It is happening to people all over the country in large cities and small towns. Companies are downsizing or closing. You may be with the same firm for 20+ years in a senior position an...]]>

Retrain Your Brain
By Joanne Robbins

It is happening to people all over the country in large cities and small towns. Companies are downsizing or closing. You may be with the same firm for 20+ years in a senior position and still you are not immune to the chopping block.

During a brain-storming telephone conversation my friend casually mentioned what another friend did to make extra money. I thought, oh sure, another stuffing envelope business or something similar. That wasn’t the case at all - this person worked as a legal secretary by day - and medical transcriptionist by night using the internet to receive and send documents. The light bulb flashed on and I thought - I can do that. How hard can it be to type?

The search began for a reputable school offering a medical terminology and transcription course for a dead-broke, fifty-year-old, single-parent, with poor credit, living in Podunk. With all that stacked against me I searched through an amazing amount of information from community education classes to community colleges - and also distance education. Luckily, my diligent searching paid off and I found a reputable school with the perfect distance education classes I needed to start over and a student loan (co-signed in my case) made it affordable.

Retraining my brain wasn’t quite so simple. The learning side of my brain hadn’t had to comprehend much more than the company newsletter and flight plans for almost 30 years. Now that poor brain was gasping and panting in an attempt to pronounce, spell and understand the meaning of words like tonsilloadenoidectomy or electroencephalography. Man-oh-man, what a joy!

2,000 flash cards and several months of hard work later - I passed my final exam on the same day my daughter graduated from high school. There was celebrating in our household that night as we both faced the future with unknown possibilities and great promise. Medical transcription may not be for everyone and I never dreamed it would be the lifeline allowing me to make a living from home, but with the power of the internet it doesn’t matter if I live in Podunk or New York City.

When you find yourself in a sinking boat and approaching the falls it is time to open your mind and be willing to take a chance, creating a new future - a future in which you have more control of your destiny.

Joanne Robbins has published several articles on a variety of topics. Dealing with our parents as adult children is an extremely important topic and you can find more My Elderly Parent information at http://boomer-gear.com.

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Outsourcing offshore to China works for Printronix, a company that for over 30 years has designed and manufactured a broad range of line matrix printers, ultra ...]]>

Outsourcing Offshore to China - A Case Study
By Dr. Joe Greco

Outsourcing offshore to China works for Printronix, a company that for over 30 years has designed and manufactured a broad range of line matrix printers, ultra high frequency radio frequency identification (UHF-RFID) printers, thermal bar code label printers, and continuous forms laser printers. A market leader in the printing business, outsourcing allows Printronix a competitive cost advantage but also creates challenges in communication, lead times, and forecasting.

The company has been outsourcing since its inception, but they hadn’t done it heavily until 10 years ago. The increase in outsourcing is a direct result of market circumstances, since their competitors also outsource. They chose China as the main destination for their supplier base because cheap labor and supplies are readily available and because many of their suppliers have moved there. New suppliers are chosen via quality supplier surveys and pre-production pilot batches. ISO certification is preferred, but not required. China has been a fast growing market with “centers for excellence” offering abundant resources and skilled workers at the same place. Ultimately, outsourcing to China allows for an opportunity to penetrate into one of the world’s largest markets (I.E. China itself).

Major substitutes for Printronix’s products are laser printers and inkjet printers. The company considers that the propriety ribbons for its impact printers are a core competency that gives the company its competitive edge. The quality of the ribbon is essential for Printronix to compete head on with laser printers.

At first they had outsourced the manufacturing of ribbons to China. However, design and quality issues and the long supply chain of these important products made Printronix choose to move it to Mexico to be closer to the Irvine headquarters, as well as the Americas market. The quality issues, both in product design and process quality, could be given more focus in Mexico and are now solved. Ribbon products can be produced directly to customer orders and shipped in a day or two instead of weeks.

Financially, the company faces tough challenges due to their heavy investment in RFID technologies. Printronix operates in many different countries and will hedge against currency fluctuations where appropriate. Furthermore, the bulk of their outsourcing is in China, and since China’s currency is pegged to the US dollar, they do not feel threatened by the currency fluctuations between the US dollar and Chinese Yuan.

Printronix faces a number of outsourcing challenges including lead times, forecasting, and communication. Shipments from China and other Asian countries are brought to Singapore for printer assembly. Shipments from Singapore to Irvine and Holland are then made via cargo ships which typically take 3-5 weeks to arrive. If there is a problem with the product when the container is opened, additional time is required to repair the items on the spot. Rarely would the company fly the container back and have the item repaired in Singapore or China because of the time and expense involved. If the product is highly defective then the shipment is discarded, and a new shipment must be sent via airplane at higher transportation cost.

Forecasting of demand is crucial because of the long lead times, and a change in demand could result in the company dealing with too much or too little inventory. Too much inventory means high storage costs, and too little inventory results in an increased wait time and decreased customer satisfaction.

