Why cheating is like pouring wine in a barrel

Why cheating is like pouring wine in a barrelWhy cheating is like pouring wine in a barrelWhat would it be like to live in a world without integrity?The annual festival was happening in a small village, and each villager was asked to contribute by pouring a bottle of wine into a giant barrel.One of the villagers had this thought If I pour a bottle of water in that giant barrel, no one will notice the difference. But it didnt occur to him that everyone else in the village might have the same thought.When the banquet began, and the barrel was tapped, what came out was pure water.Thats the problem with cheating by trying to win at all cost, we miss the long-term consequences. Even if we dont get caught, youll experience the aftermath taste.Cheating lowers the bar for everyone - we all get to drink water instead of wine.Rewards promote the wrong behaviorsA thing worth having is a thing worth cheating for. - W.C. FieldsWho cheats?Alfruchtwein everyone, if the risk is worth the reward.The res a cheating crisis in Americas schools. 74 percent of high-school students admitted cheating on an exam at least once. However, the problem goes well beyond - teachers cheat as much as kids do.In the book Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner describe how incentives lower the bar, rather than encourage us to do the right thing.School test scores determine mora than students performance they define the fate of the institution. Schools are held accountable for the results - low scores could mean being placed under probation and face the threat of being shut down.Teachers are more concerned about high stakes testing than everyone else. Their jobs, not just their students future, are on the line.The authors performed an analysis of Chicago Public School to detect if teachers cheated but, most importantly, how. To catch a cheater, they decided to think like one.First, they look for unusual answer patterns in a given classroom. If poor students gave correct answers to the mo st difficult questions, that would raise a flag. Secondly, they identified uneven spikes - if one classroom shows a one-year peak with a dramatic fall to follow, theres a likelihood that the improvement was artificial. A third indicator is the classs overall performance - if the average score dramatically spiked compared to the previous year, something was not right.To validate the hypothesis, the Board of Education decided to readminister the standardized test. The classrooms where no cheating was suspected performed similarly or slightly better. Those who were suspected of cheating scored far worse.Cheating has become pervasive in professional sports, politics and the workplace.In a research by the University of Georgia, about 55% of people acknowledged manipulating work for self-gain - e.g., falsifying statistics, inflating production numbers or altering timesheets. Another 31% recognized sabotaging coworkers and or stealing their ideas. Additional studies show that half of wo rkers fake sick days.Unfortunately, the everyone does it mentality can drive social acceptance - lowering the bar creates long-term consequences.The authors of Freakonomics reduce the explanation to a simple economic formula people cheat to get more for less (effort).Why people cheat (and why it matters)Cheating is a byproduct of high-performance cultures.Measuring people by goals or achievements makes everyone focus on winning at all costs. Self-interest and the need for self-protection drive employees. People will do whatever it takes to win or survive.The Cheating Under Pressure study demonstrated that, when employees feel their jobs are at risk, their anxiety and self-protection level increase, which motivates cheating behavior.Pressure to achieve is the number one reason people cheat. Thats why bosses, teachers, and sports coaches turn a blind eye to peoples behavior - everyones future is at stake.People cheat to impress others. In a society that privileges winning over maste ry, we are incentivizing the wrong role model. Those who win are respected regardless if they broke the rules.Not surprisingly, cheating is perceived as an acceptable means to achieve a higher goal. A study published by Harvard Graduate School of Education shows how students justify cheating under extenuating circumstances, including high stakes moments. Graduating from high school justifies cheating.The ethos of cheating plays a significant role regardless of which side of the spectrum you are in.High-performing kollektivs encourage a go along conduct. Everyone has to abide by the same rules as the price of being part of a winning team. Challenging the team ethics can get you into trouble.A friend of mine was beaten down by his teammates when they end in second place in a national rowing competition. That was the price he paid for not wanting to take performance-enhancing drugs as everyone on the team did.Low-performing teams follow similar patterns. As the Chicago Public Schools c ase showed, they will focus their energy on beating the system. Sometimes, cheating is more demanding and risky than doing the right thing.Three aspects accelerate cheating.The culture of an organizationEndless ambition justifies all means cheating becomes self-reinforcing - we take shortcuts to win. When financial goals are the one and only metric, companies ask little questions about how things get done.Enron or Volkswagen crises are clear examples of that - everyone saw what was happening, but people were afraid to speak