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Engagement doesn’t happen by accident. Smart companies design programs to cultivate these interactions. Here are a handful of examples from the book, “What’s Your Green Goldfish?” that highlight similar types of activities: 1. GameTime At McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds, the employees take the time to just crack open a board game and play. “Maybe it’s because we’re a game development firm, but we find on a Friday afternoon, nothing beats playing a game,” says CEO Donald W. McNeill. “We check out the competition and have a little healthy competition. We typically get a pizza and throw in a prize for the grand winner of the afternoon.” Prizes vary from a “late morning start pass” to “party money.” 2. Hit them with your best shot. When things get hectic and she gets that “I just want to scream feeling” about something or someone, Jennifer Callies of Shazaaam! Public Relations simply opens fire. Granted it’s with a Nerf gun, but the release is very gratifying. “We have a pretty small office and everyone gets along well and has a fun-loving spirit, so it was no surprise when our creative director went out one day and brought back Nerf guns for everyone,” Callies says. “We take our frustrations out via Nerf wars.” They shoot at walls, computers, phones, the damn copy machine and “from time to time, when the urge becomes contagious, we have it all out,” she says. “It’s an ‘everyone for themselves’ kind of war, using cubicles as hideouts and chairs as shields until all of our foam darts run out. After five to 10 minutes of heated battle with Nerf guns and childish fun, we are refreshed and ready to get back to work.” 3. Beer & Tell. According to Rob White, CEO and Co-founder, Zeus Jones, "Most Fridays, we have what we call ‘Beer and Tell,’ where one or more people share what they have been doing with everyone on staff. The beauty of being a small company is that we can still all fit in a room, and celebrate the work, and the little or big successes of colleagues. In addition to our work for clients, these successes include new staff welcomes, engagements, pregnancies, babies, new pets and even winning debates with AT&T over cell phone bills. Big successes are celebrated with champagne— we write the occasion on the cork and keep all these marked corks in a jar." 4. Employees that play (music) together, stay together. Harmonix Music Systems, maker of the game series Rock Band, goes the extra mile to support the company's bands by providing practice space. Down in the basement of their Cambridge headquarters, there's a hidden sanctuary where employee bands can rock out. The dedicated practice space is equipped with stage lights, music equipment and Christmas lights for mood. 5. Healthy competition. At Virginia company Snagajob, the Culture Squad organizes the annual Office Olympics, during which employees [Snaggers] are divided into competing nations—and dress the part. www.emparm.com

InnoCentive is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based crowdsourcing company that accepts by commission research and development problems in engineering, computer science, math, chemistry, life sciences, physical sciences and business. The company frames these as "challenge problems" for anyone to solve. It gives cash awards for the best solutions to solvers who meet the challenge criteria. How does the model work? InnoCentive adopts the electronic marketplace business model. Innocentive earns through- Subscription fees paid by seekers. A commission of reward given to the solver. Through consultancy services that it offers. Through Partnerships like Rockefeller It’s business model can be divided into- The seeker-Has access to a large database of innovative thinkers. They do not have to hire specialised staff to find solutions. The solver-Gets access to a large database of companies in the desired field. He does not need any fee to post his ideas and earns money if his solution is selected. The owner-Earns money through rewards and fees. He also gets money in order to help non-profit organizations and recognition. What makes it special? The Value Proposition that the business model offers is two-fold: Firstly, InnoCentive allows Seeker organizations to reduce their R&D budget by tapping into the wisdom and innovative capacity of a network of more than 200,000 Solvers in order to find solutions to their difficult problems (Challenges). Secondly, InnoCentive gives the opportunity to Solvers to focus on a range of challenging problems of their interest with the hope of receiving a financial reward. Action Oriented insights How can InnoCentive improve it’s business model? Opening a more visible platform for consultancy in improving efficiency of innovation process in organizations. Online selling platform for books and seminars. Diversifying and making the website available in a wide variety of languages. Invest more in advertising and PR. Letting companies hire solvers on a short term basis.

