thinking ethically - TAINTED BY ASSOCIATION

   The World Wildlife Federation periodically issues a report called Deeper Luxury. The purpose of the report is to reveal what they call an ESG performance ( i.e., environmental, social and governance is what is reviewed). The Deeper Luxury report focuses on the fashion industry.   It is not surprising that such an organization might spend some real effort in this area when reminded of such media scandals in the relatively recent past as the wide variety of sweatshops, child labor issues, blood diamonds, garments made from endangered species, and so forth.
   The report maps out many reasons, and many excuses. Among the various rationale includes such considerations as they need to compete (particularly the smaller or startup designers versus the larger or more established houses) and to the notion that under certain circumstances consumers tend to look the other way. Consider the pressure from the latter arena, when counterfeiting is now widely estimated to account for as much as 10% of the world's consumables coupled with more than 30% of consumers willing to buy knock off items.
   Fortunately, the WWF understands the business of business and offers up two approaches to address the issue. One approach is to extend the cachet that luxury tends to be all about being the best. It posits, for example, structures like a certification acknowledging safe and ethical practice, say for gold mining, and marketed as such. This would be analogous to the consumer paying a little more in the organic food movement within the agricultural industry. If that doesn’t work they can always call out the celebrities associated with hawking the stuff.

World Wildlife Fund for Nature. (2007). Deeper Luxury. Retrieved August 31, 2010, from http://www.wwf.org.uk/deeperluxury/_downloads/DeeperluxuryReport.pdf

Questions

   1. Imagine that you work in the fashion industry. How would you react to a designer’s new line when you find part of what you’ll be marketing has “questionable origins”? How, if at all, would your response change if you worked for a manufacturer?
   2. What ethical criteria should you apply to making selection decisions involving people who include in their databases sourcing contacts with which you and/or your organization have ethical issue?
   3. How important is it to you to work only for organizations with high ethical standards? Why does it (or does it not) matter to you?

Inbound marketing

  This is a quick little review of an audio book by Brian Halligan, and Darmesh Shah.
   I found the book to be a wonderful resource, very comprehensive, and something I'll probably look for in print just so I have a ready resource that I can actually open up. However, I emphatically do not recommend the audio book. The narrator, Erik Synnestvedt, had such a postured affectation that I could hardly push my way through listening to it all.
   I likely will not pursue much more of this technology than I already have; primarily because at this point I would probably need to have my own business or be an ad agency to push the technologies much further than I already have.
   So all in all, good reference, even worth pursuing if you're business or agency, but buy it in print - do not try listening to it.

Estonian Museum of Applied Art & Design - Eesti Tarbekunsti & Design

Estonian Museum of Applied Art & Design



   The northernmost of the Baltic states, Estonia shares a unique heritage with its Baltic sibs. Balts tend to be spare, brilliant and cultured. Tallinn’s the capital city, if I recall, and looks enchanted. I would have imagined the world would have jumped all over the Baltic states investment-wise after the fall of the iron curtain, but the world economy never seemed to gain enough traction. Still, you could likely buy today a beachfront lot for under $20K USD. I’m just sayin’
   Anyway, I once was quite taken with a Latvian lass; so I spent some time studying the area. Before I saw the website I imagined the Applied Art of the Museum to be as inspiring, insightful and clever as anyone might expect. I also imagined it to be centric to the region.
   Nailed it. Except the advert-type media and the tech-based applied arts seemed non-existent. It is a respectable and worthy stroll through the craftier side of the applied arts. The design images feature some fashion and furniture (though there is a separate furniture section); which affords connection to interior design. There is also jewelry and metal, ceramics and porcelain, glass, furniture, leather & textiles.
   If I may be so presumptuous I’d suggest adding the distinction between crafts and applied arts, separating the collections and building up the holdings in game design, animation, illustration, graphic design, multimedia and the like.
   Nonetheless, the museum is a delightful stop in cyberspace; and at least the Estonians have made that much of an effort!

