Thursday 13th March 2014
57% of Irish workers fear colleagues hide company info for their own personal gain
57% of Irish workers fear colleagues hide company information for their own personal gain.
A study into information sharing in Irish organisations has found that 79% of workers feel that company information should be shared equally within their organisation, but 57% feel colleagues hoard information for personal advantage.
A Microsoft-sponsored Amárach study looked at how Irish employees use, share and communicate company information within their organisations.
It found that 48% of employees feel that enterprise social technologies like Yammer would lead to better collaboration and avoid wasting precious internal company, customer and competitor information.
“Traditionally, we have shared information in a formal, more structured approach but using social media, the way that many of our employees interact in their daily lives, has democratised access to and delivery of information,” Ian Slattery, Director in Accenture’s Technology Practice said.
“For example, in global organisation that employees over 250,000 people, we have a lot of valuable information all over the world but it can be difficult to identify at speed.
“By using Yammer, I can reach out to a global community quickly and easily and my experience so far suggests that the information I require gets to me in a very timely manner. In addition, because you’re dealing with individuals, most of the time it means that you have also made a valuable contact.
FOUR PERSONALITY TYPES revealed WHEN IT COMES TO SHARING INFORMATION.
The study discovered four distinct personalities when it comes to how information is managed and shared in organisations.
The broker is someone who who trades knowledge for collaboration, they know its inherent value and can make the most of the information they have or can gain access to. According to the research, they are most likely male, aged between 35-44 years old and earn over €60,000 per annum.
The hoarder is someone who gathers, but does not want to share company information for the sake of maintaining power or fear of missing out. They are mid-level management aged 55 years or older and more likely to be female. Their average income would be over €20,000.
The squanderer is someone who neither uses or shares company information. They would be junior to mid-level in an organisation, and possibly part time, are equally likely to be male or female on an annual income of €20,000 or less and aged between 24-54 years.
The trader tends to over-share information without realising its inherent value. Most likely to be early in their career and aged 24 year earning around €20,000 per year.
When asked what category they fitted into, 82% felt they were brokers, and did a great job of sharing information.
However, when they were asked to rate their colleagues, 50% felt that others were brokers and that 31% were squanderers of information.
Interestingly, employees in small organsiations (1-5 employees) are far more likely to share competitor or marketing information for mutual benefit. Employees of larger companies (250+) shared company and HR info.
HOW INFORMATION GETS SHARED
In terms of how information gets shared, 81% use face to face interactions (48% felt this was effective), some 68% use email (30% believe this is effective) and 60% rely on phones to share information (only 4% believe this to be effective).
The study found that 41% of workers want a centralized system for storing information.
Some 50% of respondents have tried various types of shared drives and networks, with only 8% saying they found these useful due to lack of training or encouragement by their organisation.
“Microsoft has been studying how to enable collaboration and communication by using social tools to help businesses be more competitive by allowing people to work in a familiar way,” said Mike Hughes, Business Group Lead, Office Division, Microsoft.
“Traditional work is no longer working, and is encouraging hoarders and squanderers, who could be undermining your business.
“A Gallup report in 2013 showed that 87% of global employees are not engaged with their jobs. Your employees and colleagues are disconnected in. We have seen how shared knowledge can drive a common purpose.
“Organisations need to create a culture of sharing, backed up by technology that creates a common space where information becomes social, shared and accessible.
“Enterprise Social Solutions like Yammer can create this safe haven where information, insights and timely actions are shared across an organisation liberating it from a shelf or an email inbox,” Hughes said.
The number of Irish permanent mortgage restructures continue to rise
New figures from the Finance Department show that the number of mortgage accounts in arrears of over 90 days has fallen from 79,782 at the end of December to 79,427 at the end of January.
The total mortgage accounts in arrears (in arrears for one day or more) rose to 115,631 at the end of January from 114,921 at the end of December.
The Department said this increase may be due to both seasonal factors and the introduction of new payment processing after the banks’ implementation of SEPA.
