Category: Management

In a first, MIT trains students to resolve clean energy conflicts

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Leyla Uysal, a design school student from Harvard University with an urban planning background, center, speaks during a course concerning the conflicts that arise in the siting process of renewable energy projects, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Cambridge, Mass. Mike Giovanniello, left, and Kailin Graham listen to the discussion. “It’s going to be difficult, but I will educate myself not to take sides,” Uysal said. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

By AMY HARDER, Cipher News undefined

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — As the United States injects hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy through its signature climate law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, criticism is growing louder about where, how and whether new development should be allowed.

As opposition grows, once-routine regulatory processes are taking several years, if they are completed at all. Some communities are concerned about landscape changes, some property values and others wildlife preservation. Layered on top of these debates is misinformation, which sows doubt and mistrust among developers and communities.

A new class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a glimpse into a novel way of resolving these types of conflicts.

MIT is offering a first-of-its-kind course that trains students to be mediators in conflicts over clean energy projects. Supervised by a professional mediator, students work directly with developers, local officials and community members. Students get academic credit and hands-on experience addressing real-world dilemmas, while the community and developer get free help resolving conflict. Continue reading

Hollywood plunges into all-out war on the heels of pandemic and a streaming revolution

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

Striking writers and actors chant as they walk a picket line, Friday July 14, 2023, at NBC Universal Studios in New York. The picketing comes a day after the main actors’ union voted to join screenwriters in a double-barreled strike for the first time in more than six decades. The dispute immediately shut down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — To get a sense of just how much animosity is flying around Hollywood these days, watch how Ron Perlman responded to a report that the studios aimed to prolong a strike long enough for writers to lose their homes.

Perlman, the hulking, gravel-voiced actor of “Hellboy,” leaned into the camera in a since-deleted Instagram live video to vent his anger. “Listen to me, mother-(expletive),” Perlman said. “There’s a lot of ways to lose your house.”

Three years after the pandemic brought Hollywood to a standstill, the film and TV industry has again ground to a halt. This time, though, the industry is engaged in a bitter battle over how streaming — after advancing rapidly during the pandemic — has upended the economics of entertainment. Continue reading

New Starbucks CEO plans to work in stores monthly

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan speaks during Starbucks Investor Day 2022, Sept. 13, 2022, in Seattle. Starbucks officially has a new CEO. The Seattle coffee giant said Monday, March 20, 2023 that Laxman Narasimhan has assumed the role of CEO and joined the company’s board of directors. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, file)

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer

Starbucks’ new CEO Laxman Narasimhan says he plans to work a half-day shift once a month in one of the company’s stores in an effort to stay close to its culture and customers.

Narasimhan, who took the reins as CEO earlier this week, said in a letter to Starbucks’ employees Thursday that he also expects the company’s leadership team to be connected and engaged in stores.

“While our performance is strong, our health needs to be stronger,” Narasimhan wrote in the letter. “We must care for the artists and the theater in the front of our stores and the factory in the back.” Continue reading

Unicorn Sports Tech Company Imposes $1,200 Fine for Disturbing Coworkers on Vacation

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

By Bobby Kania

The founders of Indian unicorn startup Dream Sports have a revolutionary vacation policy.

First reported by CNBC, the company’s unusual approach to employee morale has the business world reeling.

No, it’s not unlimited vacation days or a company-paid trip. Instead, the company removes the vacationing employee from its systems for an entire week and fines anyone who attempts to interrupt their holiday $1,200, allowing employees to fully “unplug.” No email, Slack, phone calls, etc.

The co-founders say the policy “has been effective so far.” The 1-week separation helps employees to stay disconnected and have an uninterrupted holiday. Employees come back refreshed from their week’s vacation, and the founders know if the company depends too much on one person for making decisions or is missing critical process documentation. Continue reading

Add rent to the rising costs bedeviling small businesses

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Advanced

Martin Garcia, owner of gift and décor store Gramercy Gift Gallery, poses for a photo at his shop, Wednesday, June 29, 2022, in San Antonio. Landlords were forgiving about rent during the first two years of the pandemic, but now many are asking for back due rent. Meanwhile, most of the government aid programs that helped small businesses get through the pandemic have ended. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

By MAE ANDERSON AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The rent has come due for America’s small businesses and at a very inopportune time.

