Business Solutions

Exploring The Impacts of Economic Crises on Project Management

niko — Sat, 19 May 2012 16:12:45 +0000

The economic down turn that begun in 2008 had touched everyone. We have seen rising unemployment, salary reduction and a decrease in other benefits during the past three years. The idioms such as “budget cut”, “work force reduction”, “head count reduction” were the most frequently heard idioms in most of the work environments. During these years, most of the organizations around the globe have implemented projects to improve productivity, to reduce cost and focused more on quality instead of concentrating more on innovation. Let’s see how it impacted Project Management.

ESI International, one of the leading providers of project management services has conducted a survey to identify the impacts of economic crises on Project Management. They have approached project managers, program managers, PMO Managers, Line of Business Heads and their supervisors from Industry sectors including Financial Services, Information Technology, Pharmaceuticals, Health Care, Telecommunications, manufacturing and Energy/Utility companies in the US. Below highlights the summary of the survey results:

Regardless of the industry, almost all projects that were not eliminated suffered some resource reductions; however, resource reduction was not greatly affected by project size. Besides the size of the project didn’t offer high variance in terms of scope reduction.

To view the complete survey report, please visit ESI’s International official website. Comparing the survey results with the organization where you work and sharing your view would definitely help the Project Management Community.

Reference:

CURRENT STATE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT: THE IMPACT OF AN ECONOMIC CRISIS, Retrieved January 20, 2011, from http://www.esi-intl.com/Resources/Industry-Reports/Research-Reports.aspx

Affordable Home Business Ideas

niko — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:23:46 +0000

These affordable home business ideas require little initial investment and can start earning you an income relatively quickly. Here are some of the best ideas for a profitable and successful home based business that can be started with minimal costs.

A Home Party Business

If you like to socialize and are good at communicating, interacting and persuading people then this may be the right affordable home business for you. There are a huge number of different home party plans available and you can purchase your home party starter kit from as little as $100. Basically as a home party consultant you have access to the company’s products that you market through home parties and social events. The consultant gets a percentage or commission on sales made. Choose a product you love or know something about and your chances of making sales is greatly increased.

Pet Sitting Business

There are over 63 million pet owners in the US and many dual income families who need help looking after their pets while they are at work. This can be a profitable business which requires virtually no start up costs. Pet sitting only demands a love of animals, good energy levels and reliability. Your duties as a pet sitter usually involve feeding, playing with the animals and sometimes dog walking. This type of service is also in demand by people going away on vacation. Once you have established your first clients you can start earning money quickly.

Dog Walking

A professional dog walker takes clients’ dogs for regular walks, either one animal at a time or several together. Your low start up costs include dog walking insurance and promotional and marketing material. Set your own hours and the more hours you work the more money you can make. The only real requirements are a good rapport with animals, sufficient physical stamina and commitment. Get exercise, stay healthy and enjoy all the rewards of a profitable dog walking business.

Freelance Writing

If you have a love of words, are good at expressing yourself in writing and have a comprehensive understanding of English usage then there are a number of possibilities for good freelance writers. Depending on your knowledge and interests you can find a variety of suitable freelance writing assignments online. All the equipment you need is a computer, an internet connection, email and the correct software. Visit online freelance job sites to find out more about the type of writing assignments available.

House Cleaning Business

This is another affordable home business. The demand for home cleaning services is high and your business can grow quickly. The only start up costs you have with this type of home based business are cleaning products as generally customers expect you to supply your own and basic cleaning equipment. However most clients allow you to use their vacuum, brooms etc. You do not need to have any special skills other than a knowledge of cleaning methods which you can easily learn about and energy and reliability. To get those first cleaning jobs you will probably need to advertise or create some marketing material for distribution. However, promoting your house cleaning business can be done on a limited budget.

These affordable home business ideas allow you to enjoy all the benefits of starting a home based business without putting you into debt. There has never been a better time to put your entrepreneurial spirit to work and get going with your own home based business.

Industrial Waste Disposal Management

niko — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:44:21 +0000

Industrial waste can be a giant pain in the back. Industrial outfits seldom realize the enormity of the filth piling up when work goes on and the malicious effects it can have. When things go wrong the wake-up call comes and crisis management triggers full on. Why do all that in the first place if there were a mechanism in order to control and disposing of industrial waste? Will it not be easier to deal with the waste rather than getting stuck where last minute telephone calls are being made and a lot of phone calls ensue!

