereas 23 percent of the population rated it as very good or rather good at that time, 20 percent were of this opinion in 2015. In both survey years, around three quarters of the population stated that the environmental quality at their place of residence had a very strong or rather strong influence on their personal quality of life.

More mindfulness about electricity consumption - especially among young people
When buying smaller electrical appliances or light bulbs, the population paid more attention to their power consumption in 2015: 42 percent said they always paid attention, compared with 35 percent in 2011. 15- to 24-year-olds in particular changed their behavior: While only 9 percent of this age group always paid attention in 2011, 19 percent did so in 2015. The question of whether the heating is turned down if the apartment is empty for at least two days was answered by 44 percent with "always" and by 20 percent of the population with "never".

When it comes to the consumption of organically produced food, another environmentally relevant behavior in everyday life, 7 percent of the population said they exclusively buy such products, while the same number never do so.

Every fourth person disturbed by traffic noise, every fifth by air pollution
In 2015, 24 percent of the population felt very strongly or rather strongly disturbed by traffic noise at home with the windows open, 19 percent by air pollution around the house and 10 percent with regard to radiation emitted by power lines or mobile phone antennas. These figures are in the same order of magnitude as those of 2011. It is striking that women felt more disturbed by air pollution than men (22% vs. 16%). The same applies to Italian-speaking Switzerland (32%) compared to German-speaking Switzerland (18%) or French-speaking Switzerland (20%).

93 percent of the population was very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the landscape in the residential environment. The proportion of people who were very satisfied with the landscape in their living environment fell between 2011 and 2015 from 56 to 49 percent.
declined.

Nuclear power plants are perceived as the greatest danger
In 2015, 40 percent of the population considered nuclear power plants to be very dangerous for people and the environment. In 2011, 47 percent still held this opinion. However, it should be noted that the nuclear reactor accident in Fukushima had occurred one and a half months before the start of the survey at that time. The assessment of men in particular has changed since then (42 percent in 2011 versus 33 percent in 2015). At 36 percent, the loss of diversity in animal and plant species was named second most frequently as very dangerous for people and the environment, followed by the increase in global temperature due to climate change at 34 percent, and genetic engineering for the
Production of foodstuffs with 32 percent.

Overall, 39 percent of the population thought that environmental pollution was a very big or rather big problem for Switzerland. Particularly in the Italian- and French-speaking parts of the country (49% and 48% respectively), by women (45%) and by people with
Swiss nationality (43%), environmental pollution was perceived as problematic.

The Swiss Venture Club SVC is an independent association of entrepreneurs for companies. It aims in particular to strengthen SMEs - the well-known "backbone of the Swiss economy". With this in mind, the SVC regularly honors companies in its seven regions that belong "to Switzerland's SME elite," as Andreas Gerber, OC President of the Prix SVC Wirtschaftsraum Zürich, describes it. And it was precisely in this economic region of Zurich that six companies were honored for the fifth time on January 21.

Family business in third generation
This year's winner of the Prix SVC Wirtschaftsraum Zürich is the third-generation Oetiker Group, led by CEO Thomas Meier-Bickel. It has successfully positioned itself as a global market leader in the production of miniature parts such as clamps, clamps and rings as well as assembly solutions. With over 30 subsidiaries worldwide and around 1500 employees, the Oetiker Group serves customers in over 70 countries. Michael Steinmann, president of the 13-member jury of experts on the newly crowned winner in his laudation: "The Oetiker Group impressively demonstrates how they can reduce production prices of a single part by optimizing processes and new technologies and thus remain profitable at all times. Also, the Oetiker Group is a showcase example of a Swiss family business that has successfully mastered succession planning."

The other winners
Second place goes to Zurich-based Kalaidos Bildungsgruppe Schweiz, whose education portfolio ranges from elementary school and high school level to vocational training and continuing education and university level. The winner of third place is Trafag AG from Bubikon, which specializes in innovative sensors and monitoring devices for pressure, temperature and gas density. Other winners were Bucher Leichtbau AG from Fällanden, IE Industrial Engineering Zürich AG from Zurich and the Katadyn Group from Kemptthal.

Dignified celebration in Zurich's Hallenstadion
The Prix SVC Wirtschaftsraum Zürich offered the approximately 1,800 invited guests from business, science, politics, media and culture insights into the impressive and diverse entrepreneurship of the region. For the first time, the award ceremony at the Hallenstadion Zurich was hosted by Nik Hartmann. The event focused on the presentation of the six nominated companies: Film portraits and live conversations with the CEOs of the companies gave the audience exciting insights into the success stories of the finalists. The supporting program opened with a talk between Ernst Stocker, President of the Government and Finance Director of the Canton of Zurich, and Hans-Ulrich Müller, SVC President. The topics discussed included the economic strength of Zurich as a business location, its international orientation, and the diversity and innovative capacity of the region.
www.swiss-venture-club.ch

Happy employees are not only a worthy goal of particularly committed companies. From an economic perspective, it is also worth investing in employee satisfaction. The "Global Workforce Happiness Index" of the consulting company Universum has analyzed the satisfaction of more than 250,000 professionals worldwide and found out in which countries employees are particularly happy. The index is made up of an employee's satisfaction, their willingness to recommend their current employer to others, and their likelihood of changing jobs in the near future.

