Interesting Facts

According to research by the social mobility and child poverty commission, old-fashioned snobbery is alive and kicking in the UK. (Elite British companies are thwarting the career prospects of talented working-class applicants and recruiting applicants from public schools because of their accents and mannerisms. The commission examined recruitment at 13 elite law, accountancy and financial companies who between them appoint 45,000 of the top jobs in the country. It found that 70% of jobs offered by those firms in 2014 went to applicants from public or selective schools, even though such schools only educate around 11% of the population. I'm not in the least surprised, but it's their loss. If you are talented, but turned down for a job because you aren't "posh" enough, open your own company, and put them out of business in a few years.) !Note - A public school is a private school in the UK.  I went to a state school. Source

According to research carried out by Holiday Inn in the UK, over 80% of business people say that the biscuit selection at a meeting could influence the outcome. (Their survey found the most popular choices were chocolate digestives, shortbread and Hobnobs. I feel quite proud of myself, because when I was teaching in the "real world" I always offered digestives and HobNobs and the occasional homemade shortbread to my students. No wonder my classes were popular.)

According to a survey of business people in the UK, 2 biscuits is the polite quantity to eat. (Any more could be considered greedy.  Oh dear, it sounds like a calorie counter worked on this one. Update: A recent Times report placed this biscuit etiquette (or biscuiquette) at 2 and a half biscuits, but IMHO leaving half a biscuit would be rude and wasteful.  Maybe if there are 5 biscuits and 2 people, then maybe you can cut the spare bikky in half.)

Gangster Al Capone had business cards that listed him as a used furniture dealer. (He really did try to develop an air of respectability and lived in a modest house in a middle-class Chicago neighbourhood with his wife and son, his mother and siblings. He even told neighbours that he was a second hand furniture dealer. I guess you never really know who lives next to you, or what they get up to in their sheds.)

A study by Cranfield School of Management has found that the number of women directors on top company boards has increased to a record 15%, but it is still well below a target of 25% set by the British Government. (There are now 141 women holding 163 board seats in FTSE 100 firms, while the number of companies with no women board members has fallen to 11, but when you cast a wider net, 89% of FTSE 350 firms still have no female board representation. That said, the percentage of board members in 1999 was 6.9%,  so we are making some progress.)

Sean Quinn, once Ireland’s richest man, was declared bankrupt today at the High Court in Belfast. (The former billionaire was the boss of a manufacturing and insurance business empire, but he now allegedly owes €2.8bn to Anglo Irish Bank, which makes this bankruptcy one of the biggest of its kind ever made in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. Welcome to the 99% Mr Quinn.) #99%

According to the Female Directors Report 2007, the number of female directorships in Britain has broken through the one million mark (1,008,343 to be exact) for the first time. (This means that around 28% of directors in the UK are now female. We've still got a little way to go then.)

powered by ODEO According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 66% of British employees do not trust senior management. (I'm surprised it's so low! That means 34% of British employees are trusting little souls.)

UPS, the worlds biggest package carrier, delivers more than 13 million items daily. (In 2006 they delivered 3.9 billion packages and their revenue was $47.5 billion. Funnily enough I couldn't find any statistics to show how many they lost.)

According to the New York Times US Airways makes $10 million a year by advertising on tray tables and napkins in their airplanes. (I wonder how much they charge to advertise on their sick bags?)

Half of all business deals in the world are conducted in English. (No wonder there is so much interest in learning Business English! Ah well keeps me in work.)