Strategies For Transforming A Near-bankrupt Company Into An Industry Leader:

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What are the factors of sustainable real estate products?

1. Energy Efficiency: Sustainable real estate products prioritize energy efficiency by incorporating features such as energy-efficient appliances, insulation, lighting systems, and renewable energy sources like solar panels. These measures help reduce energy consumption and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Water Conservation: Water conservation is another important factor. Sustainable real estate products may include water-efficient fixtures, rainwater harvesting systems, and smart irrigation systems to minimize water usage and promote responsible water management.

3. Sustainable Materials: The choice of materials used in construction and development plays a significant role in sustainability. Sustainable real estate products prioritize the use of environmentally friendly and renewable materials, such as recycled materials, responsibly sourced wood, low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints, and sustainable flooring options.

4. Indoor Environmental Quality: Ensuring a healthy and comfortable indoor environment is crucial for sustainable real estate products. This includes features such as proper ventilation systems, natural lighting, and the use of non-toxic materials to improve indoor air quality and occupant well-being.

5. Location and Transportation: Sustainable real estate products are often located in areas that promote walkability, access to public transportation, and proximity to amenities. This reduces the reliance on private vehicles, promotes active transportation methods, and helps reduce carbon emissions.

6. Waste Management: Effective waste management practices are essential for sustainable real estate products. This includes implementing recycling programs, utilizing construction waste reduction strategies, and encouraging the use of recycled or recyclable materials.

7. Community Engagement: Sustainable real estate products prioritize community engagement and social responsibility. This may include incorporating community spaces, promoting social equity, supporting local businesses, and engaging with stakeholders to ensure the development aligns with the needs and values of the community.

8. Long-Term Performance and Maintenance: Sustainable real estate products are designed to have long-term performance and durability. This includes considering the life-cycle costs, maintenance requirements, and adaptability to changing needs and technologies.

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FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPANY CULTURE — BEHAVIORS ASSOCIATED

Everyone wants to improve their company culture. Culture has become the ultimate buzzword these days. Leaders also seem to talk about it all the time. Let’s look past the buzz and grasp the roots of organizational culture. If we want to influence our company culture, we have to start with a keen understanding of what culture actually is.

What Is Company Culture?

Culture is the thing we cannot necessarily touch and feel — it is the invisible binds and unspoken rules that enforce “how people do things around here.” However, this definition can be insufficient at times. “The way we do things” feels awfully vague and amorphous, especially when it comes to thinking about how to intentionally create a company culture we’re proud of. As a result, our attempts to influence culture get muddled. We conflate culture with surface-level relics, confusing culture with “Things To Make People Feel Good.” - ping pong tables, happy hours and free lunches. Sure, those are part of “the way we do things” — but it doesn’t explain why we are doing those things. Culture includes that why.

Measuring Company Culture

We can’t. And we don’t want to. Culture isn’t meant to be measured. Why? Because culture, technically defined, is the artefacts, espoused values and beliefs, and basic underlying assumptions that people have. And that can’t be measured quantitatively. Measuring/ quantifying it may erode the point of culture. Culture is an organization’s compass for behaviour. It’s what people use to decide what actions are acceptable, and what are not. For example, at some places it may guide people to publicly report a mistake. At other places, it nudges people to brush a similar mistake under the rug.

Measuring culture is like saying we want to measure a compass. We can pick it up and say, “Hmm, let me rate the shininess of this compass, or weigh how heavy it is.” But, really, what we care about is if the compass points us to where we want to go. Measuring the compass itself doesn’t do you much good. Because if we don’t see culture as a lever that influences what we are trying to accomplish as a team, and instead as the thing itself we are trying to maintain, we lose sight of culture’s power in the first place: Culture helps a group of people get what they want done, done.

