We can all agree that communication is key but there is a point when silence also is. But how do we use the social media to understand customers and why it is important for them to communicate with us.
With such a diverse workforce it is important to have an advancing attitude but there is right and wrong way to do it. According to Sonia Alleyne, studies show that being more silent in the workplace can be “detrimental to your advancement in the company”; however, there must be a balance “being overly expressive can derail your ambitions”. The first advice given is not to act as if everything is a battle, and have an it is me-against the world attitude. To be silent gives you perspective, gives clearer insight, and shows maturity.
This is an important point within the company, that sometimes communication consists of knowing the appropriate situations to be silent. But, customers are not as likely to be silent with the power of the social media and when satisfaction is not met. As management approaching the social media is important because according to Moe, Schweidel, and Trusov, “customers who are more positive and less involved tend to stick to the sidelines, while customers who are more involved and more critical take their place.”. They stress how management should not be overly concerned with online reviews and negative comments because the customers with a bad experience is more likely to vocalize it versus the person who has had a satisfying experience.
Silence is tricky in the world of business because a majority of the time it is frowned upon and a small amount of the time it is best. As management we must learn to use silence effectively” and efficiently as a tool. However, when it comes to our customers we need to encourage communication with us because the social media does have the power to negatively effect the company. Remembering that the minority of customers will vocalize their satisfaction and a majority will vocalize their dissatisfaction tells us there is no need to overact towards negative feedback because that can become costly!
Alleyne, Sonia. "Hush!" Black Enterprise - Your Resource for Career, Money, Small Business, Lifestyle, Experts. Black Enterprise Magazine, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.blackenterprise.com/2011/10/25/hush/>.
Moe, Wendy W., David A. Schweidel, and Michael Trusov. "What Influences Customers’ Online Comments." MIT Sloan Management Review 21 Sept. 2011. MIT Sloan Management Review - The New Business of Innovation. Massechusetts Institute of Technology, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2011-fall/53102/what-influences-customers-online-comments/>.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Legal Loyalty
There is a such thing as loyalty when working for a company. Every company has a goal to maximize profit and to dominate their specific target market. There is a lot of time, energy, and brain-power that goes into this process and it all costs. Employees come up with and are trusted with valuable strategically formed information. In order for the company to be successful there must be employee loyalty to prevent a leak in the companies confidential endeavors.
According to Danielle Feinstein of Inside Counsel, Groupon recently filed a civil complaint against two of their former sales managers “ for breaking their employment agreement and joining a competing venture within 24 months of their departure with Groupon”. The problem is that these two former managers are now sharing confidential trade information about the company with Google. The companies customer listings and marketing strategies are now threatened. Google actually offered Groupon $6 billion to take over but the company declined and in turn Google created a competing venture.
Similarly Alex Vorro of Inside Counsel wrote about the former Olympus CEO Micheal Woodford who was fired because of disagreements about his management style who may be dealing some revenge. The former CEO is alleged to be using his position to leak company secrets. The former CEO held PricewaterhouseCoopers report which indicated the company might become under “legal and regulatory investigation as a result of the payments as evidence of his remarks.”. The company is considering legal action against him.
But how do we as management prevent a legal war against an employee? I suggest as management we focus on keeping morale high. I think it is up to management to make our work environment innovative and approachable. Having proper communication has everything to do with how employees view management. Listening, understanding, accepting, and considering is something upper-level management must consistently work on. Nobody wants to work for a company that does not respect their ideas, or their knowledge. In order to stay out of the courtroom we must establish how important loyalty is to the company. The last thing we want is our competitors knowing why we are successful!
Feinstein, Danielle. "Inside Insights Groupon Suing Former Employees Who Joined Google." InsideCounsel. Summit Business Media, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/10/25/groupon-suing-former-employees-who-joined-google>.
Vorro, Alex. "Olympus Says Ex-CEO Leaked Company Secrets." InsideCounsel. Summit Business Media, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/10/25/olympus-says-ex-ceo-leaked-company-secrets>.
