The relationship between boss and subordinate is often littered with distrust, game-playing and even dislike. For example, according to a study by Florida State University, 39 percent of workers said their supervisor didn’t keep a promise, 37 percent said the boss withheld credit, and 23 percent said their supervisor blamed others to cover up mistakes or to minimize embarrassment.But bosses aren’t the only ones who lie. Subordinates also do things to erode the trust so essential to good working relationships. This survey reveals most workers have lied to their bosses about something, like the reason for a day off, why they’re late or why they’re missing a deadline.So a lot of lying is going on in the office. That’s life, right? While some lying is essential to making the...
Last Thursday night at 6:30 p.m., I joined a group of female entrepreneurs determined to learn the secrets of eliminating stress from our lives. It was smack in the middle of rush hour and few of us arrived right on schedule. The remainder trickled in over the next half hour, with each latecomer exuding a look that said, “My life is so busy that it is hard to be punctual even for a destressing workshop.” We filed into the conference room at In Good Company Workplaces and then Jennifer Edwards, a “stress reduction educator” with a background in dance, meditation and yoga, asked us to go around the table introducing ourselves along with a statement about why we think we were all so stressed. It went something like this:See full...
The auditing profession pay females nearly 5% less than their male counterpartsFemale auditors receive nearly 5% less than their male counterparts, research by audit recruiter Longbridge Search & Selection has found.Men in audit earn an average £68,492 a year compared with £65,189 for women while women in junior roles are paid about 9% less than men at £45,509. A man doing the same job earns an average of £50,048.However, women are taking home slightly more money in senior in-house audit positions which carry an average salary for women at £87,056 compared with £86,936 for men.See full...
Newly created positions such as chief compliance officer are being created to help the ever burdened chief financial officer.Sarbanes Oxley and other regulations have meant that CFOs just don't have enough hours in the day to keep up, says Peter McLean, vice chairman of recruiting firm Spencer Stuart.Some companies that have long had CFOs are now creating compliance positions including roles for a financial controller, the Wall Street Journal reported.McLean says that the search for corporate controller positions had jumped nearly 40% on last years' figures.'These positions add a level of expertise to the compliance role, and it frees up the chief financial officer to tackle the jobs that they are really expert at, such as the financial analysis involved in the business operations,'...
Why every company needs a fun strategyAs the economic gloom deepens, the last thing the typical boss will feel like doing right now is laughing. So it is anyone’s guess what he or she will think of a new book that makes the case for humour in the workplace—and not just the gallows sort.“The Levity Effect”, by Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher, argues for lightening things up with such earnestness that it would pass for a spoof by the writers of “The Office”, a wonderful sitcom that revolves around a boss’s excruciatingly awkward attempts at jocular banter with the staff. Indeed, one of the book’s “142 Ways to Have Fun at Work” is to hold a “marathon of ‘The Office’ at the office. Gather everyone to watch the best episodes of NBC’s hit show during lunch for a...
The signs are not good for Australian working women who have babies.The Age published a letter proposing: "Now that pregnancy leave is a reality for most female members of the workforce, steps should be taken to protect the jobs of these women by halving their annual leave entitlements."The writer, from Mornington, believed paid maternity leave was soon to become a reality for all women and that his plan, under which half of women's annual leave would be held in trust to be used when they became pregnant, would protect them from becoming "virtually unemployable".See full...
Date: 22 April 2008Venue: CCT Venues, London, UKDescription:Are you one of those people who can go to an event, conference or party and routinely come back with new business or career opportunities?If you are, then you probably don’t need us.But if you’re not, and you’d like to be able to turn a handful of business cards into something more useful than wood pulp, then our ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ networking workshop is for you.Even if you already know who you want to meet and why, where and when you want to meet them, and what you hope to gain by doing so, a lot of us fall down over how best to do it.Using role play and other interactive exercises, we’ll give you tips and tricks to help you connect with the right person and get the most out of ‘cold’ and ‘follow up’...
There, in the TV studio the same morning as me recently, was Dame Carol Black, launching her report, Working for a Healthier Tomorrow, looking fit, as you would expect of a post-retirement age long-distance walker and runner.Black rightly argues that keeping people in work is infinitely better for their health than a sick-note culture that ingrains incapacity. However, on present trends, by 2050 life expectancy for men born after 1985 will be 93. And while not everyone agrees that working longer would be part of the solution to the problem of funding their pensions, it does highlight the fact that health and fitness is now undeniably a business issue. For skills scarsities make it all the more important that older people don't become a massive wasted resource: without them, our...
