Productivity Software

Archive for February, 2010

As business consultants, we are often asked about the differences between a network marketing company and a home party plan company.  Both types of companies have independent sales representatives who earn commissions on personal sales and bonuses on the sales of others.  However, there are important differences between them in naming conventions, sales techniques, compensation, productivity, and characteristics of customers.

Naming Conventions 

Network marketing companies tend to refer to their sales representatives as distributors, associates, IBO’s, and independent agents.  These are male-sounding words with action implied.  It’s no coincidence that the average network marketing sales rep is a man.

Home party plan companies use terms like consultant, demonstrator, stylist, and counselor.  These are feminine terms.  About 98% of home party representatives are women.

In creating your company, think about the composition of your sales force.  If most will be men or most will be women, it would be wise to give the representative a name them fits them.

Sales Techniques

Network marketing representatives typically sell products and services one-to-one, whereas home party plan representatives use primarily a group selling approach.

If your products sell best when they are demonstrated or explained, a home party plan format may be a good fit for you.

However, if in an average group of potential customers less than 80% will buy at least one item, then the home party plan format may not work well for you.

Compensation

Since most of the sales of a network marketing company are made to its sales representatives, activity requirements of these companies are most commonly set using amounts appropriate for “personal consumption.”

However, since most of the sales of home party plan companies are made to others, activity requirements are usually set based on the sales volume generated by an average-sized home party.

Network marketing and home party companies each have compensation plans by which their sales representatives are compensated.  The compensation plan for either type of company should be built with consideration for the company’s margins and the types, pricing, and consumption patterns of the products.

Productivity

Annually, active network marketing representatives typically generate about $500 to $1000 in sales for an average company.

Home party plan representatives on the other hand generate between $5,000 and $10,000 in sales per head each year.

So, a home party plan company with 1,000 representatives can generate sales volume comparable to a network marketing company with 10,000 representatives.

Customer Characteristics

Within most network marketing companies, the sales representative is the customer.  In these companies, generally there is very little retailing of product to non-participants.  Instead, the sales rep is encouraged to sign-up for an AutoShip program to create residual income for upline participants.

Conversely, home party plan representatives are encouraged to sell their products and services to customers who are not representatives.  Personal consumption by reps is a very small portion of a home party plan company’s sales.

Income

Since most network marketing companies don’t have a strong base of customers who are not sales representatives, the only way to earn money as a network marketing rep is to recruit others who buy products from the company for personal use.  Simply put, without a viable retailing component, if you don’t recruit, you won’t earn any money.

Home party plan representatives can earn significant income by selling without recruiting.  In fact, the average home party plan participant who earns $300 to $500 per month earns little or nothing on the sales of others.

Conclusion

The business model you select is important, for each motivates and rewards different behaviors.

With 22 years of experience with hundreds of direct selling companies, Sylvina Consulting provides an extensive list of business development services as well as expertise in addressing software requirements to all direct selling companies, from startups at the concept stage to the largest multinational firms and to companies in between.

To request our monthly newsletter and receive a free copy of our "20 Secrets of Success for Direct Selling Companies" article, visit www.sylvina.com or contact Sylvina Consulting directly at 503.244.8787.

Jay Leisner
http://www.articlesbase.com/mlm-articles/direct-selling-differences-network-marketing-and-party-plan-750315.html

Computer monitoring software is used to spy on a person’s internet activities. There are software programs nowadays that can track everything a person does on the computer -

record instant message conversations, log emails sent and received, record all visited websites, so on and so on. The programs can be hidden from the unsuspecting user, and they usually have no idea

they are being monitored. Only the person who installed it, and is doing the monitoring, will know where it is, and how to access all the devious activity, if there is any.

There are three primary uses for computer monitoring. To monitor your child’s internet activity, spy on your spouse or partner, or track your employees activities at the workplace (if you own a business).

Is it ethical? In most cases I believe it is, in others there is a gray area.

In the case of monitoring our children, I do believe we as parents have every right to know what they are up to. The internet can be a very dangerous place for kids, and has become a haven for sexual predators.

How do you think your teen would react if they found out you were watching them? They would probably go ballistic on you for betraying their trust.

I would suggest just telling them that you will be keeping an eye on their activities, and explain why. You do not have to tell them you are using spy software, just one warning to tell them you know what’s going on, should suffice. It’s our duty to protect our kids and ensure their safety in any way we can.

