Casual Articles - Business

Remove Your Risk When Marketing
Avoiding Risk When You Steal ShareWhat do you know? What don’t’ you know? What is knowable?Until you fully understand the REAL issues facing your brand, you cannot solve your marketing problem. Your ultimate success is therefore much more dependent upon the questions you ask then the answers you find. The price of success is the risk of unsettling the boat — rocking the very foundation upon which your business currently floats.Committing your brand to grow its market share is a courageous effort, it is not the bailiwick of the feint of heart because it requires as its co-requisite an intent to challenge everything — even slaying all the sacred cows. Art and Science Increasing your market share requires both a mixture of art and science (right and left brain thinking). The cognitive side of the process needs to lead the emotional side — the process will enable you to manage the risk of change.You would be surprised how many of your competitors are self-when assessing opportunities and issues. This fact is your biggest opportunity if you have the courage t

– 10 appears to be optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced, any more and it’s harder for everyone to meet at the same time.

Part of the purpose of peer support is for the individuals to feel free to talk openly about their feelings, and this may mean expressing anger about what has happened. I call this “bite-back”. Bite-back cannot happen easily if the initiative is seen as being started or supported by the organisation itself. It is therefore important that support groups are formed independently and employees join a group only if they want to. The only intervention the company might provide is some information about such groups as part of the overall support programme so that people can take them up if they want to.

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Brandbuilding with Taglines
When it comes to building your brand, you want to take advantage of every possible shortcut to help your target market know you…and remember you. Taglines provide that path through the woods. A tagline consists of a few short words that communicate to your target market what your company does and how you're different from competitors. A good tagline should position your brand in your audience's mind and sum up its essence or benefit in a way that your audience can relate to. A great tagline uses memorable phrasing and creates a personality. Taglines are typically simple phrases that telegraph a message. They normally accompany company logos and are written to stand the test of time. Most taglines have a fairly long shelf life. Taglines can also help change the perception of a company.Should you develop a tagline?The simple answer is yes. All companies should consider using a tagline in their marketing materials and company advertising because taglines deliver the following benefits:1. Clearly states what your company stands for.2. Simplifies buying decisions because customers know who you are and what

A redundancy support group is for colleagues who have been made redundant from an organisation at roughly the same time, although there is some fluidity in that some people may join and others leave over the lifespan of the group.

Many of the difficulties people face having been made redundant are practical and emotional. Peer support helps individuals to overcome both. The practical, in terms of supporting each other through the change with advice or ideas, the emotional by helping people through the loneliness, loss of confidence or motivation and, in some cases, anger. Emotional departure does not always happen at the same time as physical departure and the time lag can be difficult to cope with, causing a sense of isolation and possibly strong feelings of need for affiliation as well as rejection. Being able to maintain the connection with the company through other leavers can ease the transition.

Peer pressure helps individuals to move forward – it is quite common for people to lose their desire to get things done when there is nobody around to encourage them, or who rely on the outcome. At work we are often motivated by our desire not to let down colleagues or to appear unreliable. Peer support provides for this function.

The group can be made up of people in a range of ways. It may be open to any employees of an organisation that have been made redundant or are facing redundancy, people from a particular functional area within the company, or based on level of seniority. While some of the advantages of mutual understanding are lost if a group comprises people from different organisations, this situation still has the potential to foster a valuable experience for the members.

The pros and cons of each model are:

All Employees
Advantages
• Few people leaving
• Small, tight knit organisation

Disadvantages
• People with different needs and issues may not be able to help each other well

Functional group
Advantages
• People know each other well
• People understand each others’ needs in terms of employment aspirations

Disadvantages
• May be competition for jobs therefore some tension
• May lack the creativity that cross functional interaction brings
• May be a narrow skill set so some external help may be needed for some activities
• Different levels of employee may have little in common and senior people may be uncomfortable being as open with junior people

Seniority Groups
Advantages
• Common understanding of situation
• Cross pollination of expertise
• Openness and not too likely that there will be competition for jobs

Disadvantages
• Groups of junior people would benefit from the greater experience and contacts that may be derived from mixing with senior people (maybe in larger set up there is a possibility for matrix peer groups or just better to extend to outside the group if required)

There is no limit to group size, although 6 – 10 appears to be optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced, any more and it’s harder for everyone to meet at the same time.

