Alll About Business Strategy

Facebook - To Ban Or Not to Ban, That is the Question

2010-03-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

In a recent survey of over 1400 Chief information Officers from blue chip organisations, only around 10% allowed full access to social networking sites such as Facebook to staff.

Lots has been written about how this frustrates workers (particularly, younger ones, the so-called Generation Y). This is true and can have a destructive impact on trust and engagement. Perhaps of more interest to some CEOs, banning Facebook can cost the and result in lost opportunity.

The most common reason given for not allowing access is 'lost productivity'.

"They (largely their Gen Y staff) would spend too much time on Facebook, when they should be working" is what we hear from mangers. But when we ask the same managers about their performance management approach, and whether they focus on outcomes, rather than time spent on inputs they tend to get a little defensive. Personally I don't care what people do all day, as long as they deliver the outcomes I'm paying them to achieve. I think most enlightened organisation and managers would agree.

But surely being 'connected' has value? I was working with a bunch of senior, forty something, directors in a large global bank recently.

We were talking about what constitutes the 'capital value' of their firm. Being bankers they jumped straight to balance-sheet items like cash and asset - financial capital.

With a little more pushing they talked about Human Capital - the smarter, more talented and skilled your people, the more valuable your business. Finally we talked about net work capital - they were really keen on this, they could see that the better connected they were to business partners, customers and contacts, through their little black books, social circuit or who they played golf with, the more 'value' they added.

I pointed out that the preferred method of maintaining this network capital with their younger staff, may well involve social networking. The penny dropped, " so social networking sites build network capital, and we ban them at work..? " They went away to urgently review their policy.

Banning Facebook or other sites is also counter-productive in a simple practical sense. If people want to keep in touch (and many do) and are not allowed to use work systems, they will simply do it under their desks on their phone, slower and more inefficiently. All you are doing by banning it is encouraging them to hide their networking activities and risking giving them a repetitive strain injury!

Some organisations ban access on the ground of security - again this is naive.

Email is largely uncontrolled. Ok there are IT systems to filter out rude words, but they are pretty unsophisticated when it comes to company secrets. ISecurity is more a feature of culture and trust and less about technology and regulation

Look at Apple recently and the launch of the iPad. Despite huge hype and pressure virtually no real detail escaped from Cupertino. Can you Facebook to your heart's content at Apple? You can, just as long as you deliver your goals.

Finally there is the huge online consumer conversation opportunity to be missed.

Enlightened marketing teams are embracing social media with gusto - how ironic then the other day, when a client told me how successful their Facebook group was with consumers, but couldn't actually show me on the PC on his desk! They had attracted, and now were engaged in a conversation with, literally tens of thousands of 'fans', but employees (other than the marketing team) could be part of that until they got home.

So the message is clear- Social networks are neither good, nor bad, they are just another way to keep in touch. Banning them at work makes no business sense and can actually limit your organisations potential. Is it time to review your policy?

Simon Walker is a Consultant, Speaker and co founder of Organisational Development Consultancy, talentsmoothie. see http://www.talentsmoothie.com.

He is an expert on Generational Diversity, Generation Y and the new world of work.

He is also an expert on leadership, having led as skipper of a round the world race yacht, company CEO and arctic expedition leader.

Simon can be contacted at simonwalker@talentsmoothie.com and his blog can be read at http://www.talentsmoothie.com/blog/.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simon_C_Walker

Online Business Accounts

2010-02-28T18:40:00.002-08:00

Features of Online Business Accounts:

If you are in a business then one of the most important things that you will need is the Online Business Savings Accounts to enable you to be able to carry out your business monetary transactions effortlessly and also at the same time turn yourself a good amount of interest too. Also, there are several other perks and rewards that the Online Savings Accounts for business can fetch the user. The first thing that you should do is to get a better understanding of all that is on offer and choose the best suited one.

Advantages:

The Online Savings Accounts for business offers you an impetus to save and also a high rate of APY that can yield you a good amount of interest. The online version enables you to be able to perform all your banking operations from anywhere in the globe and also helps you turn environmentally friendly by saving on paper. The Online Business Savings Accounts in US allows you to be knowledgeable about the various options that are on offer and also to be able to opt for specific services that are suited for your requirement.

The Online Business Savings Accounts in US enable you to be able to grow your capital and make your money work for you. They are able to get you the best competitive fees and rates when compared to other financial institutions. Also, you can easily gain access to your money when need be. An Online Business Savings Account in the US offers one the right amount of liquidity and that is crucial for a business.

Balajee Kannan
Financial Consultant
Author: Business Savings Accounts
The Online Business Savings Accounts in US is certainly a good enough option to make your money grow easily and safely and yet have access to it when you need it the most.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Balajee_Kannan

Three Tips For Dramatically Improving Your Business

2010-02-28T18:40:00.001-08:00

Would you like to be able to jump from earning between £50,000 and £100,000 a year to averaging well over £30,000 per month? Is one of your goals to reach the million dollar mark in online sales?

You don't necessarily have to work longer or harder to accomplish that. In fact, I did that during the same period of my life when I had my two children.

And, as any parent knows, when you have two youngsters around, there isn't exactly an abundance of time to work with. Quite the opposite.

So, achieving this kind of dramatic increase in your earning is not about putting in longer hours. It's about creating a structure, both externally and internally, that will make it possible for you to receive money 24/7.

There are three basic things you need to do in order to create that structure.

1. Stop undervaluing what you have to offer. Trying to squeeze your expertise into low-priced solutions doesn't work and won't really give your clients what they need.

Part of your journey to financial success has to include your offering higher value products and programs that really deliver great solutions to your clients. This will also enable you to charge more.

2. Productize your service business. Instead of getting paid by the hour, package your expertise into products and programs that can be sold off the shelf and aren't dependent upon your time to deliver.

If your business model involves going out and working with a client for a day, and then getting paid for that day, can you develop a product that does the work for you? With this type of business model, instead of doing the work and getting paid, you do the work once and get paid over and over and over again.

3. Remove yourself from the manual labor of your sales and marketing - or at least, as much as possible.

You don't need to be personally involved in every single sale. You don't need to pick up the phone to prospect and find new customers. You don't need to write individual proposals or have meetings and phone conversations to make the sale.

All of that time-consuming sales and marketing activity can be replaced with automated sales processes. Use things like direct mail, the Internet and email marketing instead.

Rather than selling one-to-one, develop one-to-many techniques that will help you reach more people in less time.

When you stop undervaluing your services, and begin to productize them and automate your sales process, your earnings will skyrocket. Doing any one of these three things alone will make a noticeable improvement in your business. But, implementing all three of them - together - will have a dramatic and profound effect. That's when the magic happens.

Bernadette Doyle is a marketing specialist who helps entrepreneurs become client magnets and attract a steady stream of their ideal clients. She publishes a free, weekly newsletter for trainers, speakers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. If you'd like to receive invaluable tips and advice on how to attract clients with ease, register at http://www.clientmagnets.com

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Goal and Target Setting

2010-02-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

Pretty high on my list of all-time annoying phrases (as a parent) is "are we nearly there yet?", but it is also one of the most crucial phrases when managing change, be it organisational change management, or personal development.

In the context of personal development (broadly defined - we could be talking about developing leadership skills, or learning a new language, anything really), I tend divide the process into three simple steps:

1) Determining what you want (or need) to do.

2) Committing to doing it.

3) Doing it.

A lot of management training courses, and literature on the subject, covers the first two of these steps, but my feeling is that there is rather less on the latter; so what are the challenges with actually "doing it", particularly knowing when you've really got there?

With the well-known child's question of "are we there yet?", the destination can be clearly defined - when I pull up outside the villa/cottage/park etc, I can be very confident that we are "there", and give a very straight answer to the question. But with personal skill development, defining the destination is (at best) a lot more subtle, and (at worst!) there may be no "destination" at all...

Are we really nearly there?

A lot of things are really easy to fix - in the short term. Anyone who has ever given up smoking is likely to know that going one day without a cigarette is reasonably straight forward compared to going forever without one. So if we've committed to listening more intently to a certain person in order to understand them better, how long do we need to do that for before we have actually, genuinely, reached our goal?

The illustration of smoking is a useful thing here. Once you do something (or don't do something) without having to consciously think about it, it has become ingrained in your sub-conscious, and the new habit has replaced the old one. That is not to say that you need never think about it again - being alert to potentially reverting to old habits is essential - but the more and more you "do" the new habit, in more and more different environments, the more natural it will become.

Where are we going again?

This question is both rather tricky and very easy to answer.

Some things don't have a defined ultimate end result. I, for example, would like to be a better mountain biker, but there is no ultimate end-point for me, in the sense that I won't get to a certain level of ability and say "right, that's enough"!

Under these circumstances, step-by-step goals seem appropriate. How good would I like to be by early summer? How good would I like to be next year? By determining the measures for each of these, I am creating defined targets or destinations that are not the ultimate end result (and there will never be one of those), but that do allow me to understand my progress and drive me towards a goal.

Taking "communicating better" as a goal (although, obviously, it would need to be far more accurately defined than that!), this principle applies. I can't imaging every saying that I am such a good communicator that I never have to improve again, and so there is no ultimate end-point, but I can put a series of interim stages in place, and keep adding to them, in the way that you would add to a rolling business plan. Some things are simply never finished.

Goal setting, and the aspect of knowing when you've got there, is something that will appear in subsequent articles this year, so please add your thoughts, comments and insights below...on of my goals is to increase the numbers reading and commenting on these articles - but I have no ultimate end-point for that one either!

Simon Roskrow runs trainingreality, an innovative management training company working in the critical areas of communication, leadership, teamwork, personal development, decision making and customer service.

You can find out more about Simon here: http://www.trainingreality.co.uk/simon.html
You can find out more about the company here: http://www.trainingreality.co.uk

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Business Partnerships - Curse Or Blessing?

2010-02-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

In many ways, business partnerships are very similar to marriages. There is a fundamental difference though. Unlike the already high divorce rate in America (According to divorcerate.org, 50% of all marriages in the US end in divorce), some studies suggest that 60% or more of business partnerships fail within the first 5 years of being in business. With the odds stacked so heavily against partnerships, why are people still considering forming partnerships for business ventures? The answers lie in the benefits of having a business partner.

1. Complementing Traits - If both partners are good complements to each other the benefits may outweigh the risks of forming an intimate business relationship. A well-chosen partner can complement your weaknesses and improve your strengths.

2. Built-in Redundancy - What happens to a business if the sole owner has health issues, or wants to take an extended vacation? With a partnership, there is always someone there who can continue managing the business.

3. Sounding Board - An equity partner in your business generally will provide you better insights than a regular employee. The stakes are higher and as a result, having an equity partner in your business can provide you with invaluable insights and opinions.

