Posted by:

Economist.com | LONDON

Categories:

Rankings

VANCOUVER, we salute you. Not only is it the world’s most liveable city, it is also apparently the best venue for business travellers. The Canadian city has topped the Economist Intelligence Unit’s business-travel ranking of 136 world cities for the third year in a row, with Toronto second, Adelaide third, Honolulu fourth and Perth fifth (the same top five as last year). New York and London were 62nd and 65th respectively, with New York the lowest ranked of the 16 American cities examined.

The ranking takes into consideration both cost-related and environmental factors in assessing a destination's desirableness for a business traveller. Cities are rated in 31 categories, which are grouped and weighted in five sectors thus:

1. Stability (25%)
2. Healthcare (10%)
3. Culture and environment (25%)
4. Infrastructure (20%)
5. Cost (20%)

Marks for the first four sectors derive from the liveability ranking that we have already examined. The "cost" mark derives from the city's per-diem rate: the price of a basket of goods and services typically required during a short business trip. So that's hotels, restaurant meals, car rental, taxi rides, etc. You can read the full methodology here, alongside the 2006 figures.

When we revealed the recent liveability rankings, plenty of commenters suggested that Vancouver was a city of the "nice but boring" type. The rankings clearly cannot cater to all tastes, but the emphasis on stability and infrastructure means that nice but boring cities do indeed do well. The same sadly cannot be said of cities in the world's more troubled regions, and Karachi, Algiers and Lagos bring up the rear.

Business Travel Ranking (December 2008, zero = ideal) 1 Vancouver 8.0% 2 Toronto 8.8% 3 Adelaide 9.6% 4 Honolulu 10.9% 5 Perth 11.5% 6 Auckland 11.5% 7 Detroit 11.9% 8 Atlanta 12.1% 9 Montreal 12.4% 10 Vienna 12.5%

(Photo credit: Shutterstock)

Man's capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man's inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary. -Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian (1892-1971)

Went to this place last weekend and its breathtaking, I thought Grove was one of a kind but then this came up in Glendale. Made by the same people, but even better this time: 75+ Shops, Restaurants & Theater. A New Shopping Experience. Glendale

Link

Some pictures:

Movie theater


Outdoor:




Apartments:

I totally agree with this, its one of my favorite airports also. They have 4 hour block hotel rooms available on the airport and massages, I did both of them and loved it!

The best airport in the world

Posted by:

Economist.com | LONDON

Categories:

Airports

Rankings

ANOTHER aviation ranking and another strong performance from Asian operations. Skytrax, a company specialising in airline and airport research, has named Incheon, near Seoul, the best airport in the world, after 8.6m passengers were asked for their views on 196 airports. Last year's top two airports, Hong Kong and Singapore Changi, dropped to second and third respectively, although Skytrax confirmed that the top three almost ended up in a dead heat. Overall, six of the best ten airports were Asian, as were seven of the nine category winners (best leisure amenities, best terminal cleanliness, etc). Asian airlines also dominated Skytrax's recent airline rankings.

Incheon opened in 2001, so still has some of the shininess of youth. Unlike many other Korean airports, it is not particularly quiet, and served around 30m passengers in 2007. Indeed quietness appears not to have been a determining factor throughout the ranking. Hong Kong and Singapore are among the 20 busiest airports in the world, and the fourth busiest, Dallas/Fort Worth, was named the best airport in North America.

Zurich, Tel Aviv, Cape Town and Lima were named the best airports in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America respectively.

Top ten airports: 1. Incheon 2. Hong Kong 3. Singapore Changi 4. Zurich 5. Munich 6. Kansai 7. Kuala Lumpur 8. Amsterdam 9. Centrair Nagoya 10. Auckland

This is a great article, I had friends advice me the same things when earlier this year I was going through some tensions with my team. This puts it all together!

Tips for Tackling Team Tension

There’s nothing like a high-stress project environment to amplify personality differences into team tension and even conflicts.

Projects can often lead to higher levels of stress even when things are going well, and team members will inevitably clash sometimes. Tempers can flare. Egos get bruised.

The antidote for this potential productivity problem is to set expectations early—and deal with tension swiftly.

Here are some tips from the experts for dealing with conflict and keeping your team (and project) on track.

Before the Project Begins
Tip 1: Set the tone from the start.
Differing expectations and miscommunication lead to most conflict.

As the project manager, you can encourage your team to contribute to the project management plan before the project actually begins which, in turn, establishes clear expectations.

Make sure your team members clearly understand—and agree upon—the project’s parameters and how those parameters fit into the overall scope.

Clarify each team member’s role as well so that they understand how each person will contribute to the project. This also confirms what is expected of them and allows them to plan and prioritize their responsibilities so the project will stay on course.

If Conflict Arises
Tip 2: Remain impartial.
Project leaders must not take sides. If a team member approaches you because of a conflict, be objective in your advice for handling the situation.

