Author: anwaryusef

Anwar Y. Dunbar is a Regulatory Scientist. Being a naturally curious person, he is also a student of all things. He earned his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of Michigan and his Bachelor’s Degree in General Biology from Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU). Prior to starting the Big Words Blog Site, Anwar published and contributed to numerous research articles in competitive scientific journals reporting on his research from graduate school and postdoctoral years. After falling in love with writing, he contributed to the now defunct Examiner.com, and the Edvocate where he regularly wrote about: Education-related stories/topics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), Financial Literacy; as well as conducted interviews with notable individuals such as actor and author Hill Harper. Having many influences, one of his most notable heroes is author, intellectual and speaker, Malcolm Gladwell, author of books including Outliers and David and Goliath. Anwar has his hands in many, many activities. In addition to writing, Anwar actively mentors youth, works to spread awareness of STEM careers, serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the David M. Brown Arlington Planetarium, serves as Treasurer for the JCSU Washington, DC Alumni Chapter, and is active in the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace Ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church. He also tutors in the subjects of biology, chemistry and physics. Along with his multi-talented older brother Amahl Dunbar (designer of the Big Words logos, inventor and a plethora of other things), Anwar is a “Fanboy” and really enjoys Science-Fiction and Superhero movies including but not restricted to Captain America Civil War, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Prometheus. He is a proud native of Buffalo, NY.

Revealed: The Employee Motivation Techniques That Actually Work

Two focuses of my blog are Organizational/Management Discussions and Workplace Discussions. No matter what type of organization you’re running, one of your key focuses will be keeping your employees and staff motivated. The following contributed post is entitled, Revealed: The Employee Motivation Techniques That Actually Work.

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When you run a business and employ staff to work for you, you should keep in mind that it’s your job to ensure positive morale in the workplace. Employees don’t just want to get paid for their hard work; they also want to feel motivated and valued.

The trouble is, some employers find it challenging to figure out what they can do to motivate their workers. You’re likely reading this because you want to know the ‘secrets’ of motivating people. Take a look at these techniques for some valuable insight and inspiration:

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Incentivize Employees That Learn New Skills

Let’s face it: the people that work for you are a talented group of individuals. If they weren’t, you wouldn’t have hired them. But what if you’d like your team to learn new skills and become even more valuable and productive to your business?

One interesting technique is to incentivize your employees whenever they gain new skills and qualifications through your company. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a financial reward; it could be time off work or a meal for them and their family that you cover.

Invite Motivational Speakers to Your Premises

You undoubtedly want your team to offer their best work whenever they tackle their daily projects. After a while, employees might feel like going on autopilot and seldom have any interest in offering 100% effort all the time.

Sometimes, it can motivate your team to hear some wise words from a well-known figurehead in your industry. A guest speaker can inspire people and even help them look at their work from a different perspective.

For example, let’s assume you run a digital marketing agency. Your team may feel like every day is the same as the last, and their daily challenges are very monotonous and predictable. Someone like Lance Bachmann, the Digital Lion, can be very inspirational for your team.

Radiate Positivity

Nobody wants to work in an office or some other commercial premises and feel anxious and depressed. Luckily, you have the power to help foster and radiate positivity in the workplace! There are many ways you can make the working environment more positive and energetic.

One example is to create a recreational room in your office area where employees can play games and chill out. It can be a place where people can go whenever they want a break and take their minds off a stressful situation.

Another way to radiate positivity is by making most of your internal communications positive. Be sure to mention employees by name who do a great job or exceeded your expectations on a recent project, for example. It’ll make your team feel more valued.

Encourage Flexible Working

Lastly, if there’s one thing that the current COVID-19 pandemic has taught businesses, it’s that people need flexible working hours. To that end, encourage flexible working practices so employees can manage their work and personal lives more efficiently.

Such an approach ensures staff won’t get stressed out about their home lives, and they can concentrate on doing fantastic work for your business.

How to Turn Your Business Premises Into a Fortress

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. One of your chief concerns as a business owner is its security. Optimizing this your security will ensure your business’s operations and profits. The following contributed post is entitled, How to Turn Your Business Premises Into a Fortress.

