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Developing The Best Brand Strategy For Your Business

Developing a successful brand strategy is essential to the success of your business. The name of your company, the product that you sell, and the overall impression, style, and perceived direction and mission of a business or company.

This article will describe some instances in which a branding strategy or rebranding strategy can be beneficial, and some of the steps involved in the creation of one.

A brand can be solidified and recognized by logos, customer service, and by the family brand under which it is marketed. This is also called family brand, and companies like Disney and Coca Cola incorporate this strategy into their marketing plan.

Disney yogurt, for example, may feature pictures of Mickey Mouse and the Magic Kingdom logo on the box. This connects the product to the Disney Corporation as a whole in the mind of the consumer. When the same consumer purchases a Disney movie, Disney licensed clothing, shoes, or sunglasses, they are showing a brand preference, which is the goal of any effective marketing strategy.

Newer companies work hard to establish their brands, employing marketing teams in house or employing outside marketing and branding experts, with the goal of making sure that any time that a consumer comes in contact with anything associated with a specific company, the brand for that company is reinforced in the minds of the consumers who do so.

Older companies may decide to undergo a rebranding process as their business expands, comes under new ownership, or attempts to appeal to a different demographic.

Many large companies, including McDonalds, have done this successfully. Initially, the restaurant was a take out eatery, but as more and more people, namely families, began to frequent it, the company realized that it could make more money and attract a larger demographic by redesigning and remodeling their restaurants in order to accommodate booths and tables.

Other companies, mainly tobacco companies have gone through more dramatic rebranding, in order to keep abreast with trends, new research, and the general public opinion and consensus of their products.

A brand is a company first chance to make a good impression on the minds of consumers, investors, employees, and anyone associated with, or potentially associated with, a product or service.

Development of a logo, of a set of standards, of a mission, and even of a color scheme for franchises all contribute to this overall feel of a company, product, or service.

For more information about business naming and corporate branding visit our site.

Top Tips for Making Your Office Greener

Despite making changes to their home lives, workers are unlikely to be quite so environmentally -minded at work, particularly if their employers are not seen to take the issue seriously. For this reason change must happen top-down, unless you have an eco-warrior employee who is prepared to plan and implement carbon-saving changes. Here are a few simple things you can do to make your office greener, and I’m not talking USB kettles or reusing teabags.

Travel

Use public transport where possible, and consider implementing a car sharing initiative, it will help you become greener and maybe even bring the workforce closer together. Many firms are also introducing a ride-to-work scheme whereby the company helps out with the cost of a bicycle for the employee to cycle to work. It improves the environment and the mental and physical health of your employees.

Lights

Turning lights off when they’re not in use and replacing old bulbs with energy saving ones greatly increases your green credentials. Utilise natural light wherever possible. It may sound obvious but there is a tendency to put the lights on instead of opening the blinds.

Technology

Replace old energy inefficient hardware with new economic items. You’ll save the world and some money!

Don’t use the air conditioner when opening a window will do. Conditioned air is not nearly as good for you and your employees as a nice bit of (free) fresh air.

Nothing Disposable

Replace paper and plastic cups and cutlery with real ones. Not only are mugs and glasses much better for the environment, but they’re also much nicer to drink from!

Don’t use the dishwasher unless you have a full load, it is easier just to rinse.

Turn Your Computer Off

Turn your computer off when you leave the office, not just the monitor. And that goes for the air conditioner as well.

Really, what is the point turning the lights off and recycling your waste if you’re going to leave your computer on?

Recycle

The emphasis should be on employers to make recycling at work easy and convenient for employees. Getting employees to separate their waste will force them to think about how much paper they waste.

Communication

Use electronic methods of communication rather than leaving notes or memos around the office. Consider using an online forum, messageboard or messenger applications for staff chit-chat instead of passing notes around, you naughty boys and girls! Shall I read it to the whole class?

Only print emails if it is absolutely essential, and add a ‘Think before you print’ disclaimer to your email signature. If you do need to print to paper, set up your printer to double-sided, every little counts!

John Mce writes on behalf of Arc Vision, a company which specialise in corporate responsibility consultancy and recruitment.

The Basic Definition of Concurrent Engineering

Concurrent Engineering is theoretically defined as a systematic approach to the concurrent design of products and their related processes, including manufacture and support. It is an example of group decision making and negotiation that commonly occurs in organizations and involves many agents.

Concurrent Engineering is an evolving process that requires continuous improvement and refinement. It is well established as an approach to engineer product parts, however, the concept has a much broader application. Concurrent engineering is the simultaneous consideration of product and process downstream requirements by multidisciplinary teams.

Specialists from all disciplines, including reliability, maintainability, human factors, safety, logistics, business and management, whose expertise will eventually be represented in the product, have important contributions throughout the system life cycle.

Simply put, it is a business strategy which replaces the traditional product development process with one in which tasks are done in parallel and there is an early consideration for every aspect of a products development process.

This strategy focuses on the optimization and distribution of a firms assets in the design and development process to ensure effective, efficient and concurrent product development process to minimize duplicate or repeat effort and risk.

Concurrent Engineering is now widely accepted as an appropriate method for producing better products faster and for lower cost. Information sharing, conflict resolution and version management are three very important aspects of this process.

Using this business strategy, manufacturers will learn how they can electronically define their critical part attributes both purchased and manufactured, deliver inspection sampling plans to their vendors over the internet and manage the quality trends of each supplier. Paperless process planning allows entire work instructions with data collections to be imbedded directly onto drawings or solid models.

Manufacturers need information about inventory availability, machine uptime and down time, product cycle times, yield, waste, WIP and lot tracking and genealogy. They need information management tools in real time for continuous improvement and decision support, and Concurrent Engineering can help them achieve this.

Many leading manufacturers have made great strides in optimizing materials usage by implementing powerful supply chain applications, and thus streamlining their manufacturing and planning processes. This is largely because this strategy requires applications across all functions within the company to share and communicate information. Each application used in the product development process needs to be linked to the rest.

Thus, this strategy has enabled many organizations to improve their product development, production, and product support and customer relationships. The evidence suggests that when a Concurrent Engineering approach is appropriately designed and implemented, organizational performance improves significantly, resulting in lower cost, improved product quality, reduction in cycle time and time to market, and improved utilization and coordination of human resources.

iBASEt is a leading provider of high-tech software solutions and services. Learn more about Solumina, its Manufacturing Execution Systems online.

Conducting an Effective Internal Privacy Audit

Before an organization can truly dedicate itself to the principles of privacy protection, it needs to take stock of its personal information holdings and the procedures it currently has in place. And in order to move forward on this road to privacy compliance, an organization needs to ask three basic questions: What type of personal information do we hold, where is it stored and how is it managed?

Enter the privacy audit. An audit allows an organization to take inventory of its personal information databank, identify the information needs of the different functions within the organization and understand current information practices, including how and why personal information is collected, used and disclosed. In establishing and conducting a privacy audit, an organization should make sure to keep one basic truism in mind: employees generally do what you inspect, not what you expect!

An internal privacy audit provides a critical self-assessment. It is essential to stress to staff members who have been asked to participate in the audit that they should have no fear of “failing a test” or being called to task for any of their current practices. On the contrary, what an organization needs to focus on at this stage is developing a comprehensive and accurate inventory, one that requires no judgments and no right or wrong answers. The primary objective of the audit must be reinforced: To collect information on current practices that can inform the planning and decision-making process regarding the future application of privacy best practices within the organization.

Once current on-line and off-line practices across the organization are understood, a comprehensive risk assessment can be undertaken. Business practices can be evaluated to identify the gaps in compliance with best practice benchmarks. Based on the level of risk, action steps and timelines for compliance initiatives can be prioritized.

To be most effective, privacy audits must be conducted by someone familiar with privacy issues but not heavily involved in managing day to day operations, such as the privacy office or an internal audit group.

Taking Inventory

The audit begins by taking an inventory of the personal information records currently in existence and of the organization’s information management policies and practices. In some situations, the organization may collect personal information from a wide range of sources, such as customers, partners, contractors, employees, vendors, and even the public at large. Each department in the organization needs to be scrutinized by way of this inventory process in order to determine how and why personal information is collected and used; whether consents were obtained and what form they took; how that information is safeguarded; how long it is retained; and to whom it is released and why.

For an effective inventory, all documentation used to collect and disclose personal information in the course of day-to-day business operations must be reviewed. This important step consists of examining all forms, contracts, confidentiality agreements, third-party assignments, privacy codes of practice, written procedures, fax and e-mail templates etc. By assessing each carefully, one can determine whether the documents are complete and comprehensive in terms of privacy protection or whether they need to be re-drafted or revamped.

