Cool tips on learning hot stuff

siciliancuisine.blogspot.com

2011-01-19T03:05:00.001-08:00

let's cook something new
http://www.siciliainricetta.it

Pasta alla siciliana

Ingredienti: Dosi per 4 persone: 240 g di pasta corta di grano duro tipo caserecce, 2 finocchi, una piccola cipolla, la scorza di mezza arancia, 20 g di lamelle di mandorle, olio extravergine di oliva, sale, pepe macinato al momento.

Istruzioni per la preparazione: MONDATE i finocchi, lavateli e tagliateli a fettine sottilissime. Conservate a parte le "barbe" verdi dopo averle tagliuzzate. Mettete le mandorle in una padellina, tostatele e tenetele da parte.
AFFETTATE finemente la cipolla e fatela appassire in 3 cucchiai d’olio su fiamma dolce in un tegame antiaderente.
UNITE i finocchi al soffritto e fateli insaporire per qualche minuto. Salate e proseguite la cottura per una decina di minuti a tegame coperto.
SBOLLENTATE la scorza d’arancia dopo averla lavata e tagliata a striscioline sottili. Sgocciolatela e asciugatela.
SCOLATE la pasta al dente dopo averla cotta in abbondante acqua salata. Versatela nel tegame dei finocchi, alzate la fiamma e mescolate.
PROFUMATE con la scorza d’arancia. Togliete dal fuoco, unite le mandorle, una macinata di pepe e servite subito.

Il congiuntivo

2010-11-19T04:09:00.000-08:00

The Congiuntivo Presente is normally used…

1. after the conjunction che (that), following verbs which express wishes, thoughts, believes, and doubts, such as volere (to want), sperare (to hope), pensare (to think), credere (to believe), dubitare (to doubt). Here are some examples: Giovanni vuole che lo aiutiate a ridipingere la camera (Giovanni wants you [plural] to help him repaint the bedroom);speriamo che domani non piova (let’s hope that tomorrow it won’t rain); Lucia pensa che Mariaparta oggi per le vacanze (Lucia thinks that Maria is leaving today for her holidays); mi stupisco che tu sia ancora qui (I’m surprised that you are still here); ho paura che Carlo non ce la faccia a superare l’esame (I’m worried that Carlo won’t be able to pass the exam).

2. to give polite orders when using the lei form, e.g. Parli più lentamente, per piacere (speak more slowly, please); Cliente: Mi scusi! Cameriere: Mi dica Cliente: Un cappuccino, per piacere(Customer: Excuse me! Waiter: yes sir [literally: tell me]. Customer: A cappuccino, please).

3. after impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as bisogna che (it’s necessary that), basta che (it’s enough/sufficient that), si dice che (it is said that), e.g. bisogna che Carlo studi di più (lit. it’s necessary that Carlo studies more, or: it’s necessary for Carlo to study more); basta che tu mi dica con che treno arriverai (it’s sufficient that you tell me which train you’ll arrive with, or more simply: just tell me which train you’re arriving on); si dice che questa sia una leggenda (this is said to be a legend).

4. after impersonal constructions such as è facile / difficile che (it’s likely / unlikely that), è meglio che (it’s better that), è un peccato che (it’s a pity that), non è giusto che (it’s unfair that), e.g. È un peccato che tu non possa venire (it’s a pity that you can’t come); non è giusto che sia sempre io a lavare i piatti (it’s unfair that it’s always me that has to wash the dishes);è meglio che veniate oggi pomeriggio (it’s better that you [plural] come this afternoon).

5. following conjunctions built with che, such as prima che (before), affinché (so that, in order that), a meno che (unless), nel caso che (in case), e.g. dobbiamo partire prima che facciabuio (we must leave before it gets dark); ti aiuto affinché tu possa superare l’esame (I’m helping you so that you can pass the exam).

To make the congiuntivo presente of regular verbs, remove the ending from the infinitive form of the verb, i.e. -are, -ere, or -ire, and add the following:

for verbs ending in –are add –i –i –i –iamo –iate –ino, for example:

Parlare (to speak):

Io parli, tu parli, lui parli, lei parli, noi parliamo, voi parliate, loro parlino

for verbs ending in –ere, and –ire add –a –a –a –iamo –iate –ano, for example:

Credere (to believe):

Io creda, tu creda, lui creda, lei creda, noi crediamo, voi crediate, loro credano

Dormire (to sleep):

Io dorma, tu dorma, lui dorma, lei dorma, noi dormiamo, voi dormiate, loro dormano

Verbs ending in –ire which use the suffix –isco in the normal present tense (presente indicativo), follow the same rule in the present subjunctive, e.g.

Capire (to understand):

Io capisca, tu capisca, lui capisca, lei capisca, noi capiamo, voi capiate, loro capiscano

As you can see from the above examples the singular forms of the congiuntivo presente, io, tu, lui, lei, all use the same ending, therefore in order to avoid confusion we tend to use the appropriate personal pronoun , e.g. Penso che tu sia ammalato (I think that you are ill).

However, beware that many common verbs, such as essere (to be) and avere (to have) are irregular!

a list of the most useful irregular verbs conjugated in the present subjunctive:

Essere (to be): io sia, tu sia, lui/lei sia, noi siamo, voi siate, loro siano

Avere (to have): io abbia, tu abbia, lui/lei abbia, noi abbiamo, voi abbiate, loro abbiano

Andare (to go): io vada, tu vada, lui/lei vada, noi andiamo, voi andiate, loro vadano

Dare (to give): io dia, tu dia, lui/lei dia, noi diamo, voi diate, loro diano

Dire (to say): io dica, tu dica, lui/lei dica, noi diciamo, voi diciate, loro dicano

Dovere (to have to): io debba, tu debba, lui/lei debba, noi dobbiamo, voi dobbiate, loro debbano

Fare (to do, to make): io faccia, tu faccia, lui/lei faccia, noi facciamo, voi facciate, loro facciano

Potere (to be able to): io possa, tu possa, lui/lei possa, noi possiamo, voi possiate, loro possano

Rimanere (to remain): io rimanga, tu rimanga, lui/lei rimanga, noi rimaniamo, voi rimaniate, loro rimangano

Sapere (to know): io sappia, tu sappia, lui/lei sappia, noi sappiamo, voi sappiate, loro sappiano

Stare (to stay): io stia, tu stia, lui/lei stia, noi stiamo, voi stiate, loro stiano

Tenere (to hold): io tenga, tu tenga, lui/lei tenga, noi teniamo, voi teniate, loro tengano

Uscire (to exit): io esca, tu esca, lui/lei esca, noi usciamo, voi usciate, loro escano

Venire (to come): io venga, tu venga, lui/lei venga, noi veniamo, voi veniate, loro vengano

Volere (to want): io voglia, tu voglia, lui/lei voglia, noi vogliamo, voi vogliate, loro vogliano

LE FORME

The chapter in pdf about congiuntivo : http://www.loescher.it/studiareitaliano/download/Scheda30_IlCongiuntivo.pdf

Esercizi d'uso

materials for learning swedish

2010-09-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.languages-study.com/svenska-links.html

http://svspb.net/html/sv.php

http://rizber.ucoz.ru/search/svenska/

radio stations> http://sverigesradio.se/sida/spelaren.aspx

Money and making money...seems easy but

2010-08-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Alex Yemenidjian, chairman of MGM, in a hallway at the company. His management style rankles some. "The process of making decisions by building consensus is for Washington," he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/26/business/yourmoney/26mgm.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1

Want a New Job? Get Off the Computer…Sort Of! | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

2010-08-10T04:56:00.000-07:00

Want a New Job? Get Off the Computer…Sort Of! | Career Rocketeer - Career Search and Personal Branding Blog

The Vault Guide to Finance Interviews

2010-08-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Vault Guide to Finance Interviews, 2005

Vault cooks them like Christmas panettone...apparently every year they have a new edition of the book to charge us for our pursuit to charge other people . They call themselves the leader in career intelligence...so let's pick up some intelligence in a way as it should be, free.... of charge.

