A good joke could pay off when asking for a raise

When it comes to asking for a raise, it could pay to have a sense of humor.

As unlikely as it sounds, a recent study from the University of Idaho suggests that when asking for a raise the best approach is to shoot the moon -- but do it with a wink. Psychology professor Todd Thorsteinson found that people requesting implausibly high raises ended up with 9 to 10 percent more on average than those who didn't.

Thorsteinson took 206 college students and asked them to determine the starting salary of a hypothetical administrative assistant who was well qualified and had previously earned $29,000.

Candidates who facetiously asked for $100,000 were given $35,523 on average. Those who simply asked for what they thought was reasonable got an average of $32,463, the Harvard Business Review reports.

Thorsteinson suggested that “mentioning an extreme figure in jest can set a high ‘anchor’ for the final offer while minimizing negative reactions from the employer.”

Dickey's Barbecue Pit opening Friday in Idaho Falls

Dickey's Barbecue Pit on 17th Street will be opening Friday at 11 a.m., and in observance of the occasion will be giving the first 100 customers free pulled pork big barbecue sandwiches.

"We are happy to be in Idaho Falls and the community is extremely excited for us to open," said local franchise owner Deanne Wilkins, who operates the restaurant with her husband, Bob. The new location is 2,000 square feet and located at 2090 East 17th Street, just west of the Grand Teton Mall and next door to Fiesta Ole.

Bob Wilkins is a business partner of the Dickey's in St. George, Utah. He and DeAnne are currently looking for a site for another location in Pocatello.

Customers are encouraged to check out the Facebook page at facebook.com/DickeysIdahoFalls. On Feb. 6, one lucky Facebook fan will win a $100 Dickey's gift card.

Texas-based Dickey's Barbecue Pit opened in 1941 and began franchising in 1994. It currently has 206 locations in 36 states nationwide.

INL offers virtual tours through mobile app

In concert with National Nuclear Science Week, the Idaho National Laboratory has launched a mobile app that allows smart phone and tablet users to see what goes on at the lab without investing all the time and expense it would take for an on-site tour.

The idea is to give university and industry representatives, government leaders, and members of the public a new, visually compelling means of finding out what kind of nuclear energy research goes on at the INL.

"Time is a precious resource for all of us," said Harold McFarlane, interim associate laboratory director for Nuclear Science and Technology. "By making this comprehensive app available, we're able to save time and money for our own staff and more importantly, that of prospective research partners and industry representatives who need to know in real time if we've got the assets and abilities they're looking for to develop, test and prove their theses and technologies."

Taking the virtual tour is as simple as loading the free mobile app onto your smartphone or tablet from one of several locations. Currently, the app can be viewed from http://nuclearapp.inl.gov using a browser like Apple Safari or Google Chrome. The Google Chrome frame plug-in makes the app viewable on Internet Explorer as well.

A native Android app for tablets is available on the Android Market, while efforts continue on development of native Android smartphone and Apple iOS apps. A condensed version of the app is available in flipbook form at http://www.inl.gov/publications/the-national-nuclear-laboratory.

The company that was instrumental in the development of this was ComDesigns of Idaho Falls. For company president Mike Hart's account of the work they did (and the work that goes on), go to http://www.comdesigns.com/blog/2012/1/13/publishing-our-first-app.html.

Allegiant Air to start Idaho Falls-Oakland flights in April

Allegiant Travel Co., which currently runs non-stop flights between Idaho Falls and Las Vegas, Phoenix and Los Angeles, has announced it will start service this spring between Idaho Falls and Oakland, Calif.

Company President Andrew Levy said Tuesday the flights will begin April 27. For the first few weeks, fares will start at $40.

“We're just thrilled to add another popular destination market with low-cost flights and inexpensive vacation package offerings to the residents of the Idaho Falls area,” Levy said.

Allegiant already offers service from Idaho Falls to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Nevada. It also offers deals on hotel rooms and rental cars.

http://www.allegiantair.com/

Western Benefit Solutions opens office in Snake River Landing

Matt Hansen

Western Benefit Solutions is now in its permanent Idaho Falls office, at 950 Pier View Drive, Suite C, next to Liberty Mutual in Snake River Landing.

The Boise-based company is Idaho’s largest employee benefit consulting and brokerage firm, advising clients on how to manage health insurance costs.  The head of the Idaho Falls office is Matt Hansen, who before he joined WBS owned and managed Insight Financial, a company he helped found in 2003.

WBS is the state's largest broker in the public sector and the only brokerage firm with Idaho based, in-house legal and HR resources. Among the advantages it advertises are in-house health care reform experts, in-house underwriters, strong leverage in the marketplace and HIPAA compliance. For over five years, it has been ranked as one of the top 10 largest and most productive employee benefit brokerage firms in the United States by the trade publication Business Insurance.

The company's Web address is http://www.westben.com/. The phone number for the Idaho Falls office is (208) 542-1233

EIRMC officer receives appointment as ACHE regent

Sandee Moore

Sandee Moore, chief operations officer at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, has been appointed to the American College of Healthcare Executives' Council of Regents, its legislative body.

ACHE is an international professional society of more than 35,000 healthcare executives. As a member of the council, Moore represents Idaho healthcare organizations and their interests with the national ACHE organization. She was elected by her professional peers in the state.

Moore will take office March 17, during ACHE’s 55th Congress on Healthcare Leadership, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

Moore has been at EIRMC since 2010. In addition to her duties as COO, she directly leads several departments, including medical imaging, pharmacy, laboratory, therapy services, plant operations, nutrition services and environmental services and EIRMC’s Behavioral Health Center. Before coming to Idaho Falls, she was associate administrator at Sunrise Medical Center, a 700-bed hospital in Las Vegas, Nev.

Born and raised in Caldwell, she earned her B.A. in 2003 from Idaho State University, where she still serves on the alumni board.  She later earned her M.A. from the University of Colorado, and was named the university’s Outstanding MBA Student and winner of the Health Programs Director’s Award.

She is also a board member of the Idaho Falls Domestic Violence Intervention Center.

Jan. 17, 2012 radio interview

I've been meaning to post this all week, but here, finally, is the link to my Tuesday morning conversation with Tim Lewis on NewsTalk Radio, 690 and 1260 on the AM dial. I visit Tim every Tuesday during the 8 a.m. hour to talk about what I see going on around town. The point is to promote this blog.

This has been a big week for BizMojo Idaho. On Friday we had 323 pageviews, smashing the previous high, 210, by a wide margin. I was surprised by the reaction I got to the piece I posted Tuesday about Galen Bush, an agent with Keller-Williams East Idaho who died unexpectedly on Jan. 14. After less than a week, it turned out to be the secondmost viewed story in this blog's history. I had debated posting anything, but figured if it was worth doing if it had any chance of helping Galen's family. Obviously a lot of people knew Galen and cared about him.

I am becoming more and more fascinated by how blogging can serve the purposes of community journalism. I'm not doing much different with this than what I was doing 32 years ago when I was writing, editing and selling ads for the Jeffrey City News in Jeffrey City, Wyo. (a town that no longer exists). Whenever possible, I have always tried to reach out to readers and engage them in conversation, or at least make them feel like they had a relationship with me.

Anyroad, here's the link to my last radio interview, addressing such things as building permits, Dickey's Barbecue Pit and Costco. Give it a listen if you don't have anything better to do. http://www.eastidahonews.com/2012/01/business-expert-talks-about-potential-new-establishments-coming-to-idaho-falls/