According to Danielle Feinstein of Inside Counsel, Groupon recently filed a civil complaint against two of their former sales managers “ for breaking their employment agreement and joining a competing venture within 24 months of their departure with Groupon”. The problem is that these two former managers are now sharing confidential trade information about the company with Google. The companies customer listings and marketing strategies are now threatened. Google actually offered Groupon $6 billion to take over but the company declined and in turn Google created a competing venture.
Similarly Alex Vorro of Inside Counsel wrote about the former Olympus CEO Micheal Woodford who was fired because of disagreements about his management style who may be dealing some revenge. The former CEO is alleged to be using his position to leak company secrets. The former CEO held PricewaterhouseCoopers report which indicated the company might become under “legal and regulatory investigation as a result of the payments as evidence of his remarks.”. The company is considering legal action against him.
But how do we as management prevent a legal war against an employee? I suggest as management we focus on keeping morale high. I think it is up to management to make our work environment innovative and approachable. Having proper communication has everything to do with how employees view management. Listening, understanding, accepting, and considering is something upper-level management must consistently work on. Nobody wants to work for a company that does not respect their ideas, or their knowledge. In order to stay out of the courtroom we must establish how important loyalty is to the company. The last thing we want is our competitors knowing why we are successful!
Feinstein, Danielle. "Inside Insights Groupon Suing Former Employees Who Joined Google." InsideCounsel. Summit Business Media, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/10/25/groupon-suing-former-employees-who-joined-google>.
Vorro, Alex. "Olympus Says Ex-CEO Leaked Company Secrets." InsideCounsel. Summit Business Media, 25 Oct. 2011. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/10/25/olympus-says-ex-ceo-leaked-company-secrets>.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The New Rules
The courtroom has been a busy place for the business world lately. The Americans with Disabilities Act has new accommodations, and the Federal Communication Commission’s has new rules and these legal changes are important for employers, and businesses alike to be aware of.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is now less stringent in the naming of the disabled than in the old version due to an overturning by the Supreme Court. This change in the act which “the EOCC did not issue its new accommodations until May 20, 2011”, has left employers unclear about the changes in what a disabled employee is, and how we as an employer accommodate them. The only time it is legal to not accommodate a disabled employee is if “the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operator of the business.” But of course if that is the case what is “undue hardship”? In legal context that means, “the employer must show it will suffer significant difficulty or expense, either in finance or administrative difficulties”. Due to this change employers must be very careful to effectively accommodate disabilities now that the legal definition of disability has expanded. (Ackermann)
The internet is a very fast gateway to information which has become very helpful and very competitive. Thankfully, the FCC has finally published some well over-due guidelines for internet trafficking . These “net neutrality” rules will go into effect Nov. 20. These Rules include:
In retrospect these new changes to the law books are going to one change how businesses accommodate employees with disabilities and two provide everyone access to all information the internet has to offer. This will be either a real good progressive step in how businesses are ran or lawsuits waiting to happen. I think we can clearly see broadband companies will be in the courtroom very soon and employees will be in the courtroom complaining they weren’t given proper accommodations. That being said it is up to the business to be aware and understanding of the new rules.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is now less stringent in the naming of the disabled than in the old version due to an overturning by the Supreme Court. This change in the act which “the EOCC did not issue its new accommodations until May 20, 2011”, has left employers unclear about the changes in what a disabled employee is, and how we as an employer accommodate them. The only time it is legal to not accommodate a disabled employee is if “the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operator of the business.” But of course if that is the case what is “undue hardship”? In legal context that means, “the employer must show it will suffer significant difficulty or expense, either in finance or administrative difficulties”. Due to this change employers must be very careful to effectively accommodate disabilities now that the legal definition of disability has expanded. (Ackermann)
The internet is a very fast gateway to information which has become very helpful and very competitive. Thankfully, the FCC has finally published some well over-due guidelines for internet trafficking . These “net neutrality” rules will go into effect Nov. 20. These Rules include:
- “First, transparency: fixed and mobile broadband providers must disclose the network management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of their broadband services,”
- “Second, no blocking: fixed broadband providers may not block lawful content, applications, services, or non-harmful devices; mobile broadband providers may not block lawful websites, or block applications that compete with their voice or video telephony services.