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Let’s face it: all business owners want to ensure their premises are as secure as possible. For some businesses, physical and digital security is of utmost importance if they deal with extremely valuable resources, tangible or otherwise.

With that in mind, those organizations want to ensure their physical premises are virtually impenetrable by unauthorized persons. You’re likely reading this because you want to ensure that your building is fully protected 24/7. Here’s what you can do:

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Make Your Security Obvious

Did you know that many burglaries only occur due to opportunity? If a thief sees easy access to valuable items in a property, they will strike without a second thought. However, if they spot plenty of security, they’ll look for another target elsewhere.

That’s why it makes sense to have security measures in place that are obvious to members of the public. At a minimum, your business security should include internal and external security cameras monitoring all entry and exit points 24 hours a day.

You should also strongly consider having a security team that makes their presence known to the general public. Such measures alone are enough to ward off the vast majority of security threats.

Install Access Control Systems in All Rooms

There’s no denying that the oldest access control systems ever used are locks and keys. However, the trouble with those traditional ways of protecting properties is they are very easily bypassed – even by people with little to no tools.

Thankfully, technology provides many ways to install state-of-the-art access control systems for all rooms at your premises. For example, you can have installed key card systems where authorized employees wave a security key card at a reader.

If you’re looking for a more advanced technology solution, you could instead opt for biometric access control systems. Those systems can use an employee’s fingerprint to allow access, or they can conduct retina scans from one of their eyes.

Another example is voice recognition. It’s possible to use multiple access control systems at once for extra layers of security.

Make Your Secure Rooms Blast-Proof

Do you have specific rooms at your premises that must get protected at all costs? If so, you want to make sure no-one can try to gain entry to them using forcible means. You could consider making your secure rooms blast-proof.

The technology involved in making secure rooms blast-proof is similar to what gets used in bank vaults. Several layers of concrete and steel, among other materials, can ensure that your secure rooms are impenetrable – even if someone tries to blow them up!

You might be wondering what makes a room blast-proof. Aside from making the walls thick with steel and concrete, building materials can get reinforced with several micro-thin layers of mesh steel to absorb any impact.

For windows, thick bullet-proof glass like you’d see in presidential vehicles, for example, also help to absorb the force from any blasts.

Filter All Internet Traffic

Of course, you don’t have to physically gain entry to business premises if you wanted to steal something. Almost all businesses that deal with valuable and commercially sensitive resources go online from their premises.

Criminals could turn to the Internet and find vulnerabilities in a company’s Internet and network connection. Once access is possible, they could then find a way to disable access control systems and make it easy for them to gain physical access.

To that end, it’s crucial to filter all Internet traffic and prevent cyberattacks from happening. There are many ways to secure network and Internet connections:

● Enforce VPN (virtual private networking) connections for all employees going online so that all data gets encrypted;
● Installing hardware firewalls to filter all data packets and prevent malware from entering the network from Internet sources;
● Disabling wireless Internet access and enforcing Ethernet-only connections to the network and Internet.

You should also ensure that all computers used at your premises have the latest hardware. All operating systems should be up-to-date to prevent vulnerabilities from security holes at the OS layer, and all computers should have up-to-date anti-virus solutions installed.

Final Thoughts

There are many reasons why a business wants to adopt as much security as possible to protect its assets. The good news is that it’s possible to turn your organization’s building into a fortress and ensure that only authorized personnel gain access to it.

When combined with several security measures, the above examples work well and can make your building virtually impenetrable by criminals.

Have You Tried These Simple Ways To Improve Your Business?

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. No matter what type of business you are running, you should always be looking to improve it. The following contributed post is entitled, Have You Tried These Simple Ways To Improve Your Business?

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If you’re trying to improve your business and struggling to come up with ideas, it’s possible that you are making the problem more complicated than it actually is. Here are some simple ways that you can boost your business and elevate your position on the market.

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Hire A Consultant

First, you might want to consider hiring a consultant. This is useful if there is a key area of your business where you are struggling to perform. For instance, you might be having issues with logistics. If that’s the case, then you should definitely consider investing in the support of supply chain consultants. They’ll help you assess problems and potentially make your entire supply chain far more efficient. This is always going to allow you to deliver a far better level of service to your customers and clients.

