When I saw the trailers for The Crooked Man I, like many others, questioned if it was a genuine feature flick and not some Hellboy fan film. It seemed to crop up out of nowhere with zero hype, an unknown cast and an apparently miniscule budget. Encouragingly, though, director Brian Taylor had the blessing of…
Reuters”I didn’t go to drama school, I didn’t get the opportunity to… there may be barriers to entry to that sort of thing,” says east London actress Naomi Scott.
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The cost of conducting business in Bangladesh is rising dramatically due to rising logistics expenses, which is discouraging both domestic and foreign businesses. In order to improve financial planning, stakeholders are requesting that the government lay out predictable spending for each sector.
According to company executives, investors find it challenging to make precise cost estimates due to the unpredictability of logistical costs. They are demanding that the National Logistics Policy 2024 be implemented effectively, which includes creating a specific authority to locate and remove operational bottlenecks.
Bangladesh is ranked 88th out of 139 nations in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index 2023, underscoring the ongoing difficulties in this crucial industry. Among these difficulties, issues pertaining to customs are noted as a major barrier to effective logistics operations.
According to experts, mapping logistics expenses by sector may assist reduce inefficiencies and corruption in service delivery. Bangladesh’s high logistics costs, which currently account for between 24 and 40 percent of sales, stand in sharp contrast to those of its neighbours, where logistics costs are less than 10 percent. According to a 2019 World Bank study, logistical expenses in Bangladesh vary widely, accounting for 4.5% of leather footwear sales. Interestingly, a significant amount of these expenditures are related to moving inventory, with road transport accounting for the majority of logistical activities.
With the RMG industry a key part of Bangladesh’s economy, controlling costs in logistics will ultimately lead to controlling costing issues with RMG companies whose products are often exported. With logistics costs under control, RMG companies will be better able to maintain quality standards for global customers.
With average wait periods of 4 days for export containers and 11 days for imports, the situation at Chittagong Port makes matters worse. Lowering these wait times may result in considerable savings on logistics expenses.
Simplifying logistics operations and implementing the National Logistics Policy 2024 successfully are crucial for drawing in foreign investment, increasing exports, and fostering the nation’s sustained economic growth, according to business leaders and policymakers.
THERE are few players who are more worthy of an overdue slice of good fortune on the EFL circuit than Huddersfield Town striker Bojan Radulovic.Michael Duff’s assertion that the former Serbian Under-19 international has had a ‘difficult year’ is putting it mildly.The fact that Radulovic was plunged head first into a relegation fight when he joined at the start of January from Finnish outfit HJK Helsinki – having signed while he was partway through a winter break in Scandinavia – suggested that things might not be straightforward with the benefit of hindsight.It seldom is when you arrive at a team down among the dead men in mid-season.Huddersfield Town striker Bojan Radulovic challenges Barnsley rival Matthew Craig in the recent League One Yorkshire derby at the John Smith’s Stadium. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.In his first home start in early February, he got a crack in the face which left him decidedly groggy and he had to be substituted, while fitness and form issues exacerbated the Spanish-born forward’s early difficulties.When the season ended and Town contemplated life in the third tier, there was talk that the club might cut their losses and elect to move on Radulovic.His plight did not end there either. A groin injury suffered in pre-season left him behind the eight-ball in his quest to prove himself to Duff. To top things off, he was also having difficulty in settling in Huddersfield.Many in Radulovic’s shoes would have pushed for a return to the continent – and the fact that he has got his head down instead is all power to him. Now, he needs a goal or two. If he does that shortly, then an uplifting story might just start to germinate. Everyone loves a good comeback story.Radulovic said: “It was unfinished business for me and when I got the chance to come here, I wanted to prove myself in my second time here (in England).“It wasn’t easy in every aspect of my life when I came in. I didn’t have much to do and it was a bit boring to be honest (where he resided).