File size: 1.5 MB
File type: PDF
Product description a la an ad> This unique guide is loaded with sample questions, charts, formulas, and frameworks covering everything from accounting concepts to bond pricing, interest and exchange rate. Job seekers can prep for their tough finance interviews with investment banks and investment management firms.
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http://ifile.it/p12il8/financeint_2005_complete.pdf

The Web Means the End of Forgetting

2010-07-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25privacy-t2.html
must read!

Money CAN buy you happiness... - Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG

2010-06-08T01:43:00.000-07:00

Money CAN buy you happiness... - Comment Central - Times Online - WBLG
Discussion about happiness. U THINK that u r happier :)

Information systems (the best core ideas)

2010-05-05T07:22:00.000-07:00

IS are the software and hardware systems that support data-intensive applications.
systems operate within systems.

IS is an integrated set of components for collecting, storing, processing, and communicating information. Business firms, other organizations, and individuals in contemporary society rely on information systems to manage their operations, compete in the marketplace, supply services, and augment personal lives. For instance, modern corporations rely on computerized information systems to process financial accounts and manage human resources; municipal governments rely on information systems to provide basic services to its citizens; and individuals use information systems to study, shop, bank, and invest. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287895/information-system)

Information is the critical ingredient for the operation and management of any organization.

Information systems (IS) is a coordinated collection of information subsystems that are rationally integrated to collect, store, process, retrieve, disseminate, and communicate information for the support of operations, management, and decision-making functions in business and other organizations. The objective of IS is to enhance productivity by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. (further > http://www-afa.adm.ohio-state.edu/u-majors/pdf/infosys.pdf )

Information systems emphasizes the application of information technology in business and other organizations. Computers and other information technologies are the technical foundations or the tools of information systems. However, both technical skills and knowledge of business processes and practice are needed to be able to properly envision, design, implement, integrate, evaluate, and manage computer-based solutions to business problems.

The goal is to produce solutions that transform data into information and knowledge that is useful for individuals and organizations.

A business is an organization comprised of multiple workers, interdependent in the tasks they perform.

http://docs.globaltext.terry.uga.edu:8095/anonymous/webdav/Information%20Systems/Information%20Systems.pdf
business functions
Specialized tasks performed in a business organization, including manufacturing and production, sales and marketing, finance, accounting, and human resources.
The business model is simply a working description that includes the general details about the operations of a business. The components that are contained within a business model will address all functions of a business, including such factors as the expenses, revenues, operating strategies, corporate structure, and sales and marketing procedures.
image is taken from http://www.telco2.net/blog/2007/05/the_telco_20_methodology_busin.html

Diet for Stress Management Slideshow: Stress-Reducing Foods

2010-04-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

Diet for Stress Management Slideshow: Stress-Reducing Foods

Traveling cheap over Europe

2010-04-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

Complete Idiot's Guide to the Pilates Method

2009-12-13T22:32:00.000-08:00

download from zSHARE - zz26.rar

This book teaches the basics of the Pilates method of fitness, a whole body workout that strengthens the abs and back and straightens the posture. Practiced worldwide by dance companies, physical therapists, and health clubs, the method is especially good for pregnant women, for people who have special fitness needs because of chronic back pain, joint stress, or obesity, and for anyone wishing to prevent osteoporosis.

size: 3.75 MB

format: pdf in RAR

audio article about financial crisis

2009-12-10T03:49:00.000-08:00

'A Race to the Bottom': Assigning Responsibility for the Financial Crisis

Published: December 09, 2009 in Knowledge@Wharton

The global financial meltdown has been marked by shortages -- of oversight, due diligence, moral fortitude and common sense. Today, approximately two years after the housing bubble burst and world stock markets collapsed, possibly the only surplus left from the crisis is that of finger pointing and blame.

"The question of blame has been one that's been on a lot of people's minds," said Wharton Dean Thomas S. Robertson, introducing a panel discussion this week titled, "Responsibility and the Financial Crisis of 2008." Attempts to pinpoint who or what caused the global financial crisis usually results in a long list of suspects: The Federal Reserve, government regulators, credit rating agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission, subprime lenders and borrowers, and even business schools have found themselves at the end of an accusing finger. "Whether they bear some responsibility or not," Robertson said, "We have an obligation to immerse ourselves in the question, 'Where do we go from here?'"

The panel of professors from Wharton and the University of Pennsylvania spread the responsibility around. The possible culprits they identified ranged from global capital imbalances to outdated regulatory structures. Some found fault with the private sector and greed on Wall Street, while others argued that the government had not been held fully accountable for its failures. Perhaps the only common ground was a belief that there are no simple solutions. Oversimplification of complex problems is dangerous, some warned, and in itself might have contributed to the crisis.

According to Wharton finance professor Franklin Allen, there hasn't been enough focus on the real causes of the financial crisis, which he traces to loose monetary policy and global capital imbalances. "The public sector has done a very successful job of pushing blame to the private sector," he said. "So for example, there's a lot of debate about consumer protection, but not the Federal Reserve.... There is little talk of reform of the global financial system.",

The immediate cause of the crisis was clearly the housing bubble, Allen said. From 1890 to 1996, real housing prices rose 27%, whereas between 1996 and 2006, they rose 92%. "That's more than three times as much. And that's the problem." The more important question is what caused the bubble. In Allen's view, subprime mortgages were not to blame, because other countries without subprime mortgages also suffered housing bubbles. Rather, the problem was that the Fed kept interest rates too low for too long, and imbalances in global capital flows allowed people to borrow large amounts at low rates. "It became a very attractive arbitrage to borrow and buy houses," Allen said.

He traces the global imbalances back to the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997. Since Bretton Woods smoothed financial conflict after World War II, the world's financial system has been dominated by the United States and Europe. As a result, Asia had little representation at the International Monetary Fund when its financial crisis unfolded in 1997. Unable to get the loans they needed during the crisis, Asian countries subsequently piled up safety stashes of $4 trillion in foreign reserves, money that ended up being invested in U.S. debt and contributing to the housing disaster.

The U.S. now borrows more money than any other country in the world, noted Wharton management professor Mauro F. Guillén, who also saw global capital imbalances as one root of the crisis. Guillén argued that the crisis "should be seen in the wider context of what is going on in the world." For example, from a regulatory standpoint, one crisis contributor was the fierce competition between London and New York about who would have the lowest financial regulations -- what Guillén called a "race to the bottom" in regulatory terms. London began to compete aggressively in the 1980s to woo financial firms back to England. The U.S. responded by easing financial regulations in the 1990s, eventually repealing the Glass-Steagall Act -- a Depression-era law that barred commercial banks from engaging in investment-bank activities, and vice versa -- in 1999. But the easing of regulations in the U.S. included no reform of its regulatory structure, which remained a hodge-podge of agencies inherited from The Great Depression. The result was "regulatory fragmentation," Guillén said. "No agency had a 360 degree view."

