REPOST: Facebook hires two Indian Institute of Information Technology Allahabad boys for Rs 60 lakh

Two students from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, a premiere institution in the country, were hired recently by two of the biggest IT firms, Google and Facebook. Learn about their story in this article from The Times of India.

Image Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

ALLAHABAD: IT majors, including popular social networking sites Facebook and Google, refused to turn up for recruitment at country's premium technical institutes like IITs this year as per reports.

The news may sound disappointing for some but on the contrary, the silver lining is that the same firms have chosen to pick their poor cousins from National Institute of Technology (NITs), offering them handsome pay package of around Rs 1 crore per annum.

Two students of the country's premium Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A), have bagged lucrative job offers of Rs 60 lakh per annum from Facebook, while another student has been chosen as student ambassador of top notch IT firm Google.

IIIT-A director M D Tiwari said that Ankit Gupta and Yogesh Sharma, both final year students of BTech, have been recruited by Facebook while their batchmate Divanshu Garg has been chosen as the Google student ambassador to represent Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad for the upcoming academic year.

A statement issued by Sunil Rao, country head, Outreach Programs, Google India Pvt Ltd, stated that unprecedented response and excitement was witnessed to the Google Student Ambassador programme, with over 1,750 candidates from more than 100 towns and cities across India vying for GSA title.

Tiwari said that various companies visited the campus of IIIT-Allahabad during the session of 2012-2013. Hundred per cent of BTech students have been placed by nearly dozen of companies with more than 70% of the students getting starting package of Rs 5.5 lakh per annum and the highest package ranging to Rs 60 lakh pa.

Some of the recruiters are Google, Microsoft, Walmart, Yahoo, Amazon, Facebook, Verizon and many more.

However, the one who walked away with the icing on the cake in last year's placement season was Uday Jalan, a student of BTech final at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT), Allahabad. He was hired by Facebook at an astronomical pay package of Rs 1.33 crore per annum.

Placement incharge Rajeev Tripathi said that the boy's sojourn with the recruitment procedure of Facebook began with a mail from Facebook in first half of October last year. The lengthy procedure extended to nine rounds of telephonic interviews after which he was selected.

Belonging to a humble family background from Kanpur, the boy got his first posting at Menlo Park, California to begin his career. With this achievement, he became the highest paid final year student recruited in the history of NIT-Allahabad.

Another student of NIT, Suratkal, was also recruited by Facebook at the same time at a pay package of around Rs 1 crore per annum.

David Bergen is the Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal. He is currently working with Blue Shield to deploy an organization-wide IT transformation, which will migrate from an outsourcer into an internal IT organization. He was formerly the global CIO of Levi Strauss & Co. Learn more about the IT industry by following this Twitter page.

REPOST: Java 8 developer preview ready for testing

Java 8 may be considered as one of the most anticipated versions of the software. The product’s release was originally set for this month, but it has been delayed until March of next year supposedly to buy time to make security fixes. However, a developer preview of the programming language has been made available; hence, customers can have a sneak peek of how the product will compare to its predecessors.

Even though a general-release development kit for Java SE (Standard Edition) 8 is not due until next year, Oracle is offering a preview build for developers to test right now.

In a blog post, Oracle's Mark Reinhold, chief architect of the Java Platform Group, urges developers to test out the developer preview for JDK (Java Development Kit) 8, which became available on Monday. JDK 8 is a based on Java SE 8.

"We've run all tests on all Oracle-supported platforms and haven't found any glaring issues. We've also fixed many of the bugs discovered since we reached the feature-complete mileistone back in June," wrote Reinhold. The key feature of the release is Project Lambda, which is intended to make it easier to write code for multiprocessors. "It adds lambda expressions, default methods, and method refer­ences to the Java programming language and extends the libraries to support parallelizable operations upon streamed data."


Image source: infoworld.com

Oracle had planned to release JDK 8 this month, but the company postponed availability until early next year, to focus on security improvements. Security has been a thorn in the side of Java recently, with many issues arising although Oracle has worked to take care of the problems. Oracle became the steward of Java when it acquired Java founder Sun Microsystems in 2010.

"If you've been watching JDK 8 evolve from afar, then now is an excellent time to download a build and try it out -- the sooner the better," Reinhold said. "Let us know if your existing code doesn't compile and run correctly on JDK 8, if it runs slower than before, if it crashes the JVM, or if there are any remaining design issues in the new language and API features."

