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An unexpected ending…
A lot of you may have been on business trips but I bet your trip wasn't as exciting (and tragic) as this gentlemen's trip was.
What was also surprising was that his employer was found liable for his death as it was classified as an industrial accident.
The exact cause of death was a cardiac arrest whilst he was having sex with a stranger he had met on the business trip.
Now, whilst having a heart attack during sex with a stranger probably wouldn't meet most people's definition of an "industrial accident" a French court found otherwise. The court stated that the employer was responsible for any accident occurring during a business trip and ruled that his family were entitled to compensation.
The man who died on the job, named as Xavier X, was working as an engineer for TSO, a railway services company based near Paris and his employer had perhaps quite reasonably argued that he was not carrying out professional duties when he got into an extra marital relationship with a total stranger in his hotel room.
This opinion though wasn't accepted by the court and they upheld the view that sexual activity was normal, "like taking a shower or a meal".
As a result of it being classified as a normal activity on a business trip, the death was considered to be an industrial accident and under French law, partners or children of industrial accident victims receive up to 80 per cent of their salary until what would have been the person's retirement age, with pension contributions paid from then on.
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/industrial-accident.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-12-23 13:56:002020-01-15 08:46:50An unexpected ending...
Exams for sale….
One of the five fundamental ethical principles is Integrity.
Being straightforward and honest is a vital characteristic of being a professional accountant.
Most people who are studying for their professional exams have one thing on their mind. Namely, to pass their exams but four students who were studying for their ACCA exams had other things on their minds and at the same time, were not the brightest individuals out there.
What they planned to do was to register for some Computer Based Exams (CBEs) and then whilst sitting the exams they would use their mobile phones to take photos of the computer screen showing the questions. They would then sell these photos with the questions on them via the internet.
The four individuals involved, Chen Yiyun, Hiujiao Ru, Zehui Gong and Ziying Wang decided to sell the questions on Taobao Marketplace, a Chinese shopping website.
They no doubt thought that this was an extremely clever way of making some money. What could possibly go wrong by taking photos of the questions and then selling them online?
One of the other fundamental ethical principles is that of Professional Competence.
Now, if these individuals had even a minuscule amount of Professional Competence, they would have reviewed the photos before selling them.
Alas for them they didn't review them.
If they had reviewed them, they would have seen at the top of the computer screen in the photos their ACCA student registration number and the exam centre.
ACCA were made aware of the questions being for sale and made a test purchase on the Taobao Marketplace. Given the student registration numbers were on the screen, they didn't need a team of top detectives to identify the individuals involved.
Unsurprisingly, the four individuals are now ex-students of ACCA having been found guilty of misconduct and they were ordered to pay costs ranging from £3,500 to £7,000.
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ACCA-exam-cheating.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-11-28 22:38:372019-11-28 22:38:38Exams for sale....
Wave hello to a discount
The accountants amongst you will be well aware of the different methods of setting the price of a product or service.
Going rate, cost-plus and perceived value are all fairly common but what about basing the price of your service on the size of ocean waves?
This month, Alaska Airlines have segmented the market nicely and are targeting surfers by offering discounts on flights to Hawaii. These discounts are based on the forecast size of the waves which they hope the surfers will soon be surfing.
They have teamed up with surfline.com who forecast the size of the waves and the higher the forecast waves, the higher the discount.
The discounts start off at 10% for waves up to 10ft (3m) and go to a maximum of 30% for waves above 21ft (6.4m)
All in all, a nice way to target surfers
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/unusual-pricing.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-11-14 21:12:362019-11-08 21:28:14Wave hello to a discount
Laziness and intelligence.
Are you lazy? Do you know anyone who is lazy?
Whilst a lot of you won't admit to being lazy (and I'm sure most of you aren't in fact lazy!), some of you will know somebody who you feel is lazy.
Is it such a bad thing to be lazy though?
Perhaps not, as according to a study by scientists from Florida Gulf Coast University laziness could correlate with high intelligence.
The study found that people with a high IQ rarely got bored. As a result, they spent more time lost in thought. On the other hand, the study suggested that less intelligent people were more likely to be prone to boredom and consequently were more likely to do more physical activity.
The researchers worked with 2 types of students. The first group expressed a strong desire to think a lot whilst the second group were keen to avoid doing things which were mentally taxing.
The participants were then fitted with fitness trackers which monitored how much they exercised over a 7 day period. The study found that people who thought a lot were much less active than those individuals who avoided high-level thinking. Interestingly, this discrepancy in levels of activity only happened during the week and there was no difference during the weekend.
Before any of the lazy people out there start claiming that they are more intelligent, it's worth noting that the sample size of the test was small and further tests will be needed to prove the correlation.
