Business Intelligence – A must for future prospects of your business

Wikileaks is the talk of the town these days. Go anywhere, overhear any two people and there are 60-70% chances of people talking of covert intelligence leaks leaked out by the Wikileaks. It’s all about intelligence – the hidden secrets, details and strategies. The information gained through illegal means to expose people internationally. But that is certainly not what Business Intelligence (BI) is about.

BI is in fact a tool in the hands of an entrepreneur to gauge and adjudge the strengths and weakness of one’s business for working out remodeled strategies for better future prospects. Today, thanks to the capabilities of the digital world, computer based tools and techniques are now available to analyze the business data (that may includes the number of customers, buyers, sellers, actual sales, profits, losses and anything that one deals in day to day business environment).

Based on the current and previous business details, technology and software can now provide a precise analysis of the pitfalls and gray areas to predict areas of strength for future prospects. The predictive analysis in fact is the key to tomorrow’s business that an entrepreneur would like to have from his team of managers to work out his future business strategy through better business performance management and usage of resources. The analysis also provides an important input for reducing costs by buying best raw materials that boost production through efficient investment.

The predictive analysis thus helps in taking better and wise business decisions. Going a little outward, one can intelligently monitor his competitors and their approach based on their business trends by compiling data from both overt and covert means.

By adopting the BI, one is in fact laying the basis of analytical approach to problem solving at levels of management. The analysis on daily, weekly and periodical basis of every facet of business at every level provides an updated analysis to alter or modify business strategy, goal posts and investment. This however requires training of the managers and key employs because unless they know what to dig out of their routine work, the BI will not able to provide a comprehensive predictive analysis.

By incorporating the management and the employees, one is in fact enhancing their confidence into him and emphasizing a role for everyone to be part of the predictive analysis for the betterment of the organization and ultimately ensuring better prospects for the workers and everyone in the organization. The BI also ensures objectivity in the efficiency of the work force as now everything is based on benchmarking through confidence and training.

Anyone in business today not taking advantage of the BI would soon run out of its steam and lose the race. So use the technologies of today for a better future business prospect.

Related Link: Business Intelligence (Wikipedia)

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Curved mobile phones

"Mobile phones have come in all manner of different shapes and sizes over the years. Standard candy bars, clamshells, sliders, swivel designs - even odd origami-like multi-twisty phones. One thing all these different phone types have in common, though, is flatness. The fascia of the phone is always completely flat, largely because the screen itself has to be flat...."

Read complete post at: Futuristic Gadgets: Curved mobile phones

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10 Careers With High Rates of Depression

Some jobs are more depression-prone than others. Here are 10 fields (out of 21 major job categories) in which full-time workers are most likely to report an episode of major depression in a given year. “There are certain aspects of any job that can contribute to or exacerbate depression,” says Deborah Legge, PhD, a licensed mental health counselor in Buffalo. "Folks with the high-stress jobs have a greater chance of managing it if they take care of themselves and get the help they need.”

Read on for details at: 10 Careers With High Rates of Depression - depression - Health.com

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Evaluate Business Performance Through Knowledge and Training Skills

When any business has invested in some training, how we would know if it has been a success? This article explains the way to evaluate any business performance involved in training.

Read the complete post at: Evaluate Business Performance Through Knowledge and Training Skills

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Implementation Of Reformed GST In Pakistan

Pakistan is in dire need of increasing its tax revenues by implementing a broad-based modern form of sales tax on goods and services. The Sales Tax Act, 1990, was originally designed on the basis of accepted value added taxation doctrines but due to political compromises and revenue exigencies, it increasingly became distorted and narrow-based because of ever-expanding exemptions, special regimes, multiplicity of rates and several other deviations from international best concepts and practices. Resultantly, not only the tax base of sales tax and income tax has been eroded but also lack of documentation of the national economy has proved a big hindrance in the development of effective tax policy options.

