Category: Current Issues

You are the Reason Your Most Essential Team Fails

A team is defined as several persons associated with some joint action. You drive on roads and highways with other vehicles. Driving is the joint action you have in common with other motorists, which creates a team. The team’s purpose is to land at their destination traversing safely through road traffic until reaching the target. This is your most essential team, and you are the reason your team is failing.

Unfortunately, some of your group is focused only on themselves. Their goal is to arrive where they want, not taking into consideration the team. They swerve between cars, tailgate the vehicle in front of them, and slow traffic by driving in the left-hand lane even though cars are trying to pass. Conversely, colleagues become frustrated when they can’t pass, forcing teammates to step on their brakes.

Someone stepping on their brake signals they are reducing speed. Causes for that action are approaching an intersection, a slower vehicle, and of course, the motorist that just cut in front of him. The car behind, seeing the brake light come on instinctively presses on his brake. Consequently, this starts a chain reaction with other vehicles observing the brake lights. The name for this is Phantom Traffic Jam.

A Mysterious Phenomenon

Mysterious Phenomenon The mysterious phenomenon occurs when traffic is backed up. Upon reaching the spot where the traffic lets up, mysteriously, there is nothing there. The phenomenon developed from the car that originally stepped on its brake. The distance the lead car broke the speed determines how far back it affects cars behind it. In other words, the longer the brake is depressed the farther back it will disrupt cars.

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We The People Vote But Does It Count

Photo by Dyana Wing So -unsplash

What happened to our voting system? It used to be that we, the people voted by mailing in our votes before the actual voting day, early vote, or vote at the polls the day of. Sitting in front of our televisions we found out the results of the election that night or early the next morning. No longer do we have a voting day. It is now a voting week or more. We the people voted, but did it count?

This year after the polls closed, the outcome of several positions including The President of the United States is still unknown. We have more technology connected to voting than ever before, yet we did not receive the results faster than when they were hand-counted.

Mail-in Votes

One of the problems causing the delay is allowing mail-in votes after election day. An excuse we are given is that the US Post Office has trouble getting the mailed votes in on time. Though, not an issue in the last decade, somehow it is now. Is it actually a Post Office problem?

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Are you Telling me This is About Washing our Hands

Ok, one more. I know I wasn’t going to write one article about the coronavirus and here comes my second one. I must since I’m perplexed as I watch the news. Everywhere we hear, wash our hands, cough into our sleeves, and don’t touch our faces in public. That’s peculiar, are you telling me that people are not ordinarily washing their hands?

Washing Our Hands

I’ve seen it in public restrooms, women leaving a stall and walk right out of the bathroom. Really! In the back of my mind, I imagined men might not be cleaning their hands. Shockingly, these are women and I’m not talking about kids. Children love to play in the sink so they are apt to clean their little fingers. I’m talking about women; grown-up, childbearing age, grandmother aged women. This is incomprehensible.

What happened between being a kid when our mothers reminded us to wash our hands to becoming an adult and believe that it’s not necessary anymore.

I remember when men used a handkerchief to blow their nose in. I always thought that was gross since they didn’t run to the bathroom to wash their hands, and some poor woman would pick up that square and throw it in the washing machine. Today, our habits are worse.

The CDC Telling Us

The CDC states that only 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women wash their hands after using the bathroom. CDC Statistics

According to the Bradley Corporation, “while 92 percent of Americans say they believe it’s important to wash their hands after using the restroom, only 66 percent actually do.” As for disinfecting with soap, “Almost 70 percent admitted to skipping that step of the hygienic process.” These are Americans, not a country that doesn’t have running water. HuffPost Article.

Surprisingly, there is National Hand Washing day on June 15th and Global Hand Washing Day is October 15th. Is there a need to have a day devoted to hand washing to remind us to actually do it!