Wall Street's 'Self-selected Group'

Larry Zicklin, clinical professor of business ethics at New York University's Stern School and a senior fellow at Wharton, took a different view of the crisis, placing blame squarely on Wall Street and the private sector. "I would argue that greed overcame due diligence," said Zicklin, who noted that incentive systems got out of control. "We're a self-selected group in Wall Street. Who goes to Wall Street? People who want to be rich." As long as there was money to be made in the housing market, leverage was allowed to increase. Homes were sold to people who could not afford them because the assumption was made that prices would continue to go up. "Compensation was an issue; risk was not an issue," Zicklin said. "Big firms like Lehman forgot who they were and what they were supposed to do."

Greed may have played a role in the crisis, but focusing too much on compensation of "greedy executives" just takes attention away from more serious issues, argued Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Diana C. Robertson, "Do we have sufficient consistent empirical evidence to suggest that executive pay packages led to excessive risk-taking, as has been alleged? Would we still have a financial crisis if the pay schemes had been different? It is difficult to say. Wouldn't it be of greater benefit to focus on risk itself, on leverage, on the models used and on accountability? If we change the compensation without changing these, it seems likely that we could end up with another financial meltdown.".

In terms of the public-private sector debate, "the financial crisis reveals a curious asymmetry in our responses to Wall Street and government," said Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor Amy Sepinwall "Both are reported to have failed spectacularly but, in the case of Wall Street, the failure is seen as an expected lapse, while in the case of government, it is seen as a calamitous disappointment.".

Sepinwall suggested that individual investors share as much responsibility as Wall Street for the crisis. "Wall Street is in the business of courting risk, and it is in the business of courting risk because the investing public has given it that mandate," she said. "Individuals prefer to spend rather than save, and, as a result, demand the kind of financial alchemy that can transform one's house into a virtual ATM, or one's exceedingly modest savings into a fiscal cushion that can sustain a long, comfortable retirement. Fund managers are willing to oblige.... Risk, then, is the inevitable price of our preferences for leisure over toil and consumption over savings."

Wharton legal studies and business ethics professor David Zaring sees the crisis as "a failure of institutions. In a global world, you would think that there would be a global response" to such a crisis, but most of the world's financial networks failed. For example, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, a global forum established to improve cooperation and banking supervision worldwide, "had literally nothing to say in response to the financial crisis. To any extent we've seen a global response, it has come from the politicians."

Both the public and private sector share blame for the crisis, suggested William W. Bratton a visiting professor from Georgetown University Law Center at Penn Law School. "This was not the unforeseeable perfect storm," said Bratton, who argued that both Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan as well as the banks that made risky loans could have seen the crisis coming. "In the years leading up to the crisis, more and more smart people on both sides of the public/private divide were looking harder and harder at systematic risk. Why didn't anybody look at the markets and connect the dots?" Bratton asked. "It was partly because the core dots were financial products that were supposed to make the system safe, diffusing rather than concentrating risk; and it was partly because nobody had a complete set of information gathered for the purpose of dot connection. And I think it was also because those responsible were very content to operate in a political economy built on the idea that markets control business better than government does.",

Such simplistic beliefs themselves may have contributed to the financial crisis, suggested Wharton management professor Witold Henisz ."The responsibility for the current crisis and its predecessors lies in an oversimplified dogma or political doctrine that -- while once necessary to achieve political support to undertake reforms needed to emerge from a crisis -- continued forward in self-purification and extension in a manner that ultimately sowed the seeds of its own demise. Simple policy answers -- e.g., 'markets work,' or 'markets need to be controlled or regulated by government' -- ... lose sight of the complexity, contingencies and uncertainty that characterize reality. Eventually, hubris sets in as policymakers, academics and those listening believe the simple answers. In short, policy proponents begin to drink their own Kool-Aid.".

It is increasingly accepted that "some of the fundamental assumptions used to craft our market models do not accurately represent the actions of individuals," Henisz said. "Perhaps we could previously ignore the role of guile, framing, envy, herding, fear, loss aversion, fairness and reciprocity -- as well as procedural justice -- but in thinking through the ... financial crisis, I would argue these known behavioral traits must be moved from the shadows of electives, final weeks of courses and final minutes of classes to the forefront of managerial education and research."

Guillén agreed. There is no simple solution to the crisis and no single scapegoat, he said. "You are deluding yourselves if you think you can find a solution to prevent this from ever happening again. We have to learn how to lead with uncertainty."

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2009-08-10T07:49:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - генеалогических деревьев - генеалогическое

Ohhh Megan...she is gorgeous

2009-07-27T10:33:00.001-07:00

Megan Fox

on Daymix

See full results »embed this widget

BBC - Russia: A Journey With Jonathan Dimbleby SEE FOR FREE

2009-06-29T13:11:00.000-07:00

Wanna get insight into RUSSIA? Here you can download the film about Russia. Torrent iFile

A major BBC documentary, Russia sees Jonathan Dimbleby attempt to put across the largest nation on Earth over the course of a 10,000 mile journey. The end result fills up five 60 minute episodes... And while you can’t help but feel that this documentary only scratches the surface of the nation, it’s still a welcome and thorough introduction to a once-mysterious country... --Jon Foster

Translation English to Russian

2009-06-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

Crisis of a consumer society. The report from Southern California with Russian subtitles.

CHRiS CORNELL - PART OF ME

2009-06-07T13:52:00.001-07:00

web chat

2009-05-01T04:24:00.000-07:00

Learn Russian language - a collection of free downloads

2008-12-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

Dedicated to Linda:)

Teach yourself Russian Audio course for beginners

A Basic Modern Russian Grammar By Eugenia Nekrasova

Contemporary English-Russian Dictionary

Russian For Dummies By Andrew, Ph.D

Russian Proverbs and Sayings and Their English Equivalents / Русские пословицы и поговорки и их английские аналоги

English-Russian Idioms

Get to know Russia in 4 minutes on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMZfXN1UOpw
The words of Russian Anthems in Latin for those who study Russian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZwpA4L7bws

Free Download Haruki Murakami

2008-10-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Haruki Murakami - After Dark

The novel is built on the notion that very late at night, after the lamps of logic have been snuffed and rationality has shut its eyes, life on earth becomes boundariless and blurred. Individuals who were separate during the day begin to lose uniqueness, to leak distinctiveness, melting into a soft psychic collective. As the hands of the clock slice deeper into the shadows, physics weakens, yielding to metaphysics, and the rigid you and I of things breaks down. During the wee hours, we’re all in this together, our spirits spooned like lovers’ bodies.

Alienation, a recurring motif in the works of Murakami, is the central theme in this novel set in metropolitan Tokyo (though this is not explicitly stated) over the course of one night. Main characters include Mari, a 19-year-old student, who is spending the night reading in a Denny's. There she meets Takahashi, a trombone-playing student who loves Curtis Fuller's "Five Spot After Dark" song on Blues-ette; Takahashi knows Mari's sister Eri and insists that the group of them have hung out before. Meanwhile, Eri is being watched in her sleep by someone sinister. Eri also suffers from social withdrawal, a condition often referred to as hikikomori.

