The Underdog that Disrupted the Diary Aisle

A Turkey native, Hamdi Ulukaya was disappointed by the selection of yogurts when he arrived in the United States in 1994. One night in 2005, Ulukaya came across an advertisement for a fully equipped yogurt plant formerly owned by Kraft in upstate New York. On a whim, he purchased the facility and began his business with a small sum of grants and a handful of employees. While many doubted the company's lack of venture capital partners, Ulukaya refused to outsource, fearing that he would lose control of the product. 

Shortly after hitting the shelves, Chobani became an instant success. The diary start-up prompted a Greek yogurt craze across the nation, leaving established industry titans like Yoplait and Dannon in shock. Its impressive achievements within a short period of time even had large corporations knocking on their door with buyout offers, only to be refused by the founder who wished to remain independent. 

Over the years, Chobani has remained its focus on highlighting the taste and making its product available to consumers. Overturning some long-held prejudices that premium yogurts are only offered in specialty aisles in upscale grocery stores, Ulukaya thought otherwise and insisted on delivering his product to mainstream customers by placing Chobani in diary sections of local grocery stores. With the Greek yogurt craze in full swing, Chobani has risen to become one of the key players of the industry and the company is expected to experience even more growth in the future with a rise in health trends around the world. 

Major Milestone for Speech Recognition Technology by Microsoft

On October 17^th, 2016, Microsoft announced the most advanced speech recognition software to date. Behind the breakthrough are deep neural networks that utilize a large amount of data to train the software to recognize patterns from inputs. These processing units are specialized in sounds as well as graphics, allowing computers to process algorithms and deliver results at speed not previously possible.

Originally reported a Word Error Rate of 6.3% in the month of September, Microsoft achieved a 0.4% improvement in just a month, lowering the percentage to 5.9. Although the error rate is far from perfection, it is reported that this speech recognition software recognize just as well as humans who were asked to transcribe the identical conversation. Created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the test is comprised of a set of telephone conversations in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese and has been used as a benchmark to test speech recognition technologies by many tech giants since the 1990s.

Moving forward, the team hopes to transition from recognition to understanding. Now, the next challenge for Microsoft is to be able to employ speech recognition technologies even in complex situations such as heavy background noises and multi-party conversation.  

Reducing Email Traffic

Between company-wide updates and marketing emails, we have all experienced our fair share of email overload. Check out the tips below to whittle down the endless number of emails awaiting you every day!

1. Encourage workers to group non-urgent information in one single mailing. Perhaps, a weekly or daily department newsletter would be sufficient. 

2. Utilize corporate Intranet rather than email inboxes. By replacing email broadcasts with any form of social platforms, everyone will be able to access information.

3. Gather for group meetings to address daily agendas or matters that require back and forth discussion to avoid lengthy threads.

4. Reduce incoming email by adopting email management systems that filters spam mail, turning off notifications from website subscriptions and encouraging face to face communication within your organization.

5. Establish designated time block to address emails. There may be occasional expectations but this routine will prevent email from consuming too much of your time at work and affect productivity.

6. Organize your email but filing and deleting appropriate emails. Keeping your inbox at zero would declutter your mailbox dramatically.

7. Do not rely on your inbox as a to-do check list. Limiting the number of times you revisit each email will increase productivity. Jot down important information elsewhere and only revisit an email when absolute necessary. 

Financial Incentives as Japan Faces Aging Demographic

Already the world’s oldest country, Japan continues to confront aging demographic challenges. As a result of exponential increase in life expectancy coupled with an all-time low birthrate, its population has fallen by nearly one million in the last five years. Although the government is seeking extreme measures to lift the country out of stagnation, experts expressed that avoiding implications from this population crisis is virtually impossible.

Since in office, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made this pressing issue a priority. However, policies such as urging businesses to increase employment and advancement opportunities for the female workforce have shown limited success thus far.  Recently, a program is launched where new parents are offered a monthly payment of $300 for every newborn until they reach the age of 15. In conjunction with the economic inducement, the government is also providing additional state-supported day care and tuition waivers, in hopes of increasing the appeal of parenthood. Unfortunately, fiscal policies can only go so far.

Deeply rooted are cultural issues that are discouraging family expansion. Traditionally in Japan, there is a heavy reliance on mothers to perform household duties including but not limited to child-rearing.  With fear of isolation from society and overwhelming pressure to maintain a household, women are increasingly choosing career advancements over child bearing in today’s society. With that being said, until domestic burdens are lifted from the roles of mothers, financial compensations might not be the most compelling incentive to bring the declining population to a halt.

5 Ways to Counter Monday Blues

“Monday Blues”, used to describe a set of negative emotions that many people experience at the beginning of the work week. Whether it is the overwhelming feeling of stress, or the sluggish feeling due to a lack of rest over the weekend, this phenomenon contains a sense that work is unpleasant and unavoidable. Naturally, this emotional state can have a huge impact on your performance in the office. In a certain degree, the negative effects of Monday Blues can even extend beyond an individual’s productivity to even those around them. Check out the tips below to combat the beginning of work week anxiety.

Plan ahead of time: Predetermining your schedule before Monday could greatly reduce the stress of going into an unplanned day. Prioritizing more complex tasks to be completed in the earlier hours of the day will further ease your anxiety. Once those tasks are completed, it will be much easier to breeze through the rest of your day.  

Stressed but well-dressed:  This is a classic example of when you look good, you feel good. Rather than avoiding the dreaded Monday Blues, face it with confidence by wearing an outfit that you’re comfortable in. Not only could it boost your self -confidence, you might even get a few compliments from your colleagues!