http://www.etdm.ee/en/

info@etdm.ee

Address: 17 Lai St Tallinn 10133

Estonia

Tel: 372 627 4611

Fax: 372 6274601

English to Estonian translation

Eesti Tarbekunsti & Design


   Põhjapoolsem Balti riikide, Eesti aktsiate ainulaadse pärandi oma Balti sibs. Baltlased kipuvad olema vaba, särav ja kultiveeritud. Tallinna pealinnas, kui mäletan, ja ootab nõiutud. Ma oleksin arvanud maailmas oleks hüppas kogu Baltikumi investeeringute-tark langemise järel raudse eesriide, kuid maailmamajandus ei paistnud, et saada piisavalt veojõukontroll. Ikka, sa võiksid tõenäoliselt osta täna beachfront palju alla $ 20K USD. Ma lihtsalt ütlesin "
   Igatahes, ma ükskord oli üsna võtta koos Läti tütarlaps, nii ma veetsin aega õppimise valdkonnas. Enne kui ma nägin kodulehel Kuvittelin tarbekunsti muuseum olema nii inspireeriv, insightful ja targad nagu keegi oleks võinud arvata. Olen ka arvanud, et see on keskne piirkonda.
   Naelutatud ta. Välja arvatud reklaam-tüüpi meedia ja tech-põhise tarbekunsti tundus olematu. See on lugupeetud ja väärt jalutama kaudu craftier pool tarbekunsti. Disain pilte funktsioon mõned moe ja mööbel (kuigi on olemas eraldi mööbli osa); mis annab ühendus interjööriga. On ka ehteid ja metall, keraamika ja portselan, klaas, mööbel, naha-ja tekstiili.
   Kui ma nii jultunud Soovitan lisades vahet käsitöö ja tarbekunsti, eraldades kollektsioonide loomisel osaluse mäng disain, animatsioon, illustratsioon, graafiline disain, multimeedia jms.
   Siiski muuseum on veetlev peatus küberruumis ning vähemalt eestlased on teinud, et palju jõupingutusi!

http://www.etdm.ee/en/

info@etdm.ee

Aadress: Lai 17 St Tallinn 10133

Eesti

Tel: 372 627 4611

Faks: 372 6274601

eHRM (chapter 11)

   In the late 1990’s the Western Hemisphere Finance Ministers, the World Bank and the Center for Latin American Monetary Studies along with other experts worked with the Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems, and all the various South American countries central banks to review best practices and determine what might be possible vis-à-vis electronics and currency; e-commerce, remittances, deposits and transfers. High value and low value systems were weighed, precedent elsewhere was reviewed and the entirety of considerations regularly tweaked. Technologies and infrastructure grew along with the implementation, starting in 1999. By 2007 the majority of South America was established with the ability to deal in electronic currency.
   Imaging for the creation and implementation of cash management software, and similar new opportunities arose consequently. While a new paradigm may bring with it new challenges, it also brings new opportunities; and such security is certainly among them.
   Speed, naturally, was a sought after advantage. Among the so-called low value transactions, this found ACH, automated clearinghouses, making transnational interbank transactions quicker; indeed, if not for the first time.
   Many countries through vigorous support behind this movement. In 2003 / 2004 the Ecuadorian government made it a policy that all vendor and salary payments be made in this manner. In 2007, the Panamanian government moved nearly a quarter billion public employees to ACH payment systems.
   Speed was not the only primary driver. Other significantly important factors include reduced cost and sustainability.


Nancy Russell; N Russell Associates. (2008). Modernizing Payment Systems: Progress and Opportunity in Latin America (web based white paper as pdf ). Retrieved from N L Russell Associates: http://www.nlrussellassociates.com/pdfs/Modernizing_Payment_Systems.pdf

video resume

   The blog continues to bounce around. Today is an example of Self marketing; having just made a video resume. Constructive critique welcome as usual.

Paying well as a productive strategy

   Incentives are being rethought throughout contemporary business literature, and in some companies the notion of being more equitable with the profits has already begun to gain traction. The idea is that if you want to keep talent (let alone grow talent, an ever-growing problem on our ever more mobile planet) a company need to make its self sticky; worth sticking with.
   Google famously treats their employees very well. According to a 2007 study by the Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc. Google offers its employees:
• Up to $8,000/year in tuition reimbursement
• On-site perks include medical and dental facilities, oil change and bike repair, valet parking, free washers and dryers, and free breakfast, lunch and dinner on a daily basis at 11 gourmet restaurants
• Unlimited sick leave
• 27 days of paid time off after one year of employment
• Global Education Leave program enables employees to take a leave of absence to pursue further education for up to 5 years and $150,000 in reimbursement.
• Free shuttles equipped with Wi-Fi from locations around the Bay Area to headquarter offices.
• Classes on a variety of subjects from estate planning and home purchasing to foreign language lessons in French, Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin.
   While that may be over the top for most corporations just beginning to consider such a direction, many are making the effort. The British Vodaphone Group has operations in 26 countries. In a scheme called Allshares they distribute shares of company stock to all of its employees. Employees can buy additional share without being taxed, as well. At its Italian operations employees received a free bank account through which they’re able to check and track the activity associated with their shares. Naturally, this has immediate buy-in symbolism. As employees are part owners, they literally have a stake in the company’s success.

Great Place to Work® Institute, Inc.. (2007). Why Google is #1. Retrieved from http://www.greatplacetowork.com/

Vodafone Omnitel, Italy: Make work pay – make work attractive. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/qualityofwork/betterjobs/cases/it04vodafone.htm

Why Google is #1. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresources.greatplacetowork.com%2Farticle%2Fpdf%2Fwhy_google_is_no._1.pdf&ei=En12TNTxCYP_8AbtjvW1Bw&usg=AFQjCNFZa1Dwp8WONtZ96GPrThLeyHBt8g&sig2=7Zr96pcT7ZlYRfdVMQKXgg

what may yet occur

   One of the things I have noticed about the economic playing field is that while the US has been stalled, Asia has generally made gains. The implications for off shoring talent are that the dynamic is evening out. I spoke of this in an earlier post. The result should be that we’re not losing as much manual effort to overseas as we would have, but is there any evidence of this?
   I do not see any evidence of this, and in large measure, this is likely due to the overall global economy not moving as it had in better times.
   It seems what we may see are consortiums, collectives, groups of freelancers that band together to create affiliations to share larger projects. Of course, this will also play into the evening of pay.
   Well, it’s all conjecture; so, we’ll see. But that’s the way it seems to me.

