Better Practice Inventory Management
People are always searching for ‘best practice’, somehow believing that there is a silver bullet solution that will cure their inventory problems. The problem, of course, is that what is best practice in one country/industry/business might not be best practice in another. In any case, the exalted ‘best’ practice might just be too much of a jump for many people to take or indeed may not be economically viable.Interestingly, though, in my work, the question that I am most often asked is, ‘what do I do with all of this excess inventory?’ My answer, of course, depends upon the nature of that inventory, what it is, how old it is etc. But obviously the best thing to do is create less of the inventory in the first place!Some might think that this requires best practice and is therefore difficult to achieve but I would argue that this really is more achievable than people think. Putting in place the right processes, polices, measures and reporting in order to limit inventory purchases to those items that are most likely to be used/sold and in the right quantity, is as important or perhaps a more important task than clearing out the old stock. This can be achieved by understanding what works well for others rather than what is best practice. I think of this as better practice.With that in mind I recently had the opportunity to interview more than 30 people, across a dozen companies, in all Australian states and New Zealand, who were all associated with inventory creation in one way or another. There were General Managers who make the occasional big decisions that create inventory. There were inventory managers who take the day-to-day

Systems Of Organization Approach
Among contributors to the work of the Behavioral School there was Maslow, who explored personality and motivation during 1940s, although not specifically within the workplace. Maslow posited a hierarchy of needs – ranging through physiological needs ultimately to self--actualization. As lower level needs are satisfied individuals will seek to move to the next level. When physiological needs are met say through monetary reward they will satisfy their safety needs by seeking say job security. Other research and writing on workplace motivation was developed from Maslow’s work including McGregor, Herzberg and Alderfer who improved upon Maslow’s original work.Organizations began to be seen as socio-technical systems by Trist and Bamforth who researched the consequences of changes in work practices in British coalmines upon the introduction of mechanization. The pre--existing short wall method was operated by self-managing and close knit teams, which were fiercely competitive with other teams. These relationships were carried over into the wider community.The introduction of new mechanical systems led to the re--organization of these teams into larger groups under a single supervisor. The teams were spread over much wider areas and divided into specialized task groups. These changes to the old sub-systems made supervision difficult. Aspects of the old system were re-introduced and this led to improvements in productivity and morale. Organizations came to be seen as open systems reacting not only with their internal sub-systems, but also with the wider external environment creating the Contingency Theory Approach.The principal sc

How I Became a Reluctant Entrepreneur
I love owning my own businesses. After fifteen years the excitement still hasn’t worn off. I get up every morning happy to be heading off to the office (though I must admit I now ‘work from home’ one or two days a week). I enjoy the challenge and freedom of not having to answer to anyone. Furthermore, although I am not really motivated by money, I do like having a main home, a country home and an apartment in the sun – not to mention a nice car and plenty of cash in my bank account.It used to be very different. I had an OK job working for a publisher. When I say OK I mean OK. The work was OK. The people were OK. The money was OK. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t miserable. I was OK. OK is OK. But now that I am involved in something that rewards me in every sense of the word I don’t know how I put up with ‘OK’ for so long.I never expected to be an entrepreneur. Like many people I had thought about it, but somehow it seemed so daunting. What’s more, I hate risk, loathe selling and am not particularly greedy. Hardly the business type. In fact, it all happened by accident. The company I was working for got into trouble and some of my colleagues decided to buy it out. I only joined them to keep my job. And now, fifteen years later, I own the firm and have bought several other firms along the way.It turns out that you don’t have to take many risks in business if you don’t want to. Nor do you have to sell. Or be desperate to earn a fortune. In fact, in my experience the secret is to adopt an ‘if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again’ approach. If one thing isn’t a rip roaring success, switch to something else. As to making money?

