Making Money With the Eminis

Experienced traders are familiar with emini futures or eminis as they call them. Eminis have been in the market for a long time. They are not as large as 'full-grown' futures that are traded on at stock exchanges. Eminis, on the other hand are traded on the internet.

This permits retail traders to compete against professional traders at the stock exchange, without having to leave the comfort of their homes. Only forex trading can give a trader more benefits than futures trading. Of course, inexperienced traders are at greater risk of losing heavily when dealing with futures or forex trading. But this has not deterred people from trading in either of these markets.

Though trading eminis is not a simple and easy process, a dedicated trader can acquire the skill with experience. Trading rules which apply to stocks and bonds also apply to eminis. Following these basic rules is extremely important when trading with eminis because of the enormous leverage it offers.

Failure to do this will certainly result in wiping away one's trading account within a short time. One of these rules is that you should 'let your profits run'. Another rule insists that you must 'cut your losses short'. This pair of rules makes a very sensible combination and provides for sensible trading.

The second rule, asking you to cut your losses short is of greater importance than the first which demands that you let your profits run. You may wonder why this should be so. It is so because if you do not cut your losses you will certainly deplete your trading account very quickly when you are dealing with eminis. Sadly, people do not pay enough attention to this golden rule and end up facing enormous losses.

We shall now look at this aspect of the trade since it is usually not given the attention it deserves. One knows fully well that the trader, like any of us, would not want to admit even to himself that he has made an erroneous decision. Being reluctant to acknowledge his mistake, the trader's ego will push him into waiting for a favorable change. All this time the trader will be accumulating losses.

While optimism has its own role to play in trading, it is also necessary to use one's common sense and be realistic and disciplined in money management. Breaking basic trading rules is not a sign good money management. Another reason why this 'cut your losses short' rule is violated is that traders lack confidence in the methods that they use to trade.

Because the trader who is chalking up losses feels that he has no better trading option, he holds on to his trading even when he keeps losing. He should bring himself to believe that it would be better to quit the losing trade because other, and better, opportunities would come his way in time.

The lesson one must take home from this is that when trading emini futures or any other market it is essential to have a sound strategy that one can depend on to cut one's losses before they become disastrous.

BOTS Companion of a Modern Revenue Manager

Bots have become an important part of human life both, at the personal and professional front and their involvement is climbing new peaks with every passing day. They surround us in our daily life in the form of Artificial Intelligence, Search Engines, and Software. Part of it has also paved way for smarter and efficient revenue management for hotels fueling the debt that if humans should be irrevocably replaced with bots for this complex round the clock function. Although the practice may be at a nascent stage to draw concluding, it has certainly made a mark in the real of the hospitality industry and has become an indispensable part of any hotel revenue management.

Artificial Intelligence powered robots can analyze and synthesize large chunks of hotel data collected at various touch points in a fraction of seconds to present meaningful insights about the booking pattern, demand, guest behavior which is impossible to be grouped or processed by any amount of human workforce with the same efficiency as bots. It will not be an exaggeration to say that the Artificial Intelligence has sort of revolutionized the hospitality industry across the globe, enabling every business to improve on multiple fronts like hotel pricing, price optimization, revenue management, guest experience management, booking management, demand and even capacity optimization of properties.

Furthermore, these bots are also capable of analyzing trends and trace upcoming events in the town to estimate the rise in demand, providing enough room for revenue managers to tweak the pricing and availability instead of fire fighting the situation at the last minute.

Leading hotels have already started betting big on AI powered bots and poised to explore new ways to make bots a part of their business operations. One significant advantage bots have over humans is that they can work tirelessly 24X7 with the same precision. Hotel industry requires attention 24X7 and is one of the most dynamic industries with continuous fluctuations in trends, demand, and prices. That is where these robust machines have huge value to add to the revenue management realm. These invisible machines can not only quickly determine the best rates at a particular time for your property, (room rate optimization) but also advise the revenue managers on which segment to target and the kind of promotional offers to be run to maximize the revenue.

