The recent announcement of Amazon's $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods was met with shock in many quarters. The implications of this blockbuster deal are far reaching: While supermarkets must contend with an innovative, wealthy and aggressive new competitor, consumer goods producers will also need to re-evaluate their Amazon strategies -- and customers in the years ahead may find the grocery shopping experience they have grown accustomed to has been re-imagined.
Today, we live in a world where things are tailored to our specifications. Smart companies use data analysis to know not only what we're looking for, but when and how we want it. When we're online, we're presented with custom ads designed to meet our specific needs and desires at that moment. Amazon seems to know what we want to buy before we do; Netflix, meanwhile, offers us a personalized selection of films based on our viewing habits.
Deciding to incorporate sustainable energy into a business is an admirable goal. It's also a strategy that's becoming more prevalent. Google, for example, is on the record saying it aims to power 100-percent of its operations with renewable energy sources. While the technology giant is still quite far from that goal, the overall pace of sustainable energy adoption continues to increase.
Smart hiring managers and recruiters are always seeking an edge in terms of identifying the most talented prospective workers. Part of that involves looking in places where talent is underutilized or lies undiscovered -- and candidates with military experience often fall into this category.
In an era of exciting new technologies, virtual reality (VR) may be the most compelling of them all. Consumer VR systems, such as the Oculus Rift, are growing in popularity, as the technology has grown more refined and costs have been lowered. After decades of false starts, VR has reached a point where the experiences are immersive enough to truly feel real. As the world's largest tech companies pour billions into VR research, we're likely to see startling advances in the power and application of VR.
If anyone should feel confident about the future, it is those working in the healthcare industry. Thanks to a rapidly aging population and advances in late-life medicine, job growth in the healthcare field has been stratospheric. The field employs more than one in 10 Americans, and is projected to add more jobs than any other industry over the next decade.
Similar to every other major industry, food manufacturing isn't immune to the rapid advance of technology and changing market conditions. The global food giant, Kellogg, recently announced it would lay off 1,100 workers in a bid to improve efficiency. The layoffs, which follow similar job reductions at other major industry producers, come at a time of great change in the grocery industry.
The United Kingdom is rightly celebrated as an engine of global finance, with many observers now saying London has supplanted New York City as the world's top financial center. London is home to a long roster of international financial heavyweights and is regularly ranked as one of the most desirable markets to work in by finance industry professionals.
Many of us are familiar with typical job interview questions that ask about your strengths and weaknesses. For obvious reasons, interviewers generally tend to shy away from controversial questions about political or religious beliefs. But a proposed new law in Iowa wanted to force some higher education workers to declare their political allegiance during the interview process. It was part of a legislative effort to ensure "partisan balance" in colleges and universities.
Many businesses think long and hard before they decide to outsource critical business functions. This is especially true in the case of human resources. Workforce management has never been more important, as more firms have recognized that talent is the ultimate competitive advantage. To make an informed and well-grounded decision, every organization must evaluate the benefits of outsourcing to determine if it right for them.
