Posted by Elena del Valle on October 11, 2010
Is it possible, like in the popular television program Lie To Me, to identify words (in the show they use nonverbal cues) to know when someone, especially a senior executive, is lying? Can a simple analysis of executives’ language separate truthful executives from fibbers accurately?
David F. Larcker and Anastasia A. Zakolyukina, graduate business students at Stanford, analyzed the language used by chief executives (CEOs) and chief financial officers (CFOs) in the United States between 2003 and 2007 by examining the transcripts of 30,000 quarterly earnings conference calls. They assumed that CEOs and CFOs would be aware of any manipulation of the company’s financial records. They relied on psychological studies that indicate when people may be fibbing by examining the language they use to draw conclusions about the conversations.
The two students shared their thoughts in a 69-page paper titled Detecting Deceptive Discussions in Conference Calls published July 2010 at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. They believe their linguistic classification models have an above average accuracy rate of between 50 and 65 percent.
It appears the deceptive executives are more likely to make more references to general knowledge (“as you know…”), refer less to shareholder value, and use fewer “non-extreme positive emotion words” to “sound more persuasive” while bluffing. Also, they use the third person and avoid saying “I.”
The researchers believe the executives on the calls rehearsed or were possibly coached because they relied less often on “hesitation words” such as “um” and “er.” According to their analysis, the pattern of lies is different between CEOs and CFOs.
At the same time the authors of the paper were unable to separate those who knowingly lied from those who did so unwittingly. They believe lack of context and background detract from the findings. In their conclusion they point out that because the large sample they used for their research is of big and profitable firms they may not expand their conclusions to the general population of companies.
Critics (see “How to tell when your boss is lying,” The Economist August 19, 2010) point out that although the results of the study are significant eventually the executives will just seek out more and better public relations coaches to help them prepare and carry out their deceit more effectively than during the calls examined in the study by preparing them to say the things that are expect of truthful speakers.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 8, 2010
Pull: Marketing Secrets the Fortune 100 Use book cover
Marketer Keith Chambers has supported the marketing efforts of 500 companies for well known brands such as Clorox, Del Monte, Campbell’s, Coppertone, Arm & Hammer, Sparkletts, Hormel, Scotch-Brite, Claritin, the Miss America Pageant and Equal. In Pull: Marketing Secrets the Fortune 100 Use (Polimedia Publishers, $19.95), his 2009 book, Chambers promises readers big-business marketing methodology for small and medium-sized businesses.
Chambers defines Pull as a marketing force that compels people “to take anything that occurs as extraordinary and quickly make it ordinary.” He says that maintaining a strong business identity and presence are essential to success.
In the book, he shares with readers his opinion on how to best understand consumer needs, establish effective communication, and develop a successful branding and marketing strategy. He seeks to enlighten his audience by first helping them understand marketing, which he defines as the study of free enterprise; and then explaining to them how to create out-of-the-ordinary tools to deal with free enterprise.
The book, which is peppered with color photos, is divided into thirteen chapters: The Early Years, Evolution of a Marketing Master, Why I’m Giving Away the Keys, The Marketing Objective, The Creative Side – Positioning and Repositioning, A Few Critical Insights, The Remakability Paradigm, More on Remarkability, The Communications Model, Pursuing Remarkability, Walk the Walk, Creative Preparation, and Applying This to Your Business.
In 1974, Chambers founded Los Angeles based The Chambers Group. Later in his career he established, with his two sons, Chambers Brothers Entertainment, which creates programming and films for Spike TV and MTV2.
Click here to buy Pull
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 7, 2010
Information provided by our Event Partner
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October 18-22, 2010 – Chicago Hilton
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Interactive sessions provide strategic insights into emerging trends, case studies, new technologies, and actionable strategies. Site clinics offer professional consultant reviews, specific to your websites and campaigns. And workshops engage attendees in classroom style learning experiences, providing intimate settings for individual attention.
SES Expo Hall passes get you in to visit more than 20 of the industries leading technologists and service providers. See what else you have access to with this free pass:
- Express Site Clinics
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Because a conference is all about the face to face experiences and interactions, networking opportunities always take center stage. Speakers, industry insiders, and the community at large have all been invited. Nab some one on one time, or chill with attendees be them alumni or newbies, these events are your chance to share ideas and unveil insider tips.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on October 6, 2010
Part six of a series
By Hilda Luisa Díaz-Perera
Hilda Luisa Díaz-Perera
Interestingly enough, as I was doing research for this piece, I came across several articles written by Cuban researchers living in Cuba that bemoan the fact that younger generations of Cubans raised in the island were not interested in the guayabera, did not wear it and considered it attire only for older men. Coincidentally, then, as the guayabera was becoming more popular among the younger Cuban generations that went into exile, the opposite was true in Cuba, where the use of the guayabera waned, partly because with the revolution, it somehow became tied to the government’s definition of corrupt politics and politicians, and the so-called “decadent” way of life of pre-Castro Cuba.
Probably a better reason is that as the Cuban revolution implemented its communist economic policies, which included the taking over of all of the means of production and distribution, such as the textile industry and all of the existing department stores, the country became immersed in years of scarcity and dearth during which very basic materials like cloth and thread to make guayaberas, were not readily available. Another reason very prevalent in the late 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, probably still valid today, helps explain this rejection of the guayabera among other Cuban patriotic symbols, especially that of national hero José Martí: unhappily, it was probably the only way that the Cuban youth, trapped by a Marxist system, as many believed they were, could quietly reject a revolution which insisted on ramming political indoctrination down their throats disguised as patriotism.