4. Economies of Scale - Two people can achieve more than one. With two or more partners, you can participate in more business building activities than if you are on your own. It looks more impressive to the outside world if a "Managing Partner" shows up at an event, rather than a "Sales Person" or a "Marketing Manager"

What are some of the key issues you need to consider before signing on the dotted line of any partnership agreement, and how can you improve your chances of succeeding in your partnership?

1. Date before you get married - Don't rush into a partnership! Make sure you know the personal life of your business partner, as well as his or her financial situation before you decide to partner with the person. In many ways, your business partner will become a second spouse in your life. Make sure you know the person well enough before entering in any agreement with him or her.

2. Identify Strengths and Weaknesses - Make sure you are picking a good complement to your skill set. There is no need to get a partner with the same strengths and weaknesses as you. You want someone who is strong where you are weak and vice versa.

3. Explore each other's values - If one partner's sole motivation is to make money and the other's to be a humanitarian, you probably end up having a conflicting relationship. You will find out about each other's value system during the "dating phase" such as dinners, meeting each other's families, and participating in each other's lives.

4. Identify clear roles and responsibilities - Many partnerships are formed without a clear understanding of who is responsible for what. The result can be chaos and lots of arguments. Identify up front who is doing what in the business based on your strengths and weaknesses.

5. Ensure equal give and take - Equity in the business needs to be distributed evenly and just. If one partner puts in a lot more money than another, it doesn't make sense that both will get the same compensation and rewards. Make sure you keep track of the commitment each partner is making and provide for a larger return for the more involved partner.

These are just some of the key issues you need to consider before entering into a partnership. Make sure you are very clear about the risks and rewards of forming a partnership prior to engaging in one. A good business attorney can help you gain clarity in all of these aspects.

Sieber Consulting improves efficiencies, profitability and management of small businesses through the implementation of operational processes. Choose between our customized consulting services or our easy-to-use, affordable, ready-made business templates.

Check us out at: http://joergsieber.com

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The Uses and Benefits of Stress Balls

2010-02-28T04:10:00.000-08:00

Stress related illnesses are rising very fast. A person facing constant and regular occurrence of stress can cause harm to the body. After a long journey, after long meetings and maybe after a long tiresome day, the best way to get relieved from the tension and trauma is the use of Stress Balls.

It is an object that is used to help relieve stress by exercising the muscles in the hand.

This is a soft, supple toy made out of a soft material and is usually not more than 7 centimetres in diameter. There are many types, and most of them are made of closed-cell polyurethane foam rubber. The ball is made by injecting the liquid components of the foam into a mould. It main features is that it can fit in the hand easily, allowing a user to squeeze it out of shape while providing some resistance to force the muscles of the hand to work.

The Stress Balls used for physical therapy contains gel of different densities inside a rubber of cloth skin. Another type uses a thin rubber membrane with a fine powder. This final type can also be made at home by filling a balloon with baking soda.

Even though they are known as a ball, it need not be always spherical and take the form of a ball. They are also available in a variety of shapes, even as toys and are commonly used as a business promotional product in the shape of company's logo etc.

Statistics shows that this is third most popular promotional gift in the United Kingdom; given as a freebie at conferences and other corporate events.

Stress Balls are also very popularly and useful for mental stress relief; it helps by giving people a tool with which they can work out physical aggression and stress. It is frequently recommended at a stress management tool for those working in demanding jobs.

Just as they are useful for emotional strain, these balls are also useful for solve physical tension too. Physiotherapists use simple devices to help people bend, loosen and stretch the muscles in their hands. The use of one of these balls can reduce the amount of strain that is caused by continuous tasks like typing, and it also helps to develop hand strength. For patients who have experienced strokes and other neurological problems, Stress Balls can be used as a physiotherapy exercise to help these patients recover his/her hand and finger mobility.

Any type of fillings can be used for these types of balls. The main feature of these fillings is that it should be firm, with a slight softness to it, forcing the people to work to deform the ball. The best for this is foam, as in gel, or a powder enclosed in a latex packet. A basic ball that is used for stress is by filling a balloon with corn starch. Another choice is to make a bag with bean seeds or plastic granules - but these fillings are less smooth.

Using Stress Balls doesn't require any special technique - all you need to do is to pick the ball up and squeeze it.

For more information on Stress Balls visit Promotional Merchandise. Here you will find more articles and tips on marketing items as well as a Quick Quotes form where you can conveniently submit your request in one form and get responses from multiple suppliers so that you can find the best price and promotional items for your marketing needs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Sung

Marketing - Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) Total Makeover

2010-02-28T04:09:00.000-08:00

If you are currently operating a marketing plan without the strongest USP that you can create, then you are leaving thousands of dollars and new customers on the table. The unique selling proposition is the biggest promise that you can make to your customers. It will set your business apart from everything else in your niche and provide your customers with a consistent sales message. Read on to find out how you can give your marketing plan a total USP makeover.

Start with your current statement. Are you making the same bland statements that the rest of your industry is using, or are you re-hashing statements that seem to come straight out of a car ad, such as "quality comes first," or "a leader in innovation," or maybe "we care about our customers." If you have anything like this in your unique selling proposition then you need a complete makeover.

Remember that this is the single, biggest promise that you can make to your customers. You are going to show them EXACTLY what you are going to do for them and how you will treat them. Also included will be the way that you are different from everyone else in your industry. That is where the word unique comes from. You don't have to be different from EVERY business out there, just different from the businesses in competition with you.

In order to develop you perfect USP, you need to look at the reason why your customers come to you. Survey your top customers and find out what makes you the best. What is the biggest promise that you can make and keep consistently? Answer the question: Why should someone do business with you versus any and all other available options, including doing nothing at all? If you can answer that, then you almost have a guaranteed-perfect USP.

Once you have your new unique selling proposition, you need to make sure it permeates every area of your marketing, from the way you answer the phone, to the look of your website. No matter which direction your customers first contact your business, they need to receive a consistent message. Every time the customer comes into contact afterwards, that message is hammered home over and over. This is where you are going to shine. Once that USP is engrained in the customer's mind, the next time they have a problem that your business can solve, who do you think is going to be the first person they call?

Joshua Black is the developer of the Ultimate USP Creator, a training course and software program all designed to create a Unique Selling Proposition for your small business. Download the course here: http://www.UltimateUSPCreator.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joshua_Black

Experience Passive Income

2010-02-28T04:07:00.000-08:00

Put a mental check mark next to each of the following statements that describe you and your business:

• In order to generate income, you need to put in a certain number of hours.

• The more hours you work, the more money you will make.

• Your business makes money only when you are working.

The more check marks you've made, the stronger your connection between time and money is. If you've got a strong time-money link going on in your business, this can actually mean that you end up working a lot harder or longer than you need to for the money that you make.

You've heard the saying "time is money" plenty of times. I'm willing to bet you've said it yourself in the past few weeks. The problem is that as long as you agree with that statement in any way, shape or form, you inhibit your ability to create wealth.

And, if you don't address this, so many of the things you want to achieve will remain out of your reach.

If you are well-versed enough to have spent time thinking about this topic, and already know that you need to break away from the "time is money" attitude, that's good. But it's still not enough. It's not just what you know on the surface, it's about discovering those deeper beliefs that are blocking you from reaching your potential. That is the challenge.

The challenging part is quieting down the voice in your mind that says things like, "It's not supposed to be this easy. You haven't earned it. You don't deserve it. To generate this money, you need to be putting in a certain number of hours." It just keeps telling you that the money that you earn should be proportional to the time that you've put in.

You can only earn passive income, money that you make even when you aren't working, when you dispel this subconscious belief.

And you can only dispel that belief when you begin to have experiences that transition you from trading your time for money to being in a position where money comes in 24/7.

Whether you take a nice break after having a baby, or you're flying on a plane; whether you're sleeping or on holiday, the money keeps coming in.

I first got interested in the concept of passive income back in the early 90's. A boy friend I had at the time was involved in a network marketing organization, and he talked a lot about residual income and passive income.

While I understood this in theory, it took a few years before I got to the point of really experiencing it. There's a big difference between knowing about something in your mind and experiencing the same thing in your body.

If you want to know what it's like to ride a rollercoaster, for example, you can Google "rollercoasters." You can watch videos of rollercoasters from around the world or interview people who have ridden on rollercoasters. You can buy books and study about rollercoasters.

But, you are never going to know what it's like to ride the rollercoaster until you buy a ticket, strap yourself in, close your eyes and just go! You will know what it's like to ride the rollercoaster when you experience it.

That's why it's so important to get you to that point of your first passive sale. Once you've made that first sale - and it might only be a trivial amount - it might only be £50, that's when your life is going to change. Because so much happens inside of you in that instant when you experience it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bernadette_Doyle

Small Business Branding - Things to Consider

2010-02-20T18:58:00.000-08:00

Branding is a term often tossed about the business world that describes how customers and other companies view a certain business. There are some consulting companies that do nothing but help other companies develop their brand in order to help a business grow. However, many owners of small businesses are reluctant to invest in any type of formal branding procedures because it may seem like a waste of money, especially if funding is low.

But small business branding does not have to cost a fortune. In fact, every business has a brand, whether they have paid to develop that brand or not. Your brand begins the moment you make your first sale, and you must work diligently to make sure that your company's reputation only gets better from that point on.

Your company's brand is really a broad overview of how others in the marketplace, including your customers and competitors, view your company. Your brand is composed of many factors, including the quality of your products, the level of customer service you provide, your personal qualifications to sell or develop the product and your commitment to bringing additional high quality products to the market. Other factors include your company mission statement and how well you stick to it, along with how you rank next to other companies.

Another contributing factor in your brand is the appearance of your company's logo. Logos are visual representations that are designed to encompass the core essence of your company and set it apart from other companies. The best logos are instantly recognizable and don't require a great deal of customer analysis in order to understand what it means.

If you run an online business, you can learn a lot about how customers view your company by studying your website traffic over a period of time. You can recognize repeat customers and visitors, while running tests to determine if certain sales or products pull more traffic than others. Another way to build customer loyalty and to improve your small business branding is to offer more value for less money than your competitors or even offer heavily discounted or free products and services.

These are some of the many factors that work together to form your small business brand, and it may feel overwhelming to consider improving your brand. The good news is that not all branding development requires a major overhaul of your company. A good place to start refining your brand is with your company mission.

Chances are you started your company because you felt passionate about offering the product or service that your company sells. What makes your product different or better than other similar products out there? What user experience do you offer that sets your company apart form your competitors? Is your company the top performing company in this niche, or quickly gaining ground on the leader?

These are some of the many questions you can consider when it comes to improving your small business branding. Focus on improving and streamlining each aspect of your company's customer experience and you will be on your way to developing a strong and successful brand for your small business.

For further reference, read on small business branding and visit http://www.smallwebusiness.com/. Plus you can learn many great tips for starting a successful small business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paulus_Sarwana

Branding Is a Balancing Act

2010-02-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

All too often companies find themselves with a brilliant strategy - on paper at least. When they try to implement the strategy, they run into obstacles such as channels, partners, technology, infrastructure, competition, or lack of resources. The reverse is also true. Companies can spend so much time executing that they lose sight of the business objective. They might end up with an awesome website, but no real results.