Read full article at: Financial Risk Manager: Implementation Of Reformed GST In Pakistan

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Economic and Business Updates - From 1st November to 7th November, 2010

The State Bank launches a Rs10 billion concessional financing scheme for SMEs and agricultural sector through banks to improve access to financing in flood-affected areas. And much to the dismay of the consumers and general public, OGRA increases prices of petroleum products by Rs4.27 to Rs7.11 per litre or up to nine per cent with effect from November 1. Read the full report at: Financial Risk Manager: Economic and Business Updates - From 1st November to 7th November, 2010

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Financial Risk Manager: Economic and Business Updates - From 1st November to 7th November, 2010

Financial Risk Manager: Economic and Business Updates - From 1st November to 7th November, 2010

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The Mismanagement of Pakistan Railway

Whenever Mr Bilour takes over the Railways, rather I should say “every time” Mr Bilour takes over the Pakistan Railway, it suddenly goes bankrupt, as if it wasn’t functioning at all previously. A few days ago, the honourable minister lamented, “We even do not fund to purchase bulbs for the trains.” This was followed by a news item that most of the engines were standing idle for want of spares, quoting the railway minister. It is amazing that while all trains run jam packed, the railway still run in losses. I would like to ask the minister what actions has he initiated for putting the railway back on track - ordering engines from a failed firm from China or something else? It hurts to see once very efficient organization become useless, inefficient, unyielding and dying.

I was once part of a study group on human resource development and management and we went to the Railway Headquarters in Lahore to get educated as to how they, the biggest non-army human resource intensive organization in Pakistan, were handling their HR effectively. And I and the remaining group were appalled to know that Pakistan Railway did not have a dedicated HR department. Now that is something very awesome and strange as such strategic organizations do not run on personal whims or past experiences. Like the airlines all over the world which have a pilot-crew-ground maintenance staff in a given ratio to each aircraft, the same ratio should also apply to the railway as well. Each train should have a ratio of drivers-guards-maintenance staff. Do we know this ratio or does the minister?

Recently, Pakistan Railway decided to cancel/suspend over 200 hundred trains for want of spares and shortage of funds. But what about the staff and manpower allocated for the suspended trains? Have those people been laid off or still getting salaries for doing nothing? A prudent minister should have ordered laying off the surplus/idle staff rather than lamenting the engines standing idle for want of spares. Even the services of these people were not utilized or offered to the Army and other agencies that were battling the recent flash floods and evacuating people. At least this idle work force should have been put to work rather than sitting idle.

The only time I remember that Pakistan Railway ever undertook a worthwhile modernization; it was during the “dictator” Ayub Khan’s time when the Lahore-Khanewal section was electrified to run electric trains. No government after the “dictator” could extend it to Karachi to save time and have faster trains service.

Even at this time, while most of the railways of the world are fuel, manpower and equipment efficient, our railways lacks any modern look. It works on the same vintage signal system, it is intensively manpower heavy which is a drag on the resources of the organization. Perhaps even the Railway itself would not know how many employees has it on its rolls or whether they are actually required or not.

Our railway does not computerized its ticketing system and no facility exists in this modern world within this giant organization to extend the facility of online ticketing to its passengers. Nor does it provide concessional packages for family travel or have a formula to apply on the fare during peak rush hours. Its platforms are the filthiest, infested with substandard cafes selling unhygienic foodstuff to passengers travelling in the trains. The trains are equally dirty despite the battalions of labourers and train staff to clean these and keep these so even during the travelling duration. One can still find cold drink sellers shabbily dressed carrying pales “balti” with ice and cold drinks and selling these onboard. It seems as if these trains are run by illiterates or by those who do not seem to have seen railways functioning around the world and how passengers enjoy a clean and hassle free journey abroad. We do not ask for bullet-trains in Pakistan, but at least these should be worth travelling.

