Why Kaizen Philosophy Works in Lean Principles for Business and Public Sector
Lean thinking has become imperative for business and government. Budgets are strained, but pressure continues to mount for better customer service. The bottom-line: Both the private and public sectors need to save time and money while providing exemplary service – with existing resources. This requires major changes – often, the six steps to implement [...]
[Read more...]8 Strategies When Sales Drop and Costs Cut into Your Profits
If your sales are down and costs are hurting your profits, you’re certainly not alone. This is still not a good economy. Gas prices are hurting business and consumers in many states. The drought has hurt corn production. Prices for peanut butter and coffee have increased. Airlines are adding seats to cut legroom for [...]
[Read more...]13 Management Tips to Solve Employee Absenteeism
Absenteeism causes migraines for a lot of bosses. Obviously, your company will make healthier profits, if you don’t have an absenteeism problem. Check your attendance records. Monday is the most-abused day of the week and January is the worst month for absenteeism. For good reason, employers often cringe because they distrust the reasons some employees call in [...]
[Read more...]Your Supply Chain Can Meet the Expected Standards of Customers, If…
A company that fails to meet customer expectations on store inventory and delivery has problems in supply chain management. Such a company minimizes its profits. Worse, it’s a red flag about competitiveness and long-term sustainability. For many consumers – on a mass basis – expectations of fast service started a few decades ago with McDonalds. [...]
[Read more...]Workplace Bullies May Hurt Retention of All Employees, Not Just Victims
Victims of workplace bullies are less likely to quit than employees who observe the abuse, according to a study by a Canadian university. The 2012 research implies a costly threat to an organization’s teamwork and productivity. “We tend to assume that people experiencing bullying bear the full brunt,” says a professor, Sandra Robinson, who co-authored [...]
[Read more...]Is Your Workers’ Comp Insurance Affordable? See these 5 Worker Safety Tips
Nearly 4 million U.S. workers are hurt annually on the job at a cost to companies in excess of $179 billion. To promote safer workplaces by reducing injuries – resulting in higher productivity – Cintas Corporation has issued five safety tips. “Workplace injuries can occur to any employee regardless of experience, so it’s beneficial to continually review best [...]
[Read more...]Research – Are You Making the Same Mistake as Big Box Retailers?
A high percentage of customer engagement is a valuable objective, and should be the goal of every manager and employees who deal with customers. But how many times has a retail employee asked you: “Did you find everything OK?” Your answer: “No.” Then promptly, the employee fails to do something about it. Well, it’s happened [...]
[Read more...]Human Resources: 4 Reasons Why New Managers Fail
Best practices guarantee success for new managers. Not to over-simplify, but there are often four reasons why new managers are unsuccessful – ineffective communication, failure to develop trusting relationships, weak results, and a failure to delegate. As a new manager or small business owner you’ll quickly learn that labor costs will amount to 50 [...]
[Read more...]Must Read: ‘The Book…on Business from A to Z’
A business book makes a bold promise. It’s entitled, “The Book…on Business from A to Z: The 260 Most Important Answers You Need to Know.” Is this an accurate title? Yes. It’s an authoritative book published in 2012 packed with valuable explanations by a bevy of expert practitioners in 26 chapter topics – important [...]
[Read more...]Overcoming Obstacles for Business Turnaround — 13 Steps
For a successful turnaround of financially troubled businesses, there are usually two obstacles to overcome. They include the ego of the business owner or CEO, and poor advice by the lawyers. It’s difficult for a business owner or CEO to accept the need for a turnaround specialist. Most often, they’re in denial about the [...]
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