Mari crosses ways with a retired female wrestler, now working as a manager in a love hotel (whom Takahashi knows and referred to Mari), a Chinese prostitute who has been beaten and stripped of everything in this same love hotel, and a sadistic computer expert. The story takes place in a world between reality and dream.

Haruki_Murakami_-_After_Dark.pdf
Haruki Murakami - Kafka on the Shore.pdf
Haruki Murakami - Dance Dance Dance.pdf

Natural Looking Makeup Tutorial

2008-06-01T08:33:00.000-07:00

DSS (Decision Support Systems)

2008-05-20T14:59:00.001-07:00

Gaining Competitive Advantage with Computerized Decision Support

(To subscribe to receive audio articles, click here for the audio article feed.)

2007
by Dan Power

http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/6501

The implementation of a decision support system does not necessarily yield competitive advantage. This article covers the three criteria that must be met in order to use your DSS to such an advantage.

Many companies have isolated decision support capabilities that are hard to use or hard to access. For example, a data mart may have been built for accessing customer data, a project management system may exist for tracking large-scale projects, or Excel analyses may be routinely used in a specific business decision process. In general, managers are experiencing information overload and are having difficulty finding the right information when it is needed. Potentially, innovative decision support systems (DSSs) can yield competitive advantage for an organization or at least maintain an organization’s competitive position.

Evidence indicates managers can now use sophisticated data-driven and document-driven DSSs to obtain information that was buried for many years in filing cabinets or archived on computer storage systems. Model-driven DSSs can reduce waste in production operations and improve inventory management. Knowledge-driven DSSs can help managers evaluate employees or help technical staff diagnose problems. Communications-driven DSSs can support teams working all over the world. Inter-organizational DSSs can support a company’s suppliers and customers. Real-time decision support systems are now possible for tactical decision support.

A decision support system creates a competitive advantage if three criteria are met. First, once the DSS is implemented, it must be used and it must become a major or significant strength or capability of the organization. Second, the DSS must be unique and proprietary to the organization. Third, the advantage provided by the DSS must be sustainable until an adequate payback is received, usually at least three years. Managers who are searching for strategic investments in information technology need to keep these three criteria in mind. Just because a vendor says a product will create a competitive advantage doesn’t make the claim true. A competitive advantage means an organization does something important much better than its competitors.

The widespread use of computer technology has changed the way companies do business. Information technology has altered relationships between companies and their suppliers, customers and rivals. Porter and Millar (1985) discuss two specific ways that information technology can affect competition: by altering industry structures and by supporting cost and/or differentiation strategies. A common approach used to identify opportunities to change the structure and profitability of an industry is to examine five competitive forces. Michael Porter (1979) argued that the power of buyers, the power of suppliers, the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products and the rivalry among existing competitors determines the profitability of an industry. How a company uses information technology can affect each of the five competitive forces and can create the need and opportunity for change. For example, information technology has altered the bargaining relationships between companies and their suppliers, channels and buyers. Today it is easy for information systems to cross company boundaries. These inter-organizational systems have become common and, in some instances, they have changed the boundaries of the participating industries. Decision support systems can reduce the power of buyers and suppliers. Decision support systems can erect new barriers that reduce the threat of entrants. Decision support systems can help differentiate products and services and reduce the threat from substitutes. Also, decision support systems can help managers reduce the cost of rivalry actions and, in some cases, reduce the need for competitive actions and reactions.

Decision support systems can potentially help a firm create a cost advantage. Decision support systems can provide many benefits including improving personal efficiency and reducing staff needs, expediting problem solving and increasing organizational control. Managers who want to create a cost advantage should search for situations where decision processes seem slow or tedious and where problems reoccur or solutions are delayed or unsatisfactory. In some cases, DSSs can reduce costs where decision makers have high turnover and training is slow and cumbersome, and in situations where activities, departments and projects are poorly controlled.

Also, DSSs can create a major cost advantage by increasing efficiency or eliminating value chain activities. For example, a bank or mortgage loan firm may reduce costs by using a new DSS to consolidate the number of steps and minimize the number of staff hours needed to approve loans. Technology breakthroughs can sometimes continue to lower process costs, and rivals who imitate an innovative DSS may nullify or remove any advantage.

Decision support systems can potentially create a differentiation advantage. Providing a DSS to customers can differentiate a product and possibly provide a new service. Differentiation increases profitability when the price premium charged is greater than any added costs associated with achieving the differentiation. Successful differentiation means a firm can charge a premium price, and/or sell more units, and/or increase buyer loyalty for service or repeat purchases. In some situations, competitors can rapidly imitate the differentiation, and then all competitors incur increased costs for implementing the DSS.

Finally, decision support systems can be used to help a company better focus on a specific customer segment and hence gain an advantage in meeting that segment’s needs. Management information systems and decision support systems can help track customers, and DSSs can make it easier to serve a specialized customer group with special services. Some customers won’t pay a premium for targeted service, and larger competitors also target specialized niches using their own DSSs.

It is important to recognize that some firms have no competitive advantage. Firms can achieve a competitive advantage by making strategic changes, and firms can lose a competitive advantage when competitors make strategic changes. Implementing computerized decision support does not necessarily create a competitive advantage. In fact, most decision support does not have such a broad enterprise-wide impact.

Decision support systems can be important and useful and very necessary, and yet not provide a competitive advantage. Many consulting firms and vendors focus on gaining competitive advantage from a data warehouse or a business intelligence system, and that can happen. Many DSS projects do not, however, deliver such results and the projects probably were not intended to create competitive advantage.

A now classic study (Kettinger et al –1994) identified a number of companies that had gained an advantage from information systems. Some of those systems were decision support systems, but most were transaction processing systems. The following DSS examples are from their paper: Air Products, a vehicle scheduling system; Cigna, a risk assessment system; IBM, a marketing management system; Owens-Corning, a materials selection system; and Procter & Gamble, a customer response system. Most companies wisely do not provide many details on their success with computerized decision support. Competitive responses and technology have had a negative impact on how some of the aforementioned systems are perceived today.

If a company is trying to develop a decision support system that provides a competitive advantage, managers and analysts should ask how the proposed DSS affects company costs, customer and supplier relations, and managerial effectiveness. Managers should also attempt to assess how the proposed strategic system will impact the structure of the industry and the behavior of competitors. Finally, companies must continuously improve their information and decision support technology to gain and maintain any competitive advantage.

Decision Support Systems and Intelligent Systems, 7e. by Turban and Aaronson. Power Point Presentation on each chapter.

This book Software Rules: How the Next Generation of Enterprise Applications Will Increase Strategic Effectiveness for reading ufff.

In Software Rules, Oracle senior executive Mark Barrenechea describes for business readers how, over the next few years, the total integration of software functions into \"E-business suites,\" will radically transform the business landscape. Download the book:
http://rapidshare.com/files/688024/0071385169.rar or
http://mihd.net/ge2c0u

Links to free University papers

2008-05-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Department of Economics, UCB
www.papers.ssrn.com
Göteborg University: Master theses and essays
http://repositories.cdlib.org/escholarship/
Econometric Lab software archive, papers and tutorials
MIT's online institutional repository
Essays and theses for general undergraduate and professional degrees from several departments at Lund University
Master's Theses from University of Helsinki

Spreadsheet Programs & Toolkit for M&A

2008-05-03T04:02:00.000-07:00

Corporate Finance Spreadsheet Programs

Harvard site
Free Harvard OnPoint article Growth Strategies That Work—Again and Again

How to calculate discounted cash flow (DCF)

2008-04-19T12:33:00.000-07:00

Suppose I offered to give you either $1000 in June 2006 or $150 every June for the next 10 years, starting in 2007. Which offer is worth more? How would you figure this out? The answer is: by calculating discounted cash flows.

