Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Marketing Tips To Attract Kids
- In order to attract kids you first have to understand how kids think. Make sure that your staff attending your kid customers knows they should address kids as what they are. Kids think with urgency and when they have something in mind, they want it at the same moment; they are not willing to wait. So now you need to think like a kid. Remember your childhood and think of the things that make you smile and laugh and things which will be useful to you for fun making. When marketing to kids, be a kid.
- Make your products visible to kids so that they can have a feel of that. When you go to shopping mall you generally see that the last shelf contains all the items related to kids like toys, chocolates etc. Have a contest, with the prizes.
- Be kid-friendly. Tell them to come back over and over again...they will listen. Word of mouth advertising continues to be one of the most powerful tools in any business. Allow kids to carry your message.
- The thoughts of kids are very imaginative and creative. They like things which are different and attractive. They have very wild imagination. Like you would have observed in a movie called Taare zammen par that when the Kid is being given a test paper to solve Math’s question there we see that he goes into his own wild imagination to solve one problem. So u can keep in your display set the toys which attract the children and are really creative.
- To attract the kids you can even demonstrate how the toy works and by seeing that kids feel really happy and they do enjoy and once the product is into their mind then the kids will make sure that they have that product is in their hands.
- Kids love to learn about other cultures and new things. They often picture themselves in other places, countries and dream about traveling through planes, cars, boats, etc. So you can also project such things.
- Make sure that the item you are selling is kids friendly so that it can be operated by kids easily. Items that may have a wind-up, pull-back, press-n-go, etc. mechanism are great. If you choose an item that requires the motor skills of a 25-year-old to operate, you will end up with a very frustrated young customer.
- Kids love to learn and to share information. If you have the chance to buy a toy with a bilingual insert card, do it! Kids love to learn about other languages and cultures.
- Dinosaurs: Yes, these are not extinct in kids’ minds. They are one of the most popular things which kids would like to have with them.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Some Interesting Facts
- Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
- The average person laughs 13 times a day.
- The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
- Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.
- Do you know the names of the three wise monkeys? They are: Mizaru (See no evil), Mikazaru (Hear no evil), and Mazaru (Speak no evil).
- When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.
- Men’s shirts have the buttons on the right, but women’s shirts have the buttons on the left.
- If you are right handed, you will tend to chew your food on your right side. If you are left handed, you will tend to chew your food on your left side.
- The fastest growing nail is on the middle finger.
- After eating too much, your hearing is less sharp.
- There are approx. 550 hairs in the eyebrow.
- The most common time for a wake up call is 7 a.m.
- Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.
- The human body weighs 40 times more than the brain.
- People often say that we don't dream. But, the fact is that everyone dreams.
- If you are giving up smoking then get ready for some long and intense dreams.
- Blind people also view dreams. Their images are in accordance of the time when they got blind.
- It is interesting to know that men dream more about their own gender as compare to women. On the other hand, women dream equally about both men and women.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Brief Overview Of Financial Statements
2. Assets are the expenditures made for items, such as Inventory and Equipment that are needed to operate the business. The Liabilities and Owner Equity reflect the funds that financed the expenditures for the Assets.
3. Balance sheets show the financial position of a business at a given moment in time.
4. Balance sheets change as transactions are recorded.
5. Every transaction is an exchange, and both sides of each transaction are recorded. For example, when a company obtains a bank loan, there is an increase in the asset cash that is matched by an increase in a liability entitled “Bank Loan.” When the loan is repaid, there is a decrease in cash which is matched by a decrease in the Bank Loan liability. After every
transaction, the balance sheet stays in balance.
6. Income increases Owner Equity, and Drawings decrease Owner Equity.
7. The income statement shows how income for the period was earned.
8. The basic form of the income statement is:
- Sales - Cost of Goods Sold = Gross Income.
- Gross Income - Expenses = Net Income.
9. The income statement is simply a detailed explanation of the increase in Owner Equity represented by Net Income. It shows how the Owner Equity increased from the beginning of the year to the end of the year because of the Net Income.
10. Net Income contributes to Cash from Operations after it has been adjusted
to a cash basis.
