Web 2.0 Companies Do Not Have Any Women on Their Board of Directors In one memorable episode of the famous old short films “The Little Rascals,” after not getting invited to a party, the Our Gang little dudes decided to form their own group, comically called “The He-Man Woman-Haters Club.” In other words: No girls allowed! While it was wink-wink cute when Spanky, Alfalfa and Buckwheat huffed and puffed about keeping out Darla–which they never ever could do–back in the last century, it’s not quite as adorkable when it comes to the boards of all the major Web 2.0 hotshots these days. That would be Twitter, Facebook, Zynga, Groupon and Foursquare, none of which have any women as directors. As in zero. What’s most remarkable is that most of these start-ups are run by what I consider enlightened and open-minded entrepreneurs, mostly young enough to be part of a generation more inclined to value equality and diversity in the workplace. In addition, each of these companies has a massive base of women consumers, in some cases well over 50 percent of its audience.
Student Loans Are Holding Back Economic Recovery, CFPB Says A top regulator is once again sounding the alarm on student debt, warning that the ballooning market is putting the economic recovery on hold. "Policymakers cannot sit by as passive observers," Rohit Chopra, student loan ombudsman for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, recently told the Financial Times. His remarks came a few days after the CFPB released a report likening risky student loan practices to subprime mortgage lending, which contributed to the housing bust. "Borrowers may be paying higher rates than what their risk profile justifies," Chopra said. Chopra told the FT that overly high interest rates may be preventing student loan borrowers from buying first homes. Many economists say that it is necessary for would-be first-time homebuyers to start buying in order for the housing market and broader economy to recover. This isn't the first time that Chopra and the CFPB have sounded the alarm about rapid growth in student loan debt.
The 8 dumbest business decisions ever | The Best Article Every day Written by Minyanville These dead-wrong determinations seemed like reasonable choices to somebody at some point. But time has exposed them as mammoth mistakes. Mistakes they’d like to take back “Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes,” Oscar Wilde wrote. And so it can be said that business history has endured some tremendously embarrassing and shortsighted experiences. At one point, a Texas tycoon looking to buy a software company decided that a young Bill Gates was asking too much for his startup, Microsoft (MSFT) . In London, an experienced music executive felt that four young men from Liverpool, England, weren’t worth his record label’s financial backing. Ten years ago, the chiefs of two major media companies thought their fortunes would be richer if they merged their operations. Click through the gallery to read about these corporate missteps and other business decisions that proved to be stunningly ill-considered. 1. Remember Excite? And Excite? 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8.
Saddled with student debt? Welcome to America's screwed generation | Natalia Antonova Graduation … an expensive business. Photograph: Brooks Kraft/Sygma/Corbis I may not look like it, but I am a modern-day serf. Saddled with thousands of dollars of student debt – debt that has been stripped of all consumer protections and is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy – I am part of a screwed generation. Earlier this year, the collective student loan burden in the United States passed the $1tn mark. Analysts are increasingly referring to a student loan bubble that could result in a crisis similar to the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008. A bad job market for recent graduates and skyrocketing education costs have greatly exacerbated the problem. My own student debt saga began in 2002, when my family's finances went south after I had successfully applied to Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Yet following graduation every major decision I made was shaped by my terror of defaulting on the loans. The trouble with serfdom is that serfs don't last very long.
The Personal MBA Recommended Reading List: The 77 Best Business Books In Print “You wasted $150,000 on an education you coulda got for a buck fifty in late charges at the public library.” Will Hunting (played by Matt Damon), Good Will Hunting MBA programs don’t have a monopoly on advanced business knowledge: you can teach yourself everything you need to know to succeed in life and at work. The Personal MBA features the very best business books available, based on over ten years and thousands of hours of research. So skip business school and the $150,000 loan: you can get a world-class business education own your own at very low cost by reading the best business books. This page lists all Personal MBA recommended books and resources for easy printing, bookmarking, and reference. Here are the 99 business books The Personal MBA officially recommends… click on the title of each book to read a detailed description of each book and why it’s important, or the buttons to the right for additional reviews. Read This First For Best Results... Buy the Book: Business Creation Sales
Data show student borrowers over 30 a growing population As the recession descended, the number of student borrowers continued to grow -- and more than ever, those carrying balances are likely to be in their 30s or older, according to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed, which has become a chronicler of student loans in America through quarterly reports, recently released historical charts showing the growth in borrowers, balances and delinquencies over the past seven years. They show a steady upward march toward more borrowers, more loans and more debt. Since 2005, 14 million more people have taken on student debt. The majority of borrowers still paying back their loans are in their 30s or older. And the average debt per borrower has steadily climbed, from $15,651 in the first quarter of 2005 to $24,301 in early 2012. Despite the recent attention paid to recent college graduates burdened by six figures of debt and unable to find jobs, borrowers under 30 are doing better than most on paying back their loans.