What This Is About

It’s normal to wash our hands often, sneeze and cough into our sleeves and don’t touch our face in public, right? I’ve always done that and I’m hardly ever sick as a result of my hygienic practices. Back in January of this year, I wrote an article about this; What Someone Else’s Sickness Costs You, before Coronavirus came to light, which proves my point. Proper hygiene holds back the spread of viruses, including influenza.

Nevertheless, here we are. The spread and intensity of the coronavirus remind us of how they spread. Whether it’s influenza, a cold, or COVID-19, all transmit from one person to another. A practice as simple as cleaning hands with soap and water can combat the spread.

So I wonder, are you telling me we are here today with coronavirus due to not washing our hands?

What’s With all the Deranged Zombies

I promised myself I wouldn’t write about the Coronavirus. Everywhere you glance there is an article about it. I’ve decided to change it up by considering a result of COVID-19; hoarding. The pandemic turned us into deranged zombies snatching everything up.  Deranged since our actions were “insane and disordered.” Zombies, in view of how we acted on “no expert information,” we just believed some guy next to us, or the media, which is just as crazy.

What Happened?

At first people raced to the stores to score paper products like toilet paper, napkins, paper towels, pretty much all paper items. Remarkably, they bought up water, which when you think about it is ridiculous since water is available from the kitchen sink. This all started with a few people hoarding the paper products while others watched and decided to join in.

Nowhere were we told there was a shortage of these products. Acting without thinking, like a zombie, people generated a fear that resulted in hoarding, which led to a crisis, creating a paper shortage. All along we’ve had toilet paper, so why would people assume we wouldn’t.

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What Someone Else’s Sickness Costs You

It’s disturbing witnessing the number of people out and about who show signs of the flu. They cough, sneeze and look like they have been run over by a train, still in the contagious stage. It’s not just the adults. A parent will be shopping with their child who’s wiping his nose, has a fever and coughs like it is coming straight out of his chest. Along with that, the child picks up everything in sight.

Why do they think this is acceptable! Today people have the attitude of taking care of themselves, not think about the effect on others. In the end, it hurts them too.

Influenza, (also known as the “flu”) is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses. Common symptoms are: comes on quickly, fever, aches, chills, fatigue, cough, headache, sometimes along with sneezing, stuffy nose, and sore throat.

WHAT THE CDC SAYS

The CDC estimates that so far this season there have been at least 9.7 million flu illnesses, 87,000 hospitalizations and 4,800 deaths from flu. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This year, influenza B is predominant. The strain affects children more than adults. Usually, the season starts with influenza A, which affects older adults more than children.  With influenza B, the result is more cases of child flu and fewer cases of elderly adults.

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What’s Going to Save you From the Mid-Year Tax Changes

Tax benefits from the mid-year changes eliminated and drastically reduced tax cuts businesses count on. Now they need to be saved.

The 2019 Mid-Year Tax changes eliminated or drastically reduced tax incentives and deductions that businesses depend on. Some of the tax changes took effect in 2018 and also impact the filing of 2019 taxes. In particular, The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) added dozens of tax changes that directly affect businesses. These changes are incentives and deductions that firms use to offset their tax liability. Without them, companies need some way to save them from the loss.

Although, according to the IRS, “The new law changed tax rates and brackets, revised business expense deductions, increased the standard deduction, removed personal exemptions, increased the Child Tax Credit and limited or discontinued certain deductions.” www.irs.gov. Those deductions are what businesses have counted on for years.

What’s Eliminated

Making it to the chopping block, here are a few deductions that have been eliminated:

Moving expenses deduction, Mileage rebated deduction, Entertainment deductions, Transportation fringe benefits, Corporate AMT, and NOL carryover, to name a few. Not only do we lose them, but we have to discover what each of them proposes.

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Tick Tock, You are on the Clock

Working With Commission Salespeople

The amount of time you spend with a commission salesperson determines their pay rate.

When working with commission salespeople, time is a valuable commodity. Tick Tock, you are on the clock. Once they approach you a clock is ticking. Let’s see how time works for you and the salesman.

