Isn't it funny how many chef uniforms in high-class restaurants are white? Even a regular person who wears white shirts or pants has a hard time keeping them spot and stain-free on a normal day. Think about how difficult is it for cooks and bakers, who are constantly leaning over soup bowls and saut?ing vegetables, to keep their chef uniforms clean and tidy.

Whatever the reason for the color choice, the crisp white chef uniform sets apart the food preparers from other restaurant employees and represents a well-respected staff member who has earned a reputable position as a chef.

While the makeup of a chef uniform may project an image of a simple white smock or coat, there are many more color and fabric choices and accessories that could make up their business uniform.

Chef frocks and jackets come in a variety of shades and styles. While most are the traditional white tops with minimal to no color design, others available include red, green and even denim chef uniform shirts. Most are secured by buttons either on one side of the front of the attire or contain two sets, usually sporting black or white colored buttons.

A more relaxed, less high-scale establishment could also possibly distribute collared, polyester or cotton shirts to their employees for chef uniforms. To add spiffiness to a chef uniform, accessorize the garments with neckerchiefs. They are an inexpensive item that spruces up the look of a basic chef uniform, adding color and a bit of flash to otherwise basic gear.

Some kitchens require their cooks to wear simple black or white pants; others opt for a more unique and colorful chef uniform pant, purchasing cotton speckled or graphic-designed comfortable baggy or straight-legged bottoms. Allowing chefs to sport these comfy pants may give a more creative feel among kitchen staff and are certainly more flexible when sprinting from the salad station to the dessert tray. Spills may also be less noticeable in case a chef is asked to make an appearance in the dining area. Adding a full-length or wrap-around waist apron could also act as a guard for unwanted splatter disasters.

Big billowy hats are perhaps the most noticeable and captivating article of a chef uniform. Not only are they fun to look at by restaurant patrons, they serve the purpose of keeping loose hairs secure so that strands don't accidentally fall into the food. Caps are sometimes used as an alternative to chef hats and basically serve the same purpose.

Nothing is worse than a scalded hand when a chef is cooking up a masterpiece. For that reason, oven mitts should be a chef uniform requirement for those handling metal pans or reaching into baking ovens. There is one more item that should be kept on hand to keep those chef uniforms looking spectacular. Management should keep a bottle of stain remover accessible to remove surface spatters from chef uniforms as to lighten the washing machine's burden. Suggesting employees purchase a bottle for use at home wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

It's official now! UK is in recession. Most of the European countries are in recession, except France. But the interesting question is what, if any, is the difference between a slowdown, downturn, recession and a depression. IBSCDC has developed an interesting case study that would facilitate a focused debated on this with all the historical facts and also the US financial crisis (2008), US Financial Crisis: Is the Great Depression II in Making?. This case study is written primarily to answer one simple, yet inconclusive question: Should US Financial Crisis (2008) be termed Great Depression II? The Great Depression of the 1930s is such a traumatic economic experience that whenever there is any slump in economic activity, a spontaneous spooky sense occupies people's mindscape. The case study relates the US Financial Crisis of 2008 to the Great Depression of 1929 by taking into consideration the key magnitudes of the economic decline in those days and at present. The benefits of hindsight, the state of global integration, the availability of policy options - then and now - have also been touched upon.
In the process, the case analyses an array of concepts like economic slowdown, recession, depression, various gauges to judge the severity of the economic downturn, various indicators of recession, Baltic freight index, subprime mortgage, housing bubble, CDO, CDS, Minsky moment, monetary policy, fiscal policy, Phillips curve, stagflation, etc. It also goes on an exploration of the causes of the Great Depression as pointed out by Keynesians, Monetarists, Marxists and neo-classical Misesians; the cures prescribed by them; the measures actually implemented; and the degree of success achieved. Whether - in the realm of an economy - history repeats itself or merely rhymes come off as the main focus as the case uncovers.

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Article source: Free Management Articles.

As a cleaning company we place a very high value on our staff, they can make or break your business. They are our greatest asset and also our greatest liability. Consequently maintaining an excellent working environment and keeping staff well motivated is one of our primary goals. The same applies to most businesses although it is especially important in the cleaning industry because of the potentially high turn over of staff that is somewhat traditional in this field.

We go into many businesses in carrying out our cleaning and as the current trend is for cleaning to take place during normal working hours we see many of these in operation on a day to day basis. Some of these are large organisations with well over 100+ people working on the site others are smaller concerns with perhaps 5 or 6 people employed. Each manager has their own method of managing their staff and some of the places are happy environments where the individuals actually enjoy going to work, others are places full of grumbles where the people cannot wait to go home.

