Business articles
Showing page 35 of 90 - There are 2700 Business articles
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Know the source of business
- One of the first questions we ask a prospect or new client is, "How did you get the business you have so far?" Some can answer exactly. Others aren't as certain.When we begin our first discussions with a new client, our preferred modus operandi is to set up a program that allows us to talk to their customers who will give us a comprehensive view of our client's business. If we can...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - It expenditure - why businesses spend huge amounts on ineffective it investments
- Another IT White Elephant!It seems that almost every day we read in the newspapers about another hideously over budget IT project that doesn't achieve its expected benefits. The ones we read about are usually major multi-million pound projects in the public sector, however this is only the tip of the iceberg.Many more projects achieve similar results in the private sector, in ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Action learning: its more than ojt
- For centuries companies have used on-the-job training (OJT). OJT works because it follows much of what we know about adult learning theory. For example, we know:1. Adults learn best when new learning can be applied immediately.2. Much of classroom "learning" is lost because it does not transfer back to the job.Action learning is a two-part method to maximize learning...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Which itil process should we implement first?
- The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT managers. "With which process should we start when implementing ITIL?" Everybody has their own views, but here are my takes on it.Some consultants sat that one must start with Service Level Management. Theoretically, it would be the perfect option, but how are you going to negotiate SLA's on your MTTR (Mean Time To Repair)...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Discover the astonishing power of words today!
- Picture all the people you know who are dynamic, successful and self-confident. The ones who are the stars of every gathering. The people who are witty, intelligent and entertaining. The scintillating personalities who can be relied upon to light up every occasion.These super confident people are never tongue-tied, never shy, never afraid to express an opinion.You will never see them...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Take control of your paper in 3 easy steps
- Do you have piles of paper on your desk. Many do and don't know how to deal with them. They have no working system to deal with the day to day influx of paper, email, magazines and other information. Worse yet, after a while that pile on your desk gets moved to the top of the file cabinet. And the pile on the file cabinet gets moved to the window sill. Pretty soon you have piles of paper all over ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Growing profits is easy!
- Everyone involved in running a business from the smallest start-up to a major corporate dreams about how to achieve sustained profitable growth. I'm a great believer that business is simple - it's only us human beings that make it complex. If you simplify business, and that is best done in my experience by "getting up in the helicopter" and looking at the big picture, it is remarkable how much you...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Leadership skills
- Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60% of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little cost.Introduction There is no doubt that the single most important aspect of a manager's job is the management of people. Of course, a supervisor must manage resources other than peopl...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Basic management skills
- Recent studies have shown that industrial supervisors are working at less than 60 % of their potential. Basic management skills training is guaranteed to change all this and at such little costManager in contextMost of my adult life has been spent working as a supervisor or manager on industrial projects throughout the world. As the years passed I have become more and more con...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - How businesses can stop wallowing in bad debt and prevent it in the future
- "Become the Squeaky Wheel", a new book just published, explains that getting customers involves more than advertising. Michelle Dunn presents examples of credit procedures and policies to help creditors or business owners collect bad debt and prevent it in the future."One of the best things you can do is implementing a credit policy or have each new customer fill out a credit...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Dont sweat the small stuff with your credit policy
- Do you know how many customers you have that are past due right now? How many bad checks are sitting on your desk that you don't know what to do with? How many dunning letters do you send out a month?How would you like to answer those questions with none, or very few? In a new book, "Become the Squeaky Wheel," Michelle Dunn, explains and outlines some easy procedures you can use t...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Use qa as your first step to outsourcing
- Quality Assurance, or QA, is often given short shrift in a software development organization, especially when budgets are tight. When debating the software development budget at one of my software companies, the CEO finally asked, "Well, do you really want to hire a QA guy, or a programmer to add features to the software?"It was a tough choice. I decided to hire the programmer because we ha...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Why you need a business plan
- This article was originally called "Do You Need a Business Plan?"The title was changed because in truth, every business needs a business plan. It's a common misconception that business plans are used only for raising capital, as in "my bank wants to see a business plan before they will approve a loan," or, "I need a business plan so I can get venture funding."But a business plan is r...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Power of pinpointing accountability
- I have always said that if I were to write a book on effective management principles, the first chapter in that book would be about the importance of pinpointing responsibility among an owner's or a general manager's reporting units. After all, one of the most popular definitions of management is getting work done through others.#1 Management Pitfall: An unwillingness to delegate.Man...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - A comprehensive sarbanes oxley act summary
- Individual and corporate security stand in the center of the Sarbanes Oxley Act summary, as they are the areas that suffered most changes. New criminal and civil penalties were announced for security violations and a new system of certification of internal audit efforts was set. With the new auditor independence provision, auditors from outside the system have been granted more access to company d...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Ten relationship traits and skills for good leadership
- An important aspect of good leadership is the ability to work and relate with others. When creating and building your unique leadership style consistently developing relational skills is a priority. There are ten qualities that characterize successful leadership in the area of relating and communicating with other people.1. AvailabilityA good leader is available and in touch with peo...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Does my bum look big in this?