“I have been living alone and with my girlfriend (sometimes). Sometimes, different friends came up here. My family are still in Spain. My mum would like to come here, but she’s afraid of flying, so she’s fighting with herself a bit.“This season has been different. Ok, I got the injury, but now I am back on the pitch and strong and ready and I’ve moved to a different city. It’s much better. It’s not about in the first setback that you just want to give up. There was no chance to do that and it was ‘ok, I’m here, let’s do our best and get it to work.’”The importance of life away from the pitch and a player being settled is something that is not lost upon Duff either. A more settled player surely makes for a more successful one, after all. Or certainly increases the chances of that transpiring.Duff continued: “It’s silly little things. He was renting virtually an Airbnb from week to week as he didn’t know what’s going on (in the close season).“The fact that the window has now closed and he’s now renting a place, (means) he’s settled. Now, he’s fit and every day, he is starting to look sharper and sharper and hopefully the player that the club signed.“In the summer, I don’t know whether there was a bit of noise where he thought he was leaving or didn’t think he was leaving or whatever, but he missed a massive chunk of pre-season. We’re starting to get him fit and he gets injured again after scoring a hat-trick for the B team and then the window closes. But the beauty of that is ‘right, we need to work together’.”The ‘unfinished business’ that Radulovic mentioned refers to his previous time in England at Brighton, who saw off competition from Spurs in early 2018 to sign the forward – recommended by then Belgium boss Roberto Martinez – from Spanish outfit Lleida.Radulovic found it hard to settle and spent two loan spells back in Spain before joining Swedish outfit AIK.As tough as it was, Radulovic remembers being appreciative of the support of one Albion legend in his time in Sussex, who is likely to be rooting for him in the blue and white of Huddersfield in his second chance in England.Radulovic said: “When I went to Brighton as a young kid, I’d never been abroad. In that moment, it was really tough for me, not knowing zero English.“I was completely lost and Bruno Salter was the one who was helping me a lot. He’s from Spain as well and played in Lleida, my city as well.“He’s a legend there and for me it was ‘wow, Bruno was helping me’. It was like a dream because I never imagined him helping me.”
In this new era of girl bosses and women in leadership positions, the traditional businesses as we know it, are up for a major overhaul. Driven with high emotional quotient, women entrepreneurs are redefining archaic practices, dissolving rigid hierarchies to open floodgates of innovation, collaboration and of course, growth!
AdvertismentThe 2021 report by EdelGive Foundation certainly supports the same. While looking at women-run businesses in different countries, the report highlighted that entrepreneurial ventures with women at their helm in India are expected to witness a 90% growth in the coming 5 years when compared to the US and the UK.
In fact, before this, a 2018 report by Global Leadership Forecast had indicated 1.4X the most sustained and profitable growth for businesses where women comprise 30% of the leadership.
Thus, women in leadership are directly contributing to the bottom line and financial growth of organisations. This invokes a curious thought! What is it about women in leadership that enables them to achieve better, more significant results. What is the special edge and unique competencies that women leaders bring to the organisations that create better outcomes? Let’s take a deep dive into the same and demystify ways in which women leaders are revolutionising the idea of running a business!
Leading with empathy!
Women in leadership positions have been able to successfully blend empathy with strategic decision-making. They recognise that success is not merely numbers or profit margins, but instead, successful businesses are built by people and relationships. And so, we have businesses prioritising mental health, creating a more supportive and inclusive environment, having open-door policies and flat hierarchies, where each employee feels seen, their unique perspectives & voices heard. How does that convert to the bottom line? With new and unique ideas and problem-solving approaches! Marketing campaigns that truly speak to the masses without offending any section of the society or inviting backlash or boycotts! Unique solutions that are better in touch with the ground reality and solves real-world problems.The same empathy gets extended to customer relations as well. Instead of viewing customers are mere transactions, they become long-time partners in the growth of the business. This shift ensures not only long-term loyalty but also the evolution of business, with new and innovative solutions to continue to solve real-world problems faced by its customers.
