Builders and contractors working on construction sites follow safety norms and standards to avoid workplace accidents, injuries, and damages. Yet accidents may occur in spite of all precautions. Builders Liability Insurance provides coverage to builders and contractors as well as from third party claims resulting due to various types of risks in the form of accidents, thefts, damages, and injuries. Builders Liability Insurance covers a spectrum of construction related insurance packages like Public Liability Insurance, Employers Liability Insurance, Contractors All Risk Insurance etc.
Builders Liability Insurance Covers:
The builder liability insurance is beneficial for various trades across construction industry.
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance provides protection from any third party claims made against the businesses. It covers claims when employees, sub-contractors, directors, owners are held accountable for any injury or damage caused to the third party or their properties. Public liability insurance also covers legal costs that have to be incurred for defending the claims. It also covers claims made for defective products. The amount of premium will vary based on different factors like type of business, previous claims, projected turnover, and number of employees. This type of Insurance is useful for tradesman, builders, and contractors.
Employers Liability Insurance
Employers liability insurance provides coverage to employers when any of the employee or workers suffers physical injury or death while on work and it is proved that the injury or death occurred due to employer’s negligence. It covers the employers against all the claims made by injured employee or relatives of deceased employee for compensation. Employers liability insurance also covers the associated legal costs. This insurance is suitable for companies having employees or workers. The employers liability insurance is issued along with public liability insurance.
Contractors All Risks Insurance
Contractors all risks insurance covers loss or damage to contract works, own plant, hired-in plant, and employee’s tools. The contract works section of this insurance is the main part which provides coverage for only the property on which the work is going on. This insurance will cover loss or damage to contract works or materials when any of the work going on is damaged. It will also cover loss or damage caused to the plant of owner including his machinery, tools, and equipments. Contractors all risk insurance also provides cover for theft, loss, or damage to machinery, equipments, tools which are hired in plants from outside like hire yards. Some insurers also extend this insurance to cover loss or damage to owner or employee’s hand held or power tools. This insurance is useful for contractors, builders, and other trades in the construction industry.
Personal Insurance
Personal Insurance or Personal Accident Insurance is suitable for owners, Directors, sole Traders who in case get injured in an accident and can not work for a certain period of time. In such case they also can not sue their own company. It provides for a 24 hour cover which is not limited to work related accidents. This insurance provides an income during the entire course of period for which insured is unable to work. Personal accident insurance provides three distinct benefits in the form of monthly tax free income, hospital cash, and lump sum (capital benefits). A monthly tax free income means the insured gets a tax free benefit after one month and continues to receive it for entire recovery period. While, hospital cash means the insured gets some amount as expenses towards his stay in hospital. A lump sum means the insured gets certain amount depending on nature of injury. The personal accident insurance relieves the insured from financial worries when he has to rest and recover. This insurance is popular in construction industry.
Machinery Insurance
Machinery Insurance provides protection against any type of loss or damage to most of machineries and equipments used in the construction industry like cranes, earth moving equipments etc. This insurance is especially useful for construction industry where a lot of machinery is used and is exposed to rough field conditions on routine basis.
As there are chances of accidents, thefts, injuries, and damages during construction work, the Builders Liability Insurance provides a much needed protection from claims which can be detrimental to construction businesses. It is also useful to cover third party claims for damages caused to other’s property.
Monday, March 29, 2010
5 Pro Trading Tips
The importance of technical analysis in trading cannot be denied. Technical analysis depends on the price action in the market. Price action is purely driven by the mass psychology. But depending too much on technical analysis without going into the fundamentals that are driving the price action in the market can be short sighted. Good traders always understand the importance of fundamental analysis and how it drives the long term trends in the market. You need to combine technical analysis with fundamental analysis!
For example, heating oil demand tends to rise in the fall and winter. Now a novice trader will think that it is a good strategy to go long on heating oil futures December contract without thinking that professional traders are already aware of this seasonality in the heating oil futures and factored this fact into the December contract prices.
Another thing that you need to always keep in mind is the date and time of release of Economic Reports. You can't do anything about the breaking news. It is always a surprise. But as far as the Economic Reports are concerned, they have a fixed schedule. These reports are released at a fixed time and date of the week or the month. NFP is report is always released on Friday at 8:30 AM EST. So, if you are trading on Friday, you need tos top trading before 8:30 AM EST as the market usually gets too volatile around this time. There are traders who specialize in trading the NFP Report. But if you are not specifically trading NFP Report, you need to stay away from the market around this time.
As a trader, you need to keep yourself abreast of the developments in the world that are going to have an effect on the market that you trade. Read the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times or the Bloomberg regularly. This way, you know what fundamentals are driving the market that you trade. There are some markets like the agricultural commodities and others that might not get extensive coverage. In that case, you need to subscribe to a specific newsletter that you think is good and can keep you informed about what is happening in these markets.
Always remember that markets are interrelated and often influence each other. What starts in one market may eventually spread to other markets. Remember the subprime mortgage crisis that started in 2006-07 and eventually spread to the stock market as well as other markets bringing down many big financial behemoths.
Now markets like crude oil, gold and US Dollar can significantly impact other markets. So never limit you scope to one market only. Always use intermarket analysis to figure out what is happening to the other market and how it can spread to the market you trade.
You should make a checklist to help you execute a trade. A trend may appear different on different timeframes. Always check that your daily charts are in agreement with the long term trends. Use multiple timeframes to figure out the primary trend in the market.
For example, heating oil demand tends to rise in the fall and winter. Now a novice trader will think that it is a good strategy to go long on heating oil futures December contract without thinking that professional traders are already aware of this seasonality in the heating oil futures and factored this fact into the December contract prices.
Another thing that you need to always keep in mind is the date and time of release of Economic Reports. You can't do anything about the breaking news. It is always a surprise. But as far as the Economic Reports are concerned, they have a fixed schedule. These reports are released at a fixed time and date of the week or the month. NFP is report is always released on Friday at 8:30 AM EST. So, if you are trading on Friday, you need tos top trading before 8:30 AM EST as the market usually gets too volatile around this time. There are traders who specialize in trading the NFP Report. But if you are not specifically trading NFP Report, you need to stay away from the market around this time.
As a trader, you need to keep yourself abreast of the developments in the world that are going to have an effect on the market that you trade. Read the Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times or the Bloomberg regularly. This way, you know what fundamentals are driving the market that you trade. There are some markets like the agricultural commodities and others that might not get extensive coverage. In that case, you need to subscribe to a specific newsletter that you think is good and can keep you informed about what is happening in these markets.
Always remember that markets are interrelated and often influence each other. What starts in one market may eventually spread to other markets. Remember the subprime mortgage crisis that started in 2006-07 and eventually spread to the stock market as well as other markets bringing down many big financial behemoths.
Now markets like crude oil, gold and US Dollar can significantly impact other markets. So never limit you scope to one market only. Always use intermarket analysis to figure out what is happening to the other market and how it can spread to the market you trade.
You should make a checklist to help you execute a trade. A trend may appear different on different timeframes. Always check that your daily charts are in agreement with the long term trends. Use multiple timeframes to figure out the primary trend in the market.
Giving in a Recession
According to a recent report on the 2010 State of the Nonprofit Sector only 18 percent of the more than 1,300 nonprofit leaders surveyed expect their organizations to end 2010 in the black. While in 2009, 35 percent of organizations ended the year with an operating surplus. 61 percent of those organizations surveyed have less than three months of cash available, and 12 percent have no cash. (Source: The Foundation Center.)
80 percent of nonprofits expect to see an increase in demand for their services in 2010, while only 49 percent expect to be able to fully meet that demand. Organizations are taking a number of steps to maintain, and expand — service delivery during this period of economic uncertainty. 52 percent stated they have collaborated with other organizations to provide programs, 43 percent have added to or expanded their program offerings, 18 percent have expanded the geographic area served by their programs, and 60 percent have become more engaged with their board.
The impact of the economic crisis on foundations includes the following: 1) There is a clear expectation among grant makers that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of having weathered the economic crisis. There are long-term consequences of the crisis on their own foundations are forcing engaging in "more robust strategic planning," "more focused use of the foundation's capabilities," and being "more focused and disciplined in executing our strategy."
What all this means is that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of the world's economic crisis. With declines in overall consumer demand and our country's highest unemployment figures in a quarter century, so it is no surprise that the future outlook for the nonprofit community has been impacted by the recession.
Many experts believe that the nonprofit sector will emerge stronger, but all agree that ultimately there will be fewer organizations due to consolidation. U.S. Charity giving suffered an estimated 22 percent drop in foundation assets in 2008. It was predicted that 2009 giving by the nation's more than 75,000 grant making foundations would "decrease by around eight to 13 percent." The economic crisis has forced nonprofits to adjust their operating costs. More than two-thirds of respondents to the September 2009 survey said they have in some way reduced operating expenses since the beginning of the economic crisis, even those that still have endowments. It seems that some nonprofits are trying to preserve the value of their endowments, so that they will not permanently diminish grant making capacity, while others have determined they will be smaller institutions going forward and are making necessary staffing and expense adjustments.
Many have cut back by reducing operating expenses since the onset of the economic crisis, and by reducing staff travel and salaries. Two-thirds of the respondents that cut expenses reported reducing staff travel budgets and/or limiting staff to attend conferences. A little over one-third indicated that they had also reduced staff training and professional development opportunities.
More of the respondents expect that their giving will be lower in 2010 (26 percent) than higher (17 percent). Larger foundations, those giving over $10 million, are more likely than smaller foundations to reduce their giving further next year. Asset averaging limits the impact of economic fluctuations on annual giving, yet the extreme 2008 asset losses will not be balanced out by 2007 asset growth and the 2009 turnaround in the market.
80 percent of nonprofits expect to see an increase in demand for their services in 2010, while only 49 percent expect to be able to fully meet that demand. Organizations are taking a number of steps to maintain, and expand — service delivery during this period of economic uncertainty. 52 percent stated they have collaborated with other organizations to provide programs, 43 percent have added to or expanded their program offerings, 18 percent have expanded the geographic area served by their programs, and 60 percent have become more engaged with their board.
The impact of the economic crisis on foundations includes the following: 1) There is a clear expectation among grant makers that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of having weathered the economic crisis. There are long-term consequences of the crisis on their own foundations are forcing engaging in "more robust strategic planning," "more focused use of the foundation's capabilities," and being "more focused and disciplined in executing our strategy."
What all this means is that the field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of the world's economic crisis. With declines in overall consumer demand and our country's highest unemployment figures in a quarter century, so it is no surprise that the future outlook for the nonprofit community has been impacted by the recession.
Many experts believe that the nonprofit sector will emerge stronger, but all agree that ultimately there will be fewer organizations due to consolidation. U.S. Charity giving suffered an estimated 22 percent drop in foundation assets in 2008. It was predicted that 2009 giving by the nation's more than 75,000 grant making foundations would "decrease by around eight to 13 percent." The economic crisis has forced nonprofits to adjust their operating costs. More than two-thirds of respondents to the September 2009 survey said they have in some way reduced operating expenses since the beginning of the economic crisis, even those that still have endowments. It seems that some nonprofits are trying to preserve the value of their endowments, so that they will not permanently diminish grant making capacity, while others have determined they will be smaller institutions going forward and are making necessary staffing and expense adjustments.
Many have cut back by reducing operating expenses since the onset of the economic crisis, and by reducing staff travel and salaries. Two-thirds of the respondents that cut expenses reported reducing staff travel budgets and/or limiting staff to attend conferences. A little over one-third indicated that they had also reduced staff training and professional development opportunities.
More of the respondents expect that their giving will be lower in 2010 (26 percent) than higher (17 percent). Larger foundations, those giving over $10 million, are more likely than smaller foundations to reduce their giving further next year. Asset averaging limits the impact of economic fluctuations on annual giving, yet the extreme 2008 asset losses will not be balanced out by 2007 asset growth and the 2009 turnaround in the market.
Wholesale Houses
Bandit signs are highly effective when it comes to wholesaling houses. Lots of investors will use bandit signs to find motivated sellers, but few will use bandit signs to find buyers and sell property fast!
When using bandit signs to target buyers, here are some tips you can use to save time and money (We've spent thousands of dollars testing and tracking).
Types of Signs:
Use white or yellow 18x24 blank bandit signs. You'll want to use the corrugated plastic ones that come with the metal stands.
Handwritten Bandit Signs vs. Preprinted:
Handwrite each sign in large, black, permanent marker. This allows you to change the message in real time. You don't have to wait until you place your next order. And if you have actual properties, you can customize the message to reflect each deal. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to sell property fast when you've got wholesale houses.
Once you have a message that converts well, you can have them printed with your handwriting. The handwritten signs generate higher responses as much as 2:1.
Bandit Sign Copywriting
This is a good time for a quick note on copy! Remember... bandit signs are just another form of advertising. You must have compelling copy the makes your prospect take action (i.e. Pick up the phone and call you!). Pay careful attention to creating an attention-grabbing headline. This is your one chance of capturing a prospect, so make it good! Then, you have about 2 lines of text to entice them. And finally, you must put your phone number in big, bold, numbers that they can see from the road.
Consider headlines like grab attention like: "Cheap Wholesale Houses" or "Need to Sell Property Fast!"
You'll want to write a minimum of 10 signs at a time and put them out between 4 and 5pm. This way, people will see your signs on their commute home. Plus, code enforcement officers are generally off the clock by that time. Be sure to have a substantial amount out over the weekends because you'll get good visibility and you won't have to worry about codes throughout the weekend.
Hire someone to put them out for you! This is the most dreadful part of the bandit sign strategy! So, eliminate it! You can go to craigslist.org and get people to do this for you dirt cheap ESPECIALLY if you are giving them consistent work.
Do not use your own phone number.
Use a forwarding service where the number is non-traceable! These services allow you to screen through an answering machine or forward to your own number. You may want to send the leads to a call screening service.
Additionally, they will capture the call information so you can call back prospects that don't leave a number. This sure beats using your own cell phone! Plus, this way, your local code enforcement officers can't find you! (And yes, most code enforcement officers will make you take down your signs and/or threaten you with fines).
In a nutshell, bandit signs are one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective medium that investors have at their disposal! Use them to sell an individual property fast or build a massive list of ready, willing, able and qualified buyers. This strategy works if you're trying to wholesale houses AS WELL AS sell your own home fast!
When using bandit signs to target buyers, here are some tips you can use to save time and money (We've spent thousands of dollars testing and tracking).
Types of Signs:
Use white or yellow 18x24 blank bandit signs. You'll want to use the corrugated plastic ones that come with the metal stands.
Handwritten Bandit Signs vs. Preprinted:
Handwrite each sign in large, black, permanent marker. This allows you to change the message in real time. You don't have to wait until you place your next order. And if you have actual properties, you can customize the message to reflect each deal. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to sell property fast when you've got wholesale houses.
Once you have a message that converts well, you can have them printed with your handwriting. The handwritten signs generate higher responses as much as 2:1.
Bandit Sign Copywriting
This is a good time for a quick note on copy! Remember... bandit signs are just another form of advertising. You must have compelling copy the makes your prospect take action (i.e. Pick up the phone and call you!). Pay careful attention to creating an attention-grabbing headline. This is your one chance of capturing a prospect, so make it good! Then, you have about 2 lines of text to entice them. And finally, you must put your phone number in big, bold, numbers that they can see from the road.
Consider headlines like grab attention like: "Cheap Wholesale Houses" or "Need to Sell Property Fast!"
You'll want to write a minimum of 10 signs at a time and put them out between 4 and 5pm. This way, people will see your signs on their commute home. Plus, code enforcement officers are generally off the clock by that time. Be sure to have a substantial amount out over the weekends because you'll get good visibility and you won't have to worry about codes throughout the weekend.
Hire someone to put them out for you! This is the most dreadful part of the bandit sign strategy! So, eliminate it! You can go to craigslist.org and get people to do this for you dirt cheap ESPECIALLY if you are giving them consistent work.
Do not use your own phone number.
Use a forwarding service where the number is non-traceable! These services allow you to screen through an answering machine or forward to your own number. You may want to send the leads to a call screening service.
Additionally, they will capture the call information so you can call back prospects that don't leave a number. This sure beats using your own cell phone! Plus, this way, your local code enforcement officers can't find you! (And yes, most code enforcement officers will make you take down your signs and/or threaten you with fines).
In a nutshell, bandit signs are one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective medium that investors have at their disposal! Use them to sell an individual property fast or build a massive list of ready, willing, able and qualified buyers. This strategy works if you're trying to wholesale houses AS WELL AS sell your own home fast!
Telephone Coaching
When I started coaching, a few years back, I was a firm believer that coaching effectiveness was bound to a necessary face to face interaction between coach and coachee. It is true that in-situ interaction does bring in its fair share of advantages, among which the possibility to visually “observe” the eventual silences of the conversation and “read” subconscious communication patterns such as body language or facial expressions. Yet, it does carry along some drawbacks, inclusive of visual distraction, for both the coach and the coachee, and sometimes, the apprehension we might have toward the look or judgment of others upon us; which goes against the focused and non-judgmental nature of coaching.
With the internationalization of my client base, intimately linked to the frequent international relocations imposed by my work, I came to interact, more and more frequently, with distant clients, primarily by telephone. What was initially a plan B thing to punctually accommodate existing face to face clients has now developed into a full-blown approach of its own, with a significant increase of “distant” clients preferring the flexibility and advantages of telephone coaching.
Coaching, in general, and action learning, in particular, has to be a focused process. Telephone coaching does enable a total concentration, from both coach and coachee, on what is essential: COACHING and nothing else. Visual distractions are removed from the interaction, enhancing the effectiveness of communicating the message and information across.
From the comfort of your own safe heaven. Coaching sessions are usually short, compared to training, for a particular reason: INTENSITY. Coaching is a self-reflective process requiring a sustained effort during the entire session, to analyze, reflect upon, and formulate actions toward a particular, or several, situations. It may not always be possible or convenient for clients to arrange their own schedule during work hours, where on-going work related issues and distractions might affect their level of concentration and, overall, their level of implication toward the coaching process. By making their own arrangements, in terms of setting for the telephone sessions, clients also guaranty the CONFIDENTIALITY of the relationship, where no one will have to know the content and details of their coaching session.
Opening-up. Coaching is a very intimate process where apprehensions on the coach’s look or judgment upon the client can have an impact on the depth and quality of the coaching relationship. The unusual blend of anonymity and intimacy that comes from telephone coaching helps clients to more fully open themselves to the coaching process. No TRUST, no effective coaching. We all, somehow, apprehend the look of people, whom we are regularly interacting with, upon us (supervisors, employees, family members, friends, ...), since we are generally bound to regular social interaction with them. The perceived social or emotional “impact” of a stranger on the other end of a line, whom we might never meet, is generally lesser.
Coaching is not training. Coaching is not about telling the client what has to be done, it is rather, through active communication and a structured action-centered philosophy, to enable and help clients formulate their own solutions to situations they perceive as problematic or complex. Clients should expect the coach to be an equal partner with whom they will be able to bring in as much, to the relationship, as they receive from it and telephone is a great equalizer.
Find the RIGHT coach. While the coach’s background is an important factor when selecting a coach, CHEMISTRY between coach and coachee is what makes a difference between a productive and an unproductive relationship. Coaching is about interpersonal communication, plain simple. Would you undress in front of someone who does not make you comfortable? Most likely, not. The same goes with the intimacy of the coaching process. Telephone coaching enables you to connect to the right coach, the one with whom you feel a real connection with, the one with whom you feel you will be COMFORTABLE working with, without been limited by geography.
Time efficiency. There is absolutely no travelling required for telephone coaching, no advance planning, no traffic stressing jams… The opportunity is there to fit the client’s coaching into the busiest of schedules, when the kids are in bed, during a lunch break or between meetings. Additionally, look at the bright side, no transport, no emission: completely environmentally friendly.
I am currently working with coachees located in the US, Europe and Asia, some of whom I have never met in person, until now. Yet, despite the distance, telephone coaching enables us to efficiently work together and achieve optimum results, coaching after coaching, with the added advantage of flexibility and convenience. And all it takes is a good phone line!
With the internationalization of my client base, intimately linked to the frequent international relocations imposed by my work, I came to interact, more and more frequently, with distant clients, primarily by telephone. What was initially a plan B thing to punctually accommodate existing face to face clients has now developed into a full-blown approach of its own, with a significant increase of “distant” clients preferring the flexibility and advantages of telephone coaching.
Coaching, in general, and action learning, in particular, has to be a focused process. Telephone coaching does enable a total concentration, from both coach and coachee, on what is essential: COACHING and nothing else. Visual distractions are removed from the interaction, enhancing the effectiveness of communicating the message and information across.
From the comfort of your own safe heaven. Coaching sessions are usually short, compared to training, for a particular reason: INTENSITY. Coaching is a self-reflective process requiring a sustained effort during the entire session, to analyze, reflect upon, and formulate actions toward a particular, or several, situations. It may not always be possible or convenient for clients to arrange their own schedule during work hours, where on-going work related issues and distractions might affect their level of concentration and, overall, their level of implication toward the coaching process. By making their own arrangements, in terms of setting for the telephone sessions, clients also guaranty the CONFIDENTIALITY of the relationship, where no one will have to know the content and details of their coaching session.
Opening-up. Coaching is a very intimate process where apprehensions on the coach’s look or judgment upon the client can have an impact on the depth and quality of the coaching relationship. The unusual blend of anonymity and intimacy that comes from telephone coaching helps clients to more fully open themselves to the coaching process. No TRUST, no effective coaching. We all, somehow, apprehend the look of people, whom we are regularly interacting with, upon us (supervisors, employees, family members, friends, ...), since we are generally bound to regular social interaction with them. The perceived social or emotional “impact” of a stranger on the other end of a line, whom we might never meet, is generally lesser.