Discounted Cash Flow or DCF analysis is one of the first things taught in finance class in an MBA program. It’s a natural consequence of the time value of money, which states essentially that a dollar today is not worth the same as a dollar in the future. Discounted Cash Flow analysis is most commonly used to value a project or company (or lottery payout, as in the simple example above) using a discount rate or weighted average cost of capital, also abbreviated as WACC. (Did I forget to mention finance is big on acronyms?)

Determining an appropriate discount rate or WACC can get complicated, so for now, we’ll just simplify it and call it a percentage rate that we use to “discount” future cash flows to the present. For example, if you earned $100 every year, you can imagine that the $100 you earn 10 years from now won’t be worth the same as the $100 you earn this year. Inflation, the return you could be getting on the $100 during that time, risk, all sorts of aspects can play into evaluating what $100 in 2016 is worth in 2006.

If you’re working in corporate finance, chances are Treasury or some other official department has dictated an “official” cost of capital to use in your analysis. On this site, when I calculate Experiments in Finance’s NPV each month, I choose to use an annual rate of 5% as my discount rate, remembering to change this to its the monthly equivalent rate since I’m calculating monthly cash flows. My reasoning is that the cash flows for this project aren’t large, and a comparable activity of similar risk might be to put the money in a saving’s account instead. This is one of those situations where finance is more like art than science. You could argue ’til you were blue in the face about what the “right” cost of capital to use should be, but in the end it may not matter too much, especially if you conduct a sensitivity analysis using different rates.

Let’s get back to talking about DCFs. Discounted cash flow analysis essentially takes the cash flows for each period and discounts them back to the current moment. So, suppose we have cash flows of $100 starting next year for the next 10 years, and our discount rate is 8%. Then what we’re calculating looks like the following: DCF = $100/(1+0.08) + $100/(1+0.08)² + $100/(1+0.08)³ + … + $100/(1+0.08)¹⁰

(In this particular case, we’ve set a constant $100 per year as our cash flow. If we were receiving different amounts each year instead, say, $100 every year, except for $150 in year 2 and $1000 in year 10, then we’d simply plug in those amounts instead in their respective years.)

What you’re doing is essentially “bringing back” the future cash flow to the present time, using the discount rate of 8%. This means that the value of receiving $100 every year for 10 years isn’t $1000 but $671. In fact, receiving $100 at the end of this year isn’t the same as having the cash in your at the beginning of the year. It’s worth $100 less the amount you would have earned in interest had you had it at the beginning of the year. And the $100 you earn two years from now is worth $100 less the amount you would have earned in compound interest over the two years. And so on. This is why wise articles about how much you need to save for retirement often result in seemingly large amounts.

Getting back to our original example, it turns out that if you assume a discount rate (which might represent the constant interest rate you can earn on your money) of 8%, then having $1000 in your pocket now versus having $150 for the next 10 years is the same. But if you assume that you can only earn 5%, then the stream of income is a better deal ($130 per year is the breakeven).

Discounted cash flow analysis is the basis of many things in finance, including Net Present Value or NPV, bond prices, annuity pricing, and many more. NPV and DCF calculations are one of the most frequently used finance tools for valuation purposes. But, like everything else, they have their limitations and are simply tools. If your numbers aren’t accurate to begin with, adding and dividing them will only result in a worse answer. DCFs and NPVs are also pretty inflexible. If future earnings and cash flows are very uncertain, or management has the option of changing a project midway through, then this type of analysis may not be the best way to go. In those cases, Real options or Monte Carlo might be more complex but better tools to use. Taken from www.experiglot.com where you can find MORE

The three key questions in company valuation can all be answered using discounted cash flow methods.

Value:: How much is a company worth today, based on what it will earn in the future? The company's predicted cash flows (or earnings) are discounted to give a present value.

Rate of return:: What is an investor's expected rate of return, given the amount invested and the company's financial projections? Investors will calculate their rate of return by: discounting the cash flow and the value they will take out of the company; and comparing this amount to what they invested at the beginning.

Equity share:: How much equity will the investor receive for the investment? Dividing the investment by the value of the company will give the percentage of ownership shares the investor will get. But first you need to know the value.
Continue to read on Here

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Cash Flow is

2008-04-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Analyze Cash Flow

We know that a company's profitability, as shown by its net income, is an important investment evaluator. It would be nice to be able to think of this net income figure as a quick and easy way to judge a company's overall performance. However, although accrual accounting provides a basis for matching revenues and expenses, this system does not actually reflect the amount the company has received from the profits illustrated in this system. This can be a vital distinction. In this article, we'll explain what the cash flow statement can tell you and show you where to look to find this information.
Difference Between Earnings and Cash
"at least as important as a company's profitability is its liquidity - whether or not it's taking in enough money to meet its obligations. Companies, after all, go bankrupt because they cannot pay their bills, not because they are unprofitable. Now, that's an obvious point. Even so, many investors routinely ignore it. How? By looking only at a firm's income statement and not the cash flow statement."
LOOK AT the number that appears in the cash flow statement as net cash provided by operating activities, or "net operating cash flow", - basically is a company cash flow.

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ClickBook - print your booklets and forms for Free!

2008-04-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

I've come across a usfull programm which helps to print different texts in a form of booklets, posters, banners, business cards and etc.
Very helpful for teachers!!!
It has about 170 ready-made templates. You can create your own ones.
It can safe up to 75% of paper!!!
It works with hundrerds of applications.
You may create PDF files!!! More on www.clickbook.com You can download it there or Get the program from: http://rapidshare.com/files/69326269/ClickBook-10.0.2.3.rar

choose there the button FREE download!Let's hope the latter is not a free trial:) = my hint: Do not forget to read the instructions included within the rar file :-)

Password to all archives here: englishtips.org where you can find lots of free English books.

Download Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL

2008-04-01T08:44:00.000-07:00

Looking for "Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL"? I found this
PDF/mds CD | 350 MB in 19 part.rar files | Rapideshare
Cambridge Preparation for TOEFL Exams (Book and CD)

There are two ways of gettin it.
--------------------------------------------
In full size book (199 Mb): it seems without CD. Copy the link into a web address and chose there the button FREE.

part1
part2
part3

Another source is below:

Cambridge Preparation for TOEFL Exams eBook links

http://rapidshare.com/files/52815949/Cambridge_TOEFL_preparation.part01.rar
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TOEFL CAMBRIDGE PRACTICE CD Links

http://rapidshare.com/files/52824870/TOEFL_CAMBRIDGE_PRACTICE_CD.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/52824871/TOEFL_CAMBRIDGE_PRACTICE_CD.part02.rar
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Free Online Converters for files

2008-02-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

Convert files to PDF: www.pdfonline.com You can convert these following formats into PDF:

-MS Word (DOC | RTF)
-MS PowerPoint (PPT)
-MS Publisher (PUB)
-MS Excel (XLS)
-HTML (MHT)
-Text (TXT)
JPG , GIF, TIFF, BMP,PNG, EMF,WMF

www.media-convert.com converts audio files, video, presentation, document, spreadsheet, etc.