up. Conversely, honesty is higher in companies were people like their work and their boss.The contextThe broken window theory suggests that signs of disorderly and petty crime - litter, graffiti, broken windows - trigger more disorder. When everyone is breaking the rules, why should one bother?The everyone does it motto becomes an excuse for one to cheat too.Illusory anonymityResearch shows that, in darker environments, people feel more prone to cheat. When n o one is watching, we think we wont get caught. Similarly, the sense of being invincible creates that same illusion.Politicians, entrepreneurs and professional athletes believe they will never get caught. Thats why cyclist Lance Armstrong or Uber former CEO Travis Kalanick kept pushing the limits until it was too late.You drink what you pour inThe problem with cheating is that will drink what you contributed to the big barrel.When you cheat, the first person that you fool is yourself.Shortcuts are a superb cheating mechanism - we expect a high reward at barely any cost or effort. Unfortunately, most shortcuts dont deliver the magic solution they promised.Seth Godin refers to this as the shortcut crowd - people who crave for things that are too good to be true. He mentioned how his grandmother was disappointed by a $99 exercise machine she bought - she expected it would do the exercise for her.As the author explains, unterstellung people cheat themselves because they dont really w ant to change. They buy into shortcuts that, deep inside, they know they wont work. That gives them the excuse to blame the manufacturer - it was its fault, not theirs.When you cheat, your win wont last forever - the aftermath will.Whats the purpose of getting high scores one year if the classroom will fail on next? Mastery is more important than winning. When we allow people to graduate or being promoted without them being ready, we are cheating too.Looking in the other direction when people are cheating, is a way of cheating too. That you, or other people, dont get caught doesnt mean that we wont all suffer the consequences.If everyone pours water, regardless if no one is watching or not, we will all end drinking water instead of wine.When everyone cares for the better good, theres less room for cheating.Blame it on sticks and carrotsWe cheat because we want to win.The reward encourages us to make the wrong move. We focus on the short-term win and dont care about the long-term e ffect - incentives narrow our vision.Carrots and stick are so last century, according to Daniel Pink. He says that we need to upgrade our reward system. In his book Drive, the author proposes a new approach with three essential elements Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose.ur primary biological drive includes hunger, thirst, and sex. The other long-recognized drive is our response to rewards and punishments in our environment. Thats what motivates cheating as I discussed above.However, the most critical drive has been discovered and studied only in recent decades. Scientists call it Intrinsic Motivationbehavior that is driven by internal rewards - it arises from within because it is naturally satisfying to you.AutonomyOur brain is wired for us to behave autonomously and be self-directed. As I wrote many times, people dont want to be changed by others - behavior changes happen from within.Pink explains how this autonomy is necessary over tasks (what we do), time (when we do it), team (w ho we do it with), and the technique (how we do it). Thats why practices such as self-organization and self-selected teams are getting so much acceptance.MasteryMaking progress in what we do is the single most important motivation. Mastery is the opposite of shortcuts - we put effort into something because we seek personal growth, not just success.Mastery takes time and effort. It requires adopting a learning mind - to learn how to learn. Everything feels difficult when you try it for the first time. Mastery is the opposite of cheating - appreciate the journey, not just the destination.PurposeOur human nature is to contribute to something more significant and more enduring than ourselves. We want to make the world a better place, not just reap the benefits.Your purpose is a lighthouse that guides your path in life, especially during stormy weather. It encourages you to live the way you want to be remembered, as I wrote here.Organizations are rediscovering the value of purpose. Th ey are realizing that people want to accomplish a higher mission, not just do their jobs.Cheating is a clear signal that youve lost connection with your purpose. Instead of trying the make the community wine better, you just add water. You care more about your short-term win than the aftermath of your behavior.- - - Cheating is driven by a carrot and stick model. We do whats right when someone is watching, but fool others when the stakes are worth it.You have autonomy over your behavior - the pressure to win shouldnt dictate your choices.You have the talent and passion for mastering your act - focus on improving your craft. Success is an outcome, not a goal.Your purpose in life is to contribute to the giant barrel that is your family, your community, your workplace, and the whole world around you.Lets pour our best wines into everything we do - people will soon notice and join the movement.Upgrade your teams gameDownload Stretch Your Team - how to thrive in a changing world ge t your free copy.Receive my weekly Insights for Changemakers Sign Up Now.This article first appeared on Medium.