11. Not all expenses are cash outflows—for instance, Depreciation.
12. Changes in Current Assets (except Cash) and Current Liabilities are neither cash outflows nor inflows in the period under consideration. They represent future, not present, cash f lows.
13. Cash can be generated internally by operations or externally from sources
such as lenders or equity investors.
14. The Cash Flow Statement is simply a detailed explanation of how cash at the start developed into cash at the end by virtue of cash inflows, generated internally and externally, less cash outflows.
15. As previously noted:
- The Income Statement is an elaboration of the change in Owner Equity in the Balance Sheet caused by earning income.
- The Cash Flow Statement is an elaboration of the Balance-Sheet change in beginning and ending Cash.
Therefore, all three financial statements are interrelated or, to use the technical term, “articulated.” They are mutually consistent, and that is why they are referred to as a “set” of financial statements. The three piece set consists of a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
16. A set of financial statements can convey much valuable information about the enterprise to anyone who knows how to analyze them. This information goes to the core of the organization’s business strategy and the effectiveness of its management.
Analyzing the projected financial statements in order to make her recommendation to the
bank’s loan committee about loan application. Special attention to the Cash Flow Statement should be given, keeping handy the bank’s guidelines on cash flow analysis, which included the following issues:
• Is cash from operations positive? Is it growing over time? Is it keeping pace with growth in sales? If not, why not?
• Are cash withdrawals by owners only a small portion of cash from operations?
If owners’ cash withdrawals are a large share of cash from operations, then the business is conceivably being milked of cash and may not be able to finance its future growth.
• Of the total sources of cash, how much is being internally generated by operations versus obtained from outside sources? Normally wise businesses rely more on internally generated cash for growth than on external financing.
• Of the outside financing, how much is derived from equity investors and how much is borrowed? Normally, a business should rely more on equity than debt financing.
• What kind of assets is the company acquiring with the cash being expended?
Are these asset expenditures likely to be profitable? How long will it take for these assets to repay their cost and then to earn a reasonable return?
Who Uses Them And Why:
Here is a brief list of who uses financial statements and why. This list gives only a few examples and is by no means complete.
1. Existing equity investors and lenders, to monitor their investments and to evaluate the performance of management.
2. Prospective equity investors and lenders, to decide whether or not to invest.
3. Investment analysts, money managers, and stockbrokers, to make buy/sell/hold recommendations to their clients.
4. Rating agencies (such as Credit Rating Information Services of India Limited (CRISIL),
Investment Information and Credit Rating Agency of India (ICRA), Credit Analysis & Research Limited (CARE)), to assign credit ratings.
5. Major customers and suppliers, to evaluate the financial strength and staying power of the company as a dependable resource for their business.
6. Labor unions, to gauge how much of a pay increase a company is able to afford in upcoming labor negotiations.
7. Boards of directors, to review the performance of management.
8. Management, to assess its own performance.
9. Corporate raiders, to seek hidden value in companies with underpriced stock.
10. Competitors, to benchmark their own financial results.
11. Potential competitors, to assess how profitable it may be to enter an industry.
12. Government agencies responsible for taxing, regulating, or investigating the company.
13. Politicians, lobbyists, issue groups, consumer advocates, environmentalists, think tanks, foundations, media reporters, and others who are supporting or opposing any particular public issue the company’s actions affect.
14. Actual or potential joint venture partners, franchisors or franchisees, and other business interests who need to know about the company and its financial situation.
This brief list shows how many people and institutions use financial statements for a large variety of business purposes and suggests how essential the ability to understand and analyze financial statements is to success in the business world.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Know Your Strength
I am feeling depressed and feel like committing suicide because of my inferiority complex. All my friends are well-settled in life but I am not able to get even an ordinary job. My parents have high expectations from me and they go on reminding me about my future. Show me some way out?