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S Corporation - A Federal Tax Hybrid Entity
As a legal entity, the S corporation has changed significantly since it was first created by Congress in 1958. Not least of the changes happened to its name: it once was known by its legalese name, “Subchapter S corporation,” but became the more upbeat S corporation after the Subchapter S Revision Act of 1982 was passed.The S corporation is favored by investors because it affords them the best of both worlds: S corporations offer many of the benefits normally attributed to partnership taxation in addition to the limited liability benefits normally enjoyed by limited liability corporations (LLC). It is foreseen that changes in the law will further fine-tune the S corporation, thereby maintaining its status as a preferred vehicle for conducting business.Although an S corporation resembles an LLC in operation and concept, you can quite easily distinguish between the two. The S corporation is a federal tax hybrid entity, whereas the LLC is a state tax hybrid entity. The S corporation is created by an act of the US Congress, whereas the limited liability company is created by legislation in the state. An LLC composed of two

d for affiliation as well as rejection. Being able to maintain the connection with the company through other leavers can ease the transition.

The pros and cons of each model are:

All Employees
Advantages
• Few people leaving
• Small, tight knit organisation

Disadvantages
• People with different needs and issues may not be able to help each other well

Functional group
Advantages
• People know each other well
• People understand each others’ needs in terms of employment aspirations

Seniority Groups
Advantages
• Common understanding of situation
• Cross pollination of expertise
• Openness and not too likely that there will be competition for jobs

There is no limit to group size, although 6 – 10 appears to be optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced, any more and it’s harder for everyone to meet at the same time.

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Advertising Copy: What's Really Important?
You labor long and hard trying to create the perfect advertising piece but only about 20% of your copy is going to get read. The rest will simply be scanned. After all your work, your potential customers won’t even read every one of those well chosen words. Is your genius lost on them?While it might sound frightening or frustrating, it's a fact of advertising life. So what do you do next? There are some sections of your copy that potential customers are practically guaranteed to read. If you know what these are, you'll see your sales increase dramatically. There are six key sections of your marketing copy to focus upon for success.HEADLINESHeadlines have always been and will always be the most important section in any copy.They are the first thing potential customers will see. They have the greatest impact on whether any of the other copy gets read. Your headlines must be enticing. Think of them as your opening line. If people aren’t intrigued, they won’t read any further.Use strong active verbs (like slash, chop, quit, etc.) in your headlines. These words clearly demonstrate actions as opposed to

f mutual understanding are lost if a group comprises people from different organisations, this situation still has the potential to foster a valuable experience for the members.

The pros and cons of each model are:

All Employees
Advantages
• Few people leaving
• Small, tight knit organisation

Disadvantages
• People with different needs and issues may not be able to help each other well

Functional group
Advantages
• People know each other well
• People understand each others’ needs in terms of employment aspirations

Seniority Groups
Advantages
• Common understanding of situation
• Cross pollination of expertise
• Openness and not too likely that there will be competition for jobs

There is no limit to group size, although 6 – 10 appears to be optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced, any more and it’s harder for everyone to meet at the same time.

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The Purpose of Ad Campaigns - Part 1
PURPOSE OF CAMPAIGNEstablishing ReputationAdvertising is not always required for the purpose of increasing the sales of a product, although that must be the final effect of the advertising if it does its work. It frequently happens that business organizations at various times in their careers need advertising for the extension of values along more general lines in connection with the organization and its market. Sometimes it is necessary to forestall difficulty by establishing relations of confidence with the public, not merely in connection with the product but in connection with the organization itself. It is frequently necessary to find other uses for a product and impress them upon the consumer.In the last 15 years of rapidly increasing activity along the internet lines, many concerns which have started and gained a considerable amount of business have been obligated to set themselves at work to devise advertising for the purpose of establishing an organization reputation. This has been particularly the case with organizations making a number of products, where the

• May be a narrow skill set so some external help may be needed for some activities
• Different levels of employee may have little in common and senior people may be uncomfortable being as open with junior people

Seniority Groups
Advantages
• Common understanding of situation
• Cross pollination of expertise
• Openness and not too likely that there will be competition for jobs

There is no limit to group size, although 6 – 10 appears to be optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced, any more and it’s harder for everyone to meet at the same time.