Other features of JDK 8 include a new date and time API, compact profiles, and the Nashorn JavaScript engine. It also has new "anti-features," as Reinhold describes them, like removal of the permanent generation from the HotSpot virtual machine. "This is part of the JRockit and Hotspot (JVM) convergence effort. JRockit customers do not need to configure the permanent generation (since JRockit does not have a permanent generation) and are accustomed to not configuring the permanent generation," Oracle said in documentation on this feature.

IT specialist David Bergen, former Levi Strauss & Co. Senior Vice President and Global CIO, specializes in the development and implementation of IT solutions. Follow this Twitter page to know more about his expertise.

REPOST: This New Tool Basically Makes Star Trek Technology a Reality

Getting their hands on a Star Trek gadget remains to be fantasy among many people. But with the latest developments in technology, this fantasy can soon turn into reality. Read this article from Entrepreneur.com to learn more. 

It seems like every other day we read about some far-out, new technology that makes us scratch our heads and say, "What the heck?" In this series, we'll take a look at all types of crazy new gadgets, apps and other technologies -- and the entrepreneurs dreaming them up.

Mr. Spock, Dr. Bones, prepare yourselves for gadget lust. And the rest of us, too. A new gadget promises to act as a handheld scanner that can read a person's vital health signs in virtually an instant. For all of you Star Trek geeks, it's sort of like the tricorder scanner used by the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

The new tool is called Scanadu Scout. It can measure your temperature, heart rate, and other vital signs just by touching your forehead. Yes, a simple touch to your head is all it needs. The device then connects wirelessly to an app on your smartphone to provide you with analysis of the data it collected.

"Learn ways that different people, locations, activities, foods, beverages, and medicines affect your body," the California-based company says on its website. "Sick or well. Discover connections. Watch trends. Spot side effects. Catch problems early. And track them."

The idea is to provide users with basic yet important health information that can be used to better inform doctors about any conditions you may have. This potentially could be useful for people who suffer from chronic illnesses. Or for anyone else who wants to avoid a needless trip to the doctor or the emergency room if your symptoms can easily be diagnosed.

Another device, called Scanadu Scanaflo, is a urine test kit that the company says can test for levels of glucose, protein, leukocytes, nitrates, blood, bilirubin, urobilinogen, specific gravity, and pH in urine. It will also test for pregnancy. All from a person's home, or wherever it is used.

Being able to access information about your own health seems like a logical next step in our always-connected, mobile-obsessed culture. But, to me, there seem to be at least a couple important flaws -- at least initially. First, I understand that this device could save time in the doctor's office since it essentially eliminates the need for anyone to take and read your vitals. But, realistically, I don't know any doctors who would trust the self-administered findings from an outside device without checking a person's vitals themselves anyway.

Second, the Scanadu Scout makes your health information portable over your smartphone, so it's easy to share with your doctor or other health-care workers. But doesn't this also pose a privacy issue? What if your phone is lost? Can someone have access to even some of your health information? Does Scanadu harvest the information it collects about you?

Unfortunately, not much is officially known still about the technology behind the Scanadu Scout. The "Tech Specs" section of the website is still listed as "Coming Soon."

But there seems to be a swell of enthusiasm for the device in the market. The Scanadu Scout recently raised $1.66 million on crowdfunding site Indiegogo from more than 8,500 funders in 110 countries, AllThingsD reported. Not bad for a little device inspired by Star Trek, eh?

David Bergen’s career milestone was when he served as Levi Strauss’ CIO and made improvements on the brand’s supply chain. Visit this Twitter page to learn more about his achievements.

REPOST: Those faded, distressed blue jeans might be harboring a dirty secret

The Bangladesh factory tragedy has placed a spotlight on labor rights violations and unsafe practices of sub-contracted clothing production in other parts of the world. This article at qz.com talks about one of Levi Strauss & Co.’s efforts to ban sandblasting, a hazardous jeans production process in China after discovering it exposes workers to the risk of lung cancer.

Demand for ripped, distressed jeans is causing real distress in the garment industry. At least five factories in southern China are still using a widely banned practice of sandblasting—linked to an incurable form of lung disease—to wear out jeans, according to a new report by a consortium of workers’ rights groups.