Effective brands, that is, brands that deliver on their promise and help companies sell more stuff, are those that find the right balance between strategy and tactics, between images and words, between effect and affect. Every brand is made up of several different components: visuals, messages, voice, and personality, for example. Each of these is integrated into specific deliverables like a company logo or tagline or photographic style. The trick is to find the right combination and then apply them consistently throughout everything you do.

It starts with strategy - how will you achieve your objectives? Depending on your brand promise some strategies are going to be more effective than others. For example, you probably won't see Nascar investing in "environmentally-friendly" campaigns; you would expect it from Starbucks. There are lots of different ways to achieve your objectives. Make sure that your strategies align with your brand promise and that you can actually implement them. This is what I call the "duh" test. Run the strategies by a colleague, friend or spouse and see what they think. If they ask you a question and your reaction is "duh"...you might want to rethink the strategy.

Next come the tactics - what exactly will you do to implement the strategy? If your strategy was to grow your market share by expanding into new markets, a tactic might be to partner with a complementary brand in the new market to jump start your brand recognition. This might require a joint email campaign, billboards and local ads on radio and TV. The key is to align the tactics with the strategy so that everything is in support of the brand. Otherwise, you end with a lot of random activities - all of them are probably pretty cool on their own - but together they don't deliver.

To be valuable, strategy must be practical, and tactics must be integrated. With the right balance of strategy and tactics, your brand will grow and so will your business.

ABOUT LAURA LOWELL: Laura has been building brands and businesses for over 20 years. She writes about marketing and branding in her blog "The Rules...According to You" and has been featured on Oprah & Friends, ABC, The Huffington Post, and more. As the President of Impact Marketing Group, she helps entrepreneurs and small businesses build their brands and businesses with consulting, tools and training. Learn more at http://lauralowell.com

Laura and her family are currently living in Malaga, Spain. They will return to their home in Los Gatos, CA the summer of 2010.

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Your Brand is Being Created With Or Without You

2010-02-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

Brands are dynamic. Customers use our products and services. They like or dislike their experience and they say so, publicly. This type of customer engagement directly impacts your brand. In this way, your brand is being created with or without you. You can't control it. What you can control is how you deal with it.

You've probably heard the saying "feedback is a gift". It's also a gift that you can't return or exchange if you don't like it. It's yours to deal with whether you like it or not. Since most brands have some sort of an online presence today, customers have a very public option when providing feedback. They can leave their comments on your 1-800 customer feedback line or send their concerns to some anonymous email. More likely, however, they will post their issues to a website, blog or user group.

When customers provide this type of public, direct feedback, we basically have two options:

1. Engage - and hopefully influence the nature of the discussion

2. Remain passive - and let the discussion continue without us

I encourage companies to engage in the discussion. That's the point of the internet, social media and online communities. We have the capability to have these discussions in real time with many more customers than we could have ever have done in the past.

Yet, there are hundreds of examples where companies have had negative comments appear online about their products and they chose not to engage, or even acknowledge, the feedback.

In most cases this sort of "head in the sand" approach doesn't work out very well for the companies involved. They appear aloof, disconnected and uncaring. Customers post comments on corporate blogs and social media sites, and the damage is done. Companies then spend a ton of money and time trying to "manage their online reputation" - which usually means feeding good content into these sites in order to push the negative stuff off the first few pages of search results.

While this may work in some cases, it seems to be that it is a lot more effective, not to mention efficient, to just engage in the conversation to begin with! Here are some ideas to help you proactively manage your brand online:

Pay attention: create Google alerts for your company name, brand names, etc. Monitor where you brand is being mentioned and in what context. It's next to impossible to influence how the brand is being represented if you don't know where you're being mentioned.

Be active: identify the key places where your brand is being mentioned and get involved. Participate in discussions relevant to your brand but not where you are directly mentioned. You will get insights into the tone of the conversations and understand more how to position your brand appropriately.

Acknowledge feedback: when someone posts something negative, acknowledge their issue. Let them know you heard what they were saying. Explain your response, but don't try and justify your position, as you will only serve to annoy them further.

Laura and her family are currently living in Malaga, Spain. They will return to their home in Los Gatos, CA the summer of 2010.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Laura_Lowell

Keep Your Guests' Business by Giving Them Custom Beach Towels

2010-02-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

The resort and hotel business is a competitive industry and in today's economy many people are cutting back on extra spending such as unnecessary trip. They are also being much more selective with the places they choose to do business with. Things like superior service, extra amenities, and physical location can be what catches potential customer's eyes and gets them to consider staying with you. With so many options available to your prospective customers, it doesn't hurt to add a little more incentive for them to choose your business and out sell your competitors.

Promotional items can give you the advantage you need to obtain consistent business and keep customers loyal to you. Why are these types of items such a benefit to most companies? It is simple. People love the idea of a free gift. When they receive a gift for choosing your business, they feel special and see their purchase or money spent as more of a value. There are many types of items you can use to accomplish this feeling and increase business. Choose something that your customers can use and that will serve as a reminder of the great service they received and how fun their stay was. This will help encourage them to come back and see you again.

One product that can serve this purpose very well in the lodging business is custom beach towels. These are an item your customers can use during their stay and then take home with them to use over and over again. You can either leave them on the bed or some other appropriate place for them with a thank you card or hand them out when guests check in. They can also be given as a parting gift at the end of the guests stay. How you provide them to your customers is completely up to you and there are many unique and interesting ways to do so.

Since you are in the lodging business, giving custom beach towels to your customers provide another advantage to your company. It means that your guests are less likely to steal towels. This is a common problem at resorts and hotels that are in primary vacation areas. People want to take a free item with them to serve as a souvenir and reminder of their trip. Often hotel towels are plush and enticing. By giving your guests a personal towel with your name and company logo on it, you can drastically decrease or possibly prevent this from happening at your business. As a result, you get to save money and reduce overhead costs.

Your customers will be very happy to receive this special souvenir and useful gift. They will be more likely to continue giving your business and recommend you to people they know. This means your reputation will spread by positive word of mouth and you will be first on people's minds when it comes to finding a place to stay. Stay one step ahead of your competitors and keep people coming back by giving them this great gift of appreciation for their business. The effort will not be left unnoticed.

Custom beach towels are very handy promotional gifts that can help customers choose you over your competitors. When you offer an item like this, guests feel like their business is valued and appreciated. Not only will they be happy during their stay but they will have something to take home and remember you by for future trips. As an extra bonus, your guest will be less likely to steal towels or other items which means less hassles for your employees and no loss of money for your company. To find more innovative ways to build your brand though promotional items, promotional pens, promotional bags, business gifts, trade show giveaways and other promotional products, visit USImprints.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Delina_R._Cunningham

Promotional Notepads - Spread Your Business Name Far and Wide

2010-02-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

It is said that writing is one of the hobbies that preoccupy men, although some may be hesitant to admit it. This belief needs no scientific study to affirm it. All that is needed is a cursory look at a typical day in any person's life. That person may be a student, an office worker, a doctor or nurse at a hospital, a construction worker, or a simple housewife. When there comes a time when they need to badly remember something, there is a great chance that they will write it down. And unless technology has leapt too far forward, anyone planning to write something will need a pen and a paper. This is just one instance that makes promotional notepads a great investment when there is a need to introduce a product or business all over the place.

Advantages of Using Promotional Notepads

Advertising is just one of the many facets in doing business. But even if it is just one of the elements in conducting business, it is also one of the most expensive. As a matter of fact, companies do spend a large share of their budget for advertising purposes. Consequently, consumers have to pay more for the product because some of it goes to the advertising of the product in the first place. This is why a lot of companies are looking for means to minimize their advertising expenses and using promotional notepads is just one of the many things that can help them in this case.

Typical promotional notepads measure only about 5 inches by 3 inches. There are some notepads may be even smaller. This small size of the notepad means that one can bring it anywhere. One may stuff it to one's pocket or place in a purse and take it out whenever there is a need to write something. Convenience therefore is one essential element of promotional notepads that makes them an excellent advertising medium.

Perhaps the greatest advantage that using promotional notepads brings is that in terms of spending on the part of the company, only a small amount has to be allotted for the purpose so this allows the company to save a lot. Moreover, being usable and essential, promotional notepads will help the company to become endeared to the people. Promotional notepads therefore is one great way to advertise without causing products and services to be costly.

Matthew Zande is an advertising and marketing expert. He is widely knowledgeable about promotional products, corporate gifts, and the like for which people have the need or want to possess. There are so many products that fill the gap between "wanting" and "needing," and people should be aware of the many choices they have when it comes to merchandising items. Finding the right product for the right interest is the key to the world of merchandising, and his articles help shed some much-needed light on what products work for what people.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Zande

Using a Business Broker Vs A Real Estate Agent

2010-02-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

The process of selling a business is typically much different than selling a house or other type of real property. The differences are quite deep and it takes a thorough understanding of the nuances of selling businesses to be successful at it. That being said, many people are still unaware of the differences between a business broker compared to a real estate agent. This article will explore some of those differences.

Unique skill-set required to sell a business
If you wish to sell a business then dealing with a professional that has the skill to do so is the best course of action to take. Successful business brokers must be knowledgeable about how to value a business. This requires a level of acumen in valuation principles, financial statement analysis, taxation implications, inventory and goodwill issues, and so on.

Real estate valuation is a different process altogether. There is usually good comparable market data available whereas with small private businesses, there is not.

Multiple Representation
Most business brokers in Canada work under the banner of multiple representation. This means that they represent the buyer and the seller in the transaction. This is done for a number of reasons, the most common being that since selling a business is so specialized a field that a qualified business broker has better success at consummating a deal if he or she worked both ends of it.

Marketing a business for sale
To successfully sell a company, it requires a robust network of potential buyers and influencers such as accountants, lawyers, wealth managers, bankers and others to draw from. Often, it takes the fullest effort possible on behalf of a business intermediary in order to put a deal together. Because of this, usually professionals that are specialized in the field of business brokerage are best equipped to market and find buyers for a small business for sale.

Business brokerage not geographic-centric
The field of real estate is often specialized by professionals who specialize in a specific territory or geographic location. For instance, a good real estate agent may know a town or neighbourhood quite well. Conversely, in the field of business brokerage, a business broker may specialize in a price range or industry such as manufacturing or distribution and not be confined necessarily to a tight geography in which to operate in.

The process of selling a company usually does require the services of a business intermediary that is specialized in the field and the profession is remarkably quite different than the process of selling real estate.

