Who are the absolute worst chief executives of 2012? Sydney
Finkelstein thinks he knows. The longtime professor at Dartmouth
College’s Tuck School of Business is the author of 11 books with such
titles as Why Smart Executives Fail and Think Again: Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions, so
he knows a thing or two about utter failure. He’s been putting out his
list for three years now, and last year it included the chief executives
ofNetflix (NFLX), Research in Motion (RIM), and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). Here’s the list (except where noted the companies didn’t respond to a request for comment):
1. Brian Dunn, who resigned as chief executive of Best Buy (BBY) in
April after allegations surfaced that he had an inappropriate
relationship with a much younger subordinate. That’s not why he’s on the
list, though. Declining stock price, cratering same-store sales, loss
of market share to more nimble competitors, and an addiction to share
buybacks that cost the company $6.4 billion with little to show for
it—that’s why he’s on the list.
2. Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of Chesapeake Energy (CHK) who
apparently has trouble keeping his company’s finances and his own
apart. According to Reuters, McClendon borrowed as much as $1.1 billion
over three years in undisclosed loans against his stake in thousands of company wells and ran a $200 million oil-and-gas hedge fund on
the side, an “obvious conflict of interest,” Finkelstein says. Use of
the company jet (and company employees) for personal purposes and a
corporate sponsorship deal for Oklahoma City Thunder while McClendon was
an owner of the basketball team also didn’t help. Jim Gipson, a
spokesman for Chesapeake Energy, declined to comment.
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Friday, February 1, 2013
Job disability a headache for U.S. recovery
Following multiple surgeries that confined her to bed, Soltes was diagnosed with a hormonal disease that is weakening her bones. She also ran out of money, signed up for disability benefits and has been unable to work again.
The 47-year-old from Michigan is among the 8.7 million American workers on the U.S. disability rolls, an important part of the social safety net. Since the recession began in 2007, she has been joined by a record number of people seeking disability benefits, raising questions about the program’s solvency and casting a pall over future prospects for U.S. economic growth.
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How to Deal With a Nosy Co-Worker
If Megan’s surfing the Web, the co-worker will ask what website she’s visiting. Is that a project Megan’s working on? What is that YouTube (GOOG) video? “She’ll point to the screen and ask, ‘Oh, what’s that?’” Megan says. “And I’ll be like, ‘Uh, databases.’”
Megan has tried everything—averting her eyes, pretending to be busy, acting as if she didn’t hear the question—but the co-worker is both oblivious and persistent. Other people in the office have also fallen victim to the woman’s pop-ins and questions. “Every conversation we have about her always starts with: ‘She’s so nice, but …’” Megan says. “There’s always a ‘but.’”
Megan’s problem is a distressingly common one. Every office has at least one nosy co-worker, and they come in a myriad of irritating forms. Laura in New York once had a colleague ask if she was pregnant. (She wasn’t.) Amy in Michigan has a boss who has asked several times how much she weighs. When I was a teenager, working as aStarbucks (SBUX) barista, a woman asked me—in front of other employees and several customers—why my parents were getting divorced.
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A Chance to See Disabilities as Assets
MANY people know of Berkeley, Calif., as the birthplace, in the 1960’s, of the Free Speech Movement. Fewer people know that Berkeley also played a major role in the disability rights movement. It was here, also in the ’60s, that Ed Roberts — a student with quadriplegia — became an outspoken advocate of the cause.
I became aware of this after being invited to give a lecture for theDisabled Students’ Program at the University of California. I was delighted and, of course, flattered, but I was also nervous.
Sure, I’d given workshops and lectures hundreds of times, but this would be my first time speaking to an audience made up entirely of people with disabilities. To be perfectly honest, I’d always felt uncomfortable around disabled people. Suppose I said the wrong thing? Came off as insensitive?
I needed guidance, so I turned to Paul Hippolitus, the director of the program. Reluctantly, I acknowledged my discomfort. Paul had spent 30 years at the Office of Disability Employment Policy of the federal Labor Department before coming to the university, and he had heard it all before.
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Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination involves treating a woman (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.
Pregnancy Discrimination & Work Situations
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) forbids discrimination based on pregnancy when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, such as leave and health insurance, and any other term or condition of employment.Pregnancy Discrimination & Temporary Disability
If a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer or other covered entity must treat her in the same way as it treats any other temporarily disabled employee. For example, the employer may have to provide light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave, or unpaid leave to pregnant employees if it does so for other temporarily disabled employees.To continue reading, click here.
Working With a Disability
Having a disability doesn’t need to keep one from having a productive career. Many people with disabilities can work and the jobs they can hold vary with each individual’s abilities and limitations. What’s important to remember is that no one but the individual, in consultation with his or her healthcare professional, has the right to decide what job he or she can hold.
There are several laws which protect the workplace rights of Americans with disabilities. Included are several sections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These sections prohibit federal agencies from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities, require contractors and subcontractors who have a contract with the federal government for $10,000 or more annually to take affirmative action to employ andadvance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities, prohibit recipients of federal financial assistance from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in employment and in their programs and activities, and require that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a federal department or agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities. Individual states may also have anti-discrimination laws on the books.
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Understanding Your Employment Rights Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A Guide for Veterans
In recent years, the percentage of veterans who report having service-connected disabilities (i.e., disabilities that were incurred in, or aggravated during, military service)[1] has risen. About twenty-five percent of recent veterans report having a service-connected disability, as compared to about thirteen percent of all veterans.[2]Common injuries experienced by veterans include missing limbs, spinal cord injuries, burns, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), hearing loss, traumatic brain injuries, and other impairments.
This guide is intended to answer questions you may have about your rights as an injured veteran, now that you have left the service and are returning to a civilian job or seeking a new job. It also explains the kinds of adjustments (called reasonable accommodations) that may help you be successful in the workplace.
1. Are there any laws that protect veterans with disabilities in employment?
Yes. There are several federal laws that provide important protections for veterans with disabilities who are looking for jobs or are already in the workplace. Two of those laws –the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - protect veterans from employment discrimination. See Qs&As 6 and 7 for a discussion of laws providing veterans’ preference and special hiring for veterans.
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