- If a good manager asks his workforce for their opinion of him he will receive their expressions of approval and be satisfied that he is doing a good job.If a bad manager asks his workforce for their opinion then he too will receive their expressions of approval because as we all know, the best way to get a bad manager off your back is to agree with him.The problem for the manager is ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Learn how to get the most from your team
- Being a leader isn't easy. Every one looks to you to make decisions, resolve disputes, and to carry all the responsibility. Being a leader can be a lonely job.Some of us are born into leadership. For them it is effortless effort. They have no qualms (or at least they know how to hide them) about making tough decisions, about taking the responsibility, and knowing that it can lead to resentm...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - How to write commercial collections letters
- It is sometimes valuable to bring the sales manager into this step of the collection process. Information concerning the delinquency can often be obtained from the sales department. Tips for Commercial Collection Letters: When writing commercial collection letters, these points should be considered:Include all basic information.The commercial collections letter should state how and w...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Commercial collections billing practices advice
- Swiftness is the key to collecting past due commercial accounts because commercial accounts depreciate more faster than consumer accounts.In creating and implementing a billing system, a credit grantor should recognize that time is the safest refuge of any debtor. The more time they are given, the less likely they are to pay. Hence, sales documents should be explicit about payment terms, re...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Problem-solving success tip: whatever you do, do it on purpose
- Decision-making shows up throughout the problem-solving process. The decisions may be difficult or unpopular, so it's very tempting to ignore some of them. Imitating an ostrich, however, is a wimpy way to decide not to change anything-and is quite likely to leave you making awkward explanations later.? Make conscious decisions: whether to proceed or not, which path to take, etc. ? Know ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Enable continuous improvement of it services through itil
- One of the major benefits, if not THE benefit of process orientated approaches to managing your IT services and infrastructure is that it enables continuous improvement.This means that you are never totally satisfied with the current state of affairs and that you always want to improve your services. I mean, it is the way life is to always set higher standards or aim for higher goals, other...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Where else in your business do you accept a 60% failure rate?
- I recently surveyed CEOs and Business Leaders of large companies and small, profit and not-for-profit, and I asked just them just one question: 'What is the single biggest factor that you believe will inhibit your sustained profitable growth into the future?' A, perhaps, surprising 37% responded that it was people - the recruitment, motivation and retention of people that was the biggest factor....
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - The myth of relationship selling revealed at last
- The second you quit being the 'best deal' for your customer, he'll drop you like a hot potato. Regardless of how many lunches you've bought him or birthdays you've remembered.Every business we've ever consulted tells us the same thing about their sales force. They say that their industry is different from all the others and the only effective way for their salespeople to sell is to b...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Lets flourish and prosper!
- Some say that in business as in sex: if it is good, it's great and if it is bad it's still pretty good. This does not happen to be true. If business is bad, it can get very bad. There are personnel problems, production expenses, overhead, laws, taxes, fines. Faulty financial decisions, inability to accurately evaluate the situation and quickly resolve problems all lead to an extremely high mortali...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Work life a balancing act
- Australians are loosing their laidback, carefree reputation, as we continue to work longer hours, exercise less and neglect our leisure and family time.Recent research indicates that 67 per cent of Australian professionals spend at least 20 hours a week thinking about their job when they should be relaxing, and less than half take their entitled annual leave.Why is juggling work and ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Have you always thought that the best ideas come from research or management? think again
- Many entrepreneurs and chief executive officers are unaware that there are many factors that put ordinary workers at a great advantage over R&D and management when it comes to generating useful improvement ideas and even new products ideas for a corporation.The people in research are usually hindered by the fact that it is difficult for them to stay in touch with the day to day running of t...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Can a business still be profitable when people skills are absent?
- In our current world of rapid and amazing technological advances, many entrepreneurs have managed to dramatically limit the need for staff in highly profitable operations of all kinds.It is therefore tempting and believable to imagine that with every passing day, the need for people skills is diminishing. In fact most entrepreneurs are convinced that one no longer requires people skills to ...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - How to build your business and still take time off
- We all know people who are like human dynamos. They seem to make an art form of building their business and still enjoy quality time with friends and family. It isn't magic, you can do it too.The world of business ownership or management is inhabited by two main personality types. There are people who never miss deadlines, who can be replied upon to deliver the goods whatever the odd...
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- 2007-11-13 22:16:19 - Time for change - clearing the first hurdle
- "Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump, bump, bump on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping for a moment and think of it."A.A. Milne (1882 - 1956), Winnie the PoohAbsolutely vital to any business change is all...