It is important when conducting the audit to examine personal information records held in hardcopy, in system folders and other electronic media, as well as any online collections or disclosures. Organizations need to think through all the methods through which personal information is collected. Some examples include:

- Order forms or application forms
- Contests
- E-mails
- Surveys
- Warranties
- Delivery services
- Websites
- Call centre activity and recordings
- Loyalty or referral programs

On of the critical question that needs to be answered during the audit is: What are the information needs of the different departments within the organization? Staff interviews, employee surveys and group discussions can help answer this question. By talking to employees, one can get a really good sense not only of the formal practices, but the informal, accepted norms adopted by the department.

Potential Audit Questions:

- How does your organization (or unit or department) collect personal information?
- Why does your organization collect personal information?
- Are individuals made aware that the organization is collecting their personal information?
- If so, are individuals informed of the purpose(s) for collecting their personal information?
- Is consent obtained from individuals before collecting or using their personal information? If so, what methods are used to obtain that consent?
- How does the organization use personal information?
- To whom does the organization disclose the personal information?
- Are individuals informed of the intended uses and disclosures of their personal information? If so, what methods are used to inform them?
- Is the personal information held by the organization accurate, complete and up-to-date?
- How does the organization store personal information? Where is it stored?
- Who has access to personal information held by the organization and who truly needs to have that access?
- Does the organization have measures in place to protect the personal information it holds from unauthorized access, collection use, disclosure or modifications?
- How long does the organization retain personal information?
- How does the organization destroy or dispose of personal information?

With the audit steps complete, a report is then created, summarizing the results and providing recommendations for the organization to follow based on the areas that need greater focus. Effectively, the report helps the organization devise a thorough and comprehensive privacy plan of attack, one that responds effectively to the organization’s particular needs, and that helps it move forward in the direction of achieving a strong privacy management program.

Fazila Nurani is a privacy consultant, lawyer and lead trainer with PrivaTech Consulting. Fazila has conducted privacy audits in a wide range of industries. She advises organizations on privacy best practices, and reducing the risk of a privacy or information security breach. She may be reached at +1.905.886.0751 or fnurani@privatech.ca.

A New Great Approach to Corporate Branding

There are a growing number of companies who are now paying more keen attention in creating and maintaining a strong corporate brand. They are decidedly taking a leaf out of the experts books, from big conglomerates that have valiantly stayed at the top position through the year amid the stiff competition ensued by other key players in the industry. In the marketing world, the newest ingredient for success is by developing a brand platform, which is said to be the ultimate springboard for every branding decision.

The companys brand platform is basically the very essence of what the product brands stand for. It is a strategically an innovative approach to corporate branding based on a set of statements that will encompass the identity of your company, what it is all about, its products and services, and its mission and goals. Although there are varying approaches to formulating a branding platform depending on the type of business, it vitally has these common elements:

Mission

The primary effective approach to corporate branding is to be able to come up with a set of driving philosophy of your business. It should be succinct and clear in expressing the companys purpose, the products features and benefits, your target market and the advantages that would back you up in view of the tough competition. Make sure that your mission statement will be brief but written in a very compelling way.

Identity Attributes

These are the list of the core attributes of your brand, the key words or phrases that you want your clients to associate with your company, products or services you offer. These features should stand out from the rest of the competitors and should resonate the specific preferences of your target market. A great example of this is the word safety, which most consumers would readily associate with FedEx. The company basically owns the word.

Value Proposition

Another efficient approach to corporate branding is by coming up with a set of your companys competitive advantages over and above other adversaries in the industry. The value proposition will mainly inform your consumers of the main benefits if they choose you product brand from the rest of other competing brands.

Brand Story

It is important to be able to record the humble history of the organization, and chronicle the grueling way on how you were able to survive in the industry through the years. This unconventional approach to corporate branding will help you build a powerful reputation, backed up with valuable years of experience. Everybody loves a good story, and your companys public relations will certainly benefit by sharing your own unique success story.

You have spent a great deal of your resources time, energy and money to develop your business offerings and ensure quality and customer satisfaction. There is growth in your business and to further this growth, your brand needs to be strong and sound. You need a unified branding strategy that will include all your business operations, communications and dealings. This is where corporate banding consulting firms can help.

For more corporate business information or to view a selection of corporate articles and information and strategic business planning articles and information visit Articles.net.au - Your source for free Articles, Information and Website Content.

A Guide To Internet Strategy And Corporate Branding

One always wants to have a good reputation in the business one is in. You do everything to build your name and establish it as a company of choice for consumers to buy quality products and efficient services at. You focus your marketing efforts towards creating an image and evoking a certain feeling when your company name and logo is seen or heard by your customers.

You have done all you can - you have chosen a company name, a logo, a catchy phrase, a jingle, and everything else under your corporate branding drive. You have ensured good quality products, prompt sales transaction, and efficient customer service - you provided your consumer with the ultimate buying experience and an excellent customer satisfaction.

What more can you do to include in your corporate branding strategy? Is there still something else you can do? How about an Internet strategy in corporate branding?

Internet Strategy In Corporate Branding - The Online Approach

Get An Online Presence - First and foremost in your Internet strategy in corporate branding is choosing website name. If your business name is still available in the Internet - meaning nobody is using it - then you can take this for your own with a fee. If no longer available, choose one that fits your company best - be creative on getting a website name. It should be short and simple so that it can easily be remembered.

Get Hosting Services - The next step would include getting a hosting service for your websites. These companies offer their web servers for you to host your name, your website and your web pages.

Get Informative and Valuable Content - This is a critical Internet strategy in corporate branding. Having an informative content on your website, with regards to the products you sell and on the industry you are in, will give your website visitors the idea and the feeling that you know what you are doing, and that you are an authority in your field. Good website content makes your customers or potential customers want to visit your site again and again to learn about recent developments and any new information you will give out.

Promote Your Website - One can do this by submitting to search engines - some with a fee while some are free. There are also methods as banner exchange, paid ads on high traffic websites and many more. Find one which you think offers the right service for your moneys worth.

Provide the Appropriate Look and Interactive Experience - Aside from website content, this is another important strategy in Internet branding - as this is a way of getting your customers or visitors hooked to your site. If you have a professionally designed website which incorporates forums, discussion boards, blogs, etc. - you will get the interactivity people are looking for.

Have a Full E-commerce Functionality and Efficient Customer Service - If you should also decide to sell your products online, you would need to get your website a full e-commerce functionality. It should be able to safely & securely accept and process credit cards transactions. Also, you should be able to deliver on time the products bought, and be able to provide efficient customer service to any issues or inquiries your customers will make.

Internet Strategy In Corporate Branding - Your Cyber Arm

An Internet strategy in corporate branding would be a good way to ride the waves of cyberspace technology. An online presence would be a good addition to getting your business message out - and establishing your company name as one to contend with in your industry.

For more articles and information or to view a selection of business advertising articles and information and business opportunities articles and information visit Articles.net.au - Your source for free Articles, Information and Website Content.

Business Excellence: Its in the Eye of the Beholder

At a recent forum the panel the discussion was around programs that lead an organization to excellence. The most consistent views seemed to suggest that few programs on their own will achieve excellence. There needs to be an overall strategy moving an organization towards excellence. Nothing occurs overnight and each piece of the puzzle has its own pitfalls.

Looking at the Ford Motor Company, as an example. They have implemented almost every business improvement or business excellence strategy possible and they recently posted losses of about $12 BILLION. Clearly, the strategies they have implemented (TQM, TPS, JIT, Lean, Six Sigma, TOC, and probably more) as well as new IT systems that have been installed, have not led to business excellence.

I have seen companies get results from each strategy individually but few have had breakthrough results. Each strategy has usually only focused on one aspect of the business, mostly process. Yes, Lean is moving into the office but it is still process. It is now about shuffling paper faster and more efficiently. Big deal. ERP systems moved companies to think in terms of processes and attempted to break functional silos, but ERPs are transactional systems that move companies forward incrementally, by creating piecemeal savings. Yes in a F50 the numbers are large but relatively speaking they are incremental. People in the business require new skill sets and ROIs are hardly ever equal to those planned or projected by the IT departments and consultants! Been there seen that.

GE is often mentioned as an outstanding organization. Business owners and managers often mention GEs success and Six Sigma in the same breath. What they fail to realize is Six Sigma was part of an overall plan. Some GE companies only started on their road to excellence and using Six Sigma after many years had been spent re organizing, redesigning, re hiring and focusing the business in minute detail. Six Sigma was not the cause and final end result of their improvement, nor their excellence!

Over the past few years I have been working with companies to achieve their strategies. What this has meant is looking at business in a holistic manner and making sure each piece of a strategic plan is budgeted for and is executed to achieve the desired results, or better. Essentially companies realize that no matter what happens in their strategic planning sessions they are not realizing the results they would like to see. Yes, one can just imagine FORD executives saying” OK guys we are going to drop $12 Billion this next year!

What this means is companies needs to improve their performance in a multitude of areas. This can be done without a name brand process, or a software package. To reiterate, it is not about ERPs, CRMs, Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, or anything else you can think of. Sure you may add one later but that is not the reason for success, although it probably will assist in reinforcing the changes that are made along the way.

