Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Refugees buying one-way tickets home after finding Germany intolerable

http://www.latimes.com/world/europe/la-fg-germany-refugees-20160301-story.html
Structured, controlled exercise involving comments from a diverse audience.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Is Elliot Rodger a further argument to support gun control in the USA?

The following is an excercise in blogging for a class in Journalism (L3C3) May 28, 2014.  The goal is to review the facts and events leading up to the unfortunate circumstances of May 23, 2014, and to open a discussion by stakeholders examining the issue of gun control in the US.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

What Does Sustainability mean for you?

What Does Sustainability Mean for You?
What does Sustainability Mean for You?
Understanding the forces of innovation that brought us to our present world condition helps us to understand the sustainable choices available for the future.  A look at current corporate and consumer behavior and communication. Suggestions for the SME who wishes to authentically position his company as a sustainable business.

Keywords: Authentic, Sustainable, Communications, shareholders, stakeholders, LOHAS, Intangible Assets, challenging concepts, supply chains, certification, labeling, metrics, Germany

Saturday, February 1, 2014

B Team Leaders Make a Statement on Human Rights in Davos

My interest is education (consumer and institutional), marketing and corporate communication. I believe that consumer demand for sustainable products and better corporate behavior will be THE driving factor in forcing companies to make the investment and choices needed towards sustainability. But this is only one approach in what I believe must be a concerted effort on various fronts:
Although approaching the firm's leadership from the top is a necessary and effective strategy, as BTeam is doing at DAVOS, I believe you have to have a multi-thrust strategy, simultaneously, to be truly effective.
These are the areas of activities:
1. Focus on Corporate Leadership,
2. Add Metric Evaluation and Certification by third-party organizations of firm's activities,
3. Provide massive Customer/Citizen/Student awareness through marketing and education,
4. Get Government to regulate, fund and act. 
Finally, because the world is a big place and there is so much diversity in culture and procedure, after that comes localization and regional organization to implement these activities, tailored to the individual environment.
Regarding the consumer, demand from this sector will hit companies harder and faster than slower changes within the other sectors mentioned. Why? Because consumers (B2B or B2C) hold the power but don't know it! As soon as the consumer stops buying, companies scramble and spend to recapture or create new demand.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

English for Students of Journalism: Gun Control in America

The following is an exercise structured for the class Journalists Sports/Culture 09WS of Macromedia Academy, Munich. We are establishing a fictional comment blog whereby students can write in their comments on a given topic. Students will assume a role-play and pose as major stakeholders in an important issue. The aim of the exercise is to afford an opportunity for Students of Journalism in Germany to do research in English and to express views in written form, in English. Today's topic is about Gun Control in the USA: 

Should gun ownership in America be outlawed for regular citizens? 

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Same-same but different: Managing a Volunteer Team PART ONE

PART ONE: Examining the differences and the similarities between Hired Teams and Volunteer Teams.

So! You've got a team assembled in front of you that looks primed, hyped and ready for action.

Lucky you! Or …?

There's something that's just a bit different about this group and although you're a seasoned manager and have led dozens of teams on many different kinds of projects, you can't quite put your finger on what you think is going to happen with this group.
Why? Well, these folks are volunteers!
A team is a team is a team, ..no? Generally speaking, yes; the similarities are many and often the same rules and techniques apply in management. In one major and fundamental way however, there are differences between paid-for teams and volunteer teams that you need to be aware of. That awareness might spell the factor between success or derailment.

Here are some basic points about the differences between Volunteer Teams (VT) and Hired Teams (HT). Identifying the differences helps to understand how best to lead volunteers and how to deal with some of their special issues.