Burger King (BK) is an American global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in the unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties in 1954, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton and James McLamore purchased the company and renamed it "Burger King". Over the next half-century, the company would change hands four times, with its third set of owners, a partnership of TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, taking it public in 2002. In late 2010, 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in the company, in a deal valued at US$3.26 billion. The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes. 3G, along with partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons, under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International. How does the model work? Burger King follows the Franchise Business Model. Burger King Corporation (BKC), the franchisor, offers franchises in the United States. Burger King franchisees operate quick-service hamburger restaurants using certain trademarks, service marks and trade names, and a recognized design, equipment system, color scheme and styles of buildings and facilities, signs, certain standards, specifications and procedures of operation, quality and consistency standards for products and services offered, and procedures for inventory control and management. BKC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Burger King Worldwide, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International. What makes it so special? The reason was Burger King is special is because it provides family friendly dining experiences to the customers. The USP is it’s premium ingredients and signature recipes. Also Burger King is cost efficient as there is no extra delivery charge and there is a minimum service charge. They have competitive pricing. Action Oriented insights How did Burger King restructure it’s strategy? Here's the basic gist of the four-pillar strategy they came up with: Menu —It redid the menu, adding smoothies, salads, wraps and much more to broaden its consumer base. Operations — Burger King changed the way it dealt with franchisees, adding liaisons and committees so that they could work much more closely together. Renovations — Thousands of Burger King restaurants are getting enhancements like digital menu boards, new uniforms and new packaging. Marketing — The Burger King mascot is gone. He has been replaced with a bunch of celebrities like Sofia Vergara and Salma Hayek to appeal to a wider range of people.

Uber Technologies Inc. is an American technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, operating in 570 cities worldwide. It develops, markets and operates the Uber car transportation and food delivery mobile apps. Uber drivers use their own cars although drivers can rent a car to drive with Uber. It was founded on March, 2009 by Travis Kalanick & Garrett Camp. It generates a revenue of US$ 6.5 billion . How does the model work? The basic difference between Uber's business model and other taxi company's business model is that Uber cabs are actually privately owned vehicles and owner of these vehicles are registered with Uber as drivers, whom Uber refer as‘partners’. Uber operates as a taxi aggregator. It takes ride requests (cab bookings) from retail customers via an app and passes it on to the available set of drivers at that moment, again via a driver facing app. Commuters pay for the ride out of which driver and Uber keep their respective shares. Uber works as a marketplace and connects Cabs to consumers. It is a technology company and with its system finds the nearest available cabs, giving alternatives among various priced and type of car. Uber doesnt let customers make payment in cash and deducts amount from credit card or through linked wallet. It keeps 20% of the total bill and gives back the remaining 80% back to owner/driver. This is normally done weekly. Uber has no role in who is driving the vehicle, it can either be a driver or the owner of the vehicle himself/herself. Earnings differs according to location(as does the fare). What makes it so special? For customers :- Quick Service: No need to wait for a taxi for long times. Discounted/Free rides: Free rides on certain occasions and discounts from time to time. Cheaper: Prices lesser than the normal taxi fares. Comfort: Uber’s tagline says – Your personal driver. It lets customers travel in style. Upfront Pricing: Uber displays the fare of the trip at the Trip request time upfront. If User accepts the price only then the Trip is requested. The prices mostly remains fixed for common places like Airport etc. For drivers:- Better Income: Additional source of income. Flexible working hours: Flexible working schedules. Can work part time or simply whenever they like. Quick and Easy payment: Easy payment procedure. Uber pays for availability to be online, even if they don’t get any request. Action oriented insights Uber’s business model faces certain threats due to lawsuits. In the United States, Uber faces lawsuits and California state regulators ruled that an Uber driver should be treated as an employee rather than a contractor, although that has yet to be extended to all drivers in the state working on the platform. Another looming problem is regulation. The European Court of Justice, the European Union’s highest court, will decide on whether Uber is a transport company or just a digital service; if it is judged to be the former, it will need to comply with stricter licensing, insurance and safety rules, lifting its costs significantly in Europe.

