Comm 101

To be honest, I read Cosmo more than Globe and Mail, chick lit more than autobiographies. That said, business blogs usually don’t come off as interesting to me. So, when I came across the gem of HR Bartender written by Sharlyn Lauby, i knew I had found a blog I would actually make a point of visiting regularly.

The focus of her blogs are generally issues of the workplace. Though less applicable, I find they offer me a look at what a future in a workplace would be. Covering topics such as working with friends and the use of social media, many of her posts and advice applies outside of just workplaces. My personal favourite series she writes is “The Six Critical Qualities of Self-Management”.  Transiting from secondary school to university can be a difficult transition at times. Her self-management tips have been, needless to say, extremely helpful. Not only that, but her insight on interviews has taken a lot of guessing out of the game. 

Perhaps what attracts me the most is how I identify with the blogger herself. Being an HR specialist turned consultant, that would be my ideal career path. Further, her random inserts of culinary posts make for light hearted, yet very informative blog.

Productive employees carry a company. Satisfied employees are productive employees. Yellow Pages is well aware of that, considering it has been ranked amongst the top employers in Canada. Stressing the importance of communication, the Yellow Pages sounds like a paradise of a workplace. Not only are departments well communicated but Yellow Pages allows for its staff to communicate with their supervisors.

Yellow Pages has been supportive to employees and has increasingly made that a priority within the company. Staff are asked for input from everything to which charities the company should support to which green policies the company should adopt. The company has also been concerned with the environmental issues and has taken initiatives to encourage green policies. For example, the workplace has showers for those that bike to work everyday. Moreover, the company hosts a variety of channels for staff to reach out. There was a newly implemented blog which allows staff to give feedback and support to each other.

The mindful management of employees is reflected in proud employees. In feeling that they are well appreciated, employees are much happier to work for the company. This interaction between management and staff emphasizes the efficiency of teamwork and cooperation of the workplace.

Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F), one immediately conjures up images of shirtless models, basically beautiful people in overpriced clothes. One image the company doesn’t want you to bring up? “Mike the Situation” (Sorrentino) of Jersey Shore in their clothes. This message was clear when it became public they had offered “the Situation” a substantial amount of money not to wear their clothes.

It’s not difficult to imagine why they saw this as a strategy for brand protection. The cast of Jersey Shore and the image they perpetuate is not always positive. In fact, from the reputation of the show, it is apparent why a major brand like A&F would want to refrain from being associated. However, this tactic led to a huge negative feedback. The show is popular with teenagers, which is also the company’s target demographic. By doing so, a huge uproar was created amongst social media. Teenagers were not supportive at all of A&F’s actions.

Do they risk their brand being perpetuated differently they intend? Do they risk alienating their customers? Perhaps, they have harmed their brand trying to protect it.

A sort of patent war has erupted over the IT world. More specifically, the issues lie within the value of intellectual property.  The role of IT in today’s modern businesses is ever expanding. Today’s business giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft are all tech companies. Each are chasing after the latest, new and improved technologies to introduce to the public. Technological advancement is no overnight success, it is usually accomplishment of many contributors. This makes things messy. It becomes difficult to distinguish who did it first or who did exactly what. Further, contributors may be non-practicing entities, such as the Harvard Medical School.  The approval of patents for the new operating systems, new software and new technology has become confusing and largely ineffective process.

The effect of such complications is stagnant progress. Companies are tangled in the trouble of patents, law suits back and forth. One buys patents from another, then, one gets accused of stealing ideas. Innovation and prosperity is slowed down by the ball-and- chain known as patents.

This only goes to prove how IT runs our world today. When there is ineffective management of IT systems, protocols and development, progress is held at a stand-still.

That may be all you need in your wallet, your credit card.

“Cash rules everything around me” may be a statement of the past. The world continues to digitalize. Technology plays an increasingly important role in business. Credit cards may soon take over the need for cash money. The gradual replacement has started long ago. How often do we make huge purchases like airplane tickets, furniture or electronics with cash? Unless anyone is feeling particularly safe carrying around inconspicuous briefcases filled with hundred dollar bills, they will probably be paying with their credit cards. Further, businesses are unlikely to accept huge amounts of cash considering the factors of counterfeit, security and length of the transaction.

The convention of using cash may become a relic in a few decades. However, the transition would not be an easy process. Two major problems would  be security and accessibility. Credit card fraud one is one horror story told too often. Also, not everyone has a credit card. Even if they did, it may not be accepted by all vendors. This is sounding all too familiar, it comes into question how is using credit cards any better than using cash.

In its essence, perhaps this need to transition is just a symptom of our society’s tech-obsessed mentality.