Industrial waste disposal, hazardous waste removal and hazardous waste recycling are all an integral part of waste management solutions. These are important steps towards ensuring the clean-up of industrial waste that can often be found littered around in streets and alleys. Worse, all the filth starts accumulating turning the whole thing into a despicable blob which acts as breeding ground for a lot of diseases and maladies.

How can industrial waste disposal management be made easier? Simple! Just put a mechanism into effect. Make sure a proper drainage facility is deployed which is connected directly with the nearby sewer. Whatever waste comes out of the industrial facility is simply released into that drainage system ensuring a proper clean up. This way, no waste is left littered around and nothing piles up to make for a loathsome scenario. Diseases too stay away from you as far as they can.

Waste management solutions can be best provided by the local government and governing authorities. They can give contracts to a local clean up service provider who in turn would send a truck or vehicle and have all the waste taken off the facility. That waste is sent to another facility categorically meant for hazardous waste recycling. The waste comes recycled and gets converted into a form which can be used for agricultural purposes.

Industrial waste disposal and hazardous waste removal are very important for a lot of reasons. They start compounding diseases, which can be highly problematic to health. Once you contract them, it takes the effort of a lifetime and some good medical rehabilitation to get rid of them. Worse, the element of fatality cannot be ruled out as plenty of casualties have been reported in the past.

Having effective waste management solutions in place is very important for the waste gets put into place. These solutions, of which hazardous waste removal, industrial waste disposal and hazardous waste recycling are a part, make for a clean society and surroundings. They ensure that not even a single site is there where such muck assimilates and do everything to shove it so viciously that not even a trace of the same if left behind.

The solutions are good to have everywhere for they happen to be the best way to keep society and neighborhood and colonies clean of such abominate sewage that has a high risk of fatality associated with it. The more it stays away, the better it is.

Project Management Solutions To Better Control Your Business

niko — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:41:55 +0000

Any business needs some management solutions to get organized and stay on the floating line. Unfortunately, many organizations are forced to rely on paper trails and email-chains. These outdated methods were replaced by newer project management solutions.

There are different types of such solutions for a wide range of working domains and for many kinds of needs. The access to accurate, real-time data regarding projects and resources is crucial to making strategic business decisions. Companies must keep up with the changes that impact the day-to-day running of their business. Managers are expected to deliver more than ever – but with fewer resources, within a shorter period of time and to produce maximum returns for the business.

Many times all this work gets externalized to other specialized entities. This covers either the use of project management tools or even more the delegation of entire work to management and consulting companies. In all cases appropriate methodologies and processes are necessary to be applied.

Project management solutions

In order to make the best decisions to support your organization’s long-term goals you have to decide and choose the right management solution:

These are just some of the most encountered and known types. However as domains overlap a single type of product is not enough. This is why huge companies reached the need to use ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems that incorporate all the above and much more beyond the project management area.

Project management methodologies and processes

The definition for terms like methodology and process and what it clearly represents is under debate and there is no unique agreement in the project management domain. However they are successfully used and many project management solutions try to map on a certain methodology.

Here is a list with the most used ones:

Other newer methodologies, processes and frameworks more specific to the IT industry:

Incoming search terms:

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Branding In Industrial And Business-to-Business Markets