IP (our tomorrow)

   Back in June I had bookmarked something to get back to. On Tuesday, June 22, 2010 the Office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator released an interesting document: the 2010 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement.
   It focuses on 6 key areas. Just to give an example, the first is leading by example. This means the government states plainly that it is making a conscious effort not to lift IP from others without paying for it.
   Its not a huge document, 65 pages. (download at: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBUQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.whitehouse.gov%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fomb%2Fassets%2Fintellectualproperty%2Fintellectualproperty_strategic_plan.pdf&ei=Gm10TPmLMcH78Ab3z7DyCA&usg=AFQjCNGjq0UJoGNKtE--89f4TECOXBFjQg&sig2=qvof6rzEPT5BKe0-bMX5Gg)
   What I find most notable are two things: For a Knowledge-based society I guess having it in writing is (a) better late than never, and (b) a decent step however you view it.

Success Secrets of the Graphic Design Superstars

   Will Sherwood has put together the blog that is a smorgasbord of inspirations on how to thrive in the industry as an illustrator or graphic designer. Most of the feedback given seems the strivings of good to great educators looking to inspire their flock (which is a good thing).
   I confess I did not exhaustively deconstruct the site in its entirety, so I may have missed some examples; but I didn’t see any hard core technologies. That is to say I did not read anything along the lines of “here’s step one, there’s step two”, or, “in the current environment use this type of folio” … nothing concrete. That in no way minimizes the value. It’s a great site to have as an rss feed; a little sunshine in your front page to start your day (when there’s a posting; it isn’t daily).
   Mr. Sherwood heads The Sherwood Group, states this came about through a masters degree project and is intended to find its way into a book; a “best-of-the-best designers and creatives”. Still, if the blog was in response to queries the likes of “what do I need to do to succeed?” and “how do I get big clients and/or big projects?” it may have been useful to see some of that harder core technology (which, again, may exist buried in the archives).
   If you’re in the industry, just getting started or need a refresh, it is nonetheless of real value.

http://willsherwood.com/?page_id=2

50 Best Illustration Blogs on the Web

   Today’s post seems a bit of a cheat compared to the work I’ve been doing on this blog of late. Nonetheless, it’s a worthy re-post.
   Y’know, this site seems shamelessly after a good Google ranking, there’s lots of articles with numbers of lists up front (like this one). Still, I’m a big fan of webliographies, and this online version is sure to illuminate; no pun intended.

http://webdesigndegree.com/50-best-illustration-blogs-on-the-web/

This was for a section entitled: Developing Employees for Future Success

   It is commonplace to hear of the rise of Asia. This is for variety of reasons. While this chapter focused on what has become known as the classics of talent management, the development of talent and talent management generally seems headed for a wholesale transformation.
   In the summer of 2010 a seminar was hosted by Singapore Management University. Professor Peter Cappelli, the Director for the Center of Human Resources at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, spoke of the larger paradigm of management processes as regards talent.
   He poignantly reminded us that the essential tools that we use today are over half a century old. Some of what was pointed out that has been changed irretrievably includes the idea that job mobility was once unheard of when our current tools were devised. Of course, this is now a permanent fixture.
   Shifts in global economic trends over the same half-century-plus have also lent their own wear and tear; a wholesale redrawing of the map as it were. This is including a handful of bubbles, as well as recessions; and has been expressed in business through cost-cutting, cutbacks and off shoring, etc. Across the 21st century's first decade, the old guard, North America and Europe were found to be heaving at times. The country of Iceland actually went bankrupt. Meanwhile, many countries in Asia demonstrated significantly more flexibility, with Singapore and China leading the way.
   Across this time period, the most graphic expression of global business has been to shift of China from being largely ignored and outside the conversation, a country so challenged at the time as to only represent a potential significance, to a rising first-world icon we all must recognize.
   A glaring absence in his narrative thus far has been India; which also cannot be ignored. Although China is on track to eclipse India within the twenty tens as the largest English-speaking country on the planet, India has been that global language of business’ largest speaking country across all of this time. Also being the largest democracy on the planet positions India with similar economic rise and less fanfare.
   It might also be noted that in the 1980s the late Peter Drucker disabused the notion that there was any longer a ladder to climb. In the late 1990s and into the twenty hundreds it was generally recognized that the United States had lost its manufacturing base. However, old notions die hard. While one often hears that leaves us with a service economy, we are not recognizing that while we always had a service economy, we have in fact replaced manufacturing with a knowledge-based economy. Indeed, there are those who still feel that there may be a corporate letter to climb.
   Against this backdrop what becomes of talent management?
   Here’s where I stopped. I would have gone on, however, to conjecture: that an entirely new paradigm will evolve and emerge out of the East, that knowledge talent will supersede location and much else and that employee – employer relationships will relax during the working relationship and strengthen afterwards (compared to now, being employees are seen as disposable) so that employers can continue to call upon former employees as they need to. That there are other considerations afoot as well; including talent gaps already showing up in Asia and an evening of pay East and West.