Coaching is not training. Coaching is not about telling the client what has to be done, it is rather, through active communication and a structured action-centered philosophy, to enable and help clients formulate their own solutions to situations they perceive as problematic or complex. Clients should expect the coach to be an equal partner with whom they will be able to bring in as much, to the relationship, as they receive from it and telephone is a great equalizer.
Find the RIGHT coach. While the coach’s background is an important factor when selecting a coach, CHEMISTRY between coach and coachee is what makes a difference between a productive and an unproductive relationship. Coaching is about interpersonal communication, plain simple. Would you undress in front of someone who does not make you comfortable? Most likely, not. The same goes with the intimacy of the coaching process. Telephone coaching enables you to connect to the right coach, the one with whom you feel a real connection with, the one with whom you feel you will be COMFORTABLE working with, without been limited by geography.
Time efficiency. There is absolutely no travelling required for telephone coaching, no advance planning, no traffic stressing jams… The opportunity is there to fit the client’s coaching into the busiest of schedules, when the kids are in bed, during a lunch break or between meetings. Additionally, look at the bright side, no transport, no emission: completely environmentally friendly.
I am currently working with coachees located in the US, Europe and Asia, some of whom I have never met in person, until now. Yet, despite the distance, telephone coaching enables us to efficiently work together and achieve optimum results, coaching after coaching, with the added advantage of flexibility and convenience. And all it takes is a good phone line!
A good system
First of all, I like to say HR skills are very much needed in all managers, simply because one of several main responsibilities of any manager is “people management”. As a former director of human resources and a current human resource lecturer & trainer, I theorize some human resource functions that need both “Science” and “Art” practices to share here in Mai-BS’s blog.
With “Science”, I mean the “system” of HR implementation and with “Art” I mean the “style” of the HR manager. To be called a 5-star company, system and style cannot be separated from each function of human resource practices. Thus, I would like to share the following “system” for HR implementation and “style” of HR manager.
Recruitment and Selection:
If we refer to a recruitment and selection system, I have seen many companies who successfully established an acceptable system. There are several systematic interview types such as employment test, IQ test, EQ test, personality test, psychological test etc. etc. All these tests etc. have the purpose to select the best candidate, simply the right person to do the right job for the right company. I admire all mentioned tests and appreciate all the valuable time that many executives / managers put in their interview processes.
I however found that good systems for recruitment and selection cannot ensure that the owner or the manager is really open minded, modern and importantly fair to the organization and the overall workforce! Far too often, I can see senior managers and decision makers recruit their favorite employee who do not have any knowledge, skill and abilities, only the right personality to fit with the owner / manager. These employees are recruited because they are controllable, they will never question the manager, in some cases there are family-related to the owner or manager.
These un-professional managers who hire the above people create so many problems in an organization since the ‘manager’s favorite employee’ hardly do anything except making politics and de-motivate quality employees. These favorite employees keep themselves occupied with accommodating the top management’s comfort. As mentioned in my former articles, the success and failure of “Human Resource Management depends on the professionalism of top managers.
Now, let’s talk a little about “style” that need to be improved!
Some of us have seen many unproductive “styles” of recruitment and selection practiced by a HR manager / managers. For examples:
An applicant has to wait for months to receive the first reply whether he or she is a candidate or an unsuccessful applicant. As a Human Resource teacher, many times I have received questions from some graduates such as “Do you know when I will receive a reply whether I am a candidate – I have sent my application letter 3 weeks ago”? Shockingly, most of these companies post good values on their office walls and signboards such as “We are fast, we are modern and we are innovative etc”! Candidates have to wait for several weeks just to find out if they are short-listed or not! What a shame!
Candidates who have been contacted for an interview hardly know who will interview them and for how long the interview will approximately take place. One interview normally is like a un-plan-able one-day activity for the candidate.
Many times candidates have to wait for hours for one interview. The higher the position of the interviewer is, the longer hours the candidate has to wait. I have seen cases where it took one full day for an applicant to be interviewed by only 2 interviewers. One of my friends, who have been invited by the owner for an interview for a General Manager position for a beautiful Island resort in southern of Thailand, had to wait for 6 hours on the Island to save the resort an additional 15 minute boat trip. Finally, the resort owner nicely and elegantly arrived by private helicopter! A very dramatic and impressive arrival and it does reflect an un-likeable leadership style. Many owners and investors like to have a resort with a 5-star management, 5-star services and 5-star employees! But it will hardly happen if there is such a behavioral model from the top. This is a classic example of a good vision by the owner, but in reality, the owner leads their people with own habit rather than his vision.
Most interviewers will not even come out from their office to personally invite the candidate for an interview or even stand up to shake the hand with the applicant. Most of the time, a secretary will bring the candidate to the manager’s office. I did see this many times in several 5-star hotels and resorts where the owner always says “I want true 5-star service”! I however think that treating your candidate in such a way is an ineffective communication on the service excellence!
Many times after the interview; the interviewer will end the interview that “we will contact you back soon”. But nobody knows “soon”! How long will it take? Most of the time, the candidate has to contact the company to beg for an answer simply because everyone needs to plan his and her life. Seldom, I have seen an HR person or interviewer who would say to the applicant “We will contact you back within 2 working days”. But, then again, when I do follow these cases closely, I found that even the interviewers say so, it normally takes much longer than said without any apology.
Most of the times, if the interview is unsuccessful; the candidate almost never receives a simple reject & thank you letter. Most times, it is silence. Usually, here in Thailand, silence means “you have to wait”, or “you don’t get the job!
As you can read from above samples, some working styles reflect badly on the company culture and standards in treating employees (people). Many times, during my consultation and training assignments, I try my best to emphasize that HR style is a very important factor to communicate the company set standard. But I feel that many HR persons and managers do not realize this.
Often enough, many HR managers and managers behave so differently from the said and written organizational values and cultures.
Once an HR Manager with a “long-cold-still face” said during an interview to the applicant that …
“we are a top 5-star hotel, we invested billions of Thai Baht! We want all our guests to be welcomed and serviced by smiling-face employees and not by “long-cold-still face” type of employee”!?
With “Science”, I mean the “system” of HR implementation and with “Art” I mean the “style” of the HR manager. To be called a 5-star company, system and style cannot be separated from each function of human resource practices. Thus, I would like to share the following “system” for HR implementation and “style” of HR manager.
Recruitment and Selection:
If we refer to a recruitment and selection system, I have seen many companies who successfully established an acceptable system. There are several systematic interview types such as employment test, IQ test, EQ test, personality test, psychological test etc. etc. All these tests etc. have the purpose to select the best candidate, simply the right person to do the right job for the right company. I admire all mentioned tests and appreciate all the valuable time that many executives / managers put in their interview processes.
I however found that good systems for recruitment and selection cannot ensure that the owner or the manager is really open minded, modern and importantly fair to the organization and the overall workforce! Far too often, I can see senior managers and decision makers recruit their favorite employee who do not have any knowledge, skill and abilities, only the right personality to fit with the owner / manager. These employees are recruited because they are controllable, they will never question the manager, in some cases there are family-related to the owner or manager.