THE WHOLE PRODUCT CONCEPT This solves the “gap between the marketing promise made to the customer… and the ability of the shipped product to fulfill that promise”, by augmenting it with ancillary products & services. Generic product “This is what is shipped in the box and what is covered by the purchasing contract.” Expected product “This is the product that the consumer thought she was buying when she brought the generic product.” Augmented product “This is the product fleshed out to provide the maximum chance of achieving the buying objective.” Potential product “This represents the product’s room for growth as more and more ancillary products come on the market.” THE WHOLE PRODUCT AND THE TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION LIFE CYCLE As the market moves from left to right of the technology adoption life cycle, the product must move from the inner to the outer circles. “Pragmatists evaluate and buy whole products.” WHOLE PRODUCT PLANNING This is the simplified whole product model. In this model, there are only two categories: “What we ship” (the generic product) “Whatever else the customer needs in order to” arrive to a buying decision (the generic product + additions = the whole product) ​

Let us find out how Employee recognition programs can help your organization to be more fruitful. There are many employees who work hard for your organization and it is your responsibility to make sure you know their potential. It is better to take 10 good men for the job rather than 100 unmotivated ones. The major point in Employee recognition programs is appreciation. You can start with appreciation. A simple ‘thank you’ or a ‘Job well done’ can make their day and at the same time will motivate them to do their best. This is how you can bring out the best in them. There are other pointers such as gifting cards, announcing achievements etc. This directly impacts on your organization’s growth. Motivated employees are the best resources that you have in your organization. Now you are thinking how to get started? Well! This is why there are Employee recognition programs that will enable you to implement these in your organization. The Employee ARM Toolkit is a package of modules, tips and certificates that will enable you to implement Employee recognition programs in your organization. This Employee ARM Toolkit comes with - Appreciation Recognition, Motivation Recognition Certificates Around 50 Anniversary Certificates Quotes Pocket Size Appreciation Cards Employee Recognition ideas Recognition Presentation 52 Week Articles Employee Encouragement Many more……… These are some of the things that come with the Employee ARM Toolkit. Now, when you start appreciating your employee on his hard work, the one thing that will strike him or her is that you care for your employee. This will motivate your employee to work hard and give you the best. There are many other things that you will achieve once you implement the Employee ARM Toolkit at your work place. www.emparm.com

High Morale “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t you’re right.” Morale is the degree of motivation within a person. A person with high morale would always look at life and other options with a positive attitude and rank them rationally for future prospects. On the other hand, a person with low morale would always crib and feel unsatisfied with whatever the situation offers to him. Hence, because of the feeling of saturation he would not be able to make most of the present situation resulting in lesser benefits and outcomes/profits. It is not necessary to derive maximum benefits out of every situation but it is extremely essential to always hold a positive outlook towards it for one’s own personal benefit. This benefit may be materialistic but mostly it is about inner peace and happiness. A person who is happy and satisfied from within would always lead a contented life. It is not that he won’t strive for better things but he would not waste his time cribbing about what he doesn’t possess. Cribbing and holding grudges only waste ones precious time and eventually one loses their peace to it as well. Hence, it is important to always hold a high morale and look at situation and people in positive light. This will not only make you a more likeable person but also productive. So, make an endeavor to always keep your morale high and attitude positive, rest all would work out on its own….remeber…. “I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it…” Pablo Picasso