Improve Your Recruitment Standards

It’s possible that you just don’t have enough innovative ideas in your business model. These types of ideas are always going to be necessary to take your company to the next level on the market. One of the ways that you can find these ideas is by ensuring that you are getting the right people on board your business team. To do that, you have to improve your hiring practices. You could think about using a recruitment management solution. Alternatively, it could just be a matter of asking the right questions. You can explore interview question guides online to perfect your technique here.

Explore New Investors

Next, you should definitely think about trying to win more attention over from key investors in your business. If you do this, you’ll be able to guarantee that you have the funds you need to make some big changes in your business model. So, how do you win over more investors? Well, you can think about taking your company to a trade show. If you are attending a trade show, then you’ll need to explore some of the best ways to guarantee that your business does stand out amongst a crowd. One of the ways to do this is with the right stall design.

Check-In With Your Customers

Finally, if you are looking for ways to improve your business, then it’s always going to make sense to check in with your customers. Don’t forget, they know what they want for your company. If you ask them, they’ll provide you with all the information that you need to make improvements and changes in key areas. So, how should you do this? Ideally, you should make sure that you are focusing on using social media to reach out to customers. Social media provides an easy, fast, non intrusive way to connect and engage with customers. Customers don’t just like engagement with brands through social media, they’re trained to expect it.

We hope this helps you understand some of the key steps that you can explore when you are looking to improve your business. Use these simple solutions and you’ll be amazed by the impact they could have on your company.

3 Essential Practices To Stay Safe As A Laboratory Technician

Two focuses of my blog are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and Health/Wellness. While a lot of important work gets done in research labs, there are a lot of potential health hazards as well. A major component of science is thus laboratory safety. The following contributed post is entitled, 3 Essential Practices To Stay Safe As A Laboratory Technician.

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Safe lab practices are essential and shouldn’t be compromised on, as a lab is generally a hazardous place that requires utmost attention and a focus on protection. In 2019, 40% of lab researchers and technicians admitted to not wearing PPE at all times. The slightest error or lack of judgment can result in irreparable damage and even death. How can you ensure that your actions or inactions don’t put you or your colleagues at risk? Read further for details.

1. Proper storage containers

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Due to the varied composition of solvents and other compounds, every chemical in the lab must be kept in appropriate storage containers. For example, it’s not recommended to store organic solvents in plastic containers. Acids should also never be stored in metal containers; neither should HF be kept in glass because it reacts with sodium silicate (the main component in glass) and causes it to corrode.

The reason for proper storage of these compounds and chemicals is to eliminate a hazardous reaction in a close unit such as a lab. It’s a safety measure to protect the lab technicians and others who work within the same space.

Furthermore, flammable chemicals must be handled with extreme precautions. That explains why most labs keep large volumes of such combustible substances in fire-rated cabinets. Lab handlers must also do well to keep acids and caustics apart; they must be placed in isolated cabinets or cupboards with plastic lining. The plastic acts as a buffer against any escaped vapor that may react with any metal element within the cabinet.

2. Quality waste disposal systems

As discussed in the previous list item, proper chemical storage is critical, and that flows into how these chemicals are disposed of as well. The approved method of waste disposal is to have them stored in safe non-reactive bins. An alternative is to use waste bins with a non-reactive inner lining. More importantly, every lab must invest in a hazardous waste removal service to comply with the United States legislation on Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals.

3. Protective garment usage in the lab

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Known as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), these refer to goggles, lab coats, nose masks, gloves, and any other garment intended for self-protection in a laboratory. This includes long pants and footwear that completely covers the lower body and feet. Because of the likelihood of spills and splashes within the lab, you’re better off protecting yourself from biological and chemical agents.

Did you know that some chemical spills on the body can start a chain reaction to developing cancer in the long term? These are substances known to have delayed carcinogenic effects in humans. For instance, medical research indicates that asbestos inhalation can cause lung cancer in the long term. In other instances, chemical inhalation can travel into the bloodstream and cause Leukaemia many years after initial exposure.

The lab environment is a critical area that demands utmost caution at all times. Without these safety measures, it’ll be even more dangerous to choose an occupation requiring physical presence in a lab.

