Management Blog

Researchers claim childhood cues foster workplace ethics

Childhood cues such as stuffed toys or nursery rhymes can make employees act more ethically in the workplace, according new research by University of North Carolina researcher Sreedhari Desai.

This Harvard Business Review IdeaCast video explains the findings and discusses ongoing research on how childhood cues can be used to improve behaviour in the real world.

SMEs embrace virtual staff

Small businesses are embracing the virtual workforce trend by employing a growing number of online or 'cloud-based' workers, according to this Reuter's Entrepreneurial blog post.

It's claimed virtual employees benefit SMEs by giving them access to specialist workers and easily accommodating staffing changes to match workload requirements.

The trend is backed by a recent Elance study of the US workforce that indicates 83 per cent of SMEs plan to hire online workers within the next 12 months.

The report claims the number of businesses hiring online workers has increased 107 per cent since 2010 and predicts between 5 and 10 per cent of the workforces of most organisations will soon be virtual.

Elance is one of a number of specialist online services that connect remote site freelancers to short term employers.

Fairtrade growth continues

The Fairtrade label's mission to identify ethical services is gaining momentum with a new study indicating 44 per cent of Australians recall seeing the organisation's logo, Marketing magazine reports.

According to the story, recognition of the Fairtrade logo in Australia has risen from 27 per cent in 2009 and 37 per cent last year.

At a global level research indicates 60 per cent of survey respondents have seen the logo, a rate that's said to make Fairtrade the most recognised ethical label globally.

Fairtrade's Stephen Knapp says the survey proves Australians do care about where "every day" products come from and believe workers at the end of the supply chain should receive a fair deal.

The organisation says Australian and New Zealand consumers spent $120 million on Fairtrade products in 2010.

World's coolest offices revealed

Work spaces that instantly shift from private to collaborative, green atriums that reflect a passion for sustainability and offices crafted out of old hotels and rail stations: Welcome of the world's coolest offices.

If you're searching for ideas that could help turn your workplace into a place staff love turning up to it's worth checking out Inc. magazine's 2011 listing of the World's Coolest Offices.

A slideshow of images that capture the creativity of some of the world's most imaginative looking enterprises is provided for inspiration.

Why execution is the driving force of innovation

The notion that innovation is predominantly about new ideas is a myth, according to this Forbes article on the importance of execution in the process of being new products or processes to life.

This myth, along with a series of others about the innovation process, is based on research by Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble in the book The Other Side of Innovation: Solving the Execution Challenge.

The authors claim that by rejecting the many myths that surround innovation entrepreneurs are in a much better situation to turn a startup business into a profitable success.

Just a few of the myths discussed include:

Innovation is only about ideas – it's claimed ideas start the process but focus, discipline and resources are needed to bring them to life

Great leaders don't have failures – it's claimed conflicts between innovation and daily processes often lead to failure

Innovators are subversives – many strong innovators integrate change into real world operations rather than disrupting the system

Everyone's an innovator – while ideas from all members of staff should be welcomed, major innovations need to be handled top down

Only startups can innovate – research shows the world's biggest problems can only be solved by the planet's major companies

Australians keen on online corporate videos: study

New research by the Australian Media and Communications Authority indicates an increasing number of Australians are open to the idea of viewing online corporate videos.

Smart Company reports that 33 per cent of AMCA survey respondents currently watch video content that has been uploaded onto sharing sites like YouTube.

And while 54 per cent of respondents watched mainly user-generated content, 46 per cent watched professionally produced content or said they would be willing to watch these videos.

The researchers say the study proves that businesses should consider the possibilities of developing videos that are capable of engaging their markets and potentially increasing revenue.

It's claimed funny videos, such as the Will It Blend series, are a popular approach, however practical videos, like product tutorials or case studies, can also help businesses connect with target markets.

The value of being a lie-spotter

Would the business world be better off if everyone could tell when a person they are dealing with is telling a fib?

Liespotting author Pamela Meyer suggests that honesty is a value worth preserving, one that may very well be bolstered if we learned how to spot lies.

This TED Talk outlines the subtle clues people should be aware of in order to detect a mistruth.

Research indicates career success is a name game

Does a Darren have a career advantage over Darin? US researchers believe they have found a link between people's names and their career prospects, The Age reports.

Author of The Name Game Albert Mehrabian says names that are generally perceived to be unusual or have an unconventional spelling can result in less attractive impressions than traditional names.

Recruitment experts agree, suggesting that unusual names like Jada, Peyton, Ta-ley, Charlii, Tarney and Shylah can result in some barriers to future work prospects.

But it turns out unusual names are just one way a moniker influences how a person is perceived.

Researchers have also found people with names starting at the beginning of the alphabet tend to be more successful in life, and women with feminine sounding names are less likely to study maths.

In an even stranger research finding, people are often drawn to a profession because of the sound of their name, with a Dennis being attracted to dentistry and Laura's seeking careers in law.

Setting the tone of 'in it together' leadership

Exceptional leaders go beyond leading by example. They build workplace cultures that encourage staff to share mutual goals, ambitions and aspirations, this management-issues post argues.

As a result of an 'in it together' culture, it's claimed leaders can transform organisations and rejuvenate the people they work with, goals that are achieved by following these tenets:

• Be clear about your vision – offer a description of your leadership vision that every staff member can understand and 'buy-in' to
  Set the direction – make sure there are clear goals in place so staff members can see how the vision can be achieved
• Coach the team – understanding when to support and when to empower staff is the key to successful coaching
• Foster collaboration – build a culture that recognises those who work together rather than rewarding selfish or egocentric behaviour
• Communication is key – talk to staff early and often about organisational developments to make them feel part of your vision
• Bring them into the picture – include staff in key meetings in a bid to engage team members and make them feel valued

The changing role of the CMO

A new global study on the roles undertaken by chief marketing officers indicates the position goes well beyond the key responsibilities marketers were taught at university.

The IBM study says marketing chiefs are more involved with technology than their predecessors and are increasingly taking on the role of transforming data into knowledge within an organisation.

According to Forbes, the three key trends uncovered by the study are:

• CMOs need to have an intricate knowledge of communication technology such as social media in order to guide strategic action and drive revenue
• CMOs are now 'outside-in' translators who must be aware of consumer trends and competitor activities, and to make external developments clear to other senior managers
• CMOs aren't just expected to understand the masses of data that organisations collect, they are also being asked to translate it into knowledge for the organisation to act on