17 Anti-Procrastination Hacks by Dominic Mann is a list written to help you stop being lazy, overcome procrastination and finally get stuff done. Procrastination is something everyone can relate to. Mann's list has different approaches, theories and techniques you can apply to your daily life to get more done and avoid the procrastination trap! 1. WHY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE PROCRASTINATE (AND HOW NOT TO) Intelligent people are more often the ones that feel the urge to procrastinate. This is because they are more likely to see and think about the consequences. It’s going to be boring. It’s going to be difficult etc. Meanwhile, the less-intelligent of the world often just do whatever is in front of them. No thoughts of consequences. A mere glance at your tax form or to-do list can send intelligent brains on a mental tangent of negative thought-patterns that go so deep they paralyze one from taking action. Unfortunately, all of this over-thinking not only gets us nowhere but it freezes us. So what’s the solution? Develop the “next action” habit… 2. DEVELOP THE NEXT ACTION HABIT To stop procrastinating, shift your focus from the overwhelming immensity of the entire forest (i.e. project) to just a single tree (i.e. a small task). Focus only on the next physical action needed to move forward and do it. The reason this is one of the most effective is because you shift your focus from something overwhelming to something your mind perceives as doable. 3. BUILD MOMENTUM: THE PHYSICS OF PRODUCTIVITY You see, productive people tends to stay productive. Or, as they say, “Nothing succeeds like success.” Productive people tend to get one thing done, then another, and another. One thing spurs them on to the next, and the next. They build up momentum and that pushes them along. One small step leads to another. Focus on taking action and you’ll find that momentum rolls in that direction. 4. MAKE A TASTY TO-DO LIST Instead of putting “New tires” on your to-do list, put “Call tire store for prices.” Reduce your focus to no more than, “what is the very next physical action I can take? What is the next action?”—and then do it. Make these little actions simple, easy, and actionable. 5. THE TWO-MINUTE RULE If something takes less than two minutes to do, do it now. Just get it out of the way. No more drowning in your inbox or having your apartment look like a landfill. If something takes less than two minutes, take care of it immediately. 6. SET MACRO GOALS AND MICRO QUOTAS We can all relate to how frustrating and disheartening it can be to be stuck doing a single task for an extending period of time. Books can take months (or years) to complete. That wasn’t going to work. Even chapters can take several days. That wouldn’t work either. So author Anthony Trollope’s solution was to measure his progress in 15-minutes increments. With this approach, Trollope gets a regular dosage of motivating feelings of accomplishment. He gets these small wins every 15 minutes. Small indicators of progress spur you to do more and more. These little accomplishments—much like an effective morning routine—help to quickly develop your day into one with an attitude of effectiveness and productivity. Find a way to balance the satisfaction of getting things done and pursuing your biggest and most ambitious goals by setting “macro goals” and “micro quotas”. 7. TIME BLOCKS Without truly committing to doing an activity—such as by specifying exactly when, where, and how you will do a specific task—procrastination just becomes too easy. 1. First of all, and perhaps most obviously, you need to decide exactly what it is you need to get done. Block out time for it. 2. During this time block, eliminate everything else. Put your devices on airplane mode, take advantage of website blocking tools, etc. To truly overcome procrastination and get stuff done, you need to really, really commit. Set aside a block of time, cut out all distractions. And give yourself no choice but to do whatever it is you need to do. 8. THE BUTT-IN-CHAIR METHOD This 100 percent effective anti-procrastination strategy, as the name implies, involves putting your butt in the chair at your desk for a certain period of time each day. No distractions. Nothing. Just you and your pen and paper (or word document). The power of committing a block of undistracted time to working on a specific task cannot be overstated. Committing to an undistracted time block is perhaps the single most effective anti-procrastination technique there is. 9. AIRPLANE DAYS A surprising array of people has noted that they are at their most productive when they are 30,000 feet in the air. Why is this? It simply comes down to this: There are no distractions. Fortunately, you don’t need to dish out thousands of dollars and go on an international flight every time you need an ultra-productive work session. Instead, just pretend that you are going on an all-day flight. Get out of the office, block out of the day on your shared calendar if you have one, and put (and keep) all your devices on airplane mode. Today you are on an (imaginary) international flight. 