A commission salesperson is paid a percentage of the sales they make. The more sales the more money the employee receives. Commission based salaries are either paid totally off what the salesperson sold or may have a base salary plus commission. Even with a base salary, their sales make up most of what they are paid.

Therefore, what you do while working with these employees makes them money or creates their doom. Most people look at the process as the salesperson works for them. This frame of mind hampers the ability of the employee to help you, which in turn makes it difficult for you to get what you want.

Salespeople are there to help you. They want to find what you came there for in the timeliest, friendly way they can. The salesperson is sensitive to your time and you should be sensitive to theirs. It comes down to Time. Continue reading “Tick Tock, You are on the Clock”

Your Tone of Voice Affects Social Media

Social Media sites i.e. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, are the backbone of communication. They are used for sharing information from knowledge to gossip.  Accordingly, your tone of voice determines the effects of social media. 

The Stats

According to Statista, the statistics portal, there are roughly 3.5 billion people using some form of online social media worldwide. Anyone can access an immense amount of information on the web. And access they do. Americans are on social media sites an average of 2 hours a day which equates to 5 years and 4 months in their lifetime. This is just social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Not only are users reading the material posted, but they are also commenting on it. Folks of different backgrounds, interests, beliefs, and skills are reaching out with their opinions. Consequently, social media is a tremendous tool for people to experience and gain the knowledge they otherwise would not have discovered.

Viewpoints on Social Media

We value different viewpoints. It’s how we grow. Staying in your little world will never result in productive, worthwhile ideas. Exposing yourself to as many resources possible divulges valid and educational information.

Unfortunately, it’s these differences that cause arguments between users. For some reason, people feel they can comment on posts negatively. They attack the author with hateful remarks. They want to force their opinion. This begs the question, why do people who comment on posts think they can throw the rules of courtesy out the window? Continue reading “Your Tone of Voice Affects Social Media”

Psychological Phenomenon Occurs When People Work in Groups

What happens when a group of people, let’s say Democrats and Republicans, assemble to make legislative decisions? This sounds like a set up for a joke. Three Democrats and three Republications walk into a bar. Funny, but I do wonder what happens when a body gathers. What is the outcome? A psychological phenomenon occurs when people work in groups.

When People Work

Groups consist of any number of persons who share a common characteristic or purpose. A group contains people with the same beliefs, interests, and principles. They convene at predetermined times to focus on a shared docket.

There are advantages to working in a group. Each person has a different set of knowledge and skills to bring to the table. The team members contribute to and support each other to produce ideas and results. Groups provide team-building experience and social skills on how to work well with others.

Work In Groups

These are a few of the positive reasons to work in groups. Conversely, there are negative considerations. For instance, those involved push their own agenda. Sometimes there will be those who socialize too much and nothing gets done. There are groups with lots of disagreements so again, nothing gets done. Another negative that occurs is a psychological phenomenon called GroupThink. Continue reading “Psychological Phenomenon Occurs When People Work in Groups”

Companies Count on You to Fill Out Surveys Wrong

After a purchase, it’s common to receive a survey. Businesses are seeking input to see how they can improve, or how the customer feels about their company. It’s your chance to express your opinion. Corporations place a great deal of weight on surveys which creates lots of responsibility for the customer, so careful thought demands to be given.

Surveys can be about facilities, logistics, or salespeople. The question you should ask before diving in is… What is this survey pertaining to? There’s something the business wants to know. By understanding what they are evaluating your answers will be useful.

When it comes to a salesperson’s survey, customers do not know how to answer them correctly. A survey of the person who worked with you is not the time to complain about the organization. You would be criticizing the wrong person for your unhappiness. Here’s what happens.

The salesperson’s survey is going to his manager. It does not reach the management or ownership of the business. Unfortunately, many firms will ask questions on the salesperson’s survey about their experience overall but don’t be fooled. Whatever you answer will affect only the salesperson. Continue reading “Companies Count on You to Fill Out Surveys Wrong”

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