£24 billion: The shock cost of the male midlife crisis
1st September 2007, Daily Mail, UK
A study has found the cost of the male mid-life crisis is £24 billion a year.
The favourite means of overcoming the crisis is a foreign holiday, costing British men in their 30s and 40s £1,340 each a year. Next come cool gadgets at £295 and beauty products at £285.
Meanwhile, the bill for cars and motorbikes amounts to a total of £1.5billion.
Read the full report from Daily Mail, UK
It's surprising no business has attempted to exploit this large business opportunity, or perhaps they have, in their own subtle ways!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
2 Billion Mice Take Over Chinese Town
2 Billion Mice Take Over Chinese Town
Detroit Free Press, United States - Sep 1, 2007
About 2 billion mice nesting on the shores of China's second-largest freshwater lake gnawed their way through 1.3 million acres of cropland when rising waters forced them to move inshore. Read more from this Detroit Free Press report
Detroit Free Press, United States - Sep 1, 2007
About 2 billion mice nesting on the shores of China's second-largest freshwater lake gnawed their way through 1.3 million acres of cropland when rising waters forced them to move inshore. Read more from this Detroit Free Press report
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Workplace Unfairness Costs U.S. Employers $64 Billion Annually
Workplace Unfairness Costs U.S. Employers an Estimated $64 Billion Annually in Employee Turnover
28 Aug 2007, PressRelease
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 28 -- A new study reveals that workplace unfairness costs U.S. employers an estimated $64 billion per year in turnover of managers and professionals, in addition to costs from decreased sales of products and services and damaged employer reputation.
"The Corporate Leavers Survey," conducted by the Level Playing Field Institute and sponsored by Korn/Ferry International, finds that each year more than two million professionals and managers leave their corporate employers due solely to workplace unfairness. According to the survey, people of color are three times more likely and gays and lesbians are twice as likely as heterosexual Caucasian males to have left their jobs due solely to workplace unfairness.
"The study highlights that unfairness in the form of everyday inappropriate behaviors is a very real, prevalent and damaging part of today's work environment," said Freada Kapor Klein, Ph.D., founder and board chair of the Level Playing Field Institute. "The cumulative impact of stereotyping, subtle slights and being excluded is extraordinarily costly for individuals, employers and the society as a whole. It is sadly ironic that so much money is spent on recruiting and so little attention is devoted to creating a fair and welcoming work environment. Many companies become revolving doors for people of color, gays and lesbians and women."
Among the specific types of unfairness inquired about, the behaviors which were most likely to prompt someone to quit were: "being asked to attend more recruiting or community events" based on their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation (16 percent), "being passed over for a promotion" (15 percent) and "being compared to a terrorist" (19 percent). Although the actual incidence rate of being compared to a terrorist was small (2 percent), when it did occur, it had a profound effect and was one of the behaviors most frequently associated with an employee's decision to leave solely due to unfairness.
Additionally, 27 percent who experienced unfairness said their experience "strongly" discouraged them from recommending their employer to other potential employees. Similarly, 13 percent said their experience "strongly" discouraged them from recommending their employer's products or services to others.
"A perception of workplace unfairness can have a substantial negative impact on an organization's employment brand," said Eunice Azzani, senior client partner for Korn/Ferry.
Respondents to the survey also expressed differing opinions on which actions their employers could have taken to convince them to stay. Fair compensation was the most important factor for heterosexual Caucasian men and women, while almost half (43 percent) of gays and lesbians would have been "much more likely" to stay if they were offered better benefits. More than one-third of people of color (34 percent) indicated they would have likely stayed if their employer had better management who recognized their abilities.
The Corporate Leaver Survey also includes qualitative anecdotes and interviews from over 1,000 professionals. Notable comments include:
* "One of my coworkers was buying a new house so we went to Google maps
to look it up. It's a satellite image so you can zoom in and see an
image of the actual house. Another co-worker walked by and said, "What,
are you selecting a target?" -- An Arab male finance professional
* "I worked with a particular senior attorney for years and one morning I
went into his office to talk to him. In the middle of the conversation,
he looks up at me and says, 'Wait a minute, you are not [the name of the
other black associate].'" -- An African-American female attorney
* "I was top in my class...then the ceiling hit fast...when word spread
that I was vocal about hot topics like education reform and immigrant
issues, I was marginalized at work functions." -- A Latino banking
executive
* "We found out that our company offered pet health insurance, including
unusual pets like pigs, rats and snakes but they didn't offer same sex
domestic partner benefits." -- A lesbian retail professional
* "My manager told me I was too 'ethnic' looking to be taken seriously.
-- A Latina information technology professional
* "When I had errors on my work, even it was really minor, the partner
would say, 'There is an English problem here,' instead of just calling
it a typo." -- An Asian female attorney
An executive summary of the Survey findings and information on how to purchase the Report can be found at: http://www.lpfi.org/workplace/corporateleavers.shtml
Methodology
The Level Playing Field Institute estimated the cost of unfairness in the workplace at $64 billion by multiplying the number of survey respondents who left the workplace solely due to unfairness by the most conservative average cost of replacing one professional or manager. The Corporate Leavers Survey is based on an initial screener survey of over 19,000 individuals, representative of the U.S. workforce, which yielded 1,700 professionals and managers who had quit or volunteered to be laid off within the past five years.
About the Level Playing Field Institute
Level Playing Field Institute promotes innovative approaches to fairness in higher education and the workplace by identifying and removing barriers that prevent individuals from reaching their full potential. Its vision is that all students, regardless of socio-economic status, will have opportunities to apply to and graduate from top colleges and universities, resulting in communities and workplaces that benefit from competitive leaders representing broad perspectives of society.
Visit http://www.lpfi.org/ for more information.
About Korn/Ferry International
Korn/Ferry International, with more than 70 offices in 40 countries, is a premier global provider of talent management solutions. The firm delivers an array of solutions that help clients to identify, deploy, develop, retain and reward their talent. For more information, visit http://www.kornferry.com/
Source: Level Playing Field Institute
28 Aug 2007, PressRelease
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 28 -- A new study reveals that workplace unfairness costs U.S. employers an estimated $64 billion per year in turnover of managers and professionals, in addition to costs from decreased sales of products and services and damaged employer reputation.
"The Corporate Leavers Survey," conducted by the Level Playing Field Institute and sponsored by Korn/Ferry International, finds that each year more than two million professionals and managers leave their corporate employers due solely to workplace unfairness. According to the survey, people of color are three times more likely and gays and lesbians are twice as likely as heterosexual Caucasian males to have left their jobs due solely to workplace unfairness.
"The study highlights that unfairness in the form of everyday inappropriate behaviors is a very real, prevalent and damaging part of today's work environment," said Freada Kapor Klein, Ph.D., founder and board chair of the Level Playing Field Institute. "The cumulative impact of stereotyping, subtle slights and being excluded is extraordinarily costly for individuals, employers and the society as a whole. It is sadly ironic that so much money is spent on recruiting and so little attention is devoted to creating a fair and welcoming work environment. Many companies become revolving doors for people of color, gays and lesbians and women."
Among the specific types of unfairness inquired about, the behaviors which were most likely to prompt someone to quit were: "being asked to attend more recruiting or community events" based on their race, gender, religion or sexual orientation (16 percent), "being passed over for a promotion" (15 percent) and "being compared to a terrorist" (19 percent). Although the actual incidence rate of being compared to a terrorist was small (2 percent), when it did occur, it had a profound effect and was one of the behaviors most frequently associated with an employee's decision to leave solely due to unfairness.
Additionally, 27 percent who experienced unfairness said their experience "strongly" discouraged them from recommending their employer to other potential employees. Similarly, 13 percent said their experience "strongly" discouraged them from recommending their employer's products or services to others.
"A perception of workplace unfairness can have a substantial negative impact on an organization's employment brand," said Eunice Azzani, senior client partner for Korn/Ferry.
Respondents to the survey also expressed differing opinions on which actions their employers could have taken to convince them to stay. Fair compensation was the most important factor for heterosexual Caucasian men and women, while almost half (43 percent) of gays and lesbians would have been "much more likely" to stay if they were offered better benefits. More than one-third of people of color (34 percent) indicated they would have likely stayed if their employer had better management who recognized their abilities.
The Corporate Leaver Survey also includes qualitative anecdotes and interviews from over 1,000 professionals. Notable comments include:
* "One of my coworkers was buying a new house so we went to Google maps
to look it up. It's a satellite image so you can zoom in and see an
image of the actual house. Another co-worker walked by and said, "What,
are you selecting a target?" -- An Arab male finance professional
* "I worked with a particular senior attorney for years and one morning I
went into his office to talk to him. In the middle of the conversation,
he looks up at me and says, 'Wait a minute, you are not [the name of the
other black associate].'" -- An African-American female attorney
* "I was top in my class...then the ceiling hit fast...when word spread
that I was vocal about hot topics like education reform and immigrant
issues, I was marginalized at work functions." -- A Latino banking
executive
* "We found out that our company offered pet health insurance, including
unusual pets like pigs, rats and snakes but they didn't offer same sex
domestic partner benefits." -- A lesbian retail professional
* "My manager told me I was too 'ethnic' looking to be taken seriously.