These un-professional managers who hire the above people create so many problems in an organization since the ‘manager’s favorite employee’ hardly do anything except making politics and de-motivate quality employees. These favorite employees keep themselves occupied with accommodating the top management’s comfort. As mentioned in my former articles, the success and failure of “Human Resource Management depends on the professionalism of top managers.
Now, let’s talk a little about “style” that need to be improved!
Some of us have seen many unproductive “styles” of recruitment and selection practiced by a HR manager / managers. For examples:
An applicant has to wait for months to receive the first reply whether he or she is a candidate or an unsuccessful applicant. As a Human Resource teacher, many times I have received questions from some graduates such as “Do you know when I will receive a reply whether I am a candidate – I have sent my application letter 3 weeks ago”? Shockingly, most of these companies post good values on their office walls and signboards such as “We are fast, we are modern and we are innovative etc”! Candidates have to wait for several weeks just to find out if they are short-listed or not! What a shame!
Candidates who have been contacted for an interview hardly know who will interview them and for how long the interview will approximately take place. One interview normally is like a un-plan-able one-day activity for the candidate.
Many times candidates have to wait for hours for one interview. The higher the position of the interviewer is, the longer hours the candidate has to wait. I have seen cases where it took one full day for an applicant to be interviewed by only 2 interviewers. One of my friends, who have been invited by the owner for an interview for a General Manager position for a beautiful Island resort in southern of Thailand, had to wait for 6 hours on the Island to save the resort an additional 15 minute boat trip. Finally, the resort owner nicely and elegantly arrived by private helicopter! A very dramatic and impressive arrival and it does reflect an un-likeable leadership style. Many owners and investors like to have a resort with a 5-star management, 5-star services and 5-star employees! But it will hardly happen if there is such a behavioral model from the top. This is a classic example of a good vision by the owner, but in reality, the owner leads their people with own habit rather than his vision.
Most interviewers will not even come out from their office to personally invite the candidate for an interview or even stand up to shake the hand with the applicant. Most of the time, a secretary will bring the candidate to the manager’s office. I did see this many times in several 5-star hotels and resorts where the owner always says “I want true 5-star service”! I however think that treating your candidate in such a way is an ineffective communication on the service excellence!
Many times after the interview; the interviewer will end the interview that “we will contact you back soon”. But nobody knows “soon”! How long will it take? Most of the time, the candidate has to contact the company to beg for an answer simply because everyone needs to plan his and her life. Seldom, I have seen an HR person or interviewer who would say to the applicant “We will contact you back within 2 working days”. But, then again, when I do follow these cases closely, I found that even the interviewers say so, it normally takes much longer than said without any apology.
Most of the times, if the interview is unsuccessful; the candidate almost never receives a simple reject & thank you letter. Most times, it is silence. Usually, here in Thailand, silence means “you have to wait”, or “you don’t get the job!
As you can read from above samples, some working styles reflect badly on the company culture and standards in treating employees (people). Many times, during my consultation and training assignments, I try my best to emphasize that HR style is a very important factor to communicate the company set standard. But I feel that many HR persons and managers do not realize this.
Often enough, many HR managers and managers behave so differently from the said and written organizational values and cultures.
Once an HR Manager with a “long-cold-still face” said during an interview to the applicant that …
“we are a top 5-star hotel, we invested billions of Thai Baht! We want all our guests to be welcomed and serviced by smiling-face employees and not by “long-cold-still face” type of employee”!?
Forex Trading
During these days of recession everybody is looking for ways of making money.
Some are looking for part time jobs to increase their income and others want to start some small business.
Not many people know that Forex Market offers opportunities to everybody. Forex Trading can Make you as well as Break you if you don't know how to trade.
To make money through Forex you need to first learn how its done. You can buy many forex Trading Courses on Ebay as well as online but it costs money and many of us are reluctant to part away with our hard earned money.
Luckily Dr. Zain Agha has written a 7 part Forex Trading Course and he has been giving it away for free to those who are really serious about entering the Forex World. You can get it for free from his website. Search on Google for Luckytips and you will find his website. Just fill in your name and email address and then you will receive an email asking you to activate your account. Once you click the link to activate your account, you become an Opt-in Member. You will be sent a 147 page ebook on Forex Trading plus you will receive one part daily of the 7 part Forex Trading Course for the next 7 days.
Now lets come to the crunch. Why I say Forex Trading can Make you or Break you. You must think seriously before entering the Forex World.
Here are the Pros and Cons For and Against Forex Trading.
Why should you Trade Forex.
This is the most Attractive Home Business.
What is so attractive about Forex Trading you may ask.
You can make big money working only a few hours a day on your computer.
You can trade from anywhere. If you like to travel, this is a Dream Business. Take your laptop with you and you can trade the FOREX and make money anywhere in the world where you have an internet connection.
You can make money when the market is going up or down.
Start-up costs are low. Forex offers up to 100:1 leverage.
No need for Staff. No Inventories. No Hassle.
Forex is the world’s largest market with a trading volume of around $1.9 trillion dollars a day.
The Money is Out There. All you need to grab it is to know How To.
and the How To, you need to learn a Method and stick to it.
How can Forex Trading Break you.
This is the main purpose of writing this article to warn the Naive people who think Forex is like a Garden with trees growing Currency notes instead of leaves and all we need to do is to pick some leaves/money everyday and become Millionaires within a few months.
This is what most Forex Gurus make you believe in. But in reality its not like that at all. Although Forex Market is a very lucrative Home Based Business but we as humans have emotions and it is very difficult for us to control our emotions. Because of our Emotions we lose money. 95% of the Traders lose their money. Forex Trading is so addictive that once you are in it, it will become very difficult to get out of it.
The Emotions that come into play are FEAR and GREED.
Here are some examples of what happens when you are in a trade.
You buy a Security, the price goes up, instead of taking the profit you think the market will go up further, it does go up a little and you tell yourself you are a Genius, you forecasted right, the market will still go up and it went up.
Now instead of taking the profit now, you become more Greedy and say to yourself, the market will go further up and you will make more money but the market starts retracing and going down, you say, no problem let it go down, its taking a breather, the market is correcting itself and it will come back up.
But the market continues going down, you dont know that some adverse news came up and the Market started falling. Now you start losing as the market keeps going down. it continues down and down, you panic and get out of the Market with a loss.
This is one way one loses money by being Greedy.
The second emotions we cannot control is FEAR.
Here is a Scenario.
I buy a Security thinking it will go up and even the system that I have tells me to buy. OK I buy, the market starts going down and down, I panic and exit with a loss, fearing of further loss, only to find that the market actually started going back up and had I stayed in the Market I would have made some good money.
But because of my Fear of losing, I in reality did lose
So the Emotions play a big part in once Success.
One more reason why most people lose.
There is a vast majority of traders who do realise that Emotions are the cause of our losses and they need Robots to trade for them as Robots are computer programmed softwares that do not use emotions.
And there are thousands of Robots in the Market. Every week we see at least 2 to 3 new Robots coming out and promising of making Vast sums of money for us. All we need to do is buy it for $97.00 and make Millions..
These Robots do make money initially for a few days or weeks and then comes a time when the market never retraces once we are losing and the losses keep increasing with time.
Most of the Robots do not have a Stop Loss built in and those that do, have stops of 1000 pips. That means if the trade goes against you, your account will either get wiped out or you will lose $10,000.00 in just one day.