Another major area where hotels continue to hustle is direct bookings. Hotels have been continuously trying to improve booking numbers on their own website since OTA missions are touching skies, eating up a major revenue share of hotels. Hotels would be surprised to know that even in this area, bots can improve their game and help increase the number of bookings by a decent percentage. With advanced learning capabilities and rigorous analysis of visitor's purchasing behavior, AI powered bots can refine the visitor experience and personalize every visitor's journey to their needs and interests. This increments visitor engagement and reduces the cycle time of purchase leading to conversion on the hotel website itself.

This again brings us to the joke that wherever revenue managers can be gradually replaced by bots completely risking their roles and jobs in the industry altogether. The answer is obviously NO since these micro machines can only process and analyze only a set number of parameters in their decision and often neglect external market implications that may not be considered by such bots but are easily identifiable only by human revenue managers and this acumen is gained by experience.

Therefore, the ideal mix should be machine results mediated and supervised by human revenue managers. For eg, Pricing is one area which could have been automated with a reasonable amount of diligence and control of the revenue manager. Similarly, online reputation management can also be monitored with technology; however, a personalized approach will take you a long way. The key is to automate the processes that require minimum human intervention and involve human where necessary. This will help revenue managers to don more hats at the same time like exploring more avenues to maximize per guest audience and focus on other revenue increasing strategies.

Thus, witnessing the scenarios discussed above, we can conclude that the status of the bots is of a companion to revenue managers instead of a successor who will complement them at every step with razor fast information and analysis of the market and competition, enabling revenue managers to take informed decisions in no time and help them optimize revenues and drive the hotel towards new millions of success.

What Business to Buy

There's a twofold answer to the question 'What Business to Buy' simply because in its' core it involves two aspects: You and The Business.

At first it is all about Your Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Interests. When looking for Opportunities in Business You are a fundamental part of the Process. Make list to narrow down personal interests, traits and characteristics and look for a Business that suits these exercises. Most of the time when entrepreneurs buy businesses that do not match their Temperament, they end up unsuccessful, unhappy and selling the Business.

Ask yourself the following questions to get Your Ideas for Businesses:

• What are my 5 Strongest Personality Traits? You can also opt to ask your friends and family to send you lists with their observations (can be very revealing).
• What are my 5 Strongest Skills when it comes to doing my current or previous jobs?
• What Role do I want to Play in the Business?
• What Destination and Location do I want my Business to have or can it be a Business without a fixed Location (such as internet based).
• Do I prefer a large-scale business with many contacts and customers or do I prefer to focus on a niche market, dealing with a smaller number of contacts and clients?
• Do I want a Product Supply Type of Business or a Service oriented business?
• What is my Business Investment Budget?

When going over all the answers to these questions, you will have a Clear Picture What Type of Business you want to Buy.

Find a Business to Buy

After having identified What Type of Business you want to Buy it is time to Find a Business to Buy. You will want to opt for a Business that offers Value for Money. Its Valuations have to be backed up by Reliable and Detailed Financial Data.

Some Investors are Buying Businesses because they are Cheap compared to their core Value. They believe that as long as the market undervalues ​​the business relative to the core value, they are making a Solid Investment. This way of Investing fully depends on the reasoning that the market will eventually realize it has undervalued the Business and will correct its Course.

Below some questions you can ask yourself when determining What Business to Buy:

• Does the Business Match my Personal Characteristics and Expectations?
• Is there a Solid Business Plan available?
• What are the Top-5 Competitors of the Business?
• Do I have access to all Detailed Financial Data?
• What is the Trend in Profits over the last 5 years?
• Does the business show healthy and consistent cost margins?
• What is the expected Return on Investment?

How much you will always profit from your Business depends on the level of Original Investment and Your Management and Marketing Skills.

Money Management Tip - Paper Or Plastic?

Think carefully about your spending patterns. When you are going into your purse or wallet to pay for a product or service do you pull out cash or a plastic card with a magnetic strip? If you are in debt, there is a very high likelihood that you are pulling out plastic to pay.

Maybe what I am about to say is blatantly obvious, but read it anyway. One of the reasons why we end up in debt is because we know all the "obvious" things but we do not change our behavior that that knowledge.

Do not Use Plastic ... Only Use Cash!

Here's why:

1.There is no emotion associated with spending money through plastic.
2.When you pay cash you can see and feel the money going away.
3.You can see how much is left and your next purchase will be considered carefully.
4.Credit cards incur Riba / Interest. Since you are in debt, obviously you can not afford what you are buying on credit.
5.Fees, fees, fees ... Save on those gosh darn fees!

