What’s your motivation?
For many kids, it’s sugar, because it makes them feel happy. According to Gothamist, a new study found that kids crave sugar because a craving is biologically embedded in their brains. It’s a great motivator for kids, because it’s instinctual. So how can this very sweet study be applied to motivating employees? A great motivator makes a big difference in employee satisfaction, but each person is so different that common motivators are hard to define. Read on to learn what a few interesting studies about human nature reveal about employee motivation.
Non-Monetary Awards are Cool
People love tangible goods as [...]

If you have been reading news and kept yourself up-to-date about what is going on in the tech industry, you may have already read the news about Michael Arrington leaving TechCrunch, the company he originally founded. TechCrunch was acquired by AOL last year for $30m, and now the situation arises that the founder Michael Arrington wants out. Recently, there have been disputes between AOL and Michael Arrington regarding TechCrunch’s editorial independence, a summary of related information can be found online. What is in it for an entrepreneur? Read on!
What Happens When You Have Been Acquired
This is a good example of [...]

Bank of America recently announced that it will be charging its customers a new monthly fee for using their debit cards. On top of other fees, millions of Bank of America customers can expect to pay a monthly fee of $5 for making debit card transactions, starting in early 2012. Customer accounts will only be charged if any debit card purchases have been made in a given month, but the news of yet another bank charge has been ill-received by customers. Other large banks, such as Regions Financial Corp. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., are expected to follow suit.
This [...]

Internships are a great opportunity to teach new people about your business and get some extra help for permanent staff members. An effective internship helps the intern get valuable work experience under strong supervision. However, one interesting oversight in the new American Jobs Act is the lack of resources for internships. Since internships help businesses train people, this was huge missed opportunity for the White House. Businesses make interns full-time employees 58% of the time, according one study. Interns will appreciate working for an employer that is patient and can improve their work skills. But how do you create a [...]

The profitability and longevity of a small business depends largely on its pricing strategy. Most commonly, firms think that keeping prices at the lowest is the best strategy to increase revenues and profits; however, it usually results into a price war denting the financial figures badly. Last week, General Mills gave a hint that American cereal market is recovering from a year-long price war which severely hit the profits of Kellogg and Ralcorp.
Generally, there is a great difference between the pricing strategies of a big company and that of a small business. Large companies have historical data and statistics, something [...]

The recent Forrester Business Forum explored ways to improve business processes. The forum invited leaders from a variety of businesses to talk about business process improvement. Business processes include purchasing, accounting, and other activities that contribute to success. Re-evaluating your business processes can change your profitability, productiveness and working environment.
Making Big Changes
Change is scary, but can pay off.  One great example of business process change is Apple’s constant iPhone and iPod innovations. Apple’s upcoming iPhone 5 will be the fifth one since 2007. Though we’re used to new products rolling out every few months or so, the computer industry used [...]

A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses business solutions to create and direct an enterprise to achieve change. The main aim of social entrepreneurship is to positively impact these problems but also make a profit. It may be difficult to define social entrepreneurship as they often resemble a nonprofit entity. Many commercial enterprises are committed to social objectives but there is the underlying motivation to add value to the company. They seek to provide financial benefit to investors but also fulfill their philanthropic goals. One example is the company Ecosrcaps which collects tons of food waste every day [...]

Moneyball offers some amazing lessons on the importance of statistics in business. The film made baseball statistics compelling by showing how old-school managers had to be persuaded to stop using faulty instincts and biases and start evaluating their teams based on statistics. This changed the face of the game and made Billy Beane, a former player, the poster boy for using statistics in business. Beane’s method was so revolutionary he was designated one of the top sports executives in history, according to Sports Illustrated. Though the critically acclaimed book and film are about sabermetrics, performance statistics in professional baseball, the [...]

Romney and Perry were throwing blows at each other during the latest GOP debate. Not actually fisticuffs, of course. They were each attacking the credibility of their opponent. They did this by bringing up inconsistencies in the words and actions of the other. Whether or not there was a winner in this rock throwing contest is debatable, but they did highlight an important issue that is not limited to the politics ring: consistency is the key to creating a credible image.
Kim Foley, CEO of Professional Image Strategies in Betheseda, Maryland says, “Being consistent is a key ingredient in building trust, [...]

A new study by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that only 25% of companies use social networking sites like LinkedIn to fill new positions and complete other tasks. That still leaves half of all businesses that are reluctant to use social networking. Social networking is simply the online version of doing this like advertising for a new position or getting a referral to a new client. If you don’t have a strong presence online, you could miss many opportunities to find employees and develop new business. Use a few of the following hacks to make it work for [...]