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VCU study: Mergers and acquisitions disrupt management

When companies merge, key top executives are often pushed out, according to a recently published study by a Virginia Commonwealth University business professor. Jeffrey Krug, associate professor of strategic management at the VCU School of Business, and Walt Shill, managing director at Accenture, followed the careers of more than 23,000 executives in more than 1,000… Read more »

Lumber Layoffs

Roper Brothers Lumber has laid off dozens of workers due to a slowdown in the housing sector. The Petersburg-based company, which had operations around Virginia and North Carolina, closed a plant in Raleigh, let go of around 22 workers at a Newport News Truss plant, and cut the size of the workforce at showrooms in… Read more »

Do looks matter in business?

The golfer Fuzzy Zoeller used to say that you gotta look good to feel good. There might be some truth in that. And it might also be smart business advice. There’s an interesting dialogue on the Freakonomics Blog about how appearance affects careers. BizSense has wanted to investigate this issue for months. One source told… Read more »

Pay the Toll

Everyone has done it. You’re driving along, minding your own business, trying to figure out that personalized license plate in front of you, and suddenly you realize that you’re about to come to a toll. Without thinking, your arm extends and your hand shoots down into your combination ash tray / coin tray…empty. Scrambling, you… Read more »

How to use MySpace

Someone asked for info on how to use a Myspace page, so here you go: Myspace is free, so anyone with an email address can create a page. After a local business registers with an email and some contact info, they can reach thousands of potential customers in their area. But it takes time to… Read more »

The brief history of our Wikipedia page

BizSense had a Wikipedia page, then lost a Wikipedia page within two minutes. I’ve always been a fan of the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. It’s free and always up to date. To edit on Wikipedia, you need a free account. So I signed up. I tried to keep our Wiki page objective and… Read more »

More crime against businesses

On Tuesday posted a story about the rising crime against businesses. Now the T-D is reporting that two downtown businesses were robbed at gun-point yesterday. “Two men robbed the Limited Edition store at 302 Goshen St., near Virginia Commonwealth University, at about 12:25 p.m.,” writes Michael Martz. At about 4 p.m. yesterday, a man and… Read more »