You may need to seek out the other people involved and hear their side of the story as well. This allows you better understanding of the situation and helps you form an unbiased response.

Tip 3: Be the catalyst, not the problem solver.
Resolution is the result of mediation from the bottom up. As the project leader, you assume the role of facilitator. You help team members resolve conflict; you do not solve it for them.

After you identify the sources of the tension and get both sides of the story, bring the team together. Invite each person to offer his or her perspective, while other team members listen without responding.

Finally, encourage team members to come to a consensus, working toward a common goal to solve the conflict and refocus on completing the project. This last step may include developing an action plan with small steps toward conflict resolution.

Tip 4: Escalate progressively.
If bickering persists among your team members, you may need to go up the chain of command to help resolve it. Speaking with functional supervisors or managers may also provide insight to the level or origins of tension.

If the functional supervisors do not help facilitate resolution, you should progressively escalate the situation up the chain of command until you find two members from the organization who will work through the conflict.

You may also consider consulting a third-party expert such as a company counselor or human resources specialist. This expert, who is not involved with team members or the project, provides the project team with an open forum to discuss more effective ways for working together and also provides a neutral analysis of the situation.

Tip 5: Step in and make a decision.
If all else fails, do not be afraid to dictate a solution—especially if it means preventing a project disaster.

As the project manager, your main concern is to do what is best for the project and the team. If conflict continues and has a negative impact on the project, impose a resolution that will keep the project on track.

Your resolution may have to involve replacing someone on the team so you can still meet deadlines.

Once Conflict is Resolved
Tip 6: Celebrate success.
Acknowledging a resolved conflict or simply thanking people for their efforts goes a long way in keeping up morale and motivation.

People respond favorably to positive reinforcement and positive feedback. Further, team members will be more willing to overcome their differences and work together if they know they will be recognized.

Panel of Experts
Edna Campos, PMP, project manager for IBM, São Paulo, Brazil and president of the PMI Brazil, Bahia Chapter. Ms. Campos concentrates on international projects for IBM for which she manages virtual teams, where the possibility for conflict—without regular face-to-face interaction—is a constant issue. (Contributed to tips 3, 4 and 5.)

Nick Clemens, PMP, owner of the Columbia, Maryland, USA-based consultancy Analytic Risk Management. He spent much of his career managing large government programs in the Departments of Defense and Education. (Contributed to tips 1, 2, 4 and 6.)

Michelle LaBrosse, PMP, owner of Carson City, Nevada, USA-based Cheetah Learning, a PMI Registered Education Provider (R.E.P). Ms. LaBrosse focuses on a range of projects, from large-scale, long-term IT efforts with 20-person teams to short-term course development efforts that involve teams of three to five people. (Contributed to tips 1 and 5.)

This poem is so awesome, I love the way she talks about the wolf with so many sexual innuendos...

How to Eat A Wolf

Does all lust start and
end like this? Don’t get me
wrong. I loved my wolf.
I held him tethered like
a pussycat. I nursed
the rumble in his belly
with hands gentle as a burglar’s.
He lived on milk
and blood and ocean. He
had violets for his furs.

It’s just that he was
beginning to devour me.
He nuzzled me with claws,
fondled me with fangs
sharp as yearning
He snaked a tongue so
hungry in its kiss it
turned my body to salt.

How do you douse a
dervish swirl? I asked.
Devour it, you said.

So I fantasised
about eating his balls,
rolling them in semolina
seeds and roasting them
golden. I got blooddrunk
on the thought of the
crisp tender cartilage of his ear,
left to simmer in tequila
and cilantro. The dry teats turned
sweet when baked with cinnamon
applesauce, or drizzled with chocolate.
The tangy musk of austerely steamed eyelid.

I set traps.

Mine is the deepest void,
the deepest void you’ll ever know.
And so I lured him to a well.
A wolf can drown in its own
wetness. But mine swam
and lapped and doggypaddled
until I waded back in to get him.

Mine is the darkest smoulder,
the darkest smoulder you’ll ever know.
And so I conspired to let him burn.
A wolf can poach in its own juices.
But mine danced on coals and leapt
ablaze, until I pussyfooted back in to get him.

I became desperate.
I preached to my wolf
about suicide, proselytized
about reincarnation. Come back
as a sleepy kitten, I said.
Come back as a hibernating bear.
Come back as a snail with a flag trail of surrender.
But my love was indefatigable. It was
volcano and oceanic tremor. It was a black lace bra and
too much jazz at 3 a.m.
My love was as big as betrayal.
I pleaded and pleaded until

you finally looked up and said,
You can only kill a wolf
you don’t want to have,

and only then did I see that

your love
was exactly
the size of two fists.

***

Sharanya Mannivannan was born in India in 1985, grew up elsewhere, and now divides her time between different dimensions of home and exile. She is working on her first novel, Constellation of Scars and her book of poems, Witchcraft, will appear in 2008. She can be found at http://sharanyamanivannan.blogspot.com