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By wire services
Published March 13, 2005

WITHOUT LICENSES, frequencies and towers, ordinary people are creating audio programming for thousands, bypassing the entire radio broadcasting industry, BusinessWeek reports. The trend could transform the $21-billion radio industry, and it goes far beyond podcasting. "As radio shows are turned into digital bits, they're being delivered many different ways, from Web to satellite to cell phones," the magazine says. "Listeners no longer have to tune in at a certain time, and within range of a signal, to catch a show or a game."

COMPANIES SLASHED all variety of costs over the past several years, learning to make do with fewer people and leaner operations. But the effect on the training of future leaders likely has suffered, Novations Group of Boston says. That's because there are 20 percent fewer workers in the 35-to-44 age group, where managers generally are recruited. Moreover, as conditions improve and people start looking around for new opportunities, companies that were quick to jettison workers likely will find that workers will leave them.

DOES YOUR BOSS INSIST that you do lots of different things, or are you encouraged to do things you are good at and are interested in? If it's the former, too bad - that's bad management, Harvard Business Review says. "An exceptional manager comes to know and value the particular quirks and abilities of employees. . . . Because staffers are evaluated on their particular strengths and weaknesses, they are challenged to take responsibility for their abilities and to hone them," HBR says. "By taking the time to understand what makes each employee tick, a great manager shows that he or she sees people for who they are."

HAVING TROUBLE coming up with a unique computer password? Think a little longer. With an eight-character password on a standard 95-character keyboard, there are many possible combinations: 6,634,204,312,890,625 to be exact, according to Pennsylvania software company Fiberlink Communications Corp.

WALL STREET'S TOP chief executives got their largest pay packages since 2000 after the five biggest independent securities firms posted record profits last year and handed out more restricted stock. Merrill Lynch's Stanley O'Neal was the best-paid for a second year, pulling in $32-million. Almost all of that came in restricted stock, which vests over time.

Compiled from Times wires and Web sites.

[Last modified March 13, 2005, 00:22:15]