Sandblasting—a way of speeding up the process of wear and tear—took off among apparel makers when worn-out, pre-torn jeans became trendy in the 1990s and early 2000s. Many brands, including Armani, Levi Strauss, Benetton, Mango and Burberry, banned the use of sandblasting in 2004, after a Turkish doctor evaluating former denim plant workers for military service established a link between sandblasting and silicosis—a fatal lung disease caused by inhaling tiny bits of silica, a mineral found in sand. In 2009, Turkey—a major clothing manufacturing country—banned the practice, but activists believe garment makers have moved to other countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan or China and parts of North Africa. Alternatives exist like sanding jeans by hand with sandpaper, but they tend to be more expensive. A relatively new method called “surface activation” involves washing down the jeans before they are dyed.

Today’s report, commissioned by labor rights groups Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, the Clean Clothes Campaign, War on Want, and the IHLO, a Hong Kong-based trade union and workers’ rights group, was based on roughly 170 interviews in 2011 and 2012 with Chinese workers at six clothing plants in Guangzhou—the base for most of the country’s denim manufacturing. Workers said they manually blasted jeans with air guns loaded with abrasive sand, often worked 12-hour days and earned, on average, between 2,000 renminbi and 7,000 yuan monthly ($330 to $1,140) (pdf, p. 18) to sandblast between 500 and 600 pairs of jeans.

According to the report, some of the factories supply to major Western clothing brands. The report says that a worker from a Zhongshan Yida Apparel plant claimed in November last year that sandblasting continued, despite the firm’s earlier pledge to stop the practice. Zhongshan says it provides 4% of jeans sold in the US and supplies to Levi, according to Levi’s most recent supplier list and H&M. (Levi and H&M banned the use of sandblasting for any of their products in 2010.) Yida did not return request for comment, but a Levi spokesperson told Quartz that the company had verified that Yida stopped the practice in 2009 and disposed of its sandblasting machines in February 2012.

The company also said managers at another Levi supplier mentioned in the report had sent photos in January of last year proving that all sandblasting equipment had been removed. The report said the factory, Golden City, had told workers to hide sandblasting machines when audits or inspections took place. H&M confirmed to Quartz that it works with Yida but that it hasn’t ordered sandblasted (pdf, p. 33) clothing from any suppliers since 2010. H&M said that Yida hand scrapes denim supplied to the retailer.

Read more about David Bergen’s work with Levi Strauss & Co. as the company’s former CIO by visiting this website.

REPOST: Are you ready for a promotion?

Promotions are granted upon managers’ discretion, but many employees are under the impression that they must wait to be noticed in order to qualify for one. This SF Gate article recommends what hard-working employees can do to secure their place in line for a promotion.

Image source: SF Gate

The truth is you may indeed deserve a promotion after years of helping make your boss and employer successful. However, promotions don’t just happen incidentally. The mystique of being promoted is largely up to you in how well you connect with others and own your career development.

Being promotable does not always mean being visible in a positive way by demonstrating a good work ethic backed up with reliability. If it were, chances are you would have been promoted by now.

Deserving a promotion and receiving one are two different things. In order to be in line for a promotion there are some things you can actively do rather than wait for others to notice. One of the most obvious yet overlooked areas is in communicating with your boss on a regular basis. Don’t make the mistake of assuming your boss knows all of your strengths and contributions.

Another area that often keeps promotions at bay is not meeting enough people by staying in your comfort zone. If you need help in meeting others in your company, inquire about mentoring programs. Mentors are great sources of information and can help with introductions.
Blue Jeans Now Allowed At Beaufort County Schools

Students in one school district in Eastern Carolina will now be allowed to wear blue jeans to school.

Last night the Beaufort County School Board relaxed the student dress code for the 2013-14 school year.

Pants can now be any color and yes, blue jeans will be allowed. But those pants cannot have holes in them, nor can they sag or be too tight. The school system says belts will not be required.

The school board didn't make any changes to their policy on shirts. Collars are still required, though the shirts do not have to be tucked in.

The old dress code was adopted in 2007 and limited pants to tan khaki, solid navy blue or solid black.

Communication is even more critical if you report to a boss in a different location. Frustration in being overlooked for a promotion could be lessened if your boss knew about your career goals and interests in adding to the company’s success.  Take the initiative to meet with your boss, asking for additional responsibilities or new projects that interest you. Volunteer when possible for assignments that will help broaden your work experience.