If this is not enough to convince you then let's try a little experiment. It would be best to try this as of your next pay day, but if it is more than 3 days away, then start this experiment tomorrow (I really want you to try this).

• For the next one month, act as if there is no such thing as plastic cards. The only means for you to purchase something is cold, hard cash. Also there is no such thing as checks for the next one month.
• Document your emotions as there is less and less money in your purse or wallet.
• Document your spending during the month.
• Compare it to the previous month which was mostly plastic. That should be easy because all the activity is available online.

After the month is over, you will see then that giving up plastic while in debt, is like staying away from an addiction while in rehab.

BYOD - A Device Responsive Practice

The unpresented growth of smartphones and laptops in an individual's life has made the gap between personal and professional life negligible. This de has led to a new revolution in the market which we know as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). BYOD is a practice that enables employees of an organization to use their own devices (ie smartphones, laptops, tablets and computers) at work. Like BYOD, businesses also implement Bring Your Own Computer (BYOC) and Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT), which fall under a greater umbrella of consumerization of IT. This is blending of the personal and professional workspace with help of the internet and smart devices, majorly pushed by the millennial these days.

" BYOD is making significant marks in the business world across the globe with about 75% of employees in higher growth markets such as India, Brazil and UAE and 44% in the developed markets using their own devices at work." - CXOUnplugged.

How BYOD can transform your business

BYOD has created various opportunities in the market and is making workplaces flexible than ever. Here is how BYOD will help you take your business to the next level.

• Enhanced productivity

When you allow all employees to use their own devices at the workplace, the comfort of working on a similar device increases the employees work efficiency. By making use of familiar technology and user interface the employees will not have to engage their time in understanding a new device.

• Reduced infrastructure cost

Many times for a company, major amount of capital goes into building IT infrastructure and maintaining it which can come from the cost by implementing BYOD. When a company implements BYOD, it automatically reduces its cost of procuring devices for each employee and instead can provide better connectivity services in the organization.

• Improved employee loyalty

When a company allows its employees to bring their own devices at work, absolutely gives them a sense of trust by the company on them. By giving the freedom to use a foreign device at work and giving them the access to company's confidential data on their device, you generate loyalty among the employees, which makes them give the better result at their work.

• Ease of transit management of employees

The best part of having a Bring Your Own Device Policy is that you do not have to keep a check on the physical devices when any employee joins or leaves the company. Any sort of configuration to the company's network can be done via the cloud. In case the employee is leaving the company, his device / devices can be simply removed from the company's cloud network. No hassles with LAN wires required.

"A recent survey by the handset manufacturer Blackberry stated that 41% of Indian organizations have a BYOD policy." - GadgetsNow

With such a huge percentage of Indian organizations implementing BYOD, the next question that needs to be answered is how to implement BYOD in a business. When implementing BYOD a company should also have a stringent policy to make sure the functioning is smooth. There should be no loopholes which can put the company's confidentiality in danger.

BYOD - How to implement it in your business

To have a seamless implementation of BYOD , an organization needs to have a strong policy in place. Here are the 7 things you need to consider while implementing BYOD.

• Payments for the devices and data usage

• Device support and access levels for everyone in the workplace (permanent employee, contractual employee, and guests)

• Data storage (Cloud / local storage)

• Employee data privacy (employee's personal data should not be leaked or shared across the network)

• Data authentication (type of data that an employee can view or edit while not at work)

• In case of theft, damage or missing device what steps need to be taken

• Restoring the data in case of the device is sold, disposed or is no more in use.

Investment Banking And Its Basics

There is a great deal of confusion among people about exactly what investment banking is. To make things clear, no - it has nothing to do with savings and fixed deposits. It is not something that the average people use on a daily basis. It is more commonly used by either investors or by those seeking investors and raise capital for their business. The investment banks simply help these two categories of people find their way to each other. There are always people who want to invest their money and make more of it than what they already have. One of the best ways to make idle money useful is through investing it. But the question of where to invest comes up. And to answer this question, they start looking for places and companies to invest in. This research is made a lot easier when they approach investment banks.