How To Enjoy Summertime At Home

Three focuses of my blog are Health/Wellness, Home/Living and Home/Property Discussions. While the end of Covid-19 may be near, we still don’t know exactly when things will get back what we consider to be normal. As a result, many people will spend their summertime at home again this year. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Enjoy Summertime At Home.

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Summertime is a wonderful opportunity to kick back and relax a bit and be with your family. With COVID-19 still lurking around and nothing quite being back to normal yet, you may find yourself spending more time around your house. Know that it will be what you make of it.

Summertime can be fun even when you’re at home and aren’t planning to do a whole lot else or travel someplace. Learn what you can do to enjoy summertime in and around your house and ensure you and your family members make it a memorable and fun season.

Prepare Your Space

You can enjoy summertime at home when you take the time to prepare your space inside and out. For instance, set up a dedicated office if you’ll be working from home some days, spruce up the backyard, and clean and declutter your rooms and belongings. Now is also a wise time to make sure your air conditioner is working properly in case it’s too hot to be outside. Contact a trusted air conditioning repair company should your system and unit need to be serviced. Make your space comfortable and cozy so you want to spend time in and around your home.

Spend Time Outdoors

Spend as much time outdoors as you can to enjoy summertime at home with your family. There’s likely a lot to see and activities to do in your own backyard and community. You may want to consider planting a garden you can maintain and work in throughout the season. Have your patio ready to go with a lounge chair where you can go to drink your coffee or read a book. Also, consider taking family walks or hikes as another way to enjoy nature.

Cook & Grill Out

You can also work and focus on improving your cooking skills over the summer. Eating out can be unhealthy and expensive if you do it all the time. Summer is the perfect time to pull out your grill and cookout with your loved ones. There are many different types of meat and recipes to try on the grill so don’t be afraid to branch out and experiment with a variety of meal ideas and foods. Get the family together and put some music on and play yard games while you wait for the food to be done.

Have A List of Activities Handy

It’ll also help if you’re prepared by having a list of activities handy that you can turn to and do over the summertime. For example, you can create an entertainment room for when the weather doesn’t cooperate, play sports in the backyard, and invest in a small swimming pool to use on warm days. Another idea is to put down a blanket and have a picnic in your backyard or at the local park. Start brainstorming ideas with your kids and spouse now so you have an idea of what will be fun and enjoyable and don’t feel pressured to come up with suggestions at the last minute.

Three Unexpected Ways to Create Space In Your Home

Two focuses of my blog are Home/Living Discussions and Home/Property Discussions. When you own a home, something you will think about at some point is creating more space. That could involved some sort of renovation but it could also involve maximizing what you already have. The following contributed post is entitled, Three Unexpected Ways to Create Space In Your Home.

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There are lots of interior-design tricks you can use to create the feeling of space in your home. What many people need, however, is actual space. With that in mind, here are three unexpected ways to create space in your home.

Learn to food shop effectively

Effective food shopping basically means ensuring that every food item you buy is completely used. There are two parts to making this happen.

Firstly, you need to buy foods which you are actually going to eat. It’s fine if you want to try out new foods from time to time and it’s fine if you decide you don’t like them. You should, however, make a point of buying new foods in small quantities even if they’re on offer.

Secondly, you need to be practical about the quantities of food you buy. Buying in bulk isn’t necessarily more economical at all. Even if it is, it may not be economical enough to justify the space bulk purchases take up.

Make it a goal to use up any food you already have. Then make a commitment to buying mindfully. At the very least, this should mean your kitchen cabinets are comfortably full rather than crammed full. It may free up space in your kitchen you can use to store items that are currently in other parts of your home.

Create a home inventory

This is basically a twist on decluttering. Choose an area of your home and go through all the storage locations one at a time. As you do, ask yourself if you would be willing to pay to put the items in a storage container. If the answer is “no”, then move it on unless you have a compelling reason to keep it for now.

If you do keep an item, then take a note of what it is, where it is, and by) when it should be used. Then commit to “using it or losing it”. As a part of this, make sure you check your home inventory before you buy anything new.

This exercise may sound like a lot of hard work, and it can be. It can, however, also be a lot of fun. You may well discover items you never knew you had. It can also help to give you a clearer idea of what sort of insurance cover you need.

