adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

Business

Future Business-Social Models Demand Change

Published

 on

Pitfalls Of Channel Partner Training To Avoid

Back to work from the holidays, I found myself in a time warp-like dream where our corporate leaders were attempting to direct their employee’s towards a new business model, a model that they assured us will make our business lives easier.
Sounded like the promise made about technology, that ever-present personal and business tool that was supposed to make our lives easier too. Instead, technology has taken over many of our neighbors’ lives in some fashion, but not made them simpler or better.

We were told the business, and all of us as appendages of that business was going lean. What does that mean?

Going Lean in the business world: Creating greater value for the customer while using fewer resources. Attempting to eliminate waste and increased operational procedures. There is an excessive reliance upon continuous improvement in all things related to the business. Most lean business models use data and analytics to drive their decision-making. Technology to the rescue right?

Well depending on the type of firm you work for, this learning process can become very difficult indeed. People will often fall into three camps:

1. Excited for a new challenge and willing to learn.
2. Not sure about this process, so lay back and see how it goes.
3. Totally against it, digging in their heels and openly telling their fellow employees they are against it.

The first two groups can be worked with. The third creates consternation within the organization. Good employees may leave the organization, but people are truly needed. How can the organization deal with people who will push back?

A clear explanation of what learning in an organization truly means needs to be communicated fully. It seems to be all in the employee’s translation of the process. Employees need to understand that learning an organization will not make more work for them but incorporate itself into their daily endeavors. Many employees may fear change, putting them outside of the usual routine by injecting something new into their business lives. Fear of change is a big stepping stone toward business evolution.

Managers need to dispel fears in one well-thought-out explanation. Leaning an organization is continuous improvement through the elimination of waste whether that be the product, time, or effort. The easiest way to eliminate waste is to make a job easier. If someone will approach their job each day regardless, the learning of anything is not extra in any way, does not change their approach to work.

Every person on the planet is programmed with a lean mindset, to improve their lot in life. So in a business environment, where nothing is outside the realm of common sense. The fear of many people can be dealt with through education, examples shown of past business successes using this model, and introducing learning business models as a solution and not a problem to be solved.

Examples of learning about a business or society, in general, are easily found. Henry Ford drove his first vehicle around the town he lived in. His neighbors complained about the noise, exhaust, and threatening character of his invention, scaring horses everywhere. If he had listened to these people we may not have a car to drive. Getting people to embrace change is the hardest job of leadership and a stumbling block to many historic innovations.

Today’s business model has evolved to accept fewer people doing more in less time than previously done. Less staff in restaurants, manufacturing facilities, or office environments doing more jobs than previously. An improved environment? Better customer service provided? Whatever the situation, whether in a pandemic, or post-pandemic world, learning a business, family or organization will continue to hopefully improve all our lots in life.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca

Business

Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

Published

 on

 

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.

Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.

Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).

SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.

The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.

WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.

SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.

SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.

SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.

The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on X:

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

Trump campaign promises unlikely to harm entrepreneurship: Shopify CFO

Published

 on

 

Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.

“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.

“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”

Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.

On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.

If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.

These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.

If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.

However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.

He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.

“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.

Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.

The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.

Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.

Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.

Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.

Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”

In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.

“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SHOP)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Business

RioCan cuts nearly 10 per cent staff in efficiency push as condo market slows

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.

The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.

The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.

RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.

The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.

RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:REI.UN)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending