Master Your Computer Within Seconds

A computer by definition is an electronic device that is capable of accepting data, processing this data using a set of instructions to produce visible out put such that could be printed out. Not quite long ago, experts discovered how this phenomenal device can be used effectively in solving financial, practical, mathematical, economical, scientific and social problems among many other complex problems confronting the world today. Because of the wild-range of computer application and usage in this fast growing and highly civilized world, there is a great need to not only know how computers work but to become the grand Master of computers.
The future of computer experts all over the world is quite bright and promising thereby making computer knowledge highly necessary for almost everyone. Many Companies are no longer willing to employ just any body. Even security men today must not lack computer knowledge as they may not be able to manage modern security gadgets that are computerized for proper security of the personnel, products and assets of the companies in question.
It is interesting to know that governments of many countries are fighting computer illiteracy with their every fleeting breathe by ensuring that all their citizens are 'computer masters' through the introduction of various computer training schemes. This is because computer revolution has brought great transformation to the entire world especially technologically. For instance, when you want to know what is happening in India, America, china, Japan or any part of the world, simply hit your web browser and engage the search engines like Google and wait for results. Sooner than you expect, you are connected to the entire world with your first hand information readily displayed in your web browser.
Have you ever imagined what the entire world will become technologically in the next ten years if what we presently have constitutes just about 4.9% of the total expectation of what is to come? What will be your answer to this humble question following? Where will you be, what will you be doing when this world finally depends on computers to eat, pay bills, travel, make friends, do business, make payments, pass judgments, secure property, control events, preach the gospel, broad cast news, drive home from the town, diagnose and treat the sick or diseased?
This is not a condition for a 'peace treaty' or dialogue but a wake up call to a total surrender and submission to learning and mastering computer operation. Listen to me friend, you will be obsolete, outdated, antiquated and washed out if you dare to remain a computer illiterate as you are right now. Are you already unaware of how to become a computer Master? Who looks up to for solutions to their computer problems and how do you handle them? You don't even know how to boot your computer, or may be able to boot a system but can't differentiate between warm and cold booting. Friend; you need to do something now!
I want to let you know that you can not Master your computer without first observing to have and do the following:
You must have a computer or at least have access to one as this will give you the freedom of practice any time you wish to do so. Learn one application at a time instead of combining many applications like Corel-Draw with Microsoft Word as doing so may leave you more frustrated and confused. Let me candidly advice you today please, enroll into a very good computer training program to save your self from the shackles of feeling lonely and dissatisfied having a computer but without the relevant operation skills. Read relevant e-Books and other relevant materials on computer training as often as you can. Practice any newly acquired operational skills till they permanently become a part of you. Seek for mentor-ship and ask questions where you do not understand. Finally, know that you are a potential computer master, so spend quality time with your computer daily.

How the Internet Changes the Competitive Battleground

Consumers will seek out brands that they know well. The internet gives you vastly more marketing depth as well as breadth.
That being said there is something unique to the world wide web of the internet in a basic sequence that may well be called the "hub-and-spoke strategy". This also facilitates the law of twos: A hub-and-spoke strategy is the increasingly common arrangement where a major retailer establishes relationships with other Web sites, promising them a percentage of any sales (generally 5 to 15 percent) that result from any traffic sent to the retailer by these "affiliates." It's not uncommon for a major affiliate program to have over 10,000 participating members, all of whom refer traffic to the central site. What's even more interesting is the extent to which this type of business model is proliferating: Refer-it is a site that lists credible affiliate programs for prospective members. As we go to press, it is approaching 500 distinct plans.
The Internet is already taking its place as a central tool in everyday business life. Each aspect of commerce is changing in light of the new capabilities available. The coming changes are so powerful that it is both terrifying and exciting. The first phase of Internet business has principally focused on the creation of new types of businesses: The next phase will involve the impact of these developments on brick-and-mortar businesses and on the economy as a whole.
The new capabilities that the Internet makes available for business-to-business commerce and for business-to-consumer sales will transform many industries from top to bottom. Winning companies will understand that in the emerging era success now requires new rules for action and the mastery by the organization of different types of skills.
Questions may arise on what the future will look like: "Will my business be helped or hurt?" "What should I do to survive?" Until recently, the pace of change has been so great that attempts at answering these questions were often unsatisfying.
Elements that will play a central role in how the Internet economy evolves. These elements have the potential to greatly harm our economy or to power us into prosperity for the twenty-first century. The best way to discuss these ideas is to provide two contrasting visions of the future:
The Potential Downside of Internet Growth More than any other aspect of the Internet, shopping "bots," software that searches the entire Internet for products and services based on predefined criteria (price being the most popular), have the capacity to offer great benefit to consumers while potentially bringing great harm to businesses.

Topics For Think Tanks To Consider This Week

We have all heard about companies or non-profit groups, which go by the dubious title of Think Tanks. There are think tanks for nearly every industry, topic or crisis that plagues mankind. Some Think Tanks are multi-talented and cover a broad spectrum of thought, they provide solutions, concepts, innovations or inventions to propel achievement over the challenges we all face in human civilization and society.
To illustrate this point and to show the diversity of potential topics - I rounded up some of the topics under discussion this week at the Online Think Tank and have listed them below:
1. Vibrational Energy Satellite Beam to Incite Rogue Nation Underground Uranium or Plutonium Enrichment.
2. Government needs to send out a mass mailing to all homeowners; 25 Ways to Save Water - The Conservation Key to Survival.
3. Fat Tax on Foods is Okay - Taxation Discount for Exercising Even Better - Reduce strokes, heart attacks and diabetes too.
4. Why Does CNN and Al Qaeda Arrive Before Relief Efforts?
5. Sedentary Life Damages Health Do Not Let Buddha Fool You
6. Carbon Nano Tube Pancake Agriculture Fields - 8.58 Hz - Over water drip irrigation
7. Are You Wicked Smart? - What does that phrase really imply?
8. Average Summer Heat 2 Degrees Less Than Normal - Must Be Global Cooling
9. Calorie Counters Needed for US Military Recruiting Centers
10. Solar Panels that can be paints on sheet of plastic - What are the potential applications?
11. Elliot Spitzer and His Exploits will Put 400,000 Financial Planners Out of Business, now we find out he has not maintained the integrity level touted. Should these laws now be taken seriously?
12. Market Correction of 12,800 Dow - long overdue.
13. New Tax on All Chinese Goods to Handel Inspection Costs - 10% should be sufficient and that money should be used for what exactly?
14. Electronic Calorie Counters - Those little plastic red calorie counters - apparently judging by fat Americans, no one is using them anymore, we need a better solution and we need it fast.
15. AUV Parasail Windrider Sea Mine, Paravane Device - a A paravane is a device that were used in WWI and WWII to find underwater mine explosives. The look like an aircraft and they are towed by a ship. Think of it as an underwater kite, where the kite line is able to cut the cable holding the mines slightly under the surface. Once the mines float to the top they are destroyed by the ship's guns. Torpedo shaped body that lends itself very well to AUV or Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Designs.
16. Vibrational Medicine with embedded RFID Chips using UF makes sense and some Universities are working on it now.
17. New book coming out; "Obsession on Security" - Book About Vice President Dick Cheney. Will people read it and give our Vice President the benefit of the doubt and consider the implications of what he is saying?
What else did the Online Think Tank do this week? Well, all Think Tanks take in information and we considered the following books and reviewed the implications of their author's points of view on our over all society. These books included such topics as:
A. We Sure Have Had a Lot of Wars in the Last 40 Years - "Six Presidents, Too Many Wars - the 40 year memoirs of a Washington correspondent" by Bill Lawrence. Although this book was written in 1972 and therefore does not discuss the present period wars, it is a very interesting book on the policies and geo-political impasse that leads to war.
B. Seamanship and Navigation Considered - Two books, which I believe are basic towards and understanding of boating and seamanship are the Time Life Books in the Time-Life Library of Boating. The titles are "Seamanship" and "Navigation" and should be read by those who own a boat or are interested in any Marine Industry profession.
C. Entering Space and The Future of Our Species - "Entering Space - An Astronaut's Odyssey" by Joseph P. Allen and Russell Martin. Imagination and Speculation are Essential to Science, but this alone can be no substitute for actual data or observational duplicated proof. If we throw away imagination then everyone will be copying everyone else and nothing new will ever get done and few new innovations will be there for our chance to make the next big leap.
D. Making That Customer Connection - Ask any businessman about customer service and they will have an answer for you, however in reality one has to ask if they walk-the-walk or if they merely lip sync the standard lines about customer service that are in every issue of Entrepreneur Magazine and in every MBA text book. Customer Service is critical no matter what level your business. Customer Service in small business is your edge against the competition, while customer service in a large corporation makes or breaks a brand name. One book I would like to recommend is; "Customer Connection - A Novel that Reveals the Link to Profit and Success" by Terry L. Mayfield.
E. The Psychology of Perception by William N. Dember - For those interested in Psychology, may I recommend a well-written classic? The Psychology of Perception by William N. Dember, published in 1960 by Henry Holt and Company in NY. Why is this book so great? Well, it was written long before all the political correctness and debate over perception and as soon as you read it, you will be able to spot a bogus Politically Correct argument from a real legitimate one.
F. Time Infinity and All Things Discussed - "Space - Time - Infinity" by James S. Trefil - Smithsonian Books. How can you truly make your society better if you do not know your place in the Universe?
G. Quality Project Management Considered - "Quality Project Management" by The Bureau of Business Practices. Forget the Buzz Words, true quality is a lot more than attitude, it is more than strategy, more than just a goal. Think on it.
H. "Managing Team Performance - Evaluation, Measurement and Rewards" by The Saratoga Institute and sponsored by the American Management Association. How to remain efficient even considering the human element in this day and age of persnickety-ness, one-ups-man-ship and legal whistle blowers. Whose team are you one, and do you really belong there?
I. "Considering the Business of Education - The Business of Education for Retail Music Stores" by Raymond M. Williams, Ph.D. - Specifically what role does small business play in education? A bigger role is better and it is much more than you think.
J. "How to Talk Marketing Real Good" by Steve Ende. Every good innovation or concept needs a spokesman, and the World's greatest idea, does not get any traction unless everyone knows about it.
K. "The Cultural Foundation of Education" by Young Pai. Are diversity programs in America working or is their still and undercurrent of glass ceilings and prejudice?
L. "Flattened Fauna - A Field Guide to Common Animals of the Roads, Streets and Highways" Are we forgetting the wild life that mankind literally runs over?
M. "Train - Eyewitness Books" by John Coley 1992. In over 200 years trains have come a long way, so why is the United States with such an advanced civilization so far behind in train technologies? Why, the Online Think Tank asks?
N. "Tennis - Steps to Success" by Jim Young 1949 - 1995. Why are more people not playing such sports as Tennis anymore, is it because Americans are too fat and might sprang and ankle or injure themselves? Tennis is a perfect sport for the Middle Class and anyone can play, why not more, all classes? What happened to Tennis?
O. "Tapping the Earth's Natural Heat" by John H. Sass and Michael L. Sorey. We could potentially use GeoThermal heat to power up 6-8% of our Nation's energy needs? Is it worth pursuing? What will it cost?
P. "Identity Theft in America" an online eBook. The questions are is the Chief Privacy Officer of the Federal Trade Commission capable of doing its job? Will they be the next scapegoat? Who will take the fall for the FTC's failures to curb identity theft, are we really safe?
The Online Think Also pondered several questions this week involving philosophy. Here is one of the more interesting topics:
1.) Are We Missing the Boat in Teaching Mathematics? You know mathematics are a lot like that. Mathematics are really easy to understand if you take all the "letters" and put the words by them. For instance instead of writing "C" you write out; The Speed of Light. I believe this is why Chinese students who learn 35,000 symbols by age 13 have a much better time with higher math, not smarter, just formatted brains for memorization of symbols, that is all. We could over come that in mathematics teaching and improve science scores by making the symbols actual pictures of what the "letter" stands for. The student would move their cursor over it and it would have a picture of what it is. For instance, a "light ray" with a word "speed under" it. The students would learn much faster this way.
2.) Concerns with our Air Mobility Commands and the old aircraft we have in the fleet - not only the "flying gas stations" or the older C-130's with wing-spar box issues that are now mothballed, but the C-17s, C-5s, etc. but we also need to upgrade this stuff. Those airframes are tired and we need to replace much of the aircraft with new materials, check the superstructures and see what we can salvage for another 100,000 hours and figure on a way to save these high-dollar tax payer aircraft and upgrade the fleet too. Then the Navy has P-3s and we just have a lot of old stuff still flying around and we have shortages of fully trained mechanics in the military - actually in commercial aviation as well.
In reading through some of the Air Force manuals it seems they know what to do, as they schedule when to do it, but I wonder if the maintenance is up to snuff and everything is getting done correctly? When these aircraft are half way around the world, operating under military power take-offs due to heat, loads, they are not getting things done as much as they should, probably flying with 3 dozen squawks, but during mission critical and shortages, that is kind of asking for problems of course. Look how long they flew the B-52s? Sure, it can be done, we need to do it, but we also need to upgrade the fleet, add aircraft, ditch the "dogs" and consider ALL the costs and then work to make sure that these aircraft are not flying accidents waiting to happen.
3.) Indeed, we have all heard the saying by George Santayna; Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it and well, it was Nietzsche who said; Those who do not anticipate the future are doomed to resent it. Very wise statements, no doubt. Now let me throw another one at you:

An Introduction to Document Scanning

What is ERM/EDM? EDM or ERM is all about the way that we deal with processes that involve paperwork. As computer systems have evolved over the years, many people believed that the amount of paperwork would be drastically reduced, perhaps even leading to the paperless office. Indeed, in a few cases this has proved correct and I am led to believe that some organisations have managed to go paperless, however, I am yet to find one of these organisations. In fact, what seems to have occurred is that despite a smaller percentage of data ending up in the printer, the overall volume of data has grown so much that the overall amount of printed material has also risen.
Much of this printed data does not need to be kept as it will also exist in electronic format. However, some items cannot simply be disposed of. Organisations will always have a need to keep hold of certain documents for legal or regulatory reasons. The type of documents and the time that they are to be kept (the Retention Period) will vary from industry to industry. However, many of these documents can be kept in an electronic format, scanned and made available on your computer systems.
Using the latest EDM/ERM solutions, many documents can now be scanned into an electronic format, this can be done in a way that allows the document to remain legally compliant, even to the extent that the digital copy will be admissible in court - so long as the proper procedures are followed. Once scanned to an electronic format, this paperwork no longer takes up valuable office space nor does it necessarily need to be stored in off-site archive. Furthermore, it can be accessed instantly by any authorised person within your organisation and shared electronically at the click of a mouse. Very often, by making the information widely available within the organisation, further efficiencies are found be the de-duplication of tasks.
In short, through the digitisation of paper based records, organisations can benefit from extra space, the freedom of information to be accessed around the organisation or even routed automatically through established business processes - workflow solutions.
Key EDM/ERM terms
Prep / Pre Scan Preparation Documents arrive for scanning in various formats. Sometimes there are simply reams of A4 pages neatly organised in boxes. More often however, the documents are contained within files, often stapled and un-structured. The prep process is designed to organise these documents ready for scanning. This will involve the removal of all folders, staples and paperclips, the unfolding of folded pages and the repair of damaged documents. This process allows the documents to be scanned in an efficient manner.
Document Separator Pages Although this is strictly part of the Prep and or Indexing process it is best explained separately. Document separators can be as simple as a page with a specific pattern that tells the scanner software that a new document has started or more complicated sheets that use barcodes for the automatic capture of index data. These barcodes can often be incorporated into commonly used documents to reduce the indexing costs.
Substitution Sheets Substitution sheets are used where mixed page sizes occur within a document. Mixed page sizes may mean that different document scanners are required to scan one document. Often, large format items will be removed from the document and replaced with a substitution sheet. These large items can then be processed through large format scanners with the remaining document being scanned on more conventional devices. The software then marries the two resulting sets of output images into one complete set.
Scanning / Capture This is the process of digitisation. Digitisation can be via an inexpensive low volume scanner or via more advanced technology capable of scanning 10's or even 100's of thousands of pages in a day. Document scanners are able to scan in full colour, black and white or greyscale and varying levels of quality according to the required resolution. Scanners can often scan both sides of every sheet in one pass, automatically removing blank pages as they are found
Indexing / Data Capture During this process, key information is gathered about a document that has been scanned. It is this key information that is then used to retrieve the document when it is required or to trigger an automated process. The quality of this information is paramount and as such it is usually keyed from the scanned image. Sometimes, where the data is very important it is double keyed, by separate operators and the software flags up any miss-matches in the keyed data. Software can also be used for this purpose, see Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Forms Recognition. Furthermore, document separators can be created which contain this data for automatic capture through the use of bar codes (see above).
Quality Control (QC) Quality Control is the next stage in the process. Random samples are selected and compared to the original, both the scanned image and the index data can be QC'd in this way. The level of QC will depend on the budget, the complexity of the project and the value of the final data to an organisation.
Scan-on-Demand Scan-on-Demand is a hybrid of traditional archive storage and EDM/ERM solutions. Where a high volume of paper based documents are produced that only need to be retained for a relatively short period of time, scan on demand can be a very cost effective solution. Documents are stored in off-site archive and when a document is required a request is made, the document is located, scanned and delivered electronically.
Retrieval Systems Retrieval systems allow scanned information to be recalled for storage. Regardless of where the scanned information is stored, be it on optical disk, a server in the office or more commonly hosted off-site as part of the service, a system is required to access this information. Usually, documents are located through the use of search terms which will return a list of matches. The correct document is then selected and displayed on screen. Retrieval systems will then allow the user many options, the ability to email, annotate, add notes, add pages etc. to the document. Changes should always be tracked for the system and the original be accessible. Retrieval systems may also provide a method of adding new documents to the store and workflow functionality.
Workflow Workflow refers to what is often a complex process of which there are a number of steps or actions required. A rules based system allows a set of rules to be created that relate to a particular document type and will determine where this document is routed through the organisation. For example, an invoice will be routed around an organisation for approval finally ending up with the accounts payable department, authorised for payment. Dynamic rules provide further possibility for documents, for example, low value documents may only need to be authorised by a junior member of staff whereas higher value invoice need the authorisation of two members of senior management. The routing can be to specific individuals or to departments. Workflow has many applications not limited to the Accounts Payable department. Customer complaints, holiday requests, training requests etc all benefit from automated processes.
Retention Period Retention periods determine the length of time that an organisation is required to keep a document, either for internal or external reasons. Legal and Regulatory requirements require that certain documents are kept for certain periods of time, furthermore, an organisation may have its own required retention period for different document classes. Retention can be automated, setting an expiry or destruction date against each document as it is added to the retrieval system. Once the expiry or destruction date is reached, an administrator or manager is notified and can authorised the removal of such documents for the system.
Metadata Metadata is similar in nature to the index data, although it is usually appended to the document by the retrieval system. Metadata may be information such as the date the document was added, the date and time it was accessed and by whom, who it has been emailed to and why. This metadata helps to create an audit trail pertaining to the document which will prove invaluable to any investigations in the future.
Document Access Rights The retrieval system chosen by an organisation must always provide secure access to the data and records stored within it. At the bare minimum there users must be required to use a username and password combination to access the system. It is preferential that the solution allows for multiple layers of security and encryption. For example, one group of users may require access to accounts payable records but must not be allowed access to HR records. Furthermore, when the ability to email or print documents from the system is provided, a genuine reason must be logged along with the recipient.
Conclusion I trust that you have found this introduction to electronic records management and document scanning useful. Here at Sterling we are able to provide organisations of any size with a solution that will provide excellent value for money and a quality of service that is second to none. Please browse our site for more information or contact us and we will be happy to advise.
Using our fleet of Fujitsu Scanners and CapSure software, no project is to big. We are able to scale production to meet clients needs, maintaining high standards through staff training.
Large and unusual formats pose no issue for Sterling. From large drawings and plans through to photographs, negatives and even film, Sterling can deliver.
Sterling has been involved in document scanning bureau services for more than 30 years. We have extensive knowledge in microfilm systems, the conversion of microfilm to digital, production scanning, data capture and indexing.
Services can be delivered on and off-site with very fast turnaround and extremely high standards. Once scanned, Sterling can provide a choice of solution for hosting and retrieval purposes. These solutions can be both on site or hosted for secure web access.
By indexing the documents accurately and through the use of OCR technology, finding the information that you require is a just a few clicks away.
Our transparent pricing policy ensures that there are no 'hidden' costs that can soon add up. Coupled with this is our dedication to agreeing a technical specification with our clients along with a free of charge sample service which allows potential clients to send in some samples pertinent to the project for scanning.

10 Ways That IT Can Solve Real-World Business Problems

My favorite word is "alignment". This describes the situation that happens when an IT department gets it act together and focuses on solving problems for the business. This is actually different from what an IT department normally spends its time doing: keeping the network up and providing help desk support for end users. The folks over at eWeek found out that a number of IT departments have actually been listening to what the rest of the business has been asking for and they are now starting to create custom solutions that solve real-world business problems.
The IT departments have been starting with the single app that has the most valuable information in it, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application, and then extending it to do useful work. How about if we take a look at 10 of these applications:
1. Where's My Trash (Truck): An Atlanta based company called Trash-It has combined their Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live tool with the Tom-Tom Work application, a GPS navigation tool. This now allows the business side of the house to see where all of their trash trucks are at any time and better manage and control the fleet. Instead of guessing if they have too many or too few trucks, now they know!
2. Helping Out The Homeless: San Francisco's Family Service Agency has the nearly impossible task of running six major helping centers with over 250 staff members. On a yearly basis, they are able to help 8,000 clients. They had a huge problem: how could they tell who they had served and where they had served them? If they knew this, then they could better coordinate their services and make the best use of their limited funding. Their IT department used Salesforce.com's Force.com platform to build a single integrated record for each client. This allowed the business side of the house, six different agencies, to view each customer's single record of service.
3. Conserve More: The U.S. Department of Agriculture does a lot of conservation work. Until now, different systems had been used to track different conservation projects. Their IT department used Microsoft's Dynamic CRM 4.0 to build a conservation work tracking application. Now the rest of the department is able to view all of the conservation efforts in a single place.
4. Is There A Doctor Here?: The good folks at the Schumacher Group are responsible for providing both doctors and operating teams to over 140 hospitals that are spread out over multiple states. This works out OK if everything is going fine; however, in the vent of a natural disaster it can become very difficult to find doctors and get them to where they are most urgently needed. The IT team used Salesforce.com's Force.com platform to create a hurricane tracking app that integrates doctor location information. This allows the business side of the house to swing into action when disaster strikes and make sure that the right resources are sent to the right locations.
5. Geek Map: The Geeks On The Way service found that business was just a little bit too good. Their employees were spending way too much time trying to map service calls so that they could provide the most efficient service to their spread out customer base. Their IT department (yes, Geeks need an IT department also) used the SugarCRM app to create an application that automatically linked with the open source Asterisk PBX phone system and map out routes for their techs to use for service calls.
6. Super Bowl Story: The company Total Structures has what I consider to be a fun job - they are in the business of building custom structures. Where this story gets interesting is when you realize that they won the job to build the halftime stage that was used at this year's Super Bowl (yep, we all saw it for about 30 minutes, but I'll bet none of us can remember what it looked like!) You can imaagine just how complex building a structure that has to magically show up, be used, and then vanish must be. Their IT department used Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live to come up with an application that they could use to track the building of the stage. Now how's that for stretching the definition of a CRM application!
7. HIPPA-Hurray, HIPPA-Hurray!: The Department of Human Services out in Oregon had a real problem on their hands. They were trying to manage Medicaid claims that they were receiving from over 35,000 health care providers in the state. This meant that they were dealing with 60,000 paper-based claims each month. Oh, and the new HIPPA rules were coming into effect. Their IT department used the SugarCRM app to move to electronic forms. As a nice side-benefit, they became HIPPA compliant along the way.
8. It's All About Politics: No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, you've got to admire former presidential candidate Mitt Rommney's campaign team. Their IT folks used Salesforce.com's Force.com platform to create an app that allowed volunteers to get info out to those who needed it while at the same time using emails to ask for campaign funds. How successful was this app? Well by using it Mitt Rommney was able to raise $20M for his bid. He lost, but still that's a lot of money!
9. You Are In Germany: The Kassel region over in Germany decided to use the SugarCRM app to get more folks to visit them. They designed a social networking platform that was designed to attract all sorts of people: tourists, businesses, and even people who might want to move to Kassel.
10. Tracking School Days: So this last one doesn't really involve an IT department; however, it still struck me as being a very cool app. The Bronx Lab School wanted to be able to both measure and track individual student performance. They decided to use Salesforce.com's Force.com app to build a tool that would let them track student performance. The very cool part is that it delivers daily updates on each student to advisers, teachers, and (of course) parents.

Green Energy Efficiency Drives Vehicle Tracking

Emission reduction is, without doubt, transforming attitudes towards design technology for the next generation of vehicle manufacturing in the 21st century. Realistically, fleet operators, will support and paying lip service to cutting their transport carbon footprint by adopting a vehicle tracking solution, which is more aimed to maximise their overall fuel efficiency and dramatically cut running costs.
Supporting green energy can sometimes really mean the drive to tighten up productivity management of mobile resources by constant attention paid to location and time scheduling!
In today's fragile and uncertain economy, where recovery has been tentative only and dangers of fallback into a double dip recession are feared, mobile resource management is pushing ever harder to keep their businesses alive in the harsh, unforgiving market of ontime delivery.
Fleet and commercial vehicle based businesses are under pressure to maintain their current customers by providing exemplary service, competing to win new business with reduced financial help. Investment into a commercial vehicle tracking system may indeed be viewed as the practical answer to all the pressing issues of the day!
A versatile and multi tasking technology such as GPS vehicle tracking, which has the capability to bring sought-after solutions by customisable applications to different areas, has therefore, to be seen as a valuable investment asset.
A realtime vehicle tracking system integrates latest technologies like Global Positioning System (GPS), two way wireless communications, mobile phone tracking and timed interval reports, all now absolutely crucial to minute-by-minute operational decision making to manage workforce resources of any size.
Fleet operator back offices can receive vital vehicle location reports every 20 seconds, with mileage and live traffic information, which can mean adjusting routes according to traffic conditions or last minute schedule changes. Fleet GPS tracking modules can also incorporate interactive maps, which can be viewed online to enable a company to avoid unnecessary or duplicated journeys and reducing both wasted fuel, energy emission and cut running costs by up to a fifth.
Many organisations have long considered 'going green' as synonymous with 'going paperless' too. The use of electronic capture of customer signature, for example, has for decades revolutionised management workflow and information exchange, dramatically reducing delays previously caused by paperwork processing.
Today's evolved online fleet tracking technology has increased capability to capture and instantly forward all and any type of information, from start time, end time, anticipated work time, off read time, description and location, via live dynamic maps and timesheets.
Correct implementation of a vehicle tracking solution, supplies fleet operations dynamic response as events unfold in realtime and to identify further opportunities to improve planning and productivity, whilst complying with the imperatives of increasing efficient green energy systems and emission reduction.

10 Ways That IT Can Solve Real-World Business Problems

My favorite word is "alignment". This describes the situation that happens when an IT department gets it act together and focuses on solving problems for the business. This is actually different from what an IT department normally spends its time doing: keeping the network up and providing help desk support for end users. The folks over at eWeek found out that a number of IT departments have actually been listening to what the rest of the business has been asking for and they are now starting to create custom solutions that solve real-world business problems.
The IT departments have been starting with the single app that has the most valuable information in it, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application, and then extending it to do useful work. How about if we take a look at 10 of these applications:
1. Where's My Trash (Truck): An Atlanta based company called Trash-It has combined their Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live tool with the Tom-Tom Work application, a GPS navigation tool. This now allows the business side of the house to see where all of their trash trucks are at any time and better manage and control the fleet. Instead of guessing if they have too many or too few trucks, now they know!
2. Helping Out The Homeless: San Francisco's Family Service Agency has the nearly impossible task of running six major helping centers with over 250 staff members. On a yearly basis, they are able to help 8,000 clients. They had a huge problem: how could they tell who they had served and where they had served them? If they knew this, then they could better coordinate their services and make the best use of their limited funding. Their IT department used Salesforce.com's Force.com platform to build a single integrated record for each client. This allowed the business side of the house, six different agencies, to view each customer's single record of service.
3. Conserve More: The U.S. Department of Agriculture does a lot of conservation work. Until now, different systems had been used to track different conservation projects. Their IT department used Microsoft's Dynamic CRM 4.0 to build a conservation work tracking application. Now the rest of the department is able to view all of the conservation efforts in a single place.
4. Is There A Doctor Here?: The good folks at the Schumacher Group are responsible for providing both doctors and operating teams to over 140 hospitals that are spread out over multiple states. This works out OK if everything is going fine; however, in the event of a natural disaster it can become very difficult to find doctors and get them to where they are most urgently needed. The IT team used Salesforce.com's Force.com platform to create a hurricane tracking app that integrates doctor location information. This allows the business side of the house to swing into action when disaster strikes and make sure that the right resources are sent to the right locations.
5. Geek Map: The Geeks On The Way service found that business was just a little bit too good. Their employees were spending way too much time trying to map service calls so that they could provide the most efficient service to their spread out customer base. Their IT department (yes, Geeks need an IT department also) used the SugarCRM app to create an application that automatically linked with the open source Asterisk PBX phone system and map out routes for their techs to use for service calls.
6. Super Bowl Story: The company Total Structures has what I consider to be a fun job - they are in the business of building custom structures. Where this story gets interesting is when you realize that they won the job to build the halftime stage that was used at this year's Super Bowl (yep, we all saw it for about 30 minutes, but I'll bet none of us can remember what it looked like!) You can imagine just how complex building a structure that has to magically show up, be used, and then vanish must be. Their IT department used Microsoft Dynamics CRM Live to come up with an application that they could use to track the building of the stage. Now how's that for stretching the definition of a CRM application!
7. HIPPA-Hurray, HIPPA-Hurray!: The Department of Human Services out in Oregon had a real problem on their hands. They were trying to manage Medicaid claims that they were receiving from over 35,000 health care providers in the state. This meant that they were dealing with 60,000 paper-based claims each month. Oh, and the new HIPPA rules were coming into effect. Their IT department used the SugarCRM app to move to electronic forms. As a nice side-benefit, they became HIPPA compliant along the way.
8. It's All About Politics: No matter what side of the political fence you sit on, you've got to admire former presidential candidate Mitt Rommney's campaign team. Their IT folks used Salesforce.com's Force.com platform to create an app that allowed volunteers to get info out to those who needed it while at the same time using emails to ask for campaign funds. How successful was this app? Well by using it Mitt Rommney was able to raise $20M for his bid. He lost, but still that's a lot of money!
9. You Are In Germany: The Kassel region over in Germany decided to use the SugarCRM app to get more folks to visit them. They designed a social networking platform that was designed to attract all sorts of people: tourists, businesses, and even people who might want to move to Kassel.
10. Tracking School Days: So this last one doesn't really involve an IT department; however, it still struck me as being a very cool app. The Bronx Lab School wanted to be able to both measure and track individual student performance. They decided to use Salesforce.com's Force.com app to build a tool that would let them track student performance. The very cool part is that it delivers daily updates on each student to advisers, teachers, and (of course) parents.

10 Non-Traditional Careers for Women: Become a Mechanic and More

According to a recent study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada has a very high pay gap between men and women. In a study of 30 OECD member countries, only Korea, Japan and Germany fared worse than Canada, where men were found to make an average of 20% more than their female counterparts. Otch! No wonder some ambitious young women are turning to auto training schools in search of non-traditional occupations. Here are 10 non-traditional careers for women to consider.
1. Become a mechanic.
As cars increase their electronic component, the culture of auto maintenance and repair is changing. To become a mechanic today, you must be as good with computers as you are with your hands. To learn the trade, aspiring mechanics enroll in auto training schools equipped with state-of-the-art technology. Because the average person no longer has the necessary knowledge or tools to fix their own car, we are, as a population, becoming increasingly dependent on the graduates of these auto training schools, making the future look very bright indeed for those who choose to become a mechanic today.
2. Become a quality control inspector.
In an assembly plant, a quality control inspector checks automotive parts for defects.
3. Become a CAD Operator.
CAD is short for computer-aided design. CAD operators are car designers.
4. Become a car salesperson.
Although women make less on average then men, they also tend to shoulder more responsibility for the purchasing decisions within a household. For a car dealership, it can be advantageous to have women graduates of auto training schools on its retail staff to convey respect, concern and solidarity to these all-important decision-makers.
5. Become a parts specialist.
Auto training schools can train parts specialists to help people find replacement parts for vehicles.
6. Become a truck driver manager.
Auto training schools can prepare you for a management career in the trucking industry.
Learn how to:

• issue jobs to drivers
• oversee time sheets
• plan loads, pickups and deliveries
• schedule inspections
• use logistics tools on the computer

7. Become a dispatcher.
Take dispatcher training at one of your local auto training schools. Dispatchers are "communications central" for trucking companies. They are responsible for coordinating the movements of the fleet.
8. Become a loss prevention administrator.
Loss prevention involves:

• making sure drivers receive required safety training
• initiating and overseeing safety policies

9. Become an operations manager.
Auto training schools have programs for prospective operations managers, where they can learn how to manage a garage or trucking business.
10. Become a log book auditor.
Trucking companies are required by law to maintain log books. Log book auditors perform voluntary or involuntary checks.
Women who are interested in a non-traditional career in the automotive industry have a wide range of exciting careers tn choose from at auto training schools.

Volvo S80 Bags Chauffeur Approval And New Business Appraisal

Since its arrival in the United Kingdom in the previous year, the new Volvo S80 luxury sedan distinctive characteristics of Scandinavian design and innovative technology has captivated the soft spot of the Europeans. As a fact, the sedan has earned positive feedback from executive chauffeur drivers and customers in the automaker's VIP test drive offer.
The five-day test drive is aimed at offering Europeans the opportunity to experience the improved levels of ride quality, comfort and passenger space. The car's features are specially designed to meet the needs of modern-day customers. And these features are flaunted in the said test drive offer.
The Tristar Worldwide Chauffeur Services, a company which runs the largest luxury chauffeur fleet in the UK, has added to its 550-strong Volvo fleet by recently taking delivery of 250 new Volvo S80s. Managing director Dean de Beer said, "Our customers trust Tristar to deliver them safely and promptly to their most important engagements in comfort and luxury. Volvo is the vehicle supplier we choose year after year to deliver the quality and consistency of service that our clients have come to expect."
According to one of Tristar's longest-standing Executive Chauffeurs, Peter Solomon, the new Volvo S80 is winning praise from both driver and passengers. "Part of my job involves driving for long periods of time, so the comfort of a vehicle really enhances my job satisfaction. There are noticeable improvements in the vehicle handling and my passengers have also commented on the quality of the interior of the vehicle, and the exceptionally smooth ride," he explained.
The automaker's research found that spending an extended period of time with the Volvo S80 really helps customers appreciate the true benefits of this luxurious saloon. Company car drivers can now experience the entire S80 range with Volvo's new and already admired VIP demonstrator offer. With said offer from the automaker, a new S80 can be delivered to offices anywhere in England, Scotland and Wales for a five day test drive.
"The S80 is a true competitor to other European and Japanese luxury sedans," said Anne Belec, the President and CEO of Volvo Cars North America. "This recognition by the editors of AutoMundo is significant, and reflects our belief that Volvo is worthy of consideration in this very competitive segment."

Bridging The Gulf Between Strategic Planning And Execution

Fewer than half of C-level executives responding to a McKinsey on-line survey said they were satisfied with their company's approach to strategic planning (McKinsey, 2006). Moreover, most managers agree that even where planning processes are adequate, an even more prevalent and serious problem occurs in: "failure to launch"; which lies in the gap between strategy and execution.

Ultimately, what this means is that senior managers have great ideas and a pretty good overarching vision of what business nirvana looks like, but the enigma remains: how to create an organizational alignment to actually close or remove the gap. So, if the majority of executives know what the problem is, then why are they not fixing it?

The following is a suggested list of remedies for poor or slow organizational results. The list is by no means exhaustive, but when taken together will have measurably positive effects on your organization. Some executive level managers, with whom I have shared these ideas, have told me that they would do it, if they only had time. My advice to them was to make time or have someone initiate and follow through for you. Having a clearly defined and effective cadre of action oriented strategies is only a starting point, but an important one in creating action that generates results.

Also, it is important to realize the cascading nature of strategic plans and the imperative to consistently refer back to objectives and vision during implementation. Each phase of strategic planning is affected by, and affects each subsequent phase. While strategic planning is both linear and non-linear in nature, the following linear model is used to demonstrate a simple strategic planning process:

Vision - Mission - Core Values - Objectives - Strategies - Action Plans, Project Plans and Frameworks - Execution - Monitoring, Evaluation, Refining.

Now, moving on to strategies which will bridge the gap between planning and execution...

1. Clearly picture what your business nirvana looks like (i.e. your vision) within your operating environment.

In other words, reaffirm to yourselves the business you are in. If you are in healthcare, you are in the business of promoting wellness, preventing illness, and diagnosing and treating illness when it arises. If you are Apple or Starbucks, you are in the business of creating and marketing (with an emphasis on marketing) lifestyle. In the former case, lifestyle happens to take the form of leading edge consumer electronic devices which are attractive, easy to use, reliable, and reflect and create what customers want. In the latter case, lifestyle takes the form of "funky" relaxation - either alone or with others - associated emotionally and psychologically with drinking coffee in a haven within a high traffic environment. If you are OTIS Elevators, you move people and goods horizontally, vertically, and diagonally through space better than anyone else. If you are Toyota, you create reliable, affordable, attractive, high-value and functional transportation devices for people and goods in the world (Note: these visions are paraphrased by the author's synthesized memories of and knowledge of these organizations).

When you have a crystal clear idea of what you do, what you want to do, and the environment in which you do it in, then you can begin to execute in those areas in which you are competent. If you do not know the picture you want/need to paint and/or cannot convey it to your people or if you doing business in areas in which you are not competent or in a consistently weak position organizationally, then its time for a change. The best means of achieving the results you desire are to capitalize on your strengths and not to focus your energies on your weaknesses. If you do not have a killer strategy and are struggling to retain or gain market share, and there are no killer strategies on the horizon, you might want to seriously rethink your approach. Executing on poor strategy is like canoeing across the Pacific Ocean. You may succeed, but the odds are definitely stacked against you.

2. The right people in the right jobs doing the right things, i.e. motivating individuals and empowering teams

One of the biggest mistakes in the strategic planning execution gap occurs in the area of organizational development and its interface with the human capital. This aspect of organizational success is one of the most critical, and yet in many organizations it is the one agenda item left until the end of the meeting or not addressed at all. All the sound strategic planning in the world will not result in effective outcomes unless the organization has the right people doing the right things. No matter what organization we are talking about, all are made up of people.

The most highly effective employee is a happy employee, and vice versa. Leading edge technology companies like Google and Microsoft have figured this reality out and continue to leverage it to their advantage and overwhelming success. Secondly, it is important that your people are doing work that engages them. In other words, work that fits with their personality, professional goals, aspirations, desires, wants, and needs. Therefore, a humanistic approach toward encouraging and promoting individuals within the organization into areas in which they are competent, energized, and enthusiastic should be a priority and part of any good strategic execution plan. For organizations who do not know how to do this, I would recommend beginning with Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) style personality assessment or similar assessments.