This happened to me personally. During my early days of trading I purchased a Robot that was making me $200.00 about 3 to 5 times a day. I started trusting that Robot and stopped monitoring the trades. I went out one day to do some shopping and when I returned I noticed that I am losing more than $8000.00
And this was my Live Account with Real Money.
Since that day I never took Automatic trading seriously.
I did purchase a few Robots and put them to Test by Demo Trading and found that eventually one day it takes off you more than what it gave you.
Sorry Robots are not for me.
These are the pros a cons and now you have to decide, would you like to become a Forex Trader?
A word of Warning:
If you do decide to become a Forex Trader, first Demo Trade for at least 2 months with fictitious money and only then open a live account with real money that you can afford to lose. Never use the money that you have saved for your retirement or for any other purpose.
Some are looking for part time jobs to increase their income and others want to start some small business.
Not many people know that Forex Market offers opportunities to everybody. Forex Trading can Make you as well as Break you if you don't know how to trade.
To make money through Forex you need to first learn how its done. You can buy many forex Trading Courses on Ebay as well as online but it costs money and many of us are reluctant to part away with our hard earned money.
Luckily Dr. Zain Agha has written a 7 part Forex Trading Course and he has been giving it away for free to those who are really serious about entering the Forex World. You can get it for free from his website. Search on Google for Luckytips and you will find his website. Just fill in your name and email address and then you will receive an email asking you to activate your account. Once you click the link to activate your account, you become an Opt-in Member. You will be sent a 147 page ebook on Forex Trading plus you will receive one part daily of the 7 part Forex Trading Course for the next 7 days.
Now lets come to the crunch. Why I say Forex Trading can Make you or Break you. You must think seriously before entering the Forex World.
Here are the Pros and Cons For and Against Forex Trading.
Why should you Trade Forex.
This is the most Attractive Home Business.
What is so attractive about Forex Trading you may ask.
You can make big money working only a few hours a day on your computer.
You can trade from anywhere. If you like to travel, this is a Dream Business. Take your laptop with you and you can trade the FOREX and make money anywhere in the world where you have an internet connection.
You can make money when the market is going up or down.
Start-up costs are low. Forex offers up to 100:1 leverage.
No need for Staff. No Inventories. No Hassle.
Forex is the world’s largest market with a trading volume of around $1.9 trillion dollars a day.
The Money is Out There. All you need to grab it is to know How To.
and the How To, you need to learn a Method and stick to it.
How can Forex Trading Break you.
This is the main purpose of writing this article to warn the Naive people who think Forex is like a Garden with trees growing Currency notes instead of leaves and all we need to do is to pick some leaves/money everyday and become Millionaires within a few months.
This is what most Forex Gurus make you believe in. But in reality its not like that at all. Although Forex Market is a very lucrative Home Based Business but we as humans have emotions and it is very difficult for us to control our emotions. Because of our Emotions we lose money. 95% of the Traders lose their money. Forex Trading is so addictive that once you are in it, it will become very difficult to get out of it.
The Emotions that come into play are FEAR and GREED.
Here are some examples of what happens when you are in a trade.
You buy a Security, the price goes up, instead of taking the profit you think the market will go up further, it does go up a little and you tell yourself you are a Genius, you forecasted right, the market will still go up and it went up.
Now instead of taking the profit now, you become more Greedy and say to yourself, the market will go further up and you will make more money but the market starts retracing and going down, you say, no problem let it go down, its taking a breather, the market is correcting itself and it will come back up.
But the market continues going down, you dont know that some adverse news came up and the Market started falling. Now you start losing as the market keeps going down. it continues down and down, you panic and get out of the Market with a loss.
This is one way one loses money by being Greedy.
The second emotions we cannot control is FEAR.
Here is a Scenario.
I buy a Security thinking it will go up and even the system that I have tells me to buy. OK I buy, the market starts going down and down, I panic and exit with a loss, fearing of further loss, only to find that the market actually started going back up and had I stayed in the Market I would have made some good money.
But because of my Fear of losing, I in reality did lose
So the Emotions play a big part in once Success.
One more reason why most people lose.
There is a vast majority of traders who do realise that Emotions are the cause of our losses and they need Robots to trade for them as Robots are computer programmed softwares that do not use emotions.
And there are thousands of Robots in the Market. Every week we see at least 2 to 3 new Robots coming out and promising of making Vast sums of money for us. All we need to do is buy it for $97.00 and make Millions..
These Robots do make money initially for a few days or weeks and then comes a time when the market never retraces once we are losing and the losses keep increasing with time.
Most of the Robots do not have a Stop Loss built in and those that do, have stops of 1000 pips. That means if the trade goes against you, your account will either get wiped out or you will lose $10,000.00 in just one day.
This happened to me personally. During my early days of trading I purchased a Robot that was making me $200.00 about 3 to 5 times a day. I started trusting that Robot and stopped monitoring the trades. I went out one day to do some shopping and when I returned I noticed that I am losing more than $8000.00
And this was my Live Account with Real Money.
Since that day I never took Automatic trading seriously.
I did purchase a few Robots and put them to Test by Demo Trading and found that eventually one day it takes off you more than what it gave you.
Sorry Robots are not for me.
These are the pros a cons and now you have to decide, would you like to become a Forex Trader?
A word of Warning:
If you do decide to become a Forex Trader, first Demo Trade for at least 2 months with fictitious money and only then open a live account with real money that you can afford to lose. Never use the money that you have saved for your retirement or for any other purpose.
Signs Don’t Work!
Hey guys, this article came about from a truly scary situation I was in recently at REIA (Real Estate Investor Association) meeting. I’m going to leave the city of the association out to quash any more hostile messages.
Here’s the deal…I was at this REIA right, talking to a fellow real estate investor about the market in my city (San Antonio), and how I still buy and SELL about 4 houses a month even with the market in the crapper using nothing but bandit signs. I was giving her the inside scoop on this sweetheart deal I put together for myself. I buy houses “subject to” on the front end and either sell for all cash, install a tenant/buyer, or wholesale to a fellow investor on the backend as my exit strategy. I was pretty excited because the seller let the house go with a very real $50,000.00 in equity plus a home warranty plan. I did a simple forbearance to take care of the past due payments, had the carpet cleaned, and that was it. What I really loved about the deal was that I found the house using my extremely targeted bandit signs. I always tell my students that “WE BUY HOUSES” signs don’t work….Period! I am a firm believer that you must connect with the customer. By connect I mean you have to talk the same language, appreciate the same things they do, have similar experiences that they do.
Well, in this case the seller was military, United States Air Force to be precise. That’s great because I used to be in the Air Force too. Quite coincidently, most of the sellers’ neighbors were Air Force too. Actually, it’s not a coincidence…it’s called solid lead generation. I used bandit signs that had language specifically targeting that group. For instance, in the Air Force your specialty is identified by an AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code) whereas in the Army it’s called, MOS (Military Operational Specialty). Using that small bit of language on my signs allows me to target a precise segment of my market that won’t respond to general mass marketing, i.e. “WE BUY HOUSES”. By demonstrating that I’m “just like them” builds trust and a bond, way before I even talk to them. That way they feel less apprehensive about deeding the house to a relative stranger.
Here’s where the “incident” occurred. I had almost finished my story when someone who had overheard our conversation decided to add their 2 cents. I didn’t mind because I wasn’t exactly whispering and we’re at those meetings to support the REI community. Well, right away, this fellow tells me I’m wrong and I don’t know what I’m talking about.