Asia: The Battle for Talent

Is Asia responding to the talent crisis?

http://www.synovate.com/businessconsulting/insights/periscope/issues/201006/

Thank you for reading Periscope. For enquiries on this issue, please contact Colin Kinghorn at colin.kinghorn@synovate.com. Colin is the Head of Synovate Business Consulting's Thailand office. Synovate Business Consulting (www.synovate.com/businessconsulting) is the strategic business unit that assists clients globally to enter, evolve and expand in emerging and developed markets through fact-based market analysis.

June 2010

Heidrick & Struggles Asia-Pacific Talent Index 2007-2012

http://www.weknowglobaltalent.com/portal

http://www.weknowglobaltalent.com/gti/window/apti/

Talent Management: Updating Old and Tired Practices
http://www.cfoinnovation.com/content/emerging-markets-global-players

by Knowledge@SMU, 06 July 2010

About the Author: Knowledge@SMU is an online resource that offers regularly updated business insights, information and research from a variety of sources, including interviews with industry leaders and Singapore Management University faculty. The resource can be accessed at http://knowledge.smu.edu.sg/.

© 2010 Questex Asia Ltd., a Questex Media Group company

CFOinnovationASIA

Introduction to Developing Employees for Future Success

   Businesses rightfully seek having in house talent. As such the entirety of an employee’s relationship with an organization has been studied and developed.
   We will continue to explore this larger process in this chapter. Please understand that what might require an interview in our culture may be eclipsed by a bloodline in another. Different cultures have differing perspectives on trainings; who may be trained, how, etc. Some of this may be based on caste, gender and so on. To “win the war for talent” beyond our own culture one needs to review the “battlefield”; something we take for granted domestically.
   In the west, initially new employees need strong direction, they then expect to be able to think independently and treated with respect. However, imagine being somewhat new on the scene and asking your Greek employees to do something in a casually, without specificity. It may not get done. Culturally Greeks tend to expect to be told what to do. They have a high Uncertainty Avoidance Index (see Geert Hofstede’s work).
   The precepts are correct, just understand adjustments may need to be made; subtle nuances are always to be assimilated. How both here, and blended with elsewhere, employee development is accomplished is worth considering. Classically, education, experiences, relationships, and personality and abilities assessment will remain.
   This chapter explores purpose and activity of employee development. We discuss relationships among development, training, and career management. And, we look at development approaches, including education, assessment, job experiences, and interpersonal relationships.
   The chapter emphasizes skill types, knowledge, and behaviors strengthened by each development method, so employees and their managers can choose appropriately when planning for development. The third section of the chapter describes steps of the career management process, responsibilities of employees and employers at each step of the process. We conclude with a discussion of special challenges related to employee development, which will shift from culture to culture — the so-called glass ceiling, succession planning, and dysfunctional managers.

What turns off an Interview?

   Business is not ordinarily thought of in terms of fashion, and yet all things go through their own swings and phases. In the 70’s Japanese managerial styles was a rage, in the 80’s the est training, in the 90’s six sigma and it is imagined when someone gets more perspective on the twenty hundreds they may well point to the power of social networking.
   So too the process of becoming employed. Cover letters and resumes have trends, subtle shifts in advice (though overall it tends to be ever refining) in all aspects of the employment process.
   Among the trends lately is the variety of deadly interview questions.”Tell me something about yourself that you would not ordinarily tell me” is such a trap. Without formal preparation, how is one supposed to answer such a question effectively to best effect? Do you really think you can ad lib excellence in such a moment?
   Kate Lorenz, an editor at CareerBuilder.com and author Martin Yates, of the Knock ‘Em Dead series of books, have both written insightfully on this martial arts aspect of the interview. Interviewers have been known to cull questions directly from these types of works. This is, at the very least, another way to determine how much homework you have been willing to do.
   The great thing about scanning this literature in a meaningful way is the ability to integrate the rationale given, the techniques offered on why such questions are being asked and how to offer up one’s presumed absolute best. This would be heard as … “you did your homework”!

