Monday, October 10, 2011
START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
Many people hope,pray and believe for change in their lives without understanding the laws that govern change.For years,they anticipate and hope for wonderful things to happen to their business,family and finances,but nothing significant happens.The law of nature states that every object remains in a state of rest until an external force act or is applied to it.No matter how sincere we are,we cannot alter the laws of nature.Nothing is going to happen in your life until you do something different from what you have done or been doing in the past.You can never expect money to just jump on you while sleeping at home,no matter how you are faithful to or closer to God.You must actually do something positive or negative to facilitate affluence,you can continue to pray from today till tomorrow but the fact remains that you must do something.
Until you start,your dreams and ideas will remain elusive,no matter how intense your desire is,you must start if you want to make a difference in your life.Life only recognizes and associate with those who start,those who are bold enough to step out and attempt something with their ideas and dreams.
"heaven helps those that helps themselves" they says
Could you imagine how many ideas and dreams that dies and are buried daily because people believe they are niot good enough,skilled,capitalized,connected,smart or experience enough to launch out an idea?Do you know how many destinies become still-born because some people build a negative case against themselves?They look at themselves and fashion and cook up all manner of reasons not to start and why they can not do something positive about their dreams and ideas.They live unfulfilled lives beause they refuse to dare.
No matter how much you have presently accomplished with your life,you will be amazed at what you can still do with your innate talents and abilities.Your potential will amaze you.No matter how much you have already accomplished,there is still much more to achieve,more to reach out for,more people to influence,more lives to touch.There is always more to do with whatever potential you have.There are more products to create,more gadgets to invent,new services to provide and more money to make only if you start doing something and you don't stop doing whatever you know how to do.
If you take a critical accessment of most successful people on the planet,you will discover that they never rest on their achievement.They are possessed by a positively restless spirit.They are always on the move to do more with their lives.You may reason why a man like Mike Adenuga (his company Globalcom recently rated the 10th best company in Africa and the 1st privately owned)with all his wealth should have stopped creating new products or services,but he keeps starting,sustaining and winning in very new and competitive markets.Having money does not satisfy the craving of the human spirit to accomplish.The moment you stop starting,sustaining and winning with your ideas,atrophy sets in and you will begin to deteriorate on the inside.You will be unfulfilled and unhappy.Untill you breathe your last,your life must count for something greater than your past.You must birth the ideas and dreams within you to influence your generation.To help help you start with what you have,there are three points you should adhere to,and they are:
TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
In this life we choose what we are,meaning we are the architect of our own life,we decide who we become in life,though external assistance might help in finally putting shape to whom we become.Nobody is responsible for how your life turns out.No one determines how much of planet earth's abundance you enjoy.It is all about what you personally choose to do with your life.
Taking personal responsibility in life is the starting point for transforming your life.You can have more,become more,influence more,bless more people and do more with your life.It all begins with taking personal responsibility for your own life.You might have grown up in povrety,but you can become rich like millions of others who pulled themselves up by their own determination to excel in life.
KEEP UP YOUR DREAM
You must do all it takes to make sure the idea and dream in your heart becomes a reality.The dream you nurture can only come alive when you act on it.Do something about that dream today or live to report it in future.
START NOW
Many people do nothing,pray and anxiously await opportunity to come their way in life not realizing that opportunity comes to those who use what they have from where they are.
John Wicker said "opportunities multiply as they are seized".When you do something with the opportunity you have,you have just open a window of greater opportunity to aid you in the realization of your dreams.Human help and assistance gravitates in the direction of people who are creatively using the little they have in their possession to produce the much they need.Miracles can only occur when we creatively apply ourselves to the demand life places on us to start with what we have from where we are.
Your comments can only spur me to do more,so endeavour to drop your comment and if you think this post has in any way help you today,then you can subscribe to my feed or visit my facebook fan page here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Entrepreneur-Empire/286034878075083 START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE and click on like button.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Product Analysis And Selection
My post today is on product analysis and selection,and I hope you will benefit from this information,in relation to your company's readiness to export.
Product analysis and selection is a very important area in the export business,especially for new entrants.It involves the consideration of various factors that come to play in the success of international business.Product selection has come to be identified as the most difficult aspect of the export business as against legal or even financial input with the various technical requirements.
Reason for the above difficulty can be explained by the fact that there is no single rule in the analysis and selection of products.In Nigeria we have several product manufacturers and commodities that each has its peculiar rules.The problem,therefore,is not only that of analyzing and selecting,but identifying and selecting the right product for your identified market.
The right product
What constitutes a right product differs from one entrepreneur to another.A product is considered right if it gets the exporter started as quickly as possible and has a good chance of paying the export returns.However,the exporters are advised by experts to get other products that can pay back rather than remaining at the planning stage,waiting for the perfect product that may not come.Don't forget that what appears to be right product for now may not be part of your business in the next few years.These first export products are used to develop the ideas and ways of doing business in international market.Experience,changing requirements and your business growth will certainly differ considerably as subsequent products are exported to the international market.
Bearing in mind that export business is opportunistic in nature,there is need to do proper analysis to determine the right products,and the plans must not be too rigid.It is not enough to decide on your general direction and let the details work themselves out with time,without the advice of a consultant.
The major objective of conducting a product analysis is to crystallize the financial and other resources that would be needed to bring a product idea to commercial reality.It further provides the basis for the metamorphosis of product ideas into detailed written proposals,which form the core for management decision-making process.
In analysing a product,care should be taken so that ideas,which don't seem good,are dismissed outright because of a lack of vision,while a poor product idea or information is passed through the screening stage.Nevertheless,a proper screening or analysis is not a guarantee for good product performance in the market place as there are several factors that determine this.Product analysis is done in two stages.
Objectives and Resources
This stage relates the product idea to the company objectives,financial resources and capabilities.The questions here are:Is the product idea compatible with the company's objectives in terms of profitability,return on investment,maintenance of corporate image,etc?It requires determining as accurately as possible the sales and profit volumes,product life span,risk,level of investment and recovering time.This stage also considers the company's available financial resources needed for commercializing an idea.Even though this exercise may be guesswork at this stage,a disciplined analysis of ideas at this stage can avoid wasteful commitment of resources.
Usually,ideas should have ratings to be considered worthwhile for investment.But this is not to say that those,which did not meet all the conditions,should be swept under the carpet.They should rather be kept in view as things change.Or better still,a remedy is found for those loopholes.For instance,if a product idea is compatible with the profitability and return on investment of the company but lacks th technical and professional resources for commercializing rather than discard the idea,the company should investigate how the available technical and professional resources can be improved,say,by in-house training schemes or by sending personnel on courses.
Competitive Strong Point
This second stage analysis of the product is from the standpoint of its potentials in enabling the company take maximum advantage of its competition.It starts by reviewing your company's competitive strengths and weaknesses,which are routinely carried out annually or whenever there is an activity that will significantly affect the company performance.Such spheres of performance factors as company personality and good will,marketing,personnel,research and development,finance production,etc are considered,though there is no hard and fast rule about what constitute the factors to be considered.
The company should carry out this review vis-a-vis those of its competitors to enable it determine which area its competitors has strong points and weak points,to take advantage.This information cannot be traded for anything.
From the two stages of product analysis and selection,one can conclude that passing the product through the first stage provides you with a disciplined but generalised estimates of the process and desirability of making and marketing the envisaged product.While the second stage suggests the ideas that pass the first test to a more vigorous competition-conscious screening.However,the firm can do the first stage,which requires only a sound business sense and a general knowledge of company activities,but the second stage will require the assistance of specialists or a consultant.
You can see from the foregoing that the processes of determining the right is not an easy task.On a cautious note,you are advised to check your preferences,through your export consultant,before commiting yourself to the product.In addition,you are warned of the get-rich-quick schemes that ensnare the business terrain.Do not jump at mouth-watering offers,or you will burn your fingers.
Your company
Here,strength,weakness,opportunities and threat (SWOT) analysis has to be done to determine the company's ability to go into export business.Its financial strength to accommodate risks,skilled personnel,who will withstand any difficulty that may arise from the business transactions,and to what extent can they cope with disappointment.The SWOT analysis is imperative,considering the ruthless nature of international market.You cannot make amend to documents or business proposals,like you do in the domestic market.The means of transport to be adopted for export,should take into consideration financial capability,product and delivery terms,etc.Your company's ability to guarantee quality of product is not negotiable in international trade.The issue at stake is that of credibility and ability to deliver as a responsible and responsive company,when required.With these obvious complexities,a skilled person has to be in charge of a company's export desk,in other to maximise profit and growth.
Cheers to your success.
Product analysis and selection is a very important area in the export business,especially for new entrants.It involves the consideration of various factors that come to play in the success of international business.Product selection has come to be identified as the most difficult aspect of the export business as against legal or even financial input with the various technical requirements.
Reason for the above difficulty can be explained by the fact that there is no single rule in the analysis and selection of products.In Nigeria we have several product manufacturers and commodities that each has its peculiar rules.The problem,therefore,is not only that of analyzing and selecting,but identifying and selecting the right product for your identified market.
