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Oh dear, barely has Caspar donned the leadership mantle of Labour than his inexperience is revealed. David “saviour of 50 milion in his own lunchtime’ Shearer is quoted at Stuff as stating the approval of the Shanghai Pengxin bid for the Crafar farms is:-

“This latest decision will be a massive kick in the guts for the local group of iwi and farmers who also put in a bid,” Shearer said.

“Labour is not against foreign investment but any deal must demonstrate added value for New Zealanders. This one doesn’t.”

This silly statement is neatly demolished by Tim Watkin, hardly a rabid VRWC member, in his piece at Pundit where he writes:-

The OIO writes it’s also excited by the fact SPGL has “very strong contacts with the supermarket industry” in China, will create two new NZ brands (Nature Pure and Pure 100) and is promising to spend $100m over the next five years promoting New Zealand dairy in Asia.

If the commitments are honoured, it all has to “benefit New Zealand” economically.

If the commitments are not honoured, then SPGL will have breached the investment permission and presumably penalties can be sought. If the commitments are met, then SPGL will have invested at least NZ$14m in the farms direct improvment, plus NZ$100m in creating markets for NZ produce in China and Asia.

Watkin then spears Caspar’s line with the following:-

Labour leader David Shearer in opposing the sale said this week:

“If there is going to be foreign ownership then we have to make sure New Zealanders have a real interest in it and get real value from it. Now I don’t think that this sale here gives us any return.”

The details of this deal make that a hard argument to sustain; there are clearly significant returns to New Zealand. It’s hard to imagine how, under current law, New Zealand could have done better out of this deal.

In addition, Watkin deals to the vacuous comment by Shearer about the group of local iwi and farmers:-

The original New Zealand bidders couldn’t have offered the strategic links into Asia and, I’m sorry, I simply refuse to take seriously a Michael Fay-led anything as a champion of retaining New Zealand assets in local ownership. Fay cheated and betrayed his homeland for massive personal profit in the 1980s, selling key strategic assets offshore for knockdown prices. The deals he did weren’t nearly as good for New Zealand as this one, so he has simply no credibility on the subject.

So far as Adam is aware the only other bid on the table apart from Landcorp was the Fay led group. It is hard to take Caspar Shearer seriously when he talks about the Fay led group  as ‘local iwi and farmers’. boy Fay’s PR people have invested in a whole new spin machine there. Fay, a former tax exile, is playing the nationalist/brownwash card to obtain assets on the cheap so that he can make a profit. After all he is a businessman. Like many before him Fay is cloaking himself in the flag in order to obtain a personal benefit. Backing the Fay group is a silly move by Shearer. Furthermore, Shearer is like many asking the Government to ignore the relevant law  and/or change the rules whilst the ball is in play. However, that of course is what the ancien regime of Clark/Cullen did; plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. 

Caspar needs to get a grip and engage brain before stoking the fires of racism, xenophobia and increasing the dislike many in NZ have for business and economic improvement. After all we have Winston Peters and the Greens to do that for us anyway, so Caspar is hardly seizing upon a differentiator, nor demonstrating a break with past Labour behaviour and attitudes.

 

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ST. PAUL (WCCO) — Minnesota Republicans are preparing to debate a constitutional amendment making union membership voluntary. However, state labor leaders say it’s a “union killer.”

At the headquarters of Minnesota’s largest public employees union, the fight is already underway.

Unions across the state are preparing for what’s called a “right to work” constitutional amendment in Minnesota. They call it: a ‘right to work for less’.

“What we need are good paying jobs,” said Eliot Seide, the leader of Minnesota’s American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). “In ‘right to work for less’ states, workers make on average $5,500 less than in the state of Minnesota.”

Union leaders say the amendment is an attack on the labor movement, similar to the last year’s unrest in Wisconsin.

The right to work amendment would effectively make it harder for unions to organize and further erode union membership.

It reads, in part: “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to guarantee all citizens the individual freedom to decide to join or not to join a labor union?”

The author of Minnesota’s “right to work” amendment agrees it’s a jobs issue. But he says it’s to make it easier for businesses to create jobs in a tough economy.

If it’s on the ballot, the labor movement is prepared to nationally mobilize to fight it. It’s a fight that’s already started in local union headquarters.

What if there were no ethics in media or business, and we were left up to our own devices to what is right? Would it be a complete chaos or perfect harmony? In my opinion, it would be a little of both. On one hand, you have a group who wants to do what is right, and then you have the other group who has no interest in what is right. The latter will do what they have to get by to be successful or to get recognition, while the first mention group might be placed in the “nice guys finish last” category. I’m sure you can guess which group would be the majority and minority. Luckily, we do have standards of ethics to guide our minds away from trying to just get by.

With all the codes of ethics in place, people still manage to break them. Numerous stories have been reported over the years of businesses, government entities, and average individual not being ethical. From Watergate to Enron, ethical scandals have been at the forefront of businesses and media for decades. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was created in 2002 to introduce a new set of standards for companies when dealing with financial reporting. The act also states punishments if found guilty of violating this law. In March of 2010, Fortune interviewed Mike Oxley. The article was published on CNN.com. “Is Sarbanes-Oxley a failure?” described how Lehman Brothers used accounting loopholes to make their books appear as normal.

Oxley was asked many questions pertaining to recent Lehman and AIG scandals. According to the article, Lehman was accused of using its European arm to avoid US regulation. In response, Oxley stated that other countries such as Japan, the European Union and Canada have adopted similar regulations when it comes to accounting fraud. He admitted that some regulations are weaker or stronger depending on the country but that global regulations would make a difference in the fight to make companies accountable worldwide. When asked if the act was a success Oxley responded, “Even though the recent meltdown has hurt confidence again, things could have been much worse if accounting regulations had been as lax as financial regulations.” With Sarbanes-Oxley approaching it’s ten-year mark, it seems that the act has reduced the number of financial ethical situations due to the penalties attached to the law.

There are still many non-financial ethical issues in media and business. Simple practices are violated every year but violators are not subjected to harsh sanctions like those pointed out in Sarbanes-Oxley. Just last year, NPR was hit with a scandal in which NPR fundraisers and donors where recorded making anti-Republican and anti-Tea Party comments. This resulted in the resignation of the CEO and VP of Fundraisers for NPR. NPR also faced having funding cut due to this. In the USA Today article, “NPR sting raises questions about media ethics, influence”, many questioned the tactics of the journalist who recorded the edited 11-minute video. James O’Keefe was responsible for the ACORN video released in 2009 that caused ACORN to shut down the following year. O’Keefe and his crew have been known for “using false identities and misleading editing.” Jack Pitney, politics and journalism professor at Claremont-McKenna College, says these tactics, legitimate or not, states “it’s going to be used more frequently, because it works.” It seems that since companies are using unethical practices, it is leading news media to use the same practices in order to expose them. In my opinion, two wrongs don’t make a right. I think that journalists should be held to the same ethical standards as the businesses that they are looking to expose. As I said in the beginning of this post, people will use any tactic to be first.

Much like the recent Joe Paterno death fiasco with CBS Sports, media has started take the approach of being the first to report instead of being accurate. Those are practices that are not good for media or businesses. Some media outlets struggle with being creditable as it is, but situations like these only fuels the fire. When a major network like CBS makes these kinds of mistakes, it leaves the public thinking, “Who can I trust to bring me accurate news?” Accuracy should be the last thought entering someone’s mind when watching the news. Media and businesses need to think about their reputations when making unethical mistakes. It can cost them the trust of the public and will hurt them in the long run.

The need for ethics in media and business decision-making is imperative. We cannot trust those in media or business to do what is right. If we did, most of them would do what they had to just to see their numbers go up, and a small percentage would do things the honest way. We all in our own minds have a code of ethics. We have decided that there are things that we will do and will not do. However, there is no penalty if we don’t hold up those personal ethics that we have set for ourselves. A code of ethics in a business setting insures that we don’t have to wonder if the person we are doing business with is using ethical standards. It is true that one bad apple will spoil the bunch. I believe if we continue to plant seeds of ethics in future media and business leaders, there will be no more bad apples left.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. -Henry David Thoreau

Creating a concrete pathway or plan for your business is critical in being able to bring to fruition the visions you desire for your company. A clearly defined business plan is a roadmap or a guide that leads to where you want the business to be after a specific timeframe and how you intend to get there. Having a detailed plan will enable you to have something written and solid to review and to check the business’ progress, successes, procrastinations, benefits and things that you may be doing that are not working or that are unnecessary. Think of it as a mild-mannered coach that keeps you on track.

