nora akins

August 25, 2011

Uncharted Territory

The worldwide web was made available to the public thirty years ago. In 1997, the first social network site, Six Degrees.com was launched. LinkedIn and MySpace launched in 2003. Facebook finally opened to everyone in 2006, along with Twitter. The term Social Media is frequently used narrowly to describe activity on Social Network Sites. Social Network Sites are web -based services that allow people to construct a personal or professional profile, develop a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and interact with their connections and others’ connections. It’s email on steroids. A survey conducted […]
August 1, 2011

NLRA Affects All Employers

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) died in the Senate in 2009. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is moving ahead, making changes to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that will have a similar effect on employers as EFCA would have.
May 1, 2011

Some Don’t See A Rosy Forecast

The National Association of Business Economics (NABE) claims things are looking up. More people are working and spending. The survey of 72 business economists and policymakers was conducted March 16-31, 2011. The gross domestic product is expected to grow more than two percent this year. Employment prospects are increasing. The NABE respondents are forecasting more employee increases than decreases. Despite the rosy forecast, some companies are struggling to survive. Other companies have strategically used the downturn to effectively reduce their payroll expense. Still others are beginning to feel the negative effects of across the board wage reductions and furloughs. Most […]
April 1, 2011

Energy v. Time

Putting in longer hours over a period of time does not pay off. Loyal managers are literally sick and tired from spending their lives at work. In the industrial age, people were more like machines. More time on a job meant more widgets were made. That no longer holds true in the knowledge age. Tony Schwartz and Catherine McCarthy of The Energy Project have developed an assessment and training process to help people rejuvenate and re-engage at work and in their personal lives. The Energy Project’s ideas are consistent with Stephen R. Covey’s and David Allen’s theories. It’s another view […]