Downgrade your technology

Modern homes tend to be full of technology and it can end up taking over a space unless you actively keep it under control. One of the keys to controlling your technology is to be clear about whether or not its usefulness justifies its cost and space.

As a rule of thumb, multifunctional items like phones and tablets can almost always be justified. Single-use items, however, can only be justified if you really want or need the higher level of functionality they usually offer. Even then, you should think carefully.

For example, if you’re a coffee-lover then you might well get regular use out of a barista-standard coffee machine. You could, however, do the same job using a few affordable and compact tools. It would take a bit more effort but could save a lot of space.

The Changing Of The Guard: How To Pass Your Home Onto Someone Else

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. A person’s personal residence is not just a place to live, but it can also be a wealth building tool. The passing on of a home if done correctly can thus be the key to transferring and keeping wealth in a family. The following contributed post is entitled, The Changing Of The Guard: How To Pass Your Home Onto Someone Else.

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Over time, many of us become very attached to our homes. We want to believe that our current arrangements and family setups will last forever. We don’t like the idea of time passing us by and there being nothing we can do about it.

Eventually, though, the time will come for you to move out and onwards with your life. And at that point, you’ll need to pass your home onto somebody else. It’s a kind of changing of the guard and a necessary part of life.

So what do you need to do practically to make it a reality?

Fix Up Your Roof

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The first step is to make sure that the structure of your property is intact. You don’t want to get to the survey stage of a transaction, only for it to fall through because you have a problem with your roof.

Fixing up the roof is easier than you might think. Usually, you don’t need to replace the entire thing. Just replacing a few tiles here and there will often do the trick.

While you’re sorting out the roof, also pay attention to other areas of your property that might show up on the surveyor’s report. Check the foundations to ensure that they’re still secure and not badly cracked. And be sure that your walls aren’t damp or allowing moisture into the insulation.

Change Your Locks

The next step is to change the locks – or at least get the process started. When new owners move into your property, they’ll want assurances that extra keys aren’t floating around. I start by searching for a locksmith near me. This way, I can get the ball rolling and use that as a way to sell your home and build trust with buyers.

Contact Utility Suppliers

Once you’ve done that, the next part of the process is telling utility suppliers that you’re moving out. Remember, they don’t automatically know if you’ve stopped using their services unless they receive notice from you. So, even if a new occupant is paying bills from the same address, you might still wind up paying via direct debit.

Have A Big Clearout

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People moving out of their long-time homes often like to have a big clear out before they move. Sometimes, it’s important to do this because it helps you focus on what matters. Plus, you can often save a lot of space in the removal truck.

Hire a big skip and place it outside the front of your property. And then go room by room, thinking about the items that you really need – and those you don’t.

Don’t be afraid to get rid of items that you haven’t used in a long time. They will only clutter your new property.

Give Notice

When moving, you’ll need to give notice to your landlord or whoever you pay the mortgage. Doing this helps to avoid any animosity and helps prevent any legal action against you.

Moving house can sometimes be a challenge emotionally. But a new start is also a lot of fun.

Five Changes To Make To Your Business This Year

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. As a business owner, you always want to consider potential changes you can make to propel your business forward. The following contributed post is entitled, Five Changes To Make To Your Business This Year.

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Your business is forever growing and so is the world around it. With that being said, there is always something to adapt to and a new opportunity for growth within your company. There are many ways in which you can make the necessary adjustments to help your business grow as each year goes by. So, here are five changes to make to your business this year, and hopefully, it’ll provide you with the things you need to make your company thrive.

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Consider A Company Restructure

It sounds scary to those who are employees within the business but often enough, there may be a need to have a company restructure and it’s a way of getting rid of people in the right manner. When you hire people for your business, you hope that all of them will do the best job in bringing work to the table and developing the company’s success year in, year out. However, that’s not always the case and there may be one or two people that you’ve been wanting to let go and to perhaps adjust certain roles in the company, promoting those who you feel are ready and deserving of it.

A company restructure can be a lot of work but it’s something that can often be needed if things have gotten out of hand and you’re losing money or potential opportunities due to a lack of organization. Start by taking a look at your company tree of employees and addressing all the different job roles in place. Consider what might be missing and what you might not need when it comes to the company moving forward. It will be tough for those losing their jobs but an opportunity for those who get to move up the ladder.