The auditing profession pay females nearly 5% less than their male counterpartsFemale auditors receive nearly 5% less than their male counterparts, research by audit recruiter Longbridge Search & Selection has found.Men in audit earn an average £68,492 a year compared with £65,189 for women while women in junior roles are paid about 9% less than men at £45,509. A man doing the same job earns an average of £50,048, according to Accountancy Magazine.However, women are taking home slightly moreSee full...
Executive compensation has been criticized both for being too generous, and for encouraging excessive risk-taking relative to the desires of stockholders. Yet while there are links between the level of pay and the amount of risk chosen, these are mainly distinct issues. Executives may be paid little, but the pay can be structured to have a much better payoff when profits are high than when profits are low. In this case, the average level of pay over both good and bad times would not be particularly generous, but its structure would tend to encourage risk-taking behavior. On the other hand, a CEO's pay might be excessively high on average, but not appreciable better when his company does well than when it does badly. He would be overpaid, but he would not have a financial incentive to take...
For many years economists didn't think so.In 1974, and again in 1995, Richard Easterlin, now of USC, famously showed that self-reported measures of happiness hadn't risen in Japan, Europe and the United States even after years of economic growth.But more recent work has questioned that result, and now Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers of Wharton have taken another crack at the data and found evidence that life satisfaction did in fact increase as the economy grew for both Europe and Japan. The United States remains the odd-nation out, however.In the case of Japan, Stevenson and Wolfers found evidence that subjective well-being grew through 1992 but has since declined, coinciding with Japan's recession in the 1990's and slow recovery sinceSee full...
The rate of obesity in the United States has doubled in the last 30 years, and those extra pounds weigh on companies' bottom lines, according to a new report from The Conference Board. Today, 34 percent of American adults fit the definition of "obese." Obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion annually in medical expenditures and work loss.In a new report, Weights and Measures: What Employers Should Know about Obesity, The Conference Board examines the financial and ethical questions surrounding whether, and how, U.S. companies should address the obesity epidemic. The report was featured today on Marketplace, public radio's popular business program."Employers need to realize that obesity is not solely a health and wellness issue," says Labor Economist Linda...
The latest E&Y report highlights the changing role of CFOs of global banks in the wake of the credit crisisCFOs of global banks must sharpen their focus on strategic issues rather than monitor and report financial information, according to a report by Ernst & Young and CFO Research Services.Rapid growth in the industry has led to financial operations which have become disjointed and inefficient and only when CFOs can improve the financial operations, can they become true strategic partners, help evaluate new products, provide leading indicators on business performance and drive merger and acquisition opportunities.See full...
While rumour should not be the basis for decision making, it is good to see the head of an asian company considering his responsibilities and taking action.Onésimo Alvarez-MoroSee article:Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee said Friday that he will consider structural and management changes -- including his own position -- over a corruption scandal that has rocked South Korea's biggest industrial conglomerate."I will deeply think about reshuffling the corporate management structure and the management lineup, including myself," Lee told reporters after a second round of questioning by an independent counsel probing allegations of bribery and other wrongdoing.Asked if that meant he would resign, Lee said he "will think about it."The independent counsel, sanctioned by South Korea's National...
Moving past tokenism and box checking opens doors to more diversityFor those of us who monitor the number of women in the executive suite and boardroom, the announcement that Meg Whitman was stepping down as CEO of eBay after a long run was a disappointment. But, the very fact that gender was not prominently featured in the reporting on her departure is a measure of progress, because it was no longer deemed relevant. What is significant is the steady stream of evidence that diversity in the executive suite and boardroom makes plain economic sense. Looking at return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital, Fortune 500 companies with the largest number of women directors significantly outperformed those with the least representation, according to a Catalyst report in late...
Women in South Korea are slowly changing a corporate culture that lags behind the rest of the countrySouth Koreans are a bit conflicted about career women. Gender wasn't much of an issue in the selection of a female astronaut to fly this month on the country's first space mission. But when women are seeking workaday corporate jobs, some South Korean men still resist change. Outer space is one thing, but a woman in the next cubicle is something else.For years, most educated women in South Korea who wanted to work could follow but one career path, which began and ended with teaching. The situation started to change after the 1998 Asian financial crisis. Thousands of men lost their jobs or took salary cuts, and their wives had to pick up the slack by starting businesses in their homes or...