If you are looking at buying or selling a business in Toronto in Ontario, Canada there are some issues that business brokers Toronto may be able to assist you with.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=A._Brown

Top Five Business Predictions For 2010

2010-02-12T19:01:00.002-08:00

One thing I hate about this time of year are all the articles giving a roundup of the events of the year and making predictions for the year ahead. I don't need a roundup. I was there. As for predictions, the next person who tells me the economy is likely to improve and there will be a growth in social networking is likely to get the a rude response. It's not a prediction to state the obvious. The way the economy has been, up actually seems more likely than down. That's the way most things go when they've hit the bottom. Having said that, here is my (small) set of predictions for 2010.

1. The number of small businesses will grow quickly. As people are laid off from their jobs and can't find another they will begin to work for themselves. The ability to learn new skills quickly will become more important than knowledge in any one area.

2. Companies who sell goods and services to this market will do well. Companies small enough to change and target this market will also do well.

3. New tools will be built around the popular social networks, such as twitter, which will allow users to track and measure the effectiveness of their 'tweets'. The social networking platforms will become even more integrated and ease of use will be prized. Twitter will be more successful than Facebook.

4. Networking groups, on and offline, will prosper as the new small business owners look to other small business owners for moral as well as business support.

5. E-commerce websites will continue to grow, but standard three and five page corporate websites will be replaced with blogs, (which will also be added to the corporate web sites) making the conversation two way. Customers will get to know the personalities of the companies they buy from through their blogs, those with unattractive personalities beware! Companies will measure their success by the degree to which their customers are willing to interact with them.

People say that in business, as in life, the internet has changed everything, but change is normal and healthy. What has changed so drastically is the rate at which things change. I make a point of always looking forward to the future, but I can remember a time when my grandmother, then the age I am now, was considered too old to learn how to use a new kitchen appliance. We can no longer afford to say 'Enough! I'm done'. There is so much that is new to learn. The future is a challenge to us all, thankfully it's challenge that keeps us young.

About the Author:
Lesley Rice Charalambides is an entrepreneur and author. Originally from Scotland, Lesley was an IT consultant for more than 20 years before she freed herself from the 9 to 5. She now lives in Florida with her husband, two children and two dogs. She monitors her business interests via the internet. Lesley enjoys writing informative articles about e-business and how families can become location independent.
You can follow her blog at http://www.luxury-nightwear.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lesley_Charalambides

How You Can Become More Popular Through Personal Business Cards

2010-02-12T19:01:00.001-08:00

Personal business cards are a good way to make yourself known to people. For example you are in a party where there is a huge amount of people, and you are coming from a company who profits from networking people together to earn more money. You start out by talking to random people, introducing yourself, talking about the company you're working for, and make your sales pitch. After the conversation, the other person asks for more information. You don't give it all out at once, but professionals give out their personal business cards to people who they think they have attracted in some way. It would be a very helpful tool for you and your colleagues to have your individual business cards with which people can contact you. When people get to see those individual business cards, it would trigger a reminder to them or intrigue them about what your company is about and they will surely call.

A way to grow your network is also by giving out personal business cards to people whom you think have the potential of possibly doing business with in the future. individual business cards do not have to be too edgy but have to be stylish and should show your signature style. For instance, if you are a top executive at your company and people look up at you, the most professional way to present your personal business cards would be to make it sleek-looking and professional as well. You don't have to put too much design on it or colors, just a plain color and some lines or figures to enhance your personal business cards will do. Just make sure your name is clearly printed, your company's name, your contact number or email address and any other information that you deem necessary to make your personal business cards more interesting or attractive.

Personal business cards are also a way for you to show your personality. For people who work in the fashion industry for instance, or work as hairstylists or make up artists for the stars, it is also a good way to become known, by giving out your individual business cards to random people or places which are sure to be in need of fashion stylists and would most probably call you in the next couple of days. Also, giving out your personal business cards at a fashion event or modelling show can boost the number of people that you know and potentially help you increase your clients and just the number of people who know you who would talk about you to their friends and possibly make recommendations.

They are a sure fire way to become more popular and all it takes is a small card which contains who you are and where people can reach you. Some do it by putting a photo of themselves on the card as well, and putting other things about them, much like a "bio" card so to speak. Personal business cards are ways to enhance your network and make you more popular to the people who matter to your business.

Christina Gruble has been writing articles online for nearly 4 years now. Not only does this author specialize in London business directory, London school business and business in London, you can also check out her latest website on Cheap Rose which reviews and lists the Cheap Rose Petals or the airbrush gun

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christina_Gruble

Making Flexibility Work

2010-02-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

With all of the crazy weather lately, companies have been forced to consider how to address the various needs and concerns of their employees. In many cases, offices were shut down and employees were provided flexibility to work from home or find other ways to balance their business and personal situations. In today's business world, flexibility is so important not only on snow days but in general. As the workforce continues to age and multiple generations are working together, the demands for flexible work arrangements are increasing.

Flexible work options became popular back in the late 80's and early 90's as Gen X began entering the workforce. This generation puts a huge emphasis on work/life balance and challenged many organizations to embrace flexibility. Today, it's not only Gen X that desires flexibility but the other generations as well as they face the challenges of dual careers, elderly care and desires to reduce work hours as they transition into the next phase of life. In a study conducted by Georgetown University Law Center, Workplace Flexibility 2010, nearly 80% of workers said that they would like to have more flexible work options and would use them if there were no negative consequences at work.

Realistically, there are some businesses and positions that cannot accommodate flexible work arrangements. However, with some creative thinking on the part of the employer and employee it's often not as difficult as anticipated. Here are just a few reasons that organizations should consider implementing or increasing the use of Flexible Work Arrangements:

Attracting Talent: most recruits today will ask about flexible work arrangements and many won't join a company that does not offer them.
Increased Job Satisfaction: studies have shown that when an employee has flexibility they are more satisfied. Increased satisfaction leads to increased engagement. Increased engagement leads to more productive employees.
Reduction in Absenteeism: flexible work arrangements often reduce the need for employees to use other forms of paid or unpaid time off to attend to personal business.
Talent Retention: employees who have the option to utilize flexible work arrangements are more likely to stay with a company and often feel more loyalty towards the company.
Reduced Stress: flexible work arrangements give employees the opportunity to define how and when their work gets done which helps to reduce the stress and pressure often associated with defined work hours.

The success of Flexible Work Arrangements is a shared responsibility between the employer and the employee. Communication is critical and both parties must be willing to commit to regular discussions on how the arrangement is working and make adjustments when necessary.

The workforce of the 21st century is extremely diverse. Gone are the days of treating everyone the same. Employees have different needs, expectations and preferences and a one-size-fits-all approach just does not work. Companies that embrace these concepts have the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by employing a more aligned, engaged and productive workforce. Now, what company doesn't want that?

Kim Huggins is the President of K HR Solutions, LLC based in Harleysville, PA. Her company offers services in the areas of organizational effectiveness, leadership development and team dynamics. Kim is a nationally recognized trainer and speaker on the topic of Generational Differences. http://khrsolutions.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Huggins

The Key Elements of a Good Project Plan

2010-02-12T18:57:00.002-08:00

Whenever any project is planned it is absolutely vital to have a project plan and although initially it will take a little time to create, a good project plan will ultimately save you a good deal of time and probably money as well.

It is often tempting to just roll up your sleeves and start bringing the project into being. But time taken to plan and create a project plan will actually ensure that you don't rush into something and make foolish mistakes because you didn't plan for something. The old saying 'Act in haste, repent at leisure' is certainly very true, but with a good project plan, you simply will not have to repent, because everything will be fine.

What Does The Project Plan Contain?

There is a lot of information required in a project plan. To some extent what the plan contains will be strongly influenced by the nature and scope of the project; so it is a good idea to start off by defining the nature of the project and its scope.

Stakeholders

You also need to identify all the 'stakeholders' in the project, since a project will only be successful if all the stakeholders are satisfied with the project once it has been completed. This task sounds far easier than it is because a stakeholder is anyone who will be affected by the project, so identifying them can take some time.

Once you have identified all the stakeholders, then you need to engage with them to ascertain what they want and need from this project and you will need to start to draw up a list of project goals, so that you are fully aware of just how these needs and wishes can be met.

Budget/Resources

A budget is integral to the successful completion of any project and the budget needs to be firmly entrenched in the project plan because you need to ensure that you stay within budget, but still manage to deliver all the goals that you are setting.

Resources are about not just money but skills required and 'things' that are required, to enable the project to be successfully delivered.

Risks

Risks to the project or things that could go wrong or pose a threat to the successful completion of the course should also be identified, so that they can be managed and responsibility allocated for effective management of risk.

Tasks/Duties/Responsibilities/Timeframe

Tasks, duties and responsibilities are all very important, because there has to be a clear strategy for what needs to be done and who is responsible for doing what and when these things will be done. It is really important that these are identified very early on in the process. It may well be that the individuals who will be team members have not even been finally agreed, but the job titles or areas can be used, so IT can be identified as being responsible for delivering a certain level of service.

Often these duties and tasks are contained in a Gantt chart, which is effectively a bar chart that lists duties and shows responsibility for delivering these duties against the agreed timeframe. The beauty of the Gantt chart is that it shows the evolution of the project and how each duty and task flows into the completion process.

Quality

Although there are a whole host of other elements to be contained in a project plan, the final key element has to be quality. Quality is vital because there is no point in delivering a project where quality has been left behind. So your project plan needs to be able to define quality, describe how you will implement the quality standards that are expected and ensure that your project is as good as it possibly can be. Otherwise you are in severe danger of producing a project that fails to deliver what was expected.

However one thing that you should always bear in mind is that no matter what your project plan contains it needs to be regularly updated and the deliverables delivered!

Visit valuestreamguru.com for business improvement ideas including further articles on lean, six sigma, project management and process improvement.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_R_Martin

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) And Project Management

2010-02-12T18:57:00.001-08:00

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has gained significant momentum in recent years. The push is on to identify projects that reflect the corporation's sense of social responsibility and to tailor projects to reflect that sense. This is perhaps a step in the right direction when it comes to the corporation's position in the host community but is extremely difficult and complex in its implementation. There are 2 key factors that contribute to its difficulty:

Corporations' main goal is still profits; they owe this to their shareholders. Although profits and social responsibility are not necessarily mutually exclusive, there is frequently a price tag associated with CSR projects and this creates a conflict: choose the CSR project, or tailor the project to meet CSR objectives OR focus on increased ROI? Where a project meets both objectives, the conflict is eliminated but you know intuitively that this won't always be the case and indeed there are more and more news reports about cases where this wasn't the case.
How does the corporation determine what is socially responsible and what isn't? This is seldom clear cut and in many cases different social groups have goals and objectives that are opposed to one another. The corporation can't satisfy the objectives of both groups and will be seen as irresponsible when it chooses one or the other.

These issues are compounded when a corporate citizen of one country engages in work in another with different social values. The chances of a conflict between two social groups who are stakeholders in the venture increase because of the cultural differences between the stakeholders in the home community and those in the foreign country. Companies have invested millions of dollars developing their CSR persona only to see it destroyed by one ugly conflict that gets media exposure. The results achieved by the CSR investment are not newsworthy while the single incident that tarnishes that image is.