Have something to look forward to: We often think about all the tough tasks ahead of us. Do the opposite and list out things you’re looking forward to reward yourself at the end of a long work day. Be it a night out with friends or just staying in to catch up on a TV show, it’ll be sure to help you power through the tasks during the day.

Prepare mentally: Go in with a positive attitude on Monday will set the tone for the rest of your work week. Although Monday Blue is most likely a result of dissatisfaction of work environment, focusing on the positives would prevent the negative energy from taking over.

Prepare physically: Get enough rest over the weekend. Whether or not you are heading into the office on Monday, it is highly unlikely that you will feel good about going anywhere when you are running on a couple hours of sleep the night before. Waking up early the morning of could also improve your mentality. While most would prefer to sleep in for another 30 minutes, that little amount of time could actually prevent you from feeling trapped in a time crunch.

ABA Pass Motion for Uniform Spanish Language Translation

On the occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the Miranda Rights, the American Bar Association (ABA) passed a motion calling for a uniform Spanish language translation. A right to silence warning given by police in the United States to suspects in custody, it is used to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in proceedings.

Each year, about 800,000 native Spanish speakers are detained yet law enforcement authorities around the country have failed to communicate effectively with those in custody. Examples of non-verified version of Spanish translations have surfaced and results have been “woeful” as described by the ABA’s Special Committee on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. The report suggested that many authorities either relied on their limited knowledge in Spanish attained from high school or depended on unqualified interpreters such as those related to the defendant. In other cases, translations include made up words such as “silento” while some takes on a completely different meaning from the original source. As a result, a Texas State Representative stated that many had “made decisions incorrectly due to the way it’s explained.”

50 years later, many are now demanding a uniform translation as they fear that their rights will be jeopardized. By removing the language barrier, ABA hopes to not only ensure the rights of those in question but also to reduce tension between criminal suspects and law enforcement authorities. 

3 Ways to Improve Workplace Efficiency

1.      Two-way open communication:

By promoting constant interactions between colleagues, whether it is between co-workers of between subordinates and supervisors, it can lead to various benefits. While communication enforces a sense of trust among those in the organization, it could also eliminate communication barriers and resolve problems. With frequent communication, unity will naturally follow and the overall workplace culture will be improved.

2.      Training and development:

A company-wide training program can ensure consistent practice throughout the organization by making aware of expectations and mission within the company. Aside from having a structural training program, individual training can also expand an employee’s knowledge while building confidence as a result of better understanding of his/her responsibilities and duties. Overall, continuous training should be encouraged. In this day and age where developments are rapid, it would be beneficial to stay on the cutting edge of newest innovations and the changing standards.

3.      Positive reinforcement:

        Everyone feels valued and appreciated when recognized, consequently, employees are no different. Rewards come in different forms. Whether it comes in a form of traditional employee recognition or just simple verbal acknowledgment by the management team, it would greatly assist in solidifying relationships, and instill loyalty to the organization. Furthermore, it would also indirectly lead to higher retention rates as employees are more invested and engaged.

20 Bizarre Facts on Japan

• The raised floors in indoor areas indicate where you should remove your shoes
• There are designated bathroom slippers so as not to contaminate other areas of the house
• Slurping loudly when eating is an indication of approval
• Japan has around 5.5 million vending machines, found on almost every block
• Vending machines contain anything from books, umbrellas, to live seafood
• You must shower before taking a bath since most family share the same ware for bathing
• the population of pets is larger than that of children
• A trip to KFC on Christmas day is a tradition as fried chicken serves as an alternative to turkey meat which is not available in Japan. Pre-orders are accepted as early as two months in advance
• Many companies hand out packages of tissues on the street as a form of advertising
• There is a special railway staff designated to cram passengers onto the trains
• It is uncommon to use tissues in public, handkerchiefs are used instead
• It is rude to walk and eat in Japan
• Crooked teeth are considered attractive and many undergo procedures to have their teeth un-straightened
• Napping in the office is encouraged. It implies that an employee has worked so hard that he/she is forced to rest at work. However, one must sleep upright!
• There are over 130 voice acting schools for Anime voices
• 98% of the adoptions involve adults aged 20-30
• Time is set aside for children to clean their own classroom. They also take turns to serve food in the cafeteria. 
• Hikikomori is a phenomenon where people lock themselves away and become entirely isolated from society. The population with such condition is estimated to be around 1 million
• Japan is known for its novelty items from soy sauce flavored Kit Kat to Ramen flavored soda
• Many companies have morning exercise sessions for their employees
• Toilet seats in Japan have endless functions, from air dryer to deodorizer and even waterfall sound (for additional privacy!)

Starbucks: Reinventing Coffee Culture

A small local café that began its journey in Seattle, Starbucks Corporation has since grown into a billion dollar business. Over the years, its name and logo has even become synonymous with coffee for many Americans. However, the business model was far from what it is today.

Started in 1971, the original Starbucks Corporation did not sell brewed coffee but rather coffee beans. Presently CEO and Chairman of Starbucks, Howard Schultz became a part of the original team in 1982. After spending some time in Italy to seek inspiration, he proposed the idea of serving coffee to boost the business. Unfortunately, his vision received less than enthusiastic response from his fellow business partners. Determined to reinvent café culture in America, Schultz left the company to pursue his own coffee business.

After a huge success with the launch of his business, he later acquired Starbucks from the original owners for an estimate of $4 million. In less than five years, the company went under massive growth after introducing serving beverages by the cup. Today, Starbucks operates in 23,768 locations worldwide and is considered the main representative of the coffee industry. Although Schultz’s role in the expansion of Starbucks came in at a later stage, his story has once again proved that success is largely a product of perseverance and passion.