The key to excellence in performance is rather simple; It is not easy but it is simple.
1. Have a great strategy.
2. Surround yourself with people who believe in the strategy.
3. Aggressively execute the strategy.
4. Measure your results along the way.
5. Celebrate your successes

This very simple strategy is often scoffed at as not possibly being able to work. The reasons for chuckles are typically; my business is too complex, we are different, and you dont understand my business, I am sure you have all heard these and more, yet this process has never failed. Its tried and tested. Everything else clouds your vision and makes things seem more complex than they really are.

There are, however, any number of small, middle market, and transitional businesses who have grown 3 - 5x their revenue using this very simple strategy. Again, the simplicity should not overshadow the difficulty of actually implementing it. It is tough. People are the issue. Its about challenging paradigms. Moving through false assumptions and mental models which may have become ingrained over many years.

So how do you get this right? Get your top team together. For a session with a difference. Develop that strategy that everybody can support from the get-go. Start with assessing and analyzing the things you do well and the things in which you are challenged. Be rigorous and hide nothing. Your failures reversed could just propel you to success. Failures are an indication of trying new things and just not having figured out all the kinks. Develop working guidelines for achieving success when implementing new approaches. Ensure these are in line with your companies values. This step is all too often overlooked and very quickly leads to discontent and resulting failure.

Next step is letting each team member developing process based, or even functional based priorities for the year. Present these to the group with the rationale as to their inclusion. Once they are all up there select no more than ten as the major objectives for the organization. This is not as simple as it sounds, mind you. A good facilitator will certainly help.

List those top ten objectives. Determine the metrics of success. Define monthly targets. Determine how to get the data in a format to present to your group and the company to show success.

This will be the basis of a monthly review. You will be visiting the exceptions in detail and celebrating successes. This will be the cornerstone of achieving strategic success and corporate excellence. Focused monthly review session based on the top ten objectives will place you squarely on the path to success and excellence.

Like I said, simple. Not easy.

Graeme Nichol Arcturus Advisors (http://www.arcturusadvisors.com)works with business leaders and their teams to close the gap between great strategies and mediocre results. (Newsletter arcturusadvisor@aweber.com)

Corporate Branding Strategy - The Tips For Branding Success

One important question for many businesses is what makes a corporate branding strategy successful? Whether a company is looking to create its own brand or to make it over, ensuring success is a top most goal.

A powerful corporate brand serves to create confidence in your business and your product and service offerings. This confidence should not only be felt by the business owner or the management team but should also be present among employees and, more importantly, the customers. While it may be difficult to weigh intangible values such as confidence, a good way to measure customers perception of your corporate brand is through sales performance. Logically, when you have successfully built an effective brand it will translate to more business - the end goal of any corporate branding strategy.

There are several important considerations in order to develop an effective corporate branding strategy. First, you need to have a thorough understanding of your customers or your target market, your business offerings including your competition. Thorough research on these areas is the first step to identifying how to best position your business.

For any corporate branding strategy to be successful, it needs the attention and commitment of the companys leadership. Confidence in the corporate brand should start at the highest level of management in order to reach all shareholders effectively. If people involved with your business believe in what you offer, this will undoubtedly create an interest in customers. They will want to give your product or your service a try because they associate with your brand a certain confidence that you will deliver what you promise.

Because your corporate brand is a powerful tool, it needs to deliver the right message about your company. That is why you need to plan your corporate branding strategy carefully not only to save time and money but, more importantly, to ensure that your brand is conveying the values of your business as effectively as possible.

If there is one other thing that your corporate branding strategy should have, it is consistency. Delivering the same message about your business every time across all medium - whether it is print, broadcast or the Internet - is the key to establishing a recognizable and enduring brand similar to successful brands such as Coke or Pepsi, Apple, Google, Kleenex, among others.

Lastly, your corporate branding strategy will not work if your goals are only set for a short period. Time is an important element in corporate branding. It took a lot of time for big brands to get where they are, so you need a solid corporate branding strategy that will survive the test of time.

In todays crowded business market, companies - whether big or small - are competing more than ever to deliver their message. As companies launch all kinds of advertising and marketing campaigns to lure consumers, it becomes more difficult for one message to stand out. Additionally, the increasing cost of marketing a new product or service makes it critical for a company to come up with an efficient strategy to promote its business. Companies utilize corporate branding in order to bring out their message effectively and efficiently.

For more articles and information or to view a selection of network marketing business articles and information and business project management articles and information visit Articles.net.au - Your source for free Articles, Information and Website Content.

Choosing The Right Home Business Income Opportunity

While there is no easy answer to the questions about which home business income opportunity is right for you, there are some guideposts along the way of doing business that will tell you if you have chosen an opportunity that is the right one for you.

For example, if your home business income depends on your opportunity to mix and mingle with other people, this is a great set up for an extrovert who simply loves meeting new people. Perhaps you are in business to sell a certain vitamin that will help people to increase their energy level while at the same time enable them to lose some weight. You know that there is a huge market out there for such a supplement, but you need to get the word out. Your ideas for advertising online are great but personal contacts are everything for this kind of business.

After all, people want to see what you look like, if you look like you are using the product yourself and if you can give them some personal testimony about what the product did for you. Of course, this means that you need to know the product inside out, that you can stand behind it and that you believe in what it does. Furthermore, it also means that you need to be attending conventions, visiting vendors, man a stand at a local mall to create some awareness about your product and also be comfortable to simply approach people on the street. If you find that you are not an extrovert by a long shot, then perhaps this is not the best home business income opportunity for you.

Do not despair. There are plenty of other opportunities out there. Maybe the problem is not so much that you are not a real extrovert but perhaps you feel funny approaching people and talking to them about their weight. Maybe you need a more natural setting to allow you to shine. A different business opportunity may give you that edge. Perhaps you love to spend time with your dog and you have decided to sell a great new leash system that works so much better than the cumbersome leashes most people are using. While walking your dog, you could be displaying your product, getting into conversation with other dog enthusiasts and spreading the word about the new leash system.

As you can see, a home business is only as profitable as the person who uses it and is able to make it work for her or him. For this reason it is so crucial to make sure that you are indeed pursuing the opportunity that is right for you, personally. What might work for your mother in law or your next door neighbor might not work for you.

Obinna Heche. Los Angeles - California

Delivering the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home successfully..
http://www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365/builder.htm

Building A Learning Organisation

A learning organisation is an organisation that learns and encourages learning among its people. It promotes exchange of information between employees, hence creating a more knowledgeable workforce. This produces a very flexible organisation where people will accept and adapt to new ideas and change through shared vision.

It is said that the only constant in life is change and organisations are not spared. Change brings about not only uncertainty and risks but also opportunities for growth. Those organisations that can manipulate the information available have a bigger chance to succeed. It is therefore important for everyone to be more knowledgeable about the work environment they are in. Building a learning organisation is a means to a business goal. It is not a new theory but a concept that has become an increasingly widespread philosophy in modern companies, from the largest multinationals to the smallest enterprises. It is to be applied according to the circumstances of each business, which has to cater for it at strategic and operational levels.

‘Systems Thinking’ takes a holistic approach to learning whereby not only does the organisation learn but so do all its employees, irrespective of their role within the organisation. Information has to be disseminated to all levels and does not stop at top management, thus, facilitating learning through flexibility and open communication by removing barriers to communication and adopting flatter organisational structure and design.

Therefore the message is clear: any organisation that is committed to future success must become a learning organisation in order to compete and survive. Today continuous improvement is a must. “Any organisation is only as good as its people and continuous improvement in business is about the development of people and therefore creating a learning culture.” (Sheppard)

Systems Thinking
The idea behind the concept coined ‘Systems Thinking’ in the 1950’s was that enterprises need to be aware of both the company as a whole as well as the individuals within the company - taking a holistic approach to managing. Gould-Kreutzer Associates Inc. defined it as “a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things; to see the forest and the trees.” System Thinking therefore tries to change the managerial view so that it includes the ambitions of the individual workers, not just the business goals.

However, it was only during the 1990’s that this concept started to be taken seriously by organisations. Systems Thinking nowadays is synonymous with Peter Senge, one of the modern day gurus, who in his book “The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organisation” popularised the concept of the learning organisation, and referred to ‘Systems Thinking’ as the Fifth Discipline. Since its publication in 1990, more than a million copies of this book have been sold and in 1997, Harvard Business Review identified his book as one of the seminal management books of the past 75 years.

According to Senge, learning organisations are “organisations where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together. ”
Senge posits that the dimension that distinguishes learning from more traditional organisations is the mastery of certain basic disciplines, which he regards as a series of principles and practices that we study, master and integrate into our lives. The five disciplines that he identifies are said to be common to all learning organisations.

They are:

1. PERSONAL MASTERY. This is the discipline of ‘continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.

People with a high level of personal mastery live in a continual learning mode, continually clarifying and deepening their personal vision. This takes place by assessing the gap between their current knowledge and the desired knowledge, and by practising and refining skills. This develops self-esteem and creates the confidence to tackle new challenges.