Creating an action plan is fairly simple once you recognize that one is needed. Sticking to an action plan is another story. You must be as dedicated to the business plan as you are to the business itself.

To create and write out a simple and quick business plan, use the following steps:

Know the mission of the business. What are your business goals? What is the purpose of the business? What problem does your product or service solve for its customers? What solutions does the business offer? Why is your business beneficial to prospective clients and customers?

Company Structure/Legal Formation. Determine the best legal formation of the business. Research the various options of business structures and determine what will work best for you and your needs. (Samples formations include: corporation, sole proprietor, llc, etc.)

Products and services. What does the company sell? What do customers want, need and expect from your business?

Market Analysis. Who is your target market? Where can you find your target market? How can you reach the target market? What’s the best way to package or deliver the business messages or marketing materials to your target audience?

Strategies and Prospecting. Create a few simple marketing strategies or methods of gaining exposure, creating business/product awareness and reaching potential clients for the business. Make sure that these steps are simple enough that you will follow through with them. If you develop marketing strategies based on what “the book” states or what others are doing, you may find yourself overwhelmed and not implementing any of the action steps and worthwhile tasks that you have laid out.

The chosen marketing strategies should be strategies and formulas that you can check, track and measure. For instance, if you distribute postcards, include an offer with an offer code or discount code. With each sale, the code is provided by the customer, therefore you can easily track and measure the results of the redeemed postcards. The math may look similar to this:

If you purchase 1000 postcards for the business at $100.oo and spend $44.oo on stamps to mail the postcards, the total spent is $144.oo to reach 1000 prospects. 100 people redeem the postcard offer by the expiration date. To determine the cost per conversion, divide $144.oo (the total spent on the postcards and stamps) by 100 (the number of redeemed postcard offers) $144/100=$1.44. So, the cost to reach 100 customers is $1.44 each customer.

This cost may or may not be cost-effective for converting sales. It depends on what you’re selling, the wholesale and retail cost of the item, time involved and the profit margin. You must decide what works best for the business and at what cost.

Staff and Support Management. Who are your employees and extended staff and support members? What are their specific roles and duties within the company? What must they be doing on a regular basis to contribute to the success of the business?

Financial Projections. Profit/loss analysis, what sort of sales, profits and losses do you project for the business?

Simple enough? You have just received the steps to creating a simple plan for your business. These are a simple set of Action Steps that will work for any business, that can be implemented immediately. These Action Steps will allow any business owner or entrepreneur to begin moving forward in their dreams. You will have a clear direction of your vision for the business along with a roadmap or path to get you there. Refer to your roadmap whenever you need to get back on track or if you lose focus.

Keep in mind that you may make changes to your plan as you see fit. Additionally, when you are comfortable and preparing a business plan seems less overwhelming, you can work on developing a more extensive business plan. Until then, you have a great, actionable roadmap to making strides and moving forward toward the goals of the business.

Will you begin working on your simple business plan today? Are the above ACTION STEPS simple enough for you to take action NOW? Are you excited to get your pen and notebook or your laptop to get started on your roadmap? Or, does this still seem like a little too much for you? Are you not a writer or a planner? Is there a section that seems too extensive, difficult or detailed for you? If so, and you’re feeling like you’ll be unable to complete the section, skip that area for now. The idea is not to make things stressful, but to make things so simple that you are easily able to TAKE ACTION. Do what you can or what seems easiest to accomplish, then return to the other sections later. More importantly than having a vision, is acting on that vision. Write out the vision and make it plain. Have tenacity and move forward.

Email me at stilettobusinesscoach@yahoo.com. Tell me your visions. Let me know if you get stuck in any areas. I’d be thrilled to assist you in creating your ACTION PLAN!

-Sone` Tramble, Stiletto Business Coach

If you were trying to infer financial advice from some of the headlines out there today, you might v

for Information Management Blogs

Excerpts:

Data and information management have lately been making tremendous leaps in scale and scope, which we’ve been hearing about largely through terms like “cloud computing” and “big data.”

via The Faster Cheaper Side of IT – Information Management Blogs Article.

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