The process of discovering one's individual and work personalities can be both entertaining and enlightening for both managers and employees. It also provides individuals with information on where they might fit best in the organization. In the event that one's personality, professional goals, values, and/or beliefs are not congruent with the organization they are with, it may be better for them to find an opportunity to realize their potential in another environment, rather than trying to mould and shape core beliefs and behaviours to the environment they are in. The latter seldom works for any length of time, and creates cognitive dissonance and stress. If this dissonance and stress is pervasive enough, its deleterious results can echo throughout the entire organization. Regardless of organization type, personality inventories should not be used as the basis for dismissal. Nevertheless, both worker and organization need to realize the benefits of alignment and best fit between people and activities.

Over the past 10 years, enough research has been compiled on team-building to fill entire libraries. In and amidst the tomes of literature on this topic, the only item I will emphasize and discuss briefly here is this: teams must have a leader with bona fide authority and decision-making power. All of the teamwork buzzwords like inclusion, participative, facilitative, collaborative, synergistic, storm, norm, form, perform and the like mean nothing in the face of a leadership void. This applies to high level teams (e.g., C-level Steering groups) right down to project teams responsible for limited-scope outcomes. Without one readily identified leader (Note: not two leaders), the success of the team will be hard wrought, fleeting, and most of all, unlikely. It is my opinion that this precondition must be met. Be careful about assuming the designated "person in charge" is the one with the actual or exclusive decision-making power. Most organizations have informal networks and reporting relationships that may even pre-empt formal ones. Healthcare is a good example. While hospital administrators have significant authority on resource allocation and administrative activities, physicians (GP's and specialists) still hold considerable power, and some would say the "balance" of power when it comes to overall operational decisions.

3. Make detailed strategic planning and management part of the integral web of operations and not just an annual or esoteric activity done at the corporate level

Detail means that situational information is constantly updated and used as the basis for strategic decisions, and that reasonable, well-thought-through ways of accessing information are available and used to create the actions plans, performance metrics, and dashboard reports. If, after a reasonable period of time has elapsed, you find your metrics unchanged or your action plan un/under-implemented, then you need to regroup, act, adjust and measure. Another paradigm often used is plan-do-study-act-refine. This is the most difficult aspect of organizational behaviour. For some, it is less painful to spend valuable time compiling a list of excuses for not taking action, than it is to simply act.

Once you have developed an action plan, make sure you act. Most importantly, act now. When developing an action plan, think about the things you need to do and whether or not they will yield the desired results. Always consider the range of outcomes and the urgency and impact of the consequences of those outcomes. For instance, if the aggregate outcomes of a set of actions take you to where you want to go, then act. By all means, discuss it with your boss, your legal department, your finance area or with other experts, but make sure you do it and whatever you do, do it with the right intent for your customers, clients, or stakeholders (whichever is appropriate in your business).

You may wish to try to quantify the outcomes and consequences into probability and impact, with specific regard to magnitude of outcome. You will want to avoid "deal breaker" actions that have a low probability of success and extreme impacts on your organization. Alternatively, outcomes with a high probability and magnitude of success and low-risk of negative impact should rank high. Employ whatever methodology you require to make a decision, but make sure you do not get caught up in developing models to the exclusion of taking action. Last, but not least, make sure you consistently refer back to the overall strategic plan, business plan, operating plan, or whichever plan or plans your department is required to follow. Are you meeting your targets? Are your strategies working? Are you objectives SMART (specific, measurable, attainable/aggressive, realistic, and time-limited)? Are the actions you are taking having the desired effect? What could you do better, sooner, more of, in order to take you where you want to go? Go to the level of detail necessary to reduce decision-based risk to a minimum - then act.

4. Follow through on items identified in your strategic plan

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT indicator of whether or not an organization will realize its strategic vision. Organizations that follow through on their plan, adjust their course from time to time, but continue to take action, will succeed. Those who do not follow through and take action almost assuredly will fail. Yes, by all means, adjust your sails if need be, but make sure that you are out at sea when you do this. A dry-docked sailboat is not going anywhere, and no amount of sail adjustment will have an impact. If you are not sure how to follow through on your strategic planning, then find out how. If the timing is wrong to launch your program, then take action to prepare for when the timing is right. Do not, however, use "timing" as an excuse to unnecessarily delay or defer your project, program or strategic initiative. Further "research" and/or "study" are terms often used by government when an unpopular political decision is being faced. If you are reasonably certain and have done the necessary planning, go ahead and launch your project, program, or initiative.

5. Provide adequate incentives for people to make decisions

Empower your staff. This means, once your strategy is set and your program and project plans are in place, allow your people to make decisions to move the project and/or organization forward. If you require every decision to be passed by one focal point, this point will become a bottleneck; resentment will ensue, and success will become either delayed or elusive. It is frustrating for competent staff to have to pass everything by a micro-manager. If this is a required, it shouts and breeds distrust to event the most ardently committed employee. Over time, you will lose good staff, and your organization will suffer the consequences.

6. Kaizen - manage through incremental change rather than widespread change

Wikipedia describes Kaizen as a Japanese Management concept which, directly translated, means: change for the better, or change for improvement. In English, it is embodied in the management philosophy of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), upon which many firms (mostly manufacturing) have focused in recent years. Kaizen is used in the Toyota Production System (TPS), which over the past year or two has come into vogue in management circles as a panacea for what ails the organization. It is implicit in Kaizen that all company employees will engage in the removal of waste and duplication, and that all will contribute to the betterment of the organization. Three main tenets of Kaizen are:

(a) Consider the process and the results (not results-only).

(b) Engage in systemic thinking of the whole process and not just that immediately in view (i.e. big picture, not solely the narrow view).

(c) Learning, non-judgmental, non-blaming (because blaming is wasteful) approach and intent.

The Kaizen approach has clearly been effective worldwide. However, there are very real barriers in North America to implementing this approach. For instance, organizations who announce they are now using Kaizen, but do not offer any support through training or by providing rationale for the change, often fail. Secondly, Kaizen is easier to implement in "collectivist" v. "individualist" cultures. The operative principle behind Kaizen is to move toward a "one for all and all for one" style of operating. Western cultures are more individualist than collectivist, and therefore focus more on "one for one" and the "all can buzz off unless they are useful for the one". Hence, Kaizen was formulated within and is used most effectively by Asian and other more collective cultures.

Nevertheless, Kaizen as a principle and practice can be implemented with successful results if the conditions are right and the organization implementing it is ready for it and has readied its employees. Creating and conveying the emotion of pride in craftsmanship and output is a critical aspect. Organizations unable to instill this key psychological construct in their employees will have difficulty implementing Kaizen and/or TPS tenets into its operations. At the very least, an organization which takes an interest in its employees will see dividends not experienced prior to embarking on the program. In essence, any action-based program which achieves measurable, positive results is desirable.

7. The importance of communications, public relations, and giving a word of praise to your employees

The importance of communications and public relations (C/PR) cannot be overstated. In order for any bridging of the strategy-execution gap to occur, it is imperative that an organization have not only sound external communication strategies, but that it's internal C/PR strategy is above reproach as well. Ensuring that your corporate strategic plan either implicitly or explicitly includes employee recognition, and outlines methods to deliver this message, is critical to success in the 21st Century. People want to believe the work they do is both valuable and valued; that they, themselves are valued; and that both they and their work are appreciated and critical to the overall success of the organization. There are exceptions to this rule, but in the main, most people respond favorably to praise. Corporately, an organization needs to ensure the products or services it creates are indeed worthy of praise and that this praise and other reward systems are in place. Do not for a second think that financial rewards are enough to bring all employees to a place of pride in their work. Creating a C/PR strategy that strongly and consistently reinforces the positive and affirmative beliefs of employees about the organization is critical.

It may be possible for an organization to have a deep-seated pride in the quality of product or service it provides, but in order to retain this pride over the long-terl, a sound internal C/PR strategy will need to be crafted and implemented consistently over time.

8. Removing functional and structural "silo-ism" and "turfism"

One of the largest and most insidious contributors to the gap between strategy and execution is found in functional "silo-ism" and "turfism" that exists in most organizations, and particularly in mid-to-larger sized enterprises.