Just give them a warning that you will be watching and set limits on their internet use. Make their working computer in the living room or den, a computer in their bedroom is asking for trouble. Even when your not at home, you can view their activities from a remote computer, if your working or on vacaction.

You can even see what they are doing remotely from another computer in the house you have access to.

Catching the cheating spouse. This is where it can get dangerous. I had once caught my exgirlfriend exchanging rather erotic emails with some guy over the web. Sure enough, she was having an affair. She had forgotten to log off her yahoo email account, and when I was checking my yahoo email, she was still logged on.

You can imagine I felt hurt and betrayed. This ultimately led to our break up, because she started dating the guy. I just think how would I feel if she was the one spying on me? I would feel very betrayed that she did not trust me. However, there is something inside all of us, that just has to know the truth. If you use computer monitoring on your spouse or partner, be careful your not caught. If your more computer savvy than them, most likely they will not know. If you are the faithful one, you certainly have a right to know.

Employees at the workplace. You want to make sure your employees are actually working and not goofing off at their workstations. With computer monitoring software, you can monitor multiple workstations at once. Is it ethical? Well, only the employees who have something to hide would say no.

You are trying to run a business, paying workers , you run the show. You have every right to know where your hard earned money is going. I would personally just let them know upon hiring, that all workstations are monitored for productivity.

Tim Chirillo
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/computer-monitoring-software-is-it-ethical-131733.html

I am constantly amazed at the state of computer systems found in
most small businesses networks. Spyware, adware, malware, poor
security, you name it! Why is this so?

Small business owners often find themselves in a situation where
they need to do everything. They are their own IT person, writer
or even delivery person. Sometimes they have had their next-door
neighbor setup up their peer-to-peer network. Maybe they had a
computer person set things up then tried to maintain the network
on their own. There are many reasons.

What it all adds up to is you have a network with many security
problems and poor performance.

Poor performance can lead to lost productivity due to lost data
or hardware and software problems. If every time you start MS
Word it takes five minutes to open up, and you open it four
times per day, you could loose as much as twenty minutes per
day. That is over 120 hours per year for just one application!

A system heavily infected with adware and spyware can easily
take this long to startup or shutdown programs, if it does not
crash frequently. Since adware and spyware authors do not care
if your PC crashes, they tend to write sloppy programs that
cause problems when they interact with legitimate applications.

The security side can be even more problematic. Do you maintain
customer data on your network? If you do, you may have a legal
responsibility to safeguard that data. Failure to do so could
open your business up to litigation. We all know how lawsuit
happy Americans have become.

So what do you do?

Do what the big companies do, turn the problem over to your IT
department and make them solve the problem.

You do not have an IT department. Well you could call George,
the guy who setup your network in the first place. George is the
“computer technician” who failed to setup your network security,
when he created your network.

I like George; he gives me a lot of business fixing problems he
leaves behind.

One of the advantages of having your own IT department is they
become familiar with your operations and can quickly resolve any
problems that pop up.

How can you take advantage of having your own IT staff? Hire an
IT support company for the service. I know “outsourcing” is a
dirty word these days, but if you think about it small
businesses have always benefited from outsourcing.

Why contract for your IT support? One reason is you may not have
a need for a fulltime onsite technician. If you only have a need
for a technician ten hours a week, do you want to pay for a full
forty hours?

To protect yourself and maintain a professional relationship
with your support company always insist on a service contract.
This contract defines the responsibilities of both parties.

Your service contract should cover the following aspects:

Service Level Agreement

This is the performance standard you use to measure the response
you receive from your support company. For instance, my company
typically offers three levels of service level agreements. Each
level costs a different amount based on the timeliness of
service. If you contract for a four-hour response, you are
guaranteed a technician on-site in less than four hours. A
twelve-hour SLA would have a technician on-site in less than
twelve hours. Naturally, the quicker the response the more the

costs. This can work in your favor if you can afford to wait a
little while for support.

On-site Support

This is when a technician is dispatched to your location and
should be considered the minimum level of service.

Telephone Support

Telephone support offers your business two big incentives,
quicker resolution and lower costs. Phone support can return
your employees to a productive state faster than On-site
support.

This should be included in the contract. Some companies consider
it an add-on and charge an additional fee.

