Latest news with #private sector
Bloomberg
17 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Firms Add 104,000 Jobs in ADP Data, More Than Forecast
By Updated on Save US companies stepped up hiring in July after a sharp pullback in the previous month, though the pace remained consistent with weaker labor demand. Private-sector payrolls increased by 104,000, according to ADP Research data released Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 76,000 gain.
Forbes
17 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Three Steps To Empower Organizational Agility
Elaine Pulakos, Ph.D., is CEO of PDRI by Pearson, and an internationally recognized contributor to the field of I/O psychology. In today's volatile business landscape, organizational agility has become essential. In the first part of this series, I outlined the six critical traits an employee needs for agility: resilience, creative problem-solving, adaptability, continuous learning, interpersonal savvy and cultural versatility. However, even when an organization hires the nimblest employees, this alone is insufficient to develop agility within teams and organizations. Contrary to popular belief, agility doesn't emerge from chaos. Rather, agility thrives only when certain organizational conditions exist to support it. This was the key finding from the Agility Project, which my colleagues and I published in Consulting Psychology Journal in 2019. We studied 300 companies globally, large and small, in the public and private sectors, across a broad spectrum of industries. The Agility Project found that agile organizations do things differently from others, and the benefits are substantial. For instance, we found that agile organizations achieved a 150% higher return on invested capital and a 500% higher return on equity. Three conditions rise above the rest as essential for building agility: creating stability, rightsizing teamwork and empowering self-correcting teams. 1. Creating Stability The most important—and paradoxical—condition for agility is stability. Teams and organizations simply cannot be agile if they are not stable first. Leaders build stability by doing five essential things: When priorities shift weekly or remain ambiguous, employees waste valuable time working to determine what matters most. Effective leaders articulate business priorities clearly and reinforce them consistently, which enables teams to make rapid, aligned decisions when responding to change. Leaders must systematically identify and eliminate obstacles that prevent employees from getting things done. Examples include outdated tools that force employees to devote mental energy to navigating systems rather than accomplishing work and overly complex processes that create friction and slow response times. How organizations handle failure dramatically affects agility. When employees fear punishment for unsuccessful initiatives, innovation stagnates because everyone is afraid to take even reasonable risks. Forward-thinking leaders look for opportunities in failure and treat these as essential components of agility. This doesn't mean denying reality. In fact, dishonest positivity breeds cynicism that undermines trust. The best approach is to transparently acknowledge difficulties while focusing on pathways forward. This helps maintain morale while harnessing the organization's problem-solving energy. Amid economic headwinds, organizations often cut staff without fully considering the impacts on those remaining and how destabilizing this can be. It is important to balance the resources with the work requirements. Otherwise, people get burned out and mistakes occur, which undermines agility. 2. Rightsizing Teamwork The second important condition for agility is rightsizing teamwork. Instead of assuming that teamwork is always good, the most agile organizations approach teamwork more judiciously by following three principles: This means carefully considering how much and what type of collaboration is optimal for the team's work. Some tasks require nothing more than doing a piece of work independently and handing it off to the next person. Other tasks require people with different skills, such as a critical care team, to coordinate extensively with each other and adjust together to provide optimal care. Defining what teamwork means in each situation helps avoid overdoing it. This starts with valuing people's time and is accomplished by keeping meetings small and purpose-driven, cutting unnecessary rules and tasks and streamlining decision-making by letting individuals or majorities decide when appropriate. Teams should regularly review how they work to ensure it's efficient and adjust as needed. In times of rapid change, team members must be empowered to manage collaboration wisely. This is accomplished by giving people permission to say no to unnecessary teamwork, prioritize enough individual focus time and be intentional about whether meetings are truly needed. Leaders model this kind of efficient collaboration by setting clear meeting goals, encouraging opt-outs when contributions aren't needed and ending meetings early when possible. 3. Empowering Self-Correcting Teams The most agile organizations have cultures in which people feel encouraged and secure enough to raise performance issues when they occur and to work together with team members to quickly resolve them, without finger-pointing or blame. These self-correcting teams are built by doing three things: Teams thrive when they're empowered to openly address what's not working, supported by leaders who foster trust and psychological safety. This requires understanding people's natural defensive reactions when things go wrong and encouraging problem-solving rather than unproductive blame. Leaders enable this by modeling constructive responses to issues, listening openly to concerns and creating a culture where raising issues is valued and rewarded. Tracking clear, objective metrics helps teams spot issues early, reduce emotional reactions and focus on problem-solving. The right metrics—simple, shared and tied to both processes and outcomes—enable real-time insight and keep teams aligned and proactive about what is working and what isn't. The complexity of work today often leads to misdiagnosing issues by jumping to quick, surface-level conclusions and missing root causes. Slowing down and using structured methods like the "Five Whys" helps teams identify root causes of issues. Leaders can support this by encouraging deeper analysis and leveraging tools that support continuous improvement. The Leadership Imperative Agility is vital for organizational survival in uncertain times like these. And while it's critical to hire employees with the traits that confer agility, ultimately, it's management practices that determine whether this potential is realized to create agile, high-performing teams and organizations. Companies need to train their leaders to build the conditions for agility: creating stability, rightsizing teamwork and empowering self-correcting teams. Leaders who focus on these things will create environments where agility can flourish, transforming uncertainty from a threat into a competitive advantage. Forbes Human Resources Council is an invitation-only organization for HR executives across all industries. Do I qualify?
