GSS Insight - General Business Articles
Service leaders focus on employee loyalty
Servant leaders are not motivated by wielding power over people. Rather, they are concerned with the needs of their employees and are dedicated to solving employees’ problems, removing work-related obstacles, and building loyalty to the company.
Oops, need to change your income tax return?
Do you need to correct your income or add deductions or credits to your recently filed income tax form? If so, you can file again using an amended tax return. Here are eight points the IRS wants you to know about amending your federal income tax return.
The high price of sleep-deprived employees
A recent study found that 50 million to 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders that adversely affect their daily functioning and health. Employers bear much of the burden of sleep deprivation in the form of lower productivity and higher healthcare costs.
Internal reviews help ensure a healthy business
Few people could have predicted the overall downturn in the economy, but some business owners simply did not pay attention to the general health of their companies. They failed to analyze the financial information available to them. Read what internal reviews could have helped.
Does it help to haggle?
Anyone who's traveled outside the country knows that bargaining for a better price is often a part of the retail experience. Haggling for a lower price has always been part of car buying in the United States, but the same is becoming true on other large items.
How can you improve the atmosphere at work?
The best places to work are those where people are grateful for what they have and express their gratitude to each other when it is merited. On the other side are places where people feel entitled and complain when they don't feel they get their due. How do you get your company to be more like the first example?
Sign of the times: Unemployed need not apply
Hard to believe, but there are actually job postings out there that will not accept applications from unemployed individuals. There is currently no federal law against excluding the unemployed from your job applicant pool, but that may be changing.
Does your business have untapped sources of income?
Take a fresh look at your products and services. Are there any untapped sources of income that might be just what your business needs to make it through the rest of this challenging economic period?
E-discovery gives new meaning to record retention
E-discovery refers to the search and retrieval of electronic information for use in civil or criminal proceedings. Just imagine: Every email, Word document, spreadsheet, text message, Tweet or calendar entry could be subjected to e-discovery if you or your company was ever party to a dispute.
Would a former employee sabotage your company?
Disgruntled former employees used to sabotage the company by damaging equipment or stealing important papers. Nowadays, the same employee can wreak far more vengeance while sitting quietly at a computer. New threats call for new precautions.
Negotiating with vendors can help in tough times
Vendors need their customers just as much as you do. Many may be willing to negotiate to a reasonable degree. If you have a long-standing relationship with a vendor, you might ask them to honor your years of loyalty by providing a discount or better payment terms for a set period of time.
How corporate integrity helps your bottom line
According to a new study, if a company focuses on seven characteristics of corporate integrity, it can expect better employee performance, less misbehavior, higher shareholder returns and an improved bottom line. What are those characteristics?
Top executive fraud: Audits are the best control
Internal controls are designed to protect a company against fraudulent schemes by its employees, but when an executive commits fraud, it's much more difficult to detect. When it comes to top management stealing from the company, audits are the best means of control.
Keys to success for the virtual manager
Managing a virtual team requires managers to learn a new set of skills. They have to assure the cohesiveness and engagement of people they can't see. Above all, this requires open lines of communication and using technology in place of face-to-face contact.