Friday 10 November 2006 @ 10:25 pm
According to the Associated Press, retail giant Wal-Mart, has decided to bring back “Christmas” into its marketing strategy after several years of watering down the term. Several others, like Kohl’s, and Macy’s are following suit. Best Buy is not.
So what does this mean? Is political correctness loosing some steam? Is it just a matter of time before other business giants grow some cojones and stop pandering to every little special interest group that comes along and chooses to be offended? Perhaps the day is near that people will decide to stop carrying their feelings on their sleeves and participate in something more productive with their life than being tossed too and fro by their overly active sensitivities.
So, is this giving in to Christianity?
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Political Correctness Takes a Dive?
Wednesday 13 September 2006 @ 10:20 pm
One of the most easily guaranteed things that will happen globally in businesses is change. Change will be a constant in the global marketplace. I believe the key to survival in these changing times is going to be adaptability. Those businesses and countries that fail to adapt will grow stagnant and fall behind very rapidly. I see global economic change as a true force in shaping business-society relations partly due to the changes that have occurred in Western Europe. The move toward integrating the economies of European nations by standardizing currencies through use of the Euro dollar is evidence of this concept. Additionally, the entrance of new Asian marketplaces to the world market of international trade has also validated the fact that global economic change is a true force in shaping these relationships. Because of the added competition, from emerging markets like Viet Nam, China, the former Soviet Union, and former communist bloc countries of Eastern Europe, we see former economic powers like Japan decline. I also see many free trade zones, such as the Crimean experimental trade zone in the Ukraine, emerging in countries to add favor to this opinion.
As countries move closer and closer to a global marketplace I see more decentralization of power in governments and their role and more of the decision making process being left to
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Change in the Global Marketplace
Wednesday 13 September 2006 @ 1:01 am
Recognition comes in many forms. Not all of them need to be monetary. The value of a “Thank You” can be a very powerful motivational tool. It should not be given aimlessly, but a thank you with sincerity is not only inexpensive, but also very effective.
Many workplaces have a notice board. We frequently receive compliments on many of our employees. We have a place on the notification board called the “Kudos Corner”, where we highlight employees that have been commended by our customers. This, along with letters of commendation sent to an employees’ home not only can impact the employee, but also give their family assurance that their loved one is a valued person within the company.
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Rewards and Recognition (part II)
Friday 8 September 2006 @ 6:49 am
Everyone enjoys receiving praise or recognition for their good work. One of the primary reasons for high turnover in many work environments is simply because the employees do not feel appreciated. The desire to receive praise begins as children and continues throughout our lives.
Recipients of praise get different things from the recognition as we all value different aspects of rewards. However, there are some benefits the recipients recognize. These include
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Recognition and Reward (part 1)
Tuesday 5 September 2006 @ 10:32 pm
This evening, as I reflect upon my recent holiday weekend, I think I will take a diversion from the routine and post something a little personal.
This Labor Day weekend, I returned to the city where I have spent at least a dozen Labor Days. The subject city is New Orleans. Yes, a year after Katrina spoiled my last visit, I could wait no longer. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I decided I would forgo the usual stay with my pals who live in the French Quarter, and stay in a hotel. Contributing to the local economy seemed like the very least I could do.
It seems all my friends wanted a firsthand tale of what the city is like, post Katrina, without the media bias. I will provide a link here to my best friend’s blog where he tells of our entire trip. but here is a small taste of what we experienced.
As I flew into MSY,
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A Side Trail
Friday 1 September 2006 @ 6:00 am
I found this on from Life 2.0 called: Have no small meetings And you can’t help but love the picture!!
For people to show up we need to make it safe to do so. We need to create a ‘container of acceptance and appreciation’ around our meetings so that everyone knows that what is thought and expressed is done so in a safe place without judgement or fear of exposure. As a pretty young woman once whispered in my ear on a foreign business trip, ‘what goes on tour stays on tour’. But that’s another story and I digress!
You owe it to yourself to go read the rest of the article. Besides, I am taking a long weekend, beginning now. Will be back Tuesday! Happy blogging!
Thursday 31 August 2006 @ 12:01 am
Sometimes, as managers we feel compelled to ‘warm up’ with an associate when it comes time to deliver performance feedback, when it is much less painful for the giver and receiver of a message to just get to the point.
I recently stumbled across an article by Johanna Rothman that provides a simple, yet poignant scenario of how to give some sensitive feedback. Johanna shows us it really is “kind to be firm.” She also offers a useful recipe to deliver feedback that goes like this:
- Create an opening to deliver feedback.
- Describe the behavior or result in a way the person can hear.
- State the impact using “I” language.
- Make a request for changed behavior.
If an employee’s performance is generally satisfactory they should be aware of that. It is easier for employees to accept, and welcome, feedback for improvement if they know management is essentially pleased with their overall performance.There are some key ingredients that should be the foundation of any feedback plan:
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Feedback Made Easy?
Wednesday 30 August 2006 @ 6:33 am
Does diversity in the workplace really make a difference? This author agrees that it does. Evidence abounds that when diversity is leveraged, positive results will occur. Measuring diversity’s impact is not easy, and it is not just a matter of dollars and cents. However, the challenge is to figure out how best to use the varied perspectives that people bring to the office. Some workplaces are still trying to recruit a more diverse staff. Others may look diverse but have an undercurrent of cynicism because employees liken diversity with yearly being held hostage for a boring seminar that shoves one person’s values down another person’s throat. Nevertheless, where there is a top-down commitment to diversity, it is becoming much more intertwined with other aspects of employee improvement and responsibility. (Racial Diversity Reconsidered)
According to ABC News, racial and gender diversity
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Does Diversity in the Workplace Really Work?
Tuesday 29 August 2006 @ 6:30 am
The Internet Article, Management that Leads , clearly addresses issues between leadership and management that are not often described in this manner. The co-dependency on both characteristics of leadership and management are discussed in a light that shows one quality works best with the presence of the other. Oftentimes, we try to express that one is a leader and not a manager, and vice-versa. However, when the two talents are merged we can begin to see how interdependent they really are. As a result, we are then more likely to improve the quality of our work at getting work done through others.
Leaders must learn to manage, and managers must learn to lead. When we see the two as interdependent we are more apt to
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Management That Leads
Monday 28 August 2006 @ 7:02 pm
What does it take to be a leader? Leadership is not about personality or knowing the goal in advance. A true leader has character, and is open to ideas from everyone. The American Management Association gives some good bullet points on leadership:
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What Does it Take?
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