As a result, what we can measure are the outputs of culture. The observable behaviors and indicators we see as the consequences of our culture. Possibly the most important output to gauge is progress. Studies show how progress, more than anything, influences employee motivation. This means defining what “progress” looks like on a day-to-day basis. Is it the speed by which things are happening? Is it the quality of the work being produced? Is it the number of people we are helping because our work product exists? It could also mean asking questions like how helpful managers are in supporting people to make progress, or how frequently they encounter frustrating obstacles in a given week. Therefore: If we want to measure culture, we need to start with clearly defining what the outputs of a successful, healthy culture looks like in our context. 

Levels of culture

Why this matters

More often than not, there is a misalignment between the invisible and visible layers. The things we actually believe, versus the things we say we believe and the things we do to show it.

A Sample Case Study: Perhaps the most glaring case has been Uber. A company that no doubt had visible signs as “proof” that they valued their employees — lavish office parties and state-of-the-art offices. A company that had 14 cultural values it touted, including that employees should “be themselves.” And yet the basic underlying assumption persisted: Win at all costs, by any means necessary. We saw this in countless of examples of questionable ethics and sexual harassment issues ignored. At its core, Uber’s culture was rooted in this aggressive, toxic mindset — and that manifested in how they treated their people, regardless of what superficial artifacts or espoused values they trumpeted.

If we are looking to truly shift our company’s culture, we have to zoom in on this bottom most layer: our basic underlying assumptions. What we truly believe — not always what we say or outwardly show — is what drives the company’s culture.  Changing the company culture is not about just changing the visible signs. Getting beer taps installed in the kitchens doesn’t make the culture more friendly. Nor does building an onsite gym mean the culture all of sudden cares about employees’ health and well-being. Changing the company culture also is not about just changing the espoused values and beliefs. Saying at all-company meetings, “We believe in honesty and transparency” or writing “We believe in diversity and inclusion” on a website doesn’t automatically make those things true.

Changing company culture is about tapping into the core beliefs of each individual, understanding what their basic underlying assumptions are, and creating an environment where those can be listened to, brought together, and reacted to. If we can understand company culture, we can improve it.

Classification of Culture Types: The Schneider Model

The Schneider cultural model isn’t a new approach but it is relevant today. William Schneider describes culture as the answer of “How we do things around here to succeed?” No one culture type is better than another. They only have strengths and weaknesses. Depending on the type and nature of work, different types of culture may be a better fit. Companies typically have a dominant culture with aspects from other cultures. Different departments or groups may have different cultures. (e.g. development vs. operations), and these differences can lead to conflict.

Four Main Types of Culture

The Schneider Model identifies the primary, underlying culture which shapes the organisation. There are 4 main types: - Control - Cultivation - Collaboration – Competence

Control cultures (COMPANY/REALITY oriented) are process-driven; the company’s success depends on data, processes, etc. Many energy, aviation and defence companies have control cultures. Control cultures prize objectivity. Emotions, subjectivity, and ‘soft’ concepts take everyone’s eye off the ball and potentially get the organization in trouble. Empiricism and the systematic examination of externally generated facts are highly valued. Control cultures want no competition – they want to be the only players in town. Control cultures are command-and-control/ hierarchical- Leaders manage the work. Examples: The military, Police, Exxon. 

Collaboration cultures (PEOPLE/REALITY oriented) – people work together towards a shared goal. The Collaboration culture springs from the household. Relationships are key to getting things accomplished. Google is an example, though it also has cultivation culture elements. The way to success is to put a collection of people together, to build these people into a team, to create their positive touching relationship with one another and to trust them with fully applying one another as resources. Status and rank take a back seat.

Cultivation Cultures (PEOPLE/POSSIBILITY oriented) are often cantered around a greater mission. Cultivation Culture is about learning and growing with a sense of purpose. Examples include religious organizations, non-profits, social impact organizations. Leaders remove obstacles that impede attaining the company’s mission. Example – Zappos.

Competence Cultures (COMPANY/POSSIBILITY oriented) are innovative (possibility) and utilize the best talent to bring ideas to bear. Examples: Deloitte, Apple. In a competence culture, being superior or the best is chief. This can mean having the best product, service, process or technology in the marketplace. This culture gains its uniqueness by combining possibility with rationalism. What might be and the logic for getting there are what count.