the Fundamental Global Business strategy

   Ultimately a business strategy rarely comes down to much more that giving one’s customers or client what they want. Often this becomes a problem if one needs to hunt to determine what that is, presumes what that is or in some other way the communication has been mangled, compromised or otherwise has been diluted.
   This happens often with small start up businesses who have not done their homework thoroughly. It’s not enough to have a driving passion to open a storefront dedicated to all things Star Trek. But has the proper research been done to see if the community could sustain such “an enterprise”, is there competition, etc.
   This happens with larger corporations as well. American Apparel recently found their strategy and practices out of synch with, at least, the economy and cultural shifts of the day; seeing deep cut backs, store closures, potential investigations and that their very survival is in question.
   As challenging as managing a, or an aspect of a, business may be, the right personnel is just as challenging; for they are the face of your business. For your foreign customers, alliances or whomever you may be interacting with in another country it is not enough to simply buy the ticket, fly over and introduce yourself.
   This calls to mind the image of the foreign traveler who, when confronted with someone who did not speak English, began repeating what he had just said slower and louder; embarrassing his colleagues and missing both the opportunity and the point.
   Are you as a company or you as an employee in a position to take advantage of acculturation trainings; similarly, the question of language training? If you are not making an effort to learn the language, at least honor your potential hosts by learning key phrases. It will be appreciated that some effort was made on your part. Likewise, expose yourself to as much about the people and their customs as you can. For example, if you’re doing business in Italy you’ll need a clothing allowance; likely more so than anywhere else in the world. Italians expect current fashion from a professional. After all, this is the country that gave us Gucci, Prada and Versace (to name a few). There seems no greater amount of ritual associated with business cards than with the Chinese. This is not akin to disingenuous agreement. This is a matter of honoring the other; thee fundamental international strategy. Don’t loose that important account just because you don’t know how or when to shake hands (or hug, kiss, bow, etc.)!

Selecting Employees and Placing Them in Jobs

   Finding the right people in any life endeavor is a classic area for introspection; whether it is a thought as to whom to prefer as a teammate, roommate or who to trust as a work colleague. In hiring employees the decision is made more complicated in that there is often no prior relationship. Hiring the right employee for an overseas assignment becomes even more burdensome.   
   Assuming the interviews go well there are any number of tests and checks one can perform. Depending on the position some of the following may be more or less necessary: Character Reference Check, Citizenship, Credit History / bankruptcies, Criminal History Report, Driving and vehicle records, Drug testing, Education Verification, Employment history, Employment References, Identity and Address Verification, Licenses, Certifications, etc., Litigation records, Medical, Mental, and Physiological evaluation and records, Military records, Previous clearances, Psychiatric assessments (Wonderlic, Myers Briggs) and Social Security Number; to name the basics (there really is more). For some, drug testing and credit checks may seem among controversial practices. However, please bear in mind the implications of sending the wrong person literally into a foreign environment.
   As we come into the second decade of the new millennium the larger European countries are among those hiring again; but no more than the emerging countries: Brazil, China and India. Among the domestic criteria just spoken of, made all the more important with the global consideration, there are international considerations. How well does the individual know the target country, its customs, culture, and language? How prepared is the prospect to be overseas for significant lengths of time? If the best candidate has a family how prepared are they to answer these questions if they’re following him or her.
(explore: www.executiveplanet.com)

Solif!

   Russian designer Mikhail Smolyanov, aka Solif, is like the clean fresh breeze after the storm to the cartoon posture of viewing anything designed in or by Russians over the last fifty years is somehow inferior. Smolyanov ROCKS!

   My fav is pictured here, the Arx 3 (yes, there’s a “2”…and a trike, too!). It’s sci-fi meets the 50’s (which, after all, seems the beginning of sci-fi). SO elegant.

   Apparently he uses 3D studio max, and is considered a graphic designer. Beautiful stuff – please check him out.

His blog:

http://solifdesign.blogspot.com/

invention / innovation: the sticky note cube calendar receptacle

   I’ll be working on more textbook modules today, and I had this thought come to me this morning; so I’m offering up this sketch. Effectively, the plug in units for this as yet un-offered product are already in existence: the 3-M company makes post-it cubes. They’ve pre-printed them in the past as well. What this as yet unrealized product would need is 31 cubes pre-printed with each number in a limited choice of colors that would fit into a custom crate that hangs on your work space wall (with color coordinated blank cubes to fill the excess). The days of the week would be actual cubes in matching colors. The months, as well, would follow such a consideration (though they’re not represented in the sketch).

   Alterations to the basic sketch might include a sizeable hole in the back of each cell to push cubes out when necessary. And the individual vertical cell walls might slant at an angle from the top back to the bottom front; also for ease of use.

   The value of this is for folks who make notes on their calendar, then feel compelled to transcribe them to post-its as small carry-around to do lists.

   I don’t mind including this idea for a product design on the blog since it embraces a number of tag lines already established here: applied arts, business, etc.

   So tell 3M – maybe they’ll pay me some desperately need moola!

