Managing your core business

Small and medium sized business owners have to take care of a lot of nitty-grittys of their business, taking away their precious time from the crucial aspects of the business or the core business activities. It is also impractical to outsource such not-so-important activities due to the size and nature of the business. Hiring employees to handle such tasks could be a little expensive and sometimes create more responsibilities than reducing it.

In such a scenario business owners have to take complete advantage of information technology to help reduce the burden. In this age of Web 2.0 the web browser has almost replaced most of the desktop applications. Most applications are now available as hosted services. This reduces the start-up costs for businesses.

Blue Box Intranet Software UK from the UK based Blue Box Software Ltd is one such hosted service that provides features like secure file sharing , on-line project collaboration, centralised list of contacts, simple day to day management, connecting multiple office locations, remote and home access, organising information in a way that suits you, controlled user access and a reliable support and backup. The look and feel of the intranet solution can also be customised to your organisation.

You can get a five user licence for just £39 per month. If your business is financially good enough and you are willing to make the software all your's for a one time payment, you can get the intranet solution "Out of the box" for £2195. » Continue reading

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Recession-Proof Perks

Raises are rare in a recession, but supervisors are more willing to keep to performers happy with benefits that might otherwise be tough to negotiate, says Lin Grensing-Pophal, author of Motivating Today's Employees. Perks worth asking for, and tactics to get them:

A snazzier title
"When raises aren't an option, I often give title increases," says S. Gary Snodgrass, a senior vice-president at an energy corporation. Recently, one employee pointed out that a better title would give him more clout with clients. "I gladly agreed," says Snodgrass. "If someone says "Me, me, me," I'll say 'No, no, no." But explain what's in it for the company, and I'm all ears."

Working from home
"We're especially willing to keep good people happy with flexible schedules during tough times," says Rosalind Cox, a senior manager at For Motor Co. "But don't just walk in and ask to telecommute." One woman typed up a memo explaining what tasks she'd do at home. "This showed me she took the privilege seriously and would not waste time."

A cushy office
An associate asked Hamilton Holloway, public relations manager at a financial institution, to hire a feng shui expert to reorganize her department's cubicles. "It showed she cared about her environment and her peers," he says. "Plus it was fun. Any low-cost idea to boost morale these days will get a supervisior's attnetion." » Continue reading

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Women beat men at recognizing faces

In case you hadn't already guessed, it's now official: women beat men hands down at remembering a face.

Swedish researchers conducted an online experiment using 1800 participants, each of whom was given eight tasks involving matching a picture of a face with ten similar faces under various conditions -- in profile, silhouetted or with different facial expression or degrees of picture quality. The study found that not only were women better at recognizing faces than men, but they were less likely to be distracted by changes in hairstyle or facial expression.

The result is probably a mixture of genetic difference and training. Women may be better at studying faces because they're more likely to be the main carer in a family and have more eye contact with children. The findings have implications for recruitment in industries such as security and customs, where facial recognition matters. » Continue reading

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Time Management at Work

Tricks to get more done in less time, from the clients of US career coach Terry Kozlowski:

Don't overdo overtime. One study found that worker productivity sharply declines after 50 hours a week. Make evening plans to avoid lingering. "When I know I have to leave for a 6:30 gym session, I don't say, "I'll just do that later during the day," says a consulting firm executive.

Schedule even the small stuff. Looming little tasks can add up and distract you, says a website producer. "But when a call is set for 3pm, I forget it and focus on the project at hand."

Take a vacation. The former CEO of an engineering firm, required his staff to use all days off. "They'd return with a fresh perspective -- and ideas."

Master the meeting drain. Use time between meetings for jobs you can finish. "I can't force the concentration for big things," says one business manager. But 15 minutes is perfect for answering email. » Continue reading

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Avoid Man-to-Man Deals at Work

If you are planning to ask for a pay rise or want to secure a business deal, try to bargain with someone of the opposite sex.

European researchers have found that women negotiate better with men and vice versa, but that both men and women become over-competitive when dealing with someone of the same gender.

Talks between a mixed-gender pair lead to significantly more co-operation, resulting in mutually beneficial business outcomes, the researchers say.

They suggest that companies can use this knowledge to their benefit, by strategically selecting the gender of their representatives. » Continue reading

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Nokia sets stage for mobile advertising with Nokia Ad Service

Nokia recently announced the launch of its Nokia Ad Service, a service similar to Google Adwords and Google Adsense, but for mobile advertising and providing an end-to-end solution for advertisers and publishers.

Connecting advertisers to mobile internet publishers

The service will enable advertisers to target and display banner, text link and interstitial advertisements on mobile internet applications and services.

Publishers will be able to generate revenue from the traffic that they generate by placing a piece of code onto the desired location on the mobile web application or service.

Nokia Ad Service will take a cut out of the advertising revenue that the publishers in the network earn.

The service is operational in Europe as of now and will be available globally in the second half of 2007.

For more details on Nokia Ad Service visit http://www.adservice.nokia.com/ » Continue reading

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