Take the recent debate over the behavior of Canadian mining companies overseas and in South America for example. The media exposure was triggered by a private members bill (C-300) proposed by a member of the Canadian parliament. The bill asks that the federal government assume the power to investigate complaints that any Canadian mining company failed to comply with international human rights and environmental standards. On the face of it, there doesn't seem to be anything a socially responsible mining company could object to. The problem is that the bill can't guarantee that the accused mining company would have the ability to confront their accuser to answer the charges and that is what the association representing Canadian mining companies is objecting to.

The debate on the bill has spawned two stories in the Toronto Star about potential problems with mining operations in Ecuador, Argentina, and Papua New Guinea. The stories include responses from spokespeople of the mining companies involved, but the exposure of these allegations in a national newspaper has tarnished the CSR reputation built up by the mining companies mentioned. I won't mention those companies here because none of the allegations has been proven. Some of the mining companies have gone to great lengths and expense to build a reputation as socially, economically, and ethically responsible corporate citizens, only to see that reputation threatened by these stories. Now, I'm not suggesting that the allegations are all false. I have no idea as to their validity. What I do know is that in some cases the situation quoted was a no-win situation for the mining company involved. Let's take the example of a Canadian company operating in Ecuador as an example.

According to the article by staff reporter Brett Popplewell in the Monday, November 23, 2009 edition of the Toronto Star, the company is engaged in a project to build an open pit copper mine in Ecuador. The mine has provided jobs for one Ecuadorian community and is popular with it as a result. Another community is fiercely opposed to the project because they fear the mine will negatively impact their small farms and this has led to conflict between the two communities. The Ecuadorian ministry of mines is on-side with the project but apparently has done nothing to quell the conflict between the two communities. Allegations have been made by members of the opposed community that the guards hired by the mining company have used excessive force in dealing with protests against the mine. The guards, or course, are Ecuadorian citizens. Another story in the same paper quotes an accusation of gang rape at a mine in Papua New Guinea, again unproven. The latter allegation is so serious that the paper did not mention the mining company the accusation was leveled at (they did mention the company involved in the Ecuadorian accusations). A third allegation involved a company operating in Argentina. The allegation is that the company used threats to force an Argentine government official out of office.

The companies claim to have followed all the mining laws, rules, regulations, and standards of the countries they are operating in. They further claim to have followed their own code of ethics. These ethics have been developed and implemented at significant expense in some cases. In some cases the spokesperson answering the allegations on behalf of the companies is the Vice President of Corporate Responsibility which is some indication of the emphasis placed on ethical behavior by these companies. Whether or not these companies have been effective in adhering to the laws of the countries they operate in and their own codes, it is apparent to me that they have honestly tried to do so. What went wrong then?

The problems these companies are currently encountering can be traced back to the factors previously mentioned. Implementing the code of ethics crafted by their CSR organizations will inevitably inflate costs at some point during some projects. Is it possible for a corporation to have two organizations that are in conflict? You bet. Remember we're dealing with people here and as everyone who has worked with others knows, a working relationship leads to differences of opinion. For a team working on a project, the project manager will ask the team members to forsake personal agendas for the good of the project. When the conflicts are operational and conducted at the executive level this approach doesn't always work.

The initiation of the mining project, in the case of the Ecuadorian mine, was enough to initiate a conflict between the two communities in the area of the mine. One suspects that there may have been issues between the two that pre-date the mine. So how does all this concern the project manager? The issues the Canadian mining companies are experiencing demonstrate the difficulties it is possible to face when doing business in a foreign country. These examples are probably extreme. I'm sure that not many software projects will lead to a corporation facing allegations of physical abuse or rape. On the other hand, the underlying factors will affect any project. The question is what can a project manager do to address these factors?

The first step is for the project manager to understand all the issues that can affect the project, including pre-existing local issues. Is it reasonable to expect a project manager to have foreseen the conflict between the two communities involved in the Ecuadorian dispute? I would say given enough education on local issues and the likelihood that the project would only directly financially benefit residents of one of the two communities, the dispute could have been foreseen. How to address the issue is another story. There may or may not have been something the mining company could have done to avoid the conflict but they should at least have anticipated the risk of this happening and if no mitigation strategy was feasible they could then have decided whether they wanted to assume the risk. The object lesson for project managers here is that the exercise of risk identification must be expanded to include not only the risks of a culture clash between the foreign country hosting the project and the corporation's country, but those of different stakeholder groups within the host country. So how would a project manager go about identifying those risks? The answer is that the investigative work required surpasses the activities we normally associate with risk identification. Speaking to members of both communities would have revealed pre-existing conflicts, examining back issues of local newspapers and interviews with local officials would be other sources for the information. The lesson here is that you may have to expand your risk identification exercise to include mining the information that would help you identify risks.

There is another issue that has plagued corporations doing business in foreign countries long before anyone ever heard of CSR, namely the issue of a clash between the laws governing the corporation in the country of origin and the laws and cultural norms of the country hosting the project. The classic example of this clash is the solicitation and payment of bribes. In many countries outside of North America and Europe the solicitation of bribes is not only legal, but is actually encouraged by the local governments. Laws in North America make it illegal for corporations to pay bribes even in foreign countries where doing so is not illegal. This creates a Catch-29 situation for these corporations. If they fail to pay a bribe when one is solicited, they risk incurring costs that might far exceed the bribe solicited. Let's take the case of a bribe solicited to pass imported equipment through customs. The bribe doesn't violate local laws or norms. Failure to pay the bribe will mean that the equipment languishes on a loading dock or customs shed until the project manager either finds an alternative solution that doesn't require the equipment or the project fails. In either case the effect on the project budget is catastrophic. Alternatively, the project manager could pay the bribe and incur criminal charges in North America which will probably include fines the corporation has to pay. So what do you do if you find yourself in this situation?

The answer is simple; don't find yourself in that situation. The situation described above is untenable and no project manager should be asked to expose themselves to that level of risk, regardless of your views on bribes. You can avoid this situation by investing a little time during the initiation phase of your project to investigate the risks. What are the applicable laws of the country the project, or portion of the project, will be performed in? Will the project call for the importation of any equipment? What are the laws in the corporate headquarters country pertaining to conducting business in a foreign country? What are the international laws pertaining to labor and human rights? Perhaps the best way to approach the investigation is to look at the project scope and your project management approach and determine which questions you should ask. Know the risks going in. Normally we think of risk identification as a project planning process, but there are some risks which will have a bearing on whether the corporation wants to undertake the project, or whether you want to undertake managing the process. These are the risks that will be identified by asking the right questions. Once the risk has been identified, such as the risk of being solicited for a bribe, you can then make the decision as to whether there is a mitigation strategy that might work. If you can't identify a workable mitigation strategy, does the corporation want to undertake the project? Do you want to undertake managing the project? Sometimes the situation calls for you to ask the right questions of the right people before you commit to the project.

Project managers must become knowledgeable about their corporation's Corporate Social Responsibility policies so that the goals and objectives of their projects conform to these policies, but they must go further than that. They must determine how well those policies conform to international law and the laws, standards, and social customs in the country where the project work will be undertaken. They must also investigate all the possible stakeholders in the host country to determine if there are any conflicts with the corporation's CSR policies or with each other. There really isn't anyone in a better position to do this when you think about it. The project manager has the best grasp of the project goals and objectives and management approach so is the best qualified person to identify risks to the project.

The suggestions in this article are not meant to contradict the best practices for risk management taught by project management courses such as PMP courses or other PMP exam preparation training, but rather to augment them. The strategy you use to quantify, qualify, monitor, and control the risks once you have identified them should be the same ones espoused in these courses.

http://threeo.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Nielsen

Project Management Success - Scope, Time and Cost

2010-02-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

Project Management Success depends on balancing the core project components of Scope, Cost and Time. This is often referred to as the Project Scope Triangle or the Project Quality Triangle. Scope refers the quantity and quality of what needs to be delivered in the project. Cost refers the financial cost of the project (material and resources) and time refers to the amount of time in which the complete project must be delivered.

A colleague of mine has a favourite saying - "Good, Cheap or Fast - pick any two". Basically, this demonstrates the relationship between these project forces. If you want a project to deliver high quality, fast, then it will cost. If you want a project to be fast and cheap, then the scope will need to be compromised and if you want the project to deliver quality and be cheap then it will take time to do it. Knowing what the key drivers are of your project can help you make decisions when crunch time comes and something has to give.

Talking to your customer can help you determine which of these project factors are immovable and which are flexible. For example, a customer may have a deadline that is immovable and with current scope there is no way you can meet it. Knowing that the project timeline is the main driver of the project immediately gives you your two options - cut scope or increase resources.

Here are a few tips for managing scope, cost and time.

Managing Scope

Scope refers to the quality and quantity of project deliverables specific to a particular project. Scope, unfortunately, has a tendency to increase as a project progresses. This can be due to a number of factors. Often as the project progresses it becomes more clearly defined and we realize the actual requirements as opposed to the perceived requirements we based our estimation on. Sometimes people, both on the customer and vendor sides, can get caught in the trap of 'wouldn't it be good if it could do.....'. So we need to be constantly mindful of our scope and stick to it. Adding scope means increased cost in terms of project budget and possibly project time, so project managers need be on top of scope issues:

Ensure you have formal, written, agreement on the scope of the project - if the scope is 'fuzzy' you'll get stuck in issues of what is in scope and what is out of scope. It helps when you can clearly see that a proposed item is a variation from what is document.
Recognize the scope creep - know your specification/requirements. Recognize a variation to the agreed document and highlight it as a project issue.
Assess the Impact and determine the options. Assess the time and cost impact of the increase in scope and present this to whomever you need in order to get a decision. Depending upon the level of autonomy the project manager has within the project you may be able to make decisions upon the outcome yourself. Otherwise present the options to the decision makers in a succinct manner to enable them to make an informed decision.
Revise the Plan - depending upon the outcome of your discussions you may need to: Remove other functions to accommodate, increase time, increase the resourcing (and associated costs), increase the material costs to accommodate. Whatever your outcome, document it and make sure everyone is clear of the impacts on the project. Revise your plan to reflect the changes.

Managing Cost and Time

The following tips relate to both cost and time:

Careful estimation - being able to estimate against clearly defined scope is the best way to go here, but we all know, that this is often not the reality. Fixed price, up front quoting can make this very difficult and we often have to work with what we have at the time. Use you and your team's knowledge of how long a task takes, refer to past projects. Know that you will most likely underestimate, so don't base everything on best case scenario, give yourself a little breathing room.
Contingency time planning - be mindful of applying an adequate time contingency. This contingency should be based upon the level of detail of scope you have to work with, your knowledge of your organization and it's current level of resourcing, the size of the project and external factors that may impact upon the project, such as dependencies on other projects. Remember to factor in adequate review and approval times and keep in mind the more people involved in review and approval, the longer it takes.
Track your project - know when your project is heading outside of your acceptable parameters so that you can quickly take action. The Project Plan is your key planning, tracking and managing tool throughout the project so make sure you look at it regularly and update it to reflect what is actually occurring.