Top trends in Retail Hiring

Top trends in Retail HiringTop trends in Retail HiringTop trends in Retail HiringThe retail holiday season is upon us, Intelligence dug into whos hiring retail professionals these days. If youre recruiting in this area, youll want to know what we found.Every September, retailers ready their stores for the holiday season and begin preparing to hire extra staff. This year, according to the National Retail Foundation, retailers will fill between 700,000 and 750,000 new seasonal positions. Retailers will begin hiring additional workers in October to prepare for the holiday shoppers. Hiring will typically slow in the month of December before picking up again with the New Year. Hot retailers this year, according to STORES Magazines annual list of Hot 100 Retailers includes Amazon.com, Dollar Tree, Ross Stores, OReilly Automotive, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Tractor Supply Co.About 765,000 new retail jobs are expected by 2024 according to the 2012-2024 employment projections from the Bureau o f Labor Statistics. Of these jobs, 263,000 will be among general merchandise stores such as Macys, Toys R Us, and Forever 21. By August 2016, the retail unemployment rate reached 5.2% near the overall unemployment rate of 4.9% for the US and 5.7 percentage points below the January 2010 peak of 10.9% for the retail industry.About 16 mio people are employed in retail industry today, and retail jobs account for about 15% of all jobs posted on Monster. To give you some insight into what your recruiting competitors are up to, our Intelligence team analyzed data from CEB TalentNeuron to identify which companies are posting the most jobs and where jobs are harder to fill.Most Common Retail Jobs IncludeRetail Salespersons employed 4.3 millionAnnual wage $26,220Cashiers employed 2.8 millionAnnual wage $20,930Stock Clerks/Order Fillers employed 1.3 millionAnnual wage $23,790Retail Supervisors employed 1.1 millionAnnual wage $42,670Retail Jobs54% of available U.S. retail jobs are for salesOf a ll open sales positions, 40% are specifically for retail supervisorsWho is hiring Retail talent?According to 2014 employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics most retail professionals are employed as retail salespersons (27%), 18% as cashiers, 8% as stock clerks and order fillers, and 7% as retail supervisors.Most Common Companies Seeking Retail Talent1LowesTargetThe Dollar General *ProfileAmazon *ProfileMacysWalmartCVS HealthBest BuyJ.C. PenneyKohls *ProfileHow difficult is it to recruit a Retail talent?Overall, retail positions are better than the average to recruit when compared to all other positions posted online. Among select retail jobs highest in demand, the most difficult areas to fill are information technology (78) and creative/talent (59).Which high demand job markets are harder to fill?Here are 10 of the hardest to fill retail job markets most in demand, some of which may surprise you.1 Heavily influenced by technology, some of the mora difficult markets to f ill include Seattle, San Jose, and San Francisco.No. 1 Seattle, WAAvailable verbunden Jobs 12,600Hiring Difficulty 68Median Ad Salary $92,200No. 2 San Jose, CAAvailable Online Jobs 3,400Hiring Difficulty 54Median Ad Salary $97,600No. 3 San Francisco, CAAvailable Online Jobs 6,000Hiring Difficulty 53Median Ad Salary $64,500No. 4 Denver, COAvailable Online Jobs 3,200Hiring Difficulty 49Median Ad Salary $40,200No. 5 Minneapolis, MNAvailable Online Jobs 3,900Hiring Difficulty 43Median Ad Salary $41,050No. 6 Dallas, TXAvailable Online Jobs 6,400Hiring Difficulty 39Median Ad Salary $47,750No. 7 Washington DCAvailable Online Jobs 6,600Hiring Difficulty 39Median Ad Salary $59,550No. 8 Chicago, ILAvailable Online Jobs 9,800Hiring Difficulty 38Median Ad Salary $53,650No. 9 Atlanta, GAAvailable Online Jobs 5,800Hiring Difficulty 38Median Ad Salary $53,850No. 10 Columbus, OHAvailable Online Jobs 2,200Hiring Difficulty 37Median Ad Salary $39,150Want to know more about the top trends in hiring re tail talent? Check out the Retail Market Overviewfrom Intelligence.Data finding are based on analysis of all available online jobs reported by TalentNeuron and job seeking activity from more than 22 million unique visitors.21The CEB TalentNeuron Tool, JAN-AUG 20162comScore Media Metrix, 1Q 2016, 3-month average, (includes all US Mobile + PC traffic)*FOR mora INFORMATION ABOUT COMPANY PROFILES, CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE OR 1-800-X6333 TODAY.