Fundamental values are knowledge and information. Formalities and emotional considerations are not important compared to proven accomplishment.

Crisis management: how important is social media in a crisis?

Hi,

Welcome to my #2 blog post! I hope you enjoyed my previous post in which I wrote about creating your brand image and identity through social media. :)

This week, we’ll refer to crisis management. Crisis management is a part of public relations and it’s a process of dealing with some emergency situation. An important part of dealing with the crisis is social media.

Actually, when you think about it, many crises occur because organizations/companies don’t respond to the negative reviews and comments that people leave them on their social media accounts. I certainly think that a marketing team of a corporation thinks that it’s not a big deal when someone writes a rude comment about the products and services the corporation provides, so they do nothing regarding that question. And before they realize, they’re a step forward into downfall.

One good example of how to provide a customer service in an emergency is the situation when Sephora handled a crisis with the singer SZA. In April 2019, SZA tweeted that a Sephora employee called the security on her to stop her from stealing. She gained a lot of support, and people started tweeting how Sephora employees are rude and racist. Then, the official Sephora profile on twitter answered SZA’s tweet, and they let her know they are doing everything they can at the moment in order to clear the situation. A month later, Sephora posted on Facebook that all stores will be closed for an hour, because of a training of diversity. Clearly, SZA’s tweet encouraged whole Sephora’s team to do something about the customer’s service, which was, as we can see, terrible.

Sephora handled this situation pretty well, and they did the crucial things everyone needs to do, in order to get out of a crisis:

1. Value the customers’ comment and give them a feedback ASAP,

2. Imply that you’ll fix the situation ASAP;

3. Post about further steps taken in order to improve the customer service and satisfy every individual who comes into the store.

If every brand checked their social media multiple times a day, they would be able to prevent crises. With social media, “The customer is always right” upgraded to a new level. As a customer, if I’m not lazy to criticize a brand, then the brand should not be lazy to respond to me and give me feedback what will they do to improve the things I criticise.

After all, we all just look for some juciy drama on the Internet. And if we can’t find it, we create it ourselves. And companies should be aware of that!

References: 

“3 great examples of crisis management on social media” https://prconsultancy.org/3-great-examples-of-crisis-management-on-social-media/

Digital marketing is becoming much more popular these days, as it is considered to be the best way of building an attractive online profile of your company through a well designed website. If you are an entrepreneur, then you can utilize this tactics of online marketing to get in touch with the end users of your products or services instantly. Your customers living at far off places can place an order through your website and will be able to receive the desired products without any need to step out of their comfort zone, as they can pay for it through internet banking.

Dennis Fine - Chief Executive Officer

From his bachelor’s at the University of Miami to earning a Master of Business Administration degree from Georgia State University, Dennis Fine never looked back on his goal to become a high-performing healthcare executive.

How To Create A Sourcing Strategy And Save 20% of Total Procurement Cost?

Sourcing & procurement leaders are searching for ways to improve their departments and drive greater business impact. It’s becoming more critical as supply chains grow increasingly complex and organizations are more reliant on suppliers than ever before. In such a world, it is the role of sourcing & procurement to unlock new value from the supply base and protect the organization from future disruption.

Supply chain sourcing and procurement leaders must move beyond short-term cost management to leverage supplier capabilities to their maximum advantage in a structured and segmented fashion

Let us understand the positions of procurement in supply chain

Supply chain

It’s an umbrella covering both purchasing and procurement. But that’s not all - it also covers the logistics and supplier quality.  It’s expected to drive the savings plan and deal with risk mitigation.

Procurement

It’s responsible for finding new suppliers, running various sourcing activities and negotiating terms and conditions. They take part in new saving initiatives and drive.

Some organizations have adopted these sourcing strategies

To proactively understand what drives the requirements of the business as opposed to simply facilitating the buying process.

Driving suppliers to innovate through supplier innovation efforts, demonstrating the value of this supply chain sourcing     strategy, etc.

