Insights: Management

The annual performance review is an excruciating ritual that has been around for a really long time, but, in 2017, it’s just not cool anymore.
It is a 20th century model that just doesn’t work for the 21st century.  Managers see them as time consuming and not always reflecting employees’ real contributions. Employees, especially millennials, can find them demeaning and unfair.
But how can we provide the feedback that is essential to an employee’s growth without a review?   And how can management gather and organize information on employee performance to use in human resources decisions?  

It has become the norm for businesses to incorporate a virtual workforce into their operations.  
Whether a company has geographically dispersed offices, hires employees or freelancers in different cities or countries, or just offers local employees the flexibility to work from home, more and more of us are having to manage remote teams.  
Results of a Gallup survey published earlier this year showed that 43 percent of employed Americans spent at least some time working remotely in 2016.

The Volkswagen emissions scandal figures prominently in the Catalog of Catastrophe that the International Project Leadership Academy has compiled of the most spectacular project management failures in the last 10 years.
The revelation that such a revered and trusted brand had taken previously inconceivable steps to deceive both regulators and the public in the name of profit margins was a shock to the world.

Last week’s announcement that Amazon plans to acquire Whole Foods for 13.7 billion dollars is a big deal.  It’s a big deal on Wall Street (It is Amazon’s biggest acquisition so far and the largest ever merger/acquisition of a US grocery store chain.) And it’s a big deal on Main Street –potentially changing the way American’s buy food in a fundamental way.

With such a huge proliferation of task management, getting things done (GTD) apps, and checklist software, it’s no surprise that many attempts have been made to try to simplify the evaluation and selection process.
But have you ever tried to find something in Capterra, one of the most comprehensive software catalogs out there? There are 50+ software solutions listed in each of the following categories: workflow management, task management, and project management.
How are you supposed to compare or evaluate what’s best for your specific situation? 

The latest data out from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate is at it’s lowest point since the recession and that the labor market is verging on full capacity.
While this is good news for the US economy, it means that you, as an employer, cannot afford to lose even one valuable employee.  Turnover is expensive.  

It’s no surprise that the San Francisco transportation company is currently going through a much needed cultural change following a tough year in the press. But the questions on all our minds are, what will it take to really change Uber’s culture, and will Uber succeed?

When a company is charged with financial statement fraud, the first question asked is “Where were the auditors?”
But auditors can only insure accurate financial reports in a robust business environment where every stakeholder has bought into the importance of internal control procedures and their documentation.
Creating an internal control integrated framework over subjective and complex accounting areas such as revenue recognition, loan impairment and valuation is especially challenging, and insufficient internal control procedures can leave an organization dangerously open to fraudulent financial reporting.

Have you ever heard the word “micromanager” used in a positive sense? Neither have I. A micromanager can really suck the joy — and the success — out of a team.
The funny thing is, this kind of manager probably believes that the over-the-top vigilance is a service to the team and to the organization. But no one does his best work when the boss is constantly looking over his shoulder.

It’s no recent news that BT’s Italian accounting scandal has caused the telecom company’s share value to drop by £8 billion and left 4000 staff unemployed.
PwC’s inability to identify the problems at BT Italia means that in 2018, the accounting company won’t be looking through BT Global’s books for the first time since their IPO 33 years ago.