Here spokentext.com you can create recordings from plain text files, Acrobat PDF or Word files, emails, a web page or enter text directly to be recorded. It includes iPod format and online listening.

My hot blogs for interesting reading

2008-01-12T03:47:00.000-08:00

Freakonomics establishes this unconventional premise: If morality represents how we would like the world to work, then economics represents how it actually does work. It is true that readers of this book will be armed with enough riddles and stories to last a thousand cocktail parties. But Freakonomics can provide more than that. It will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.
Economics is not widely considered to be one of the sexier sciences. The annual Nobel Prize winner in that field never receives as much publicity as his or her compatriots in peace, literature, or physics. But if such slights are based on the notion that economics is dull, or that economists are concerned only with finance itself, Steven D. Levitt will change some minds. In Freakonomics (written with Stephen J. Dubner), Levitt argues that many apparent mysteries of everyday life don't need to be so mysterious: they could be illuminated and made even more fascinating by asking the right questions and drawing connections. For example, Levitt traces the drop in violent crime rates to a drop in violent criminals and, digging further, to the Roe v. Wade decision that preempted the existence of some people who would be born to poverty and hardship. Elsewhere, by analyzing data gathered from inner-city Chicago drug-dealing gangs, Levitt outlines a corporate structure much like McDonald's, where the top bosses make great money while scores of underlings make something below minimum wage. And in a section that may alarm or relieve worried parents, Levitt argues that parenting methods don't really matter much and that a backyard swimming pool is much more dangerous than a gun. These enlightening chapters are separated by effusive passages from Dubner's 2003 profile of Levitt in The New York Times Magazine, which led to the book being written. In a book filled with bold logic, such back-patting veers Freakonomics, however briefly, away from what Levitt actually has to say. Although maybe there's a good economic reason for that too, and we're just not getting it yet. Read Freakonomics For Free

Freakonomics blog on NYT
Why Are Women So Unhappy?
In addition, Stevenson and Wolfers released a new study, “The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” that is bound to generate a great deal of controversy. By almost any economic or social indicator, the last 35 years have been great for women.Hmm controversy issue.
One more interesting view on Gender and Authority - Opinion on NYT
Contrary to popular wisdom, China's rapid growth is not hugely dependent on exports

“How to Write a Fascinating Thesis Statement”

2008-01-08T09:33:00.000-08:00

No professors or teaching assistants want to read a boring paper. They want to read a paper that engages them; a paper that is compelling and clearly articulated.

So how do you write one of these papers?

Well, the most important part of writing a fascinating paper is to develop a great thesis statement.

You see, your thesis statement is the spine for your entire paper. It’s the glue that holds your paper together. The more complex, specific, and interesting, the better your paper will be.

So here are some steps to breathe life into your next thesis statement:

Get Excited About Your Topic
No matter what you have to write about, you should try and get excited about it. The more interest and excitement you put forth, the better your paper will be. Even if your paper topic bores you, this is your opportunity to get creative and think of a way to make it exciting. That’s your challenge - and you can do it.

Develop A Strong Opinion About Your Topic
Writing a great thesis statement means you need to develop a strong opinion about your topic. This is how radio talk show hosts keep their audiences - they spew strong opinions that attract listeners and phone calls. If you’re not sure how to form a strong opinion about your topic, start reading through journal article abstracts. Check out Google Scholar and read through thesis statements pertaining to your topic. Jot down any strong opinions that look interesting to you.

Use Exciting Adjectives to Spice up Your Thesis
Don’t just say that something is good or bad, empower your nouns with exciting adjectives that describe what you really think. Adjectives like oppressive, tyrannical, and bloodthirsty are powerful because they portray a strong point of view about something or someone.

Focus Your Thesis On One Main Idea
As mentioned in the introduction, your thesis is the glue for your paper. Make sure your thesis doesn’t divert into different directions. Stay focused on one main theme to keep your paper organized and your reader on topic.

Get Extremely Specific in Your Thesis
A generic thesis statement weakens a paper because the reader isn’t clear exactly what you’re going to be arguing about. However, if your thesis includes specific details about your argument, it will prepare the reader for what’s ahead. It also helps you stay on task as you argue your points with specific examples.

Keep a List of Interesting Thesis Statements
Just as copywriters have a swipe file of powerful headlines, you should develop your own list of powerful thesis statements. Whenever you come across a thesis statement that intrigues you, add it to your list. The longer your list of thesis statements, the more ammunition you’ll have when you need to craft your own.

Here are three examples of thesis statements to get you going:

Weak Thesis:
The North and South fought the Civil War for many reasons, some of which were the same and some different.

Average Thesis:
While both sides fought the Civil War over the issue of slavery, the North fought for moral reasons while the South fought to preserve its own institutions.

Strong Thesis:
While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against tyranny and oppression, Northerners focused on the oppression of slaves while Southerners defended their own right to self-government.

More help on studenthacks.org

The Right Brain vs Left Brain test

2007-12-10T02:23:00.000-08:00

Do you see the dancer turning clockwise or anti-clockwise?

If clockwise, then you use more of the right side of the brain and vice versa.

Most of us would see the dancer turning anti-clockwise though you can try to focus and change the direction; see if you can do it. Interestingly, I saw it clockwise first:)

LEFT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses logic
detail oriented
facts rule
words and language
present and past
math and science
can comprehend
knowing
acknowledges
order/pattern perception
knows object name
reality based
forms strategies
practical
safe

RIGHT BRAIN FUNCTIONS
uses feeling
"big picture" oriented
imagination rules
symbols and images
present and future
philosophy and religion
can "get it" (i.e. meaning)
believes
appreciates
spatial perception
knows object function
fantasy based
presents possibilities
impetuous
risk taking

An English Pronouncing Dictionary with Instant Sound

2007-12-05T15:05:00.000-08:00

www.howjsay.com
All you do is type in a word, and howjsay will speak that word back to you in a rather dignified sounding voice. You’ll also get a list of similarly spelled words in case you typed your entry wrong.
Just in case My last month post on a collection of links to help to study English or check out LABLES, tag Study English!:)

Presentations in ppt on E-commerce and ERP

2007-12-03T14:09:00.000-08:00

I found very nice presentations of University level on Electronic Commerce and Enterprise Resource Planning. Definitely recommended. GET THEM from pdfarticles.blogspot.com

Communicating with more confidence easy guide

2007-12-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

Wanna see or download the book GET IT
Content:
1 What is communication? What makes a confident communicator? The benefits of confident communication; When confident communication can help; How can you improve communication skills?
2 Good communication starts within us: What influences us? What about the internal factors? Attitudes and perceptions, Values, Prejudices, Preconceived ideas, Handling criticism, Giving constructive criticism, Handling criticism in a personal relationship.
3 Building confidence: What is self-esteem? How can we improve our self-esteem? Your inner voice.
4 Your appearance – clothes and grooming: Clothes; Colour; Attending an interview,
Giving a presentation; Good grooming is essential; Make up
5 Body language – greetings and introductions: Get the right inner voice; Greetings and introductions.
Eye contact, The smile, The handshake; The friendly handshake, Building rapport through the handshake.
6 Body language in different situations: Entering a crowded room; Look for the lone person; Join a queue; What if you get stuck with the bore? Personal space; interviews; Giving presentations; Overcoming nervousness; Meetings: First, where to sit; Other ways to enhance your power; Eye contact
7 Body language – postures, gestures and stance: Beware mannerisms; Nervous body language, Assertive body language.
8 Opening and structuring conversations: Open questions; Closed questions, Gender differences; How men break the ice; How women start conversations; Building conversations.
9 How we speak: The structure of speech; The four-part statement;
10 Watch your language: Don’t be too apologetic; Tone, pitch and pace.
11 Listening skills: Casual listening; Critical listening; What stops us listening? So how can we improve our listening skills?
12 Getting on someone’s wavelength: Personality traits.
13 Communicating with angry people: Get the right body language and inner voice; What to do next; The 7 Step approach; What if you’re right and they’re wrong? How men communicate problems; How women communicate problems.
And just for relax you can check out e-book How to Make Women Laugh READ OR DOWNLOAD