Finally, a problem when outsourcing is communication for several reasons including language barriers, time zone differences, and Cultural differences. Communication between the headquarters and the satellite locations worldwide is done via teleconferencing and videoconferencing. Even this is hard to plan considering the huge time difference of 15-16 hours. The language barrier is addressed by managing Asian suppliers using Singaporean management who speak the language and understand the cultures. The cultural differences such as holidays, beliefs, and traditions also affect operations.

As stated before, outsourcing is an essential component to Printronix’s business model, and it directly affects their bottom line. The key question that they face is how extensive should they outsource and where is the stopping point? By managing cost considerations along with quality issues, Printronix has shown an ability to effectively outsource given the current global conditions. With China’s economy growing and developing, the company may have to evaluate future outsourcing targets such as Vietnam, Thailand, Eastern Europe and Africa in order to maintain their cost structure.

Dr. Joe Greco

Dr. Joe Greco is Director for the Center for the Study of Emerging Markets (CSEM) located in Fullerton, California. As part of the College of Business and Economics at California State University, Fullerton, CSEM was established to promote the flow of global information and technology between the academic and business communities. In particular, CSEM studies offshore outsourcing and it economic and cultural impact on US based emerging markets.

You may contact Dr. Joe Greco at 714-278-2375 or csem@fullerton.edu or at http://www.thecsem.org/

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Many business leaders are good at starting a business or maintaining one that has already been well established. However, they are not good at fix...]]>

Do Not Depend Solely on the Doctor in the House to do the Surgery
By Mike Teng

Many business leaders are good at starting a business or maintaining one that has already
been well established. However, they are not good at fixing a seriously sick business. Avoid bankruptcy by hiring the turnaround experts.

They often do not have the experience, skills, temperament or willingness to do a proper
turnaround. Sometimes, the business leader himself is the hindrance and obstacle to the
entire turnaround process because of past encumbrances and prejudices. An outsider is
quite often required to execute the turnaround.

Most of the time, a troubled company cannot be fixed solely from the within. The
management may harbour too much prejudices, vested interests and baggage. If the
medicine is too bitter, management may not have the guts to swallow it. The company
needs somebody from the outside who is able to say “no” firmly when necessary. If the
internal management is the cause of the internal woes, then the use of internal
management for the turnaround is like using leeches to cure leukaemia. The condition of
the patient will not improve and may deteriorate as time passes by.

An outsider brings some unfair advantages to the turnaround game. You have no
emotional baggage tied to a new dream or a historically interesting but economically
irrelevant service. Nor are you beholden to the big bosses. You can ask dump questions
without looking dumb. One or two of those dumb questions will turn out to be brilliant
ones.

Contrary to expectations, you will find you are accorded loyalty from employees. Other
executives have to work hard to earn this devotion. These employees understand that you
represent their last chance, and that you did not create the problem. They knew that the
business was wobbling off course before the board or owners understood it. With the
right demeanour and without rudeness, the employees will guide you immediately toward
the major problems. Few will hold back if you listen hard. They know that if you really
quiz them and they will lose their jobs anyway, it is less painful for them, since both of
you have tried to salvage the situation.

Turnaround specialists coming from your specific industry are usually quite good. Their
names are familiar in the industry and you can check on the reputation of these specialists.
They also probably already know something about your company.

These specialists can make objective decisions that the ailing company’s management
cannot. Some take on full-time positions within the company as the Chief Executive.
Others may be engaged as consultants with full authority and access to the company’s
accounts. They are there to cover the wound, conduct surgery or resuscitation. Once the
job is done, they move on as these guys may not be the types suited to running a healthy
company. Majority of executives are not suited for a turnaround as this unique situation
demands extraordinary leadership. When these turnaround specialists take over the helm
of the management, they swiftly proceed do the things that the Chief Executive ought to
be doing before the company gets into trouble - restructuring.

When you are afflicted by cancer, see an oncologist and do not rely on your family doctor.

http://www.corporateturnaroundexpert.com

Dr Mike Teng (DBA, MBA, BEng, FIMechE, FIEE, CEng, PEng, FCMI, FCIM, SMCS) is the author of the best-selling business book “Corporate Turnaround: Nursing a sick company back to health”, in 2002. In 2006, he authored another book entitled, “Corporate Wellness: 101 Principles in Turnaround and Transformation.” Dr Teng is widely recognized as a turnaround CEO in Asia by the news media. He has 27 years of experience in corporate responsibilities in the Asia Pacific region. Of these, he held Chief Executive Officer’s positions for 17 years in multi-national, local and publicly listed companies. He led in the successful turnaround of several troubled companies. He is currently the Managing Director of a business advisory firm, Corporate Turnaround Centre Pte Ltd, which assists companies on a fast track to financial performance. Dr Teng was the President of the Marketing Institute of Singapore (2000 - 2004), the national body representing some 5000 individual and corporate marketing professionals in Singapore

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The concept of Balance Scorecard has been utilized by businesses and organizations since the early 1990 s Over the years, it has gone through many ...]]>

Balanced Scorecard Software - Redefining The Measure Of Success
By Sam Miller

The concept of Balance Scorecard has been utilized by businesses and organizations since the early 1990 s Over the years, it has gone through many iterations, with some sometimes significant changes in character by users. Initially the concept was intended to measure the activities of the company in terms of its vision and strategies rather than solely on a financial basis. The comprehensive view of the performance of the business forces managers to target the performance markers which measure success. Because it balances financial objectives with customer viewpoints, employee perspective and process planning, these measurements become the framework of future success.