The most important factor in being promotable is keeping up a good attitude even though you might have been passed over for a job you wanted, it’s never too late to start building a good case when the next opportunity becomes available.

Be patient; promotions will happen as the company grows. In the meantime, focus on your job and make it a priority to accomplish the tasks assigned to you. Avoid getting caught up in the noise of office gossip and being sidetracked from what you do best. Listen for opportunities while developing good working relationships with hiring decision makers.

Read more about David Bergen’s steady career progress as top-ranked executive for Fortune 500 companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. and The Gap by following this Twitter account.

Nokia Lumia 925 Hammer & Knife Test

REPOST: Levi’s® Stadium – Home of the San Francisco 49ers

In a press release, Levi Strauss & Co. announces partnership with San Francisco 49ers in an effort to engage in sports and music fans in the Bay Area and around the world.

Two Bay Area Icons – Levi Strauss & Co. and San Francisco 49ers -- present naming rights deal to Santa Clara Stadium Authority Thursday

Proposed partnership announced today at Levi’s Plaza in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO and SANTA CLARA, CA – Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) announced today that it will present the Santa Clara Stadium Authority a proposal for a 20-year, $220 million naming rights agreement for ”Levi’s® Stadium” on Thursday, May 9, 2013.

The apparel company is proposing a naming rights partnership with the Santa Clara Stadium Authority and San Francisco 49ers that would make the company an official sponsor of the 49ers, and feature premium interior and exterior branding of the new Levi’s® Stadium.

Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Chip Bergh said, “Levi’s® Stadium will connect two iconic Bay Area brands that share similar values, a rich heritage and a pioneering spirit. Joining the incredible legacy of the 49ers organization is a perfect fit for the Levi’s® brand – and a chance for us to engage with sports and music fans across the Bay Area and around the world.”

San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York said, “49ers have worn Levi's® jeans since the Gold Rush era. We are so honored to have the perfect partner for the premier outdoor sports and entertainment venue in the world. A model of innovation and sustainability, Levi's® Stadium will bring to life all that is special about the Bay Area.”

The San Francisco 49ers and Levi Strauss & Co. share deep roots in Bay Area history: in 1873, Levi Strauss & Co. created the first blue jean by adding copper rivets to denim pants for the working man of the American West. The 49ers franchise has won five Super Bowl trophies and was the first major league professional sports team to be based in San Francisco more than 60 years ago.

City of Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews said, "This partnership is a tremendous opportunity for Levi's®, the 49ers, the City of Santa Clara and the entire Bay Area. As powerful advocates for our communities, we share a vision for the new stadium constructed on the pillars of innovation, sustainability and an unparalleled entertainment experience. I am looking forward to this being brought for consideration by the Stadium Authority to approve aligning this great, global brand with our great City tomorrow evening."

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said, “It is very fitting to see two of the Bay Area’s best-known brands coming together to showcase the best our region has to offer. Every time a fan turns on their television to watch a 49ers home game from Levi’s® Stadium, the entire region will be on center stage. And, in a few short weeks, we are hopeful that we will host Super Bowl 50 or 51 and experience the enormous economic boost and lasting legacy for the entire Bay Area.”

Levi Strauss & Co. announced the proposal for Levi’s® Stadium today during its annual Community Day, in which thousands of employees around the globe give back by volunteering with local non-profit organizations in 170 projects in more than 46 countries around the world. San Francisco 49ers CEO, Jed York, today joined Levi Strauss & Co. employees at one of 31 volunteer projects in the Bay Area.

David Bergen is the former chief information officer of Levi Strauss & Co. Learn about his contribution into the company by visiting this Facebook page.

Analytics and business intelligence: When a degree isn't enough

In this data-driven world, the IT industry is struggling to cope with a technology that’s evolving faster than ever before. The tools and procedures needed to manage vast amounts of data continue to become complex and higher education cannot keep up with them. Barb Wixom, associate professor of commerce at the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and author of the 2013 State of Business Intelligence survey, suggests that a degree on analytics and business intelligence isn’t enough. Students need access to real, big data sets in order to further learn about analytics and how data can be used to achieve business outcomes.