The "Happiness Quadrant"

The "Happiness Quadrant" shows the combinations in which the three influencing factors occur. It consists of four profiles, which are pronounced to different degrees in the various countries. The "stranded" are dissatisfied with their current job but unmotivated to change jobs - often because of macroeconomic circumstances such as a high unemployment rate. "Seekers" are dissatisfied employees who are actively seeking a change and often already have one foot out the door. They no longer identify with their employer and do not recommend it to their friends. Employers should give urgent attention to the "restless", because they are indeed satisfied in their job and also willing to recommend their employer. However, they are not particularly loyal and open to changing jobs.

Swiss equally happy

In a global comparison, Swiss employees are among the "fulfilled". They are stable, loyal employees who have a positive attitude toward their employer and do not want to change jobs. Accordingly, Switzerland has made it to 7th place in Global Workforce Happiness. A strikingly positive aspect is the fact that Swiss women and men are equally happy, whereas in other countries there are sometimes major differences between the sexes. Sweden, for example, which is known for its equality, ranks 7th in the world for the happiest male employees; among female employees, Sweden only makes it to 14th place. "In Sweden, equality has been lived for a long time, everyone is treated equally. But men and women still have different needs," says Yves Schneuwly, Managing Director of Universum Switzerland. "In Switzerland, however, the issue of equality, especially the better integration of women into the labor market, is high on the agenda of politicians and is a strategic goal of many CEOs. This seems to have a positive impact on the satisfaction of female professionals."

Austrians have nose in front

However, employee satisfaction and loyalty do not only depend on the company in which they work. Macroeconomic or legal factors also have an influence. In addition, different standards apply in different countries, for example with regard to the minimum length of employment. Therefore, differences can also be observed in the DACH region: Austrians are the happiest employees and rank ahead of Switzerland in 6th place. Germany lags behind somewhat and only makes it to 15th place. "As an economic nation, Germany has a more competitive labor market than the other DACH countries. In addition, the unemployment rate is quite a bit higher than in Switzerland. This pressure affects the satisfaction of skilled workers," Yves Schneuwly comments on the results. "Austrian companies are legally obliged to provide wage transparency. This gives employees the certainty of being paid in line with the market and increases satisfaction accordingly."

Employees in telecommunications happiest
How satisfied employees are also depends on the industry in which they work. Swiss employees in the telecommunications industry are particularly happy. "Here, Swisscom is setting an example and pulling its competitors along with it. A lot is invested in modern workplaces and the well-being of employees is given high priority by the management," says Schneuwly. Employees of accounting and tax firms are also very satisfied. "The structured opportunities for advancement and attractive further training, especially at the Big 4, certainly contribute to this," comments Yves Schneuwly. "In addition, there is also increased investment in employee satisfaction here." An investment that pays off in view of the worsening shortage of skilled workers.

Ranking of the happiest employees worldwide

1. Belgium
2. Norway
3. Costa Rica
4. Denmark
5. South Africa
6. Austria
7. Switzerland
8. Greece
9. Czech Republic
10. Russia

Ranking of the Swiss industries with the happiest employees

1. Telecommunications/Network Technology
2. Aerospace and defense industry
3. Audit and tax consulting
4. IT Software and Computer Services
5. Construction
6. Research, teaching, education and training
7. Public Service/Government
8. Transport and logistics
9. Pharmacy and biotechnology
10. Chemical industry

Source: Universe

On April 20, 2016, the Swiss Excellence Forum will present the Swiss Ethics Award for the seventh time as part of the Swiss Entrepreneur Conference in the KKL Lucerne. The award honors special ethical achievements in business. The most recent award winners include Migros, Pakka AG from Zurich and Bernese master goldsmith Jörg Eggimann.

Who will win the Swiss Ethics Award 2016 will be decided on April 20. A seven-member jury consisting of ethicists, representatives of business, science, theology and politics will judge the submitted projects. The following companies have been nominated:

• despite gmbh has developed an instrument for personnel selection based on the latest research results, which enables companies to pay attention to integrity and ethical responsibility when recruiting executives.
• TheSozialfirma AG sustainably integrates handicapped employees into the primary labor market and establishes itself in the market without support from the public sector.
• Weleda AG implements a comprehensive sustainability management system to improve social, economic and environmental aspects at suppliers along all raw material supply chains.

Guest speakers at the event will be Nadja Lang, Managing Director of the Max Havelaar Foundation (Switzerland), Roger de Weck, Director General of SRG, and Prof. Dr. Dr. Franz Josef Radermacher, mathematician and economist, University of Ulm. The event will be moderated by Nicole Brandes.

Information and registration:
www.swiss-excellence-forum.ch
Phone 041 229 30 40

Umwelt Perspektiven is giving away two tickets for the Swiss Ethics Award. Send an email to karin.weinmann@galledia.chand with a little luck you will be present at the award ceremony. Closing date