Reply - (By Swami Vivekananda)
Don’t you know that there are millions of people struggling for a morsel of food and spending their entire life under the open? Are you not much better than them? Be grateful to God that he has given you good parents who are taking care of your necessities. They have given you education so that you can stand on your own feet. Why do you compare yourself with others? Always think that you are different from others and born to achieve great things. Do not compare, compete, or imitate them. You are a unique personality and therefore have faith in your potential. Why do you always think of getting job? Have confidence and create jobs for others. No work is too small or too great; it is the person who performs that job that makes it great. Work hard, manifest perfection, think deeply and take up something may be your own household business, or agriculture, or anything. If you are sincere and honest you will certainly succeed. Don’t you know our Pulla Reddy Garu started his sweetmeat business with only one thousand rupees? But how could he succeed? Honesty, sincerity, and dedication, and hard work, truthfulness: these are the things which will lead you to success. Don’t feel shy to do manual work. In other countries students are prepared to work anywhere. They don’t mind working in hotels or petrol pumps or even as household labor. We always expect white-collared jobs. Here we make so much fuss about dignity of labor: I am big man how can I do such a small job? Give up such type of mentality. Be prepared to do anything, but do it with complete dedication and sincerity and you will certainly succeed. Don’t be dependent on your parents. How long can they look after you? Earn and learn. There are many opportunities if you are willing to accept them. God, who has created you, will certainly help you in your efforts. God helps those who help themselves. Don’t lose heart. Have patience and continue your struggle. You will succeed. It is a silly thing to commit suicide just for the sake of job or money. Have you ever heard that money makes a man? It is man who makes money. But don’t b lazy. Don’t wait for opportunities, but create opportunities. Have confidence and courage; take risk and face challenges and you are bound to succeed. Never, never entertain the idea of suicide. Have faith that you are going to achieve great things. Everything about the future is uncertain, but one thing is sure, God has already arranged all our tomorrows we just have to trust him today!
Friday, June 13, 2008
Hiring Decisions
Hiring decisions are the most critical decisions for an organization because there will be cost involved in hiring people and also the employees who are hired should have a proper set of skills which are required for a particular post. The hiring decisions play a vital role because the person who has been hired should come out with a good outcome so that the company is free from the cost of bad hiring.
The following questions will help you in making a proper hiring decision to fulfill the business needs:
- Make a list of every duty that you feel someone else could do.
- Know the difference between what you need and what you want. Make sure you
- understand the skills – hard and soft - necessary to do the job.
- Estimate the time spent doing those duties. Could you hire a part-time employee?
- What new positions are opening up?
- Do you need a permanent employee or could you hire temporary help?
- What special skills (e.g. computer applications) will be needed?
- What work experience (e.g. in a particular area) will be required?
- Identify the job skills that are absolutely essential to do the job. Remember that skills are not likely found in a job description, which focuses more on areas of responsibility.
- When will new staff be needed?
- The number of employees that are to be hired?
- Do you have working space for an employee?
- Could the type of work be desirable for a student internship? Contact local community colleges or universities and ask about their internship programs.
- Can you hire an independent contractor to do the work on project basis or for set number of hours? This frees you from payroll taxes, but still gives you the flexibility of an on-site worker. Be careful that you don't misclassify a worker as an independent contractor. This can be costly. Check the IRS guidelines to help in determining the employee vs. independent contractor designation.
- Analyze all of the costs. Can you afford to pay someone? Remember you'll not only have the salary to pay, you'll also have benefits and tax issues to deal with.
- What would be the cost of bad hiring?
- When should hiring be scheduled to ensure a smooth transition?
- Don't just “wing” the interview. Write a structured interview question guide. The guide should include a minimum of two to four behavioral interview questions for each core skill. An automated online program like Interview Generator is easy to use and cost-effective.
Ask open-ended questions that cannot be answered with “yes” or “no.” Open-ended questions allow the interviewer to probe how an applicant thinks and solves problems.
Stay away from leading statements and follow-up questions. For instance, let's say you are evaluating the applicant's ability to cold call. Don't ask: "Do you like cold calling" or "This job requires a lot of cold calling. Do you mind doing that"? - Do ask probing questions that dig deeper. Then dig some more. In fact, dig 3 times as in The Rule of 3's – You need to ask 3 questions to get to “truth”. Begin with "If we hire you, describe how you will bring in new business." Whatever he or she answers, follow with: "How has that worked for you in the past?" But don't stop now. Then ask “Tell me about another way you plan to bring in new business" or "What did you do when your marketing efforts didn't work?"