2. MENTAL MODELS. These are ‘deeply ingrained assumptions, generalisations, or even pictures and images that influence how we understand the world and how we take action. ‘

The discipline of mental models starts with turning the mirror inward; learning to unearth our internal pictures of the world, to bring them to the surface and hold them rigorously to scrutiny. Every individual has his own perception of the things around him. This happens consciously and unconsciously and therefore, if team members can, through positive, constructive criticism, challenge each others’ ideas and assumptions, they can begin to perceive their mental models, and to change these to create a shared mental model for the team. This is important as the individual’s mental model will control what can or cannot be done.

3. BUILDING SHARED VISION. Senge sees this as ‘the capacity to hold a shared picture of the future we seek to create. ‘When there is a genuine vision (as opposed to the all-to-familiar ‘vision statement’), people excel and learn. To create a shared vision, large numbers of people within the organisation must draft it, empowering them to create a single image of the future. With a shared vision, people will do things because they want to, not because they have to.

4. TEAM LEARNING. Such learning is viewed as ‘the process of aligning and developing the capacities of a team to create the results its members truly desire. ‘

It builds on personal mastery and shared vision, but these are not enough. People need to be able to act together, as virtually all important decisions occur in groups. Adults learn best from each other and with team learning, the learning ability of the group becomes greater than the learning ability of any individual in the group.

5. SYSTEMS THINKING. The cornerstone of any learning organisation is this fifth discipline. This is the ability to see the bigger picture, to look at the interrelationships of a system as opposed to simple cause-effect chains.

Systems thinking shows us that the essential properties of a system are not determined by the sum of its parts but by the process of interactions between those parts. This is the discipline used to implement the other disciplines. Without it each of the disciplines would be isolated and would fail to achieve its objective.

How to build a learning organisation
The challenges facing managers in applying these five disciplines at the workplace are the following:
. Building a sound base
. Apply the Golden Rules

BUILDING A SOUND BASE
Before a Learning Organisation can be achieved, a solid foundation has to be in place. This can be implemented by taking into account the following points.

~ Awareness. Awareness of the benefits of a learning organisation must permeate to all levels not just the management level. A learning culture must be fostered among the employees that survival of the fittest depends on having a knowledgeable workforce. Change should start and be supported from top management and this ‘new’ culture should be manifested in the commitment to learning, personal development of the individual as well as valuing people and their divergent views.

~ The Environment. The right environment must be in place so that learning can take place. Centralised, mechanistic structures do not create a good environment. Organisations having organic structures are well positioned to develop into a learning organisation. An organic structure places less emphasis on giving and taking orders and more on encouraging managers and subordinates to work together in teams and to communicate openly with each other. Authority, responsibility and accountability flow to employees with the expertise required to solve problems. In a nutshell, a flat organisation, whereby communication can flow in all directions and foster innovation amongst its employees.

~ Leadership. Managers must adopt open communication management styles so that employees will be able to question and come forward with ideas. Understand that mistakes and errors are part of this process and therefore employees should not be in fear of reprimands. Managers must also provide commitment for long-term learning in the form of resources (money, personnel and time). The amount of these resources determines the quantity and quality of learning.

~ Empowerment. Employees should be empowered to take decisions and actions. Let them own the process whilst monitoring all that is happening. Only through motivation and innovation will the employees grow and learn, equal participation should be encouraged so that employees can learn from each other simultaneously. The benefits are for themselves and the organisation.

~ Learning. Company-wide training is to be made available. This may take the form of simulation case studies where brainstorming sessions will be beneficial to all participants.
APPLY THE GOLDEN RULES
The following practices and approaches can be used while managing the learning process.

1. Thrive on change. Management must not be afraid of change. There should be commitment to and focus on the things that matter most. Change is necessary and therefore clear objectives and plans must be in place. Change will translate itself into a learning opportunity.

2. Encourage experimentation. Change will bring along uncertainty and risks. Experimentation is a necessary risk. Accept mistakes as a normal process and encourage employees to come forward with ideas. Learning from mistakes is often more powerful than learning from success. The most important thing is to ‘fail intelligently’ to learn something from mistakes. Apply reviews of the whole change process and reward individual effort.

3. Communicate success and failure. Let there be a communication system of disseminating information and knowledge that reaches everyone efficiently, for example, through company journals, website, job rotation programs etc.

4. Facilitate learning from the surrounding environment. Learn from internal factors such as processes and procedures at work and find ways of how to improve learning from competitors. Avoid their mistakes and copy their well-achieved results. Can also form alliances to have a cross fertilisation of ideas. Build a relationship with customers. Apply an outside-in policy to strategies. Customers provide free advice through their complaints, suggestions and surveys. After all, the organisation survives through satisfying customers. Theirs might be the best advice.

5. Facilitate learning from employees. Offer continuous learning and multi-skilling opportunities. Remove hierarchies and empower people to experiment and take decisions. The people at the lower ranks in an organisation are the ones who know most of the problems within the business. This means that more often than not, the employees themselves know what needs to be done to improve the business.

6. Reward learning. Have a proper performance appraisal system to reward those employees who are embracing the learning culture to boost morale. Remember that everybody wants their work to be appreciated. Make sure therefore that individual performance is linked with organisational performance.

7. Intentionally retrieve and retain company memory. It is important to keep a record of processes and achievements so that learning will not be lost; it can be passed on to those coming later on into the company and also the company can refer back to information held. The learning process must be planned and objectives for it set. It must be monitored and reviewed all the time.

Through the learning organisation process people will develop, the brains of all employees are switched on, not just those of the few, and a feel good factor is created through greater motivation. A more flexible workforce evolves by building organisations fit for human beings. People will become more creative and social interaction will improve. Teams and groups will work better through knowledge sharing, becoming more interdependent, increasing responsibility at all levels and developing an entrepreneurial spirit. The company will benefit from better customer relations, the breaking down of traditional communication barriers, and from the increased creativity and innovation of its people that should give it a competitive edge.

Sandro Azzopardi is a professional author who writes articles on his web site and local newspapers. http://www.theinfopit.com/business/learning/buildingalearningorganisation-1.php

Renting Office Space Which Web Sites Offer the Best Information and Selection?

Renting office space can be done without ever having to leave your home. In the past, if you were looking to rent office space, you would have to get in your car and drive from building to building. This could take an entire day, and you still might not find what you want.

But luckily, renting space has become a radically easier process. Now all you need is a computer with Internet access and a telephone - and the patience to sort through dozens of office space listings and then contact the property managers. After a few telephone calls, the space you are looking for generally turns up.

You can start by checking out the National Tenant Rep website. It is easy to navigate and offers hundreds of listings in primarly large metropolitan areas. In addition to letting you rent office space, it gives you the option to buy office space or to even purchase entire floors or buildings. National Tenant Rep will also work through their network of property managers to find the lowest prices or the right amount of floor space for you.

Regus.com, another excellent site dedicated to space, prides itself on finding people office space with flexible terms. They are aware that not everybody wants to be locked into a long term lease. So they make renting office space easy. You can provide your contact information to them, and they will go out and find what you are looking for; whether it be a conferencing room for a single day or a virtual office for an entire month.

The internet offers many web sites that you can search for space to let. Do a simple search on Google(tm) to uncover the many sites available to work with. There is a vast amount of information on the internet just waiting on you to take advantage of it.

Another way to find space is to contact a local realtor and have them search for you. Realtors not only handle property to purchase, but especially in small towns also handle property for rent or lease.

When you decide to rent office space, consider starting out by checking sites like the ones listed above. These sites make renting office space easy and very time effective. In addition to this, you may also want to pick up a free real estate listing magazine at your local newspaper store to find more local listings.

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the publisher of your-office-space.info. A website that specializes in providing office space leasing advice on how to get multiple quotes on leasing office space that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home.

Employees Don’t Come With Instruction Manuals

Don’t you wish employees came with instruction manuals? Studies show managers spend 60% of their time dealing with people problems. That leaves only 40% to work on the organization’s objectives. Have you ever become frustrated by an employee’s inability to follow simple instructions or ideas, or surprised by an employee’s hostility to you or their co workers? It happens all the time.

What is often missing is objective information on an employee’s personality and behavioral makeup. If you understand the employee you can communicate more effectively with him, boost his morale and increase his productivity. You can’t go on “gut feel” or keep doing the same old thing. You can lose a good employee that way.

There a number of different employee assessments to help solve this problem, but most managers and business owners aren’t psychologists, and don’t aspire to be one. They should look for a well validated assessment tool that is easy to administer (the good ones can all be done online) and, most of all, provides an easy to read report for both the employee’s manager and the employee.