The right product
What constitutes a right product differs from one entrepreneur to another.A product is considered right if it gets the exporter started as quickly as possible and has a good chance of paying the export returns.However,the exporters are advised by experts to get other products that can pay back rather than remaining at the planning stage,waiting for the perfect product that may not come.Don't forget that what appears to be right product for now may not be part of your business in the next few years.These first export products are used to develop the ideas and ways of doing business in international market.Experience,changing requirements and your business growth will certainly differ considerably as subsequent products are exported to the international market.
Bearing in mind that export business is opportunistic in nature,there is need to do proper analysis to determine the right products,and the plans must not be too rigid.It is not enough to decide on your general direction and let the details work themselves out with time,without the advice of a consultant.
The major objective of conducting a product analysis is to crystallize the financial and other resources that would be needed to bring a product idea to commercial reality.It further provides the basis for the metamorphosis of product ideas into detailed written proposals,which form the core for management decision-making process.
In analysing a product,care should be taken so that ideas,which don't seem good,are dismissed outright because of a lack of vision,while a poor product idea or information is passed through the screening stage.Nevertheless,a proper screening or analysis is not a guarantee for good product performance in the market place as there are several factors that determine this.Product analysis is done in two stages.
Objectives and Resources
This stage relates the product idea to the company objectives,financial resources and capabilities.The questions here are:Is the product idea compatible with the company's objectives in terms of profitability,return on investment,maintenance of corporate image,etc?It requires determining as accurately as possible the sales and profit volumes,product life span,risk,level of investment and recovering time.This stage also considers the company's available financial resources needed for commercializing an idea.Even though this exercise may be guesswork at this stage,a disciplined analysis of ideas at this stage can avoid wasteful commitment of resources.
Usually,ideas should have ratings to be considered worthwhile for investment.But this is not to say that those,which did not meet all the conditions,should be swept under the carpet.They should rather be kept in view as things change.Or better still,a remedy is found for those loopholes.For instance,if a product idea is compatible with the profitability and return on investment of the company but lacks th technical and professional resources for commercializing rather than discard the idea,the company should investigate how the available technical and professional resources can be improved,say,by in-house training schemes or by sending personnel on courses.
Competitive Strong Point
This second stage analysis of the product is from the standpoint of its potentials in enabling the company take maximum advantage of its competition.It starts by reviewing your company's competitive strengths and weaknesses,which are routinely carried out annually or whenever there is an activity that will significantly affect the company performance.Such spheres of performance factors as company personality and good will,marketing,personnel,research and development,finance production,etc are considered,though there is no hard and fast rule about what constitute the factors to be considered.
The company should carry out this review vis-a-vis those of its competitors to enable it determine which area its competitors has strong points and weak points,to take advantage.This information cannot be traded for anything.
From the two stages of product analysis and selection,one can conclude that passing the product through the first stage provides you with a disciplined but generalised estimates of the process and desirability of making and marketing the envisaged product.While the second stage suggests the ideas that pass the first test to a more vigorous competition-conscious screening.However,the firm can do the first stage,which requires only a sound business sense and a general knowledge of company activities,but the second stage will require the assistance of specialists or a consultant.
You can see from the foregoing that the processes of determining the right is not an easy task.On a cautious note,you are advised to check your preferences,through your export consultant,before commiting yourself to the product.In addition,you are warned of the get-rich-quick schemes that ensnare the business terrain.Do not jump at mouth-watering offers,or you will burn your fingers.
Your company
Here,strength,weakness,opportunities and threat (SWOT) analysis has to be done to determine the company's ability to go into export business.Its financial strength to accommodate risks,skilled personnel,who will withstand any difficulty that may arise from the business transactions,and to what extent can they cope with disappointment.The SWOT analysis is imperative,considering the ruthless nature of international market.You cannot make amend to documents or business proposals,like you do in the domestic market.The means of transport to be adopted for export,should take into consideration financial capability,product and delivery terms,etc.Your company's ability to guarantee quality of product is not negotiable in international trade.The issue at stake is that of credibility and ability to deliver as a responsible and responsive company,when required.With these obvious complexities,a skilled person has to be in charge of a company's export desk,in other to maximise profit and growth.
Cheers to your success.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A Big Thumbs-Up To My Top Entrecard Droppers For The Month Of April
This is a short but unique post dedicated to my top TEN Entrecard droppers for last month.I thank you all for your visits,views,comments and mostly the interest you've all shown in my blog by consistently dropping by to drop Entrecards and also review my site.I really appreciate all your friendly gesture and will always measure up by reciprocating your actions.Hence,my resolve to show case your blogs to the world so as to exhibit the several positive benefits offered by your blogs.
