All the contents
Beyond the Next Wave: Imagining the Next Generation of Customers.
Contract employment is gaining popularity because it offers flexibility and cost savings. Contract work can be obtained by hiring employees on a temporary basis or hiring independent contractors. To avoid the pitfalls of this recruitment strategy, employers should put arrangements in writing, obtain legal advice, ensure that contract workers were not hired simply to avoid employment obligations, conduct a cost benefit analysis, monitor the development of employment relationships, and avoid in...
Customer-Centered Growth: Five Proven Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage.
Decision enabling in the retail information revolution.
Retailers initially adopted data warehousing to increase their sales revenue through detailed data (80%) and to support operations (20%). A study of organizations that have greatly benefitted from this practice indicates five payback areas. These are item-by-item sales analysis, vendor pricing and performance analysis, exact inventory level maintenance through forecasting and management, strategically planned promotions specific to locations, and targeting of individual customers through trac...
Many business people looking for computer software fail to acquire products that help their business and contribute to the achievement of their organizational goals. There are a number of explanations for this, including being overwhelmed or distracted by shrewd and fancy sales pitches, failing to prepare a requirement list before making an acquisition, underestimating the consequences of a new software, and failing to consider the pros and cons of customization.
How to get what you want - when they refuse. (excerpt from book 'When Talking Makes Things WORSE!')
There are a number of steps that people can take to get others to behave in ways that would be beneficial for them. In asking for a raise, for instance, the chances of success will be greater if the people making the request have already determined what they want other people to do, have done the necessary work so that it would be easy for the decision makers to agree to the request, and have broken down problems into manageable actions so that they will not seem to be impossible to resolve.
Keeping your money working even when you're retired - RRIFs. (Registered Retirement Income Fund)
A Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) can help Canadians grow their money throughout their retirement. This strategy avoids many of the problems associated with taking the cash when their RRSP matures or with putting the money in an annuity. It also allows retirees to determine how their money is invested and to take out more assets than the minimum. Retirees should consult a financial advisor to determine whether an annuity or an RRIF is more beneficial for them.
Making Common Sense Common Practice: A Leader's Guide to Using What You Already Know.
Protection for the professional consultant. (protection from malpractice suits)
There are a number of factors that should be considered when determining whether consultants in Canada have a professional liability exposure. These include possession of professional knowledge and skills that clients pay for, freedom to use own judgment and discretion, membership in an association with standards of practice and codes of conduct, and involvement in misrepresentations, errors or omissions. To avoid malpractice suits, professional consultants should obtain Professional Liabilit...
Temporary workers new reality for Canadian companies.
The Conference Board of Canada's recent report 'Contingent Work: Trends, Issues and Challenges for Employers' indicates that Canadian companies are increasingly hiring temporary or contractual workers. Organizations using contingent employees report a number of advantages, including more staffing flexibility and access to special expertise. However, they also face the challenge of how to manage a flexible workforce more effectively.
The changing face of corporate fraud.
The nature of corporate fraud in Metropolitan Toronto is being transformed by several demographic, economic and technological trends. A study conducted by the Metropolitan Toronto Police Fraud Squad reveals that the city loses more than C$500 dollars every year while the greater Toronto area loses over C$1 billion annually. Fraud cases are increasingly growing international and involving large monetary values. The elderly have also become a target of fraudsters.
The subtleties of selling services.
Selling services is not necessarily more difficult than selling tangible products. To be successful, sales people offering intangibles need to develop the right strategy and to set the stage for the sale. The latter involves creating a specific identity for the services being offered, tailoring the services to the customers' expectations, emphasizing the benefits of the services, and assuming the role of expert in the field.
The Will to Lead: Running a Business with A Network of Leaders.
Training trends to cost-effectiveness.
Many cost-conscious companies are no longer shutting down or trimming their training functions but are adopting cost-efficient and effective ways of training employees. Among the strategies that are being increasingly implemented are outsourcing, customization of training programs, greater management accountability for the creation of a learning environment, use of computer-based training, and revision of existing training materials.
Vector Concepts Inc.(Company Profile)
Canadian firm Vector Concepts Inc offers marketing services to companies doing business in North America. Its services revolve around the development and delivery of quality consumer prospects with a 'propensity to buy.' The firm has developed its own prospect identification strategy called 'Target Prospecting,' which involves working with clients' sales and marketing executives to formulate a narrowly targeted lead generation campaign.
