You may know someone like this at work: optimistic and resilient, they appear to bounce through challenges drawing on an internal strength that helps them work through problems they encounter at work. Always hopeful and positive about the future, they treat stressful events as a “one-off” situation, appearing to have a built-in buffer that protects them against both ordinary and extraordinary events. Perhaps this is even you.
Is the need for feminism dead? Saatchi & Saatchi boss Kevin Roberts seems to think so, at least in the advertising industry. He’s been put on leave for saying the gender equality debate in his industry is “over”.
Uber has announced its exit from the Chinese taxi market by merging with arch-rival Didi Chuxing in a US$35 billion deal. Uber is selling its operations to Didi, with Uber China investors receiving a 20% stake in Didi, according to reports.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in the economic growth of a country. Specifically, in developing countries where poverty, unemployment, low income per capita, low literacy rate, and high inflation and interest rates can hinder economic growth, SMEs contribute significantly to the national income and provide employment opportunities (Moktan 2007).
There is a growing body of international research that suggests that companies with gender-diverse boards are better corporate citizens. These companies comply with legislation and they have initiatives in place to meet their shareholders’ and stakeholders’ social and environmental demands.
A greyhound at a protest the abuse of greyhounds at the hands of the racing industry. Jordan Rivkin/AAP
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing economies often have difficulties improving their technological capabilities in terms of product or process innovation. Therefore, some kind of government support is necessary.
Policies for stimulating technological development and innovation in SMEs can be divided into three groups:
(i) supply-side policies aim at increasing firms’ incentives to invest in innovation by reducing costs
(ii) demand-side policies are public actions to induce innovation and/or speed up the diffusion of innovation
In the past two weeks, I have met two people who introduced themselves as global nomads. By “nomads”, they mean someone who moves from place to place with no fixed address, other than their email address. They consult wherever they go, and are enabled through technology to live and work from anywhere.
This new thinking about what and where work is performed is starting to influence thinking on where we live, offering an entirely new take on work-life balance.
The race is on to bring a jetpack to market. New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft has a jetpack which is due to go on sale this year and US-based JetPack Aviation is working on a more streamlined offering. Therefore, aviation junkies with the cash to spare will soon be able to get their hands on what has long been the preserve of science fiction.
To secure work in the gig economy, workers often have to contribute not just their time and labour but also their capital. This means workers are not only shouldering the risks associated with insecure employment but also the risks associated with investing capital into businesses that they have little control over.