Protecting the business from risk by formulating a formal and broadly-applied strategy for assessing risk. These assessments have nearly 25 percent greater procurement ROI than those without them

How Paragon results can help?

We work with our clients to help reduce their cost base, strengthen their supplier base, and create a world-class procurement plan

Our procurement practitioners bring extensive industry, category and operational experience, which has been garnered from around the globe

We have a broad set of approaches that can be tailored to your specific sourcing needs.

Our procurement methodologies are underpinned by extensive training of your team, ensuring benefits are sustained long term

A combination of formal training on-the-job coaching that drives     improved performance and ensures current and future sourcing savings are fully delivered and sustained.

We use major strategic sourcing with a focus on – business awareness, existing supply chain management, supplier relations and cost structure and competitive marketing analysis

Creating a sourcing strategy typically saves about 20% of total procurement cost while mitigating supply risks. Contact us to know more.

How to encourage creativity?

1. Provide a supportive environment: Create an atmosphere where individuals feel comfortable expressing their ideas without fear of judgment or criticism. Encourage open communication and actively listen to others' perspectives.

2. Foster a culture of experimentation: Encourage individuals to try new things, take risks, and learn from failures. Emphasize that mistakes are a part of the creative process and should be seen as valuable learning opportunities.

3. Promote collaboration: Encourage teamwork and collaboration among individuals with different perspectives and skill sets. This can lead to the generation of more diverse and innovative ideas.

4. Provide resources and tools: Ensure that individuals have access to the necessary resources, such as materials, technology, and training, to explore and develop their creative skills.

5. Set aside dedicated time for creativity: Allow individuals to allocate time specifically for creative thinking and brainstorming. This can be done through designated "creative time" or by integrating creativity into regular work processes.

6. Recognize and reward creativity: Acknowledge and appreciate creative contributions by recognizing individuals' efforts and outcomes. This can include rewards, promotions, or simply verbal recognition and appreciation.

7. Lead by example: As a leader or supervisor, demonstrate and encourage creative thinking in your own work. Share your own creative process and encourage others to do the same.

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The ruling is historical for the real estate market in the UAE as the Dubai court ordered Saudi Minister Ahmed Al-Rajhi to pay nearly 2 billion dirhams

According to Arabi21, the verdict was issued on the 25th of November.

An Emirati court has charged a Saudi minister with fraud in Dubai.

The case was filed by a Palestinian-Canadian owner of an investment company.

The well-known case dates back to 2008.

A court in Dubai has charged a Saudi minister and four of his brothers with fraud in a case filed by Palestinian-Canadian businessperson Omar Ayesh.

Ahmed al-Rajhi, the current Saudi Minister of Labour, and his brothers were accused of seizing the properties and assets of Tameer Holding Investment (LLC), including the shares of its founder, Omar Ayesh.

According to Arabi21, the verdict was issued on the 25th of November.

The court demanded the Saudi minister and his brothers pay compensation to the Palestinian businessperson of around 1.7 billion Emirati dirhams ($462.8 million).

The court also ruled to charge Rajhi an annual 9% interest on the amount of the fine, starting from the 12th of March, 2017, until the completion of payment.

The court also ordered Rajhi to pay Ayesh, who holds 25% of shares in Tameer Holding Investment (LLC), $2.8m in compensation for material and moral damages.

According to Arabi21, the case was filed when the Saudi minister and four of his brothers seized the assets and properties of Tameer Holding Investment (LLC), including the shares of its founder and hundreds of other clients.

“The ruling is significant for the real estate market in the emirate as the Dubai court demanded Saudi Minister Ahmed Al-Rajhi to pay nearly 2 billion dirhams,” Ayesh remarked.

“Although the ruling came at a much lower sum than I expected, it represents a big victory for justice in the face of injustice and corruption,” he added.

The International Justice Mission (IJM) in Washington reflected on the case, saying that it “will pursue to expose all corrupt persons, regardless of their seniority or position.”