Evolve Insights

What they don’t teach in business schools

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on September 25th 2018 Lucy Kiruthu After four years in business school, many university graduates get into the job market or into the world of entrepreneurship. As they settle in, they realize that they did not learn enough. There is so much more, some of it basics that they need to learn while on the job. The same is true even for those that have advanced degrees in business. Not everything we need to know about business or what we need to be able to run a business successfully is taught in business schools. In Kenya today, many university students have enrolled for business related degrees. The business schools where they study offer various specializations. Business administration, marketing, finance, human resources, entrepreneurship, procurement and the like are some of the common specializations at undergraduate level. Most students make their choices based on their qualifications or based on limited information…
robert
September 25, 2018
Evolve Insights

Is smartphone addiction affecting your productivity?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on September 18th 2018 There is an increased craving for the use of smartphones. Many of us have witnessed it. We have observed security guards glued to their phones instead of taking watch, traffic police directing traffic as they peep on their phones and worse still frontline staff that are absorbed into social media oblivious of the customers waiting to be served. We have seen friends and family casually check their texts while in conversations. I have been reflecting on these and many other situations where the phone is in use almost unconscious. I am worried that many might be falling into smartphone addiction. I am scared that smartphone addiction might have the same repercussions that we have seen in other forms of addiction. In most workplaces, staff bring along personal smartphones. Some if not most respond to personal calls, they text and worse still they visit social media…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
September 19, 2018
Evolve Insights

Customer Experience as a Competitive Advantage

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on September 11th 2018 Lucy Kiruthu Today, customer experience is a major area of focus in many organisations. Business leaders and managers across the globe have shifted their attention to the customer. They recognize the customer as a key player in the survival of their businesses. They know that the numbers on their income statement relate to customers and that it is the customers that pay their salaries. In addition, these leaders are aware that their customers have a choice; they can easily vote with their feet. They know that products and price can no longer be a differentiator as they can be easily matched. To be unique, smart businesses are today offering a customer experience that is different from that of others in their industry and at the marketplace. Customer experience presents the greatest opportunity for businesses to be distinctive. Such an experience is difficult to match; it…
Dr. Lucy Kiruthu
September 12, 2018
Evolve Insights

Is a don’t care attitude hurting your business?

As it appeared in the Daily Nation on September 4th 2018 Lucy Kiruthu I was visiting an organization for the first time; it was evident that there was something hurting the business. The staff lacked enthusiasm; they seemed overly disinterested in what they were doing. When I sought to find out what was going on from a middle level manager, he simply said, “There is a lot of apathy over here”. Apathy at the workplace is described as a “don’t care attitude” or indifference in the staff. In organizations where there is no intentional effort to build a healthy work culture and an engaged workforce, such an attitude is commonplace and in some cases the leaders are oblivious of its presence. As an outsider, it is easy to identify staff who do not really care. Such staff use phrases such as “I don’t care” “who cares” “why bother” “no one cares” “just going through the motions”…
robert
September 4, 2018