I think time has come that affairs of failing and unproductive strategic assets like the Pakistan Railway, Pakistan Steel and PIA be handled professionally and instead of swarming these with unskilled workforce from political parties, a proper operation research be carried out to ascertain the actual requirement of the staff/workers/labourers and even management to operate these organizations effectively rather than pouring in money and still not yielding the desired effects, and make these parasites on national exchequer and tax payers money.

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Financial Risk Manager: Economic and Business Updates - From 25th to 31st October, 2010

Financial Risk Manager: Economic and Business Updates - From 25th to 31st October, 2010

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The CareerBoost

We cannot ignore the fact that work and workplace can be very frustrating at times and in a situation like this, the quality of the work suffers badly. Let’s face it; doing a job, handling issues, dealing with a stubborn boss, etc. can be very stressful but you have to do it in any case. A perfect working place where there are no issues exists only in your dreams. If you are stressed out at work and if you do not have a healthy mind, you cannot concentrate on your work at any cost. Even if you hate your workplace, you are supposed to respect it. You need to understand the fact that you won’t be able to succeed in a situation like this where you are under stress all the time. Read full article at: Career Articles & Advices - The CareerBoost

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Driverless Cars – An innovative direction for Auto Industry

When Karl Benz, Henry Ford and John W Lambert were making headlines in the previous century in the field of newly born auto industry, they would have never even in their wildest dreams would have imagined that one day the vehicles will be running without fuel and their drivers. Today, the driverless cars are making the same headlines as was done more than a hundred years ago.

The 13000 kilometers long accident free journey of four solar powered driverless vehicles from Italy to China is a landmark in the auto industry. This reminds of the flying cars in the film “Back to the Future” and also makes it possible someday when we would be flying and “piloting” cars instead of driving.

The vehicles used solar panels mounted on their rooftops, and equipped with computerized artificial vision system “GOLD” for Generic Obstacle and lane Detector for automatically analyzing the information from the sensors and adjusting the vehicles’ directions and speed. At one point, the vehicles also stopped to give a lift to a hitch hiker.

The project is part of the research work at University of Parma, Italy and may serve as a cue for its vending and production for commercial use by some auto giant one day. For the time being the visitors at the Shanghai Expo, China will be the opportunity to see these vehicles and may wonder at the marvel of technology advancement. And we will wait for the time when such cars make their way on to our roads one day.

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Outsourcing – An innovative approach to right sizing

For managers of olden days, each organization or company is a wholesome – wholesome in a sense that each and every function of business right from the induction of manpower to purchase of raw material and all other managerial and productive functions are to be performed by segments within the same organization. And that is what we have been doing since time immemorial. Well this could continue, but smart managers find the system cumbersome, straining both mental faculties and scarce financial situation.

So they have come up with an innovative approach – outsourcing. That is contracting out a business function(s), previously performed within, to an external source professional in that particular field. For example induction of manpower or selection of raw material. Now instead of having a dedicated segment within to carryout recruitment, selection and induction, one simply spells out the requirement to the selected firm dealing in manpower provision and sit back till the requisite manpower as per laid down criteria arrives. Simple isn’t it?

The process of outsourcing is not that simple either. While laying-off own professionals doing the same job, now a competent outsource is to be selected and dealt with. The process of outsourcing is a four staged operation: (1) develop the organization's philosophy about outsourcing s; (2) evaluation and selection of appropriate outsourcing projects and potential locations for the work to be done and service providers; (3) contracting that would include legal documentation, pricing and service level agreement (SLA) terms; and (4) working relationship between the management of the organization requiring outsourcing and outsourcing service providers.