Business Marketing For Consultants, Coaches, Speakers, and Trainers: How To Be Noticed and Trusted
Business marketing is essential for professional services, such as consultants, coaches, speakers and trainers.Creating trust with prospects and clients is essential. How do you do that?A Reader's Digest survey has found burns specialist Dr Fiona Wood is Australia's most trusted person, followed by singer Olivia Newton-John and Tasmanian-born Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.The survey is in its fifth year, but for the first time asked a statistically representative sample of 756 people who was the most trusted person out of a list of 100 well-known Australians."The better known you are, the more important that ability to instil trust becomes. But as our first Most Trusted People poll shows, you don't have to be running for prime minister to be put to the test," said the article published in the June edition of Readers Digest.Interestingly women often do better than men.For example, Prime Minister John Howard's wife Janette (at 74) is more trusted than her husband (85), while model, mum and charity patron Sarah O'Hare (43) is well ahead of her husband, media executive Lachlan Murdoch (93), and Home and Away starlet and mum-to-be Bec Cartwright (59) also is more trusted than her partner, tennis player Lleyton Hewitt (73)."If we don't know someone personally, we'll judge based on whatever information we know about them at the time," said Body language expert Alan Pease in the article.In terms of professions, ambulance officers, firefighters and mothers were the most trusted, while politicians, car salesmen, real estate agents, psychics and journalists are the least trusted.Fathers came in

Negotiation Pro Says: Leave Them Feeling They Made A Great Deal!
How effective are you when you’re negotiating?Perhaps you're like the young couple that sets out for the local car dealership. They want to spend no more than $12,000.They see a sticker price within a few thousand of that and they start negotiating.The dealer won’t budge, but he asks: “Do you have a trade-in?”Yes, it’s been in a recent crash on the freeway, but still drivable. To them, it’s ugly.To the dealer, it’s a little nugget of gold.He knows he can get at least $6,000, just by selling it for parts, so he offers them $3,500. That’s more than a used car lot offered, so they figure, when you add up everything, even if they pay close to the sticker price for the new car, they’re doing slightly better than their $12,000 budget seemed to permit.Everybody’s happy. The dealer made TWO good deals, and the customers think they made one good one and one average one.That’s typical. Dealers always try to bundle two deals, simultaneously. That way, they can seem generous with one, and hold the line with the other.Still, they profit, nicely.But most important, they leave customers thinking THEY’RE THE ONES WHO ARE SMART NEGOTIATORS, THAT THEY CAME OUT AHEAD.That winning feeling will make them come back again and again, and they’ll even boast about their haggling abilities to their friends.When you negotiate anything, it pays to make it seem to your counterparts that they did really well.But this has to appear genuine and “earned.”When I decided to buy a Rolex watch, I contacted a childhood friend who was in the jewelry business. She ordered what I wanted, rec

Internet Businesses For Sale
Making a profit is the primary goal in any business enterprise. The same holds true for Internet businesses for sale. Profit is the excess of income over expense. Profit is an objective indicator of productivity, and a solid basis for growth, expansion and survival. Profit enables a businessman to realize his other objectives too.Not all enterprises are interested in making profits. For example, hospitals, schools, charitable institutions and government agencies are not basically concerned with the acquisition of profits. The non-profit enterprises customarily rely on gifts, endowments, receipts from money-raising projects, and subsidies. In profit-making enterprises, profit should not be the end in itself. Profit should be the beginning--acting as seed money for more products, more plants, more dividends and more opportunities.Growth is another primary objective of Internet businesses for sale. A business should grow in all directions over a period of time. An enterprise which remains stagnant for a long period is presumed to suffer from an organic defect. The strategies adopted to achieve growth are adding more products/markets, diversifying into new areas, increasing market share, expanding markets or cutting down costs and increasing productivity.Providing quality products and services is yet another objective of Internet businesses for sale. Those who insisted on and persisted in quality survived competition and stayed ahead of others on the market. Persistent quality earns brand loyalty, a vital ingredient of success. There are other business people who believe in quick money. Quick money comes through short cuts. These