World Environment Day/Let's Not Motor Day

In what may be deemed an unusual business move by some, MINI is encouraging its drivers to participate in the UN's World Environment Day on June 5th by not driving their cars (MINI has nicknamed the day "Let's Not Motor Day").

When I read about this, my first question was if MINI's support of World Environment Day was part of a PR strategy to appear more green - after all, it's unusual for a company to tell its consumers not to use its product.  However, the more I thought about it, I couldn't help but notice that in asking its drivers not to drive, MINI seems to be placing humanity's environmental interests before its own financial ones.  I wonder what the world would be like if more major companies conducted business this way.

Since June 5th is a Friday, leaving the car at home will likely be difficult for most.  So why not make an extra effort to carpool or plan your day so that you drive as little as possible? 

What will you be doing on June 5th?

eRb

For more on World Environment Day 2009, see: United Nations Environment Programme

Xavier Navarro's article for Autoblog Green: MINI asks drivers to hang up the keys and not drive on June 5th

MINI USA's website allows drivers to pledge the miles that they will not driver: Let's Not Motor Day

Image: clker.com

Time Warner and AOL to split

Every so often, you hear of a business move and you think "finally!" - it's as if there's no other reaction for it.  While you recognize that you're not fully aware of the complexity of that particular situation, you still can't help but mentally declare the final decision as inevitable.  Yesterday, while watching the news, I had one of those "finally!" moments: when I found out that AOL and Time Warner were separating.

And it seems that I'm not the only one who reacted this way: according to tech expert Rob Enderle, who was quoted in Mike Musgrove and Frank Ahrens' article on the AOL/Time Warner split (Washington Post), "AOL is largely irrelevant on the Web, but they have a powerful brand."

Time Warner intends for the spin off to take place by the end of 2009, and it will be interesting to see what direction AOL takes once its on its own again.

eRb 

For Musgrove and Ahrens' Post article, see: Time Warner, AOL to Split by Year-End

For Time Warner's announcement, see: Time Warner Inc. Announces Plan to Separate AOL

Image: Business Week

Samsung recalls Jitterbug cell phones

According to Chad Mumm, who cites information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and The Consumerist, Samsung is recalling some of its Jitterbug cell phones - specifically, models SPH-a110 and SPH-a120 that were purchased between March 2008 and March 2009.  These models are being recalled because they may not be able to connect to 911 if the caller is outside his/her service area.  Luckily, this can be fixed with a simple service upgrade.

Jitterbug is specifically marketed toward senior citizens (according to its website, key features include hearing-aid compatibility and a keypad that resembles a home phone), which makes me wonder how this recall even came to be - especially since Jitterbug users can subscribe to a 'Live Nurse' service.  For $4 a month, subscribers can speak with a network of RN's, who are available 24/7.  As Mumm stated, "when you market a cell phone to senior citizens by touting a 'Live Nurse' option, you'd better darn well make sure that the 911 service works."

Samsung's Jitterbug recall demonstrates the importance of thoroughly testing products before putting them on the market.  Even if their functionality seems to be a given, important details, such as a cell phone's ability to connect to 911, should always be checked.

eRb

If you purchased a Jitterbug SPH-a110 or SPH-a120 between March 2008 and March 2009, contact Samsung at 866-304-4980.

For Samsung's safety notice: Letter from Customer Care

For Chad Mumm's switched.com article: Samsung Recalling Jitterbug Cell Phones That Don't Connect to 911

For Lucy Bayly's Consumerist article: Samsung Recalling Some Jitterbug Cell Phones; Potential Failure to Connect To 911

Image: jitterbug.com

Burns to succeed Mulcahy at Xerox

Anne Mulcahy, CEO of Xerox, will be retiring this July and she has chosen the company's president, Ursula Burns, as her successor. Together, Burns and Mulcahy worked together to save Xerox from financial ruin.  In an article for Forbes, Heidi Brown explains that this succession is significant because: "[it] marks two firsts: the transition of power from one woman to another at a large public company, and the first to be run by a black woman."  

To read Heidi Brown's article, see: Burns Succeeds Mulcahy At Xerox In First Big Woman-to-Woman CEO Transition

eRb

Image from rochesterhomepage.com: Xerox CEO on Obama's Economic Transition Team (by WROC-TV)

Facebook

According to an article that Lee Bains recently wrote for switched.com, Facebook has lost roughly half a million users in the past few months.  Interestingly, these users aren't recent college graduates - it's their parents. Bains, who cites data from insidefacebook.com, asserts that Baby Boomers are deactivating their Facebook accounts because "[they] are laying off the during-office-hours browsing [in an effort to retain their jobs]."

I find it interesting that while Facebook is losing users, Twitter seems to be flourishing.

To read Bains' article, see: Baby Boomers Quitting Facebook

eRb

President Obama nominates Judge Sotomayor

President Obama has announced his nominee for the Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.  If appointed, Judge Sotomayor will become the third female Justice in the history of the Supreme Court.  At present, Justice Ginsburg is only female Justice, as Justice O'Connor retired in 2006.