- Make sure applicants give job relevant information. A job applicant has access to an endless stream of on-line interview tips. Most applicants are well rehearsed for the interview and will anticipate standard questions. Don't accept a standard response. The interview is not a true-false test but an evaluation to see if the candidate can actually do the job for you.
Does the hiring plan also provide for employee turnover and attrition? - Finally, don't forget to account for your time spent recruiting, interviewing, training, and supervising an employee. Make sure you really will have some spare time left over!
By reading and learning how to make hiring decisions and how to effectively screen and interview applicants, an HR will waste less time and produce better results by hiring the right person at the right place and the right time. By learning the best questions to ask in an interview and avoiding employer mistakes and traps you will be able to find out the most suitable candidate to perform the duties.
Expansion Of Banking In India Through ATM.
The technological advancements is been proved beneficial to the customers and even the banks with the introduction of the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). ATMs have been used by banks not only to expand their reach to customers, but also to offer value-added services. The ATMs offer convenience to customers and provide banking services well beyond the traditional banking.
ATM is a plastic card which looks like a credit card. ATM cards are issued only to those individuals who are majors and holding either a Savings Bank or Current Account. If you carry your ATM card then there is no need to carry cash with you. Using an ATM, customers can access their bank accounts in order to make cash withdrawals (or credit card cash advances) and check their account balances. Many ATMs also allow people to deposit cash or checks, transfer money between their bank accounts, pay bills, or purchase goods and services. By using your ATM card and the password to your account i.e. Personal Identification Number (PIN) you can have access to ATM 24 hrs a day and seven days a week at many locations.
ATMs are spread across all residential and commercial areas, major landmarks like petrol pumps, airports, railway stations and other easily accessible places in the country. When you are out of your city there is no need to carry much cash with you as u can use your ATM cards. State Bank of India offers you the convenience of over 6473 ATMs in India. SBI has a tie-up with thirteen other banks for 9,200 ATM facilities, ICICI Bank provides ATM cum debit cards to its customers that enable them to access the banking services through a network of over 3469 ATMs. Other than this HDFC Bank, United Bank of India, Bank of Baroda etc also provides you the service of ATM cards.
The use of ATM cards will involve costs to provide the services. As a result, there may be fees associated with your use of the card. The fees may vary, depending on your relationship with the bank or institution and whether you are withdrawing cash or making direct purchases using ATM. Most Banks would not charge you any fees for using ATM at their bank locations, but if you use your ATM somewhere else then you would be charged with some fees. So try to avoid ATM at some other places.
The number of people using ATMs is incessantly increasing day by day. Today the banks have reached the rural masses also. According to the ‘ATM user survey 2008’ the number of ATMs installed in India grew by 28%. Despite the regular growth, India scores very low in ATM penetration even by Asian standards. While we have 23 ATMs per million people, China has 55 and South Korea has 1600. Industry estimates are that for ATMs to be viable, at least 10,000 transactions a month or 300 a day should be the target. Total cash movement through ATMs across India was around Rs. 70,000 crore India along with other BRIC countries will invest heavily in ATMs till 2011. No wonder that banks are looking at bringing in advanced technologies. As they go forward, multifunctional ATMs will hold the key in the immediate future.
ATMs keep your PIN and other information safe by using encryption software. But there are lots of things that you can do to protect your information and your money at an ATM.
- Don't write down your PIN. If you write it down, do not store it in your wallet.
- Avoid using birth dates, initials, house numbers or your phone number.
- Store your ATM card where it won't get scratched or bent.
- Stand directly in front of the ATM keypad when typing in your PIN. This prevents anyone waiting to use the machine from seeing your personal information.
- If someone or something makes you uncomfortable, cancel your transaction and leave the machine immediately. Follow up with your bank to make sure the transaction was cancelled and alert the bank to any suspicious people.