Today’s data also shows that engagement between banks and consumers has led to 53,969 permanent mortgage restructure agreements, an increase of 2,781 since the end of December.
The Department noted a significant rise in the number of split mortgages from 2,521 when this data series began in August to 7,131 by the end of January.
The Finance Department information differs from the Central Bank as it relates to data from the six main banks only – AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, ACC, KBC Bank Ireland and Ulster Bank. These lenders make up 90% of the market.
Today’s figures also show that the number of buy to let mortgages in arrears at the end of January rose to 34,139 from 33,831 at the end of 2013. The number in arrears of over 90 days rose by 216 accounts since the end of December to 26,710.
Finance said that engagement between BTL mortgage holders and their lenders had led to 10,532 permanent restructures.
The six banks also said that they have 3,721 rent receivers in place at the end of January, up 542 at the end of December.
12,000 pints of cheap lager and stout consumed at Dail bar last year 2013
The Dail, inset, the ‘lapgate’ incident last summer during the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill debate.
The Dail bar clocked up almost €7,000 in sales that night of the Lapgate affair.
Almost 12,000 pints of cut- price Guinness and Heineken were sunk at the Dail bar last year.
There were 90 kegs of the black stuff and 41 kegs of the Dutch lager ordered during the course of the year, although this was a slight drop on 2012.
The new figures also confirm that the Dail bar’s busiest night of the year last year coincided with the all-night sitting for the Government’s Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.
The Dail did not break until 5am and the beer taps at the Dail bar continued to pour throughout the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill debate, as the bar clocked up almost €7,000 in sales.
Previous figures have shown how nearly €4,000 of this was spent on alcoholic drinks alone, including pints of stout, lager and ale, as well as small bottles of wine and spirits.
INFAMOUS
The bar’s busiest night also coincided with the infamous ‘lapgate’ incident in the Dail chamber involving Fine Gael TD Tom Barry and party colleague Aine Collins.
The latest figures obtained under Freedom of Information show that 90 kegs of Guinness were ordered by the Dail bar last year compared to 98 kegs in 2012.
There was also a slight drop in Heineken sales, with 41 kegs ordered compared to 44 in 2012.
There are around 90 pints in a keg – suggesting the sale of around 8,100 pints of Guinness in 2013, with around 3,690 pints of Heineken sold.
Pints of beer are sold for about 70 cent less than nearby city centre pubs, with most recent figures showing Guinness at €4.30.
The FOI figures show that the second busiest night in 2013 was ‘Prom Night’ on February 6 that related to the passing of legislation concerning the liquidation of the former Anglo Irish Bank. The Dail debate on that legislation did not conclude until 2.55am.
Annual accounts for the Dail bar for 2013 are not yet available. However, figures for 2012 show that the business’s profits increased by 5% from €138,600 to €145,623.
Cancer the main reason for life insurance and serious illness claims
A SURVEY CLAIMS
Cancer is now the main reason for claims made for life insurance and serious illness cover, a break-down of payouts made by Irish Life shows.
The life company said it paid out €168m in life insurance and specified illness claims last year.
Cancer accounted for 44pc of life assurance claims and 58pc of specified illness cover claims to Irish Life in 2013.
More than half of life insurance claims for women were related to cancer and 41pc for men.
The figures come from an analysis of the claims book of Irish Life, andCanada Life. The Canadian company took over Irish Life last year.
The analysis shows that €112.4m was paid out for 1,714 life insurance claims last year.
Another €56.4m was paid out for 81 specified illness cover claims.
The average payment was €65,560 in respect of Life Insurance claims, and €69,638 for specified illness cover claims although the figures show wide variations in the size of claims settled.
Managing director of Irish Life retail Gerry Hassett said: “The scale of the life insurance and specified illness cover claims paid shows that it is crucially important for people to look after the interests of their dependants in the event of death and serious illness.”
Psychiatric report ordered on nurse who taped up patient’s mouth in Sligo Hospital
Filipino-born Bimbo Paden, (39) above right, wept throughout his appearance at Sligo District Court today for sentencing on one charge of assault.