Image source: sophialiteraria.wordpress.com

This need can be addressed through academic alliance programs that help professors create meaningful and data-centric course blueprints and pedagogy that expose students to the real world of data and analytics. Ideally, the course plan is one that provides a broad coverage in marketing and analytics and engages students at a practical-level with hands-on learning. 

Image source: All America City Award

However, there are universities offering courses on data science and business intelligence that still lack the connection to organizations that can offer students the access to real-world cases, software implementation, and other IT processes. This is why there are IT graduates who cannot meet the requirements of the companies they apply for, forcing them to transfer to other careers and causing the widening talent gap on data and technology.

Image source: business-english.pl

The long-term solution for this case is to strengthen partnerships between institutions of higher education and business organizations. Cooperation between these two sectors is needed in order to redefine the curricula and target the specific skill sets required in the 21st century workplace.

David Bergen is the former CIO of Levi Strauss & Co. Visit this blog to read up on his perspective on the talent gap problem.

REPOST: Would you wear these? Jeans made from recycled plastic bottles

Levi's transforms recycled bottles and other plastic waste into soft, high-quality denim.  Read this article from TODAY.

Image Source: TODAY

 

They don’t look like they’re made from trash – and that’s the whole idea behind Levi’s new Waste-Less jeans.

The company says at least 20 percent of the material that goes into making this denim comes from recycled plastic bottles and food trays. That means about eight 12- to 20-ounce bottles are reborn in each pair.

“It’s good for people and better for the planet,” said Jonathan Kirby, vice president of men’s design at Levis Strauss. The company plans to turn about 3.5 million recycled bottles and other plastic waste into soft, high-quality denim for its Spring 2013 Waste-Less collection. And just to make sure you don’t miss that fact, Levi’s puts a tag on each pair: “These jeans are made of garbage.”

“We decided to take something that was trash and turn it onto something that was valuable and viable,” Kirby told me. “The end goal is to get people to think a little bit differently about what they do with their waste. We want them to realize that a piece of trash can actually become something else that’s relevant to them.”

Right now, this sustainable denim is being made into jeans for both men and women, as well as the classic Trucker jacket for men. The jeans start at around $68, which Kirby calls “a very fair price for a product of this quality and value.” How do they do it?

The recycled plastic – brown beer bottles (yes, they’re plastic), green soda bottles, clear water bottles and black food trays – is collected from communities across the country and shipped to a manufacturing plant where it is broken down into tiny pellets and spun into polyester fibers. That polyester yarn is then woven with cotton into denim.

The Waste-Less jeans are thin and lightweight, darker than some other denim. The inside of the jeans also looks different. They’re not the typical blue and white. These are more brown and blue.

“The brown bottles and the food trays give the fabric that unique shade and color,” Kirby explained. “You can actually see the recycled material in the garments themselves.”

Is this really good for the earth?

The recycling of plastic bottles has increased dramatically during the last few years. The International Bottled Water Association recently reported that 39 percent of the plastic water bottles in the United States were recycled in 2011. That’s up from 32 percent the year before.

Of course, something has to be done with all of this waste plastic before recycling truly takes place. It must be made into new products, such as plastic lumber, carpets, new containers or clothing. Environmentalists call this “closing the loop.”

“It’s a great way to make sure there’s an end market for recovered materials,” said Darby Hoover, senior resource specialist with the Natural Resources Defense Counsel. “When consumers put plastic bottles into the recycling bins, this helps ensure that there’s a market for them to actually get turned into useful products.”

Hoover points out that this does not decrease the plastic that’s being used to make new plastic bottles – environmentalists would like to see fewer of them used – but it does help keep some plastic waste out of landfills.

“Using recycled content helps decrease environmental impacts across the board as compared with using virgin materials for manufacture,” Hoover told me.

So what does denim made with trash look at feel like? 

Image Source: TODAY

 Levi’s sent me a pair to wear for a few days.

I asked some friends and colleagues to feel the material. Most described it as “smooth”or “soft.” They were completely surprised when I told them there was recycled plastic in the denim and they all wanted to know more.

One person asked if the plastic in the jeans would melt if ironed or thrown in the dryer. The company assured me they will not.

A long-term commitment to the environment

This is not the first environmental initiative for Levi’s. The company’s Water-Less manufacturing technique introduced in 2011 reduces the water used in the finishing process of some products by as much as 96 percent. The company says the Water “We don’t just want to reduce our impact on the environment, we want to leave it better than we found it,” said James Curleigh, global president of Levi’s brand in a statement.

