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The situation is a little like a story from the Twilight Zone. Illegal immigrants can't get driving licenses, vote, or get benefits, but they are legally able to start Limited Liability Companies often creating jobs for legal U.S. Citizens.  All the while waiting to find out if they are going to be deported because they are, admittedly in most cases, in this country illegally. It's long established that new immigrants to the U.S. are far more likely to start a business, and in so doing, create jobs often filled by U.S. citizens.  I mean, the sun rises in the East, the sky is blue, and immigrants create jobs - it's that level of certainty. So why do certain elements in Congress,  allegedly pro-business, pro-growth, and pro-job, scream and yell about immigration as though it's a total drain on the economy?  If anything, immigration has been and will continue to be a boon to our economy, creating both wealth, new jobs and even new industries. Here's an article from the...

We've all had the experience of being flattered by a salesperson or hearing another customer being complimented effusively.  According to new research by Elaine Chan of Tilburg University and Jaideep Sengupta of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to be published in the December, 2013 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, reveals, as you might expect, that both the flattered customer and surrounding listeners experience an immediate negative emotional reaction. Yet the effect of overheard flattery on shoppers is not what you might expect: The authors found that observing someone else being flattered causes the listener to compare themselves to that person, which leads to feelings of envy. And, these shoppers were motivated by envy to choose an expensive, stylish pair of jeans over a cheaper standard pair influenced primarily by the wish to reduce envy -- by appearing stylish oneself." Interesting, no?  Something to think ...

"The floggings will continue until morale improves!" I have a friend who manages a retail store for a large national chain who is miserable in her job. Why? She can't figure out how to manage her employees, and through them, the business.  She's always weeks and months behind in reports, and lives every day in a panic to get caught up on her own work.  She complains bitterly about the number of hours and late nights she puts in. And she has no one to blame but herself. She was promoted to the position of manager because of her solid performance in customer service and her deep knowledge of the company's products, services, standards, and procedures.  Yet she's failing as a manager and suffers from it because this company provides little if any training in how to manage the employees of an individual store. Whether it's a small business with one or two employees or a single location of a large chain with hundreds, the challenge for the manager is the sa...