In high school, when the teacher announced that the next project would involve working in groups, it was not uncommon for a murmur of discontent to ripple through the room. What if I get stuck with that know-it-all or worse, that really lazy kid? Why can't I just work by myself? Well, according to a pair of new studies, you were either right to question the efficacy of group work, or woefully mistaken.First up: the skeptics.Research from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School suggests that people working together can become overconfident in their choices and opinions. They lean too he... view article details

Leadership Versus Management Do you know the difference between leadership and management? In Western economies, the lines between the two have become blurred. In her book, The Seven Keys of Charisma (1997), Joanna Kozubska says: “There are times when a leader needs good, systematic management skills and times when a manager must inspire people. We have to be able to do both.” This has significant implications for the way that leaders and managers should be developed. Originally, the difference between management and leadership arose based on the perception that management was about imple... view article details

Job descriptionProject management is the process of planning, organizing, staffing, and guiding the process of creating a solution or system. Project managers are responsible for providing a plan and the means on which to base management decisions throughout the life of a project. There are many scheduling software tools available to help project managers perform their job, including PERT, Microsoft Project, Scitor Project Scheduler, and many others. While such applications are usually designed for certain industries or projects, they all use Critical Path Methodology, or CPM. CPM plays a larg... view article details

How Do You Spend Your Time? You know how some people are always late but tend up spending way more time in a meeting than you think is necessary? And how some people are always prompt? An easy way to recognize someone’s personality style is looking at how they spend their time. Review these descriptions and see if you recognize yourself and your coworkers.Direct Style Time Management People with a Direct style don’t waste time. They are almost always in a hurry, and they get impatient with you if you aren’t. They are action-oriented, making quick decisions and implementing th... view article details

Q. I've been employed with the same company for 10 years. My official job title is financial analyst, and I report to the financial operations manager. For the last year and a half, the manager and I have been working at both locations, rotating throughout the week. The company decided it is inefficient to have us rotating plants, so I was informed that I would take over all of my manager's duties at one plant and she will handle everything at the other plant. Since these are two small plants, we handle all HR-related issues, all financial issues, benefits, general office management, etc. I no... view article details

There’s a single, crucial skill that will prove incredibly valuable throughout your career. It’s not learning how to code, being a great public speaker, knowing how to dig into financials, or being blessed with the ability to sell anything to anyone. The key skill you need to have is the ability to adapt to change.Programming languages change, new accounting rules come out each year, and whom you speak and sell to fluctuates over time. But if you’re able to continually adapt to a new environment, you set yourself up for success throughout your career.The same goes for negotiating your salary. ... view article details

Tips for a Smooth Transition When Implementing Organizational Change Within Your Company Winning the support of workers when introducing and executing organizational change is essential. If the employees are not holistically involved in the organizational change process, they are likely to show resistance in acceptance and implementation. Intuitive change communication is the cornerstone of initiating a flourishing change program. In order for businesses to avoid conflicts and poor responses as a result of mismanaging change, it should be communicated in advance, and throughout all phases of t... view article details

Both Finance and Accounting Revolve Around the Management of Assets. Finance and Accounting are two separate disciples that often are lumped together (as we obviously have done). At a high level, Finance is the science of planning the distribution of a business’ assets. Accounting is the art of the recording and reporting financial transactions. People tend to group Finance and Accounting because both functions deal with the administration of a business’ assets. Those who work in the financial department of a business are concerned with planning the distribution of the business’ assets. This... view article details

Find Out Which Cushy Jobs Pad Your Wallet & Which Are Tough and Underpaid "They Get Paid How Much?!?" How many times have you come home from a rough day at work and thought to yourself, "I don’t get paid enough to do this stuff!" On the other hand, how many times have you had a really great day at work and thought, "I get paid for this? Seriously?" Okay, maybe not as often as you'd like. But the fact is, there are some relatively cushy jobs that rake in the big bucks, while some difficult, dangerous jobs still seem to draw relatively low salaries. In this article, I’ll discuss eight overpa... view article details

In the modern war for talent, it’s every company’s dream to secure spots on coveted lists that dub their workplace ‘the holy grail’ of organizations. While many industries and companies are struggling to attract qualified candidates, making it onto Forbes’ ‘America’s Best Employers’ top 500 – a list derived by polling 30,000 U.S. employees – is an accomplishment that can help companies edge out the competition. Here are America’s top five best employers from 2018, according to Forbes. We also provided the average median annual salaries for roles associated with these industries based on Salar... view article details