Redefining Work-Life Balance
AdvertismentHaving known first-hand the struggles of meeting all the demands put on them, women in leadership positions are redefining the entire notion of hustle culture and severe burnouts that have otherwise become an integral part of traditional businesses. We, the women in business, are proudly pushing for more holistic approach to leadership, one that values mental health, personal fulfilment, and sustainable work practices.And thus, we have businesses embracing flexible work options, more open to remote work options, and a range of policies that support working parents. These new models allow for employees and leaders to thrive in a fast-paced and challenging world. As per several industry studies and reports, when employees feel that their organisations understand and support work-life balance, they are like to be more productive, creative, and loyal to their organisations.
Collaboration Over Competition
For decades, the burgeoning business landscape has been viewed with a reductive “zero-sum lens” – where the gains of one company meant less for the other. Women in business leadership has completely overhauled this notion. As it is said, incredible things happen when women support each other! And today, we see an incredible rise in women-led mentoring programs, and industry-wide networking events, giving rise to unprecedented ways in which women are sharing resources, insights, social clout and more, in lifting each other. This gives rise to an ecosystem that is thriving and nurturing. More than just a feel-good factor, such collaborations have opened new markets and fostered and growth and innovation for businesses.
Thus, women leaders and entrepreneurs are not only redefining the traditional and primitive ways of doing business, they are also inspiring the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs to think differently! As we continue to break down the glass ceiling and wall, one innovation, one collaboration, one win at a time, the writing on the wall is clear: the future of business is female and it’s shining brighter than ever!
Authored by Yukti Nagpal, Director of Gulshan Group. Views expressed by the author are their own.
And, of course, The Nightmare Before Christmas is a timeless classic that beautifully blends Halloween and Christmas in a visually stunning musical masterpiece. Made by Henry Selick (Coraline) and Tim Burton, the film follows Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who is becoming bored of frightful festivities. When he stumbles upon Christmas Town, Jack decides to make Christmas his own, which leads to chaos. With its memorable characters, enchanting songs, and intricate stop-motion animation, this film is a perfect blend of spooky and festive, making it an essential watch for any Halloween or holiday celebration!
The Oelwein Chamber and Area Development hosted their 2024 Community Awards night at Transco Events on Frederick Wednesday evening during Business After Five commemorating the successful businesses in Oelwein and those that serve their community relentlessly.OCAD Executive Director Deb Howard opened the ceremony with a welcome to the new events center as attendees enjoyed dinner of soups, hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Sarah Lewis, events center committee member and OCAD board member and future president, gave an update as to happenings in the downtown corridor.Lewis gave thanks to all OCAD board members and recognized and thanked the Oelwein OCAD Ambassadors, typically known as the “Red Coats.” This group welcomes new businesses to Oelwein upon opening. Recently, the group has been quite busy, having multiple openings in the last two months alone.
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It was senior night at Bender Field on Friday and Meadville’s seniors had plenty to celebrate,Meadville defeated Warren 56-7 in a Region 6 matchup against Warren. The Bulldogs led 56-0 at halftime and allowed their junior varsity players to play the second half, which had quarters shortened to eight minutes. “We came out after a tough loss to General McLane last week and we wanted to get back and have some success,” Meadville head coach Ray Collins. “You want to show that you’ve shaken off the loss and see your kids execute and play hard and we did that. I was really happy with that.”
