BNET Social Media Manager, Michael Mattis, has written for Upside, Business 2.0, Salon.com, the San Francisco Examiner, the Walt Disney Company and Yahoo, Inc. A wine enthusiast, he maintains the site Vinapedia.net when not working at BNET HQ.
Was the New York Times trying to be funny when it published its men's fashion feature, "Shorts Crack the Code?" In our BNET piece, Five Rules of Style for the Business-Casual Workplace, San Francisco business style consultant, Anthea Tolomei, relates the story of a recent trip to...
Kickback. Carrot. Sweetener. Inducement. Backhander. They're all synonyms for "bribe." Whatever you call it, bribery's just a normal part of doing business in certain corners of the world. China, for example. For all its pre-Olympics tightening-up, business in China is still fueled by bribery. At least that's...
Back when attorney, former Nixon speech writer, and professional celebrity, Ben Stein was a youngster, he says in the video above, "Men wore ties to show that they had some kind of organization... A necktie is the sign of a man who is there to work, not to play." ...
Willie Brown was once dubbed "the Best Dressed Man in California" by Esquire magazine. Who? If you're not from California, it's forgivable if you've never heard of him. Simply put, Willie Brown, 74, is one of the most powerful people in California politics. An attorney by trade...
It appears our workplace boozing post touched a few hot buttons, especially those of BNET reader, Acrebel, who is dead set against allowing any alcohol in the workplace, and who lays out a pretty tight case against it: I am utterly opposed to alcohol in the workplace, for...
Practice good corporate responsibility and you'll be able to hire fresh-out-of-the-gate MBAs at a deep discount, according to a new study by the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. The study showed that 97 per cent of the study's 759 subjects would be willing to sacrifice an...
Watch the AMC series "Mad Men," and you'd think that workplace boozing was key to productivity. Well, the three-martini lunch may be a thing of the past, but boozing and work still go hand-in-hand in many office cultures. From the company holiday party, to the monthly beer-bash,...
In this new BNET Video, Sun Microsystem's "chief green evangelist," Dave Douglas, talks about how Sun made telecommuting work, helping the company increase productivity and its employees save time, money and fuel. More BNET Videos » by Michael Mattis
Say "whistleblower" to some execs and the reaction your likely to get is one of fear and loathing. It shouldn't be that way. Whistleblowers can help keep your company out of trouble by catching fraud and corruption – things harmful to your company's reputation and bottom line over the long...
BNET Industries editor, David Hamilton, blogs up the skinny on Roche's attempted acquisition of biotech giant, Genentech. Writes Hamilton: The deal also has a funny smell to it. Roche CEO Severin Schwan claims the merger would save $800 million a year in administrative costs from merging commercial and manufacturing...
Oil companies like to boast that their record-breaking profits are largely invested in infrastructure, exploration for new sources of "Texas tea," and in exploring "green alternatives." But, according to an AP story, the bulk of oil companies' earnings have gone not into exploration, but to stock buybacks...
Seems like it's Cosmopolitan Day here at BNET. Over at the Corner Office, Peter Galuszka notes that U.S. companies are, in increasing numbers, tapping executives and board members from abroad, notably China and India (Or, as the kids are calling it, Chindia.) Meanwhile, BNET1's...
How can you condemn cheating in a game where the players are expected to "steal" bases? David Jacobson has done a remarkable job in researching and writing this week's business of baseball feature package, talking about salaries, the revenue sharing model and the MLB's legally sanctioned monopoly...
In the past we've shared advice on how to survive dinner with your wine snob boss and order wine at a business luncheon or dinner. As every wine enthusiast knows, where a wine comes from and how it is made determines its character and quality. But many wineries today are...
Last week we asked, "where should eBay draw the line against fakes?" The post was the result of a French court's $63 million ruling against the company on grounds that it did not sufficiently police its site against counterfeiters selling, among other things, phony Louis Vuitton merchandise. ...
What do Tyco Services, Huatai Group, Ford Malaysia, L'Oreal Argentina, Barclay's Bank of Ghana and The Ethical Investment Company of Australia all have in common? Each is among the 630 companies the United Nations Global Compact has booted off of its worldwide list of participants for failure to submit a...
Going in vacation this summer? With the high price of fuel, increasing the costs of plane trips, road trips and even train trips, you might be better off staying home with a good book. But for how long? That depends on where you live. As BNET1's Jessica...
Last week, online auction giant, eBay, said it would appeal a $63 million ruling against it by a French court, which found the company liable for facilitating the sale of counterfeit luxury goods, including the famed Louis Vuitton signature handbags. The suit was brought by LVMH Group, which owns the...
You know what we do at BNET: provide information, advice and insight -- plus a little entertainment -- to you, the redoubtable manager battling every day to make your team, your organization and yourself more successful. We hope we've been useful to you. Judging by our growing...