Arab News
3 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan projects July inflation at 3.5-4.5% as price pressures ease
KARACHI: Pakistan's finance ministry on Monday projected consumer inflation for July to remain in a 3.5-4.5% range, citing stable prices and improved supply conditions, as price pressures ease further after the previous fiscal year's sharp decline. Inflation stood at 3.2% in June, the ministry said in its monthly economic report, while average inflation for the fiscal year ending June 30 dropped to 4.49%, a nine-year low, from 23.4% the year before. Pakistan's fiscal year begins on July 1. The ministry said the economy is expected to sustain its recovery in the early months of fiscal year 2026, underpinned by an improved macroeconomic backdrop and growing investor confidence. Large-scale manufacturing likely maintained momentum in June, supported by rising private sector credit offtake and expanding production activity, the report said. The rebound is expected to lift imports of raw materials and intermediate goods, while aiding value-added exports, it added. Strengthening domestic demand, a stable exchange rate, and steady global commodity prices were also likely to boost exports, remittances and imports in July, reinforcing external sector stability, the ministry said. However, it warned that recent heavy rains could pose risks to agricultural output and supply chains, potentially impacting the inflation outlook in the coming months. Since June 26, rain- and flood-related incidents have killed at least 266 people and injured more than 630 nationwide, according to the National Disaster Management Authority, adding that 1,557 houses had been destroyed.
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
2025 Country Report on Cameroon: the African Development Bank urges the country to strengthen capital mobilization for sustainable growth
The African Development Bank Group ( officially launched its 2025 Country Report on Cameroon in Yaoundé on 22 July 2025. The launch ceremony featured frank and wide-ranging discussions on the country's economic challenges. Country reports form part of the African Development Bank's African Economic Outlook 2025 which provides an annual assessment of the economic performance and outlook of the continent's 54 countries by examining growth trends, socio-economic challenges, and development progress. The 2025 AEO report was released last May during the Bank Group's Annual Meetings held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, under the theme 'Maximizing Africa's Capital for Sustainable Development. "Making Cameroon's Capital Work Better for its Development," highlights the levers that will enable the country to strengthen domestic resource mobilization and boost inclusive and resilient growth. It calls on the government, the private sector, civil society, and development and financial partners to collectively re the drivers of the country's structural transformation. The ceremony was attended by members of the Cameroonian government, notably representatives from the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Trade as well as the business sector. The report paints a picture of an economy in recovery, with estimated growth of 3.6 percent in 2024, mainly by continued investment in infrastructure and strong momentum in manufacturing industries, which have benefited from efforts to transform local agricultural and textile products. The country paper relies on a detailed analysis to identify sectors where Cameroon can make progress, particularly in mobilizing domestic resources, strengthening governance, improving the business climate, digitalization and optimizing its natural capital potential. The report also identifies several priority reforms to enable Cameroon to transform its potential into concrete growth drivers, including reducing tax exemptions and accelerating digitalization, restructuring strategic public corporations, particularly in the energy and refining sectors. Report findings also stress the importance of strengthening governance, transparency and the rule of law through greater accountability and the publication of the financial statements of public corporations. This includes the need to adopt the National Integrated Financing Strategy (SNFI) to diversify funding sources and leverage carbon market opportunities. Consolidating the financial sector, processing commodities locally and developing regional infrastructure round out the list of priorities. Finally, the report calls for preserving macroeconomic balances by gradually reducing fuel price subsidies at the pump while supporting investment spending, prioritizing concessional financing, accelerating development in insecure areas and strengthening budgetary capacity to better absorb shocks. Ameth Saloum Ndiaye, African Development Bank Senior Country Economist for Cameroon and Godwill Kan Tange, Country Economist for Cameroon, presented the report's main findings. They emphasized the report's concrete proposals to optimize the use of budgetary resources, as well as the country's natural, human and financial capital, with a view to stimulating more inclusive and sustainable growth. The presentation also explored key issues such as public corporation reform, governance, debt management, industrial development, vocational training and the challenges of mobilizing innovative financing, as well as sovereign debt ratings for African economies. "The African Development Bank Group commends the Cameroonian authorities for their commitment to implementing a National Integrated Financing Strategy, which is currently being adopted and should enable the country to diversify financing sources for its development agenda. This means that the report is fully aligned with the government's priorities," said Mamadou Tangara, Head of Operations, speaking on behalf of the Bank's Director General for Central Africa. The Secretary General of Cameroon's Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Jean Tchoffo, representing the Bank's Governor for Cameroon, welcomed the Bank's recommendations, which are aligned with the National Development Strategy 2030 (SND30). "This report comes at a key moment, as we are conducting a mid-term review of the implementation of our National Development Strategy 2020-2030,' Tchoffo said. 'We are convinced that its recommendations will enrich our thinking and strengthen our efforts to return to solid, sustainable and inclusive growth and accelerate the structural transformation of our economy." Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan–Syria economic ties enter new phase of cooperation, poised for growth