Meadville forced a three-and-out on Warren’s first drive. The ‘Dogs then scored on their first offensive play when AJ Feleppa hit a wide-open Amari Grenaway for a 43-yard pitch and catch. Shutting down Warren’s offense and scoring in just a few plays was a theme for Meadville. The Bulldogs scored four touchdowns in the first and second quarters. Warren managed a few first downs, but only got past half field on a drive aided by three Meadville penalties. “Warren is a young football team. It’s a group that’s struggling and trying to find their identity. So it was good in the sense that it got us back in the win column,” Collins said. “I am really happy for the seniors. These are guys that started their careers out 7, 8 years ago playing little gridders here. To see them play their final game on this field and for them to get a win and some individual success was good to see.”Jordan Lawrence, Bradyn Miller and Grenaway each scored a rushing touchdown in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Lawrence added another rushing touchdown and returned a fumble 21 yards for a score. Jacoby Thompson scored two touchdowns on the ground. In the half, Lawrence ran four times for 155 yards, Thompson three times for 45 yards and Miller three times for 37 yards. As a team, the starters averaged 20.75 yards per carry. Defensively, Landon Carter intercepted a pass. Meadville moved to 5-4 overall and 3-1 in region play with the win. The Bulldogs will play Erie, a Class 6A team, for a regular season finale on Friday. “I want to put together a good week of practice. This is the time of the year where it gets dark early, it’s cold out, I know open gyms for basketball start to whisper to the guys a little bit. But we have a lot of unfinished business left to take care of,” Collins said. “I’d like to see this season continue and the only way it’s going to is we have to continue to get better. We need head up to Erie, have a good showing up there and get a close win against a quality opponent so we know where we’re at going into the first week of November.” Warren 0 0 0 7 — 7Meadville 28 28 0 0 — 56First QuarterM — AJ Feleppa 43-yard pass to Amari Grenaway (Simon Farrelly-Jackson XP).
Absa Bank Ghana Limited has partnered with BEN Africa (Business Ethics Network Africa) to support the BEN Africa Conference, a leading ethics conference scheduled for November 2024. The conference will be hosted in Ghana, in collaboration with the Ghana Communications Technology University. The BEN Africa Conference, which was originally established at Nelson Mandela University Business…
SIU expands its global education reach by acquiring SDBS, which will improve online learning for students worldwide.
SIU has made a strategic move to acquire SDBS Swiss Distance Business School, with the obvious goal of expanding its active and premium online education services for students from around the world. It is in this broader vision of making learning flexible and accessible to meet today’s increasingly diverse student needs that SIU acquired the SDBS Swiss Distance Business School.
SDBS Swiss Distance Business School is regarded as one of the leading academies in the sphere of online business education. It develops the courses as an ideal instrument for all students seeking the necessary skills and core competencies to meet challenges within international business. It has been particularly successful in attracting working professionals, international students, and those in need of the flexibility that online learning can offer. With rich curriculum content hosted on state-of-the-art online platforms, SDBS has made sure that none of its students miss out on an excellent learning experience, irrespective of geographical location.
Swiss International University, accredited as an institution of higher learning by the Ministry of Justice in 2024, has grown rapidly into a dynamic force in global education. The university was created between 2024 and 2025 by the merger of several prestigious institutes and academies from different countries. Until now, the roots of SIU date back to 1999 when it took up the mission of providing quality higher education, accessible to students from all over the world regardless of geographical constraints.
This acquisition of SDBS Swiss Distance Business School is in line with the mission of SIU. SIU believes that with SDBS in its portfolio, online education reach will considerably rise upwards. More students can access the world-class programs of SIU both on campus and online. This widens the opportunities of SIU to offer high-class, personalized education to students from all over the world.
With this development, the SDBS has now become a part of SIU, opening up newer avenues for growth and innovation. The School will therefore enjoy better access to the extensive resources, worldwide network, and academic expertise that SIU has for expanding its offerings of programs to reach out to a greater number of students across the world. With this merger, SDBS will be well-positioned to play an active role in the aspiration of SIU to emerge as one of the leading providers of distance education.
The acquisition is a milestone for both organizations and testifies to the common commitment of both toward accessible, quality education. Being part of SIU, SDBS will continue operating under its highly recognized brand and benefit from the wider university’s strategic vision.
The acquisition of Swiss International University is another achievement in the work pursued by the SDBS Swiss Distance Business School for leadership in educational services on the international scene. SIU is a source of unrivaled education and will offer new learning opportunities-from traditional campus-based to innovative online programs-to students worldwide.