My Top Ten Droppers
1.Traders's Hub (31 EC Drops)
2.SWIRLING THOUGHTS (21 EC Drops)
2.SWIRLING THOUGHTS (21 EC Drops)
3.Beyond Feron (20 EC Drops)
4.Adspheres-A Whole New Way to Find Sites (20 EC Drops)
5.Win Free Candy (20 EC Drops)
6.SelectIndex (19 EC Drops)
7.a site for woman (13 EC Drops)
8.World Of Film (13 EC Drops)
9.The Daily Planet (12 EC Drops)
10.Change Your Mindset (12 EC Drops)
Visit these blogs and see what they've got to offer you.And I am certain that a trial will surely convince you.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Secrets Of Making Profit In Your Business Enterprise
The future prospects of any enterprise depends on the ability to capitalise on the available opportunities through a deliberate strategic planning.And considering the fact that the main aim of many enterprise or an organisation is to make profit either in economic prosperity or adversity,a comprehensive and systematic approach towards harnessing and controlling the factors of production efficiently and effectively so as to achieve the goal of making profit as an entrepreneur is earmarked in this article.I will discuss here the sequential steps which if well adhered to will catapult your business towards the league of high profit making companies.
Identify and select the right personnel
As we know that management and leadership are about vission,mission,strategic planning,decision making process and the overall responsibilities of an enterprise,without any doubt the quality of leadership at the disposal of your enterprise may make or break your company but a capable leadership will positively impact on the ability of your company to be proactive and overcome inevitable business dynamics.
In fact,the strength and value of your organisation is largely determined by the quality of its leadership and employees.It is the duty of a leader to provide guidance,directions and inspirations to knowledgeable employees who are willing and able to learn.It is therefore necessary for your organisation to select the right personnel from the beginning and perpetually train them in line with the emerging work techniques.
Engaging a wrong personnel will hinder your business determination to expand your productive/service capacity and earning more profit will be challenged by inherent inefficiency and undue resistance to change.Apart from the valuable time that will be wasted on wranglings some will definitely be wasted in the learning process.Therefore,getting it right from the outset by engaging professionals is,thus,crucial.
Arrange you projects in order of priorities
The ability of an enterprise achieving its corporate objectives depends largely on the quality of resources at its disposal.And as we all know that resources are not only scarce relative to their demand but can also be regarded to as wasting assets.Therefore,there should be a careful planning of your investment activities in such a way that optimum benefits would be recorded with minimal lost.In order to achieve this,you must deliberately organise your objectives in order of priorities,suitably select projects that is certain to produce highest returns from the smallest combinations of inputs,in a way that your consumer's satisfaction is guaranteed.The decision of selection should be based on objective financial analysis and also based on comparing the benefits from projects against their costs such that a project with highest possible benefits and value are selected.Meaning that,more resources should be extended to the best investment opportunities that is open to the business so that your enterprise can maximise its opportunities without detriment to your customer's satisfaction.
Determine the activity that generates the highest percentage of your total profit
Most entrepreneur today believes that sales will bring higher profits,hence they focus on ways of expanding revenue through increased sales volume.The assumption is that an enterprise with a large market share will benefit from scale efficiencies,brand awareness or other advantages that may further translate to greater profits.Many entrepreneur often believe that if you can grow faster than your competitors then profit will simply follow.
But,I put it to you in strong terms that the current management thinking does not agree that profit necessarily follows increased revenue.It is believe that for you to improve the status of your profit earnings,you will have to analyse the aggregate profits earned in your enterprise at all points along the value chain and also determine the activity that add the highest percentage to your total profit and devote more effort and resources to it.
Purposeful abandonment of the old and unrewarding
Abandonment is the magic towards innovation-simply because it frees the necessary resources and also stimulates the search for the new that will replace the old.We are in a dynamic businesss world where the taste of consumers rapidly changes the production processes and not only that but this changes have also become increasingly sophisticated.The major outcome of this is that some yesterday products that claimed to be a cash cow has grown,matured and eventually lost its prime position in the consumers scale of preference and indeed the marketplace.
No matter how this product is repackaged and aggressively marketed,it will definitely not be able to generate income to sustain its retention in the long run,therefore it should be harvested,no matter what sentiments attached to this product by the company since it does not make sense investing scarce resources to keep this product afloat.A typical example here in Nigeria is what Ovaltine Nigeria Ltd. did to Ovaltine beverage and also what UAC did to old Kingsway store.This is known as purposeful abandonment of old and unrewarding.