Similarly, there are businessmen on the lookout for money. Whether the businessman is looking to start-up a new business from scratch or just seeking to expand an existing business, he needs money. And this money is something he can get from investors. Looking alone, he might not be as successful in finding investors. But if he were to approach an investment bank, he would have access to a multitude of investors, with different needs. His chances of getting capital get higher. So basically, investment banking services include facilitating investors find potential investments and investments find potential investors. But These are not the whole and sole function of such banks - they do a lot more. They tend to take on matters like asset management, estate management and investment advisory. They help you to manage your finances smoothly and with little amount of trouble possible.

From figuring out specific aspects of business management to deciding where to invest in equity capital markets - these banks offer available services. They can act on your behalf or simply give advice, if you prefer to act on your own. The thing to remember is what they think is the best decision might not always be the best for you. Also remember that you will have to give away some personal and sensitive information to these banks for them to function well. You need to make sure you keep a keen eye on their actions, so that you do not end up with your trade secrets being leaked, leaving you the loser. You should also make note of their practices, so that you can pull out before something happens where you stand to lose more than you gain.

Money Savings Techniques

How to save more money is a simple question that often begets a simple answer, make more and spend less. This is certainly a case of easier said than done. Just like losing weight, all you have to do is just move more and eat less. I wish it was that simple. However, it's always harder to do because it involves changing our behavior.

More specifically, I'm talking about habitual behavior that we all rely upon. All of us have our own patterns of behavior at work, home, with friends, family, and even in money management. These behaviors allow us to rely on prior adjustments to maintain a sense of control over our environment. Its human nature to want consistency, reliability, and even predictability in life. Otherwise, life seems chaotic and we feel out of control. This can lead to stress and anxiety.

We can all agree that habitual behaviors help make life easier, but what if some products? A common example is someone who makes a good wage, but does not save. We do not want to alter the habitual behavior of approaching a good wage, but we want to change our behavior to be a saver.

Our saving habits most likely started in childhood. Our parents were our role models, but our socioeconomic status matters too. Many of those from a lower income family are very cost conscious even as they move into the middle class. They often keep frugal habits continuous learning more. These patterns from childhood can become deeply ingrained. Occidentally, the news reports a homeless man who has a million in the bank. He lives that way due to these deeply ingrained frugal habits from childhood.

If you were raised middle class or higher, you are likely to have less anxiety about money. But, you may end up saving less and spending more due to this complacency. I'm not saying you need to feel anxiety to save, but you do need a plan . It seems that the middle class, most of America, has fallen into this pattern of not saving enough for retirement.

By the time you are near retirement, your behavior patterns are well developed as a result of the many years of use. Changing these long term patterns is very difficult and often fails. It's natural to return to behaviors we are comfortable with. So, if we involve automatic savings before we receive the money , we do not have the nagging pressure of saving.

I like automatic savings because you often forget about it. There is no requirement to monitor or change your behavior as the amount to save is pre-arranged. The best automatic savings are the many retirement plans that invest your money pre-taxed, IRA, SEP-IRA, 401k, 403b, etc. You must maximize these plans whether there is matching or not . However, it's a mistake to stop there since we are still not saving enough even with these plans.

Because saving does not come naturally, we must have an after-tax plan like a Roth IRA or an investment account as well. Since this is after tax, you'll need to set up an automatic deposit yourself. The best method for all our savings is pre-arranged because we do not have to consciously decide to save each payday, we do not feel stressed or deprived, and are more likely to continue the saving program as a result. After all, Social Security is pre-arranged and its been successfully paying out benefits for a long time. We're just extending this model.

How much to save for leading up to retirement? Of course, this answer is different for each person. Some say 10% or 15% is good, but they are not retired. I'm retired and I can certainly tell you the more you save, the better. I forget percentages and save as much as I can . I notice that people adjust their lifestyle to accommodate whatever their income tend to be. Getting used to living modestly is a good idea and a prelude to retirement sustainability.

Many writers claim you'll need a huge nest egg of millions to last 30+ years in retirement. I see this as a narrow tactic to get you to buy their product. The truth is that income streams are the foundation of retirement for most of us , not a huge savings. Social Security, annuities, dividends and interest, and any work income are distributed to us over time. So, it's a continuous income stream that provides us with security and sustainability in retirement. In other words, do not panic if your savings are low, just work on maximizing the income streams.