By and large the atmosphere in the workplace seems to be a reflection of the managers. It never ceases to amaze me how some managers talk to their staff or not, because quite a few have decided that e-mailing them is better despite the fact that they may be in the next office. It is written down therefore it is done and no longer my problem seems to be the attitude. From a personal point of view I could not tolerate this.

One of the reasons we go to work with others is for the social interaction and this is being gradually eroded in the modern work place. When I did work in such an establishment it became commonplace for people to send out memos. Memos had their place, if a meeting was being arranged for example where time and place and agenda needed to be specified. However I concluded that well over 90% of the memos sent out to me were not informational but requesting me to do something.

This I used to take as very bad manners and throw most of them in the bin until the persons concerned were forced into actually talking to me. Discussions we used to have around this issue always centred on how more efficient it was to send out requests on bits of paper. To me it seemed that it was depersonalising the work place and increasing the amount of paper that was being shuffled around. Now it is used as a method of everybody covering their backs in case something goes wrong. It may be me being 'difficult', and it may be necessary to shuffle all this paper around but I just find it sad that the workplace has deteriorated to this level in many instances.
How do we keep our cleaners happy? We treat them as human beings who deserve the right to be spoken to correctly. Please and thank you seem to be very under used words in the workplace nowadays. We find that a please and a thank you goes a very long way in maintaining staff morale as does actually talking to them rather than leaving messages.

It is very noticeable that the good environments to work in, where people are happy, the bosses actually communicate with their staff on a human level and the word thank you is heard quite a lot.

Just remember how you feel when some body says thank you to you when you have done something for them and conversely how you feel when there is no response!

Article source: Free Management Articles.

As a cleaning company we get called in to carry out builders cleans on new builds and refurbishments. Time and time again what we see is that the designer has had something built, laid or put in place solely on the grounds that it looks good with no regard as to how it will stand up to use or the practicalities of trying to keep it clean and looking good. They produce their design, see it through to the finish and then walk away. Only later does it become apparent that it is completely impractical from a cleaning point of view but they do not seem to learn from their mistakes because the same ones keep being repeated.

Let us take some classic examples. Car showrooms are a prime example. Car dealers require a nice environment to show of their brand new cars. So what do you need? A large rectangular space in which to fit the cars. Large windows so that the cars can be viewed easily by passers by. Clean freshly painted walls with some nice pictures placed strategically. A potted plant or two. Modern desks for the sales people. Some colourful stands advertising the products interspersed between the cars. All pretty standard and nothing exceptional to allow the designer to soar into the realms of artistry. One thing however is missing from this list and that is the flooring. Now it is here that the designer has something to get their teeth into. What do they come up with?

Bright, shiny, white or cream floors in ceramic tiles. This is really good, because the light coloured shiny floors set the cars off really well because the majority of them are in relatively dark colours. So in the building or refurbishment programme this is the type of flooring detailed and once laid and cleaned it looks marvellous. Then they start to bring the cars in and the customers walk in and then the trouble starts. Invariably the cleaners are blamed for not cleaning properly. The tiles are smeary, or the trye marks are not being removed, water marks are being left and so the complaints go on.

What is actually happening is that oil and fuel spillages occur, even small amounts are sufficient to create problems. Tyre marks are left on the tiles and new tyres are coated with a resin to make them look shiny and clean and small amounts of this are deposited onto the floor.

Normal cleaning fluids will not remove these completely and they will become spread over all the tiles in time by the mopping or other cleaning process employed. So tyre impressions and footmarks will be clearly visible even after cleaning. The only answer is to clean with a scrubber and a degreasing solution. However this adds considerably to the cost of cleaning the showroom and most garages are not willing to pay this additional sum so they continue to blame the cleaners.

It could be easily solved if patterned tiles were used which would disguise these impressions and then normal mopping and cleaning would be sufficient followed every three months or so by a scrub with degreasing solution.

Have garages or designers twigged this yet? No, because plain tiles have continued to be used in showrooms up to the present day.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

As they say, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. This definitely applies to the required business uniforms of a company or money-making establishment. What the customer witnesses when they first walk through the doors of a retail store, bank, Real Estate office or print shop instantly instills an impression in their minds as to whether they want to patronize the business and/or become a regular customer. Nothing shouts customer service more than clean-cut professional-looking employees. Given this fact, it's simply vital for business owners and supervisors to mandate superior business uniforms that clearly represent the demeanor and expectations of employee service.