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/lazy-in-the-office.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-10-30 22:53:222019-10-26 21:21:32Laziness and intelligence.
Would you do this for a bit of chocolate?
What's one way of increasing the chances of getting hold of someone's password?
Does it involve the use of the very latest supercomputer? Does it involve some clever IT geeks hacking into a computer for you?
Or does it involve chocolate?
A bit of research published in the journal Computers in Human Behaviour attempted to find out how people are obligated by the kindness of others. Or in other words, if someone does something nice for a person, how likely is it that the person will be nice back to them?
The researchers in Luxembourg conducted a survey of random people in the street asking them about internet security including questions about passwords.
Some of the people interviewed were given chocolate and some weren't.
30% of those that were not given chocolate revealed their passwords which to me is a surprisingly high percentage and just goes to show that quite often human stupidity is the weakest link in internet security.
For the people who were given chocolate at the beginning of the interview the figure rose to 44% and if the chocolate was given just before the question on passwords was asked an incredible 48% gave their passwords! Yes, nearly half of the people asked their passwords as part of a survey told a complete stranger their password if they had been given chocolate.
Andre Melzer, the author of the study said that "when someone does something nice for us we automatically feel obliged to return the favour".
So, in conclusion, if someone walks up to you in the office and offers you a piece of chocolate be careful what you say…
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/chocolate.png 921 1637 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-08-24 02:55:442019-08-28 14:19:15Would you do this for a bit of chocolate?
Pass the biscuits…
Does your weight affect the amount of money you earn?
That's an interesting question and researchers from the universities of Strathclyde in Glasgow and Potsdam in Germany have come up with a potential answer.
They analysed data from nearly 15,000 working men and found that men within that the recommended Body Mass Index (BMI) health range earnt more than those who were outside of the range.
Individuals who were underweight on the body mass index were found to earn 8% less than those who were in the top end of the healthy bracket. They found that the effect was more prominent in manual jobs where no doubt the extra strength of the guys in the healthy weight bracket helped increase their earnings.
What was perhaps surprising though was that there was also a difference in earnings in white-collar office jobs. They found that in the more middle-class occupations the rewards peaked at a BMI of around 21.
It wasn't just men who were impacted though. The study also looked at the weight and earnings of 15,000 German women and found that the slimmest earnt the most and the obese the least.
Jonny Gifford, of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development was quoted in the press as saying "it is depressing that, in this day and age, looks are in any way a factor in how much people are paid".
I have to agree with him as organisations should employ people on the basis of their abilities as opposed to how heavy they weigh.
Anyway, best dash as I've got a packet of biscuits to finish…
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/office-fitness.jpg 433 770 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-08-12 18:08:122019-08-17 22:03:02Pass the biscuits...
How many CEOs of top global companies were replaced last year?
Well, the answer may surprise you and what also may surprise you is the reason they lost their job.
PwC have been keeping track of the movements of the CEOs of the largest 2,500 global publicly listed companies since 2000 and the most recent data for 2018 has been released and it shows some interesting things.
In 2018 the number of departures of CEOs reached a record level with nearly 18% being replaced (up from 12% in 2010).
It was the reason for their departure though which raised some eyebrows.
CEOs can leave their jobs for a variety of reason and PwC categorised the reasons as planned (e.g. they were due to retire), forced (e.g. they did something a bit "naughty") or M&A (e.g. they were no longer needed due to a merger or acquisition).
The latest split showed the 18% of departures as:
Planned – 12.0%
Forced – 3.6%
M&A – 2.0%
Digging a bit deeper though into the forced departures shows some worrying reasons.
Historically the main reason CEOs were forced out was due to poor results but for the first time the largest group of CEOs forced out was due to integrity reasons.
In 2018, 39% of those forced out were due to integrity reasons. Ten years ago in 2008 the corresponding figure was only 10%.
These integrity issues could include scandals such as improper conduct, fraud, bribery, insider trading, environmental disasters, misleading CVs, and sexual indiscretions, according to PwC.
So, in summary more CEOs are being fired and the main reason is integrity issues.
All in all, a pretty poor performance…
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/CEO-fired.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-07-18 12:54:082019-07-18 12:54:09You're fired...
Dog seized to pay tax bill…
It's always best to keep up to date with your tax affairs. Although most people don't enjoy paying their taxes, it's the law and if you don't pay there can be serious consequences.
Over in Germany reports have emerged that make it fairly clear that you don't mess with the German authorities when it comes to taxes.
An unnamed lady was behind in paying her taxes.
The authorities sent a debt collector around to collect whatever assets the family had to settle the tax liability.