A great method for reducing day to day spending is to use cash. When we pay with plastic cards, we become detached to the amount spent. Counting out the amount with cash heightens our awareness and reduces our spending (1). There are certain times when credit card protection is needed, but for day to day spending, cash can help balance your budget.

A realistic attitude is also needed to accept some economizing leading up to retirement. We know we have to spend less, but we do not want to feel deprived. So, our retirement identity is a successful person who creatively manages their money and lifestyle to adapt to the ever changing economic conditions of our time.

Money Saving Techniques:

1. Maximize your contributions to your pretax retirement plan

2. Set up additional automatic contribution to an after-tax retirement plan

3. Contribute as much as possible in the above plans

4. Use cash instead of plastic cards for daily purchases

5. Learn to economize and view yourself as someone who successfully adapts to the ever changing economic conditions

6. Increase you financial education with classes and investment clubs

1. Chatterjee, P., Rose, RL (Vol. 38; 2012) "Do payment mechanisms change the way consumers perceive products"; ideas.repec.org; Retrieved on 2-5-2014 from: ideas.reped.org/a/ucp/jconrs/doi10.1086-661730.HTML

Choosing a Web Designer

Many small business owners struggle with deciding on how to make the right choice for designing their website. They search the web for help with their website and find that the choice is harder than they thought. Currently there are (literally) millions of websites who claim to be professional web designers. However, one must be careful in choosing the right person or people in which to trust their company image. In this article, I will attempt to categorize web designers into manageable groups, and teach the reader the difference between the types.

Web designers fall into four general categories: freelance amateur, freelance professional, Web Design Company, Web Development Firm.

Freelance Amateur

The majority of web designers you will come across, especially searching the Internet, are freelancers. That is, individuals who do web design but are not employed by a web design company. Some are self-employed professionals but most of these freelancers are amateur-hobbyist types. They find a copy of FrontPage™ came with their MS Office™ Suite. They discovered how fun it could be to make web pages so they started telling their friends that they could "design" web pages.

The "pros" of using an amateur is that they are very cheap. The "cons" are too numerous to mention, but I'll point out a few. They have no training; they have little knowledge of what makes a good website work; they do not understand HTML code or CSS but only FrontPage point and click; they do not understand general design and layout concepts and they have little real experience. The biggest reason they should be avoided for the serious businessperson, is that their work looks amateurish, which makes your company look amateurish. Who wants that?

Freelance Professional

A professional is often defined by simply being paid. People think that if you are paid for something, then you are professional. Maybe that's true in the Olympics, but for the business services world, you are not a professional until you are established and respected as one by your clients and peers. Freelancer professional web designers are a giant leap from the amateur in that they have established a portfolio of respectable work. They have some sort of qualified training and experience and they have credentials that can be verified by contacting references. They have a good reputation with their clients and other professionals. In general, a good freelance professional web designer can be good person to have doing your site. But they are hard to distinguish from the amateur when you are just searching the web.

The upside is, if you find a good one they are significantly cheaper than a web design company. But that is usually the only upside. If the budget limits you, then a freelancer will do for a small project. But anything seriously important should be left to a professional company.

Some downsides to using a freelance pro are that they are usually part-time, meaning they are limited in how much time they can devote to your project. They are also limited in what they can do for you. Most freelancers are specialists in one area and generalists in everything else. Some have no skills in anything except their one specialty and often you will have to find others to fill roles. In addition, freelancers are not always cheap although many of them are aspiring to create their own company; some are highly sought after and charge $100 per hour or more for their work. My advice here is, if you have that much to spend, go with a company that has a team of professionals to get the job done in a timelier manner.

Web Design Company

This is the next step beyond a freelance professional. The web design company offers the "whole show". They provide real project management and have pulled together a team of web experts to get a wider range of jobs done. A company can provide a much higher level of expertise in web design, programming, content development and more.

Such a company is usually very small, yet large enough to handle larger scale projects. Compared to the most highly qualified freelancer, a company has a diversity of talent and collaboration working for them. The end-result is usually a much higher quality product.