Improve Your Website

Your website is an important element of the business and one that can continue to provide success for your company. However, that’s only achievable if you’re able to improve it on a regular basis. From using a local SEO company to do the technical and content side, to ensuring the web design up to scratch. You want to think about what your audience sees and whether or not it is working for them in the right way.

Using an SEO company can be great for figuring out what’s needed in order to get more traffic coming to the site. This can then hopefully convert into more leads or sales for the company.

Cut Down On Expenses

Every business has some degree of expenses that aren’t needed. Each department might have a budget and there may be certain things that have been purchased and have been wasteful in their usage. It’s good to monitor your cash flow and to see what is being spent on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Stay on top of your books and find ways to cut down on expenses where possible.

This can be done by actively working in partnership with those around the company. Don’t just cut budgets or costs and expect everything to be fine. You may end up cutting something off that’s key to that department making money for the business. Be vigilant on cutting down but also be careful that you don’t compromise on any of that potential business or profit that’s being bought in as a result of some expenses.

Make Remote Working A Permanent Feature

Remote working has become a regular thing for a lot of businesses and it’s been realized that many businesses can actually function on either permanent remote working for everyone or as a partial feature in the business.

As many of us operate online during the pandemic, remote working has become a lifeline for many businesses and they know that this may not change anytime soon. As the world continues to readjust, it’s important to continue with remote working beyond the current situation because it’s good to have that option readily available.

Listen To Your Employees

And finally, your employees are the cogs that keep your business turning efficiently and if you’re not looking after them, things can begin to fall apart. Try to listen to your employees as best as you can, fixing anything that needs your attention. Don’t allow for problems to occur and left to fester when they could be easily addressed.

Your business is important to always improve and develop. These tips are sure to help your company go from strength to strength. Don’t drop the ball, especially with this year and the hope that comes with it.

The Technological Shift in the World of Finance

Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Technology. As our world gets steadily more digital, we may be moving away from mainstays which we assumed would always be there like physical paper money and coinage. Other innovations are on the horizon as well. The following guest post is entitled, The Technological Shift in the World of Finance.

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For a long time, the only way people could transact money is through commercial banks. They would need to go to the location personally, fill up forms, and wait for the teller to call them forward. All the transactions were done over the counter until automated teller machines (ATM) came into the picture.

With the rise of ATMs, making basic transactions such as withdrawing and depositing money no longer had to be done over the counter. People could access their money easily through debit cards, and sometimes, they can opt to use those cards in place of money itself.

Establishments and businesses have adapted to this change to accommodate payments through cards instead of cash. Then, newer forms of cashless transaction methods were introduced through mobile payment platforms, online banking, and other technologies in the finance industry.

Online Banking

Gone are the days when people depended solely on brick-and-mortar banks, especially not with online banking that can be accessed through mobile devices. Most, if not all, of the traditional banks have now gone online through various mobile applications and websites.

This digital transformation has allowed customers to track their expenses, pay their bills, transfer money between accounts, and do other activities with a few mere taps on their phones. Online banking is a welcome change compared to the need to travel and transact with tellers physically.

Through the applications, people can apply for loans, make deposits, or open accounts without going through the complex processes in person. Although there is still a need for physical branches for those who have no access to mobile devices or an internet connection, online banking can very soon be the preferred method of transacting.

Digital Lending

Applying for bank loans for business and other purposes is time-consuming. This is because traditional banks can take an average of three to five weeks to decide the credibility of the borrower, depending on their credit score and documents.

After the decision has been made, it can take up to three months to actually cash out the loan so that it can be used for whatever purpose the borrower needs. These two processes alone can already cost the borrower more than four months in total, which feels like forever in the rather instantaneous way that people are now accustomed to.

To resolve this problematic time-factor, leading banks worldwide are looking towards digital lending to cut down the total processing time to one day, at the maximum. This includes the approval and cashing aspects that usually took months before being processed.

These are made possible through different technologies such as automation of processes, using credit scoring platforms, and fraud detection tools that can easily eliminate deceitful borrowers. With processes made so much easier, business owners should have no trouble getting loans through lending.

Mobile Wallets

Banks aren’t the only ones going digital. With mobile wallets, even the need for physical credit or debit cards is rendered unnecessary because people can transact with establishments through an application on their smartphones.

