Entrepreneurship & Small Business

With customers fueling business, authors Harley Manning and Kerry Bodine emphasize the need to pay attention to customer experience to succeed in the face of a competitive marketplace.

Question:

"We've lost six customer service representatives (CSRs) in about six weeks. These employees operate in a call center environment, there's a lot of call volume, a lot pressure, and not a lot of appreciation. Turnover's always been a concern, but this recent trend can't continue. HR did exit interviews with the employees and a common story was that the employees feel overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated. This wasn't too surprising given that the engagement survey we did last year told the same story. The CSRs feel all they do is stand and deliver all day long, no one cares, and they're tired of it. Any suggestions for how we can get a handle on this?"

The second Dala Te International Horse Culture Festival was held in August. Why mention it? In a way, it symbolizes a new trend in China. As the world turns, governments change and China's economy slows to sub-8-percent growth, its new cities and middle class are seeking distinctions and entertainment.

McGee Young, associate professor of political science at Marquette University, has been named the first Entrepreneur Faculty Fellow for 2012 under the university’s Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship, according to an announcement Wednesday.

Top executives are tasked with leading their companies by example, and that can be crucial when it comes to making time for fitness.

On Aug. 22, Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). The entrance raises fhe questions: Will Russia follow China economic miracle? Who will benefit? Is this a competition between the U.S. and China, or just globalization?

Virtually every aspect of business, and of life, is now immersed in mobile computing. So much so, that it's nearly impossible to comprehend all the changes brought about by the phenomenon.

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year? "Although economic recovery has been slow...

Despite the summer drought that hammered much of Wisconsin's agriculture industry this year, the state's cranberry farmers are expected to harvest 4.5 million barrels of cranberries during the fall harvest, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture projections.

According to a recent survey released by Jobvite, 92 percent of employers use or plan to use social networking and social media websites to recruit new employees.