The only real drawbacks are on the one hand, the web design company is more expensive than a freelancer because there are many more people on the job. However, you get what you pay for rings true. On the other hand, for very large projects or long term development, web design companies may be too small and usually do not have the human recourses to accommodate that $500,000 contract. In the end, for serious business people looking for quality and professionalism and who can't afford the big firm, this is the way to go.

Web Development Firm

As the title implies, a web development firm is like any traditional company. They have a staff of office workers, they have owners and officers, and they have a team of talented professionals who are paid a good salary for their work. They often have a sales force that do inside and outside sales. The quality of their work goes without saying, as you could not be so well-established by doing shoddy work. These firms offer teams of very talented professionals who work on your project and get the job done in a timely and extremely efficient manner. Additionally, they usually cover all aspects of website development including marketing and advertising. They may have teams of specialists that they can deploy to your location and work in-house under a temporary contract. The possibilities are endless.

If price is not an issue and the highest quality work is necessary, then this is who you want to do the job. For smaller budget businesses, a quote from an established web development firm might knock you off your chair, but know that companies who have project requirements that reach hundreds of thousands of dollars know the score. Thus, the only real drawback for a web development firm is that they are usually very expensive. Then again, cost is relative and bigger companies like to work with bigger companies.

In summary, the choice is yours. I would recommend for the serious businessperson, that you budget a decent amount of dollars to properly design and execute a professional website. I would avoid the amateur and outsource to an individual or company with good experience and reasonable rates to create my web presence. If money were no object, then I would only deal with established firms and pay the big bucks to get the job done right and done well.

The Advantages And Disadvantages Of 3rd Party Motor Insurance

Insurance coverage is some of the best tools available when it comes to risk management. Understanding 3rd party car insurance is essential if you wish to learn about the pros and cons which go along with it. This article will talk about the definition of third party auto insurance as well as the pros and cons that come with it.

Understanding 3rd party car insurance

Third party auto insurance is also referred to as liability coverage. These terms are used to describe a kind of insurance which will pay out a certain settlement to 3rd parties if your vehicle should be involved in an accident. Many countries have laws in place which state that is the minimum quantity of insurance coverage that all car owners need to have. This is because 3rd party car insurance will pay for any and all damage to a third party's property that is a direct result of any sort of accident involving your automobile.

Various insurance providers have different deals available with regards to 3rd party vehicle insurance. It is up to you to determine which package and just how much coverage will be the best choice. If you choose a low amount of coverage then you may find yourself in a situation where your insurance policy doesn't cover all costs related to damage to a third party's property. However, high coverage limitations can cost you a great deal more in monthly premiums.

The Pros Of Third Party Vehicle Insurance

The biggest pro of getting third party vehicle insurance coverage will be the proven fact that you would be financially protected in the event that you are liable to pay for damage inflicted to another's property as a result of an accident. Your insurance company would settle the total amount owing. If you did not have third party insurance you would then be taken to court and would need to pay for all damage from your bank account. Many people don't have this kind of cash readily available.

The Disadvantages Of Third Party Automobile Insurance coverage

There's truly only one notable disadvantage or downside when it comes to third party insurance coverage. This is the fact that many car owners feel like they are paying for something they will never make use of. Actually, numerous car owners are lucky enough never to require this insurance coverage. However, one cannot know when something like a collision or car crash will happen and therefore, you always need to be prepared if you wish to safe guard your own financial situation. In the event that a separate 3rd party car insurance policy is working out to be too costly every month then you should consider shopping around for an umbrella policy. These policies are comprehensive and are made up of some different types of insurance policies but because of the fact that you are opting for a package deal, you'd benefit from a huge saving.

The advantages that come with 3rd party car insurance policies far outweigh any potential disadvantages.

Who Owns the Business Smartphone? Mobile Device Liability

Today's enterprises have already learned how to deal with the complexities of their mobile employees and the information carried in their laptop computers. After all, the information in those laptops is confidential and owned by the corporation. Those same complexities-and many more-now arise from the employees' use of smartphones. Often, the data in a smartphone is just as sensitive and critical to the company as data in computers. Issues of security, compliance, legality, trust, and of course cost all need to be addressed.