* A strong majority of executives around the world expect a slowdown in the United States to have a negative effect on their national economies, according to the latest McKinsey Global Survey on economic conditions. And nearly 90 percent report at least a moderate linkage between those economies and the US economy. * Outside China, India, and other developing markets, far more executives say that the linkage between their national economies and the US economy has loosened rather than tightened over the past three years. * Overall, respondents expect economic conditions in their countries and industries to deteriorate in the near term: inflation fears have risen, and hiring prospects are creeping downward.See full Report (registration...
Everyone knows what blue-collar and white-collar jobs are, but now a job of another hue — green — has entered the lexicon.Presidential candidates talk about the promise of “green collar” jobs — an economy with millions of workers installing solar panels, weatherizing homes, brewing biofuels, building hybrid cars and erecting giant wind turbines. Labor unions view these new jobs as replacements for positions lost to overseas manufacturing and outsourcing. Urban groups view training in green jobs as a route out of poverty. And environmentalists say they are crucial to combating climate change.No doubt that the number of green-collar jobs is growing, as homeowners, business and industry shift toward conservation and renewable energy. And the numbers are expected to increase greatly...
In nine years, CEO Larry Bossidy pushed AlliedSignal from a struggling enterprise with only a 10.5% equity return to a powerhouse that delivered a ninefold return for shareholders.In nine years, CEO Larry Bossidy pushed AlliedSignal from a struggling enterprise with only a 10.5% equity return to a powerhouse that delivered a ninefold return for shareholders. How? He made finding and developing great leaders his personal top priority—spending virtually 40% of his time on it.It's impossible to spend too much time on leadership development, Bossidy proclaims—after all, it's top-flight leaders who make a business great. Yet many CEOs skimp on this responsibility (at best) or delegate it (at worst).Bossidy's secret? A hands-on approach to cultivating his firm's future leaders.If your firm...
As a newly minted C.E.O., you may think you finally have the power to set strategy and full access to the finer points of your business. But if you expect the job to be as simple as that, you're in for an awakening.You’re the new C.E.O.—and you’ve come face-to-face with these paradoxes: The more power you have, the harder it is to wield without demoralizing other managers. You bear full responsibility for your company’s fate, but you don’t control most of what determines it.So how will you succeed? First confront the unforeseen challenges of your job. A sampling: You’re not really the boss—the board is. As your company’s biggest celebrity, you’ll see your every word and deed instantly spread, amplified, or misinterpreted. And you can’t run the entire company—you just...
Narcissistic leaders are essential during times of transition."What's the difference between Larry Ellison and God? God doesn't believe he's Larry." So quips an executive about Oracle's larger-than-life leader. Charisma, vision—and, yes, big ego—define many larger-than-life leaders—Jack Welch, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs—who adorn today's business-magazine covers.Such "narcissistic" leaders are essential during times of transition. Gifted strategists and courageous risk-takers, they inspire others and drive their organizations toward a compelling future.See full...
Women’s leadership style is ideally suited to today’s business challenges. Increase your firm's competitive prowess by tackling the obstacles to women’s progress.Women occupy 40% of all managerial positions in the United States. But only 6% of the Fortune 500's top executives are female. And just 2% of those firms have women CEOs.We've long blamed such numbers on the "glass ceiling," the notion that women successfully climb the corporate hierarchy until they're blocked just below the summit. But the problem stems from discrimination operating at all ranks, not just the top, say Eagly and Carli.Therefore, to move more women into your company's executive suite, you must attack all barriers to advancement simultaneously. For example, prepare women for line management with demanding...
The brutal demands of ambitious careers, the asymmetries of male-female relationships, and late-in-life child-bearing difficulties conspire against ultra-achieving women.Anyone who believes that women in the United States can have high-powered careers and families should consider these sobering statistics from economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett's January 2001 survey:49% of ultra-achieving career women (earning more than $100,000) ages 41–55 are childless.33% of high-achieving career women (earning $55,000–$66,000) ages 41–55 are childless; 57% are unmarried.By contrast, the more successful a man is, the more likely he has a spouse and children. Only 19% of ultra-achieving men are childless and 17% unmarried.See full...