These are just a few tips for project management success. Good luck!

Kaz Young is a Software Development Project Manager with 10 years of experience in managing projects within the health care sector and the software development sector.

Read more about Project Management Success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kaz_Young

Scanning and Archiving Your Documents - Do it Now

2010-02-07T20:57:00.001-08:00

Are you still filing all your papers and putting them inside large storage or filing cabinets? If you need to find some data that was entered into a file and then pushed into storage, what do you do then? You probably go into a large storage room, go through dusty boxes and spend some valuable time doing a non-productive search.

Step out of this groove and scan your documents and files. You will reap the benefits with immediate effect.

At the ground level, document scanning is a newer method of storing your data. Only in this case the data being stored can also include all your old records which are still in paper form. However, there are many more steps which follow this initial action. The documents are then indexed, sorted out and thereby made easier to understand and locate. They are also archived, and if required placed in a network whereby they are accessible to all authorized personnel.

This is done not only for older documents but is also a regular maintenance process for all newer paperwork. No matter how hard we try, paper cannot really be eliminated from all offices. Lawyers and accountants live among mounds of files and records. So do schools and colleges. All organizations - either small or large collect paperwork which at some point needs to be digitised, and document scanning is the best solution in a situation like this.

There are so many clear benefits which emanate from document scanning, that it is not surprising that it is one of the most popular methods of storing and retrieving documents.

The greatest benefit of course is the resultant efficiency and time-saving. Everything is indexed, clearly categorised and accessible on a network. Information and data, no matter how old, is available at the click of a mouse. It is believed that in any company employees spend 30% of their time organizing documents. Just think of how much extra productivity you can generate with this extra time.

Data Protection is also another great advantage of scanning. The data is stored on CDs and can be accessed with a software. In some cases another server is used for storage, where they give you a guarantee of security. Hence even if there is an unforeseen disaster in your office, the data will remain secure and private.

Our rapidly depleting resources will also thank you for this! You can do your bit to save our environment by using less paper and less space.

However, there are a few factors which need to be kept in mind when you go in for document scanning. Security is always a major concern. Make sure that they keep your data in a very safe place. This action of yours should not become counter-productive if the remote location is not secure enough.

The accessibility to the data should also be carefully monitored. There should always be varying levels of security, so that everyone is not able to retrieve all the information. You do lose a certain measure of control over your company's files, but there is also the added benefit of having them managed far more efficiently and professionally.

Go ahead and do it now. The initial costs may seem a lot, but the benefits far outweigh the expenditure and you will have provided your organisation with a long term solution to its document storage predicament.

Author recommends using document scanning for all types of business. Document scanning can save your time, space and make it easier to locate important documents.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Skye_V_Ruf

The Truth About Automated Telemarketing Phone Broadcasting

2010-02-07T20:56:00.001-08:00

For many years, if you wanted leads, you had to have a big budget to succeed at telemarketing, but technology has solved that challenge. Now even the smallest home business can achieve the success once reserved for people with deep pockets.

Before you buy expensive equipment or subcontract your telemarketing or hire telemarketing workers, you should consider automated telemarketing.

The secret that has changed the marketing world forever is voice broadcasting.

Voice broadcasting uses very sophisticated systems that would cost millions to buy and allows members to use the system to make calls for a very low cost. There is no charge for long distance calls and calls can be made for as little as $12.00 per 1,000 calls. It takes very little time or effort to use voice broadcasting for telemarketing and lead generation. All you do is upload the numbers you want to call, say the message you want to deliver into the phone and set the time you want your calls to start and to stop. That's it. While you do your other jobs, the system makes thousands of calls for you.

Many phone broadcasting systems give you all the consumer or business phone numbers you need at no charge, so you will never run out of leads. In addition, many have programs that make sure you are in compliance with all laws and regulations.

Many people think the automated telemarketing with voice broadcasting won't work. Who would buy these calls? The answer is the people who have a need. For example, if your toilet started leaking last night and you got an automated telemarketing call from a plumber offering services, I will assume you would be grateful he called. If you have no need, the call is an a distraction. This is true with all types of advertising from mail to TV ads.

Automated phone broadcasts puts you in touch with the one percent who have a need and gets them to call you. My clients average a one percent response. That means if they call 1,000 people about 10 ask for more information. The huge benefit of automated voice broadcasting is that it takes virtually none of your time to make the calls and if you can get 10 good prospects for only $15.00, that is a bargain in any type of advertising.

Don't invest in telemarketing. Let technology do the work for you inexpensively. No matter what your budget, you will benefit from automated telemarketing with voice broadcasting.

Get your free report with everything you need to know about voice broadcasting including script suggestions at http://www.automatedphoneleads.com or call 716-580-3384.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carl_Davidson

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&As)

2010-02-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Mergers and Acquisitions are terms almost always used together in the business world to refer to two or more business entities joining to form one enterprise. More often than not a merger is where two enterprises of roughly equal size and strength come together to form a single entity. Both companies' stocks are merged into one. An acquisition is usually a larger firm purchasing a smaller one. This takes the form of a takeover or a buyout, and could be either a friendly union or the result of a hostile bid where the smaller firm has very little say in the matter. The smaller, target company, ceases to exist while the acquiring company continues to trade its stock. An example is where a number of smaller British companies ceased to exist once they were taken over by the Spanish bank Santander. The exception to this is when both parties agree, irrespective of the relative strength and size, to present themselves as a merger rather than an acquisition. An example of a true merger would be the joining of Glaxo Wellcome with SmithKline Beecham in 1999 when both firms together became GlaxoSmithKline. An example of an acquisition posing as a merger for appearances sake was the takeover of Chrysler by Daimler-Benz in the same year. As already seen, since mergers and acquisitions are not easily categorised, it is no easy matter to analyse and explain the many variables underlying success or failure of M&As.

Historically, a distinction has been made between congeneric and conglomerate mergers. Roughly speaking, congeneric firms are those in the same industry and at a similar level of economic activity, while conglomerates are mergers from unrelated industries or businesses. Congeneric could also be seen as (a) horizontal mergers and (b) vertical mergers depending on whether the products and services are of the same type or of a mutually supportive nature. Horizontal mergers may come under the scrutiny of anti-trust legislation if the result is seen as turning into a monopoly. An example is the British Competition Commission preventing the country's largest supermarket chains buying up the retailer Safeway. Vertical mergers occur when a customer of a company and that company merges, or when a supplier to a company and that company merges. The classic example given is that of an ice cream cone supplier merging with an ice cream manufacturer.

The 'first wave' of horizontal mergers took place in the United States between 1899 and 1904 during a period referred to as the Great Merger Movement. Between 1916 and 1929, the 'second wave' was more of vertical mergers. After the great depression and World War II the 'third wave' of conglomerate mergers took place between 1965 and 1989. The 'fourth wave' between 1992 and 1998 saw congeneric mergers and even more hostile takeovers. Since the year 2000 globalisation encouraging cross-border mergers has resulted in a 'fifth wave'. The total worldwide value of mergers and acquisitions in 1998 alone was $2.4 trillion, up by 50% from the previous year (andrewgray.com). The entry of developing countries in Asia into the M&A scene has resulted in what is described as the 'sixth wave'. The number of mergers and acquisitions in the US alone numbered 376 in 2004 at a cost of $22.64 billion, while the previous year (2003) the cost was a mere $12.92 billion. The growth of M&As worldwide appears to be unstoppable.

What is the raison d'etre for the proliferation of mergers and acquisitions? In a nutshell, the intention is to increase the shareholder value over and above that of the sum of two companies. The main objective of any firm is to grow profitably. The term used to denote the process by which this is accomplished is 'synergy'. Most analysts come up with a list of synergies like, economies of scale, eliminating duplicate functions, in this case often resulting in staff reductions, acquiring new technology, extending market reach, greater industry visibility, and an enhanced capacity to raise capital. Others have stressed, even more ambitiously, the importance of M&As as being "indispensable...for expanding product portfolios, entering new markets, acquiring new technologies and building a new generation organization with power and resources to compete on a global basis" (Virani). However, as Hughes (1989) observed "the predicted efficiency gains often fail to materialise". Statistics reveal that the failure rate for M&As are somewhere between 40-80%. Even more damning is the observation that "If one were to define 'failure' as failure to increase shareholder value then statistics show these to be at the higher end of the scale at 83%".

In spite of the reported high incidence of its failure rate "Corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&As) (continue to be) popular... during the last two decades thanks to globalization, liberalization, technological developments and (an) intensely competitive business environment" (Virani 2009). Even after the 'credit crunch', Europe (both Western and Eastern) attract strategic and financial investors according to a recent M&A study (Deloitte 2007). The reasons for the few successes and the many failures remain obscure (Stahl, Mendenhall and Weber, 2005). King, Dalton, Daily and Covin (2004) made a meta-analysis of M&A performance research and concluded that "despite decades of research, what impacts the financial performance of firms engaging in M&A activity remains largely unexplained" (p.198). Mercer Management Consulting (1997) concluded that "an alarming 48% of mergers underperform their industry after three years", and Business Week recently reported that in 61% of acquisitions "buyers destroyed their own shareholders' wealth". It is impossible to view such comments either as an explanation or an endorsement of the continuing popularity of M&As.

Traditionally, explanations of M&A performance has been analysed within the theoretical framework of financial and strategic factors. For example, there is the so-called 'winner's curse' where the parent company is supposed to have paid over the odds for the company that was acquired. Even when the deal is financially sound, it may fail due to 'human factors'. Job losses, and the attendant uncertainty, anxiety and resentment among employees at all levels may demoralise the workforce to such an extent that a firm's productivity could drop between 25 to 50 percent (Tetenbaum 1999). Personality clashes resulting in senior executives quitting acquired firms ('50% within one year') is not a healthy outcome. A paper entitled 'Mergers and Acquisitions Lead to Long-Term Management Turmoil' in the Journal of Business Strategy (July/August 2008) suggests that M&As 'destroy leadership continuity' with target companies losing 21% of their executives each year for at least 10 years, which is double the turnover of other firms.

Problems described as 'ego clashes' within top management have been seen more often in mergers between equals. The Dunlop - Pirelli merger in 1964 which became the world's second largest tyre company ended in an expensive splitting-up. There is also the merger of two weak or underperforming companies which drag each other down. An example is the 1955 merger of car makers Studebaker and Packard. By 1964 they had ceased to exist. There is also the ever present danger of CEOs wanting to build an empire acquiring assets willy-nilly. This often is the case when the top managers' remuneration is tied to the size of the enterprise. The remuneration of corporate lawyers and the greed of investment bankers are also factors which influence the proliferation of M&As. Some firms may aim for tax advantages from a merger or acquisition, but this could be seen as a secondary benefit. Another reason for M&A failure has been identified as 'over leverage' when the principal firm pays cash for the subsidiary assuming too much debt to service in the future.