niko — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:22:20 +0000

A brand is a typical ownership mark, similar to the mark found on the rump of cattle, made by using a blazing hot iron. On a lighter note, the companies probably may have taken a cue from this tradition and made most of the opportunity by using similar kinds of marks for their own products. Marks that would help them stand apart from the rest and make them instantly recognizable to their target audiences. This led to the rise of logos. Today, a brand means much more than a logo. In fact branding is all about steady, mindful consistency in presentation that eventually becomes the true identity of a company. Also, it stands for value systems that company presents to the world A fine test of branding uniformity is to gather business cards from everyone around and then arrange them on the table. Repeat the same thing with other pieces of stationary including slips, letterheads and labels. Arrange all the company advertisement and sales literature on the table. Is the layout and presentation in sync? Does the presentation look chaotic? The enemy of branding is probably a person within the company who believes that his concepts and way of thinking is far superior to his ilk. Every one in the company has a tendency to fiddle with brands and layouts. Whenever you come across a strong brand be rest assured that behind it there is a brand champion who won’t mind ruffling a few feathers while enforcing the branding rules of that company. The central point of a brand strategy is to focus on what the company stands for. What is the single most important factor the company intends to portray to the world? Then find out, is whether there is harmony of messages on the part of sales and technical team. The clothes and the words that elicit from the employee’s mouth, do they represent company values? Does the response that a company makes to a customer or a potential customer suit company’s current positioning. These are some of the tests the company needs to carry out to analyze where it stands on the branding ladder. The branding ladderHow Do You Rank Yourself On The Branding Ladder? On a broader level, it is imperative to differentiate a brand from a product. The two often are so interlinked since many industrial companies have bestowed brand names on their beloved products. However, do bear in mind the fact that too many sub-brands will end up doing nothing, simply sucking the blood from the corporate brand. In a larger picture, only corporate brand matters. However, many companies have a an array of brands that fail the following test A Brand Is… * Something customers refer by name * The name people often use while referring the product to someone else * Something which has a personality of its own beyond the product * Something people would pay a premium for which won’t be the case when it comes to some other name A Product Is… * Something could be ordered just by description * Something that could be changed sans any loss of loyalty to the customer * A label which customers really look up to, however, is not much concerned aboutBRANDING IN INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MARKETS Everyone for sure is aware of two companies whose products are invariably identifiable. though the two companies have large markets already flooded by dozens of competitors. Simply because both these companies like Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have convinced the customers that their products are far superior that their competitors. Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola have convinced people that phosphoric acid, the H2O, flavorings, colorings, sugar whatever they blend into the dark sticky brew is invariably better than simple H2O itself. So, if branding is helpful for Coca-Cola, will it work for a manufacturer of industrial supplies? Yes! Of course. Branding is already working for industrial companies, but not with the same efficiency level. Many suppliers have a loyal buyer base. Over the years, they have build trust, friendships. Seldom have the industrial buyers changed their suppliers even if an unknown supplier offers the same goods for 10 percent less. DOES A BRAND EFFECT INDUSTRIAL BUYING DECISIONS? Marketing is all about having the right product in the right place at the right time. Good marketing ensures that customers and potential customers know about the product and have been convinced to buy it leaving out all others in the process . But what makes someone desperately want your product and that makes him leave out all other options in the process? It would be very naïve of you if you believe that people drink Coke simply to quench thirst and drive Mercedes because it gives good value for money. People show abiding interest in certain product or supplier may be because of the performance of the product, its price, the availability and the guarantee etc. Further, most buyers stick to a specific supplier because of inertia. Switching over to another product is not worth the effort. Another aspect could be trust in the product- like this product is good and another one may not be that good. Keeping all these explanations aside, the reason for choosing a brand over the others may go beyond the price, product and availability aspects. Brands have a much better influence than what we initially talked about. THE VALUE OF A BRAND IN INDUSTRIAL MARKETS The brand name in short is shorthand for everything that is on offer. The product quality, prompt delivery, value for money all are rolled into people’s opinion of that brand. When people believe that Mercedes offer value for money, then they believe it in totality and don’t wish to confuse the equation by weighing up with many options that would most probably have an equal or better value. Being concerned about out what people associate with is only a part of the equation. It is imperative to take a step further and fix a monetary figure on these brand values given the fact that it helps the owner of the brand incorporate the figure in the balance sheet in the longer run. However, in the industrial markets the principal brand and the name of the company itself are same and one could measure the value by the premium that someone aggrees to pay for the company beyond the tangible assets. However, snags do arise when the premium is partly due to the brand and partly due to the patents, or because of a magnetic CEO. HOW CAN COMPANIES BE POSITIONED TO ACHIEVE A SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FROM THEIR BRAND NAMES? Consider the case of three computer brands namely IBM, Sony and Dell- all the three are involved in the same thing. However, buyers view them from different points of view. One may stand for flexibility, another innovation and yet another for quality. Hence each company stands for a unique value and this endows them with the additional edge in an over cluttered marketplace. Despite the importance of positioning only a few industrial companies have in place strategic plans for managing their company brand. Coming back to where we started, most companies are low on their branding ladder, and are yet to zero down on a common template for its stationary and adverts, forget about the brand essence that gets reflected in whatever the company does. Branding, or positioning is not always easy. Some people may propose values, or a position that’s aspirational in nature while others may propose something that reflects the current stand of the company. Simplicity attracts some, while a few others endorse a complicated essence. Some are fine with internal feedback, while others enforce on taking an independent viewpoint. A company that gets this wrong may end up loosing one of their crucial unique selling prepositions. Focus on Arriving At a Company Brand Essence In this cluttered world, when anything and everything seems to have a clone around, branding bestows you with an opportunity to stand apart. In fact when industrial companies benefit from branding, it’s more or less an accident rather than design. Nonetheless a little extra effort, or cost might attract improved loyalty and greater profitability. A tad bit of pushing, shoving and promotional efforts could make the brand more precisely positioned. This might help raise the brand influence from almost 2 percent to 7 percent and this in turn would help the supplier increase the price and in case the price remains the same, a larger market share Some companies have been carrying out branding activities quite religiously. Dow chemicals have built its brand around high technology and low costs. Branding is not the be all and the end all of a successful business. In fact branding is just one element of marketing. Nevertheless, if a company gets its branding act right, all the other parts of the marketing mix will fall in place too. Branding sits at the core of company’s philosophy given that a company’s brand is what the company is.

