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Here are five choice articles from the business press to start off your work week. I'm pointing you to articles about Tupperware, retailing, collaborative innovation, democracy at work, and a world free from annual performance reviews.

From Insead: Tupperware: a party somewhere every two seconds
"Say “Tupperware” to anyone over 40 and you conjure up visions of 1950s American housewives gathered together at someone’s home for a chance to test and buy airtight, plastic food containers. Passe, right? Wrong. Today, 60 years after the company was founded by inventor Earl Silas Tupper of New Hampshire, Tupperware’s revenues grew to $2.2 billion in 2008 and the sales force (of more than 2.4 million) has gone global, holding Tupperware parties in more than 100 countries, some of them as far from the US as India, France, China and Brazil."

Wally's Comment: This is a great profile. Think about how companies like Tupperware and Avon are more than just merchants in many of the countries where they now do business. They're also a means for people to create their own business and improve their circumstances.

From Business Week: The Hard Sell for Retailers
"U.S. consumers at nearly every income level and spending stratum have pulled back over the past year, trading down from department stores to discounters or delaying purchases altogether. According to one poll, 60% of Americans say they're wearing clothes several times between washes to cut cleaning costs. And 72% say they now haggle before they buy some items, up from 56% two years ago, says C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group."

Wally's Comment: Business Week wonders if retailers will have to "re-train" consumers so they won't be so price sensitive. I wonder about something else. During this recession, many retailers have eliminated sales positions to save money. In others, automated scheduling systems that treat everyone the same have caused top salespeople to look elsewhere for opportunity. For many retailers we could be heading for a replay of what happened at Circuit City after they cut their quality sales staff to boost the bottom line quickly.

From Industry Week: Collaborative Innovation
"Collaborative innovation -- a strategy in which manufacturers and retailers partner to create compelling consumer product and service offerings-can help manufacturers and retailers increase their sales and profitability by 15% to 20%. However, the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry has been slower than other business sectors to adopt this practice. The issue is not lack of awareness but rather a limited ability to execute."

Wally's Comment: This is an especially good read because it gets at some of the tactical reasons that both manufacturers and retailers are reluctant to work together on product improvement projects. It also teases out some of the cultural issues at work.

From the Financial Post: Democracy at work
"'Kitchens have traditionally been very autocratic,' says Scott Pratico, executive chef and partner of Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House, a popular Vancouver restaurant. 'There's a reason they call kitchen brigade 'brigades.' I've come up through that system so I know what it's like to have to check in your brain at the door and not think. It stifles talent.'"

Wally's Comment: I'm convinced that a people-friendly and productive workplace can only exist where people are treated like people, not like interchangeable parts or "resources." Most likely that will happen first in smaller companies. Here's the story of one.

From the NY Times: Imagining a World of No Annual Reviews
 "Imagining a World of No Annual Reviews Carol Bartz, the chief executive of Yahoo, says that immediate feedback is important for employees."

Wally's Comment: This is the best interview I've seen on the performance appraisal process that almost everyone hates. One reason, besides the fact that Carol Bartz gives a great interview, is that fact that she discusses why immediate feedback is usually more effective and why that means that the annual performance appraisal dance comes up short.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.