Click here to read parts one through four of La Guayabera
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 4, 2010
Author Jerry D. Simmons
Photo: Jerry D. Simmons
A podcast interview with Author Jerry D. Simmons is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Jerry discusses What Writers Need to Know About Publishing with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Jerry is a 32-year veteran of publishing. Until 2003 when he retired from Time Warner Book Group (later purchased by a French company, Hachette Book Group, USA), he spent 25 years in New York with Random House and Time Warner Book Group as vice president and director, Field Sales. His sales division generated hundreds of millions of dollars in book sales across the United States and Canada.
According to his promotional materials, over the years he worked on many New York Times bestselling titles and with hundreds of New York Times bestselling authors including James Patterson, David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, Nicholas Sparks, Nelson DeMille and Michael Connelly.
He is the founder of WritersReaders.com about publishing and NothingBinding.com, an online marketing platform for unpublished writers and authors. Jerry launched the INDI Publishing Group in 2009, establishing a new model for publishing while promoting opportunities for writers who publish independently.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Jerry D. Simmons” click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the September 2010 section of the podcast archive.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 1, 2010
Fast Track Networking book cover
Photo: Career Press
In the same way that geese traveling south for the winter benefit from increased flying range (and a safer journey than if traveling alone) by flying in a V-formation people who have a sense of community and like to network can help each other. That is how Lucy Rosen, founder and president of Women on the Fast Track, illustrates the advantages of networking. She recommends that people find others who share common interests in order to reach their goals more quickly and efficiently.
As part of her work in public relations and marketing Rosen, founder and president of SmartMarketing Solutions Group, has twenty five years of networking experience. In Fast Track Networking: Turning Conversations into Contacts (Career Press, $14.99), a book published earlier this year, she shares some of the knowledge she has gained from networking and promises readers “a unique step-by-step approach to networking proven to put people on the fast track.”
She wrote the 224-page softcover book, with Claudia Gryvatz Copquin, a journalist, with the goal of providing readers an insider’s look into what works in networking including “networking success stories” of business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the country.
“Networking isn’t giving your business card to everyone you meet, or collecting as many business cards as you can and then calling all the people the next morning and trying to sell them your widget. Yet unfortunately, that’s still how far too many people approach the concept of networking,” said Rosen in a press release. “When done right, networking can often be the differentiating factor that helps you land the deal, or in today’s times land the job, so it’s critical that people know how to approach networking in a way that not only builds relationships, but builds business. There’s an art to turning a run-of-the-mill conversation into a life-long contact, and the building of these valuable contacts is what this book is all about.”
The book is divided into thirteen chapters: Networking is Like Dating, Only Better; Get the Party Started; No Time for Awkwardness; Small Group, Big Results; If You Create It, They Will Come; Network…Naturally; Hunters, Gatherers, Networkers; Rein In Your “Deer in the Headlights” Approach; Not Working? Try Networking; Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter, Oh My; From Filofax to Digital Filing Cabinet; A Promise Is a Promise. Keep Yours; and Putting the Strategic in Strategic Alliances. Each chapter ends with a summary of key points.
Click here to buy Fast Track Networking
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on September 29, 2010
Part five of a series
By Hilda Luisa Díaz-Perera
Hilda Luisa Díaz-Perera
As the guayabera became more popular, each region in Cuba gave it its own name. In Camagüey province, it was called camagüeyana; along the trocha or military divide during the wars for independence, it was known as trochana; in the town of Manzanillo, it was manzanillera; it was guayabana around the city of Havana, where it is said to have adopted the shirt collar for elegance. Today, although on the world stage it goes under the name of guayabera, there are many places where it is known as habanera and cubanita or little Cuban.
The guayabera came into its own during the XX Century. Cuban peasants were already wearing it and the politicians started using the guayabera during their campaign tours in the countryside. Soon it became the shirt of choice in the popular dance academies in Havana. For more formal occasions, a bow tie was added. Gradually, as more prominent men became followers, the guayabera was able to gain entrance into the most exclusive places and even official government ceremonies.
The earliest graphic testimony available of the guayabera is from 1906, even though the word guayabera is not formally legitimized as a Cuban noun specifically naming the shirt until 1921, when a man by the name of Constantino Suárez included it in his book Vocabulario cubano or Cuban Vocabulary, identifying it as attire popular among the peasants in the countryside.
Click here to read parts one through five of La Guayabera
Posted by Elena del Valle on September 27, 2010
Illegal Immigrants United States 2008-2009 – click to enlarge
As the recession hit the United States it also affected employment including employment of the undocumented. In spite of all the controversy around Arizona’s anti illegal immigrant legislation and federal troops heading to our southern borders there are fewer illegal immigrants in our country now than in recent years.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, DC organization, the number of foreigners illegally in the United States is down from an estimated 12.1 million in July 2008, to 11.9 million a year later, and less now. Another telltale indicator that immigrants, like everyone else, have been affected negatively by the economy is the drop in remittances from the United States south. The Institute website sites anecdotal evidence that some Mexican families have sent money to their relatives in the Unites States to help them. Even the demand for visas was down compared to previous years, according to visa statistics sited by the Institute.
Because many immigrants share demographic characteristics with the groups most likely to be affected by the recession such as youths, the uneducated, and new members of labor force often they have been more likely to be victims of the recession; and foreign-born workers are also overrepresented in the construction, manufacturing, leisure and hospitality, and support and personal services industries which have been especially affected by the downturn in the economy, according to the Institute.
The United States is not alone in dealing with immigration issues. A report published recently by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which tracks changes in 29 developed countries, indicates that in 2008 the migration of people to developed countries decreased 6 percent to 4.4 million and probably fell more last year. In the five years prior to the recession, movement of migrants into developed countries was high. In spite of the economic hardships few, including the illegal immigrants in the United States, returned to their countries of origin.