To read President Obama’s remarks regarding his nomination of Judge Sotomayor: Remarks by the President in Nominating Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court

For the White House’s blog posting: The President’s Nominee: Judge Sonia Sotomayor

For information on Judge Sotomayor: Background on Judge Sonia Sotomayor

For Baker and Zeleny’s NYT article: Obama Hails Sotomayor as ‘Insipiring’

For Anne Marie Riha’s Fox News article: Obama Wants Female on the Court

For biographies of the current Supreme Court Justices: supremecourtus.gov

eRb

 

Image: Supreme Court of the United States

National Moment of Remembrance

Take some time today and observe Memorial Day by participating in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 PM.

To read President Clinton’s memorandum, see (courtesy of usmemorialday.org): Memorandum on the White House Program for the National Moment of Remembrance

For other ways to observe Memorial Day, see: usmemorialday.org

eRb

Image: CIA World Factbook

Della

Dell recently introduced a new product: "Della," which comes in a variety of colors. 

However, despite its low price (starting at $349), Della has been widely criticized.

Why?  Because Della, which is a netbook (v. a laptop) and comes with a calorie-counting program, was created for women.

In her article on Della (which, incidentally, was for ForbesWoman), Meghan Casserly asserts: "By implying that female computer use is limited to home and health, Dell was ignoring the millions of tech-savvy women who work with personal computers on a daily basis."

Thoughts?

eRb

For more information on Della: content.dell.com/us/en/home/lifestyle.aspx

For Casserly's article: Dell's Revamped 'Della' Site For Women

Teressa Iezzi's article for Advertising Age: Dells Della Debacle an Example of Wrong Way to Target Women

Image: suitecommute.info

ForbesWoman

I recently came across ForbesWoman, a section of Forbes.com that contains news articles for/about businesswomen.  Naturally, I was excited to share this with you all - but then, just as I was about to start blogging, I decided to check and see if Forbes had a section just for men.  I wasn't able to find one.

I even tried running a search for "forbesman."  Interestingly, this is was the result:

Apparently, in the world of the Forbes.com search engine, "Forbes" is akin to "man."  I trust that I'm not the only person who is disturbed by this.  I am, of course, more than willing to admit my mistake if ForbesMan does exist, but somehow, I suspect that it doesn't.

I think it's great that Forbes has a section just for businesswomen - but what about businessmen? Sometimes I think that although they have the very best intentions at heart, institutions like Forbes are only furthering the gender gap by specifically targeting businesswomen.  To me, the creation of a section such as ForbesWoman gives off the impression that women require additional attention because everything else is focused on men (my "forbesman" search results don't exactly prove otherwise).  I'm not trying to attack or accuse Forbes though - I just think that it's section for women is indicative of a larger issue in the business world.

That said, ForbesWoman is clearly worth looking at: the articles are relevant, interesting, and insightful.

eRb

The effects of our decisions

Aristotle once wrote that a tragedy is the imitation of one complete action. If a tragedy is the imitation of one action, it then follows that every event contained within that tragedy is an effect or byproduct of the first action.  In other words, a tragedy may be conceived of as a chain of events stemming from a single action. Aristotle may have been talking about the tragic art form, but his words also seem to ring true for everyday human action: the decisions we make set off a chain of events.

I don't mean decisions like choosing orange juice over grapefruit juice at breakfast - rather, the decisions I have in mind are ones with the potential to significantly affect others.

For example:  Patti Blagojevich has decided to participate in NBC's I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here. Her choice to appear on a reality tv show seems to be a direct result of the charges against her husband, former IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich.  In regards to her decision, Blagojevich, who, like her husband is currently unemployed, told the AP: "I didn't seek this out. And if it wasn't for our financial situation I probably wouldn't consider it. You do what you have to do when you're, you know, a mother of two" (Robinson).

I mention Aristotle and Blagojevich in order to make a larger point, one that I think is often forgotten: the decisions that we make at work affect our life outside of the office and vice versa.

eRb

For more information on Blagojevich's decision, see Mike Robinson (AP)'s article: Blagojevich's Wife to Join Reality Show

For Aristotle's On Poetics, try Seth Benardete and Michael Davis' translation: Amazon.com

Image: oconeetheatre.org

Can you put a price on experience?

The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights is currently auctioning off several items, including an internship at The Huffington Post.  Donated by Arianna Huffington, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Post, the internship is for 2-3 months.  At this time, the highest bid is $13,000.

Although Ms. Huffington's donation is extremely generous and clearly benefiting a good cause, it makes me wonder: can you put a price on experience?  I always thought that experience was priceless but in light of this current auction, it seems I was mistaken.