Let’s look at an assessment tool called the Profiles Performance Indicator. It can be done online and generates easy to read reports that are like an “instruction manual” for an employee. So what does it tell you? First of all it will tell you whether an employee will adapt to change, a constant in today’s business world and if he is a team player. Next it measures seven more behavioral tendencies including;
Productivity
Quality of work
Initiative
Problem solving
Response to stress and conflict
Work motivation
Motivational energy

This will help you easily create a unique professional development plan for the employee. Every person is different and you want to use the right approach with each employee. Morale gets a tremendous boost because you are using a personalized communication plan for each employee. He sees that your attention is directed at his specific needs and personality. Plus he gets a report designed specifically for his own professional development.

Employee development expert, Robert Cameron, states, “Understanding an employee better will make a manager more effective. With the talent wars raging you can ill afford to lose a good employee just because he was not managed effectively”. Cameron goes on to say, “Imagine if you had a unique instruction manual for each employee, wouldn’t that make things run so much smoother in the workplace?”

Employees quit supervisors not companies, often because we simply don’t understand each other well enough. With this simple 20 minute online assessment you can gain a much better understanding of an employee and how to get him to improve his individual and team performance. It can eliminate much of the time, 60 %, spent resolving misunderstandings, stress issues, and other interpersonal problems.

The bottom line is you don’t want to risk losing your best employees. Use the tools that are available to gain a better understanding of “what makes them tick” so that they will be happy, contented and productive employees.

Robert Cameron works with employers across the country to help them enhance their selection, hiring and development of employees. He can be reached at 954-385-8701.

For more information contact Robert A. Cameron & Associates, Weston FL. Mr. Cameron works with employers to help them increase the effectiveness of their employee selection, retention and development. They can be reached at 954-385-8701 or visit their website at http://www.racameron.com

What is Serviced Office Space?

A serviced space comes equipped with many benefits that a standard office would never be able to offer. A office space is one that comes fully equipped. Some of the main features often include furniture, telephone lines, internet access, and a kitchen. Some of the larger serviced offices also include meeting and conferencing rooms. A serviced office space makes it very easy for a company to move in and get started right away. If you do not have time to take off, you need to get a serviced office space. Some of the major benefits of a serviced office space include:

Flexibility: with a space you can upgrade your business very quickly without having to make many adjustments. If you are looking to move into a new office, a space is best because you will not have to take a lot of time getting everything set up. This is a major benefit of serviced office space.

Defined costs: a serviced office space allows you to get all of your costs up front so that you know exactly how much you will be paying for a month. In a traditional space you may have to pay for each separate internet connection. But in a serviced office everything will already be built in. All you need to do is put the features to work! This allows for ease of bookkeeping and reduces those headaches associated with controlling your own space. The costs are all wrapped up into one fee. there are many different things that go into setting up a space from scratch. It is easy to get lost in all the details and you could possibly go over budget on start-up.

A serviced space saves you a lot of money on furniture and other start up accessories. These offices come fully equipped with everything that you will need to start a business. If you have ever bought a 12 foot table and six chairs to go around it you know how expensive it can get. Let alone all of the other furniture needed for your space. These start-up costs can literally put you in the poor house and leaves no cash reserves for business operations.

These are just three of the benefits of renting a serviced space. Contact your local office building and ask if they have anything like this available. It could be the best decision your company ever makes. It will surely get you up and running much quicker.

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the publisher of your-office-space.info. A website that specializes in providing office space leasing advice on how to get multiple quotes on leasing office space that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home.

What to Consider When You Rent Office Space

If you are looking to rent office space, there are a couple of things that you may want to keep in mind before you start looking. Even though it sounds like it should be easy enough, it is actually sometimes very difficult to find office space that suits your budget and your business needs. The tips below will help you to keep everything in perspective when you are out searching for a new office.

First off, you want to consider the space factor. If you are going to rent office space, you need to make sure that you are going to have enough room to effectively operate your business. So if you have 60 employees, there is no way that you are going to get away with three offices. You are going to have to rent out an entire floor, and are probably going to be looking for a space that has many offices and a conference room. On the other hand, if you are only looking to rent office space for a handful of people, you can probably get away with one office. Your specific needs here will dictate what you need. You must simply do a little planning ahead.

Next, be sure to take price into consideration. Obviously this is a given, but be sure to check out more than one office before you commit to anything. For the same amount of money, you may be able to get a larger office area cross town. Doing the appropriate amount of research can help to ensure that you rent office space at a fair price point. Be sure you have enough budgeted for your new space. Many times a space will be accquired and not put into the annual budget.

Finally, consider the location of the office space that you are looking to rent. It is convenient for everybody in your company? Is the neighborhood safe? Does it have all of the convienences you need? Will it serve you in the long term? Is an internet connection available? Most companies now days need this.

The ability to rent space that suits all your needs takes some skills. But the more research you do, the more comfortable you will feel. It does not have to be difficult to rent space; however, if you do not perform the due diligence to find an appropriate-size office in a good neighborhood, you may end up frequently encountering problems that you don’t need.

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the publisher of your-office-space.info. A website that specializes in providing office space leasing advice on how to get multiple quotes on leasing office space that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home. Visit your-office-space.info today!

Accountable Or Responsible - That Is The Question

When I moved from a business where I was the responsible one, to where I was the accountable one.

And it was a shock, I can tell you. It was a shock so vivid that just occasionally I wake thinking about it, even now!

I got myself offered a great promotion, as a result of some big-time management shuffling at the top and a restructure. It was a move to a very big business and a huge change in culture for me. In fact when I got to my first conference, I was just about the youngest there.

Think country bumpkin to big city. It was like ‘Mr Smith Goes to Washington’ - and more.

I tried my best, putting into practice all the skills I’d learnt along the way. Challenging situations that had been quite a stretch for me at the time. Yet, after six months I was exhausted and crawled back to my boss to admit defeat. I wanted out - and back to where I was comfortable.

He was having none of that and, (very nicely and very firmly), pushed me back into the frying pan - it was that hot!

Then, one day, a realisation struck me.

I was managing things, not people.

In fact, I was the doer of much of the ’stuff’ in the business and not managing my people to do the ’stuff’ they were eminently qualified to do. I was doing a role that was way less than I was being paid for - and upsetting some of those who were paid to do it!

Immediately I realised, I spent time developing the capabilities of my people, investing time in them rather than doing all the jobs myself. It was a tough call at the time. Corporate world has little energy for those who step back from delivering short-term profits - even when the outcome will be much more profitable in the long term.

And things started to turn around.

This brings me to the difference between ‘accountable’ and ‘responsible’.

Whilst I had the energy and capacity in a much smaller business, I could keep each plate spinning myself. I was responsible for all of it and the often much of the ‘doing’ too. I worked hard and could cope with it.

When the business became much bigger, I found out that I couldn’t do it all any more.

Whilst I was accountable for the performance of my business, it became time to give away responsibility to others, with support.

Firmly and fairly, I gave away the ‘doing’ and let them get on with it. I told them the ‘what’ and let them have the ‘how’, within a few rules we agreed.

It was sure a tough learning for me and, well, if I could, you can too.

A corner was truly turned.

Office Space In Manhattan: A Competitive Market

Office space in Manhattan can be very hard to come by. This is one of the most competitive markets in the entire United States. If you are lucky enough to have good office space in Manhattan you should think twice before getting rid of it. And never get rid of your office space unless you have another one lined up. If you do this in Manhattan you may end up without an office, or find yourself having to relocate to another part of town.

In order to find space in Manhattan you may want to first start out by searching the internet. Being that the region is so big, it would be impossible to search the entire area by yourself. This is when a site such as those found in a search engine comes into play. This is just one of a hundred or so websites that offers office space in Manhattan. The good thing about this site is that it specializes in Manhattan area office space. A lot of other sites will bog you down with information that you do not want, but some will give you just what you need; nothing more.

Another advantage of some sites is that they also offer useful articles for the first timer in Manhattan. These articles will allow you to make the best decision possible when searching for office space in Manhattan. The office space search at this site is easy to navigate, and you will have results back within seconds.

Since offices in Manhattan is so competitive you most definitely want to check out an internet site as opposed to doing all of the searching yourself. This will go a long way in saving you time and money in the long run. Do yourself a favor and get some aid from an Internet site. You will be glad that you did when you find the deal of your dreams. They are there to be had but due diligence must be excercized in order to find them.

Try using the Google search engine and search for keywords such as office space in Manhattan, Manhatten for lease, etc. You can also try to find other sites by searching Google for a keyword phrase such as office space directory manhattan. You should be able to find a hundred or so sites by searching the Google search engine. Google comes in handy for most any search as they have gotten a large share of the search engine market and are by far, the most reliable.

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the publisher of your-office-space.info. A website that specializes in providing office space leasing advice on how to get multiple quotes on leasing office space that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home.

Why Are You Stalling? There’s Money To Be Made Online!

The hard information’s out. There’s assets to be made on the internet. Well, legitimately, that’s not imaginative to a lot of subjects; the statement’s been out for some time. Despite that very truth, there are millions of the populace who’ve heard the news but haven’t seen the hard cash. So, what’s the secret? How do you really make fortune on the internet? The message’s the same as it is in the bricks and mortar world - you have to know how to sell.

