Gemmy S. Allen is Management Coordinator and Faculty at North Lake College, Irving, TX of the Dallas County Community College District. She is the co-author of the textbook Management: Meeting and Exceeding Customer Expectations, published by Cengage. Her awards include being named Outstanding Mountain View College Faculty Member and receiving the Golden Oak Award, Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce; the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Excellence in Teaching Award; and the award for Mountain View College Innovator of the Year. She served as a member of Microsoft Mentors, the Microsoft/Compaq College Advisory Council and the St. Philip’s College Model Electronic Commerce Curriculum Advisory Committee and is founding teacher, Virtual College of Texas — “Internet Teachers at Every College.” In addition, she has co-authored several discipline-specific, Internet-related books, developed several online classes, made numerous presentations to industry, and has led workshops in the United States, Australia and Mexico.
Image source: www.topwebdesignschools.org
Companies use a wide range of types of social media, but Facebook is still the king of social media.
What is your favorite social media? Have you noticed more ads on the social media you frequent? You should have, because more companies are using social media to increase exposure for their business.
Facebook and YouTube are likely to see increased use. How can managers use Facebook and YouTube to manage employees? Would that motivate work teams?
Jason Nazar of Docstoc presented 'Owner vs. CEO Management' for the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. He uses stories about his innovative Dad to represent business owners and compares his Dad's style to that of chief executive officers (CEOs). See the summary below.
Source of graphic: Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonnazar/2013/06/26/owner-vs-ceo-management/
Look at the graphic comparing business owners to CEOs. Would you add anything to this list? Is it better to run your business like an owner or CEO? Explain.
Affirmative action originated in the 1960s as a plan to give members of specific groups priority in hiring or promotion. Laws that mandate affirmative action were passed to end job discrimination. But to get a good job, you need a good education. So, it shifted to college campuses. Race may be used for college admissions, but the vast majority do not consider race in their admission process.
Even if the law doesn't require affirmative action plans, managers of many organizations choose to develop plans which include goals and timetables for achieving greater representation of and equity for protected groups.
What is the importance of affirmative action to organizations today?
We all want to be more organized and productive at work. In this video, Melissa Esquibel, a Microsoft certified trainer and contributing editor for Business Management Daily's Office Technology Today newsletter, shares five tips to save time when using Microsoft Office.
Ms. Esquibel says these 5 tips can save you 24 hours.
Which of these tips have you used? Which one will you start to use?
Share a Microsoft Office tip that has saved you time.
Entrepreneurs are important to the economy of the United States. Thus, the United States government encourages competition. The Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the United States federal government "to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise, and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of the nation." SBA just celebrated 50 years of National Small Business Week. You can sign up for email updates from the SBA. I just received this email with "The top 10 highlights from the National Business Week."
Successful entrepreneurs report that they are more likely to be curious, passionate, self‐motivated, honest, courageous, and flexible. Which of these characteristics do you possess? Do you think you would be a good entrepreneur? Why or why not?
Which of the ten highlights do you find most inspiring?
Human capital was the top concern of global Chief Operating Officers (CEOs) in a recent survey by the Conference Board, a global, independent business membership and research association based in New York. Their mission is "To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society." Actually, human capital or the people thread underlies all of the CEO concerns. Human capital was chosen number one in Asia and in Europe. They see engaged and productive employees as the critical difference in their business. They feel that they can better compete by providing employees with training and development, raising engagement, and retaining top talent.
CEOs in the United States (U.S.) are concerned about
In terms of operational excellence, U.S. CEOs want to reduce costs. They are concerned about employee engagement and how to increase productivity through more motivated and excited employees. In addition to technology in innovation, CEOs want to create a culture of innovation.
Why do the concerns of the U.S. CEOs differ from those of the global CEOs?
Facebook announced in a blog post last week that users will be able to click a hashtag to see a feed of discussions about a particular topic. A hashtag is a word or a phrase prefixed with the symbol #, created by Twitter users as a way to identify their messages. Hashtags identify topics being discussed and allow users to search for them. Even though hashtags did't work on Facebook, many people used them anyway.
Perhaps Facebook managers read research from Nielsen. "Among tablet owners, general Web searches (76%) and general Web browsing (68%) are still among the top second-screen activities. But consumers are also using second screens for activities that are directly related to the content they’re viewing, as almost half of tablet owners look up information about what they’re watching." It seems reasonable to predict that Facebook will incorporate hashtags into its advertising business.
Source: Nielsen http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/newswire/2013/action-figures--how-second-screens-are-transforming-tv-viewing.html
Do you think that Facebook added hashtags to satisfy customers or to make more money from advertisers? Explain.
When do you want to find out what others are discussing? How do you search the conversations?
How could managers use hashtags to communicate with employees?
Creative problem-solving techniques include:
Which technique works best for you to come up with innovative ideas? Tell us about a time you solved a problem.
Lululemon, a company known for its $100 yoga pants, had problems with public relations in March. Customers complained the yoga pants Lululemon was selling were too sheer, and the company eventually removed the pants from store shelves. Thus, the current CEO, Christine Day, plans to leave when a new CEO is named.
The company posted a want ad for a CEO. The fun ad states the following job description, "You report to no one, you are the CEO (duh). You are passionate about doing chief executive officer type stuff like making decisions, having a vision and being the head boss person."
The importance of vision can be seen in goal setting video by Lululemon's founder, Chip Wilson. Attached is his vision and goals worksheet.
How did goal setting improve Chip Wilson's life?
How can using the attached worksheet help you?
Today is Father's Day! Managers profit on the holiday by shifting focus and content to dads. For example, restaurants make Father's Day special to maximize traffic and loyalty. Father’s Day is the third most popular holiday on which to dine, after Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. The National Restaurant Association found that the most important factor in choosing the restaurant for Father's Day was choosing his favorite restaurant, regardless of specials.
How did you celebrate Father's Day with your Dad?
How can managers use their loyalty programs to increase traffic on Father's Day?
A diverse workforce includes people from differing age groups, genders, ethic and racial backgrounds, cultural and national origins, and mental and physical capabilities. We're all familiar with the Golden Rule - treat others as you want to be treated. But, the golden rule of management is to treat others as they want to be treated. In this presentation, Deb Dagit encourages all of us to treat others as they want to be treated. Presentations like this one help managers learn about and understand their employees' differences.
In what ways can managers utilize and celebrate employee differences?
Managers reward loyal customers with discounts. But, first the customer must give the company his or her personal information (such as name, address, telephone number, driver's license number, and email address). Then, the customer gets a card or number. Each time the customer buys something, he or she shows the card or number. The company knows what customers buy, how often they buy, and how much they spend.
One of the first and most successful loyalty programs is American Airlines' AAdvantage frequent flyer program, established in 1981.
But a study by eMarketer says that many users report being wary of certain "creepy" behaviors. See the leading "creepy/weird" ways loyalty programs use personal information in the table below.
Do you use loyalty cards or numbers when you shop? Why?
What are the benefits of using loyalty cards or numbers when shopping?
Are you concerned about your privacy?
How can loyalty program managers keep consumer privacy in mind when targeting offers to customers?
Restaurant Owners Uncorked - Chris Sommers - Train people to replace yourself from Wil Brawley on Vimeo.
In this video, Chris Sommers of Pi Pizzeria and Gringo in St. Louis and Washington, D.C., talks about training.
How has training people enabled him to grow the business? Compare this to what you have learned about training from your management textbooks.
Is he talking about training or development or both? Explain.