Time management and control of service/production
An entrepreneur must be able to keep him/herself abreast of the cost of operations by developing productivity control measures.Measures should be adopted in a way that the daily contribution/output of employees can be determined in addition to job evaluation and manpower audit that will subsequently lead to redeployment of staff to areas where they are better suited.And all this involves a manager or an entrepreneur checking physically the workdone by an employee e.g how many letters or memos were written?,how many minutes of meetings were developed and typed by the secretary?,etc all this rules will spur employees to put in more efforts and good performance should be rewarded.
Delegate and empower
If your subordinate can do a job effectively,then please stop doing it yourself and engage your capable employee(s),otherwise you will be spending more expensive time to address the problem.Delegate functions to your subordinates and empower them to act and gear their efforts towards the interest of the company,also close the pace of response to customer's needs,entrepreneur must be able to think about the future of the company and also any development arising within the chosen-market.And for you to do this,you will need to imbibe in yourself the culture of delegating and empowering.Many managers/entrepreneurs dislike this because of their hidden incompetence.
It is a well known fact that tomorrow is uncertain because a manager/entrepreneur cannot get ahead of today.In fact,few managers are greatly impressed with their own performance in the immediate tasks because such tasks recur again and again,no matter how many times they are solved.And the costs of repeated trials are great and I am sure many organisations can hardly afford this
As a management expert,an executive can think of tackling the future but he must be able to dispose of the challenges of today in less time and with greater impact and permanence.
I shall rest here today, will keep you inform in my future updates on this topic,don't forget to subscribe to my feed for such updates and do endeavour to drop comment on this article.But before I go,I'll like you to remember that irrespective of your chosen area of endeavour,the task of management is essentially the same,that is,to create and maintain an internal environment in which individuals working together as groups attain efficient performance harmonious with the broad objectives of the enterprise.The environment must be condusive enough for individuals to make their maximum contributions to the efforts of the group.All these when properlly observed will definitely sring up the profit margin of your enterprise.
Identify and select the right personnel
As we know that management and leadership are about vission,mission,strategic planning,decision making process and the overall responsibilities of an enterprise,without any doubt the quality of leadership at the disposal of your enterprise may make or break your company but a capable leadership will positively impact on the ability of your company to be proactive and overcome inevitable business dynamics.
In fact,the strength and value of your organisation is largely determined by the quality of its leadership and employees.It is the duty of a leader to provide guidance,directions and inspirations to knowledgeable employees who are willing and able to learn.It is therefore necessary for your organisation to select the right personnel from the beginning and perpetually train them in line with the emerging work techniques.
Engaging a wrong personnel will hinder your business determination to expand your productive/service capacity and earning more profit will be challenged by inherent inefficiency and undue resistance to change.Apart from the valuable time that will be wasted on wranglings some will definitely be wasted in the learning process.Therefore,getting it right from the outset by engaging professionals is,thus,crucial.
Arrange you projects in order of priorities
The ability of an enterprise achieving its corporate objectives depends largely on the quality of resources at its disposal.And as we all know that resources are not only scarce relative to their demand but can also be regarded to as wasting assets.Therefore,there should be a careful planning of your investment activities in such a way that optimum benefits would be recorded with minimal lost.In order to achieve this,you must deliberately organise your objectives in order of priorities,suitably select projects that is certain to produce highest returns from the smallest combinations of inputs,in a way that your consumer's satisfaction is guaranteed.The decision of selection should be based on objective financial analysis and also based on comparing the benefits from projects against their costs such that a project with highest possible benefits and value are selected.Meaning that,more resources should be extended to the best investment opportunities that is open to the business so that your enterprise can maximise its opportunities without detriment to your customer's satisfaction.
Determine the activity that generates the highest percentage of your total profit
Most entrepreneur today believes that sales will bring higher profits,hence they focus on ways of expanding revenue through increased sales volume.The assumption is that an enterprise with a large market share will benefit from scale efficiencies,brand awareness or other advantages that may further translate to greater profits.Many entrepreneur often believe that if you can grow faster than your competitors then profit will simply follow.
But,I put it to you in strong terms that the current management thinking does not agree that profit necessarily follows increased revenue.It is believe that for you to improve the status of your profit earnings,you will have to analyse the aggregate profits earned in your enterprise at all points along the value chain and also determine the activity that add the highest percentage to your total profit and devote more effort and resources to it.