The Internet hasn’t changed the basic assertion of making funds, it’s only added a untapped layer of opportunities. That’s because, other than a minor wrong, the only way cash changes hands is if a willing buyer meets a willing merchant. And that will never change.

So what’s so awkward about making currency online? For one thing, it’s too easy as pie to get started. Back in the pre-online days you had to make a sizeable contribution of time and dough to open up your own market. Now, anyone despite a spare twenty bucks can rent some server space and throw up an Online site in a day or less. And that’s the problem.

You see, too many man get through to doing ventures online from the off prospective. It’s not a matter of “build it and they will come”; the Internet is far too crowded with web sites selling products and services for the observation of shopping online to be novel anymore.

Big companies with years and years of off-line selling experience are competing for the same customers and the same dollars that you are. Given that they have all of this experience, and all of this fortune to spend, who do you expect is going to come out the winner?

Blamelessly, it’s not going to be you unless you know how to sell. Once you master the art of selling you stand a better chance of grabbing some of that hard cash common people are spending with the big boys. And, believe me, you can fill your bank account to overflowing just despite the crumbs that fall off of the big seller’s tables.

Here’s my message, if you really want to make dough on the internet. Learn how to barter. Learn how to dangle an offer that’s so enticing that customers will go out of their way to find out more. Then, once you know how to get their attention, learn how to close the sale. Then you’ll join those men who have heard the news AND who have seen the funds!

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the owner and publisher of moneytobemadeonline.com A website that specializes in providing advice on how to REALLY make money online that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home.

Definition of Printed Asset Labels - Asset Tags and Security Labels

This article is designed to help people understand the different types of asset labels and tags and to define how they are used.

I will start by defining assets and divide them into two categories;

1) Non-fixed Assets
2) Fixed Assets

1) Non-fixed Assets would comprise any item that is not physically attached or part of a building. For example this would include assets such as furniture and equipment that you would find in office, school and home environments such as PC’s, Laptops, IT Equipment, Cameras, Telephones, Printers, Desks, Oscilloscopes, etc.

2) Fixed Assets would comprise the opposite - meaning that we are talking about buildings, signs and machinery that is attached to buildings and any other items that might be classed under this heading. These fixed assets are also called “infrastructure items” as they are part of the infrastructure.

Asset labels, asset tags, property labels or security labels are used to uniquely visually identify non-fixed and fixed assets by means of attaching a unique identifier to each asset. This may be in the form of a label or tag.

There are lots of standards for barcodes however when it comes to asset labels and tags the symbology used is code 128 which is an industry standard.

This symbology can talk with many of the latest barcode scanners that will allow you to quickly mark up and identify your assets.

Asset Label Types

We have split asset labels into different categories and will explain their strengths and suitability and their applications.

1) Permanent frangible vinyl asset tags
2) Silver voiding tamper evident asset labels

1) Permanent frangible vinyl asset tags
These tags are suitable for most applications. These labels are much higher quality asset tags than the paper version and are more common in the field. The label material will conform to the majority of surfaces and forms a high-strength bond. This material has excellent initial grab and quite often (after initial application) will provide a good adhesion to many surfaces (when clean). The maximum strength of this label is attained within a 4 hour + period where the glue on the label hardens and makes the label impossible to remove in one piece

This is good for marking workstations, casings, monitors and smaller items. The grain on the computer plastics can be tricky to adhere to with certain asset labels, but the vinyl labels are very effective for this application. The material is also suited to varnished and smooth surfaces. These labels can be personalized with Code 39 barcodes, serial numbers and often with the logo printed too.

Some companies offer further protection with a security hologram to prevent copying or counterfeiting. The vinyl tags are usually supplied on reels and most companies offer a turnaround within 33 to 5 days however some companies offer 24hr / next day service.

These are great for hospitals, schools, IT departments & offices as when the adhesive sets it becomes very strong which prevents people or children removing the labels in one piece.

This vinyl asset label material is suitable in many different applications such as:-

PC & IT equipment, monitors and LCD displays, laptop computers, keyboards, mice, mobile equipment including PDA’s, mobile phones, networking equipment, fileservers, hard drives, printed circuit boards, painted metal surfaces, wood, plastics, glass, metals and paper surfaces

2) Silver voiding tamper evident asset labels

This substrate is used primarily in situations where tampering needs to be revealed. The construction of the material utilises a two stage adhesive.

The label will grab very well and on any attempt of removal, will leave the words VOID on the label and on the material it is stuck to. Even if you try to replace the label by sticking it down in the same position it is still apparent that tampering has taken effect.

This material is used in many different applications such as:-

Covering memory & expansion covers on IT equipment, sealing paper enclosures, card & plastic surfaces, calibration seals, sealing postage sags, medicine bottle and containers, boxes and cartons, electronic enclosure boxes, HiFi & stereo units, computer cases, mobile telephones, PDA’s, sealing doors, NHS & medical equipment and oscilloscopes.

Brought to you by Mark Stephens of Seareach, based in the UK. His company provides Asset Labels and Asset Tags

Where to Find Available Office Space

Available office space can be found in one of three ways. Each of their advantages and disadvantages are outlined below. For most people, a combination of the three is the best way to find available office space. Regardless of which one you choose, be sure to thoroughly research whichever office you decide on. Leases vary greatly and you will want to get a lease that fits the long term goals of your business. Consider lease payment, availability, size (leave room for expansion), neighborhood, and any other features and options you can think of. Will you be needing an internet connection? Verify that this is available should you need it now or in the near future.

The first thing that many people do is check with their network to find available office space. Often, the best space can be found by asking around to people in the industry. If you know of a client who has a great office space, you may want to give them a call and see if they have any suggestions. You never know, a great space may have just opened up in their building. You can also have them keep an eye out for you. This method of finding space is the easiest and most reliable.

Also, the most traditional way of finding available office space is through the newspaper classified ads. This will give you a listing of several options in your area. The only problem with using this as your sole source is that an ad does not give you a lot of information. You still need to drive to the property to check it out. This can often be a waste of time.

Some web sites offer office space to anybody who is in need. There is a site that is a great place to find available space without ever having to leave your house. They offer offices in 750 business locations across 60 different countries. This is a perfect site for anybody that is going to have to relocate to another city. Use a Google search in order to locate these types of web sites.

Office space can be found in abundance from the three sources listed above. Check them all out before deciding on your next office. This will be one of the biggest decisions you will make concerning your business and you should take the time necessary to fully evaluate all of the available options. You will be glad you did your home work before committing to any long term lease. Also, be sure the lease spells out exactly who is responsible for what. Disagreements in this area often times can be avoided with a well spelled out lease.

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the publisher of your-office-space.info. A website that specializes in providing office space leasing advice on how to get multiple quotes on leasing office space that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home. Visit your-office-space.info today!

Is Business Coaching Meant For You

Business coaching is conducted primarily to have a competitive advantage in the market. Most companies that opt for business coaching already have high revenues. Most established businesses find it a worthwhile investment for increasing productivity, management efficiency, and income. It can be very effective in proprietary businesses, especially when the management is planning to expand, achieve yearly objectives, or sort out day-to-day problems.

Business coaching is meant for businesses that are growing at a very rapid rate. Fast growing businesses need to constantly recruit new employees and arrange for the required amount of capital for expansion. This can very often create problems related to workforce management, resource allocation, and delegation of authority and responsibility. Although these problems have very little effect on the bottom line. In time, these problems can manifold and can seriously start affecting productivity and profits along with the competitive advantage that the business had in the first place. Owners of fast growing businesses have little time to manage day-to-day problems. Most of their time goes into planning and managing expansion plans. Business coaching enables businesses to prioritize their objectives and allocate time and resources to each component of productivity in proportion to their relative contribution.

Businesses that have failed in the past and are starting out fresh can also benefit from professional business coaches. They help in identifying mistakes made in the past, break free from inefficient management practices, and create positive new ones. Business coaching is for businesses that want to benefit from a fresh point of view provided by professional coaches. They offer an unbiased opinion about the business, and give the right kind of advice without any ulterior motives. Business coaching plays an advisory role and does not directly affect the decisions of the management related to recruitment, salary hikes, bonuses, and cost cutting. It is a mutual partnership wherein the business coach identifies business goals and resources, and suggests the most suitable path for achieving the planned objectives.

The duration of business coaching depends on how much time the management is willing to commit to working with a business coach. If the aim is to learn goal-setting skills or create marketing plans, then a coaching session of four to eight weeks is sufficient to cover the subject. However, if the objective is to receive advice on a regular basis, then business coaching can continue for months or even years. This depends on what your goals are, the manner in which you want to work with your coach, and how often you intend to meet with your coach. If the business has identified long-term goals over a period of several years, then it is imperative to continue business coaching as it enables and ensures that the company stays on track until the completion of the goals. By making an investment in business coaching, businesses have and will continue to receive motivation, training, guidance, and mentoring that will insure growth and increased profitability. The investment is small considering the ROI achieved through the business coaching relationship.