For a corporation that provides sales or advisory services, selecting apparel that screams competent, experienced and efficient is an absolute must. While it may be less expensive for a business owner to simply provide their employees with an idea of the expected attire and leave the purchase up to them, ordering business uniforms from a respected provider is a more ideal endeavor.

Why?

Imagine that you have given your company employees the instruction to purchase tan pants and a green shirt for work. However, one of your employees may show up in teal-green top and brown trousers. It's important to remember that everyone has their own interpretations of colors and designs, and leaving the business uniform choice up to the employee might result in mismatched clothing that exhibits personal comfort and style rather than professionalism. This is a sure-fire way to have a uniformed appearance on the sales floor or behind the desk fly out the window!

Also, once a certain look for employees is chosen, it is important for the supervisor or manager to keep a strict attitude on business uniform formalities. If one employee gets away with not wearing a tie for two or three days, others will follow their lead and use the excuse, 'Well Joe didn't wear his, why should I have to wear one?' Such conduct can lead to disregarding rules and an overall lackadaisical disposition among employees.

Choosing business uniforms for more relaxed and playful atmospheres such as a children's play land, toy store or a merrymaking restaurant allows for more colorfully attractive and flashy attire to exhibit a lively atmosphere that will draw in kids or kids at heart. There is no end to the possibilities of these types of business uniforms. While each business uniform should be alike as to distinguish employees from patrons, allow for a little creative room for each employee. Opt for colorful Polos plastered with buttons, charms or logos ironed on the backs, character-themed ties, funny hats, decorated aprons, mismatched socks or funky (but non-slick) shoes. Projecting an exciting restaurant establishment or game room assures that, come Friday night, kids will be tugging their parent's arms to eat or play at the 'fun place'. There is one exception to the professional business uniform rule. If a non-profit organization is established to help the less-fortunate, it is still kosher to require volunteers to wear uniforms. However, if possible, tone down the 'business' look of the attire, and adapt more casual business uniforms that don't intimidate visitors who come for help by making volunteers seem unapproachable.

Article source: Free Management Articles.

Is tackling talent management one of your goals this year? Employees are becoming more demanding, and topping their list is professional growth and development. These are the employees you should be striving to keep. They want new challenges, interesting work, and the opportunity to develop new skills. Even if you don't have the resources to implement a full-scale career development program, you can still provide your employees with the tools and support to manage their own careers.

Provide a Dedicated Resource

This can be as simple as adding a new page to your intranet or as elaborate as a career development office. Offer as much as your budget will allow, keeping in mind that you can expand as time goes on. Include resources, referrals and tools to aid your employees in their development. With the amount of information available on the Internet, you can easily assemble a wealth of career-related articles, assessments, and planning tools. If you haven't done so already, publish your company's internal information. Organization charts, job descriptions, salary ranges, and training schedules are great resources for employees to use in planning.

Because career management may be new to your employees, include detailed instructions for using your system and a list of resources available to them in their planning. If you can't provide a career development consultant, make certain that HR and managers are able to answer any questions that may arise.

Programs & External Resources

There are several initiatives you can incorporate in your career development program. Executive Career Coaches specialize in helping organizations manage their talent more effectively. They will help your employees determine the most appropriate career path and develop the skills necessary to grow within the organization. Partner with a career coach to provide services for key employees or arrange a reduced fee schedule for employees who wish to hire a coach at their own expense.

Another effective and low-cost tool is a mentoring program. You can structure a mentoring program in many ways. An informal program that simply matches a mentor and a mentee can be incorporated into your intranet site. A more formal program may have a coordinator dedicated to pairing the participants, training the mentors and overseeing the process. Regardless of the structure you choose, a mentoring program enables an organization to leverage their existing talent to impart their knowledge and expertise to one another.

Support & Communication

For any talent management initiative to be successful, it is imperative to garner the support of management from the top of the organization down to line managers. This goal can be achieved by communicating the organizational benefits and the anticipated return on investment from the outset.

It is essential to roll out a formal communication plan to employees. They can't take advantage of your program if they don't know about it. Promote your program consistently and encourage managers to do the same. Publicize this information in your recruitment literature and on your company website, and it will attract high-potential candidates.

Encouraging employees to manage their own careers won't put a strain on internal resources and the benefits far outweigh the costs. In addition to building a pipeline of future leaders, you are addressing retention issues, meeting the demand for employee development, and making your organization more attractive to prospective employees. It's a win-win for everyone.

Article source: Free Management Articles.