-- A Latina information technology professional
* "When I had errors on my work, even it was really minor, the partner
would say, 'There is an English problem here,' instead of just calling
it a typo." -- An Asian female attorney
An executive summary of the Survey findings and information on how to purchase the Report can be found at: http://www.lpfi.org/workplace/corporateleavers.shtml
Methodology
The Level Playing Field Institute estimated the cost of unfairness in the workplace at $64 billion by multiplying the number of survey respondents who left the workplace solely due to unfairness by the most conservative average cost of replacing one professional or manager. The Corporate Leavers Survey is based on an initial screener survey of over 19,000 individuals, representative of the U.S. workforce, which yielded 1,700 professionals and managers who had quit or volunteered to be laid off within the past five years.
About the Level Playing Field Institute
Level Playing Field Institute promotes innovative approaches to fairness in higher education and the workplace by identifying and removing barriers that prevent individuals from reaching their full potential. Its vision is that all students, regardless of socio-economic status, will have opportunities to apply to and graduate from top colleges and universities, resulting in communities and workplaces that benefit from competitive leaders representing broad perspectives of society.
Visit http://www.lpfi.org/ for more information.
About Korn/Ferry International
Korn/Ferry International, with more than 70 offices in 40 countries, is a premier global provider of talent management solutions. The firm delivers an array of solutions that help clients to identify, deploy, develop, retain and reward their talent. For more information, visit http://www.kornferry.com/
Source: Level Playing Field Institute
Facebook Could be Worth 100 billion $ ?
Facebook Could be Worth 100 billion $ ?
Lee Lorenzen from Altura Ventures, in an interview, says Facebook will go for an IPO in about 18 months and could be valued at 100 billion $. Hello, did I hear that right? It appears that was what he meant (Lee is the CEO of the first Facebook VC Fund that is purely focused on the facebook environment).
Why does Lee fail a social networking application could be worth so much?
* 200 Million facebook users coming soon
* User engagement matters
* Facebook does a great job with privacy controls
OK, all good points, but worth 100 billion? I seriously doubt it, in fact I doubt if Lee himself meant the 100 b seriously
Access the full interview from here
Lee Lorenzen from Altura Ventures, in an interview, says Facebook will go for an IPO in about 18 months and could be valued at 100 billion $. Hello, did I hear that right? It appears that was what he meant (Lee is the CEO of the first Facebook VC Fund that is purely focused on the facebook environment).
Why does Lee fail a social networking application could be worth so much?
* 200 Million facebook users coming soon
* User engagement matters
* Facebook does a great job with privacy controls
OK, all good points, but worth 100 billion? I seriously doubt it, in fact I doubt if Lee himself meant the 100 b seriously
Access the full interview from here
Monday, August 27, 2007
Game Development Outsourcing to be Worth Billions by 2010
Game Development Outsourcing to be Worth Billions by 2010
Game outsourcing is growing fast, and is projected to reach $2.5 Billion by 2010, with 40 percent of the cost spent developing games, according to Screendigest as reported by Wang Zhenghua in China Daily (courtesy: Play No Evil post)
Outsourcing firms have focused on China for two reasons: low cost (of course), but also the potential of the Chinese market.
Revenue from China's online gaming industry reached 6.5 billion yuan in 2006, surging 73 percent over a year earlier, and could quadruple by 2011, says IDC. The venture vulture capitalists are of course aware of this and are reportedly rushing in to see how they can cash in on this multi-billion $ opportunity.
China-made online games, with a 65 percent domestic market share and $20 million in export revenues last year, are beginning to break the traditional domination of South Korea and Japan.
Read the full report from here @ China Daily
Game outsourcing is growing fast, and is projected to reach $2.5 Billion by 2010, with 40 percent of the cost spent developing games, according to Screendigest as reported by Wang Zhenghua in China Daily (courtesy: Play No Evil post)
Outsourcing firms have focused on China for two reasons: low cost (of course), but also the potential of the Chinese market.
Revenue from China's online gaming industry reached 6.5 billion yuan in 2006, surging 73 percent over a year earlier, and could quadruple by 2011, says IDC. The venture vulture capitalists are of course aware of this and are reportedly rushing in to see how they can cash in on this multi-billion $ opportunity.