AMMAN — Economic experts highlighted a growing shift in Jordan's economic relationship with Syria, marked by greater openness, deeper integration and a renewed commitment to cooperation based on mutual interests. They said that Jordan is well-positioned to play a strategic role in Syria's post-conflict reconstruction, contingent on stronger institutional cooperation, activated economic diplomacy, and the effective execution of bilateral agreements. Jordan's comparative advantages, they note, make it a capable partner in Syria's development journey. The experts also emphasised the critical role of Jordan's private sector in driving forward this new economic dynamic, particularly through sustainable investments and strategic partnerships that contribute to wider regional recovery, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Government initiatives—such as upgrading infrastructure at border crossings and streamlining customs procedures have already yielded positive results for trade movement. The Jaber Border Crossing, a key land link between the two countries, is undergoing major expansion, including new, fully equipped arrival and departure halls. This upgrade is part of a broader strategy to improve border services in response to rising traveler volumes. In a further sign of progress, Jordan and Syria recently signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a High Coordination Council, which held its first meeting in Damascus. The session produced an actionable roadmap focused on both short- and long-term objectives that serve the shared interests of both nations, Petra reported. Meanwhile, the Jordanian–Syrian Economic and Trade Committee convened to discuss cooperation in key sectors including transportation, agriculture, customs, metrology, food and drug regulation, industrial zones, and free trade areas. President of the Jordanian Businessmen Association Hamdi Tabbaa emphasised Jordan's readiness to contribute to Syria's reconstruction as the country enters a phase of stability. He highlighted Jordan's unique assets, such as its skilled workforce and advanced infrastructure, which enable it to fill critical gaps in Syria's recovering economy. Tabbaa identified key sectors poised for cross-border engagement, including human capital development, IT, education, healthcare, banking, and business management. He noted that Jordanian expertise is widely respected for its efficiency and professionalism, particularly in administrative, educational, and medical services, Petra reported. He also pointed to Jordan's advanced digital infrastructure as an opportunity for IT and software firms to operate in or with Syria via joint platforms. "Jordan's banking system, with its regulatory strength and financial stability, could play a major role in facilitating reconstruction financing and credit access," he added. On higher education, Tabbaa said that Jordan could meet Syria's increasing demand for training and skills development, thereby deepening bilateral ties. He also stressed that Jordan's private sector has demonstrated resilience and adaptability in regional markets and is now well-positioned to take on a leadership role in enhancing economic cooperation with Syria, through trade, investment, and long-term development partnerships. President of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry Fathi Jaghbir stressed that Jordan–Syria economic ties are entering a new era of openness and collaboration, driven by regional momentum and mutual determination to overcome longstanding obstacles. 'This shift is evident in the recent wave of meetings, forums, and business events, underscoring both governments' and private sectors' readiness to position Jordan as a key partner in Syria's recovery,' he told Petra. He also cited a more than 400 per cent increase in Jordanian exports to Syria in the first third of 2025, reaching JD72 million, clear evidence of growing bilateral trade. Jaghbir also said that this trade expansion is backed by the reopening of the Jaber crossing, active participation in joint industrial exhibitions, and strong Jordanian representation at Syria-focused trade fairs, where demand for Jordanian goods is notably high. He highlighted infrastructure, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, engineering, and energy as key export sectors. Demand is also growing for Jordanian products that meet specific technical and medical standards, as well as for consumer goods, food, and building supplies such as cement, pipes, and electrical equipment. Head of the ICT Sector at the Jordan Chamber of Commerce Haitham Rawajbeh said Jordanian tech firms are well-prepared to support Syria's digital transformation. He stressed Syria's potential as a priority market for Jordanian ICT companies, advocating for strategic partnerships between startups and digital ventures from both countries. 'There is substantial Syrian interest in Jordanian software, cybersecurity, and tech solutions,' he noted, adding that Jordan's proximity and strong private sector ties make it a natural tech partner. Rawajbeh also said that preparations were underway to launch a Jordan–Syria Tech Business Forum aimed at deepening cooperation in digital services and innovation. President of the Association of Freight Forwarders and Customs Clearance Companies Dhefallah Abu Aqoula, described Syria as a promising growth market for Jordan, particularly as bilateral coordination intensifies. He pointed to improved infrastructure and customs reforms as key enablers of increased trade, especially through the Nasib crossing, which connects Jordan to Syria and Lebanon. Abu Aqoula reported a strong rise in truck traffic during the first half of 2025, a sign of Jordan's growing role as a logistics hub. He emphasised that more efficient border operations have reduced costs and improved the competitiveness of Jordanian exports. He also noted that Jordan's customs and logistics sectors are well-equipped to contribute to Syria's reconstruction, especially amid a stabilising regional environment that is creating new openings for trade and investment. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
