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Will You Add? - Difference is 'Value Added'
Affairs between coworkers are not something new. For the most part the common reaction among the onlookers is one of surprise. Sometimes it is also one of criticism or condemnation. Occasionally it also provokes jealousy, as was the recent unprecedented case among the astronauts. Looked at from a broader perspective, affairs at work bear much in common with affairs at church. But it should come as no surprise that married people fall in love with coworkers at work and at church.Consider: it is an accepted truism among behavioral researchers that as people we are capable of falling love any number of times during our lifetime, whether married or not. When we get close to a person who displays admirable traits and who is attractive we react accordingly. That is the way humans are wired.Consider: the workplace is where people generally speaking are at their best. We dress well for work. We behave well at work. We bring energy to work. We are diplomatic, charming, sensitive and responsive at work. We go along to get along. We accept challenges and do great things at work.It is only after work, when we go home, that we dress down, run out of energy and often become rather blunt and irritable. As a whole, our nation continues to become increasingly productive. This means longer hours, more intense sophisticated work skills, more int
Too often a business assumes that IP based solutions are the best choice to satisfy their communication requirements. Particulalrly with convergence issues. But....don't get caught making a hasty decision. There are viable options...and factors to consider before making a final choice.One of the problems with convergence is protocol, starting with IP.While we tend to think in terms of Internet and IP, there are alternatives. Dedicated circuits come to mind, followed by frame relay. One option that hasn't gotten much exposure but may offer some real advantages is gigabit Ethernet via fiber optics. The fiber overcomes the distance limitations associated with Ethernet. Ethernet allows for layer 2 switching versus IP based routing. From a private network perspective, this may be an ideal way of lowering overheads and improving latency and jitter issues.The same applies to other transports such as a private radio network. The IP headers are only one solution to source and destination, and are necessary only when joining the public Internet where IPv4 is the required protocol by agreement (not technical requirement). In 1985, the choice of protocol was still being debated, and Ethernet and Token Ring were still fighting for dominance.Moving out of IP opens up other opportunities for improved performance and efficiency in o
What is diversity?
We in the UK are fortunate to live in a country which is rich in the diversity of its population. Nowadays, your work colleagues might be any age, male or female, from any ethnic, religious or cultural background, married, single or living with a partner of the opposite or same sex, able-bodied or not. This has many advantages, but also presents organisations with the challenge of getting the best out of such a diverse workforce, while at the same time meeting their legal responsibilities. It is therefore important that companies give due consideration to how to achieve this if they want to maintain their place in the market.
The moral and legal case for diversity
In the UK:
• Women make up half the workforce, but just 9% of management grades and 2% of senior management (The Observer, September 2003)
• Ethnic minorities make up just 1.5% of management, and are almost non-existent at senior levels (The Observer, September 2003)
• By 2011, only a third of the workforce will be male and under 45. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
• By 2014, the working age population will increase by one million, and ethnic minorities will account for half that increase. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
Introducing and promoting diversity is morally the right thing to do. Diversity not only assumes that all individuals are unique and different, but that difference is ‘value added’. It acknowledges that everyone has the right to express their views and beliefs in a manner that is sensitive to those around them (i.e. free from racism, sexism, ageism and other forms of prejudice). Everyone should have the right to contribute to activities and grow within their workplace. A diverse work environment also demonstrates an organisation that it is a caring, inclusive and respe
As a consultant, I’m always trying to find ways to provide better service to my clients along with delivering more value for what they pay me. Whether it is a little piece of advice that helps in an area on the periphery of the services I provide or connecting a client with a resource totally unrelated, the focus is always on giving the customer what they need. That got me to thinking about what the customer could do in return to ensure a win-win relationship with consultants or any service provider.Here are five unquestionable ways to becoming a great client:Pay Your Bill on Time Admittedly, this is overstating the obvious, but it’s no fun for service providers to have to chase down payment for services rendered. If you deliver a product or service on time and to spec, you expect to get paid on time, right? Why would you want to make someone do something you wouldn’t do yourself? Paying your bill on time eliminates stress for both parties so do both parties a favor by being on time with your payments.Don’t Question Methodologies When you walk into a restaurant, you typically do so with the expectation of receiving quality food cooked appropriately. It’s doubtful that you question the methodologies for preparing your order. The same concept applies to consultants and service providers. If you s
The moral and legal case for diversity
In the UK:
• Women make up half the workforce, but just 9% of management grades and 2% of senior management (The Observer, September 2003)
• Ethnic minorities make up just 1.5% of management, and are almost non-existent at senior levels (The Observer, September 2003)
• By 2011, only a third of the workforce will be male and under 45. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
• By 2014, the working age population will increase by one million, and ethnic minorities will account for half that increase. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
Introducing and promoting diversity is morally the right thing to do. Diversity not only assumes that all individuals are unique and different, but that difference is ‘value added’. It acknowledges that everyone has the right to express their views and beliefs in a manner that is sensitive to those around them (i.e. free from racism, sexism, ageism and other forms of prejudice). Everyone should have the right to contribute to activities and grow within their workplace. A diverse work environment also demonstrates an organisation that it is a caring, inclusive and resp