10. CREATE A DISTRACTION TO-DO LIST Rather than succumbing to the temptation in the moment, simply write down whatever it is you want to do or thought of onto your “distraction to-do list” and get straight back to work. Later on, once all your important tasks are done, you will return to your “distraction to-do list” and freely indulge in it—without the guilt, and without sacrificing productivity. 11. THE (10+2)X5 METHOD You sit down, set the timer for 10 minutes, and work with single-minded focus until the timer rings. For this 10 minutes nothing but working towards the completion of the task(s). After your ten minutes of intense labor are up (phew), you get two minutes—no more, no less—to do whatever on earth you want. Coffee, Reddit, Facebook—anything. After the two minutes are up, buckle down for another ten minutes of work and repeat the process. This work-play cycle is to be repeated five times, giving you a total of 60 minutes (i.e. one hour) of working and breaking. 12. UTILIZE THE POWER OF DEADLINES Somehow, college students are able to do an entire semester's work in a single night. No jokes. But how on earth do they do it? Here’s the secret: Deadlines. There’s simply no other way out. But once we’re out of the education system, we often no longer encounter situations that are as black and white. Moreover, we don’t have the ability to set deadlines that create that sort of pressure for ourselves. Well, we actually can. Using services such as “stickK” (www.stickk.com) or by simply doing it ourselves, we can create precise deadlines that have tangible consequences if missed. “StickK” is one such service that allows you to but money on the line, forcing you to either get your stuff done or lose out on cold hard cash. 13. KILL YOUR INNER PERFECTIONIST Science has shown us that the number one cause of procrastination is what they call “analysis paralysis.” In layman’s terms, “analysis paralysis” means being a perfectionist. You might hate to hear it, but nothing is perfect. We constantly learn, gain experience, and improve—but we’re never perfect. When it comes to productivity, something is always better than nothing. Most of the time, the solution is to just hit the ground running. So stop focusing on doing things perfectly and instead simply focus on doing things, period. Jump in headfirst, ready or not, and before you know it, you’ll be swimming. 14. HOW TO PROCRASTINATE PRODUCTIVELY Sometimes, we simply can’t help but procrastinate—no matter how much we don’t want to. Sometimes it just happens, and we can’t deny that. The solution in this case is less obvious: Do things that are easier, but still productive. This is known as the redirect technique. Rather than simply giving up for the day redirect and procrastinate productively. Do some small task that still needs to get done, like returning some calls or replying to some emails. 15. THE KIND OF VISUALIZATION THAT LEADS TO PROCRASTINATION (AND THE KIND THAT LEADS TO ACTION) Many of us visualize success (or failure, or both!)—even if we don’t realize it or believe in the practice. Unfortunately, many of us visualize success in a way that can actually lead to procrastination rather than help us to work toward our goals. Unfortunately, instead of being motivated to go out and make what we just pictured in our mind a reality, we often trick our subconscious brain into believing we have actually already achieved our goals. Firstly—and most obviously—stop excessively visualizing success. Instead of visualizing the outcome, visualize the process of achieving that desirable outcome. “Take the approach of world-class athletes and Olympians when it comes to visualization. They don’t visualize standing on the highest spot on the podium triumphantly holding aloft their gold medal. What they do instead is visualize the race. They visualize the process of winning gold (or setting a world record), not the outcome. 16. THE ONE WORD THAT KILLS PROCRASTINATION Another factor that can cause procrastination is the way we view ourselves—our self-image. Telling yourself (or others) that you “can’t” do something impresses upon the mind that you would very much like to do the thing in question but you’re denying yourself of it. The word “don’t”, on the other hand, is far more empowering. Imagine somebody saying “I don’t drink alcohol” or “I don’t eat unhealthy foods” or “I don’t skip gym.” By using the word “don’t”, you impress upon the mind the idea that you’re not the kind of person who skips gym or eats junk food. 17. HOW TO CHEAPLY AND QUICKLY OUTSOURCE TASKS Now, outsourcing might not seem like much of a solution to procrastination. And that’s because it’s not. You’re basically continuing to procrastinate, and just getting the work done by shrugging it off to somebody else. The way to go about outsourcing can vary depending on the task, however two great options to get started are Upwork (https://upwork.com/) and Fiverr (https://fiverr.com/).