Clearly, Levi Strauss believes it can be a leader in eco-fashion. Vice president Jonathan Kirby told me he’s looking into a number of different sustainable clothing options for next year.

“It’s the beginning of something that will hopefully become a bigger initiative for us,” he said.

David Bergen, former Global CIO of Levi Strauss & Co., has introduced a wide spectrum of software solutions that significantly improve the operations of large-scale businesses.  Follow this Facebook page to get relevant information on the business.

Symptoms of a micromanager

Image Source: peterstark.com


There is no single formula to being an effective leader. Each organization’s “personality” calls for a different management style, and the range of potential encounters requires a manager to remain flexible in his or her ways. Traditional companies like KFC and other family-run businesses have a code of conduct and a list of situational protocols which are consistently adhered to. Companies like Google and Apple, which require their employees to remain creative and think out of the box, may be more lax with their policies about office decorum and attire. Still, an effective manager is one who remembers to remain within the bounds of his titular duty: managing.



Image Source: biginterview.com


Because of the need to control all aspects of a situation, some managers involve themselves in even the most minute of tasks– those that ought to be left to the employee’s discretion. Known as micromanaging, this behavior is evident when a leader avoids delegating tasks or monitors project completion too closely. A micromanager will require his or her employees to seek written “approval” before commencing with any task, and will compulsively instruct and check in on them as they complete it. Often– and despite knowing the state of the employee’s work– a micromanager will require frequent, over-specific reports in which he or she will almost always find fault. Should a member of the team commit an infraction, a micromanager will insist on “doing it him/herself” rather than giving the employee a chance. Overall, micromanagers are detrimental to team productivity because they undermine the purpose of having a team.





Image Source: theglobeandmail.com


An effective manager, David Bergen helped Levi Strauss maintain consistent performance as its CIO. Read about his views on leadership on this Facebok page.

Where teens are a key demographic

 Image Source: gurianinstitute.com


Being a demographic without independent purchasing power, teenagers are sometimes disregarded when it comes to planning where to focus brand and marketing strategies. Self-sufficient adults in the 25-55 range are the most sought-after, while infants and children are the next-best audience because their parents tend to want “the best” for them– or at the very least give in very easily to their spontaneous purchasing whims. Teenagers, whose only income is the money gifted by their parents, were traditionally considered risky audience to sell to. There is no nationwide statistic on how much the average teenager can afford, nor can retail companies coerce their parents to purchasing on the teens’ behalf the way baby products seem to have the power to do.



Image Source: popsugar.com


In the last decade, product manufacturers and marketing companies alike have both seen the change in the role of the American teen. Although still dependent, to a certain extent, on their parents’ income, teenagers have taken on a new identity. They are the impassioned youth, voice of tomorrow, and one of the biggest influencers in modern media. Music artists, movie actors, and societal personalities crave teenage approval– so much so that there are even “Teen Awards” to celebrate people and brands that have won the hearts of America’s future.



Image Source: jezebel.com


In appreciating the value of the teenage opinion, major fashion magazines have released issues geared towards 13- to 19-year olds. Teen Vogue, for example, features the same high-fashion couture but makes use of teenage themes, accessories, and real-life scenarios to paint the relevance of the style. If the biggest names in fashion publication is listening to teens, surely there is power in what they have to say.


Companies like Levi Strauss & Co. have had to understand and cater to the teen demand. Read more about responding to the market from the former CIO, David Bergen, on this website.

Why the rich keep working

The American dream is a relative concept. Overall, it advocates that life, regardless of what state it is in, can be improved by traditional hard work. It suggests a minimum wage earner can own a house and maybe even a car, or that middle-class parents can live in a gated community and send their children to a private school by putting in enough hours at their respective work places. Upward mobility is every worker’s ambition, but what happens when they get to the top?

Image Source: cbc.ca

Living in the rat race, most nine-to-five workers dream of a fortune: an “I quit” sum of money for which they would leave their jobs and never return to any work again. For some, this is a million dollars; for more reasonable or modest livers, “the number” does not even come close to half. It may seem like an impossible figure, but a diligent few have already managed to earn their dream cash prize before retirement age. What is surprising to observe is that, once they reach “that point” in their lives, they do the opposite of what they may have promised themselves as young workers: they continue to work.

