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What makes a supervisor great?
Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThink back over all of the supervisors, bosses and managers for whom you've ever worked. Pick out the ones who were truly exceptional. What characteristics did they have in common? Of all the things that might be named, chances are that you’d find that the best managers consistently performed these two functions effectively.
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Somali pirates are back: How will this affect your supply chain?
Ryan Diller Distribution & WarehousingAt the turn of the decade, Somali pirate attacks on shipping vessels were an international epidemic, with 237 attacks occurring in 2011 alone. Such attacks rapidly dropped off, though, and following the release of 2013's Oscar-nominated "Captain Phillips," the sensation all but disappeared from media coverage.
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Should pharmacies use incentives to encourage transfers?
Jason Poquette Pharmaceutical"Transfer your prescriptions today and get a $25 ABC Pharmacy gift card!" We've all seen this sort of advertising, often employed by a pharmacy just moving into the area to get new customers. And, to some degree, the strategy seems to work. But is it right? Should this sort of approach go on?
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How to shut down bad online reviews
Linchi Kwok Travel, Hospitality & Event Management"Our customers are always right." Even if they are wrong, they could still post bad online reviews or share negative word-of-mouth about a business on social media. And because negative reviews have significant impacts on a business's bottom line, customers will always win, no matter how wrong they can be sometimes.
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Metals Thoughts: The heavy load
Brad Yates Natural ResourcesThe pace of headlines not directly related to President Donald Trump seems to be picking up a bit: Fed hikes, inflation vector shift higher, crude volatility, Brexit, whatever cute name Scottish Exit will get this time, Dutch/French elections, just to name the primary ones.
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America’s sleep deficiency: Resolving the nightmare
Bob Kowalski Mental HealthcareRealizing that Americans are suffering from a lack of sleep is no eye-opener. Just look around classrooms, offices, the car next to you in traffic — the yawns and bleary eyes give it away. In a previous article, we discussed the issues that result from sleep deficiency and the research into the problem plaguing America. The path to our long national nightmare has been complicated, but solutions may be available.
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Something is stirring in the belly of the economy
Paul Zukowski Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThere are a few signs of things taking off in wrong directions in the U.S. economy this month. Then again, some things never change, such as the inability of economists to accurately predict monthly job gains — the Bloomberg survey expected 190,000 in February, while the reality was 235,000.
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Restaurants struggle to remain relevant in fragmented food market
Katina Hernandez Food & BeverageLast year was a rough year for the restaurant business. In 2016, well-known restaurant chains Logan’s Roadhouse, Black-eyed Pea and Johnny Carino's were all forced to file for bankruptcy after experiencing lackluster sales. In fact, 2016 resulted in zero growth for most restaurants, but this downward growth trend is not new. With the economy in its eighth year of recovery, what is keeping Americans from dining out?
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Tenants, beware of landlords with 13-inch rulers
Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield RetailMeasure twice so you only pay once. While representing commercial tenants with leasing matters since 1993, we have found that some landlords are overcharging tenants for more square footage than the tenant actually has. As we explain in our book, this is a common discrepancy in the commercial leasing industry. Are you paying for phantom space?
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Metals Thoughts: Light at the end of the tunnel
Brad Yates Natural ResourcesGold prices are off about $25 in the last week and silver off an impressive $1.50. Our gold longer-term models based on rates and currencies still show some further weakness to come, but I think that with the Fed March hike now priced in and some support from moving averages, it’s more of a mixed bag. We’ve been doing some work here at analyzing prior recent low-volatility regimes and their duration/outcomes, which can be seen in Table 1 of this edition of Metals Thoughts.
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