The eRichards Blogger

To bid on the internship, see: www.charitybuzz.com

For more information on this auction and the RFK Center's other auctions, see:

The RFK Center's Site: www.rfkcenter.org

Internships Hit the Auction Block by Louis Lavelle: businessweek.com

Pay News by Sheila Lennon for the Providence Journal: www.projo.com

Image: http://www.artworldsalon.com/blog/2008/02/online-art-auctions/">artworldsalon.com

A Valuable Lesson

After I posted yesterday, I started to think about the pay disparity that continues to exist between men and women.  I recently met a woman who served as head parishioner at a local church for over a decade.  During her tenure, she hired an assistant parishioner. As it so happens, her assistant was male and earned twice as much as she did.  While this is extremely upsetting, what disturbed me far more was that she told me that she only recently realized the difference (as well as the reason for it) in their salaries - a good five years after she left that particular position.  How is it possible for a woman not to notice that her subordinate is earning more than her on the basis of gender?

Let this woman's story be a lesson for us all: it is our responsibility to ensure that our salaries are appropriate to our positions.

Until next time,

the eRichards blogger

Image: pro.corbis.com

Is the recession beneficial to a woman's career?

The other day, while reading the May issue of U.S. News & World Report, I came across Liz Wolgemuth's "How to Win the New Job Game" (pgs 14-16). In one section, she addresses how the recession is affecting working men and women.  According to Wolgemuth, who cites Department of Labor statistics, "men account for 80% of the jobs lost since February 2008" (16).

Although she is careful to note that this number is "[a result] of steep losses in male-dominated fields like construction and manufacturing," (16) Wolgemuth's words still leave me wondering: could this recession somehow be beneficial to a woman's career?  If women are, in large part, able to retain their jobs, this certainly seems possible.  The employed woman can take the time that her unemployed male colleagues are using to apply for new positions and spend it refining and adding to her skill set.

Something to think about.

Regards,

the eRichards blogger

Image: http://www.emotionalcompetency.com/symmetry.htm">emotionalcompetency.com

On sunny days try drying your laundry outdoors on a clothesline. Not only is it good for brightening your whites, but sunlight is a natural disinfectant. Even if you don't have a clothesline improvise and tie a rope between two trees. If that is not possible, place a collapsible clothes rack in a window or your backyard.

Improving your workspace by keeping the surface clean can help you be more productive. Stepping away from the computer during the day roughly every half hour can also help you be more productive because it prevents eyestrain. If you're bored with your daily activities ask for something else to do. If you hear of an interesting project ask to be on the team and if you do not have the skills required for the project start developing them. Ask people to help you or take a class. The more skills you learn the more value you will provide the company.

Leaders are the driving force that motivate others through their vision, and allow for the managers to step up and create order through controlling costs, establishing goals and plans, monitoring company operations and performance and providing coordination between all members involved. Managers focus on providing detailed plans and schedules to achieve results even to the extent of allocating things such as funds. Leaders can be managers, and managers can be leaders but sometimes there are stark differences between the two. Leaders can be motivating and charismatic, but sometimes can not organize their followers to attain their optimal potential to accomplish goals. On the other hand, managers may be too organized to be charismatic for fear of lightening up too much.

It is absolutely acceptable to take pride and responsibility for your work. There is no shame in taking credit for a job well done, but if it was a group effort be sure to give credit where credit is deserved. Do the right thing and when you are building a team make sure that the credit for a good job is shared amongst everyone involved. When people know that they are going to be given credit for their contributions they will be more inclined to give you a better product.

Even if you are not currently looking for a new job it is important to keep your resume up to date. Including a career summary at the top of your resume is also not a bad idea. When a human resource representative or hiring manager is looking for potential candidates for a job if you can sell them with your summary it is a good thing. The career summary portion should be the most important material and the rest of your resume will provide the details of your already listed skills and accomplishments.

People are showing up for meetings and interviews earlier and earlier and the person he/she is meeting is often not available to meet and greet the person because of other scheduling conflicts. It is never acceptable to show up late, so be on time. Try to arrive about five to ten minutes before the scheduled time. If you do arrive more than ten minutes early, wait in the car or grab a quick cup of coffee. This will help alleviate an awkward situation all around.

H1N1 flu has been the main topic for almost all news outlets the past few days, and it serves as a reminder that we should always be concerned about germs and how easily they can spread. In an effort to contain the H1N1 flu and any other diseases it is important to follow preventative measures such as the following:

·

• Cough and sneeze into your arm or elbow, not into your hands.
• Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after a sneeze or cough.
• Use alcohol based hand sanitizers when available.
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
  
• Avoid contact with others you know to be ill or appear ill.

Stay Healthy!

When people are confident, they usually do better work. It is important to help the people around you build on their individual strengths and work to help eliminate their weaknesses. If people are willing to work on their weaknesses and turn them in to a strength help them help themselves. Monitor their work, and give constructive criticism. Coaching and training can go a long way, so work on building up their confidence so they can continue to be successful for you.