Image Source: davmanagement.files.wordpress.com

For former CEO Steve Jobs, continuing to work at Apple clearly became about more than money and stocks. Until his illness got the better of him, Jobs continued to dedicate himself to his company because he wanted to see his ideas manifested. A visionary like Jobs could not simply be a spectator; he needed to see his ideas come to life to feel fulfilled before he died. Other top-level company executives like, Alan Meckler, CEO of WebMediaBrands with a net worth is over $400 million; Paul Allen, the lesser known co-founder of Microsoft; David Bergen, former CIO for Levis Strauss, could leave their jobs any minute and have enough money for several lifetimes, but choose to stay for posterity. Perhaps the rich continue to work because, once they get to “that point” in their life, they move past thinking of their work as a “job” and instead come think of it as life.

Image Source: forbes.com

Effective leaders produce work that speaks for itself. David Bergen of Levi Strauss provides tips and suggestions on how to maximize any size of team on this Twitter account.

Beating the rain with a sophisticated information system

Unexpected events are a constant challenge to managers. While good leaders can mitigate the effects of any sudden changes on business operations, the ability to do so is often maimed by complexity, particularly in the case of globalized supply chains. But with the development of information systems for business, the challenge has become more conquerable for managers around the globe.

Image Source: si-consulting.pl

Today’s globalized supply chains operate amidst various factors that can affect them both positively and negatively. Many of these factors are foreseeable, but some occur without warning. Sudden events, such as earthquakes and other calamities, political upheavals, and epidemics, among others, often have adverse effects on the supply chain.

Primarily, these factors can disrupt logistics and interrupt the smooth flow of products and services from manufacturers to customers. Distance—a common hindrance in any globalized operations—can reduce the manager’s capacity to mitigate the damage done. Products lost to unexpected events translate to wasted resources and unattainable profits.

Image Source: welovescienceblog.files.wordpress.com

Companies nowadays utilize information systems to reduce the losses incurred due to unexpected occurrences. Using them, managers have better access to information on the state of business operations, this regardless of distance. They are also able to make more accurate predictions based on logic and probability.

Moreover, managers can devise solutions using information systems. In the case of disrupted logistics, they can find alternative routes and methods to transport goods within the deadline without exerting too much effort. This can also serve to even out inconsistencies and inefficiencies across the entire supply chain.

Image Source: jpm.pt

Information systems have multiple uses in today’s organizations. Indeed, they have become indispensable components of any company’s preparation for sudden changes, and one of the best investments in avoiding loss.

During his stint as CIO of Levi Strauss, David Bergen used his expertise in information systems to effect changes that enhanced the company’s supply chain. Learn more by visiting this Facebook page.

Gained a few pounds? Here's how to return (almost) anything

Image Source: thepottershandacademy.com

 














While many of your friends have known you well enough to give appropriate presents, some become overexcited at bulk sales or simply expect you will love their radical gift idea. Whatever the reason, most holiday celebrators can expect to receive a gift or two they simply wouldn’t keep. Returning the present to the giver is considered rude, while returning it to the store for cash is impossible. Assuming the giver did not include a gift receipt, here are two other ways you can get something you like out of the present you don’t:


Swap it for an item of the same price


You may not have liked the piece you were given, but chances are you’ll find something that suits you in the store’s other collections. Have the cashier determine the cost of your present and find an item you like that costs the same or a little bit more. If there’s an item you’ve been eyeing, now is the time to give it to yourself on behalf of a friend.

Image Source: fromscratchclub.files.wordpress.com

Ask for store credit


If you receive a gift from a store you would simply never shop at, have the value of your item exchanged for store credit. Most major retail outlets allow this and replace the item with a plastic store card. So many shoppers have been in this predicament that third-party gift card websites actually exist to swap or sell store credit. You might want to save the card for a time you’ll need to buy something new– like when you lose all your holiday weight from jogging all summer.


Gift giving can be a tricky process, but it doesn’t have to bog you down. If you’re thinking about returning or replacing an unwanted gift, ConsumerWorld.org has published a list of major store policies to help you get started.

Image Source: facebook.com/BankofAmerica

 




















While working at Levi Strauss, David Bergen made sure customers could shop and return their purchases with ease. Read more about his innovative ideas on this blog.