Assignment on Information systems: difinition and Example

2007-11-24T10:55:00.000-08:00

An information system (IS) is a computerized system that, collects, processes, stores, analyzes and, disseminates information for a specific propose. This process is defined as an information processing cycle (IPC). The information processing cycle consists of four operations: input, process, output, and storage. Raw data retrieved from the environment and delivered to the computer is called input. After the computer receives data from the input device, it will manipulate, refine, and process the data to produce useful information for users. This step is called processing.
After data has been refined and manipulated into useful information, it is displayed to the end users as output. Finally,the information needs to be stored for future uses. All four processes make up the information processing cycle. Input consists of raw facts (data),while information is a collection of facts organized or processed in such a way that it has additional value for further usage. The information that is organized and processed to convey understanding,experience, learning, and expertise forms knowledge, which has a high value. All enterprises which have been in operation for any period of time have a wealth of information. However, this information often remains under-utilised because it is compartmentalised, either in the form of an individual entrepreneur or in the functional departments of larger businesses. That is, information is usually categorised according to its nature so that there are, for example, financial, production, manpower, marketing, stockholding and logistical data. Often the entrepreneur, or various personnel working in the functional departments holding these pieces of data, do not see how it could help decision makers in other functional areas. Similarly, decision makers can fail to appreciate how information from other functional areas might help them and therefore do not request it. Information system can link all this subsystem into unique system where needed data, information or knowledge would be easily accessed.

As information itself has value, commerce often involves the exchange of information (and knowledge), rather than tangible goods. Information is valuable and useful because it can help decision makers. For example, investors are using information to make multimillion-dollar decisions, and financial institutions employ information to transfer millions of dollars. Retailers use information to control inventory and process orders. Information technologies are constantly changing our society, our ways of doing business, and our lives. To fully understand what an information system is and how it works, it is necessary to examine its components. A complete information system should contain the following components: hardware, software, database, trained personnel, network and procedures.

• Hardware: a set of devices such as a processor, monitor, keyboard, and printer that accept data and information, processes them, and displays them.
• Software: a set of computer programs that enable the hardware to process data.
• Database: an organized collection of related files, records, etc. that stores data and the
associations among them.
• Network: a connecting system that permits the sharing of resources among different computers.
• Procedure: the strategies, policies, methods, and rules for using the information system.
• People: the most important element in information systems: include those persons who work with the information system or use its output.

Let’s look at all components in a successful computer-based information system (CBIS) that was deployed in pharmaceutical giant GlaxoWellcome Inc. The successful application of CBIS requires an understanding of the business and its environment, as well as an understanding of the business problem to which the CBIS is to be applied. When GlaxoWellcome revealed that a combination of two of its drugs, Epivir and Retrovir, was effective in treating AIDS, doctors began writing prescription en masse almost overnight. Such a big demand could have resulted in lower inventories to pharmaceutical wholesalers and shortage. But thanks to GWis (GlaxoWellcome Information System) market analysts were able to track the size and sources of demand and generate reports within hours. The result: Wholesalers around the world never ran out of Epivar and Retrovir.
GWis is the data warehouse application with decision support system relational online analytical processing (ROLAP) technology. GWis works directly with data stored in a relational database management system, integrating internal data with data from external sources. The application was implemented in GlaxoWellcome’s marketing analysis department. So users can analyze sales, inventory, and prescription data for drugs on the fly, helping GW streamline its distribution process and cut operational costs. An additional IS benefit is that users can access information from various databases and computers. They no longer create local databases on their PCs that ultimately interfere with data integrity or require IT support.
Computer software falls into two broad classes: system software and application software. The principal system software is known as the operating system. It manages the hardware, files, and other system resources and provides a systematic and consistent means for controlling the computer, most commonly via a graphical user interface (GUI). GWis software was built with MicroStrategy Inc. included data warehouse with DSS tools and database management. As usual big companies own various software packages. GWis is indeed database oriented system. Typical examples of databases include customer records and product catalogues, for GWis these are drugs sold, inventory, prescription data and so on. People who are supposed to use this system are primarily market analysts, but it can be accessed by managers as well and data warehouse application for pharmacists or wholesalers.
The internal records that are of immediate value to marketing decisions are: orders received, stockholdings and sales invoices. These are but a few of the internal records that can be used by marketing managers, but even this small set of records is capable of generating a great deal of information. Below, is a list of some of the information that can be derived from sales invoices.

• Product type, size and pack type by territory
• Product type, size and pack type by type of account
• Product type, size and pack type by customer (wholesaler)
• Average value and/or volume of sale by territory
• Average value and/or volume of sale by type of account
• Average value and/or volume of sale by sales person or wholesaler

By comparing orders received with invoices an enterprise can establish the extent to which it is providing an acceptable level of customer service. In the same way, comparing stockholding records with orders received helps an enterprise ascertain whether its stocks are in line with current demand patterns.

System can also include knowledge based tools: guidelines for prescriptions of certain drugs, previous marketing research and expertise. GWis transmits information through telecommunication network such as Internet. Various computer network configurations are possible, depending on the needs of an organization. Organizational IS are becoming more complex and advanced over time and its procedures, regarding use of IS, do the same. Whereas marketing research is focused, market intelligence is not.
A marketing intelligence system is a set of procedures and data sources used by marketing managers to sift information from the environment that they can use in their decision making. This scanning of the economic and business environment can be undertaken in a variety of ways that can cause a new ethic policy or policy for protection of sensitive information. GW has set a strategy for the IT organization design and management the disparate date sources.

Glossary of terms for business Information Systems
IS concepts and management a nice PDF chapter from Wiley's book

Dedicated to Paris Hilton

2007-11-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

My friend has showed me this photo Paris's pussy shot...hmm is it real???
Below her videos in bath and at a party : We like her taking bath more than filming ONE NIGHT IN PARIS:)

She is HOOOOOOT at a birthday party singing Happy Birthday to Hefner

Her single Stars are blind:)

There is no accounting for taste:)
I prefer THESE singles to listen to, there you can also download them for free obviously.

Track details

Learn English! Here you can download the best English language study books!

2007-11-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

Free e-books, tutorials, tools, podcast, mp3 etc for learning English.