Turfism is a term used to describe the concept the notion that at one or more levels in the organization, there exist managers who are so risk-averse that they hoard information, people, and processes in order to ensure their continued existence via the continued existence of their functional or structural domain. This turfism is most often the result of personal insecurity or habits and ultimately a poor self-image (either personally or within the organization). Silo-ism is a cousin of turfism in that, structural or functional silos or stovepipes are often created by turfism which allows for flow of information within the silo. However, little to no information crosses the silo barrier to departments outside the silo. A silo can either be a functional area (i.e., Finance, IT) or a sub-area within the silo. A silo can also be represented cross-functionally like a strata, chain, or enclave of managers who refuse to share information. There is no simple way to combat either turfism or silo-ism without taking direct aim at the cause.

Turfism grows like ivy and with it, a creeping paralysis that infects all it comes into contact with. If these organizational illnesses exist in your organization, recognize and remove them as soon as possible. Earmarks of turfism and/or silo-ism include: one person making all the decisions in a specific program area or SBU; lack of cross-functional communication; staffing growth far exceeding the relative functional responsibilities or value of the functional area; unhappy, isolated, fearful, tight-lipped and/or vitriolic staff; and high quality but below average volume of production and outputs/outcomes. These are only some of the symptoms of silo-ism or turfism. Be aware of it and take purposeful action to remove it once it is discovered.

9. Pay attention to core business functions and operations i.e. return to what it is you are doing rather than becoming fragmented or diluted

Every successful organization goes through cyclical periods of expansion and contraction - much like our economy. A good management team must be able to accommodate these vicissitudes and avoid allowing one functional area to become pre-eminent during an "up" or a "down". Irrespective of how important the Finance, IT, or HR department is in relation to your organization, you are still in the business of producing and serving your target market. When the dust settles you are still responsible for growing your business by capturing market share in existing or developing markets, or in developing markets outside of your primary markets.

This emphasis on market share means that customers are buying your products and services, which falls directly within your operational and marketing areas. So, while Finance may have a critical role in acquiring additional resources to expand the business and controlling and managing revenues and costs, it does not specifically generate business. It may facilitate growth, but it does not, in effect, cause it.

Information Technology is a support service area which can facilitate cost reductions or improvements in efficiencies or effectiveness (but often results in absolute cost increases in the cost of doing business). Over the past 10 years, we see more and more organizations viewing IT as a core business area, rather than a support area. This is detrimental to the ongoing operation of the business, since IT is important, but does not usually, in Peter Drucker's definition of business, "create a customer". The HR department is also important area and is instrumental in hiring the right people for the right jobs at the right time. However, it too, is simply a support service area for the operations and marketing group.

Therefore, be clear and careful about assessing the business you are in and which area should be leading growth. Also, if you are horizontally or vertically integrating into businesses outside of your core business area, you will need to monitor these operations closely to ensure that they indeed contribute to your growth and prosperity. Acquisitions and mergers may lead to enhanced organizational synergies and/or profits, but they may also result in ongoing fragmentation and cultural ambiguity which may very well detract from the organization's primary business or mandate. Remember, it is your marketing and operations departments that do most of the executing, so unless they embrace your strategy, you may indeed have a problem.

10. Evaluate your progress in terms of how well you are meeting your strategic objectives.

Larger organizations are equally as prone to erring in this regard as start-ups. Strategic goals are sometimes so esoteric, generic, or vague that it is impossible to know what success looks like let alone martial the resources necessary to achieve it. Furthermore, it may be difficult to ascribe gains or performance experienced to any one or more strategy or decision. It is therefore critically important to break your metrics down to the most basic measures of success. Each department should have its own set of metrics and be responsible for reporting its success on no more than a quarterly basis. Naturally, some businesses are set up to do this more easily than others, but either way, it is important to set quantifiable goals in order to achieve measurable success.

However, do not make metrics your gospel. While they are an important aspect of organizational performance, they are still only one aspect. Metrics are a sound way of quantifying aspects of production or service performance, however, it is extremely difficult for metrics to sufficiently measure the overall effectiveness of an organization that is either growing or shrinking in accordance with cyclical ups and downs. Furthermore, the overall quality of an organization and its products/services (particularly services) are sometimes not readily quantifiable. Be mindful of these factors and that there is a multiplicity of causal factors behind every metric.

11. Know your business culture and execute strategies within that culture

Early in my career, I had the experience of working for a large organization which had little respect or regard for employees. The organization was risk-averse in the extreme, with few sound decisions were made during my tenure. The decisions that were made, were often the result of "group think" and frankly debatable in terms of their strategic efficacy. Senior management of the organization was peculiarly risk averse and often change was avoided. When change was implemented, it was done in such a haphazard way, that profound and lasting animosity toward the organization was the result. The expression of professional opinion was also rare, as the fear of job loss was prevalent, as was being ostracized by other managers within the organization.

Though roles in the organization were stressful and the pay mediocre, words of praise were few and far between. As a result, a union mentality developed in which a schism between management and the worker was created. Over time, this gulf widened, with management having an intrinsic distrust for employees and employees an intense distrust and even dislike for management. Negotiation was position-based rather than interest based.

Despite the overall negative, oppressive environment, a few bright spots existed. These departments had strong leaders who understood the value of praising staff who did their jobs and who went above and beyond the call of duty in completing their assigned responsibilities. These people were able to create an environment where employees were encouraged to speak up about how to improve their department's processes, procedures, and overall operations. Not only were their suggestions "listened to", they were "heard" and acted on immediately. Needless to say, jobs in these areas were highly coveted and openings rare. Isn't it shame that the rest of the organization could not have grabbed onto some of the practices of these higher performing areas.

Over time and as a result of a massive (and poorly planned and executed change management initiative) many of the managers left or were let go. Those that remained were security oriented, process driven and frightened. The organization continues to limp along, though successes are few and far between.

This need not have been the case. There were ample opportunities for senior management to change the culture of the organization. Unfortunately, as good managers and others left and were replaced by new recruits, the remaining managers (i.e., the risk-averse, controlling, process-oriented crowd) oriented and these new staff. The cycle continued, and continues. In this organization, any amount of strategic planning will not result in successful performance outcomes as there is a complete misalignment, even disconnect, between strategy and execution. Massive, top-down change will be required in this culture to make a difference.

Whatever the culture of your organization, you have three key choices:

(1) make due with what you have and tailor-make your decisions within the cultural limitations,

(2) initiate massive cultural change and marry these to corporate strategy, and

(3) make strategic, incremental cultural changes and evolve and associate strategy and execution activities with these changes.

12. Two words that can rejuvenate an organization - change management

Change management has come to be associated most closely with IT projects over the past ten years. However, the field of change management contains principles which transcend any one or number of projects. With the right change management approach and a sound communications and internal public relations program, organizations can overcome great hurdles in their efforts to succeed. While no change management process is perfect, by virtue of the fact that the organization takes the time to plan and manage change, it demonstrates to it stakeholders (employees, customers) that it is serious about wanting to improve conditions and performance. Wherever possible, change planning and management should be implemented when embarking on any project, program, or overall organizational change.

Remember Lewin's model: unfreeze - change - refreeze.

In conclusion, there are a multiplicity of reasons why a gap or gulf might exist between the strategic intent and plan of an organization and the strategic outcomes related to implementation. This disconnect may have many causes, yet can be boiled down to a very antecedents. An organization is aggregately only as good as the people it employs, it's inward and outward understanding, and the decisions it makes. If an organization's strategic plan is clear, well thought through, reasonable, and respects and values the contributions of its most precious resources - it employees - then there is a good chance it will be a good performer or at least well on its way. Employees need to be enfranchised to contribute and to have those contributions valued. While people are the most important aspect of bridging the strategy-execution gap, having good people is not enough.

The organization must be diligent and thorough in its intent and its research. Demographic, financial, marketing, and other predictive and evaluation metrics are required to assess and leverage the growth and sound aims of the organization. The organization must have detailed knowledge of its economy, marketplace, growth potential, and position in its industry. Furthermore, it needs to evaluate its performance regularly and empower it employees to take the right action (to reduce duplication, waste and redundancy) and to adjust or correct changes in course over time. In order to retain and maintain talent, a sound, internal C/PR strategy must be used to create a feeling of "belongingness", unity, and pride.