The story BCG offered me $16,000 not to tell The city was strange and the society was unnerving, but what disturbed me most about my Dubai experience was my job as a business consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. I really had no idea what to expect, going in. In my mind, consulting was about answering business questions through analysis. It was supposed to be Excel sheets and models, sifting through data to discover profit and loss, and helping clients make decisions that would add the most value for themselves, and by extension, society. It was worrisome to enter a new job without any guarantee that I would be qualified. The first clue that my mental picture of consulting was off came with “training” in Munich. After a pleasant week of pseudo-partying, I returned to Dubai and was assigned to writing case proposals. Case proposals were despised by the rank and file — one had a dozen bosses, unclear objectives, and virtually no coordination with co-workers. I worked hard at MIT. I’m a free marketeer. I spoke up once.
The Looming Student Loan Bubble – Almost 50% of Borrowers Not Making Payments ‘For many, college is an overpriced scam. The quality of education has decreased precipitously as the government has poured money into student loans and the whole media, government and education establishment has promoted college for EVERY kid with an IQ over 75. This a ridiculous scenario, and it’s not helped by the admission of countless “students” on “athletic scholarships.” So many of these athletes have no business stepping within 5 miles of a university, let alone being handed a degree after 5 years of tutoring, coaching, and cheating. They get in for free, while real students have to pay tens of thousands for a degree, and then graduate and find that they can’t make more than $12 an hour, which doesn’t allow them to make a dent in their student loans.’
PRIMO-F - The Business Growth Model | RapidBI - Rapid Business Improvement PRIMO-F Business Growth Model The PRIMO-F model was developed as part of a SWOT analysis of an organization. It provides a consistent framework for comparison either from within the organization or to benchmark against a previous analysis or benchmark against other organizations. The PRIMO-F model was based on some work from the Durham University Business School (DUBS), and what makes an organization and its management effective. This research demonstrated that an effective organization needed to fulfil the following equation: Organizational Growth Effectiveness Performance to date * Potential for the future Where Performance to date (FiMO) included: Finance,Marketing andOperations and Potential for the future (RECoIL) included: Resources,Experience,Controls and SystemsInnovation andLeadership This was sometimes called FiMO/ RECoIL. One of the problems with the model in the ‘field’ is that often key issues were missed. The PRIMO-F Model: PRIMO-F Performance of the business. Potential for Growth
7 Legitimate Work-at-Home Jobs for 20-Somethings One ad reads, "I will juggle three fire clubs with a firework on my head for $5." Another offers a 45-minute Spanish lesson on Skype or professional advice on buying real estate. All are on Fiver.com where anybody can sell a service for $5, many through the Internet. The website is indicative of how the work-at-home job scene has evolved in just the last few years. "We are now seeing younger and younger people working from home," says Michael Haaren, co-founder of RatRaceRebellion.com, which has tracked 17,000 telecommuting jobs since 2007. "Three years ago, the person who typically worked at home was a mom who wanted to be there for her children. Many young people have turned to telecommuting due to the lack of entry-level jobs in a struggling economy, Haaren says. [Related: High-Paying, Low-Stress Jobs] From more lucrative positions to the usual telecommuting stalwarts, Bankrate took a look at seven industries where a computer in a spare bedroom could mean lots of spare change.
The Management Myth - Magazine During the seven years that I worked as a management consultant, I spent a lot of time trying to look older than I was. I became pretty good at furrowing my brow and putting on somber expressions. Those who saw through my disguise assumed I made up for my youth with a fabulous education in management. They were wrong about that. The strange thing about my utter lack of education in management was that it didn’t seem to matter. After I left the consulting business, in a reversal of the usual order of things, I decided to check out the management literature. Management theory came to life in 1899 with a simple question: “How many tons of pig iron bars can a worker load onto a rail car in the course of a working day?” Taylor was forty-three years old and on contract with the Bethlehem Steel Company when the pig iron question hit him. When the Hungarians realized that they were being asked to quadruple their previous daily workload, they howled and refused to work. And so was I.
Student Debt- Get it Paid Now! "Free Downloads!" Receive downloads of my 3 most popular resources that will save you $THOUSANDS!!! You'll also get a weekly update every time I publish. Your email will never be shared Want to get out of student loan debt without taking 20 years to do it? Then read on! If you have student loan debt from taking out student loans for college, you’re not alone. That struggle has become a huge factor that is holding back economic recovery for individuals, and for the country as a whole according to this article at Huffington Post. >>>Opt in to Email Updates RSS<<< Student Debt is Keeping People in Bondage Total student debt has now exceeded the Trillion dollar mark, and there are no signs that it’s letting up any time soon. So how did all this happen? This easy money allowed more people to go to college (a good thing). Easy student loans have created a vicious cycle that has turned into a student debt bubble, much like the housing bubble. When money is too easy to get, things get out of hand.