China-made online games, with a 65 percent domestic market share and $20 million in export revenues last year, are beginning to break the traditional domination of South Korea and Japan.
Read the full report from here @ China Daily
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Billion Light Years of...Nothing!
This is not a billion $ news, but something much much bigger...read on...
Great 'cosmic nothingness' found - BBC report, Aug 24, 2007
Astronomers have found an enormous void in space that measures nearly a billion light-years across. It is empty of both normal matter - such as galaxies and stars - and the mysterious "dark matter" that cannot be seen directly with telescopes.
The "hole" is located in the direction of the Eridanus constellation and has been identified in data from a survey of the sky made at radio wavelengths.
The void discovered by a University of Minnesota team is about 1,000 times the volume of what would be expected in typical cosmic gaps. If you enter this "hole" and are traveling at the speed of light, you'd have to travel for a billion years before you would get to the other side...
This is probably the perfect place to use the term mind-boggling...it is simply beyond anyone's abilityb to comprehend...a billion light years' distance of nothingness...you try digesting it for a moment, and it is likely you will feel somewhat disoriented...
It makes one wonder if there indeed is a God!
Great 'cosmic nothingness' found - BBC report, Aug 24, 2007
Astronomers have found an enormous void in space that measures nearly a billion light-years across. It is empty of both normal matter - such as galaxies and stars - and the mysterious "dark matter" that cannot be seen directly with telescopes.
The "hole" is located in the direction of the Eridanus constellation and has been identified in data from a survey of the sky made at radio wavelengths.
The void discovered by a University of Minnesota team is about 1,000 times the volume of what would be expected in typical cosmic gaps. If you enter this "hole" and are traveling at the speed of light, you'd have to travel for a billion years before you would get to the other side...
This is probably the perfect place to use the term mind-boggling...it is simply beyond anyone's abilityb to comprehend...a billion light years' distance of nothingness...you try digesting it for a moment, and it is likely you will feel somewhat disoriented...
It makes one wonder if there indeed is a God!
Friday, August 24, 2007
Pets are a Fast Growing Billion $ Industry
Pets are a Fast Growing Billion $ Industry
It's well known that pet food is a big industry, but the non-food pet industry is no smaller.
Pampering pets has become big business in US & Canada, with items such as apparel, shoes and carseats helping to drive sales in a pets non-food market estimated to be worth as much as $4.5 billion a year in Canada alone and about $10 billion in the US.
Today's pet owners can find just about anything for their pets - from rhinestone sunglasses or hiking boots for their dogs, to seatbelt harnesses and Harley-Davidson-themed collars for cats. There are wheelchairs to assist pets with disabilities,
lifejackets and strollers for dogs, dog apparel, dog jewelry and dog perfume, filet mignon-flavoured toothpaste for those who want to make pet's teeth more palatable and multiple designer options, including pet carriers from major designer / apparel brands. In the veterinary field in major city centres in Canada they might soon have cancer specialists and chemotherapy for pets!
According to statistics, Canadians have increased spending on their pets from $277 per household in 1999 to $377 in 2005. In the U.S., the non-food pet supplies market is forecast to grow from US$9.9 billion in 2006 to nearly US$15 billion by 2011.
Read the entire report on this attractive industry from here @ Business Edge Canada
It's well known that pet food is a big industry, but the non-food pet industry is no smaller.
Pampering pets has become big business in US & Canada, with items such as apparel, shoes and carseats helping to drive sales in a pets non-food market estimated to be worth as much as $4.5 billion a year in Canada alone and about $10 billion in the US.
Today's pet owners can find just about anything for their pets - from rhinestone sunglasses or hiking boots for their dogs, to seatbelt harnesses and Harley-Davidson-themed collars for cats. There are wheelchairs to assist pets with disabilities,
lifejackets and strollers for dogs, dog apparel, dog jewelry and dog perfume, filet mignon-flavoured toothpaste for those who want to make pet's teeth more palatable and multiple designer options, including pet carriers from major designer / apparel brands. In the veterinary field in major city centres in Canada they might soon have cancer specialists and chemotherapy for pets!
According to statistics, Canadians have increased spending on their pets from $277 per household in 1999 to $377 in 2005. In the U.S., the non-food pet supplies market is forecast to grow from US$9.9 billion in 2006 to nearly US$15 billion by 2011.
Read the entire report on this attractive industry from here @ Business Edge Canada
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