I asked, “Wrong about what?
He said, “WE BUY HOUSES” signs work. From there I asked him “how so” with 30 other investor using the same signs? From, there he told me at this $5000.00 seminar he went to, the guru told him the WE BUY HOUSES signs are one of the best ways to generate leads and he just bought 200 of them from the sign shop. I asked him had he received any calls or better yet “bought” any houses with those signs? He said not yet.
From there I offered him a piece of advice; I asked him does he have any relatives who live in a cold climate. He responded yes because he didn’t know where I was going with it. I told him to pack all those signs up and move up there because the only use for them is a fire and Texas (oops, I almost slipped) ain’t the place to be….MOVE!
Well, that led to a little chuckle from the small crowd that formed and the fellow didn’t seem to appreciate my advice. For a second I thought he was going to hit me, but he just looked like he was going to cry and went elsewhere.
But seriously, I gave him the best advice I could. Those, “WE BUY HOUSES” bandit signs serve no purpose except to let you feel like you’re an actual investor but, in reality don’t convert to real leads. The sign shops sole purpose is to get you to buy as many signs as possible initially because they know “WE BUY HOUSES” investors aren’t in it for the long run. I’m not making this up, I’ve talked about this with owners of 3 different sign shops in my area and the consensus is that real estate investors with those, “WE BUY HOUSES” bandit signs won’t make it. That’s the sad truth. That’s why you see such a high turnover of real estate investor in this business.
Here’s the deal…I was at this REIA right, talking to a fellow real estate investor about the market in my city (San Antonio), and how I still buy and SELL about 4 houses a month even with the market in the crapper using nothing but bandit signs. I was giving her the inside scoop on this sweetheart deal I put together for myself. I buy houses “subject to” on the front end and either sell for all cash, install a tenant/buyer, or wholesale to a fellow investor on the backend as my exit strategy. I was pretty excited because the seller let the house go with a very real $50,000.00 in equity plus a home warranty plan. I did a simple forbearance to take care of the past due payments, had the carpet cleaned, and that was it. What I really loved about the deal was that I found the house using my extremely targeted bandit signs. I always tell my students that “WE BUY HOUSES” signs don’t work….Period! I am a firm believer that you must connect with the customer. By connect I mean you have to talk the same language, appreciate the same things they do, have similar experiences that they do.
Well, in this case the seller was military, United States Air Force to be precise. That’s great because I used to be in the Air Force too. Quite coincidently, most of the sellers’ neighbors were Air Force too. Actually, it’s not a coincidence…it’s called solid lead generation. I used bandit signs that had language specifically targeting that group. For instance, in the Air Force your specialty is identified by an AFSC (Air Force Specialty Code) whereas in the Army it’s called, MOS (Military Operational Specialty). Using that small bit of language on my signs allows me to target a precise segment of my market that won’t respond to general mass marketing, i.e. “WE BUY HOUSES”. By demonstrating that I’m “just like them” builds trust and a bond, way before I even talk to them. That way they feel less apprehensive about deeding the house to a relative stranger.
Here’s where the “incident” occurred. I had almost finished my story when someone who had overheard our conversation decided to add their 2 cents. I didn’t mind because I wasn’t exactly whispering and we’re at those meetings to support the REI community. Well, right away, this fellow tells me I’m wrong and I don’t know what I’m talking about.
I asked, “Wrong about what?
He said, “WE BUY HOUSES” signs work. From there I asked him “how so” with 30 other investor using the same signs? From, there he told me at this $5000.00 seminar he went to, the guru told him the WE BUY HOUSES signs are one of the best ways to generate leads and he just bought 200 of them from the sign shop. I asked him had he received any calls or better yet “bought” any houses with those signs? He said not yet.
From there I offered him a piece of advice; I asked him does he have any relatives who live in a cold climate. He responded yes because he didn’t know where I was going with it. I told him to pack all those signs up and move up there because the only use for them is a fire and Texas (oops, I almost slipped) ain’t the place to be….MOVE!
Well, that led to a little chuckle from the small crowd that formed and the fellow didn’t seem to appreciate my advice. For a second I thought he was going to hit me, but he just looked like he was going to cry and went elsewhere.
But seriously, I gave him the best advice I could. Those, “WE BUY HOUSES” bandit signs serve no purpose except to let you feel like you’re an actual investor but, in reality don’t convert to real leads. The sign shops sole purpose is to get you to buy as many signs as possible initially because they know “WE BUY HOUSES” investors aren’t in it for the long run. I’m not making this up, I’ve talked about this with owners of 3 different sign shops in my area and the consensus is that real estate investors with those, “WE BUY HOUSES” bandit signs won’t make it. That’s the sad truth. That’s why you see such a high turnover of real estate investor in this business.
Credit Cards Wisely
How to use credit cards wisely.
Credit Cards and the companies, some times we hate them and the policies that go with the unsecured credit card industry, however, a credit card can be quite useful and in fact critical if you?d like to do some things, such as rent a car.
We may not like the policies of some credit cards, but face it, we are being provided an unsecured line of credit and if you pay off a majority of credit cards with in 30 days, it is with minimal or no interest.
Now, in managing the use of cards, it is important to note a number of things that credit cards give us:
1) Credit Advantages for Credit Score.
2) Emergency ?Money?
3) A form of ?identification?
4) Benefits that credit card programs add for their users.
5) Recourse against bad sellers or transactions.
With that, we need to understand, when we carry a balance, we are going to pay. And as of this writing, we will pay and pay much. Now, to manage this well, understand that a 2% or so interest rate, per-month is not that bad, just pay the dang thing off as soon as you can, preferably monthly.
Having covered the obvious, I want to point out that when you do pay interest, you?re paying wages for the above mentioned services and you can gain a bit more ?favor? of longevity with having had paid interest. It is no small wonder that unused credit cards or those that pay off their balance in full prior to a finance charge usually don?t have the benefit of a large credit line or get to keep their card very long when it is not used.
So it simply boils down to planning your purchases wisely, understanding that it ok to pay for the loan, though it seems at much ridiculous rates that we have to have such loans these days and to ?carry a balance? just make sure your balances are low. In fact I like to keep mine no more that 25% of the credit limit maximum, not at the levels you may have been told ?that could affect your credit rating?
Credit Cards and the companies, some times we hate them and the policies that go with the unsecured credit card industry, however, a credit card can be quite useful and in fact critical if you?d like to do some things, such as rent a car.
We may not like the policies of some credit cards, but face it, we are being provided an unsecured line of credit and if you pay off a majority of credit cards with in 30 days, it is with minimal or no interest.
Now, in managing the use of cards, it is important to note a number of things that credit cards give us:
1) Credit Advantages for Credit Score.
2) Emergency ?Money?
3) A form of ?identification?
4) Benefits that credit card programs add for their users.
5) Recourse against bad sellers or transactions.
With that, we need to understand, when we carry a balance, we are going to pay. And as of this writing, we will pay and pay much. Now, to manage this well, understand that a 2% or so interest rate, per-month is not that bad, just pay the dang thing off as soon as you can, preferably monthly.