But after hearing the result of a damning HSE internal report on the affair, Judge Kevin Kilrane adjourned the case for six weeks, asking for a psychiatric assessment on Paden.
The father-of-three had told Gardai that he was alone on a ward at St John’s Hospital in Sligo with eight other patients at the time and had acted “in a moment of complete stupidity.”
On June 26 last year, while dealing with eight other patients, Paden claimed that one of them had been shouting and upsetting another patient suffering from cancer.
The victim was Kevin Quinn, a 49-year-old patient of the hospital who has needed 24-hour care since suffering a brain haemorrhage 13 years ago.
Mr Quinn had been shouting and the nurse claimed he had rubbed his shoulders to reassure him but when this failed to calm him, he had placed the tape over this mouth.
Today Mr Quinn’s brother Christy broke down in the witness box as he told Judge Kilrane that when he now visits him at St John’s, he pushes away his hand when he tries to reassure him.
The judge asked defence solicitor Mark Mullaney to read the conclusions of an HSE investigation into the incident.
The report found Paden’s workload allocated workload was “inequitable and unsafe.”
He had worked in a “risky working environment with little support and inadequate management.”
The report found the nurse was “deeply remorseful” and clearly working under “extreme stress.”
Judge Kilrane adjourned the case until April 10 for mention.
Risk of heart problems from anti-diabetes drugs are being ignored says experts?
They say the risk should monitored closely during clinical trials of glucose-lowering medication.
Trials of glucose lowering drugs are not taking potential heart risks into account, experts have warned.
In a review published today in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, a range of heart and diabetes experts have reviewed evidence showing a link between drugs used to treat diabetes and heart attacks.
There is already an increased risk of heart failure among those with diabetes.
They note that while ‘major adverse cardiovascular events’ such as cardiovascular death, heart attack, and stroke are all taken into account in clinical trials of the drugs, it is not seen as a key factor when accessing the associated health risks.
“Until heart failure is systematically evaluated in clinical trials, the cardiovascular safety of anti-diabetes drugs will remain uncertain,” Professor John McMurray from the University of Glasgow, who led the study, said.
Fortunately, some trials in progress are taking heart failure into account as a secondary outcome. But many others are neglecting to report this important complication as a key trial outcome.
Diabetes Ireland say that the number of people with diabetes in Ireland is expected to hit 194,000 by 2015, a rise of 37 per cent from the 2007 figure.
THEY SAY ONE IN EIGHT PEOPLE OVER 60 YEARS OF AGE HAS DIABETES.
Fuel cell model sheds new light on the origins of life on Earth
In a path-breaking research, scientists have developed a ‘fuel cell model’ for developing a similar energetic process that may have led to the emergence of life on earth.
The researchers have demonstrated a proof of concept for their ‘fuel cell model’ of the emergence of cell metabolism on earth, a crucial biological function for all living organisms.
“What we are trying to do is to bridge the gap between the geological processes of the early earth and the emergence of biological life on this planet,” said Terry Kee from University of Leeds.
All life forms use the same chemical processes that occur in a fuel cell to generate their energy, Kee added.
Fuel cells in cars generate electrical energy by reacting fuels and oxidants.
This is an example of a ‘redox reaction’ as one molecule loses electrons is oxidised and one molecule gains electrons is reduced.
Certain geological environments can be considered as ‘environmental fuel cells’ since electrical energy can be generated from redox reactions between hydrothermal fuels and seawater oxidants, such as oxygen.
“Certain minerals could have driven geological redox reactions, later leading to a biological metabolism,” said Laura Barge from the journal Astrobiology.
Iron and nickel are much less reactive than platinum.
However, a small but significant power output successfully demonstrated that these metals could still generate electricity in the fuel cell – and hence also act as catalysts for redox reactions on early earth.
“With these techniques, we could actually test whether any given hydrothermal system could produce enough energy to start life, or even, provide energetic habitats where life might still exist and could be detected by future missions,” she said.
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