The textbooks with direct download check this
free course books, multimedia and so on for learning English Use SEARCH BOX:)

The best study books for advanced learners you can download HERE
Download free books on TOEFL from HERE
http://www.ebookee.com/culture-language.html
Do not forget that all those books can be English self-study books as they contain recommendations and answers keys.
MY FAVORITE podcasts:
English as a Second Language podcast with lots of mp3 HERE and one more HERE
The texts with mp3 on englishconversations.org
The best English writing tips from the Purdue University HERE
Tags for English learning here on del.icio.us
Blog with free e-books
Blogs on learning English
Nice blog on English learning
http://top2learn.blogspot.com/

Useful e-tools

2007-11-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

MY LINKS to read ufff
e-commerce tool
HTML tags info
www.w3schools.com Creating Web pages school
HTMLhelp.com
Flash Graphics&Code Gens,glitter and so on

SEO

2007-11-11T09:48:00.001-08:00

What is the difference between hits and visits in my stat reports?
Any request made to the server is considered a "hit". A request can be for any object, an html page, a graphic image, an audio file, a CGI script, etc. So, "hits" are the total number of requests that were received during the specified report period.

A "visit", on the other hand, is a series of "hits" that are deemed to have come from the same browser within a certain amount of time. A "visit", therefore, represents a browser that came to your site for a while and then left.

Each "visit" is composed of many more "hits". For example, when a browser requests one page on your site, webalizer will report 1 hit for the page request, plus 1 more hit for each image or other object (flash object, javascript file, etc) that was referenced on that page. That is why hits are always greater than visits.

Your SEO checklist for success with search engines
Starting with your visitor... don't skip this paragraph. Do not go straight to checklist below
First and foremost your website and all its pages need to be designed and created with a single objective ... to meet the needs of the person (i.e. individual, not company or business) who was searching for what your web pages offer. This is the single most over-riding objective since if you fail to meet such needs it doesn't matter how many visitors come to your web pages.
Google calls this relevance. Web pages must be relevant to the search term(s) used to find your pages.

Search Queries and Keywords ...
The second most important overall perspective associated with search engine marketing success.

In Reviewing this checklist ...
Always bear in mind that no single search engine is a static entity ... Google for example is continuously changing ranking algorithms. You need to keep abreast of changes in search and search technology. There are lots of good SEO blogs out there.

Optimize your <> tags on every page ... this tag is vital and must contain the main keyword phrase and preferable a synonym related to it

Create unique keyword and description meta tags for each page

Use important on page HTML mark-up tags and avoid deprecated ones like <> and <>

Use CSS (cascading style sheets) in your web page design

Never use H1 more than once on a page

Make your page about the selected keyword phrase but also ensure it is not keyword stuffed and that it reads well. Do not get a hang-up about keyword density and if you want to really do an excellent job then study LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing). Use keywords in sub headings.

In general use the absolute URL for links within your pages.

It is probably helpful to have a domain with an important keyword embedded into it somehow.

Files names with keywords in them are good but do not overdo this ... for example: www.yoururl.com/nokia-motorola-samsung-cellphones-cheap.htm is not a good idea

Make sure your site has a navigable site map on it and submit the site map (in a different format) to Google using their special page and xml layout

Make sure you verify the Google site map submission at Google. Very important!

Use a similar site map technique to submit your pages to Yahoo

In terms of MSN (and Yahoo and Google as well) there is an excellent way to get pages indexed ... it needs quite a bit of explanation. Ring me if you're interested

Start building as many appropriate and relevant links from outside web sites that you can get and spread these incoming links throughout the site so that not all your links go to the home page.

Ensure that you use appropriate words in the anchor text of links wherever you can arrange this.

Add fresh UNIQUE high quality (in the eyes of the searcher not you necessarily although both is preferable) content to your site frequently ... daily would be good.

Avoid Flash if you can

Avoid Frames definitely

Try to use static HTML wherever you can rather than dynamic pages

Plain easy to read and understand websites outperform flashy ones in the vast majority of cases. The word used to cover this point is "USABILITY"

Follow to the letter the rules laid out by search engines in their "instructions to webmaster" pages.

Never use any of the myriad of tricks to attempt to "fool" the search engines.

Use plain text links on every page ... if you must use image links then duplicate the links in text format elsewhere on the page

People have a real aversion to slow loading web pages (and in South Africa dial up connections are very slow. This means you need to limit the use of images and conserve page file size in general.

Submit to important directories ... a good example is GoGuides

Do not duplicate your own content and do not use other duplicated content

Seriously consider a Google Adwords campaign especially if your site is selling products or services.

Links are vitally important and as such it is a good idea to provide in html mark-up to assist your attempts to request a link. For example I would dearly like you to link to this page so to make it easier for you I have supplied the following html. All you now need do is copy this html and paste it into your own page. Once your page is uploaded to the web the link will look like the one below the html For an excellent search engine optimization (seo) check list please click here

For an excellent search engine optimization (seo) check list please click here

Don't expect overnight miracles and keep working on your website.

Make sure you use a good stats package to track your site performance

Make the right decision in terms of your domain name
Success with SEO starts with a complete understanding of keywords and key phrases. Consider every search term to be a tiny niche market. You just cannot hope to succeed and gets lots of visitors without many targeted keywords for your website. In this regard you need to think like your customer ... ask yourself the following question.

What are the many phrases (queries) my customers might type into Google to find my offering on the web? .... Let your mind wander. The more targeted the query and keyword the greater the chance of getting highly ranked SERP's. For example if you are really only interested in attracting customers in Sandton then Sandton is a very important keyword when used appropriately.

Things that you don't know

2007-11-11T09:48:00.000-08:00

Children in Cuba say "I want to be like Che" everyday at school.
The secret to happiness is accepting misery.
The key to a happy relationship could be accepting that some miserable times are unavoidable, experts say.
Therapists from California State University, Northridge and Virginia Tech say accepting these problems is better than striving for perfection.

And they blame cultural fairytales and modern love stories for perpetuating the myth that enjoying a perfect relationship is possible.

The report was published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

The pursuit of relationship nirvana can be potentially damaging

The authors, Dr Diane Gehart and Dr Eric McCollum say it is a "myth that, with enough effort we can achieve a state without suffering." And they say healthcare professionals may not be helping the situation. "The field of mental health perpetuates this myth with the very concept of "mental health," which implies a state without suffering," they say.

Potentially damaging

But this belief can eventually cause people to believe that with enough effort they can eliminate suffering.
And experts say this is an unrealistic aim in relationships, and striving to achieve it can lead people to feel they have failed.
"The authors are right to point out that the pursuit of relationship nirvana can be potentially damaging."

She said it was important to explore what people mean by a happy and healthy relationship, because nobody's life or relationship can be in a permanent state of happiness - there will always be more difficult times. She said couples need to build strengths, such as understanding, in their relationships to help them cope in these hard times and appreciate the good times.

Mrs Nadine Field, a consultant psychologist, said it was a "fantasy" that any relationship could be perfect and that striving for such an impossible state could lead to bitter disappointment.

She said this disappointment could then cause people to focus on the negative aspects of a relationship, and lead to more disappointment and resentment.

She said: "People need to try to understand their partners through communication, rather than demanding perfection of them."

Meditation

The authors recommend using mindfulness, a Buddhist meditation technique, to help cope with family suffering. The technique requires individuals to focus on their present thoughts and actions, and is already used by some psychiatrists in the UK.

The authors say family therapists can integrate the principles into their work to help patients change the way they relate to the forms of suffering that can occur in intimate relationships, such as abuse, divorce, rejection, and loss.
From www.bbc.com

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2007-11-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hello :) hmm too much sun for a north girl

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