Are You Ready To Exceed Your Potential? Contact http://www.businesscoach.com to find out how. You can have an expert Business Coach totally dedicated to your success. info@businesscoach.com. 1.866.354.7766

Fourth Quarter Planning and The Importance of Corporate Rewards

If you’re like most business owners, you probably scramble to throw together a bunch of marketing plans and restructuring packages near the end of each fourth quarter.

The end result in most cases is that you start the new year behind schedule, either because your plans were poorly put together or because you simply couldn’t finish them in time.

One of the easiest ways in which you can eliminate these fourth quarter planning woes is to implement some type of corporate rewards plan either in lieu of your normal restructuring package or to complement it.

Below, I’ve included five suggestions for different packages you could create:

1. Give cash rewards packages to your employees. If employees must meet quotas or are directly selling to customers, you can implement rewards packages in the form of bonuses that are scaled to match the intensity of their efforts and/or results.

These simple rewards packages can often be more effective than implementing a system that increases productivity.

2. Re-incentivize good work with a good corporate rewards structure. For instance, if an employee makes 25-49 sales in a week, give him/her $A in pay per sale. If she makes 49-74 sales, give him/her $A + $B per sale. And if she makes 74+ sales, give her $A + $B + $C per sale.

This, too, will radically increase productivity by reinforcing good work. Just make sure that you do not exceed your marginal cost of production with these new changes.

3. Give perks to senior staff members. For instance, if most of your workers commute long distances, you could purchase gas cards each month for senior staffers. The longer they have been on staff, the more you increase the reward.

These minor incentive packages will make newer workers want to stick around, so they can gain the benefits of a senior position.

4. Don’t only give corporate rewards to your staffers. Consider giving them to clients who consistently re-order from your business. While these gifts will make up a tiny portion of the actual transfer of funds from said firm to your own, it can still be a significant gift to the client who receives it, especially if he/she is a salesperson, rather than someone in an upper management position.

This will help to cement the relationship you have with that firm.

5. In addition to giving rewards to employees and clients, consider giving rewards packages to your customers as a new marketing plan for the upcoming year. While some businesses will give away benefits that exceed their marginal costs of production (with hope that it will generate future sales) as a loss leader, you don’t necessarily have to do that.

All you have to do is find a complement to your product that you can purchase for less than your marginal producer surplus and then give it away for a limited period of time whenever customers make a purchase.

The above five suggestions are only a few of the many corporate rewards programs you could build during your fourth quarter planning this year.

Spend some time to figure out how you can best give incentives to your employees, clients, and customers with a corporate rewards program.

Re-vamp your corporate rewards structure this year by purchasing airfare gift cards for your clients, customers, and employees. Airfare Gifts charges less than any other travel agency and often by as much as $30-40. Only $5 is added to each gift card purchase. To learn more or to order some gift cards today, visit Airfare Gifts or call toll-free 877-763-2317

Lean Manufacturing Process For Beginners

Lean manufacturing process (LMP) is the process of empowering companies to be able to implement manufacturing methodologies that attempts to maximize the valued goods and minimize the waste that comes with it.

Every company has been asking what is actually LMP. What is LMP as compared to the present manufacturing methods and why should it be considered.

LMP hopes to satisfy not only the customers of a company but its employees and shareholders as well.

Answer to these questions and you will get the picture:

1. What is LMP to the customers?

Customers only pays for what they need. This is called value in the perspective of a company. Value is termed as something that the customer is willing to buy or pay for.

So basically, LMP gives the customer what it wants. What is LMP as an effect to customers is that it decides to make the manufacturing companies more customer centric and therefore more satisfaction to the customers.

Companies usually do surveys or just plainly asks a particular customers of his needs or wants and then focuses all its available resources and energies to that particular need.

2. What is LMP to the employees?

Employees have long been part of the manufacturing line. They are considered to be a major part of the manufacturing line. If a company implements a LMP, the employees will benefit from the ease of work and less redundant or loops in the manufacturing line.

Though, underutilized employees are also part of the program of LMP, employees will surely benefit from less stress.

What is LMP effect to the employees is that the process will eliminate the processes or things that are considered as waste in the manufacturing process.

At some point, an employee can be considered underutilized and an action will be required as is taught by LMP.

3. What is LMP to the company?

LMP will bring great benefit to the company since its programs are focused on how the company can improve its manufacturing lines. What is LMP for the company is that its ability to eliminate wastes and diminish redundant and looping processes.

What is LMP to the customers, employees and shareholders is that it aims to develop a centralized and more effective manufacturing process beneficial to all.

Below are some of the focal points that are aimed to be resolved by the lean manufacturing systems:

a. Inventory
b. Overproduction
c. Defects
d. Waiting Time
e. Extra Processing
f. Underutilized People
g. Motion
h. Transportation

These focal points of LMP will be methodologically acted upon. Each of these focal points have been a problem by one manufacturing company or another. Therefore, a solution for a problem that includes the abovementioned focal points are readily available. Any future problem will be studied for a ready solution. A problem may be solved mechanically or methodologically, in whatever way, the solution will always be available for the manufacturing process.

What is LMP as implemented on these focal points? the lean manufacturing process is drafted to increase the value of the goods and decrease the presence of wastes. It is after years of experience in the manufacturing lines that effective methodologies are made in place to improve the manufacturing lines of manufacturing companies.

What is LMP compared to the old methodologies in manufacturing if these methodologies do not contribute to the overall gain of the company or the satisfaction of the esteemed customers.

LMP in placed today in most companies were constructed in reference to the lean manufacturing systems that started in Japan. The lean manufacturing systems or processes started in Toyota Production System (TPS) in Japan. That is why most of the terms used in lean manufacturing processes are Japanese words such as kaizen, kanban and andon. The Toyota Production System has a wide experience when it comes to manufacturing and it has been rightly so that they have developed their own lean manufacturing process.

Fidens Felix, owner of Visiac, LLC - an online publishing company. Read his insight at http://www.FidensFelix.com.

To find out more about lean manufacturing, visit Toyota Way.

Goals & Priorities are a Must for your Organization

Goals: A goal is a pre-determined result. Something you intend to achieve over the long term.

Priorities: A priority is a ranking. 1-2-3 and A-B-C, etc. of your daily tasks so the tasks related to your most important goals become your top priorities.

Our goals provide our direction. Until we have established our goals much of our activity is pointless. Without goals, we have no reason to organize, ourselves and our time because we are not going anywhere in particular. It then makes no difference how long anything takes. Every activity is of equal value.

But once we have identified our goals, we are able to judge the effectiveness of or time choices. Did our choices make real progress toward our goals, or were they distractions?

Goals and time are your keys to success. You achieve success as defined in your goals, through the medium of time. Nothing approaches the motivating power of setting demanding goals and then systematically measuring progress toward achieving them.

If you do not manage your time, you will never achieve your goals. But if you do not have goals, you do not need time, because you are not going anywhere. Top goal achievers are always top time managers.

Goals.Goal setting is a common denominator of effective individuals and organizations. Weekly goal setting will help ensure that you devote time to your first things, your important things.

Weekly goals contribute to the achievement of your personal mission. To help you identify your weekly goals, ask yourself: What is the most important thing I could do in each role this week to have the greatest positive impact?

Weekly goals are not typical to dos or daily action items, but represent activities such as relationship building, planning, preparation, personal development, and personal renewal. They are important, but not necessarily urgent.

Goethe is quoted as saying: Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least!

Characteristics of Effective Goals. Effective goals share the following seven characteristics:

I. Owned by those affected
Goals which are defined by those who are effective are much more likely to be carried out with enthusiasm and commitment. People have a better understanding of a goal when they have participated in its development. They are also far more motivated to carry it out.

When people in organizations together develop goals consistent with their mutual success, they have taken the first step toward highly effective time management. They have created a standard for evaluating whether or not their is activities make sense in whether or not their use of time makes sense.

II. Demanding
Goals that are not demanding are barely goals at all. Nothing is more motivating than setting demanding goals that reflect your values and then figuring out how to achieve them systematically.

III. Achievable
Goals must be feasible enough for you to achieve them. If you set goals that are so unrealistic you have no hope of attaining them, you set yourself up for frustration and failure. However, if you have an impossible dream that you really want, do not abandon it. Break it up into smaller, more realistic, attainable goals and begin achieving them, one at a time.

IV. Measurable

Your goals must be measurable so you can judge your progress so you know when you have succeeded. Measuring progress is also an excellent motivator and enables you to correct your course when necessary.

V. Given Deadlines
Goals need deadlines. Otherwise, they will be shifted aside to whatever seems pressing at the moment.

VI. Written
Goals should be written so they are not be forgotten. One person said Out of sight, out of mind. Another reminded us that The palest ink is better than the best memory.