M&As are usually unique events, perhaps once in a lifetime for most top mangers. There is therefore hardly any opportunity to learn by experience and improve one's performance, the next time round. However, there are a few exceptions, like the financial-services conglomerate GE Capital services with over 100 acquisitions over a five-year period. As Virani (2009) says "...serial acquirers who possess the in house skills necessary to promote acquisition success as (a) well trained and competent implementation team, are more likely to make successful acquisitions". What GE Capital has learned over the years is summarised below.

1. Well before the deal is struck, the integration strategy and process should be initiated between the two sets of top managers. If incompatibilities are detected at this early stage, such as differences in management style and culture, either a compromise could be achieved or the deal abandoned.

2. The integration process is recognised as a distinct management function, ascribed to a hand-picked individual selected for his/her interpersonal and cross-cultural sensitivity between the parent firm and the subsidiary.

3. If there are to be lay-offs due to restructuring, these must be announced at the earliest possible stage with exit remuneration packages, if any.

4. People and not just procedures are important. As early as possible, it is necessary to form problem solving groups with members from both firms resulting, hopefully, in a bonding process.

These measures are not without their critics. Problems could still surface long after the merger or acquisition. Whether to aim for total integration between two very different cultures is possible or desirable is questioned. That there could be an optimal strategy out of four possible states of: integration, assimilation, separation or deculturation.

A paper by Robert Heller and Edward de Bono entitled 'Mergers and acquisitions and takeovers: Buying another business is easy but making the merger a success is full of pitfalls' (08/07/2006) looks at examples of unsuccessful mergers from the relatively recent past and makes recommendations for avoiding their mistakes. Their findings could be generalised to other M&As and therefore is worth paying attention to.

They begin with the BMW - Rover merger where they have identified strategic failings. BMW invested £2.8 billion in acquiring Rover and kept losing £360,000 annually. The strategic objective had been to broaden the buyer's product line. However, the first combined product was the Rover 75, which competed directly with existing BMW mid-range models. The other, existing Rover cars were out of date and uncompetitive, and the job of replacing them was left far too late.

Another fly in the ointment was that the stated profits that Rover had supposedly enjoyed were subsequently seen as illusory. Subjected to BMWs accounting principles, they were turned into losses. Obviously, BMW had failed in the exercise of 'due diligence'. (Due diligence is described as the detailed analysis of all important features like finance, management capability, physical assets and other less tangible assets (Virani 2009). Interestingly, the authors allude to instances of demergers being more successful than mergers. For example, Vodafone, the mobile telephone dealer, which was owned by Racal, is now valued at $33.6 billion, 33 times greater in value than the parent company Racal. The other instance is that of ICI and Zeneca where the spin-off is worth £25 billion as against the parent company being valued at £4 billion.

The authors refer to the fact that after a merger, the management span at the top becomes wider, and this could impose new strains. Due to difficulties in adjustment to the new realities, the need for positive action tends to get put on the back burner. Delay is dangerous as the BMW managers realised. While BMW set targets and expected 100% acquiescence, Rover was in the habit of reaching only 80% of the targets set. Walter Hasselkus, the German manager of Rover after the merger, was respectful of the Rover's existing culture that he failed to impose the much stricter BMW ethos, and, ultimately lost his position.

Another failure of strategy implementation by BMW recognised by the authors was that of investing in the wrong assets. BMW paid only £800 million for Rover, but invested £2 billion in factories and outlets, but not in developing products. BMW hitherto had concentrated quite successfully on executive cars produced in smaller numbers. They obviously felt vulnerable in an industry dominated by large, volume producers of cars. It is not always the case that bigger is better. In fragmenting markets, even transnational corporations lose their customers to niche, more attractive, small players.

There was an earlier reference in this essay to the success of giant pharmaceuticals like SmithKline Beecham. However, they are now losing large sums of money to divest themselves of drug distribution companies they acquired at great cost; clearly a strategic mistake, which the authors' label 'jumping on the bandwagon'. They quote a top American manager bidding for a smaller financial services company in 1998 being asked why, as saying 'Aw, shucks, fellers, all the other kids have got one...' The correct strategy, they imply, is to reorganise around core businesses disposing of irrelevancies and strengthening the core. They give the example of Nokia who disposed of paper, tyres, metals, electronics, cables and TVs to concentrate on mobile telephones. Here's a case of successful reverse merging. On the other hand, top managers should have the vision to transform a business by imaginatively blending disparate activities to appeal to the market.

Ultimately it is down to the visionary chief executive to steer the course for the new merged enterprise. The authors give the example of Silicon Valley, where 'new ideas are the key currency and visionaries dominate'. They say that the Silicon Valley mergers succeeded because the targets were small and were bought while the existing businesses themselves were experiencing dynamic growth.

What has so far not being addressed in this essay is the phenomenon of cross-border or cross-cultural mergers and acquisitions, which are of increasing importance in the 21st century. This fact is recognised as the 'sixth wave', with China, India, and Brazil emerging as global players in trade and industry. Cross-cultural negotiation skills are central to success in cross-border M&As. Transnational corporations (TNCs) are very actively engaged in these negotiations, with their annual value-added business performance exceeding that of some nation states. A detailed exposition of the dynamics of cross-cultural negotiations in M&As is found in Jayasinghe 2009 (pp. 169 - 176). The 'cultural dynamics of M&A' has been explored by Cartwright and Schoenberg, 2006. Other researchers in this area use terms such as 'cultural distance' 'cultural compatibility', 'cultural fit', and 'sociocultural integration' as determinants of M&A success.

There is general agreement that M&A activity is at its height following an economic downturn. All five historical 'waves' of M&A dealings testify to this. One of the main reasons for this could be the rapid drop in the stock value of target companies. A major factor in the increase in global outward foreign direct investment (FDI) stock which was $14 billion in 1970, to $2,000 billion in 2007, was 'due to mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of existing entities, as opposed to establishing an entirely new entity ( that is, 'Greenfield' investment')' (Rajan and Hattari 2009). Increased global economic activity alone may have accounted for this increase. In the early 1990s M&A deals were worth $150 billion, while in the year 2000 it had peaked to $1,200 billion, most of it due to cross-border deals. However, by 2006 it had dropped to $880 billion. Rajan and Hattari (op cit) ascribe this growth to the growing significance of the cross-border integration of Asian economies.

During 2003-06, the share of developed economies (EU, Japan and USA) in M&A purchases had declined. From 96.5 percent in 1987 it had fallen to 87 percent by 2006. This is said to be due to the ascendancy of developing economies of Asia both in terms of value as well as the number of M&As. Substantiating the thesis that economic downturns appear to boost M&A activity, sales jumped following the Asian crisis of 1997-98. While in 1994-96 the sales were put at $7 billion, it had increased three-fold to $21 billion between1997-99. Rajan and Hittari (2009) attribute this increase to the 'depressed asset values compared to the pre-crisis period'. Indonesia, Korea and Thailand affected most by the crisis reported the highest M&A activity.

China is one of those countries not suffering from the effects of global recession to the same extent as most Western economies. China has been buying assets from Hong Kong, and in 2007 the purchases amounted to 17 percent of the total M&A deals in Asia (excluding Japan). Rajan and Hattari looked at investors from Singapore, Malaysia, India, Korea and Taiwan. This led to the hypothesis that the greater size of the host country and its distance from the target country is a determinant of cross-border M&A activity. They also found that exchange rate variability and availability of credit are factors impacting on M&As, and have generalised this to conclude that 'financial variables (liquidity and risk) impact global M&A transactions... especially intra-Asian ones'.

On the other hand, it is reported that overall M&As were hit by the global recession and had lost valuation by 76% by 2009. While 54 deals worth $15.5 billion occurred in 2008 between April and August, during the same period 72 M&A deals were worth only $3.73 billion in 2009. The industries dominating the M&A sectors were IT, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and power. There were also deals involving metal, banking/finance, chemical, petrochemical, construction, engineering, healthcare, manufacturing, media, real estate and textiles.

The influential Chinese consulting firm, China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) has concluded that although some enterprises are on the brink of bankruptcy during the global recession, it has 'greatly reduced M&A costs for enterprise'. As industry investment opportunities fall, investment uncertainties increase, M&As show bigger values.... As proven in the 5 previous high tide of global industry capital M&As, every recession period resulting from (a) global financial crisis has been a period of active M&As'.

Most commentators believe that in addition to the empirical research as quoted above, research from a wider perspective to encompass the disciplines of psychology, sociology, anthropology, organisational behaviour, and international management, is needed to make continual improvements to our understanding of the dynamics for the success or failure of mergers and acquisitions, which are increasingly becoming the most popular form of industrial and economic growth across the globe. The evidence regarding how the current global financial crisis affects the proliferation of M&As has not been straightforwardly negative or positive. Many intervening variables have been hinted at in this essay but more systematic work is required for an exhaustive analysis.

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Green Fundraising - A Healthy Alternative

2010-02-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

With the resurgence of environmental awareness, 'green' fundraising options are being explored by schools, churches and other organizations seeking to raise money to support their cause. 'Reduce, reuse, recycle' is the popular mantra, and 'go green' fundraisers are rapidly gaining popularity.

Common, everyday products being replaced with environmentally friendly substitutes is a big part of what being green is all about. As the overpriced wrapping paper and cookie dough bucket routine becomes overdone and predictable, fundraisers that sell things people actually want are highly in demand. One of the most popular fundraising products is candles, and those made from soy offer the perfect way to 'go green' while conducting a wildly successful drive.

Soy candles are made from a renewable resource, and out-perform standard paraffin or animal by-product candles by a wide margin. They burn longer and cleaner than even beeswax candles, making them a healthier option as well as a better value. Triple scented versions retain their aroma right up to the last minutes of burn time, and the sheer variety of scents and colors ensure that every customer will find something to suit them. A wide selection of tapers, tea-lights, multi-wick candles and layered scents in every possible combination makes candle buying exciting and fun!

Response to candle fundraisers is extremely positive, as customers can tailor their order to their own specifications or budget and don't mind paying up front. Most candles sell for $10-$15 each, with packaged sets running as high as $25 or $30. Holiday bundles offer increased sales opportunities combined with even more savings for customers. Profits generally run from 50-60% of the sales price, and free shipping to each customer can generally be obtained once a certain amount has been sold.

Even a group of just 25 people selling ten to twenty candles apiece can make a large dent in any projected goal - it is possible to raise between $1200 and $3500 during each campaign. The larger the group, the higher the profits. With no need to pay out of pocket for product, risk is nearly non-existent and profits are guaranteed.

Candles are a popular sale item in all economic climates, and their appeal is nearly universal. Market research reveals that 4 out of 5 families buy candles on a regular basis, with spikes around holidays but a fairly steady sales pattern year-round. The ongoing appeal of candles enables organizations to maintain a health sales quotient without the boredom inspired by more traditional fundraisers.

