We're going to see a lot of 2007 wrap-up articles and blogs over the next couple of weeks (like our recently posted Best Productivity Tips of 2007) not to mention predictions for 2008. It's what you do in December, and we embrace it. BusinessWeek churned out a list of the...
No one wants to think about layoffs right around the holidays, but for some companies, it's just reality. Take Novartis for example. After a decade of phenomenal growth, the company is now "battling with delays in product launches, a lack of innovation in its pipeline and increasing competition from generics."...
College student Van Miguel Hartless claims he bit into an unwrapped condom in his Southwestern Whopper at a Rutland, Vermont BK. He's pursuing legal action, seeking damages for pain and suffering, emotional duress, and medical expenses. Franchise owner Carrols Corporation investigated in cooperation with the Vermont Department of Health and...
Federal labor inspectors found 43 CVS stores changed employee timecards and violated child labor laws. It's not quite a Gap in India scenario, but still, policy was clearly ignored. The department found that CVS violated the law governing how many hours and how late minors can work, and also allowed 78 minors, aged...
If you haven't yet heard about Microsoft's naughty artificial intelligence Santa-bot, you're missing out. Think about the topics you'd never imagine Santa discussing -- yes, get your mind in the gutter. Santa Claus came to town, and not just his boot soles were dirty. Perhaps he should have taken SmarterChild upon...
It can be frustrating for an English-speaking customer to deal with an employee who struggles with the language. However, companies generally see the value in having bilingual employees on-staff to address the many consumers who haven't mastered English. But what does any of that have to do with conversations between...
Considering only 25 percent of employees are truly engaged by their work -- and if you believe 80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of people -- that leaves a lot of employees either going through the motions or otherwise underachieving. Managers are no exception. ...
We all know the old cliche "dress for the job you want, not the job you have." Presenting a professional and successful image can work wonders in building your reputation. But what about being attractive? If you look more like a troll than an Adonis or Venus, does that necessarily guarantee...
Do you know the average life expectancy of corporations in general? A new study shows many business leaders don't; managers in young organizations shoot too low, and managers in older ones shoot too high. It's actually less than 50 years. And according to the research, the older an organization, the higher the...
Gary Hamel and Lowell Bryan offer similar perspectives on the future role of management in their respective books, "The Future of Management" and "Mobilizing Minds" (co-authored by Claudia Joyce). Each calls for organizational change so managers an direct employees with the same innovative energy that is devoted to product development -- minimizing complexity and harnessing every...
Since we just posted a blog on innovation management and the organizational changes digitalization and globalization require, it seems appropriate to link to a series of myths about change management. Viral Change TM first listed 15 myths, and has been responding to each myth, one by one, in a series of posts dating...
A high turnover rate can be devastating for a company; it's expensive, draining for those left behind who have to pick up the slack, and frustrating for customers and clients who've developed relationships with the fallen soldiers on your staff. The Wall Street Journal online offers the key to employee retention...
It's becoming increasingly difficult to justify taking time to yourself (despite abundant research on the benefits of work/life balance, which should release us from feeling the need to find justification). Research shows that 19 percent of workers have cancelled a vacation for work at least once -- and vacation insurers are counting on this. ...
A while back, we cited research that suggests companies should adopt a less rigid approach to handling absenteeism since juggling work and life responsibilities can be challenging. General Motors agrees work/life balance programs are important -- for salaried employees, that is -- but thinks harsh measures are necessary to combat the industry-wide absenteeism issue...
Have you ever worked with someone who's always right? You know, one of those people who can always find a reason why a customer, client, or coworker is to blame for their personal shortcomings. Poorly prepared presentation? The client lacks vision. Accounting error? Faulty software. Disagreement about corporate strategy? It's all you're fault...
Approximately 91% of S&P 500 companies have at least one woman on the board, according to executive search firm Spencer Stuart, and, on average, those women are bringing in about $15,000 more annually than their male counterparts. The Corporate Library's annual pay survey indicated that median total compensation for male corporate directors is $104,375,...
...sleeping pills advertised to children (although they may look appealing when the kids are all pumped-up on sugar later tonight.) Consumers International, a global consumer group, accepted submissions from consumer organizations around the world, and formulated an abridged list of bad products based on the following criteria: the size of the company,...
The porn-at-work issue is coming back to the forefront of employers' thoughts now that a lot of workers are using wireless devices -- which are difficult to monitor through special software. Even though 65 percent of US companies are running such software, 16 percent of men and eight percent of...
Bad deals happen to good people. Perhaps your company responded to industry changes with a good-on-paper strategy that failed to be transformational. Maybe some of the big guns made decisions based on high-up relationships but failed to foster the integration of corporate cultures. Or maybe conducting due diligence became more about...
According to Training Magazine's Annual Salary Survey, average trainer salaries reached $81,940 this year; not a huge increase from last year's $81,489 , but still an increase. Executive-level pay, hit $131,704, an 18.2 percent increase from 2006. Salaries for IT training managers -- if you're not one you...
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