Singapore Connects with Disabled Workers

   Many “first world” countries have made great strides in the direction of evening the playing field vis-à-vis physical challenges and any associated accommodations that can be made. The US, the UK and Australia, to name a few, have well established laws governing the accommodation of disabled workers in the workplace.
   In many ways it stands to reason that many third world countries are not in the same position to make such accommodations. Indeed, in many such countries it is all they can do to provide the barest of necessities; children may not have a school to attend, there may be an absence of infrastructure altogether.
   However, where possible, and in locations around the world where one may not immediately associate such accommodations, they are sometimes found.
   Singapore is one such country; nestled in the western edge of Southeast Asia, it has run itself with a determinism that makes it exceptional compared to its neighbors. Although its immediate neighbors, Malaysia and Indonesia, have significant metropolitan areas and other hallmarks of “first world” countries, such aspects are the high points, not the norm. And Singapore has been on its own a mere 45 years.
   And here we find such accommodation employment laws for the physically challenged. While it may be noted that many companies that have regional headquarters there may be of Western origin (of the 4,000 MNC's that make Singapore a base, look at the pharmaceutical companies: Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Sharp & Dohme, Quintiles, Roche), thereby making such a gesture second nature, that is not always the case. Domestic entities include the Lien Foundation Centre for Social Innovation at Singapore Management University and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
   Naturally, such barrier-free accessibility had to be created. Comprehensive standards were put forth, job training and placement services were established and generous tax deductions were offered to defray modifications and retrofitting. This activity was not restricted to businesses, either. Similar tax and other help was made available to families who cared for the disabled among them. All of this activity was in concert with a robust media campaign.
   As other countries approach the tipping point into first world status it is imagined they, too, will follow suit.

NetCent Communications, (2009). Singapore Human Rights Report. NC Buy. Abstract retrieved from http://www.ncbuy.com/reference/country/humanrights.html?code=sn&sec=5

Singapore Economic Development Board. (2009). . Retrieved from http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index.html

film: Intro to Hypothesis

   Please know of a grave disappointment on my part. Whatever uploads here will be inferior to the DVD I was able to burn ... something about these other file formats (mov, mpg, wmv & avi) found loss in visual translation.
   Otherwise, my disappointment is in my own novice -ness (unread-able credits, audio volume fluctuation). Indeed, what would have been a strength (the overall design) also seemed to suffer somewhat from what has become a month-long self-study. Beware, the graphics "blink" in this non-DVD version.

   And yet, it is done! So, for better and worse, here is my video clip version of my presentation.

mini (movie) me

   Today’s post is back to the dissertation. My Professor (a brilliant young man with just the right amount of pepper) wants us to NOT offer up a PowerPoint for our final presentation; but a video clip! That all sounds nice, of course, until one realizes that he’s not speaking of just letting your camcorder run … he wants text, transitions, and multiple inputs and more.
   Hey, we’re not cinematographers! Too bad! And as annoying as this may be, he’s right – shame on the educational system for not supporting this movement, this trend toward greater technologic expression. But we nonetheless need to cough up the goods. Moreover, we’re doctorate students (we should be able to figure this stuff out).
   I’ll post what I come up with as soon as it’s done, but that’s my post today … because that’s what I’ll be working on.

Religion & Restriction; the menu

   About a third of the world's countries have high restrictions on religion, but they represent about three quarters of the world's population. Sometimes one has to just let stuff sink in.
   I’m still gunning for research for my chapter re-write when I came across this from the Pew Research Center. Here’s an image from the report … ( …fascinating stuff!!!).

   Go ahead and download the report (or just scan it) at:
Pew Research Center. (2009). Report: Global Restrictions on Religion . Retrieved from :
       http://pewforum.org/newassets/images/reports/restrictions/restrictionsfullreport.pdf

the Global Sullivan Principles

   I was just asked to contribute to a textbook; which humbles me, but also excites me. The nature of the text is on Corporate Responsibility; and it needs to be “translated” from a domestic to a global audience.
   So, as far as my full plate goes, it now overflows. As for the blog, it has swung back and forth between the pulse of what I find among the topic areas I stay studied in as well as the dissertation I’m working on … will now have a sprinkling of this topic (which is still in the wheelhouse: see Global Business).
   Right off the bat let me bring to your attention the work of a pastor of the Zion Baptist Church in Philly; Rev. Leon H. Sullivan. As he sought to contribute to the dismantling of apartheid, he created in 1977 the Global Sullivan Principles (found under the Sullivan reference below). Succinctly spelled out are eight fundamental ideals by which employment equity and dignity, including the larger consideration of human rights.
   Please know (if you do not already), that for all the faults we are regularly reminded the US has, we are nonetheless among the most advanced when it comes to equal employment opportunity and safe workplaces. Our architecture for these considerations is robust. There are places on the planet that working in a factory at the age of eight is a good thing!
   Please check out those eight principals. Another organization Rev. Sullivan created (he was brilliant and prolific), IFESH, carry’s on the GSP work today.