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Corporate Gift Idea Programs
In the past few decades, there has been a great revolution in the way the management deals with and treats its employees and staff. Gone are the days when corporate houses considered it a favor to the employees to have them work with their company. In present times, there has been a paradigm shift in favor of the employees. Every corporate house tries its best to make its working environment rewarding and the job profile lucrative for its staff. Tremendous efforts are made to retain competent staff and increase productivity through a healthy work environment.The top management has to make a commitment towards the corporate gift programs and make financial allocations towards its implementation. The procedure generally involves the human resource department helping the employee representatives formulate a corporate gift program. The elements of the program are formulated and decision is taken on the type of non-cash gift programs that would be included. The employee sympathy gift program is also formed and expression of sympathy in the form of flowers or cards is made when an employee suffers bereavement.The budget allo

– 10 appears to be optimal. Any fewer and the benefits of shared tasks are reduced, any more and it’s harder for everyone to meet at the same time.

There is no optimum time for groups to start - it may be best to wait until people have finished work or as soon as they have been given notice. For some people, a break before beginning the process is required and these people may not want to do anything about their career transition for some time. For others, emotional support may be required regardless of whether or not they are ready to start the job search.

Meetings will benefit from regularity in order to foster and maintain momentum. Once a fortnight appears to work well – enough time for individuals to make progress between meetings, yet not so far apart that the impetus is lost.

The meetings are a social occasion as well as for business. Make them relaxed and keep the agenda as loose as possible. The more “business” there is the less opportunity will there be for personal support.

There is no model for how your group might be shaped in terms of the topics it covers. In broad terms, there are three main categories:

Job or career help, including
Contacts for networking
Suggestions and advice about CV or letters
Looking out for possible opportunities for each other
Helping each other to identify strengths and weaknesses
Suggesting creative ideas for career change
Brainstorming specific agreed topics such as “How can we get experience of new work”

Practical support, including
Tax and financial planning issues
Researching the best suppliers of equipment or supplies
Negotiating with the employer as a group

Social and emotional support, including
Doing fun things together
Helping with travel / holiday arrangements
Being a comfort when under stress
Instilling confidence or motivation when either are waning

Again, there are no recommendations for best practice in terms of the location of meetings. It comes down to what is most practical for the majority of members. This might mean a regular fixed venue or moving around. It could be members’ homes, a restaurant or bar, or some other public space like a hotel or serviced office.

Case Study: the New Futures Group

The New Futures Group was originally formed in early 2005 by seven senior managers at InterContinental Hotels in London. All took voluntary redundancy or were made redundant as part of a large re-organisation programme.

The group was essentially social in nature, typically meeting over coffee or lunch. The initial value to the members was to retain a social network, gain and share practical support and maintain their connection with the company. The group worked successfully because they shared values and felt trusted and understood by each other. This fostered individual motivation and pressure to complete the tasks that members set for themselves. It also provided opportunities to do fun things together such as a rather unsuccessful car boot sale!

The most obvious benefit was that rather than each person looking after their own issues in isolation, there were six other people thinking about them. This also mea

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Establishing standards is critical to the success of every business. That is why numerous companies go for ISO 9000 certification, which is a series of globally identified standards and rules that define an effective quality system. ISO standards themselves do not perform assessments or audits to ensure that they are applied by companies in conformity with the requirements of the standards.

When you need system integration, do you handle it yourself or pass it on to a specializing firm? If you are one of the many that handle this process yourself, you may want to rethink just why you do this and if it is the right choice for you. Many skilled individuals even pass off the process to others simply because of the time and investment that is needed. What do you do with your system integration needs?

Job offer negotiation can extend beyond just the salary. Often you might be able to get a potential employer to improve upon the job offer in areas such as...

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