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The Wisdom of Crowds

From the middle of yesterday afternoon, Twitter’s top trending topic was Millbank. The evening news was engorged with images of breaking glass and an angry mob knocking off copper’s hats at Tory HQ....

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The X Factor

There is an increasing sense of unreality around some HR conversations that I’ve heard recently. It’s made me think about William Beveridge, ‘Father of the Welfare State’ and a 1960’s social...

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The price of everything

The CIPD reported an increase in employee satisfaction last week. They attribute this to the ‘fixed grin’ effect’: people are so grateful for any sort of employment that they are more likely to view it...

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Vive la difference

“How do you spot an Englishman in the cinema?” a French joke goes. “He’s the one who apologises when you accidentally tread on his foot”. For every national stereotype the English hold, a corresponding...

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A history lesson

This Thursday (9 December) will see the first vote on the government’s proposals for university tuition fees. With the Liberal Democrats still wringing their hands or maybe one another’s necks over...

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Social media and Mars Bars

The thinking man’s recruiter, @mervyndinnen chatted with me in the pub about sixties Britain the other evening. We weren’t far from Carnaby Street so it felt right, but his point was about something...

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Do wages matter?

I’ve worked in some places where people have earned obscene amounts of money. In none of them have I seen serious resentment over income differences between the best rewarded and the worst paid. But...

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Meet Anne

I only employ one person these days: an Australian, Anne. Between us, Anne and I are responsible for the HR of a drinks business which has gone from startup to 300 employees across 17 countries in a...

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Organising versus reorganising

Charles Handy quotes an old joke about a stranger asking directions in rural Ireland. Stopping a passer-by in the street, the visitor describes his intended destination and is met with a puzzled look....

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The price of everything, the value of nothing

Writing in the FT this weekend, food writer Tim Hayward identifies the subtle feelings provoked when quality restaurateurs outsource parts of their production. It reminded me of a conversation I had in...

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