Category: Business Today

Oops! I Invented Something Amazing


Accidents will happen – and as far as innovation is concerned, that’s a good thing. While much of any businessperson’s attention is focused on bringing new ideas to market or making systematic and strategically targeted changes, there are some occasions when fate takes a hand. What might appear to be a failed experiment or a strange but ultimately useless outcome can sometimes turn out to be the basis of a game-changing innovation. History is replete with examples – here are three of the most surprising.

1. The microwave oven

When You Have to Translate English into English


Language skills are often trumpeted as a cornerstone of social integration, allowing citizens to participate fully in their host communities. British Prime Minister David Cameron recently announced a £20m fund for English language lessons to tackle radicalisation in the UK, for example.  Similarly, US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has called for assimilation and English-speaking in the US.

The (Corporate) View from the Outside (CEO)


Companies in distress often recruit a new chief executive officer (CEO) from outside the firm. It looks like Woolworths is currently heading down this path, as could the National Rugby League. It has also been a succession strategy at telecommunications giants Vodafone and Telstra.

The underlying idea seems straightforward: find a highly skilled individual with no vested interests, pay them generously, and let them make the tough decisions needed to change the status quo.

CAREC Countries E-Commerce Progress


In 2015, Central Asia made some important improvements in the environment for cross-border e-commerce: Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) will boost commercial transparency, while the Kyrgyz Republic’s membership in the Eurasian Customs Union expands its consumer base.

Why e-commerce?  Two reasons.

First, e-commerce reduces the cost of distance. Central Asia is the highest trade cost region in the world: vast distances from major markets make finding buyers challenging, shipping goods slow, and export prices high.

The Pros and Cons of Disclosing Mental Health Issues at Work


Disclosing a mental health issue in a workplace is still a risky call for most workers, research indicates. Even though there is generally no legal duty to disclose to an employer and legal recourse if employees are discriminated against, disclosure can have its costs.

It’s Just (Trump) Business


Demagoguery aside, much of Donald Trump’s bid to gain the Republican Party nomination for the presidency of the United States rests on his success as a businessman. It was his business fortune that meant he could kickstart his bid with $1.8m of his own money. However, how credible a business leader is he? In addition, in light of his track record, should he be trusted to run the US?

Maximizing Labor Market Performance


Research has demonstrated that in general, training has a positive impact on an individual’s labor market performance: wages grow faster after training, training has positive impact on employment security and training increases the probability of re-employment after job loss.

Short-term Gain and Long-term Pain


Barclays, Pearson and Virgin Media have all announced significant job cuts as part of a growing pressure to cut costs, adding up to more than 6,000 job cuts in total. Firms are increasingly turning to cost-reduction strategies as a coping mechanism for competitive and difficult economic conditions.

However, while these strategies help to reduce costs in the short-term, these cuts can have much bigger and fundamentally important implications for the identity of the firm and their long-term competitiveness.

Doing Digital Business in 2016


Every year seems like an accelerated version of the previous one. Every year we think we have reached the peak and then following year comes, paling everything before it.

Will 2016 be the same? Every available sign suggests so. We might be worried about a potential new bubble burst or slowdown on stock markets, but this will not stop new ideas, business models, or new opportunities from emerging.

Here are my nine bets – what will change in 2016 in business, technology and social.

10,000 Reasons Why Twitter Needs Something Else


NuOilSuwannar / Shutterstock.com

There are yet unconfirmed reports that Twitter plans to extend its 140-character limit to 10,000. However, why would Twitter consider radically changing its most unique characteristic?