IFESH. (2009). International Foundation for Education & Self-Help.
   Retrieved from http://www.ifesh.org/index.php

Sullivan, L. H. (1977). the Global Sullivan Principles (GSP). Retrieved from
   http://www.globalsullivanprinciples.org/principles.htm

NAEAs 2011 Convention Focus

   The 2011 Convention for the National Art Education Association (NAEA) is to take place in Seattle, March 17-20 (http://www.arteducators.org/news/national-convention). In the pdf put forth presenting the theme (http://arteducators.org/news/national-convention/2011_Convention_Them_Description.pdf), the Convention Program Coordinator Sandra Kay, (San Diego State University & The Center for Critical Thinking and Creativity) advances a central idea that at first seems a little vague: “Creativity, Imagination, and Innovation in Art Education”.
   However, upon reading the brief pdf we find there’s an inextricable connection being made between art and the world of business; i.e., what can the rest of the world learn from the arts.
   While my focus is more the flip side (what can the arts learn of the rest of the world), this perspective is highly reminiscent of the bulk of the cutting edge literature in the marketing world; and the business literature generally.
   One of the nicest things about the NAEA website is that in the wake of such conventions materials are near always downloadable from the speakers (as doc, pdf or PowerPoint files). I’m looking forward to the late March remains!

College degrees that don't pay

By Blake Ellis, staff reporter

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/pf/1008/gallery.low_paying_college_degrees/index.html

Last updated August 06 2010: 3:41 PM ET; retrieved Saturday, August 07, 2010

   First the condensed version: Education, Social Work, Religious Studies, Athletic Training, Recreation and Leisure, Horticulture, Art, Interior Design & Culinary Arts. I’ve re-ordered them … do you see a pattern?
   Education, Social Work, Religious Studies = some of the greatest good a society can ensure itself … but we don’t need to reward such? Oh, it’ll be fulfilling enough.
   Athletic Training, Recreation and Leisure, Horticulture = playing outside. Honestly, I don’t see it as equal priority, either (except from an exterior design perspective).
   Then the applied arts: Art, Interior Design & Culinary Arts. The “art” used in Art was photography, so in actuality these are all applied arts. I guess we are supposed to pay our bills with self-actualization.
   So, in conclusion, another reason why our culture is wack. One third of the least of jobs are positions where we illuminate our culture through artistic expression, another third is where we hold up our fellow man directly. Yeah, let’s keep payin’ the mutual fund manager – he shuffles other people’s money (redistributing wealth / legalized gambling) producing nothing!

Marketing fallout through Facebook

(Smeal is the Business School at U of Penn)
   This post is a bit delayed, from August second. It's focus is purely Global Business and Marketing. I follow Smeal on Facebook; here's the exchange verbatim:
Smeal College of Business As of yesterday, Wal-Mart is putting electronic identification tags on items as a way to control inventory. Is this a smart business strategy or an invasion of privacy? You decide.Wal-Mart plan to use smart tags raises privacy concerns - USATODAY.com - http://www.usatoday.com/:
Wal-Mart Stores is putting electronic identification tags on men's clothing like jeans starting Aug. 1 as the world's largest retailer tries to gain more control of its inventory. But the move is raising eyebrows among privacy experts.
6 hours ago • Comment •LikeUnlike • Share
Dave Swiderski Wal-Mart is not trying to pry into our lives with these tags. The idea behind them is within seconds, an employee will be able to know what sizes are missing and will also be able tell what it has on hand in the stockroom. Such instant knowledge will allow store clerks to have the right sizes on hand when shoppers need them. The company is simply out to improve customer service.
See More 3 hours ago • LikeUnlike •
Frank Davis That's what I was thinking ... RIFD tags or some such. Are you talking about a tagging system that lingers with the product?
about an hour ago • LikeUnlike •
Smeal College of Business ‎@Frank: According to the article, the RFID tags are removable. A spokeswoman from a group called Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering says that although the tags can be removed, they cannot be turned off, which means they are able to be tracked even after they are thrown away. I guess this concerns people. @Dave: That's a valid point as well. It would surely improve inventory.
17 minutes ago • LikeUnlike •
Frank Davis There are known issues with RIFD tags, including recycling & reprogramming, but this is among the easiest to ensure not only privacy but the issues just mentioned: leave them with the store so the vendor gets them back! The idea that a manufacturer would waste such mini equipment just to GPS someone's garbage when they could glean so much more (from Facebook!) for so much less is just a ridiculous waste. If any manager is participating in such a spurious justification they don't deserve to stay in management.
a few seconds ago • LikeUnlike •

Egort

   Yesterday's post was intended to be marketing for marketers (and it took a turn). Today's post is web design for web designers.
   Egort.com seems a repository of sorts for beautiful web design. The consistent thread seems to be a decided lean to minimalism. That’s it. That’s the whole blog entry. Lot’s of fun here.

