Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 14, 2001, Winnipeg, Manitoba 2001 a Little respect goes a Long Way How workers Are treated tells a lot about a firm managing for the future Robert Warren How management treats employees Speaks volumes about an organizations priorities and some managers treat employees like resources and assume they can be replaced quickly or swapped for another piece of techno managers taking this approach Are often rewarded with High turnover rates and Low the Quality of the organizations product result ing in above average return rates and lost sales As customers opt for a More reliable sometimes managers inadvertently display a Lack of respect toward their employees through the introduction of policies that Are Good in but poorly a Reader recently sent me an example of a form employees at one company Are required to Complete if they take an unscheduled Day off for family while the idea behind the form is a Good one to record the reasons for an employees absence the Way the information was requested was guaranteed to upset rather than explain the purpose of the information request and Frame the questions in a nonthreatening the questions seemed designed to make the employee feel guilty about the the Type of thinking displayed by the form misses the bigger question Why is the employee absent there Are Many potential reasons the person Doest fit the corporate is bored with work or is having problems at the first two issues require managements it May mean putting More emphasis into the recruiting process to ensure the per sons goals and personality match the organizations or finding ways to make the Job More the last Point requires a manager to know about and empathize with the employees Cir it May also require the manager to show some flexibility in How the employee does his managers in larger organizations should if they dont already have implementing an employee assistance program to help workers Deal with personal making an employees Job More challenging requires the manager talking to the employee and learning what additional skills they would like to learn or How to redesign their most employees want to learn More skills both As a Way of improving the Challenge of their Job and As a Means of earning managers would be Wise to encourage such thinking As it develops a More rounded work Force that Able to adapt quickly to changing an additional Benefit to the organization is that it will have someone Avail Able to cover a Job in the event of another employees there Are a variety of skills management could offer to help an employee rang ing from those that Are immediately applicable to the Job to courses that develop the employees analytical or organizational these skills help develop the abilities Neces sary for the employee to take on additional roles or move through the simply asking employees How management could improve the flow of work or the design of the workspace can go a Long Way to develop ing a motivated the reason is quite simple they feel they Are part of the solution rather than a piece of the in asking such a simple question manage ment May find based on their know a better Way of designing the its the equipment layout or the height at which the product should be available to work changing the appropriate item or items should result in not Only a More motivated but also higher productivity and taking a proactive stance with employees is As important to developing a Quality product and Superior profits As talking to most employees would appreciate the Opportunity to explain ways they think their skills could be improved or the Job made such a conversation would also give the Man Ager an insight into the employee As a managers will find the knowledge and the appropriate use of this information is a More effective motivator than any punitive tech Nique they can Robert Warren is director oath easier Centre for entrepreneurship at the University of Manito Bas Asper school of he can be reached at 4748422 or via email at o . And the free press were there for you present the the Winnipeg chamber of Commerce april 2001 noon to Winnipeg convention Centre Hall b with special guest speaker Robert Barnard author of chips pop to poof they Are jew Riorer the flow Mimi is generation in mid Viiar Aulii in if is the nexus a Bridge Betlej nest a coding this important generation is the focus of Robert Barnards presentation bridging the Gap Between the past the creating an environment to attract retain the marketing to build customer loyalty tickets 00 for tickets Call the Winnipeg chamber of Commerce at 9448484 luncheon sponsored by to Wmk Footman Mouth crisis could Cost Ridley m by Murray Mcneill Britain Footman Mouth Dis ease crisis could Cost Ridley Swine genetics business up to million in lost revenues Over the next three Anda half the Winnipeg based company said Ridley president and chief executive officer Bob Gallaway noted that about 40 per cent of the company cots Vold Swine genetics business is based in the United which is battling a serious outbreak of the highly contagious animal in a bid to prevent the spread of the the British government has severely restricted the movement of livestock with in the Gallaway which Means cotswold cant sell its Breeding hogs to British hog As All exports of British livestock have been which spending continued from Page b3 Means cotswold cant sell its Breeding pigs to producers out Side the United he it Means its Only option is to sell them in Britain As Slaughter which fetch to per animal less on the in addition to the reduced sales cotswold is facing higher operating costs As a result of having to take additional Bio Security measures to reduce the risk of the disease spreading to any of its hog no cots Vold animals have As yet been diagnosed with foot and he although three of its approximately 20 Breeding facilities Are located in areas of