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As printed in The Marketplace - 2018 - September/October
Bosses who want superstar employees need to think of them as such, research into the field of “expectancy effects” suggests.
But the physical and verbal cues they present in interactions with workers need to match, says an article in Entrepreneur.com. Employees who are made to believe in their own effectiveness can improve performance by up to 30 per cent, working harder and undeterred by setbacks. Workers seen as mediocre are micro-managed, which leads them to become defensive, reinforcing the tendency to micro-management and undermining their confidence. ◆
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As printed in The Marketplace - 2018 - September/October
An even-handed newspaper “could have run the headline Number of People in Extreme Poverty Fell by 137,000 Since Yesterday every day for the last twenty-five years,” Daniel Pinker notes, citing German economist Max Roser. In his new book Enlightenment Now, Pinker argues that contrary to widely-held views that the world is in ever-worsening shape, things are in fact getting better. There is a fascinating analysis of his argument in an article entitled “The Big Question” in a recent edition of New Yorker magazine. ◆
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By Mike Strathdee
As printed in The Marketplace – July/August 2018
Canadians hold fascinating, and sometimes contradictory, attitudes on overseas development work, an infographic article in Faith Today magazine points out.
More than seven in 10 Canadians take pride in overseas development work supported by Canadians, and 75 per cent say helping even one family or village is worthwhile.
At the same time, more than six in 10 Canadians think Canada should deal with domestic problems before increasing spending abroad, and 69 per cent prefer to donate to charities working within the country rather than on international issues.
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Next time you take garbage to the curb, share a word or a prayer for the person who picks it up. In the US, it is a dangerous profession. Injuries and deaths per total number of workers among trash collectors put them in the top risk level, along with fishermen, roofers and loggers according to a Pro Publica report.
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Not that long ago, a home’s energy efficiency was rated on an ascending scale — the higher the number, the better. Those days are done, and the goal now is to see how low you can go.
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By Mike Strathdee
As Printed in The Marketplace – March/April 2018
“What can you do as a business manager in the world? I would say you can give people employment. If you give a thousand people, or even 20 people, or five people employment, meaningful employment, you are making a great contribution to this world. What is more destructive of human personality than forced idleness? I would think that one of the great incentives of being in business is to make it possible for some people to live, and to live decently, and live well.” — The late J. Lawrence Burkholder in a keynote address to the 1986 MEDA convention
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Ramping up the number of women-owned businesses is key to ending extreme poverty, says World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim.
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Founder-run companies are less well run than those where the management didn’t start the firm, a study by business professors at three US universities concludes.
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Support for longhand writing and reading print publications instead of electronic screens can be found in a recent issue of Fast Company magazine. An article entitled, “This is How the Way You Read Impacts Your Memory and Productivity,” cites studies showing that taking notes by hand helps a person remember content better than if your notes are typed into a smart phone or laptop.