Boost Up Your Business Through Corporate Internet Branding

niko — Sat, 19 May 2012 04:17:34 +0000

Corporate Internet Branding is an effective tool which can help a company in becoming a leader. Brand is the name or the reputation that a company persists in the market amongst its customers and gives it a different identity. Carrying a distinct identification is an essential for a company to stand out in the tough competition prevailing in internet marketing. With so many companies and websites existing on the internet and search engines, it becomes difficult to cement the customers with your company and products. Branding helps in promotion of a company’s separate identity including its brand logo and make it popular and renowned amongst the customers.

Internet carries unique multimedia capabilities offering a vast array of information at a one touch button bringing more and more customers to make its use for searching and developing things. This is the reason that this vast medium attracts many companies to make their brand promotion through internet by creating a website. But in this era of fierce marketing tactics and brand clutter, a company can only stand the competition by hiring professional and only the best Branding Services. The main focus of the firms who provide branding services is to create compelling branding concepts which would help the company to connect with their customers, communicate the brand promises effectively while loyally reflecting the personality of the company. Mainly the branding services include brand naming, brand development, re-branding services and brand sustenance ideas.

Just like branding provides uniqueness to a company, having a separate identity is also inevitable in the world of internet marketing otherwise there is a threat to get lost in the cyber crowd. As internet is an easily accessible medium so thus it enjoys enormous companies, brands, websites and information which make it difficult for companies to maintain separate identity. So it is very essential that proper identity services are implemented by companies in their promotion and advertising strategies. Identity Services help in developing an effective and appropriate corporate identity/logo design after deep consideration and discussions. While developing the essence or identity of a brand, few things are kept in mind like the company’s vision, beliefs, target audience, attitude, personality and perception. After keenly understanding these aspects of the company a strong and robust corporate identity is prepared that relevantly belongs to that company.

Therefore use only professional and the most effective Corporate Internet Branding service providers to get the best results.

The Ideal Length of Your Business Plan

niko — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:52:27 +0000

How long should a business plan be? A business plan needs to be whatever length is required to excite the investor, prove that management truly understands the market, and detail the execution strategy. From surveys of investor needs, Growthink has found that 15 to 25 pages of text is the optimum length in which to accomplish this. Anymore and the time-constrained investor will be forced to skim certain sections of the plan, even if they are generally interested, which could lead them to miss essential elements. Any less and the investor will think that the business has not been fully thought through, or will simply not have enough information to make an investment decision.

Many management teams feel that their company is too complex to describe in 15 to 25 pages. While this is sometimes true, the business plan is not meant to tell the whole story. Rather, the company must be “boiled down” into its essential elements. If the investor is interested, there will be plenty of additional time to tell the whole story.

Business plans, like other marketing communications documents, should be visually appealing and easy-to-read. This can be accomplished by using charts and graphics and by formatting the plan for readability. Effectively using these techniques will enable the investor to more quickly and easily understand the company’s value proposition within fewer pages.

While the body of the business plan should be 15 to 25 pages, the Appendix can be used for supplemental information. The Appendix should include a full set of financial projections, and as appropriate, technical and/or operational drawings, partnership and/or customer agreements, expanded competitor reviews, and lists of key customers among others.

If the Appendix is long, a divider should be used to separate it from the body of the plan, or a separate Appendix document should be prepared. These techniques ensure that the investor is not handed a thick business plan, which will make them queasy before even opening it up.

To summarize, the goal of the business plan is to create interest – not to have an investor write you a check. In creating interest, the full story of your company need not be told. Rather, the plan should include the essential elements regarding why an investor should invest and spend more time examining the business opportunity. The shorter length does not mean that your business plan should take less time to prepare. Rather, it will take more time. As Mark Twain once said, “If I had more time, I would write a shorter story.” Likewise, condensing your business plan to a concise, compelling document is challenging and time consuming. Fortunately the rewards are significant.