Having covered the obvious, I want to point out that when you do pay interest, you?re paying wages for the above mentioned services and you can gain a bit more ?favor? of longevity with having had paid interest. It is no small wonder that unused credit cards or those that pay off their balance in full prior to a finance charge usually don?t have the benefit of a large credit line or get to keep their card very long when it is not used.
So it simply boils down to planning your purchases wisely, understanding that it ok to pay for the loan, though it seems at much ridiculous rates that we have to have such loans these days and to ?carry a balance? just make sure your balances are low. In fact I like to keep mine no more that 25% of the credit limit maximum, not at the levels you may have been told ?that could affect your credit rating?
Crisis Vulnerability
No organisation is immune to crisis. That’s a fact. But it’s wrong to assume crises are always random, unpredictable or simply “acts of God”. The truth is that there are things you can do to significantly reduce the possibility of your organisation suffering a crisis. And when you consider that a mis-handled crisis can have a major financial impact on a business, why wouldn’t you take the following steps to make your organisation less vulnerable to crisis?
Here are the ten ways of reducing you crisis vulnerability.
1. Conduct a reputational risk assessment
Conducting a regular - at least annual - reputational risk assessment not only reduces your chances of being blind-sided by a damaging incident, it also provides the stimulus for actions to reduce their likelihood and/or impact.
2. Conduct a reputational risk assessment - with a difference
A conventional risk assessment is an essential first step in risk reduction. Inviting your people to think the unthinkable by role playing tabloid journalists, disgruntled ex-employees, competitors or pressure groups, results in a changed perspective and a much more comprehensive set of risks to be managed.
3. Create the right culture
Prevention is always better than cure - and nowhere is this more true than in crisis management. So ensure you create a culture where your people are encouraged to identify and communicate potential problems. The reverse - a culture of fear and blame - is the perfect incubator for crises.
4. Focus on the front-line
A comprehensive crisis management plan and a well-trained senior team is essential in effective crisis management - but it is not enough. Unless the front-line - your receptionists, security guards, sales executives, engineers - know what to do and who to call in the event of an incident, the top team won't get the chance to exercise the crisis plan until it's too late.
5. Monitor the landscape
Be constantly vigilant for emerging issues and potential crises. Go beyond conventional media monitoring to understand what is being said about your organisation on-line. Chatrooms and blogs can serve as an early warning of gestating issues: effective action at this stage can prevent them from becoming full-blown crises.
6. Manage issues pro-actively
Identifying a potential issue is one thing: managing it effectively is quite another. Whilst heads down and fingers crossed is one strategy, it's rarely as effective as a purposeful plan to take control. Actively managing issues gives you more control over your reputational destiny and often heads off a potential crisis.
7. Hold a crisis simulation
Crisis simulations are essential to test a crisis management plan, and building the skills and confidence of the crisis team. But that's not all. The process also raises awareness of the potential for crisis, and highlights flaws in the current infrastructure. As a consequence, a post-simulation organisation is not only better equipped to deal with a crisis, but is also less likely to suffer one in the first place.
8. Review and learn
Let's be honest: there's no guarantee of a crisis-free existence for any organisation. But the experience of handling a live crisis is an opportunity to learn, review and enhance procedures to reduce the likelihood and impact of a future incident. Never simply breathe a corporate sigh of relief and get back to business as usual. The danger is that "business as usual" may have caused the crisis and without a proper review, another one may be lurking in the system.
9. Plan well to avoid self-inflicted crises
Self-inflicted crises - the botched site closure, the ill-conceived product launch, the child labour scandal - are often the worst crises of all. Why? Because they arise not out of an act of God, an accident, or the evil intent of a third party, but as a result of actions and decisions made by the organisation itself. And given this fact, it's essential for the organisation to have a robust communication strategy to avoid an unnecessary crisis.
10. Resolve the incident before it becomes a crisis
Research from Oxford Metrica demonstrates that a well managed incident has a positive impact not just on how an organisation is regarded, but also how it is valued. So swift and effective action to manage an emerging situation not only reduces the number of crises that you will have to face, it can also do wonders for your share price!
In the current economic climate, no organisation can afford to gamble with its reputation. Acting on the steps outlined above mean that you will be able to sleep more peacefully at night knowing that your organisation is less vulnerable to a potentially catastrophic crisis.
Here are the ten ways of reducing you crisis vulnerability.
1. Conduct a reputational risk assessment
Conducting a regular - at least annual - reputational risk assessment not only reduces your chances of being blind-sided by a damaging incident, it also provides the stimulus for actions to reduce their likelihood and/or impact.
2. Conduct a reputational risk assessment - with a difference
A conventional risk assessment is an essential first step in risk reduction. Inviting your people to think the unthinkable by role playing tabloid journalists, disgruntled ex-employees, competitors or pressure groups, results in a changed perspective and a much more comprehensive set of risks to be managed.
3. Create the right culture
Prevention is always better than cure - and nowhere is this more true than in crisis management. So ensure you create a culture where your people are encouraged to identify and communicate potential problems. The reverse - a culture of fear and blame - is the perfect incubator for crises.
4. Focus on the front-line
A comprehensive crisis management plan and a well-trained senior team is essential in effective crisis management - but it is not enough. Unless the front-line - your receptionists, security guards, sales executives, engineers - know what to do and who to call in the event of an incident, the top team won't get the chance to exercise the crisis plan until it's too late.
5. Monitor the landscape
Be constantly vigilant for emerging issues and potential crises. Go beyond conventional media monitoring to understand what is being said about your organisation on-line. Chatrooms and blogs can serve as an early warning of gestating issues: effective action at this stage can prevent them from becoming full-blown crises.
6. Manage issues pro-actively
Identifying a potential issue is one thing: managing it effectively is quite another. Whilst heads down and fingers crossed is one strategy, it's rarely as effective as a purposeful plan to take control. Actively managing issues gives you more control over your reputational destiny and often heads off a potential crisis.
7. Hold a crisis simulation
Crisis simulations are essential to test a crisis management plan, and building the skills and confidence of the crisis team. But that's not all. The process also raises awareness of the potential for crisis, and highlights flaws in the current infrastructure. As a consequence, a post-simulation organisation is not only better equipped to deal with a crisis, but is also less likely to suffer one in the first place.
8. Review and learn
Let's be honest: there's no guarantee of a crisis-free existence for any organisation. But the experience of handling a live crisis is an opportunity to learn, review and enhance procedures to reduce the likelihood and impact of a future incident. Never simply breathe a corporate sigh of relief and get back to business as usual. The danger is that "business as usual" may have caused the crisis and without a proper review, another one may be lurking in the system.
9. Plan well to avoid self-inflicted crises
Self-inflicted crises - the botched site closure, the ill-conceived product launch, the child labour scandal - are often the worst crises of all. Why? Because they arise not out of an act of God, an accident, or the evil intent of a third party, but as a result of actions and decisions made by the organisation itself. And given this fact, it's essential for the organisation to have a robust communication strategy to avoid an unnecessary crisis.
10. Resolve the incident before it becomes a crisis
Research from Oxford Metrica demonstrates that a well managed incident has a positive impact not just on how an organisation is regarded, but also how it is valued. So swift and effective action to manage an emerging situation not only reduces the number of crises that you will have to face, it can also do wonders for your share price!
In the current economic climate, no organisation can afford to gamble with its reputation. Acting on the steps outlined above mean that you will be able to sleep more peacefully at night knowing that your organisation is less vulnerable to a potentially catastrophic crisis.
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