Saw the programme last week about the rainforest in Guyana. I thought the concept of making the rainforest valuable standing rather than when it is chopped down is so important. I am going to investigate further what is being done about this, as it seems so sad that the President of Guyana is prepared to agree to protect these important forests if we richer countries will help them out a bit, yet nothing much seems to be happening.

I did find the following:

http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=5913...

Stephanie

Video based business advice from world experts now available on Bizface with yourBusinessChannel

We are of course trying to grow BizFace and develop innovative new ways of supporting our members. I give below the press release regarding the new service we have launched.

Online business TV packed with tips and advice from some of the biggest names in business is now available on Bizface, thanks to a new agreement with leading business content producer yourBusinessChannel....

Stephanie

Had yet another meeting last week where the top guns were telling me about the failings in their outsourcing project. Many times now I have sat in meetings and heard depressing stories about the real problems faced after an outsourcing transfer.

Recently Zurich did warn that organisations should ‘prepare for two years of IT disruption’ when they outsource. However, this type of press is rare. Most of the conversations I have are absolutely dire, with very poor performance and real...

Stephanie

So the Shell drivers are striking because they have had enough of relatively low pay - squeezed by their employer ever since they were transferred in an outsourcing deal.

Clearly someone at Shell decided that driving tankers was not their 'core' business, and/or that they could do this more cheaply if they could transfer it to another company who 'specialises' in this sort of thing.

Research shows that, particularly in service jobs such as driving, cleaning, catering, outsourcing...

Stephanie

Reading Roys blog about the use of Blackberrys made me think about one of my other interest areas - the psychology of the use of technology. I have placed a few notes in the psychology forum, but thought a blog would be appropriate.

I have just joined technocrati
Technorati Profile

and it made me think also about the links between these types of electronic social networks, and PDA's and other handhelds that further help us to keep in touch.

There was...

Stephanie

We were talking today about the importance of stewardship of the earth. The question was raised about why we need to continually 'sell' people on the benefits to them of saving the planet. How switching things off will in the long run be 'good for them as individuals'. The discussion was around the inherent selfishness in all this - what happened to good old stewardship - the idea that we should look after our world because it is the right thing to do?
It made me think about my work as a business...

Stephanie

Today I had to delete a number of posts on the guest forum which were clearly against our ethical code - either adult content, selling arms, or sexual drugs.

It is amazing how quickly the culprits found the open area - we purposely left the guest room unmoderated and put in a poll to see what sort of things guests and members liked on the site. Before we knew it we were having to delete posts like mad. I have set it to moderate now, which I do not like having to do because it feels...

Stephanie

This is an area I still feel is overlooked. I started researching on this because talking to IT people for another study a number of them told me they had been outsourced and that it had been a difficult time for them.

I wondered why IT people would stay to be transferred to an organization that was not of their choosing. I found the whole concept of being 'moved' almost like a piece of machinery, a bit concerning. But I kept an open mind and started to interview people about their...

Stephanie

Myths and Realities of Outsourcing

Outsourcing has been written about in some management journals as if it was a ‘must do’ process. There has been much hype about the need to focus on core competencies, the drives for cost reduction, the ability to access top quality staff and the latest technology, and therefore gain competitive edge. We refer to these as the myths of outsourcing to highlight the need for a critical stance. Outsourcing can work for some, but not for all. So is outsourcing...

Stephanie

I have finally got round to filling in my expense forms today. I don't know why but it is the one thing I really hate doing, it feels very similar to the 'watching paint dry' idea. It seems to have little purpose (other than to get a bit of money back, which is of course important and yet does not feel motivating).

It makes me think of the complaints one hears from a range of professionals; teachers, police etc (mostly in the public sector?) about all the forms they have to fill...

Stephanie

Chatting to some chamber members yesterday and it was suggested that technology is the main reason we are all so stressed out. Job losses, insecurity and so on were also laid at the door of new technology (is that good English?). So has it made our lives easier or turned our world into a nightmare?

Well, I agree people's expectations are much greater now - they know we have instant access to emails anywhere (almost) in the world, and that most of us have mobile phones on 24/7 (except...

Stephanie

I received an invoice today for a service we no longer need. I will not mention the company as this is just one example of things that seem to go on all the time. Written on the invoice was a clear note 'If you no longer need these services then please contact us on the telephone number above'.

So I duly rang the number, and went through two separate message systems, being warned at the beginning that I must listen carefully as the messages had changed, I did so dutifully.
...

Stephanie

Back from a weekend away in Paris to find lots of people have been looking at BizFace but no new members since Friday. Now I know this is a business site, but people were still looking during the weekend, so what puts them off joining? It is fast and simple, we have a good reason for wanting people to join as it helps us ensure no spammers or rudeness etc. We have assured everyone that their emails etc., will not be sold-on, so what is going on?

The psychology of this is probably...

Stephanie