Barcode Technology Will Rev Up Your Business

As a small business owner or an SME owner, your money is precious. You have probably heard that in order to make money you have to spend money. The truth is the old aphorism is correct. The small business owner cannot afford inventory reconciliation on the cheap nor can they afford inadequate payroll methods. Otherwise they will have no profit because they'll be constantly making up losses.
Tracking sales and maintaining customer relations with call-backs and emails with sales information is too much to do by hand, because even with management software, a human still has to process the information. On the other hand, affordable barcode technology is available which tracks everything from time clocks to backorders and from asset management to point of sale solutions.
The most important thing to a business owner is time. If the business is efficiently managed using barcode scanners, an owner will have time to work on other things. For instance, if employees are using wireless barcode scanners which takes an item out of inventory, the business owner can go to trade shows and conventions with an idea how much product he needs. It will be apparent as to how much to buy because the amount of sales are recorded. Depending on marketing methods, a manager can plan for happy surprises such as a hike in sales.
It's just common sense to use an efficient time keeping rolutions. Barcode technology applies to timecards as well as laser barcode scanners. Electronically logging breaks, lunch hours, sick days and in and out times beats doing it by hand every time. The information is processed immediately and accurately, leaving the business owner time to handle his increased business.
Point of sale technology is an important consideration for the small business owner. Computers are good and you will need them because they process so much information at the same time. Cordless barcode scanners, on the other hand can process many categories of the business contained in the barcode.
This type of software can enable you to split payments with ease, detail sales information and inventory, configure savings and other considerations. All of this which will help your customer service reps make buying from you a pleasant one. Point of sale equipment can be integrated into more stations without missing a beat as your business grows.
Even small businesses have assets. Maybe you don't have a fleet of trucks, or rooms full of computers, it just has to be something you use, such as computers, IT or the tools of your trade. Barcode technology tracks this, in addition to inventory, time keeping and point of sale. Barcodes can keep up with the paperwork such as invoicing, keeping up with government requirements and interoffice communications.
The small business owner needs every tool he can get his hands on to handle his business while it buys him time to grow his business. Outdated methods and applications can be replaced with attractively priced, cutting edge, efficient barcode technology which will enable the business owner to spend money to make more money.

GPS Tracking System

GPS Tracking Devices come in many shapes and sizes. This is meant literally and figuratively. Some of them are so small they can easily be hidden in the dash of a car - out of sight, out of mind. But, what is a GPS Tracking Device?
A GPS Tracking Device is a set of electronic components with an embedded GPS receiver mounted on a printed circuit board with some type of power supply and in many cases a RF modem. The GPS Tracker Device will have a CPU and on-board memory so that basic commands can be stored in the unit and thus control how it works. The device can store GPS location records or waypoints in memory to be downloaded later on for analysis. If a RF modem is built into the Device, it can transmit the data over the airwaves to the end-user for immediate analysis.
While GPS Tracking Devices have many uses, there are units designed for specific purposes. Units with an enclosed waterproof housing and self-contained battery pack for the power source are ideally suited for affixing to trailers, and other highly mobile unpowered assets. It can help locate the asset. In addition, it can alert the end-user when it moves and provide numerous analytical reports. Other types of GPS Tracker Devices are better suited to being installed in a vehicle and obtaining its power requirements from the host vehicle. In many cases the GPS Tracking Device can sense when the ignition of the vehicle is switched on or off. This helps the end-user to "see" where the vehicle stopped, the duration of the stop, or even if the vehicle is idling excessively.
While there are many types of GPS Tracking Devices, the benefits are common. They serve to identify where vehicles or assets are, where they have been and for how long, how fast they have been going, and if the vehicle has been running while in a stationary position. Enabling the end-user to know these things help them to take corrective action to create a safer, more productive mobile workforce.
Big fleet businesses have long known the value of outfitting their fleets with GPS Tracking Devices, but now smaller companies are realizing the benefits. Costs of hardware and the monitoring service have continued to drop to the point where the small businessman can afford to invest in this type of technology. With the cost of fuel skyrocketing, and a competitive marketplace in a shrinking economy fighting for less business, it is the business that runs more efficiently that will be able to stay ahead of its competitors. Modern GPS Tracking Devices make this possible.

The Different Types of Satellite Tracking Devices

GPS, otherwise known as Global Positioning Systems, has advanced in several ways over the years and has revolutionized how many businesses do business, such as tracking their shipments, doing different types of research, and even how some people go on vacation. There are several types of satellite tracking devices that are on the market now. You can find personal electronics as well as different types for vehicles, and there are now even ones on the collars that are used on animals. The world of technology is always advancing, and even those who are not geniuses in this industry can benefit from how these devices can be used in everyday life. Here is a brief overview of the different types that are available.
Passive vs. Active
There are two different forms of GPS devices and they come in a wide variety of subcategories as well. The two major ones include passive and active. Passive devices are also known as GPS devices for logging and these types function by cataloging a subject's location during a segment of a trip and it then downloads the data. Active types can also be called GPS-tracking types, and these ones are the ones that will transmit data in real time, including location, all from a satellite network. It then transmits it to a computer or even a database.
Personal Types
Another satellite tracking device is a personal device. These tracking devices are compact and usually small and come with batteries built right in. These versions are mostly used for vehicles in some cases as well as properties, animals, and people. An example of a personal device is a cell phone, and the tracking devices in them are common and used for several different reasons. Many cell phones now are using these forms of GPS tracking. These are commonly used and operate through something called tri-lateration. This is simply a set of calculations that are based on a position which is near a cell phone tower or even a GPS satellite.
Devices for Vehicles
Vehicle devices are great for tracking vehicles and their locations. If you run a business, this is going to be beneficial for keeping track of your drivers and where your products are. Vehicles are tracked while they are moving, and they will come wired in the vehicle already. Some come as separate units that you have to buy. Typically, hard-wired devices will come under your dashboard and also come with a small antenna that is on the outside. There are several different functions that these devices can perform and include things like idling the vehicle's engine, turning off their lights, giving directions, and even monitoring how the vehicle is performing.
Watches
You can even find satellite tracking in watches. These are another type of personal GPS device that is found in passive as well as active satellite methods. In previous years, watches like this were on the bulky side, which made them impractical to use, but there are several recent models that look and feel as light and stylish as a regular wristwatch. Satellite tracking has evolved in a variety of ways, and whether you want a device for personal use or business use, there are several types you can choose from.

Tracking System for Returnable Shipping Platforms - Operation and Benefits

The use of a tracking system for returnable shipping assets is the ideal solution for managing shipping effectively. The use of returnable creates and totes for shipping has already been proven to be cost efficient. However, regulations require companies to track these accurately for the purpose of accounting and preparation of balance sheets and income statements in particular. This is where the tracking software comes in.
How does a typical tracking system for returnable shipping platforms work? The reality is that it is much more than a GPS device. Good-quality software uses different kinds of technologies including electronic file transfer, bar code and radio frequency identification as well as manual input.
As a result, a complete record for each asset is created. It includes information on all of the movements of the asset from the day it is first acquired to its location in real time. The software should be able to produce reports for any exceptions to the established shipping cycle. That way any issues can be fixed timely. You can expect a good-quality tracking system to be compatible with international standard for internal and external audit.
A tracking system for returnable shipping assess allows you to have perfect control at each individual asset at all times. This makes it possible to create pools and fleets of assets for easy and simple tracking. More importantly, you will be able to secure all creates, totes and other items in the most effective manner. Identifying problems and fixing them are two essential tasks that are made easy with the tracking software as you have the complete information about asset location at any given time.
The main benefit of using a tracking system for returnable assets is more productive management. With less effort, you will be able to track and recover returnable assets more effectively. This automatically leads to reduction in costs. You will be able to save on labor costs due to the greater productivity of the management and accounting department of your company. Your administrative costs will also be lower.
Reduction of losses is another benefit that you will enjoy when using tracking software for returnable assets. It is common for companies to lose valuable assets when they cannot keep effective track and record of them. This automatically leads to monetary losses for the company. These will be lowered to a minimum with more effective asset management.
Investing in a tracking system for returnable shipping assets is highly recommended to businesses. The size of investment can be reduced to a minimum if subscription to the system is an option.