Word: grouping
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...image--what it stands for in the minds of consumers. Is it a premium brand? Does it signal value? What image does it conjure up? "You can't just put out a doodad with a name slapped on it," insists Michael Stone, co-director of New York's Beanstalk Group, another large licensing agency. Missteps abound among those who have held that simplistic view. Take Virgin Clothes: British entrepreneur Richard Branson has successfully etched his Virgin trademark onto a host of products, from CDs to cola. But his apparel line is struggling, mainly because its initial styles were pricey...
...accidents resulting from exhaustion already cost U.S. industry and society over $77 billion a year. One of the most immediate effects is a growing demand on companies to show greater flexibility and creativity in designing jobs. Richard Coleman, author of The 24 Hour Business and president of a consulting group, advises firms "first of all to find out what their employees want and then choose schedules that fit the company's needs...
Even more than aiming to attract talent, executives say they're focused on the bottom line. "Our investment is in keeping health-care costs down," says D'Ann Whitehead, preventive-health-services manager at Chevron. A study by the MEDSTAT Group consulting firm found that over the past eight years, Chevron had held medical expenses flat and slashed worker sick days by using everything from massage to smoking restrictions...
Some employers have tried shifting the responsibility for preventive medicine to their health plans. The Pacific Business Group on Health, an employers' consortium, has offered to pay higher premiums if its plans administer more mammograms. But most companies are recognizing that they can do more by approaching their employees directly, says Stephanie Pronk, a health-promotion expert for William M. Mercer consulting company. "If I see my doctor for five or 10 minutes a couple of times a year, there's not a lot of opportunity to work with me. The worksite has the person captive eight to 10 hours...
...study by research firm Datamonitor. But taking sanitized sex to the masses--and particularly to women--has given purveyors of erotica an entirely new audience. "Taking the smut out of sex is a clever thing to do," says Michael Poyner, retailing expert with London consultants Credo Group...