Working Smarter Not Harder by Timo Kinder is a quick read that identifies 18 different ways to improve your working day. Tips range from learning new valuable computer skills to understanding your own workin g patterns and rhythms. A easyto- read guide that will help anyone increase their productivity one step at a time! “To have a solid foundation for personal productivity, the following blocks must be in place: proper mindset, physical activity, optimum nutrition & enough sleep.” 1. HAVE A POWERFUL START TO YOUR DAY 2. UNDERSTAND YOUR OPTIMAL WORKING RHYTHM 3. KEEP DISTRACTIONS AT BAY 4. NEVER START YOUR DAY UNPLANNED 5. DRINK WATER 6. IDENTIFY THE MOST IMPORTANT TASKS AND DO THEM FIRST 7. ASK THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOUR NEXT MEETING 8. BATCH SIMILAR TASKS TOGETHER 9. PROCESS YOUR EMAIL EFFECTIVELY 10. DELEGATE, THE RIGHT WAY 11. TAKE BREAKS 12. TAKE CARE OF THE FROGS RIGHT AWAY 13. CREATE CHECKLISTS 14. TAKE A SNAPSHOT OF YOUR WORK BEFORE VACATION 15. FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME 16. CONTROL THE BUSYWORK 17. KNOW YOUR TOOLS (AND YOUR KEYBOARD TOO) 18. KNOW HOW YOU SPEND YOUR TIME ON YOUR COMPUTER

Customers are the backbone of an enterprise. It costs five times as much to attract new customers as it does to keep an existing one. Dissatisfied customers are, unfortunately, a fact of business. Dealing with unhappy clients is not an easy task but if one knows what to say and how to say it, they may be able to handle the situation. Some tips to face and deal with angry customers are as follows: ​1.Listen-Accept-Apologize-Provide a solution: This cycle, if followed correctly, has the power to satisfy even the angriest customer. Making the client realize that his problem is the concern of the business builds up trust. And one can follow it only by listening to the problem carefully, accepting the fault, apologizing and being empathetic and presenting them with a solution. 2.Patience is the cure to anger, sorrow or distress of the customer. Interrupting the customer while expressing their issue won’t be a good idea. One should be calm and listen to the concern and then reply. ​ 3.Negotiate with the customer and provide them with good offers to keep them satisfied, despite of the problem faced by them. Make the caller happy-give them a refund or voucher as per the company’s protocol. 4.Even if one has to encounter a loud and abusive customer, they should always respond by speaking softly and with a very steady tone. Shouting over the customer leaves a bad impression of the company on the client. 5.Try resolving the problem concerned with the customer as soon as possible to maintain trust and build even stronger relations. ​ 6.Don’t take long and try buying time with the hold button. Instead of calming the client down, it escalates the caller’s anger by feeling shunted aside. 7.Reach to the core of the problem so that it does not reoccur. Even if it does one is readily prepared with a solution to the customer. 8.Blaming the customer or the company would only affect the relations between them. Using an indirect approach to resolve the issue and coming to a conclusion is a better option. 9.Informing the customers about your customer care services and giving them a complete follow up of the status of their problem and a solution, if provided along with, helps the client to rely on the business brand even after the inconvenience caused. 10.Taking Feedback from the customers provides a clearer picture of the problem and also proves helpful in rectifying any defects in the working of the system. It might also provide with some innovative and creative ideas to help grow with the society. We learn from our mistakes and an unsatisfied customer is the result of a mistake. The company should know how to solve such mistakes and learn from them, also adapt to the changes it brings along to grow and to walk on the same path as their customers.

Oct 19, 2017 "Blue Ocean" is a slang term for the uncontested market space for an unknown industry or innovation. In an established industry, companies compete with each other for every piece of available market share. The competition is often so intense that some firms cannot sustain themselves. This type of industry describes a red ocean, representing saturated market share bloodied by competition. Blue Ocean in contrast symbolizes high profit potentials. According to the Economic Times Blue Ocean Strategy is referred to a market for a product where there is no competition or very less competition. This strategy revolves around searching for a business in which very few firms operate and where there is no pricing pressure. The basic strategy is to capture the market demand and introduce a new product or a product with superior features so as to make the competing products irrelevant. Blue ocean strategy is linked with creating your own market. However, what really happens is the creation of a new product rather a better one. It is imperative that the timing of introducing the product in the market is correct. The timing is dependent on the demand, if the demand is too high, and then there is a chance that soon after your product many companies will follow with similar products, the ocean in such case turns from red to blue. If the demand is not much then the product, in spite of it being unique, will not be able to make profits. The demand in the market has to be just enough to allow producers to make profit and at the same time not allure competing firms to enter the market. One challenge is to gauge the demand for a product in the market that has not yet been launched. This can be done through extensive consumer surveys and analysis of current market trends. Using the blue ocean strategy, a producer can build a monopolistic market in some sense, but this monopoly is not secured forever. For as long as the monopolistic market rests with the producer, It helps the company in make huge profits as the product can be priced a little steep because of its unique features. For example: Apple ventured into digital music in 2003 with its product iTunes. Apple users can download legal and high quality music at a reasonable price from iTunes making traditional sources of distribution of music irrelevant. Earlier compact disks or CDs were used as a traditional medium to distribute and listen to music. Apple was successful in capturing the growing demand of music for users on the go. All the available Apple products have iTunes for users to download music.