Additional Services

Since the goal of contracting for your IT support is to provide
your business with the maximum benefit, for the least cost,
consider including these additional services

Acceptable Use Policies Project Management Network Security
Network Design and Development Remote Office Support

The more complete the services provided by your support company,
the better off your company will be.

Here is a sample package that is popular with my customers. A
yearly mutually renewable contract that may be terminated on
sixty days written notice by either party. Stipulating a
twelve-hour SLA and limited phone support.

Included in the project initiation package is an Acceptable Use
Agreement that has to be signed by all employees. This is a
precondition to finalization of the service contract. An
acceptable use policy defines the actions that may and may not
be taken on your network. This helps protect you from wrongdoing
by your employees.

The way my technicians service our contracts is to attempt to
give the customer a four-hour or better response regardless of
the contracted SLA. Our phone support goal is to contact the
customer in less then 30 minutes.

Since this is a service contract, my technicians, as a minimum,
spend one entire day per month at the client’s office
maintaining the network environment.

This means ensuring all PCs have all the required security
patches and hot fixes applied, updated virus definition files
and that all spyware/adware has been removed. These actions
ensure your network runs smoothly, reducing employee downtime
and the support required to maintain the network.

In addition to the monthly maintenance, the contract allows for
up to five hours free on-site labor per month. Any work carried
out beyond this time frame is billed at fifty percent of the
current billing rate.

The client is responsible for all hardware and software costs.

Special projects are billed at a reduce rate also.

Initially, a large amount of work is required to get the
client’s network setup efficiently, after this; few clients need
services outside of the contracted hours. When they do, it is
mostly for special unanticipated projects.

Now you can give your business a “corporate” IT department even
if you are not a big corporation. I have seen real estate agents
who make high six figure incomes spending their time fixing
computer problems. Ask yourself, is my time better spent fixing
this computer or should I call in a specialist and spend my time
making money for my business.

I vote for making money

Rick Parrott, Mcp
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/why-your-business-needs-a-desktop-support-professional-522.html

Please let me know if you have this laptop and if it works with sims 2 or not !!!!
Thankyou

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5670 (1.8GHz) Dual Core Processor

Cache: 2 MB

FSB: 800 MHz

RAM: 2 GB DDR2 667 MHz (2 DIMM)

RAM Expandable To: 4GB

Hard Drive: 200GB SATA

Screen: 13.3" Widescreen with TruBrite

Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100

Other Drives: Dual Layer DVD SuperMulti Burner

Communications: 802.11a/g/n wireless LAN, 10/100 Ethernet, International V.92 Data/Fax Modem, Bluetooth, 1.3MP integrated webcam with Toshiba Face Recognition

Ports/Slots: 3 x USB 2.0, 1 x Firewire, 5-in-1 card reader

Software: Windows Vista Business (includes Windows XP Pro downgrade disc)

Battery: Up to 3 hours battery life

Weight: 1.9 Kg

12 Month Manufacturers Warranty

Features

With a myriad of features and a stunning 13.3" screen, the Toshiba Satellite U400/S00 is an ideal choice for work use and comes with Windows Vista Business preloaded.

Giving you great performance thanks to the Intel Core 2 Duo T5670 processor, the Toshiba Satellite U400/S00 also hosts a wide array of features, supported by an International warranty (pick-up and return courier service within Australia).

Ideal for movies, spreadsheeting and desktop publishing, the 13.3" Wide LCD with TrueBrite gives you a crisp viewing space and vivid colour reproduction.

Improve your productivity with integrated Dual Layer DVD burner, card reader and integrated card reader. With an integrated webcam with Toshiba Face Recognition.

Preloaded with Windows Vista Business for a visually stunning computing experience, enhanced support for notebooks with Windows Mobility Centre, Windows Meeting Space for document collaboration and support for mobile devices with Sync Centre.

Sims 2 requirements:

* 800 MHz processor
* 256 MB RAM if Windows XP
* 128 MB RAM if Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 gigs of free hard drive space

So ya it will work on your computer just fine

I know the input and output requirements. Only thing is I do not know how to write a software programme. I should hire a soft ware engineer or software developers and how to find one?