Anyone can download an app and open an account through a mobile wallet, which further eliminates the worrisome credit scores typically associated with banks. Mobile wallet users can pay their bills, transfer money to others, purchase products, and do almost any other financial transaction.

Mobile wallets are becoming the preferred method for cashless transactions that can contribute to green initiatives. This is because going cashless can eliminate carbon footprints and paper trails that come with printing receipts and bills.

Most establishments that can accommodate such payment methods have adapted by investing in mobile point-of-sale (POS) systems or terminals in place of cash registers. The introduction of mobile POS systems is beneficial to businesses because it eliminates the need for physical checkout counters.

These aren’t the only technological innovations in the finance industry. Artificial intelligence technologies are being used to detect fraudulent activities through complex algorithms in both banks and credit card companies.

Digital currencies, or cryptocurrencies, that exist completely online are growing in popularity by the day and are being exchanged like stocks or foreign currencies in the global market. These currencies are made possible through blockchain technology, which is basically digital ledger systems.

With all the advancements in technology every day, it would be foolish to think that it can end at some point. There is no such thing as an end in technology because people will always find more flaws in the existing technologies and develop better solutions to these flaws. It’s a never-ending cycle that can benefit the whole world in the process.

Why You Need to Foster Health Competition among Your employees in Your Small Business

Three focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money, Business/Entrepreneurship and Organizational/Management Discussions. You don’t have to take it to the extreme like the late Steve Jobs, but in some instances fostering competition amongst your employees can be a positive thing for your small business. The following contributed post is entitled, Why You Need to Foster Health Competition among Your employees in Your Small Business.

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Unhealthy competition between employees has adverse outcomes in that it may elicit fear and anxiety. This happens when workers focus on the fear of being laid off, losing income and status, or receiving negative comments from management. This can have vast impacts on their overall productivity.

However, if an organization promotes healthy competition among employees, it can have positive impacts in the long run. There are multiple ways a business can foster healthy competition among employees.

Such include providing a reasonable award, developing teams to compete, putting a higher seat up for grabs, and giving constructive feedback.

Encouraging competition can be a risky strategy as you cannot be too sure whether it will yield better results or give birth to disagreements and dissatisfaction.

Below are a few reasons why healthy competition between employees is crucial for your business.

It Promotes an Innovative Culture

Innovation is essential for every organization. Foremost, it increases your chances of having a better reaction to market changes and allows you to discover new opportunities. It can also help your business gain a competitive edge in the market where you produce high-quality products that attract more customers.

If you want to foster an innovative culture and gain from such benefits, it would be best to promote healthy competition between employees. Wondering how? Suppose your employees are in dire need of a promotion. It can be challenging to select the right worker for the position if they all have the same job skills.

To make this easier, you can suggest that the employee who comes up with an innovative product or solution will get the promotion.

It Helps Retain Highly-Skilled Employees

Another great reason to foster healthy competition among your employees is that you can retain high-skilled workers. Highly-skilled employees are always looking for new ways to improve their skills. This means undertaking risky projects in the organization. Competition among your employees is one excellent way of achieving this.

Therefore, if you want to ensure your employees don’t quit, it would be best to adopt healthy competitive strategies. While at it, ensure that you improve their skills and knowledge. For instance, you can schedule cyber advisory sessions for your workers to understand better the cyber risks your business gets exposed to.

This can challenge your employees to compete and come up with better solutions.

It Improves Workplace Productivity

Most organizations always have a hard time trying to improve the productivity of their workers. They may think they have found a solution, only for it to be temporary, having wasted time and money implementing the strategies.

Such may include giving rewards and incentives where if you don’t provide them, employees go back to old habits. If you want to have a permanent solution, it would be best to foster healthy competition among your employees. However, due to outcome uncertainty, you should find a proper balance to yield positive results.

Healthy competition promotes teamwork, and companies whose employees work as a team always succeed. Teamwork solves problems, and it is an excellent way to identify better ways to conduct activities.

With the above pointers, it is crystal clear that healthy competition among employees can help a business thrive. Especially for small companies, if you are looking for better ways to help your business grow, you should promote competition among your workers.