VII. Flexible
Goals must be flexible enough to accommodate changing conditions.

Pj Germain
the Foundation for Excellence
the PowerBox
Best Online Degree Resources

SECTION 409(A) and its Regulatory Cousins: What it Means for Private Companies

The IRS recently threw down the gauntlet and placed pressure on private companies to get their valuations right at no matter what stage of development they are. The Service has backed up this gesture by exposing private companies to substantial tax liabilities and penalties if they do not.

Since the enactment of Section 409(A), non-public companies have struggled with how they should establish that the exercise price of a stock option or a stock appreciation right (SAR) was determined reasonably to be fair market value. Up to this point, most private companies did not worry about valuing their stock very often, if at all. Private company valuations were needed usually for an imminent transaction, for an ESOP, or for estate and gift tax purposes. One could also throw in serious IPO candidates who obtain a valuation to avoid a “cheap stock” issue with the SEC.

Many private companies do not qualify for any of these scenarios; therefore they have not needed valuations in the past. As a result, companies and management that issue stock options could be somewhat unenthusiastic about this development. However, although a valuation in this situation can appear fairly cumbersome and superfluous, it’s not all bad - just ask auditors.

Auditors have expressed a desire for this to be done for years. They are cognizant of this development because valuing stock options is a financial reporting issue under FAS 123 and they want to know how a private company established the strike price of its options. There is some liability risk attributed to auditors when they sign off on this standard, and a professional valuation provides them with a level of reasonableness and reassurance that they desire. Considering this, there is a potential for tax and financial reporting synergy here.

With a good valuation report on hand, both issues could be satisfied simultaneously - two birds with one stone if you will. First, let’s examine the code and regulations driving this change.

Say Hello to the Culprits: IRC Section 409A requires private companies which award stock options that have exercise prices below fair market value to withhold income taxes on these grants. Significant penalties on non-complying option grants have placed private or closely held companies under increased pressure to be able to support and defend the fair market value determinations.

FASB 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, provides alternative methods of transition for a voluntary change to the fair value method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation. FASB 15X (Working Draft - issued October 21, 2005), Fair Value Measurements, established a framework for measuring fair value under a wide variety of accounting pronouncements that require fair value measurements.

In developing FASB 15X, the Financial Accounting Standards Board considered the need for increased consistency and comparability in estimates of fair value and enhanced disclosures about the estimates.

In most cases, when company management determines value and option pricing using an informal, internally generated valuation, the tax burden will be on the company to prove to the IRS that the fair market value of the equity is reasonable. In light of the recent regulatory changes announced over the past year, many private companies are proactively adopting one of the “presumptive” stock valuation methods set forth in the proposed regulations.

Procuring a qualified independent appraisal will cause the burden of proof to shift to the IRS and may only be rebutted by the IRS if the application of the method is found to be grossly unreasonable.

Neil Lemons represents Dallas-based Erickson Partners, LLC, who have provided independent, accurate, defensible opinions, "http://www.ericksonpartnersllc.com"> business valuations & appraisals
for over 30 years. For more information, check out http://www.ericksonpartnersllc.com.

Exhibitionism it’s Not (Quite) What You Think

We realize that with a title like that, you’re probably reading this article for salacious tidbits, perhaps about some celebrity or another behaving scandalously in public. In reality, it’s not quite what you think. Exhibitionism is also the art and science of getting the most out of your display at an exhibition or convention and while conventions can involve celebrities, most of the scandal comes from how poorly most exhibitors misuse their resources in an exhibit hall.

First, if you’re planning to attend a trade show or exhibit as a vendor, think back to the last few experiences you had as a consumer walking the show. You likely saw traffic patterns that moved in clumps around popular booths and saw a number of booths and displays, most of which you ignored.

Most of the logistics behind being a vendor at an exhibition is handled by the event management company if you’re thinking about hosting an exhibition by your firm or for your industry, seriously look into having professionals do it they can get venues at cheaper rates, talent, entertainment and, often, catering at discount rates because they book these facilities more often or buy in bulk, which always reduces their price. Plus, it will take less of your time chasing down the forty-one clipboards of checklists, making sure everything is done in the right order. These folks are pros for a reason and they’re worth every penny in terms of your sanity and time.

Now, as a vendor at an exhibition, your job is two fold: The first is getting people to stop by your booth and the second is getting them to stay there long enough to get information about your products and services. If your exhibition allows direct sales to consumers, you’ll want to arrange for a point of sale system.

Getting people to stop by your booth means you need to stand out from the crowd, without being annoying. Most convention halls have terrible acoustics. Having a large, looping audio visual display usually adds to the noise pollution, gets ignored by most attendees going by and will drive your booth staff barking mad before the first day is over. Plus, if it’s truly loud, you’ll offend your neighbors at the hall and might have trouble getting a good placement in next year’s show. Better ways are pop up displays and having someone knowledgeable about the product with good interpersonal skills smile and greet people as they wander by. When doing the meet and greet routine, have something funny to say, if possible, and be amiable, accepting that most people will smile back, take your flyer and shove it into their bag to look at later. Convention goers are usually scouting the hall’s early in the show.

Getting the most out of your display space means you need to know who your audience is there are roll up and pop up displays that serve as excellent backdrops for products and make good visual sight lines for customers walking the floor to see them. There are spring tension displays that are meant to stand out near the aisle to get someone’s attention. If your show has small children attending, be aware that their eye height is lower than an adult’s and put something they’ll want to see at their level, so they can drag their parents to your booth.

For a lower key display, you’ll also want to look at racks for storing merchandise or literature for customers to take with them. Most of these display stands are modular, letting you grow them as your exhibition presence changes over the years.

Before you go to a convention, draw out on graph paper what your booth layout will be like. Set it up in your garage with some tables and look at it critically ask yourself if it’s conveying the most information in the clearest fashion and have someone who isn’t associated with your company look it over as well.

Converting an interested party into a buyer requires reading body language for cues that you’ve bored them. Not everyone can be excited about each product, tailor what you’re saying to the person sitting in front of you and focus on how this product or service meets their needs. In fact, ask them up front what sorts of products or services they need, either for themselves or for their retail establishment and use that to your advantage in what you tell them about your products.

With a bit of practice, you can make a person sitting at your booth to rest their feet do the bulk of the thinking needed to sell them a product or service.

At www.odysseyexhibitions.co.uk we offer exhibition display equipment, hanging banners, shell scheme graphics, pop-up stands or a showroom with exterior signage is right first time, on time and within the exhibit budget.

Managing The Fear And Anxiety Of Finding Another Job

Layoffs in today’s business world are common and with it comes the fear and anxiety of finding another job. With this in mind, here is a list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their stresses and anxieties in finding a new job.

A technique that can be used to reduce the stress of finding another job is to divide the task into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one at a time. For instance, the first thing you should do is to determine what kind of job you want. Once you know what you are looking for, the next step is to update and prepare your resume. Once that is finished, you should then concentrate on finding the companies that interest you and send your resume to them. Once you submit your resume, the next step is to prepare for the job interview by completing these smaller tasks, you will reduce your stress and anxiety and increase your chances of finding another job.

Sometimes we may get depressed during our job search. Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that make us feel good. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Whenever you feel depressed, open up your small notebook and read those statements.

In addition, it also helps to write down a list of things you are thankful for in this world. For instance; good health, a good marriage, lots of friends, being smart and resourceful, and a good education are things that any person can be thankful for. Whenever you get discouraged in finding another job, take out your list and focus on the things that make you happy. This technique will make you feel better and give you more encouragement to continue with the job search.

Finding a new job can be tough, however remember to take it one day at a time. While the consequences of a particular fear may seem real, there are usually other factors that can not be anticipated and can affect the results of any situation. Focus on the present and do your best each day. Next week will take care of its self.

As a Layman, I know that our anxieties and stresses can be difficult to manage when finding a new job. Managing your stress during a job search takes practice. Be patient and in time you will become better in dealing with your anxieties.

Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear” an easy to read book that presents a overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com

Principles of Safety and Occupational Health Training

To become an occupational health and safety professional you must have educational qualifications and experience. You also must pass certain written examinations. All occupational health and safety specialists and technicians must go through on the job and classroom training, to learn about the relevant laws and inspection procedures.

The federal government and some other employers require that you have a 4-year college degree in safety, or some allied subject, to be eligible for some specialist positions. To apply for some positions, it is also necessary to have relevant working experience. To be successful in this field, it is essential to be aware of the principles of safety and occupational health training.

Certification

Certification is available through the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCIP). The Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Associate Industrial Hygienist (CAIH) credentials are offered by the ABIH. The Certified Safety Professional (CSP) credential is offered by the BCIP. Certification is voluntary, though many employers encourage it.

The Council on Certification of Health, Environmental and Safety Technologists is a joint effort between the ABIH and BCIP. It awards the Occupational Health and Safety Technologist (OHST) credential. For certification, you must first meet the qualification and experience requirements and then write