Purposeful abandonment of the old and unrewarding
Abandonment is the magic towards innovation-simply because it frees the necessary resources and also stimulates the search for the new that will replace the old.We are in a dynamic businesss world where the taste of consumers rapidly changes the production processes and not only that but this changes have also become increasingly sophisticated.The major outcome of this is that some yesterday products that claimed to be a cash cow has grown,matured and eventually lost its prime position in the consumers scale of preference and indeed the marketplace.
No matter how this product is repackaged and aggressively marketed,it will definitely not be able to generate income to sustain its retention in the long run,therefore it should be harvested,no matter what sentiments attached to this product by the company since it does not make sense investing scarce resources to keep this product afloat.A typical example here in Nigeria is what Ovaltine Nigeria Ltd. did to Ovaltine beverage and also what UAC did to old Kingsway store.This is known as purposeful abandonment of old and unrewarding.
Time management and control of service/production
An entrepreneur must be able to keep him/herself abreast of the cost of operations by developing productivity control measures.Measures should be adopted in a way that the daily contribution/output of employees can be determined in addition to job evaluation and manpower audit that will subsequently lead to redeployment of staff to areas where they are better suited.And all this involves a manager or an entrepreneur checking physically the workdone by an employee e.g how many letters or memos were written?,how many minutes of meetings were developed and typed by the secretary?,etc all this rules will spur employees to put in more efforts and good performance should be rewarded.
Delegate and empower
If your subordinate can do a job effectively,then please stop doing it yourself and engage your capable employee(s),otherwise you will be spending more expensive time to address the problem.Delegate functions to your subordinates and empower them to act and gear their efforts towards the interest of the company,also close the pace of response to customer's needs,entrepreneur must be able to think about the future of the company and also any development arising within the chosen-market.And for you to do this,you will need to imbibe in yourself the culture of delegating and empowering.Many managers/entrepreneurs dislike this because of their hidden incompetence.
It is a well known fact that tomorrow is uncertain because a manager/entrepreneur cannot get ahead of today.In fact,few managers are greatly impressed with their own performance in the immediate tasks because such tasks recur again and again,no matter how many times they are solved.And the costs of repeated trials are great and I am sure many organisations can hardly afford this
As a management expert,an executive can think of tackling the future but he must be able to dispose of the challenges of today in less time and with greater impact and permanence.
I shall rest here today, will keep you inform in my future updates on this topic,don't forget to subscribe to my feed for such updates and do endeavour to drop comment on this article.But before I go,I'll like you to remember that irrespective of your chosen area of endeavour,the task of management is essentially the same,that is,to create and maintain an internal environment in which individuals working together as groups attain efficient performance harmonious with the broad objectives of the enterprise.The environment must be condusive enough for individuals to make their maximum contributions to the efforts of the group.All these when properlly observed will definitely sring up the profit margin of your enterprise.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Transformation To A Cashless Society-Beyond Lamentation
Nigeria perhaps still have a long journey ahead as it yearn for tranformation into a cashless society,though the use of electronic payment card in this country is gradually picking up and thanks to the fact that all the 25 certified and licensed banks by our financial regulatory body CBN (Central Bank Of Nigeria) now have one form of credit and debit cards or the other.Though,banks stated that the introduction of these cards have made banking transactions easier for customers and the general populace but some visible lapses and inefficincies on the part of these banks have rendered the use of these cards a distressing experience.To be candid,the introduction of the e-cards held a lot of benefits but the banks cash ATM (Automated Teller Machine) which often malfunction made nonsense of such benefits.Lot of customers have experienced one form of embarrasment or the other from these Automated Teller Machines,subjecting them into harrowing experience.I personally had such experience myself sometimes last year,Tuesday 25th of March to be precise after coming home from my office to meet my younger brother Tunde who came back from his school (University Of Ilorin,Kwara State) to collect some urgently needed fees and needed to go back the following morning to observe his final examination paper slated for 3-4pm.He therefore had to move very early the next morning.And because of insecurity,I seldomly kept huge sums in my abode.I decided to move with him the next morning,stop at the bank,get some money for him and drop him where he's going to board a bus for onward movement back to his school.How wrong I was,I got to my bank at Onikolobo road where my account is domiciled and was informed that the machine was not working but was told that if I could wait for about 30-40 minutes,the problem would be rectified.