- “Third, no unreasonable discrimination: fixed broadband providers may not unreasonably discriminate in transmitting lawful network traffic.” (Vorro)
In retrospect these new changes to the law books are going to one change how businesses accommodate employees with disabilities and two provide everyone access to all information the internet has to offer. This will be either a real good progressive step in how businesses are ran or lawsuits waiting to happen. I think we can clearly see broadband companies will be in the courtroom very soon and employees will be in the courtroom complaining they weren’t given proper accommodations. That being said it is up to the business to be aware and understanding of the new rules.
- Ackermann, Sara. "Labor: 7 Questions about the New ADAAA Regulations." InsideCounsel Sept. 2011. InsideCounsel. Summit Business Media, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/09/26/labor-7-questions-about-the-new-adaaa-regulations>.
- Vorro, Alex. "Net Neutrality Rules Finally Published." InsideCounsel Sept. 2011. InsideCounsel. Summit Business Media, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. <http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/09/26/net-neutrality-rules-finally-published>.
Too Little Too Much
A lot of changes are being made in the business world being new technology, new practices, or new improvements. Change and progression can be very good for a business, to stay fresh, and find better and more innovative ways of doing things. But a problem often arises from information overload. To be able to take in information and use it effectively it must be given in a concise and succinct way.
This article “The Trouble With Too Much Information” tells a story about a company who gave their factory workers improvement initiatives with hundreds of pages of training material causing the workers to make stupid mistakes. “production performance slipped and safety issues surfaced” The factory workers were experiencing too much information to be productive, and as management the last thing wanted is an unproductive team. (Chakravorty)
As management it is important to know how to directly address your audience with clear, professional language without sounding repetitive or overwhelming. As Markus Reitzig of London Business School points out, idea proposals as management shouldn’t be too skimpy on information, too lengthy, lacking of focus, or insufficient in explanation, but it has to be just right. He says that tone is important, that being a positive attitude toward the topic at hand. He explains, “the fact is, the lower-level managers who screen proposals are busy and have short attention spans.” (Brokaw)
I completely agree that too much information can be just as unproductive as too little, so as managers it’s your job to be clear, concise, succinct, and always professional.
This article “The Trouble With Too Much Information” tells a story about a company who gave their factory workers improvement initiatives with hundreds of pages of training material causing the workers to make stupid mistakes. “production performance slipped and safety issues surfaced” The factory workers were experiencing too much information to be productive, and as management the last thing wanted is an unproductive team. (Chakravorty)
As management it is important to know how to directly address your audience with clear, professional language without sounding repetitive or overwhelming. As Markus Reitzig of London Business School points out, idea proposals as management shouldn’t be too skimpy on information, too lengthy, lacking of focus, or insufficient in explanation, but it has to be just right. He says that tone is important, that being a positive attitude toward the topic at hand. He explains, “the fact is, the lower-level managers who screen proposals are busy and have short attention spans.” (Brokaw)
I completely agree that too much information can be just as unproductive as too little, so as managers it’s your job to be clear, concise, succinct, and always professional.
- Chakravorty, Satya S. "The Trouble With Too Much Information." MIT Sloan Management Review - The New Business of Innovation. Massachusetts Institute Technology, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. <http://sloanreview.mit.edu/the-magazine/2011-fall/53116/the-trouble-with-too-much-information>.
- Brokaw, Leslie. "The Best Length for an Idea Proposal." Web log post. MIT Sloan Management Review - The New Business of Innovation. Massachusetts Institute Technology, 19 Sept. 2011. Web. <http://sloanreview.mit.edu/improvisations/2011/09/19/why-250-words-is-the-ideal-suggestion-length>.
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