Desperately seeking a C.E.O.—or other top executive? Ask hard questions to measure candidates’ soft qualities.Everyone knows the right leaders can make or break a company. And no one wants to fire a chief executive and search for another. So why have one-third of Fortune 100 companies replaced their C.E.O.s since 1995? And why are chief executives appointed after 1985 three times more likely to be fired than those appointed before 1985?Hypercompetition, market volatility, and billion-dollar mergers all worsen C.E.O. churning. But the underlying culprit is the self-defeating way boards select leaders. They pick the wrong people because they don’t understand what real leadership is—or how to find it.Most boards—and many others hiring top-level managers—look for quantifiable...
With the job getting tougher, one in four Fortune 1,000 companies bid adieu to its finance leader in 2007 aloneFor large-company finance chiefs considering job switches, the good news is that a lot of CFO positions are opening up. The bad news is that those who land one of them might not have it for long.In 2007 almost a quarter of the CFO posts at Fortune 1,000 companies — 234 of them, to be precise — were open at some point during the year, according to new data from executive-search firm Heidrick & Struggles.advertisementTo be sure, only about 22 percent of those remained unfilled at the beginning of 2008, and more were filled shortly thereafter. But the churn rate continues to be high, with 33 new openings in just the first few weeks of the year. As of February 29, 47 of the big...
An eye roll, a glare, a dismissive snort — these are the tactics of the workplace bully. They don’t sound like much, but that’s why they are so insidious. How do you complain to human resources that your boss is picking on you? Who cares that a co-worker won’t return your phone calls?Bullying in the workplace is surprisingly common. In a survey released last fall, 37 percent of American workers said they had experienced bullying on the job, according to the research firm Zogby International.Unlike the playground bully, who often resorts to physical threats, the work bully sets out on a course of constant but subtle harassment. It may start with a belittling comment at a staff meeting. Later it becomes gossip to co-workers and forgetting to invite someone to an important work...
Divide and rule, generating conflict to create a more competitive environment, pushing people hard to help them fulfil their potential – there has always been a fine line between challenging, motivational management and bullying.But according to new research, managers who step over that line do more harm than if they were sexually harassing their team.A study by Canadian academics has concluded that a bullying culture of belittling comments, persistent criticism and withholding of resources can inflict more damage on employees than even sexual harassment.The research looked at 110 studies conducted over 21 years and compared the consequences of employees' experience of sexual harassment and workplace aggression.See full...
No big British company has dared to give the titles of chairman and chief executive to one person, as is commonplace in the US. But whatever the role is called, plenty are experimenting with “non-non-executive chairmen”: HSBC, ITV, Cable and Wireless – and now Marks and Spencer.As plastic bag manufacturers have just found out, where M&S leads, others follow. That makes the retailer’s decision to elevate Sir Stuart Rose to executive chairman notable. Whether it should be adopted more widely is another matter.The FTSE 100’s non-non-execs are hardly a homogeneous bunch. They include a trio of natural resources chiefs – founders or big shareholders in Kazakhmys, Vedanta Resources and Antofagasta – who spend more time outside the UK than in it. But it is as hard to imagine one...
More women enter the workforce, but more than half of all working women are in vulnerable jobsMore women are working than ever before, but they are also more likely than men to get low-productivity, low-paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights nor voice at work according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO) issued for International Women’s Day.“Global employment trends for women – March 2008” (Note 1), released on the occasion of International Women’s Day, says that the number of employed women grew by almost 200 million over the last decade, to reach 1.2 billion in 2007 compared to 1.8 billion men. However, the number of unemployed women also grew from 70.2 to 81.6 million over the same period.“Women continue to enter the world’s...
In their efforts to build a pipeline of capable leaders, organizations commonly overlook a critical consideration—the ability to learn from experience, especially the kind that shapes and refines a leader. Here's how to equip aspiring leaders to mine those experiences — continuously and intensively.No matter how good its current leadership is, an organization must also have a pipeline of future leaders in place if it aspires to sustained high performance. This conclusion has been reinforced throughout Accenture's High Performance Business research—particularly in our case studies of companies as diverse as Harrah's Entertainment, Constellation Energy, Marriott International and UPS.¹What's not so clear, however, is how organizations that aspire to sustained high performance can go...