Business Blunders of 2009
January 27th, 2010From the humor category, BNET recently published its list of Business Blunders of 2009. Some were amusing. For example:
Mistake #3: The “Smart Choice” food label
In August, 14 of the country’s largest food companies — including PepsiCo, Kellogg’s, Kraft, and General Mills — join forces to launch a multimillion-dollar food-labeling program, dubbed “Smart Choices,” to guide consumers in selecting nutritious foods amid the nation’s obesity epidemic. Soon, however, the program’s green checkmark logo is seen popping up on jars of fat-laden mayonnaise and boxes of Froot Loops cereal, a product that lists sugar as its top ingredient. In October, after the FDA announces plans to crack down on misleading labeling, the program is voluntarily halted.
Mistsake #5: IBM offers foreign assignments to its laid off employees
IBM lays off thousands of North American workers, and then gives them the opportunity to apply for similar jobs in countries such as Brazil, India, Nigeria, and Slovenia — if they’re “willing to work on local terms and conditions.” Big Blue magnanimously offers to help with moving costs and provide visa assistance.
Mistake #6: Unions firing their own employees
The powerful, 1.7-million-member Service Employees International Union announces a layoff involving 75 national field staffers and organizers. The union representing those employees, the Union of Union Representatives, quickly files a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, accusing the SEIU of engaging in unfair practices such as unilaterally laying off UUR members without proper notice, outsourcing their jobs to non-union workers, and selecting workers for layoffs “because of their [UUR] membership and/or activities.”
Mistake #12: Now here’s an incentive
In July, jobless citizens seeking benefit information from the Web site of the Brazilian Labor Ministry must type in the passwords “shameless” and “bum” to access the relevant details. The ministry blames the prank on a private Internet security firm whose contract with the government had not been renewed.
Mistake #20: Now this is REO
After a couple hit by the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme is forced to surrender its $12 million beachfront home in Malibu, Calif., to Wells Fargo, neighbors notice something odd: a large party being thrown in the presumably vacant house. After an investigation, Wells Fargo admits that the house was being used by an employee, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Cheronda Guyton, a senior vice president in charge of foreclosed commercial properties. The employee, who neighbors say had been spending weekends at the house with her family, is fired for violating bank rules against personal use of bank-owned property.
There are some other good ones in there. To see the full list, click through to Business Blunders of 2009. Some funny stuff!
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:49 am
I liked the REO story when it came out. It made the “Risky Business” soundtrack play through my head.
IBM offering foreign assignments doesn’t seem bad to me. For young single people it could be especially attractive. I would have taken it up. Local terms, so what . . . expat packages have become too fat anyway.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:01 am
You are a brave, brave soul for volunteering for the IBM assignment David. My intuition, however, would be that most of those folks they laid off are not of the single, looking-for-adventure variety. That probably made the offer seem disingenuous, and/or feel like pouring salt in an open wound.