And I had no choice but to wait since my cheque book was not with me,believe me,It took me more than 2 hours for me to make a decision of going to another bank to make my withdrawal.Getting to this other bank the electronic cash machine displayed "YOUR DOMICILIARY BANK IS TEMPORARILY OUT OF SERVICE".I was confused and later turned back and went Straight to my office where I eventually did what I always avoid by borrowing N40,000 from two of my colleagues to give to him (Tunde).He later called to tell me how he got to school and the examination hall late because of the hours wasted on trying to use the e-card machine.
Mrs. Remilekun Adejumo a colleague and one the two that borrowed me the money also share her own similar experience with me.She said,"on the evening of December 24th,2007,she had an urgent need to get some cash for personal use and considering the fact that she lives in the remote part of Abeokuta,Eleweran precisely and the nearest branch of a bank to her was the Intercontinental Bank branch located inside the Federal College of Education,Oshiele along Abeokuta/Ibadan expressway,so she decided to go there and it was in the evening.
She said she have never met someone as rude as the young man she met at the entrance of the bank that night in her life.What do you want?,the ATM is not working.Why are you coming to the bank at this time?were the questions he was asking her.
She said she even tried to explain that it was just some minutes past 8pm,and that the urgency of the situation called for her being there at that time but all was on deaf ears.
She later explained the most painful part of it all was when she saw him allowing some people in to the place where the machine is situated.And later gathered that that is what most of them do,as they only allow you access the machine when you are ready to play the game.Which made me wonder if the purpose of e-cards has any value without encountering one form of harrasment or the other.
But as customers are complaining,banks are importing and positioning more cash machines at their various branches.I also learnt First Bank PLC has introduced a foreign exchange ATM machine at the arrival hall of the Muritala Mohammed International Airport,Ikeja,Lagos for ease of forex transaction for the travellers.Well its a nice idea but why not make the present ones work effiiciently before expanding?
I interviewed a management staff of First Bank who pleaded anonymity prior to this post,he explained how the machine works,he said the transactions are very secure,as it was strictly between the customer and the machine.
He further says banks introduced the card because they wanted to make banking services easier and cheaper and also to decongest the banking halls.He added that the e-cards were also meant to improve the security of both the customers and banking officials.
But I strongly believe banks need to respond proactively to their customer's concerns and ensure that their e-transaction systems operates in an efficient and effective manner.
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Tuesday, April 7, 2009
How To Speed Up Your Computer System
You are your computer system and your computer system is you and since it is one of your resource tools,it is therefore necessary for you to reciprocate similar gesture you've extended to yourself so that it can efficiently function to your satisfaction.I actually promised to write a piece about this topic in my article computer virus and its danger you can read it through this link http://9jae-cash.blogspot.com/2009/03/computer-virus-and-its-danger.html. Do you know that by following some simple guideline that will be discussed here might actually help keep your computer system to run smoothly and also maintain its effectiveness without spending a kobo (a coin and the lowest denomination in Nigeria).This article will focus on how to speed up your computer system by using the available tools present in your Window XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and Window Vista to effectively maintain your computer and also guard your privacy whenever you are online.I shall discuss under here 5 distinctive ways to get your computer back on the highway with that necessary speed.
Free up disk space
Improve the performance of your computer system by freeing the disk space.There is a disk tool cleanup in your system which will assist you to do this on your hard disk.The tool automatically recognises the file you can safely delete,it also gives you the choice to determine whether you'll like to delete some or all the identified files.Below is the list of what you ca do with the disk clean up tool.
Step 2
The Disk Cleanup dialog box closes after some minutes the cleanup is completed with your computer refreshed and ready to perform better.
Speed up access to data
When the overall performance of your computer system is slow then you should know that Disc fragmentation is responsible for this because when files are fragmented,the computer will have to search the hard disk whenever the file is opened to unify it back together which usually take long period.But there is a window utility known as Disk Defragmenter that consolidate fragmented files and folders on your system hard disk so that each takes a single space on the disk.Now,with your files stored bumper-to-bumper without fragmentation,reading and writing to the disk speed up.I advice you do disk defragmentation whenever you add a huge number of files,whenever your free disk space is 15-20 percent or less or when you install new programmes or a new version of windows.
ReadyBoost is a new concept which can also be used to speed up your system.Its concept is to allow you use a non-volatile flash memory to improve the performance without the addition of another memory.
Note: You can use ReadyBoost with Windows Vista and a non-volatile flash memory can be a USB flash drive or a memory card.
For more updates on future post,subscribe to my post and I hope this article help speed up your system.Drop comment on this post to spur me to do more.
Free up disk space
Improve the performance of your computer system by freeing the disk space.There is a disk tool cleanup in your system which will assist you to do this on your hard disk.The tool automatically recognises the file you can safely delete,it also gives you the choice to determine whether you'll like to delete some or all the identified files.Below is the list of what you ca do with the disk clean up tool.