In any workplace, forming a strong team to work together to achieve a common vision, project or goal is a huge advantage. If you’re a team leader, or manage a team, here are 10 ways you can improve teamwork in your workplace: 1. Act as a guide: Every team needs a great leader who’s willing to guide the team in working and making decisions collaboratively. The team leader must also be committed to reaching the team’s goals and have strong communication skills to be able to share their passion and vision for success. 2. Make every team member feel valued: Success as a team can only come when each team member is aware of the importance of their role in the team’s success. Involve all team members by sharing any available information relevant to the goal/project and any deadlines. Assign them with responsibility for specific goals/outcomes and reward all members of the team for achieving them. 3. Set increasingly challenging team-based goals: Each time the team reaches a goal, set a more challenging goal for them to achieve to encourage team members to stretch themselves and learn from and build on their previous successes. Recognise the team for meeting the challenge and openly discuss how their team effort led their achieving the goal. 4. Incorporate team-based problem solving into staff meetings: At each team meeting ask every team member to share a project or task they might feel stuck on, or challenged by, and request that other team members give feedback, provide some mentoring and share their ideas to help resolve the dilemma or impasse. Encourage team brainstorming of solutions. 5. Facilitate conversation, idea-sharing and team brainstorming: Where possible, set up work areas where team members can get together to easily share ideas, brainstorm or discuss progress on goals/projects. Open office environments don’t always work, so this might mean allocating certain rooms, or even outdoor spaces in the workplace, where team members can work together. 6. Encourage teamwork on projects: Develop a protocol that requires team members to work together on projects. For example, before any important document or plan is finalised, ensure that more than one team member has been responsible for creating, reviewing and giving their feedback on it. 7. Discuss team dynamics on a regular basis: Encourage open communication in team meetings about the team dynamic - for example, talk specifically about what’s working well and what could work better. Use this as an opportunity for team members to discuss how they can work more effectively as a team, but never to whinge or criticize one another in front of other team members. Also encourage conversations reflecting on what has enabled positive achievements as a team. 8. Welcome comments, questions and suggestions from all team members: Great ideas and improvements can come as a result of asking what might seem to be ‘dumb’ questions or looking at a situation from a completely different perspective. Be open to and encourage input from every team member. Be supportive of new ideas and, as a team, work through all ideas and weed out any that won’t work. 9. Provide ongoing coaching, training and mentoring opportunities and support to team members: Giving team members ongoing learning opportunities and building both individuals’ skills and team skills encourages people to grow and stretch their capabilities. Assign mentors where possible to team members and encourage leaders and managers to develop coaching skills to use within their teams. Or, hire an external professional coach to work with the team leaders, managers, or individual team members, to further develop specific competencies. 10. Recognise and reward good teamwork: Look for ways to acknowledge and consistently reward good teamwork. Also be quick to discipline any team member who engages in gossiping about, bullying, or back-stabbing other team members. Let it be known that your organisation will not condone any negative interpersonal behaviour. 10. Recognise and reward good teamwork: Look for ways to acknowledge and consistently reward good teamwork. Also be quick to discipline any team member who engages in gossiping about, bullying, or back-stabbing other team members. Let it be known that your organisation will not condone any negative interpersonal behaviour.