Safety training videos are made so that we don’t panic in a crisis and put our lives in danger. These show us how to handle a fire, an earthquake, an accident or a natural disaster. They also include ordinary things like safety tips on climbing a ladder, driving or housekeeping. Countless websites and video production units make and sell CDs and DVDs of video clips on almost everything under the sun. If you do a Google search on safety training videos, you will come up with a minimum of 7,530,000 hits in less than .2 seconds. To choose a good video from this list is not easy. It is advisable to buy videos after having a short preview of what they contain.Here are some websites which produce safety training videos for everyday purposes, and the categories of videos they sell to the public.Safteytrainingnetwork.com has videos on almost all day-to-day situations. They have videos on alcohol and drugs, human resources, electrical and kitchen safety, infection control, healthcare, head protection, solid waste management and even employment law. Their videos are widely varied, covering topics from blood-borne pathogens safety and asbestos safety to ordinary things like recordkeeping and first aid.Coastal.com specializes in producing instructional videos on safety training in coastal areas.National Safety Compliance is an org
In the UK:
• Women make up half the workforce, but just 9% of management grades and 2% of senior management (The Observer, September 2003)
• Ethnic minorities make up just 1.5% of management, and are almost non-existent at senior levels (The Observer, September 2003)
• By 2011, only a third of the workforce will be male and under 45. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
• By 2014, the working age population will increase by one million, and ethnic minorities will account for half that increase. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
Introducing and promoting diversity is morally the right thing to do. Diversity not only assumes that all individuals are unique and different, but that difference is ‘value added’. It acknowledges that everyone has the right to express their views and beliefs in a manner that is sensitive to those around them (i.e. free from racism, sexism, ageism and other forms of prejudice). Everyone should have the right to contribute to activities and grow within their workplace. A diverse work environment also demonstrates an organisation that it is a caring, inclusive and resp
IN PART 1 of this two part article, we looked at Quality of the Product and Friendliness of the Service. In Part 2 we will consider alignment to particular requirements, responsiveness to needs, ability to deliver to schedule, and cost to the purchaser. Let’s get started.ALIGNMENT TO REQUIREMENTSA big part of competitiveness is found in the alignment of the product to the customer’s requirements -- if it does what it’s supposed to do, they’re gonna consider buying it. This was discussed back in Quality of the Product, but it also means that you, as the producer, have to consider needs that the customer has in keeping his/her own costs down. You will have done that, of course, when you set up initial sales with the client, but it should be done on an ongoing basis, too.RESPONSIVENESS TO NEEDSDo you know what your customer is dealing with, and what new challenges are being faced by that company? Worthington Steel, based out of Columbus, Ohio actually makes it a point to send front line staff out periodically to client facilities to see how the product is being used. What good is that? It allows Worthington to make small changes in either construction or delivery that mean a big difference to the client. And often it’s ONLY the front line staff who can identify these types of requirements – sometimes the client do
• By 2014, the working age population will increase by one million, and ethnic minorities will account for half that increase. (2002-based projections issued by the government.)
Introducing and promoting diversity is morally the right thing to do. Diversity not only assumes that all individuals are unique and different, but that difference is ‘value added’. It acknowledges that everyone has the right to express their views and beliefs in a manner that is sensitive to those around them (i.e. free from racism, sexism, ageism and other forms of prejudice). Everyone should have the right to contribute to activities and grow within their workplace. A diverse work environment also demonstrates an organisation that it is a caring, inclusive and resp
If you are like many small businesses, even a few late payments on your accounts receivable can seriously crimp your cash flow. It is vitally important that you take immediate and systematic steps to limit the number of past due receivables that you have at any time. The number one strategy is to have a system in place that limits the number of accounts that go past due in the first place. There are numerous tools and strategies for doing just that. However, today, we will concentrate on how to deal with the past dues once they appear.Here are some tips that will help you to reduce your outstanding receivables:· Address the issue immediately. Never wait more than 3 business days past the due date to contact the customer. This allows for mail delays, but is early enough to catch a situation before it becomes worse.· When you contact customers, don't give them an excuse to use ("Did you receive your invoice?"). Rather, ask them, "When did you send your payment?" If they tell you it hasn't been sent, ask them if they intend to send it today. If they say "no," ask when they expect to send it. Get a commitment from them and follow up if the commitment is not honored.· Ask your customers why they haven't paid your bill. Remember, if they are honest with you, you should treat them with the utmost respect. Everyone has
While there is no one specific piece of legislation covering diversity, there are several Acts of Parliament, European laws, Regulations and examples of case law which together make up the legal framework for diversity. (The Equal Opportunities legislation in particular makes it mandatory.) Although the following list is not exhaustive, the key legal frameworks include:
• Pay discrimination (1970)
• Sex discrimination or marital status (1975)
• Race discrimination (1976)
• Positive action [1986]
• Disability discrimination (1995)
• Human Rights Act (1998)
• Gender reassignment (1999)
• Age discrimination (1999 code of practice)
• Genuine occupational qualifications [2000]
• Equality in sexual orientation (2003)
• Equality in religion and belief (2003)
The business benefits of diversity
According to a study published in 2003 by CREATE, an independent research centre (‘Harnessing Workforce Diversity to Raise the Bottom Line’), a more diverse workforce improves business performance. The study, which involved around 500 companies operating in the UK, USA and Europe, uncovered a range of business benefits including:
• Higher staff retention
• Reduced recruitment costs
• More satisfied customers
• Access to a wider customer base
• Better supply chain management
• Access to new ideas on process and product improvements
Diversity is also key to success in global markets – any organisation that wants to expand internationally cannot hope to do so ef
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