- It can be use to remove optional window component that you no longer use.
- It can be use to remove installed programmes that you no longer use.
- It can be use to remove windows temporary files.
- It can be use to remove downloaded programme files like Java applets.
- It can be use to empty your recycle bin.
- It can be use to remove temporary Internet files.
Note: As explained in my last article on computer virus and its danger that temporary Internet files often occupies the most amount of space and this is simply because your browser safes each page of sites you visited for easier and faster future access.
How to use the Disk cleanup
Step 1
- Click on Start button on your desktop.
- Go to All Programmes.
- Go to Accessories.
- Go to System Tools.
- And then click on Disk Cleanup.
Watch out because you can be prompted to indicate the drive to clean,If you have many drives.It will also calculate how much space you can free on your [C:] which may take some minutes to complete.
Step 2- After the Disk Cleanup for dialog box comes up,scroll down to the content of the Files to
delete list and choose the particular file or files you want to delete.
- Uncheck the boxes for the files you want to delete and click OK.
- When you are prompted to confirm whether you actually want to delete the specified files,click YES.
The Disk Cleanup dialog box closes after some minutes the cleanup is completed with your computer refreshed and ready to perform better.
Speed up access to data
When the overall performance of your computer system is slow then you should know that Disc fragmentation is responsible for this because when files are fragmented,the computer will have to search the hard disk whenever the file is opened to unify it back together which usually take long period.But there is a window utility known as Disk Defragmenter that consolidate fragmented files and folders on your system hard disk so that each takes a single space on the disk.Now,with your files stored bumper-to-bumper without fragmentation,reading and writing to the disk speed up.I advice you do disk defragmentation whenever you add a huge number of files,whenever your free disk space is 15-20 percent or less or when you install new programmes or a new version of windows.
How to use Disk Defragmenter
Step 1
- Click on Start button on your desktop.
- Go to Programmes.
- Go to Accessories.
- Go to System Tools.
- And click Disk Defragmenter,and click Analyse to start the Disk Defragmenter.
Step 2
- Click the drive that you want to defragment when the Disk Defragmenter dialog box emerge and then click the Analyse button.A dialog box will appear after the disk is analysed notifying you whether to defragment the analysed drives.
- Click the Defragment button,in order to defragment the drive or drives you have selected.
Note: That there is no graphical illustration to demonstrate the progress in Window Vista
but the result will be displayed anyway,after the completion of the defragmentation.
- Click View Report in order to view detailed information about your defragmented disk.
- Click Close in order to close the View Report dialog box.
- Click Close button on the title bar of the window in order to close the Disk Defragmenter utility and you are done.
Protect your computer against spyware
Spyware is one of the most dangerous threats to computer system,it can endanger and expose your confidential information to risks and it can further slow down the performance of your computer system.With spyware,the website you visit,your username,passwords and people you meet are not safe because spyware usually collect personal data about you without your permission.In order to avoid spyware I will recommend the use of Microsoft Window Defender and is available as a free download for Microsoft XP SP2.You can also obtain many other anti-spyware software programmes free,just search and you will get the suitable one for your system.
Delete and repair disk errors
In order to up the performance of your computer system after you must have run the disk cleanup and disk defragmenter is to scrutinise the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running an error checking on your hard drive.Bad sectors can also slow down your hard disk performance and aside from this it can also make file saving difficult or impossible.bad sectors develops as you use your hard drive,this error checking utility helps in scanning the hard drive for possible bad sectors and subsequently scan for file system errors to ascertain whether files or folders are misplaced.If you are the type that use your computer frequently,perhaps daily,I suggest you do this once in a week so as to guard you against data loss.
How to run the error checking utility
- First make sure all opened files are closed.
- Click Start button on your desktop.
- Click on My Computer.
- When My Computer's Window opens right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors and click Properties.
- Click Tools tab in the Properties dialog box.
- Click the Check Now button.
- Select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box and then click Start.
- Choose fix them whenever a bad sector were found.
Note: Check the "Automatically fix file system errors" box if you are certain your disk contains bad sectors.
ReadyBoost is a new concept which can also be used to speed up your system.Its concept is to allow you use a non-volatile flash memory to improve the performance without the addition of another memory.
Note: You can use ReadyBoost with Windows Vista and a non-volatile flash memory can be a USB flash drive or a memory card.
For more updates on future post,subscribe to my post and I hope this article help speed up your system.Drop comment on this post to spur me to do more.
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