Well it has its pros and cons. One really has to weight these before opting for outsourcing. Even governments may come in as outsourcing may result in downsizing f outfits rather than right sizing. For an optimist, outsourcing seems the best option for following reasons:-

• Business Focus Approach. Obviously, by delegating the authority of many managerial and other functions to an external source/service provider, the management and the company can better focus on the core business issues rather than wasting time unnecessarily on aspects that can be best handled by professionals.
• Cost Effective. Outsourcing is definitely cost effective as there is no more need of a dedicated HR department, specially for small/medium scale companies / outfits as the same function of hiring people can be performed externally. Likewise, selection/short listing of hardware/raw material can be left to outsource outfits rather than maintaining an in house segment to worry about it. The savings so incurred by doing away with surplus staff can be best utilized on other aspects like quality assurance and quality management.
• Effective risk management is ensured since the risk of provision of services would now lie flat and square on the shoulders of the services providing outsource company.
• Enhancement of capacity for innovation. Being professionals, the outsourcing companies can supplement the otherwise limited capacity of an organization for innovating ways and means to boost production, rather than focusing on issues of mundane level.
• Improved quality of human and material intake, as from now on such aspects will be handled by professional who will chose the best to remain competitive themselves in the business of outsourcing.

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Every concept has its cons as well as outsourcing generally revolves around manpower selection and induction. Due to availability of cheaper manpower from poor countries, the outsourcing service providers look for better and cheaper options. This is done at the cost of indigenous labour /work force which get neglected to outsourcing of manpower from other countries. The outsourcing of manpower is also called off shoring or offshore outsourcing. But businessmen would encourage any means that reduce their salary bank and improves their profits and assets. This fear by local labour is genuine and that is why I said before that the governments may to intervene if outsourcing of manpower from outside hurts own people and leads to poverty/unemployment.

Language and accent is one of the biggest drawbacks if outsourcing of manpower from countries where a different language is spoken is resorted to. It makes the job of managers difficult to understand the foreign labour/workers and put across their view point clearly. This sometimes leads to misunderstandings, creates mistrust and even spoiling of an outfit’s working environment.

AS for outsourcing, Pakistan is among some of the most favoured countries, especially in the fields of provision of manpower, skilled, semi skilled and raw labour, IT professionals, doctors, engineers and many other professionals. As per A.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index of the most attractive outsourcing destinations in the world. Pakistan ranked at number 20 in 2009. Pakistan progressed from 30th in 2007 to 20th in 2009. Pakistan has a large English-speaking population and a huge community of émigrés with experience in technology. Thus, there are plenty of companies in the Middle East, for instance, that outsource work to Pakistan. Being a cheap outsourcing source, many companies and is one reason that places like Pakistan score so highly.

Related Reading:

Pakistan Outsourcing

Outsourcing to Pakistan (oDesk)

Tips for Outsourcing – 10 Tips that work

Photo Courtesy: Internet Marketing

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Pakistan bags 7 APICTAs

At the 10th International Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Pakistan team bagged 7 awards out of 16 APICTA categories. The credit goes to the efforts of the P@SHA (Pakistan Software Houses Association for IT & ITES), which has been representing Pakistan in many international events. The proud Pakistani delegation picked up 7 Merit Awards (the APICTA Silver equivalent). These included Runners up Awards in Security Applications, E-Inclusion and E-Community, Financial Applications, Communications, E-Government and E-Health categories. This is the first year in the history of the APICTA Awards that the Pakistan name was called 7 times across 6 diverse categories.

“We have always known that Pakistani technology companies are doing great work for customers in Pakistan and globally so this simply is an acknowledgement of their hard work and credentials at an international level by an international panel of respected judges”, said Ms. Jehan Ara, President P@SHA at the closing ceremony of the APICTA Awards in Kula Lumpur.

Commenting on the achievement, Mr Khushnood, the Pakistan Google Country Consultant who also took the role of an APICTA Judge this year, remarked, “Seven awards at an international world class event like APICTA is a testament to the collaborative effort put together by the P@SHA delegation, P@SHA mentors, member companies and Pakistani participants.”

Bravo P@SHA!! The awards truly make you the flagship of IT industry in Pakistan.

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