If any of your colleagues or senior management ever doubt the importance of the Human Resources function, tell them about the Tragedy at Mangatepopo Gorge.On April 16, 2008, 6 students and 1 teacher died due to an amazing array of Human Resources failures on the part of Sir Edmund Hilary Outdoor Pursuits Centre. The tragedy happened on an adventure field trip in New Zealand but the Human MORE

As spring commences, two of a professor''s less desirable job requirements come to fruition: ordering fall books, and writing letters of recommendation (LOR) for students. One of favorite web sites, Rate Your Students , recently discussed the topic of letters, and a colleague was ruing the demand that would be placed upon him. know you are busy and do not have a lot of time to pore over many letters of recommendation. So, to save the both of us a lot of time (in both reading and writing the letter), what three things should we academicians REALLY include in that letter of recommendation? MORE

There has been a bit of PR recently about stay interviews so I thought it would be a good time to delve into the Noblog archives and dust off a post on this topic from back in 2004. In it I clarify that Stay Interviews are wonderful but they have nothing to do with exit interviews. They sound similar but in reality they serve two unique purposes. Enjoy.Stay Interviews and Exit InterviewsDecember MORE

"Strategy is about creating next practices and not adapting to best practices in the industry." Vijay Govindarajan, Professor Tuck School of Business,Dartmouth CollegeProfessor Govindarajan''s statement perfectly sums up my approach to business. For the past 10 years I''ve done my best not to look at or care about what my competitors are doing with their products and services. While I admit to a MORE

Since last October, it seems like every time I interview someone they're sick, just getting sick -- or coming off a bout of illness that has lasted weeks. I've heard people cough so hard I thought they would hack up a lung MORE

You are a recruiter. You go into the lobby to meet your applicant. Your applicant is sitting next to a very large, obese woman. As you walk your applicant back to your office, you begin to formulate your initial impressions. Would you believe it if I told you that your first impressions were going to be more negative because the applicant was sitting next to the obese woman? Even if the applicant MORE