Landlords were lenient about rent payments during the first two years of the pandemic. Now, many are asking for back rent, and some are raising the current rent as well. Meanwhile, most of the government aid programs that helped small businesses get through the pandemic have ended while inflation has sharply pushed up the cost of supplies, shipping, and labor.

Martin Garcia, owner of gift and décor store Gramercy Gift Gallery in San Antonio, Texas, survived the first part of the pandemic in part by paying his landlord whatever rent he could each month. Then in August 2021, after the federal moratorium on evictions ended, his landlord asked for the full amount of back rent that he owed.

“I needed $10,000 in 15 days,” Garcia said. He took whatever loans he could find – often at high interest rates – and barely met the deadline. Continue reading

Group asks for living wages labor rights for 2026 World Cup

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

Soccer fans gather along the downtown Seattle waterfront to cheer the awarding of FIFA 2026 World Cup games to Seattle, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Seattle. (Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times via AP)

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer

With this year’s World Cup in Qatar clouded by labor and human rights issues, there’s a push for the North American cities awarded games for the 2026 tournament to commit to livable wages, equitable hiring and worker protection.

The Dignity 2026 coalition has brought together groups including the AFL-CIO, Human Rights Watch and the Independent Supporters Council to work with FIFA and the individual host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The coalition has met several times in the past few months with soccer’s international governing body to discuss its commitment to these issues. With last week’s announcement of the 16 cities that will host games, the effort has become more targeted.

They say FIFA is listening, but has not pledged to require minimum standards. Continue reading

Workers grapple with new stresses as they return to office

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

(Ajinomoto Health & Nutrition via AP)

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Last summer, Julio Carmona started the process of weaning himself off a fully remote work schedule by showing up to the office once a week.

The new hybrid schedule at his job at a state agency in Stratford, Connecticut, still enabled him to spend time cooking dinner for his family and taking his teenage daughter to basketball.

But in the next few months, he’s facing the likelihood of more mandatory days in the office. And that’s creating stress for the father of three.

Carmona, 37, whose father died from COVD-19 last year, worries about contracting the virus but he also ticks off a list of other anxieties: increased costs for lunch and gas, day care costs for his newborn baby, and his struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Continue reading

Germany’s Merkel at farewell ceremony: Don’t tolerate hate

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Germans to stand up to hatred, at a military ceremony Thursday bidding her farewell after 16 years in office.

Merkel was honored with a traditional military musical performance and march in front of almost all the country’s political elite — save for the far-right Alternative for Germany, who weren’t invited.

“Our democracy also lives from the fact that wherever hatred and violence are seen as a legitimate means of pursuing one’s interests, our tolerance as democrats has to find its limit,” said in a speech ahead of the ceremony.
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Amazon faces biggest union push in its history

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Advanced

By JOSEPH PISANI AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The second Jennifer Bates walks away from her post at the Amazon warehouse where she works, the clock starts ticking.

She has precisely 30 minutes to get to the cafeteria and back for her lunch break. That means traversing a warehouse the size of 14 football fields, which eats up precious time. She avoids bringing food from home because warming it up in the microwave would cost her even more minutes. Instead she opts for $4 cold sandwiches from the vending machine and hurries back to her post.

If she makes it, she’s lucky. If she doesn’t, Amazon could cut her pay, or worse, fire her.
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Facebook Is Forming a Team to Design Its Own Chips

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Read time : 1 min

Level : Advanced

Facebook Inc. is building a team to design its own semiconductors, adding to a trend among technology companies to supply themselves and lower their dependence on chipmakers such as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., according to job listings and people familiar with the matter.

The social media company is seeking to hire a manager to build an “end-to-end SoC/ASIC, firmware and driver development organization,” according to a job listing on its corporate website, indicating the effort is still in its early stages.
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