kikoman

I work in the legal department at a large corporation that's undergoing a big reorganization. As part of this reorganization, several attorneys may be reassigned, and I've been hopeful that I will get a promotion in the same business unit of the company where I'm currently working. Many of the executives are backing me strongly for this promotion, as I've earned their respect through years of hard work. The problem is that I was just approached by the company's top attorney with a strong suggestion that I consider rotating to a different part of the company, in the same geographic area but with a portfolio of work that is less interesting to me and a reputation for having a challenging set of executives and programs. It was presented to me as a way for me to develop professionally (it is a promotion to a higher job classification) and not something I had to accept, but I can't shake the feeling that this rotational assignment could prove to be a professional dead end for me and not the best use of my skill set. I also worry that I'm being maneuvered away from my current business unit to clear the way to promote someone else, whom the executives would block if I were still in contention for the position. But if I resist this strong nudge to accept the rotation, would I be perceived as putting my own interests above those of the company and not a team player/company man?

Much has been said about the care Coke takes to protect its Coca Cola Classic formula as a trade secret. And this business strategy seems to have been successful in preventing a competitor from exactly replicating its winning taste. But why is it that scientists cannot reverse engineer Coke Classic's secret formula through mass spectroscopy or some other scientific process that identifies all of the components. After all, it can't really be that complicated, can it?

I've been working for the same boss for five years. I have four colleagues with the same job title (and more seniority) who also report to him. During this time, my workload has increased threefold while my colleagues' has decreased. This unbalanced work load has been caused both by a reorganization of the business units and my strong performance. My business unit is now the largest and most demanding by far. Because of my boss's concern for maintaining parity in titles and compensation, he expects me to take on this additional workload without any corresponding increase in salary or progression in title. When I suggested that we bring on a junior worker to assist me, he said there is no money in the budget and that a junior person couldn't handle the work. I'm trying to figure out the best way to raise my concern and plant the seed for a raise or promotion while still seeming professional and like a good team player. Any suggestions for how to approach my boss?

I'm interested in purchasing the iPod + Nike sensor to track my running pace but don't like the current Nike shoes that are designed to hold the sensor. Does anyone have experience using the sensor with non-compatable shoes by attaching it to the laces with a key-holder? If so, have you noticed any accuracy problems?

Aside from the cover art, the title an author chooses for a novel may be the most important selling point for impulse buyers. So I'm interested in your thoughts on which book titles you find most catchy and what makes them so.

I find that the big publishers are increasingly unwilling to take chances on novels that don't fall squarely in an existing genre, resulting in a disappointing degree of homogeneity in the titles populating our bookstrores. I'm a reviewer interested in any recommendations for high quality fiction (well-written and edited) that has been published outside these mainstream channels.

I just read an interesting book called The Champion Maker. It analyses the question of what is fair in athletic competition from a completely different angle. Say a person was bestowed, at the time of conception, with genetic advantages that happened to make him a superior athlete. Is he any more of a "cheater" than someone born with superior genes?