Why do you need a special program. It seems to me there’s nothing in your problem that cannot be solved with an Excel spreadsheet…

In the era of globalization, the very dynamics of doing business has changed massively. Many of the IT based companies have taken lead role in outsourcing business, the prominent of these being, software, software testing, data entry and the BPO. The pre-empt requirement of data entry was the result of massive globalization. There are core benefits of data entry outsourcing services, which give, triumphant path to success to big corporate and the SMEs. The efficient data processing services help not only data feeding process, but also, in managing the data for the upfront requirements.

Data entry outsourcing gives sumptuous gains either ways. To the outsourcing company, it is the means of building profits in short time, and for client, it is the way that brings efficiency and synchronization of every process involved in running a company. Various data entry solution providers are reining the outsourcing market and each one them offer some or the other readymade data entry packages, which can work and outsmart the current business models.

Core Benefits of Data Entry Outsourcing Services
In today’s world, information technology plays a crucial role in development of organization. It creates success and brings abound virtues. Data entry as the part of this revolution brings tremendous outsourcing opportunities with it. The core benefits of data entry outsourcing services include:

· Reliable Data Source – As the part of data entry outsourcing, the companies get completely flawless data which can be easily used for the benefits of the organizational needs. This in turn ensures smoothness in workflow and there is no wastage of time.

· Minimized Costing and Maximized ROI – Data entry outsourcing services brings an ideal bargain to the companies who have other prominent processes to take care of. In this way, the companies can reduce the wastage of resources and increase the efficiency and productivity. As the result of which, sumptuous gains are the obvious outcome.

· Quality Work – Amongst the other core benefits of data entry outsourcing services is getting fast track quality work as per the requirements. As bulk assignments delivered everyday without compromising on the quality issue, outsourcing data entry services is fast becoming the first choice of most of information technology companies.

· Many in one service – Data entry outsourcing services is an ideal potpourri of number of allied services, which include, image scanning, image editing, OCR scanning, PDF to DOC conversion, data processing, SGML/HTML coding, data security and much more.

· Efficient Data Management – Since the data is entered afresh into different formats, it is managed and digitized to give an affable appeal, besides, high accuracy levels.

· Easing out Burden – Included in the core benefits of data entry outsourcing services, is the easing of burden of companies, who are involved in strategic processes, which play an instrumental role in churning profits. By outsourcing the time-consuming data entry work to third party, the company gets relieved of unnecessary pressure and can concentrate over the new projects.

The core benefits of data entry outsourcing services listed above projects high opportunity levels of growth in field of data entry for the companies, third party players and staff on the whole.

grijseo
http://www.articlesbase.com/ecommerce-articles/core-benefits-of-data-entry-outsourcing-to-india-717939.html

Companies with high volume printing needs rely on advanced print spooler software to manage the load of enterprise printing. Choosing the right system can make the difference in more efficient output management and increased productivity throughout all departments. With all the different products out there, organizations need to know which features and benefits they need the most.

User Friendly Interface. Quality print spooler software is designed to be easily utilized by all employees. Good programs require minimal training and ease print spooling burdens placed on IT departments.

Print Automation. The heart of print spooling systems is the ability to automate print jobs. Controlling which printers a user can access, re-routing print jobs around failed printers, and sending large volume jobs to the correct printers are print automation features that a company needs to streamline its production. Print automation also evenly distributes jobs among printers in order to avoid placing a heavy load on select printers.

Remote Status. With a remote status feature, users can check on and control the progress or completion of a print job, no matter where the printer is located. Companies who have multiple printers in both local and remote sites will want this benefit in their print spooler software package.

Great Customer Service. Successful print spooler software companies can readily supply potential clients with a solid list of enthusiastic references. If the purpose of print spooler software is automation and streamlining printing services, then customers will line up to sing the praises of software that works and customer support that delivers.

Companies who do their homework before purchasing their print spooler software have a better chance of finding a product that meets their needs and achieves success. Taking the time and effort to select the right software now will save valuable time and money down the road.

Nicole Summerfield
http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/what-to-look-for-in-print-spooler-software-96644.html

Baldwin & Francis began back in 1919 and is a leading technology company that designs and supplies total mining electrical solutions for underground coal mines. Their 25 users expect to go live in August of 2006.

Baldwin & Francis Limited, headquartered in Sheffield, UK has selected VISIBILITY.net ERP. According to Mark Thornton of Visibility Corporation, “One of the biggest factors in their decision was to take advantage of the latest technology in combination with the comprehensive To-Order functionality.”

