Business Archives

How to Find the Ideal Employee: 5 Tips for Recruiters

How do you find an ideal employee to fit the position that you need filled? What traits and talents would your ideal employee have? It’s not easy to find the ideal fit for a job, especially during the hiring process. While you can’t change the way people present themselves, you can clearly define the talents that describe the ideal worker for the position you’re trying to fill. Think about the following tips as you’re creating your ideal employee profile.

Amazon: Timeline of Events From 2005-2007

In what ways did Amazon grow in the mid-2000s? What big changes came about during these years? The mid-2000s brought about many changes for Amazon. During this time, Amazon entered a war with Zappos, launched Mechanical Turk, relaunched its web services and “fulfillment by Amazon.” It was well on its way to becoming the giant it is today. Below is Amazon’s timeline of events from 2005-2007.

Peter Drucker on Executive Decision-Making

How should executives make decisions? What are some things you can do to streamline your decision-making process? Executives’ decisions significantly affect the entire organization and its performance. Therefore, effectiveness in this area is a must. Management consultant Peter Drucker advocates a five-step approach to executive decision-making. In this article, we’ll first introduce Drucker’s decision-making steps and compare them to other executive decision-making approaches.

First, Break All the Rules: Book Overview

Is Marcus Buckingham’s First Break All the Rules book worth reading? What are its key takeaways? In his book First, Break All The Rules, Marcus Buckingham simply and clearly lays out proven management best practices. Then, he teaches how to hire the right people, create a productive working environment, and guide employees to success. Here is a brief overview of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham.

Is It Possible to Build an Antifragile Business?

How to Develop Your Success Consciousness

Is it possible to build an antifragile business? Why are the stock market and big corporations so naturally fragile? Building an antifragile business is possible, but our economy is currently built on an extremely fragile system—the stock market. Big corporations have no stakes to find better systems when they can just get bailed out by taxpayers. Read more about what it would take to build an antifragile business.

Amazon’s Innovations: A9, Speedy Shipping, and Kindle

What were Amazon’s earliest innovations? Which innovations failed and which went on to be huge successes? 2002 marked the year that Amazon would start focusing on innovation. They launched a web service, revamped their website, created a search engine, rolled out the predecessor to Prime, and released the first Kindle all within two years. Here’s how Amazon’s innovations began.

Micromanagement in the Workplace: Sometimes It’s OK

Is micromanagement always a bad thing? Can overseeing every little detail of employees’ workflow ever be good? Micromanagement is a common practice in modern workplaces. Most of the time, micromanagement is toxic in that it hinders employee performance. However, there are occasions when micromanagement is the way to go. Here’s why managers think they must oversee every detail and when that can actually be helpful.

Peter Drucker’s The Effective Executive: Book Overview

What is The Effective Executive about? What can you do to increase the effectiveness of your organization? In his book The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker argues that effectiveness derives from a set of five practices anyone can learn rather than from unique talents or charisma. Drucker’s five effectiveness practices are as follows: 1) manage your time, 2) focus, 3) make a unique contribution, 4) maximize your strengths, and 5) make sound decisions. This article examines how Drucker’s ideas on effectiveness hold up today and how others have built on them.

Is Amazon a Monopoly? The Unstoppable Business

Is Amazon a monopoly? Why do manufacturers and publishers hate working with Amazon? Why does the public tolerate Amazon even though it has questionable practices? Amazon devalues manufacturer’s products, undermines the book publishing industry, and acquires as many of its competitors as it can. And yet, the public still embraces Amazon because it’s making an offer we collectively can’t refuse. Keep reading to learn about Amazon’s monopoly-like behaviors.

Why Was Amazon So Successful? Early 2000s Timeline

Why was Amazon successful? How did other companies influence Amazon’s growth in the early 2000s? How did “super saver shipping” affect Amazon’s profitability? Although 1999-2001 was a turbulent time in Amazon’s history, the years following held nothing but promise for Amazon’s future. Amazon rolled out its super saver shipping program which boosted their stock prices, integrated more automation, and lowered shipping costs. Continue reading to learn why Amazon was so successful in the early 2000s.