Software which assists in the formalization of the balanced scorecard principles helps managers focus on the questions at hand and how to develop successful strategies and measurements for the future.

Early versions of the Balanced Scorecard consisted of simple tables usually labeled Financial, Customer, Learning and Grown and Processes. The preparation of the Balanced Scorecard merely required finding five or six good measurements for each of the perspective. From a strictly design based approach, there was little attempt to decide why each of the measures were important or why they would be more likely to bring about success than any other measure. Since managers didn t always agree with the importance of a particular measure, there was often only a half-hearted effort toward successful implementation.

The next type of Balanced Scorecard model developed in the mid 1990 s. The same perspectives are typically used, but in this model, managers select objectives which they have within each of the perspectives and plot these objectives on a strategy map. By complete this part of the process, managers come to some agreement as to how the objectives affect each of the perspectives, or conversely, how different perspectives affect each of the objectives. Once the objectives are identified, the managers can then move on to the task of identifying and defining how the success of the objectives can be measured. This model has been more successful than the original scorecard.

The third generation of Balanced Scorecard software has now emerged. The most popular versions are the Performance Prism, Results Based Management, and Third Generation Balanced Scorecard. The goal of these versions is to perfect the use of the scorecards across larger organizations and in smoothing the target setting facets of the process.

Contrary to common belief, the Balanced Scorecard is not the system which was intended by the original developers of the strategy, it is merely a way to record the system. That s a concept which is poorly understood, but critically important. The cards, no matter what form they take are simply a performance management tool.

Managers typically used the Balanced Scorecard to update and explain budgets, to determine and organize strategic initiatives and to conduct performance reviews. The concept has been embraced by many governmental agencies. military units, corporations, non profits and schools.

If you are interested in balanced scoreboard software, check Sam Miller new web-site.

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We live in an ever-expanding universe and the universe expands from the unmanifest silence of Spirit or light outwards into more and more concrete expressi...]]>

Life Flows and Expands As We Realize Our Dreams
By George Lockett

We live in an ever-expanding universe and the universe expands from the unmanifest silence of Spirit or light outwards into more and more concrete expressions of our dreams, which we create in our spiritual blueprint of reality.

We have all heard about The Secret and Quantum Physics - a field of pure unmanifest energy which underlies all creation. This field contains all expressions of manifest life in virtual form.

It is just waiting for human consciousness to breathe self-awareness into the field and start the creation process through our dreams, visualization, and positive affirmations.

Human consciousness is becoming refined and we are waking up to our creative nature. We realize that we can create our reality by make-believe in the first instance.

As the universe expands our dreams and aspirations start to take form and draw to them all the physical matter and energy needed to start to manifest.

As we look around us in any city, we see the buildings that started their existence in the dreams of the architects, who drew up the plans and drew in all the resources to create the very diverse collections of buildings that form our cities.

This process takes place in nearly every endeavour human consciousness undertakes, be it as simple as cooking our next meal. Human consciousness flows from an unmanifest level and draws in all the resources needed to create in physical form, the reality we see around us.

Therefore, do not complain about what you see around you outside. Go within your heart see your dreams, passion and desire blending through visualization, and flowing outwards through your five senses and your physical limbs to start shaping the reality around you.

Through synchronicity, we draw to us all the materials we require to bring our dreams into reality, just like the colourless sap in a plant moves through the plant and creates the stem, leaves, and flowers.

Human consciousness is like this colourless sap: it is the energy field which creates the matrix for energy to take form and manifest following its spiritual blueprint. All you need is a little understanding of the process and you can change what is around you.

See the flow of life flowing through you, from your spiritual essence outwards, forming your physical existence and expanding its influence into the environment. By relaxing our physical body and merging our awareness into these more subtle levels of being, we merge our consciousness with Creator.

We tap into the quantum field and allow it to flow through us to take form in the manifest world around us. Each of us is an aspect of Creator creating, if we are relaxed and allow our awareness to settle and merge with the silence within, and the subtle energy to charge our bodies.

We become charismatic creators in tune with the Universal Life Force and create in harmony and peace what we need for ourselves and those around us in a loving, creative way.

Message channelled by George E. Lockett SSHA, IIHHT — HealerGeorge(C) Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved. Tel: +44 (0)1286 882701 George has recently published his new book, which contains many more articles and advice to bring Joy into your life. The book is titled: “A Journey into the Self — the multi-dimensional nature of being human”: HealerGeorge Web Site and New Book
Description: What is this book going to do for YOU? For those who are seeking a complete energetic makeover, as you read it you will feel a stirring and awakening in the depths of your heart. For those who have questions about Shifts in Consciousness, Energy Balancing, and Healing within the body, you will find clear answers.
Ask a question of HealerGeorge at: Ask HealerGeorge

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