the country where the disease has been Galloway admitted the lion figure is an estimate at this but i think that probably a generous he he said that while such a loss will its still Only a Small percentage of Ridley total yearly revenues of about so it will not sink the he he said cotswold officials Are hoping the British government will allow the Sale of Breeding Stock within Britain to resume with the next few months and that Export sales can resume another few months after although cotswold also has Swine genetic operations in Manitoba and other parts of North Gallaway said there not affected in any Way by the crisis in in addition to its Swine Breed ing which markets the genetically advanced line of cotswold Ridley is one of North americas leading manufacturers of livestock its shares Are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and closed yesterday at unchanged from mondays Clos ing the bigger Issue is How the Market free fall will affect con Sumer the Overall and Job the big intangible Here is what the Impact can be on con Sumer Confidence and How that could come into play with other Levesque i would argue that by far the most important thing in con Sumer spending decisions is not just the wealth its mainly what people have in take Home Levesque Calls the performance of the Job Market in the first two months of 2001 the jobless rate stayed steady at per cent but Job growth is slowing and the manufacturing sector is being hit hard across North Amer that More of a disturbing fact than the Stock Market hit Levesque recently layoffs have come in the technology and manufacturing sectors As those companies struggle with a slow Down in the particularly in the a bit of decline in Confidence wont help the but its not Levesque the Issue is whether its combined with a number of other he if you get a combination of faltering equity weak Job relatively subdued wage gains and correspondingly falling then youve got a recipe for weak consumer Canadian press markets continued from Page b3 the Winnipeg chamber of Commerce the rebound we saw was very but this int said Brian fundamental Market strategist at us ban corp Piper were going to be Back and Forth Here for a the Wester based Canadian venture Exchange fell Points to but the Canadian Dollar closed at cents up from mondays we have important economic data but not till Fri Day with the producers Price Beattie its also options expiration and these Days you can get some bizarre activity because there Are so Many people out there with options positions and the big boys trying to get everybody to so they try to manipulate the stocks and get the indices to close at exercised in eight of 14 Stock groups the financial ser vices sector was the biggest gainer and the Gold and precious minerals group was the biggest off per All the big Bank stocks advanced to Bank was up to Bank of Montreal to Bank of Nova Scotia to Royal Bank to and Cibic to Toronto software company which late Mon Day joined the sad Parade of North american tech companies issuing profit warnings this plummeted to among the most Active Nortel networks slipped 25 cents to on Quarter of its value in mid october and Celestina edged Down 20 cents to Chi group class a Rose 24 cents to Bombardier class b was up 59 cents to big movers on the tse included Fairfax off to Ballard Power systems up to and research in up to in Oil and Gulf Canada resources climbed 12 cents to but Talisman Energy slipped to decliners outnumbered advances 632 to with 239 in trading of million shares Worth the tse 100 Rose to on the Maxim Power gained 10 cents to Hilton Petroleum 37 cents to Kensington lost 11 cents to 52 South Atlantic resources seven cents to 29 Canadian press sizzling retail sales drop in february by Jeannine Aversa Washington american con Sumers were More selective in driving Down sales at retailers by per cent after a january shopping they Cut spending for furniture and ate out less though they did buy More the latest snapshot of consumer which accounts for two thirds of All economic suggested the Economy continues to be but Hast fallen into analysts yesterdays report does not carry the implication of a col lapsing said first unions chief economist David analysts said the report does provide a fresh Rea son for the Federal Reserve to Rev up economic growth by reducing interest rates again next possibly by another half Overall retail As reported by the Commerce depart we rent As weak As they might economists february drop was exaggerated because it followed a sizzling per cent increase in according to revised that was a much stronger showing than the per cent Rise the government previously merchants deeply discounted merchandise in january and the weather was factors that helped lure shoppers into stores and other than retail sales Over the past several months have been lacklustre As the Economy has last the biggest retailers in the United states reported generally disappointing sales for feb dimming the Outlook for a Strong Stock Market higher Energy lower consumer Confidence and slower Job growth have All been the february decline in retail sales was the third drop in five and it suggests that con Sumers remain in a very tentative said Maury chief economist at us associated press 168 Bannatyne 3 level bldg 6612187 for details picture strength in numbers the free press is read by 80 of Winnipeg adults at least once a week waterfront drive development Opportunity or Centre venture development corporation 30335 King my r3b 1h4 Centre venture development corporation is pleased to offer land of the former Amy steam 110 Pacific Avenue for the land is Square feet being offered As vacant and ready for the Price is per Square approximately financing is available at competitive rates to qualified purchasers with minimum Cash to financing of thirty the highest offer will not necessarily be additional information is available at ;