According to the lady in question, two valuable items were identified.
One was the wheelchair of her paraplegic husband. Now, before even getting into the rights and wrongs of taking a disabled person's wheelchair to settle debts, luckily for the family it was not an issue as it turned out that it was owned by a local association and was not the property of the family so the debt collectors couldn't take it.
The authorities though have denied they tried to take the wheelchair and a spokesman said "Mobility aids for the disabled are absolutely exempt from being seized as collateral."
One item though which was not exempt from being seized was the family pet.
Alas for Edda, the family dog, she was taken by the debt collector.
Edda is a pug and they are a pretty fashionable dog breed at the moment and the debt collector took the dog as settlement for the debt.
Edda was then listed on eBay and was sold to Michaela Jordan, a local police officer for €750 (approx. £650).
There's a twist in the "tail" though in that the new owner has now sued the local authorities who sold Edda as apparently, she was advertised as being a healthy dog but has required veterinary treatment costing approximately €1,800.
We wish Edda well.
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Tax-collection.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-06-27 19:59:172019-06-27 20:01:00Dog seized to pay tax bill...
Would you send a selfie of your legs for a bonus?
I'm all for equal rights in the workplace. It doesn't matter whether you're male or female. It doesn't matter what the colour of your skin is or your religious preferences. The only thing that does matter is whether or not you can do your job.
Not everyone shares the same view though and in Russia, aluminium manufacturing company Tatprof is offering a bonus to its female employees if they wear a skirt and makeup.
Oh, and to get the bonus they have to send a selfie of them showing their legs and make up to their (mostly male) bosses.
The bonus is 100 Russian Rubles (approx. £1.25) and it's been reported that 60 people have so far sent in selfies to get the bonus.
Some may say that there are 2 sides to the argument.
The first, and probably most obvious, is that this is a step backwards in the workplace. A person should be judged by their ability to do their job rather than what their legs and make up look like. It's 2019 for goodness sake and not the 1950s.
A counter argument though was put forward by Anasasia Kirillova, who works for the company's department of corporate culture and internal communications who said that "Many women automatically put on trousers, so we hope that [the campaign] will increase our ladies' awareness, allowing them to feel their femininity and charm when they make the choice of wearing a skirt or dress".
It seems the message is coming from the top of the company.
According to Ms Kirillova, Tatprof's male CEO Sergei Rachkov "really wants to maintain the female essence in every female employee of the company, so that young women do not have male haircuts, do not change into trousers, so that they engage themselves in handicraft, project all their warmth into raising children".
Now, I'm personally not convinced by this counter argument but what about opening up the bonus option to everyone in the company?
What about offering the bonus to men as well as women who send a selfie of themselves wearing a skirt?
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/selfie-in-office.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-06-20 08:37:352019-06-13 11:43:21Would you send a selfie of your legs for a bonus?
Best to take it back…
Most of you have probably had an interview. In fact, some of you may have had a number of interviews but a boss of one of the top companies in Australia has recently disclosed a pretty unusual way of deciding who not to offer a job to.
Trent Innes, who heads up Xero in Australia said that he will greet the person when he or she arrives for the interview and then take them to the kitchen to offer them a drink before heading to the meeting room with the drink. Even if they aren't tea or coffee drinkers they will generally walk away with a glass of water.
He explained in the Venture Podcast with Lambros Photios that after taking the drink back for the interview "one of the things I'm always looking for at the end of the interview is, does the person doing the interview want to take that empty cup back to the kitchen?"
He explained that what "I was trying to find was what was the lowest level task I could find that regardless of what you did inside the organisation was still super important that would actually really drive a culture of ownership."
He went on to say, "You can develop skills, you can gain knowledge and experience but it really does come down to attitude, and the attitude that we talk a lot about is the concept of 'wash your own coffee cup'."
That's quite a smart move by Mr Innes as he said that attitude was the most important trait he looked for when hiring people.
He said that "Especially in a fast growth company or a start-up environment or scale up environment – you need people with a really strong growth mindset and that comes back to their attitude."
So, how many interviewees do you think offered to take their cups back?
Perhaps surprisingly, the number of people who offered to take their cup back to the kitchen was pretty high. According to Mr Innes only 5 to 10 per cent of the interviewees didn't offer to return their empty coffee cup back to the kitchen.
So there you go. If you're attending an interview and you go to the kitchen with the boss to get a drink, it's probably a good idea to offer to take the cup back.
https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/coffee-interview-1.png 944 1678 Steve https://www.theexpgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/styleguide-EXP-4.png Steve2019-06-05 21:28:312019-06-05 21:28:32Best to take it back...