Drone on the Farm

Drone on the Farm Drone on the Farm Drone on the FarmIn the future, swarms of drones will fly among farm fields, mapping the location of weeds with the help of their onboard vision. These little drones, each about the size of a bee, will help farmers improve crop yields with less herbicide. And theyll be available to farmers at a low cost.A group of Italian researchers at the Italian National Research Council is now developing the drones as part of a project called Swarm Robotics for Agricultural Applications, or SAGA.The drones are actually kitted out with robotic controls that let them fly, map, and stay in touch. This type of robotics, swarm robotics, consists of teams of very small robots built to best suit the environment they move within.Each individual drone weighs around three pounds and flies for 20 to 30 minutes. They generally fly in packs of 20 to 30, says Vito Trianni, who heads the project. Hes part of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, which operates within the research council. This kind of technology is well suited for todays large-scale farms, he adds.For large fields, the drone swarms could operate in relay teams, with drones landing and being replaced by others.Or, farm co-ops could also buy swarms to share. The swarms dont fly over a field daily, despite how fast it feels weeds grow. Smaller farms could adjust the number of drones theyd use depending on the size of their fields, Trianni says.Drones will be attracted to the weediest areas of a farm. Image SAGARobot swarms can be scaled to exactly fit different farm sizes, he adds.Thanks to their communication capabilities, the drones will attract each other to a particularly weed-infested area. This means that very weedy patches are the first to be mapped and sent to those responsible for working the land, with less weedy areas next on the list, Trianni says.This is similar to swarms of bees that forage the fruchtwein profitable flower patches, he adds. In this way, the pl anning of weed control activities can be limited to high-priority areas, hence generating savings while increasing productivity.The most common way currently to control weeds is to spray entire fields with herbicide chemicals. Smarter spraying will save farmers money and it will lower the risk of agrichemical resistance.Of course, theres a big environmental benefit from spraying fewer herbicides, Trianni adds.Following the mapping by the bees, a swarm of the quadcopters could be released over a field. Theyd stay in radio contact with each other and use algorithms learned from the bees to cooperate and put together a map of weeds.This will then allow for targeted spraying of weeds or their mechanical removal on organic farms.Quadcopters are small helicopters lifted and propelled by four rotors. Their miniature sizeabout the size of a childs toy dronemakes them relatively inexpensive and allows them to fly in swarms, perfect for applications that Trianni and his team anticipate. The d rones also avoid soil compaction and can act only where needed, Trianni says.Well be seeing more of these robotic-enabled drone swarms in the future, as the price of robotics hardware lowers and miniaturization and the capabilities of robots increase, Trianni says. Swarm robots, which work in large groups, are an obvious use of these trends, he adds.Swarms of drone robots havent typically been looked at for agricultural applications, though the pairing is a natural, he adds.We will soon be able to automate solutions to the level of the individual plant, he says. This needs to be accompanied by the ability to work in large groups, so as to efficiently cover big fields and work in synergy. Swarm robotics offers solutions to such a problem.Jean Thilmany is an independent writer. For Further Discussion In this way, the planning of weed control activities can be limited to high-priority areas, hence generating savings while increasing productivity.Vito Trianni, Italian National Research Council