Green fundraisers benefit everyone. The clean burning, renewable qualities of soy candles offer schools and other fundraising groups the opportunity to make excellent profits while promoting an earth friendly product!

Natalie Galyon is the owner of Mountain Mamas Kitchen Co. http://www.mountainmamaskitchen.com Offering Retro-Vintage inspired Soy Candles- "Hand Poured with lots of LOVE".

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Natalie_Galyon

Think Outside the Fundraising Box to Maximize Your Efforts

2010-02-01T17:56:00.001-08:00

Are you planning an upcoming fundraiser for your group, team, or league? Many organizations, especially those that use volunteers or parents to raise funds, depend on the fundraising effort of those involved to meet their organizational budget. The fundraising efforts of these volunteers determine the course of action to take for the upcoming year or season.

So why do organizations fail to reach their goals? Or a better question, why do organizations set low goals when they have the potential to reach five to ten times that amount? Why raise $5,000 when you could be raising $25,000 or $50,000 with the same number of people utilizing the same time? One reason many fail to meet their goals (or settle for lower goals) is the lack of a fundraising plan. A good fundraising plan can help you stand out in the "fundraising crowd" to potential donors.

A fundraising plan outlines in written terms what you are trying to accomplish. The fundraising plan establishes your mission statement, your organizational chart, identifies types of goals, establishes and understanding of the fundraising dates, determines how funds will be handled once raised, and establishes how to communicate to everyone a clear picture of your fundraising needs. It will also collect input from a number of key people and help the group to think of creative strategies that might be outside the normal "fundraising box".

You know the old saying "People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan". Well, this is especially true with fundraising. It amazes me how many groups have little or no plans, only a fundraising product and amount needed. A little time and effort before starting could easily double their efforts. For example, spending $50-100 on a sharp professional sales page to use with your group is like gold. How many times have you been attracted to a sharp sales page? Curiosity will lead people to explore. Another strategies is to divide up into fundraising teams to build competition and camaraderie within the group. But most groups never use anything other than the same old fundraising techniques. It would be better to ask one person for a $1000 check than spend two weeks (or even two hours) with ten people trying to raise $1000. But that is exactly what many groups do with a pancake fundraiser, car wash, or discount card. These same fundraisers could raise five to ten times that amount with a little creative effort and planning. Believe me, we spent years doing that only to learn through experience over time a better way to accomplish our goals and to increase our revenue.

In the current economy would it not be better to plan ahead to insure your success? With more people trying to raise funds from a smaller resource pool its imperative to start thinking outside the "fundraising box". What are your fundraising goals? Can you exceed those goal? Start planning today for your fundraising success.

Mike Posey "CP"
Expert Baseball Tips
Tips from a championship coach's perspective and experience, offering creative insights into helping others.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Posey

How to Expand a Business

2010-02-01T17:51:00.000-08:00

How should I expand my business? If I were to answer this question in one word I would say 'carefully'. More often than not expansion is not about taking risks, rather it's all about building carefully upon the success you've already acquired. Yes it could still fail but it's much more of a calculated risk, an educated roll of the dice. A lot of businesses fail due to greed and having an overtly aggressive appetite for profit and expansion. In business you need a wise and measured mental approach in order to build sensibly upon what you have already done backed up by the proper research and preparation.

The easiest way to picture this process is to imagine you own a building with 12 rooms. If you try and fill all 12 rooms at once with the workings of your business you're risking going broke very quickly. Instead what we do is first fill one room and with that accomplished we build upon that success to fill the second. In each stage we are taking a measured step forward full of confidence because of what has already been done.

Some businesses take time to grow while others are quicker, this can often be out of your control and depend much more on the marketplace you are operating in. Try to expand in a manner which is realistic for your market, by playing smart and making solid growth over time you'll build a more robust business which you can depend upon and be proud of. Any risk you take should be calculated and researched to its fullest extent possible, remember that the last thing life rewards is ignorance through laziness in business.

The author has a popular online product review site. Be sure to check out his latest guides for mens leather gloves as well as lined leather gloves

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Payo_W_Perry

Social Habits - Improve & Grow Your Network

2010-01-17T19:21:00.000-08:00

Are social habits really the key to success in business? I think the answer is yes, and I think this has always been true, but today offers us so many more opportunities to reach more people and have a bigger impact.

What is your focus when it comes to social habits? This is a question you need to continue asking yourself until you go past the surface of meeting more people to make more money to a deeper and more passionate statement. For example, to add value and inspire the people in my circle to go past what they thought was possible for themselves. You try it... keep asking and go deep until you have your 'why' for your social habits focus.

What are your goals with your social habits and how will you make space in your schedule to accommodate those goals? How much time and effort will you spend on a daily and weekly basis and with what particular tasks and activities?

What can you do to stand out and set yourself apart with your social habits so that people will remember you? Even better, what are your special skills and qualities and in what ways can you share those with your growing community?

Lastly, what value can you add to the lives of people that will greatly lend itself to you being a social habits thought leader. Value is given as a token of what is over and above that which people might expect. They receive free value or they pay for something from you, but walk away saying 'wow'! You give them a clear sense of what it means to over deliver. Think about it, what can you do - how will you do it?

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Helen Raptoplous has been called a Muse Mentor by her clients and the premier catalyst for business owners to grow and keep moving their business forward.

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Power of Networking - How to Build a Successful Business by Building Professional Relationships

2010-01-17T19:18:00.001-08:00

We have all heard of the Power of Love, the Power of Positive Thinking, and of course the Power of Prayer. A recent conference that I attended compelled me to explore the Power of Networking.

Last summer, I had the privilege of attending the Eighth Annual National Power Networking Conference in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. I have known of the importance of networking and thought of myself as a decent networker in terms of obtaining a job for myself and helping others to obtain jobs. This event elevated networking to a whole new level in my eyes.

During this 3 day event, my artistic muse was stimulated with new thoughts and ideas on how to propel my business into an entity that would reach a broader clientele base, create generational wealth, employ others, and impact change in the lives of young people.

I first heard of the Power Networking Conference after accepting an invitation to attend a free seminar, "Writing a Winning Sales Proposal" presented by Andrew Morrison, President of the Small Business Camp.

Mr. Morrison's goal was to guide business people through the process of drafting a sales proposal that would lead them to create something of value in less than 16 weeks.

During this seminar, I played the role of the class guinea pig. I learned the components of an effective sales proposal. I also learned that I should transform my fun, interactive math workshops into musical, mathematical extravaganzas. Mr. Morrison's activation during this seminar convinced me to register for the Power Networking Conference.

My biggest concern was making the most of my time during this three day event. I had to attend those seminars and events that were most advantageous to my business such as the two minute elevator pitch competition.

There were hundreds of people, some strangers and some familiar, promoting their businesses and selling their wares. We became better acquainted by participating in workshops that taught us how to effectively grow our businesses; visiting vendor booths; and attending power luncheons, National Town Hall meetings, Power Plenary sessions, Power Panel discussions, and awards presentations. This conference made access to key contacts readily available through these events.

There were many influential people on the program such as Ed Gordon, formerly of BET News and NBC.

Sybil Wilkes and Jeff Johnson of the Tom Joyner Morning Show shared their wisdom with us. I had the pleasure of personally meeting Sybil Wilkes and famed motivational speaker Les Brown.

Les Brown, who is at the time of this writing 65 years old, has scaled back his speaking appearances and uses his time to train the next generation of speakers via his instructional workshops and teaching CD series. Mr. Brown stated that he now speaks 4 times per month instead of 4 times per week and that he "would rather have 25% of 100 people than 100% of himself". WOW! That is networking by using the mantra of duplicating yourself through others.

The Power Networking Conference is spearheaded by George Fraser. Mr. Fraser is the, author of three books on networking. Mr. Fraser also founded Frasernet, a social networking and training tool.

By using Frasernet, businesses can take networking to an exciting new level by implementing technology to market businesses thus promoting "generational wealth" instead of generational debt.

During the conference we were urged to put pride or egos aside to network with those around us. We were inspired to transform our "Work Ethic into a Wealth Ethic" and to move from "Good Today to Amazing Tomorrow".

The amazing two minute elevator pitch competition drew major attention. Conference attendees were invited to submit their proposals for participation. Each person would demonstrate how they would pitch their business idea and ask for funding from a stranger on an elevator in two minutes. After two minutes, the microphone would be silenced. The contestants were rated Olympic style by many very successful entrepreneurs who held signs ranging in scores from 1-10. After the two minute spiel, contestants were critiqued by the judges who offered valuable feedback.

I was one of ten contestants chosen. My elevator pitch described how my company would integrate music, mathematics, and celebrities to host an event that would help children embrace mathematics instead of fear it. This was the idea suggested in the free seminar "Writing a Winning Sales Proposal" presented by Andrew Morrison.

Unfortunately, I did not win the contest, but did win in other ways. The feedback from the captains of industry was extremely valuable. I was told first and foremost to lose the note cards. This is one of my goals in my Toastmasters speeches. The other way that I won was from many people complimenting me on my speech and purchasing my book "How to Help Parents and Kids Get Over the Fear of Math". Since then, I have received lots of correspondence from people whom I am sure will turn into potential clients or business partners.

Without Toastmasters, I would have never had the ability to connect so intimately with my audience. That day and the following day, people were stopping me, referring to me as "The Math Lady", and purchasing my book.

We also learned to make use of social networking technology to promote our businesses such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. As a result, I joined the TAG Team Marketing group and Facebook.

I am still coming to terms with how much personal information to expose on the web. That is a decision that we must all make for ourselves.

One of the most important outcomes of networking is to promote Win-Win situations. This is one of Steven Covey's 7 habits of highly effective people. It is just as important to listen to others as they share their businesses as it is to effectively share your business. It is important to have an attitude to assist someone before the business transaction is made. If there is a mutual feeling that both entities will win, the likelihood that repeat business will occur is greater.

In conclusion, it is extremely important to be open to new ideas and unfamiliar people. It is crucial to spend money to invest in yourself and to use your time wisely. Plan your plan and work your plan. Duplicate yourself in others as Les Brown does. Use Technology to your benefit and by all means create win-win situations.

With the Power of Networking we can reach more people as we promote the power of love, positive thinking, and praise in our interactions with others.

Saundra Carter is the CEO of Math 1 On 1, LLC a mathematics tutoring company that offers tutoring services from Arithmetic to Calculus in a setting convenient to the client. Her company also presents fun, interactive math workshops that can be used as fund raisers for youth groups.

She is the author of "How to Help Parents and Kids Get Over the Fear of Math" and a soon to be released book entitled "Journey of a Modern Day Writer: Secrets of Successful Self-Publishing".

Math 1 On 1, LLC
http://www.math1on1.net

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Power of Networking - How to Build a Successful Business by Building Professional Relationships

2010-01-17T19:18:00.000-08:00