http://www.egort.com/

One small leap, indeed

   I was looking for something a bit different tonight to chew on. Part of yesterday’s post finds me pursuing a new database. So I thought perhaps something along the lines of marketing the marketer.
   This story is interesting to me from a few perspectives. Firstly it should be noted that the story is from July of ’08 – right before the financial bubble burst. Second, although I’ve not been writing code or otherwise been on the absolute inside of software development, I have been more than just tracking it. And thirdly, although “illustrator” was part of my keywords, I see no mention in the article proper.
   Now, what’s the point? Quantum Leap’s itools purports to streamline producing a suite of responses for a marketing customer. It does this by “streamlining”; somehow doing all projects at once. Well, the Illustrator in me bristles. Someone’s created software for the marketing arts that must be the dream of Kim Jong Il. When you look at the components of that which is being integrated I see no real competitive advantage. Being conversant in the state of the art software that is individually out there will most likely leave you better off.
   This article sheds no new light on the idea of marketing the marketer. I’m glad I’m aware of itools, and I may be proven wrong, but…

Quantum Leap
www.qlitools.com
the article
http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/07/28/smallb1.html

Accreditations

   Most anyone with an interest in academia has, at least, a passing familiarity with “the 8 ivy’s”. That degree of distinction may or may not need any other equal, that’s someone else’s argument. But distinctions matter, and that the distinction for the general public stops there has outgrown its service.
   Here on the west coast of Florida there are three primary distinctions/accreditations for schools: COE, ASICS & SACS (in ascending order; SACS being the highest)* accredited schools. However, among institutions of higher learning for the arts there are two additional accreditations.
   The National Association of Schools of Art and Design is 66 years old. It has added 29 schools in the last four years, for a total of 297; and is located in Reston, VA. It essentially sets standards.
   However, there is also the distinction of being an AICAD school. The Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design is an affiliation of 40 schools. “Founded in 1991 by a group of 25 presidents … so as to mutually develop their schools and programs”, it brings together schools that are [1] already regionally accredited (SACS for FL) and NASAD certified, and [2] co-ordinates (as mentioned); specifically among the private, nonprofit, free-standing (that is, not a department of a larger college or university) schools.
   In yesterday’s post I was somewhat lamenting the lack of further distinction. Here we find one such distinction, but I wonder if there is anything statistically demonstrable that would make the distinction noteworthy; some track record of performance after graduation (that might lead to higher pay, greater respect and the like). I’ll be interested in finding out, if I can.

*
AICAD
the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design
http://www.aicad.org/
http://www.aicad.org/about.htm
NASAD
the National Association of Schools of Art and Design
http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Schools_of_Art_and_Design
http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/index.jsp?page=Staff Directory

SACS
the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - the regional accrediting agency (all six are: New England, Middle States, North Central, Northwest, Southern, and Western).
http://www.sacs.org/
ASICS
the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
http://www.acics.org/
COE
the Council for Opportunity in Education
http://www.coenet.us//ecm/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

   I went back to the Bureau of Labor Statistics tonight. They’re pretty succinct on defining terms. Under the heading Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement I’m struck by a few things that had escaped me in the past; simply because I just knew it and took it for granted.
   A bachelor’s degree is “usually required”. Okay, but two things: [1] usually required should likely read nearly always, and [2] it’s true, not even that if one can somehow winnow ones way in.
   I was reminded of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design; which I’ll explore more later.
   And under other qualifications there ostensibly aren’t any; though it does enunciate skills of well rounded-ness: communication, soft skills and the like. No licensure, no advanced degree; for there are no delineated strata to which to aspire requiring such a thing.
   I know this is similar for Illustration; as well as many of the applied arts. We could wait forever for this to evolve on its own, and it won’t. I wonder what configuration of circumstance, what form, what path such an insistence for further advanced study might take. To be truly view as a professional class it seems something senior to the status quo may be required.
   Or not. I’m sure the business world enjoys relatively cheap domestic labor.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos090.htm

money money money money

   The means by which one measures consistently seems to be monetary. Here’s another potential resource; which I likely won’t use. Second Wind is a resource for small to mid sized ad firms; seemingly for anything they can offer, best practices, etc. Can’t blame them for wanting to make money, but I can’t see paying the $99.95 - $139.95 for a 37 page survey. It purports to cover all things salary from across 800 agencies: benefits, hourly’s, salaries and trends (and not much else).
   Thing is, this seems to be the easiest information to gather from elsewhere. Odd, when there’s clearly so many things one could ask.

http://www.secondwindonline.com/publication_details.asp?pubid=8&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SecondWind+%28Second+Wind%29&utm

The Italian Object Lesson

   In yesterday’s New York Times ran the article Is Italy Too Italian? (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/business/global/01italy.html). It’s so sadly beautiful; much like any other classic tragic Italian opera. Of the many axioms I live by, the one that comes to mind here is that I’d rather be wrong and happy than right and miserable. Apparently, Italy does not feel the same way. I’m imagining here the best dressed corpse.
   Of late I’ve been either adding posts about the dissertation process itself or, at least, considerations close to it. This post is a bit further from that center, but still within the orbit of the blog … and I felt compelled to veer today because I want to keep an eye on the larger considerations as well.
   Italy has some hard cultural choices to make. From a Global business perspective it can start being conscious about its healing crisis and make such choices where it can or choices will be made for them. It is unfortunate, and it seems the insularity of Italy will be undone without their participation.
   About this, too, I hope I’m wrong. I love Italy.