Information about worker commutes from smartphones and fitness trackers can predict individual job performance, according to a Dartmouth-led study. The study confirms the behavioral and physical effects of commuting on work quality. The study also shows how data from personal tech devices can help improve employee productivity and satisfaction. “Your commute predicts your day,” said Andrew...
Commerce
People Prefer Friendliness, Trustworthiness in Teammates Over Skill Competency
People who are friendly and trustworthy are more likely to be selected for teams than those who are known for just their skill competency and personal reputation, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. While people who are both trustworthy and competent are the most sought after when it comes...
Experts Say Supply Chain Breakdown Will Be Problematic for Holiday Shoppers
This holiday season, expect shortages of gift items like toys, clothes and appliances, as well as delays in order fulfilment — all caused by global supply chains disruptions. That’s according to Nallan Suresh, PhD, UB Distinguished Professor of operations management and strategy in the University at Buffalo School of Management. Supply chains and the holidays...
Where’s My Package? Expert Finds Kinks in Global Supply Chain
Every consumer who has seen empty grocery store shelves or waited extra weeks for an online purchase over the past 18 months is aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the supply chain. An Arizona State University (ASU) professor has studied another disruptive disaster – the 2011 tsunami in Japan – to see how automotive...
Structured Management Protocols Help Firms Thrive
It stands to reason that better-run companies attract and retain better workers, but what are the actual practices that make a business run better? “We know a lot about the labor market, and we know a lot about incentives across firms and within firms,” said Daniela Scur, assistant professor of strategy in the Charles H. Dyson...
Women Indirectly Hurt More by Noncompete Pacts
Nine out of 10 startups fail, and even among venture-backed fledgling companies, the success rate is only about 25%. It’s even tougher for women entrepreneurs, who face challenges their male counterparts don’t, according to new Cornell University research. One reason is noncompete agreements – legal compacts or clauses in a contract specifying that an employee...
Study Shows How Corporations Influence Policy Through Nonprofit Donations
In 2003, the Coca-Cola Foundation announced a $1 million donation to the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, supposedly to “improve child dental health.” Shortly after receiving the gift, the children’s dental group changed its stance on sugary beverages, no longer calling them a “significant factor” in causing cavities, but instead saying the scientific evidence was...
Automatic Entry into Career Advancing Competitions Could Help Women
Women continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles, a dilemma a new study suggests could be helped by eliminating self-nomination from competitive selection processes. Instead of trying to affect change by encouraging women to “lean in” to climb the corporate ladder, or attempting to control for employer bias, the study says that redesigning the selection...
What’s in the Pandora Papers? And Why Does South Dakota Feature So Heavily?
A trove of confidential documents outlining how global elites squirrel away their wealth to avoid tax has been laid bare in the “Pandora Papers.” Consisting of around 12 million documents, the data was obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank that worked with media organizations around the world to...
Income Inequality Can Harm Children’s Achievement in Maths – but Not Reading, 27-Year Study Suggests
Looking at data stretching from 1992 to 2019, the analysis, published in the journal Educational Review, revealed that 10-year-olds in US states with bigger gaps in income did less well in maths than those living in areas of America where earnings were more evenly distributed. With income inequality in the US the highest in the developed...