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By Times Staff Writer
Published October 2, 2007

Study: cool it with personal items at work

How much is too much when it comes to decorating your work space with personal items? The answer: About 22 percent, according to researchers at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. They found if a worker has more than one in five items in their cubicle that are personal in nature, co-workers may view that worker as unprofessional. "It goes back to a long cultural tradition in this country of dividing our personal and professional lives," said Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, an assistant professor of management and organizations. Employees can improve their professional image, he said, by balancing off all their children's crayon drawings and family photos and sports memorabilia with about 80 percent more staplers, file folders and calculators. Clocks and potted plants fall in the neutral category along with landscape paintings.

Wal-Mart online drops help line

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, eliminated the toll-free customer service number for its Web site after expanding online order-tracking. Walmart.com removed its 800-line for online orders last week, spokeswoman Amy Colella said Monday. "We believe the new online self-help tool provides a more immediate resolution to our customers, and lessens the need for calls to our customer-service center," she said. Wal-Mart still maintains a toll-free line for questions regarding individual stores.

Yahoo revs up search engine

Yahoo Inc. has retooled its online search engine to make it more helpful and engaging, joining an industrywide wave of improvements that so far haven't dented Google Inc.'s dominance. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company regards the upgrade to be announced today as the most significant change to its search engine since it reclaimed control of the underlying technology nearly 3 1/2 years ago. "Is this (upgrade) going to be very important in terms of market share? I'm not so sure. But it probably will help them in terms of mind share," said Standard & Poor's equity analyst Scott Kessler.

Boxing rematch: thrilla on the grilla

Evander Holyfield once defeated George Foreman in a battle for the world heavyweight boxing title. Now he is seeking to oust his former foe from another arena: the grilling world. Holyfield is preparing to unveil the Evander Holyfield Real Deal Grill, a direct competitor to Foreman's famous Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine, which has reportedly earned $100-million in sales since 1995. Manufacturer CirTran Corp., based in Utah, approached Holyfield about promoting the $99 grill after he appeared on Dancing With the Stars in 2005.

[Last modified October 1, 2007, 23:54:03]