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for the Complex Manufacturing sector, non-repetitive manufacturing, has been less than effective in accomplishing these strategic advantages until VISIBILITY.net. Business integration, comprehensive functionality, collaborative capabilities, global features and compliance based controls enable effective decision making, increased organizational productivity, and a system infrastructure optimized for profitable business growth.

Complex manufacturers have more than fifty percent of their business in international markets. The need to access the dynamic communication interface has never been stronger according. Strategic advantages across the entire enterprise must include Operations Management, Technology, Business Performance Management, Collaboration, Material & Production Planning, Financial Management, Customer Relationship Management and Engineering & Product Lifecycle Management.

Visibility Corporation (www.visibility.com) is a leading developer and supplier of business software solutions designed for the unique needs of project-based, engineer-to-order and to-order manufacturers. Visibility’s Enterprise Application solutions help midsize manufacturers of complex products operate their businesses effectively. Visibility has an extensive customer base throughout North America and Europe and has the strongest representation of ERP among complex manufacturers.

VISIBILITY.net is an integrated ERP solution and more. Offering unparalleled functionality and integrated workflow, this browser-based solution cost effectively delivers the power of .NET-based Web services for use with either a Microsoft SQL Server™ or Oracle® database. Conducting business any place, any time, any where is a reality, deployable with unprecedented flexibility.

Thomas Cutler
http://www.articlesbase.com/technology-articles/erp-software-selected-by-uk-british-mining-electrical-solutions-firm-baldwin-francis-limited-108529.html

It’s days old. I suped it up with a nice graphics card and MS Office. I want an accurate range of what I can sell it for, it’s pretty much brand new. thanks.

Product Details:
Product Line: ThinkCentre IBM
Product Series: M57p Tower
Product Type: Desktop PC
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz (4MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
Standard Memory: 1GB shared Dual Channel 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1 x 1GB)
Hard Drive: 80GB SATA/300 7200 RPM
Optical Drive: 48x CDRW/DVD-ROM Combo Drive
Graphics Controller: ATI X800XL PCI-E, also equipped w/Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) X3100 (max shared memory 384 MB)
Network: Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet IEEE 802.3ab
Modem: NO Data/Fax Modem
Mouse/Keyboard:
* Preferred Pro USB full-size keyboard
* USB Optical Wheel mouse Audio: ADI 1882 HD Audio Codec
Security Features: User and administrator passwords for BIOS access
Ports:
* 25-pin Extended Capabilities Port (ECP)/Extended Parallel Port (EPP)
* 9-pin serial connector
* Eight USB connectors (two on front panel and six on rear panel)
* Standard mouse connector
* Standard keyboard connector
* Ethernet connector
* VGA monitor connector
* Three audio connectors (line in, line out, and microphone) on rear panel
* Two audio connectors (microphone and headphone) on front panel
* One eSATA connector through PCI bracket (some models)
Power Supply:
* 280 Watt power supply with manual voltage selection switch
* Automatic 50/60 Hz input frequency switching
Operating System: Genuine Windows Vista Business 32 bit

Software Included: Microsoft Office Pro 2007, Adobe Reader; Diskeeper Lite; Google Toolbar; Google Desktop; Picasa from Google; PC-Doctor; Power Manager and Presentation Director; ThinkVantage Access Connections; ThinkVantage Productivity Center with Away Manager; ThinkVantage Rescue and Recovery; ThinkVantage System Update; Active Rotate
Color: Black
Standard Warranty: 1 Year Limited Part/Labor and On-Site Repair

Your PC’s Price depends on your customer for
Computer Literate Person – $400 – 600
Average – $ 650 – 800
People that dont know about computer’s – $1000 – 1200
Gudlak I hope I give you a good idea

Do you think there ever could be, maybe not now but perhaps in 10-20 yars time, a better software company than Microsoft, or a better Internet-Search company than Google who creates a better operating system than Windows or a better Search Engine than Google, or better productivity suites, internet sevices,IM etc? Do you think it could be possible for a new company to be dominant by taking out the dominant companies out there now?

Of course. I bet back in the day the people of the Roman Empire used to turn to each other and say things like "There will never be an Empire as big as ours. We will always dominate".

I think there are already "better" software companies than Microsoft. A lot of them. Microsoft are not the best. Not by a long way. They may be the biggest (And not by a lot, Oracle are getting close) but as for best. That must be a joke right?