All of these issues give rise to the biggest question of all-who should own the enterprise smartphone-the employee or the corporation? Smartphone use among U.S.-based information workers is expected to triple by 2013, according to Forrester Research. It seems that the decisions and strategies surrounding the control and ownership of these devices should be made sooner than later.

The cost of ownership is perhaps the easiest aspect to calculate. It might seem like just reimbursing an employee for a flat percentage of the bill from their own phone would be a quick and easy way to go. But there are hidden costs to consider, including the support costs of accounting, billing, and asset management, and for controlling things like overseas roaming charges. Not to mention keeping track of how and where the connection charges are occurring in the company, this can yield valuable information on the true costs of enterprise mobility.

Corporate-owned phones come with their own set of problems, like supporting the plethora of different phones and carrier types. Think again if you believe that you can just issue the same phone to everyone to control that complexity. It's usually the best performers, the hardest employee-type to recruit, who insists on having his or her own type of phone, "because it's worked for me in the past."

Even though it seems obvious that there is need to control employees' equipment and use-after all, there are hundreds of emails, calendars, documents, and confidential customer information stored on these smartphones-an increasing number of companies are loosening their hold on employee-owned handheld devices that are used for business purposes.

Today, half of the smartphones in use among U.S. and Canadian businesses are not company-issued equipment, according to a recent report from Forrester Research. Most companies are still grappling with the question of who should be liable for these devices. In this debate, there are still many unanswered questions and hidden trapdoors, including: What is meant by "liability"? What are the legal aspects that must be considered? How can I start to build a strategy that is meaningful and balances the needs of both the company and the employee?

What Is Meant by "Liability"?

There are many types of liability associated with owning and using a smartphone, including financial, regulatory, compliance, privacy, and legal liability, to name just a few. Financial liability is perhaps the easiest to understand. It would seem obvious that paying for individual liable (IL) carrier plans would be the responsibility of the employee. But what if the employee racks up a $5000 bill on a three-week business trip to Europe? And what if that employee uses a corporate liable (CL) phone to conduct an illegal activity with large financial consequences, like using the camera feature to take a picture of a competitor's confidential documents?

If you are in an industry with stiff regulatory and compliance considerations, it would be more likely that stronger controls and CL smartphones would be the norm. Of course, it is the data on that phone, and not the phone itself, that needs to be managed. In a larger company with adequate IT staffing, keeping sensitive data away from the phone with specialized software and firewalls is relatively easy. But what about smaller companies that allow phone access to company records on the company's private intranet?

Financial services and medical companies can have very high financial and legal ramifications for misuse of private data that might end up on a smartphone. Many of these companies require all corporate data to go through company-issued computers (and not phones) that have elaborate encryption and other data protection mechanisms. But "privacy" can have another definition. How about protection of employee-owned information that resides on a CL smartphone? Does the employer have the right to look at ALL of the data on the phone they own, even if they might happen upon some embarrassing photos?

And here's a hypothetical "who's liable" question. What if an employee happens to lose a next-generation prototype smartphone that is later found and sold to a technology magazine, so that the new features and technology can be "outed" to an interested public? What kind of insurance/risk management liability plan will cover THAT?

Legal Aspects of Data Ownership and Control

There is a distinct lack of legal clarity about what a company can and cannot control when it comes to smartphones. With case law lagging behind technology, how do you factor legal issues into the equation of who should own the smartphone?

Some generally accepted practices are starting to emerge. Corporate email messages and company data are owned by the company, regardless of where they reside. The company has unrestricted access to the information and can set usage policies that must be adhered to by the employee. On the other hand, courts have ruled that once this data is sent via the Webmail through a service like AOL out into the cloud, employers can lose the rights to confidentiality! The problem is multiplied exponentially if you are an international firm, because in the E.U., Japan, and Canada, all email is regarded as private to employees if it was authored by them.

Can an employer mandate control over CL or IL phones used for business purposes? One way that seems to hold up legally is through the use of employment agreements. Even if the phone is owned by the employee located in (let's say) Canada, a well-crafted employment agreement will trump the local laws about employee privacy of business email and text messages. Of course, the employment agreement will not hold up if it is only selectively or randomly enforced, which makes the employer the bad guy if it is strictly enforced with a heavy hand. It is generally agreed upon that any policy must be well understood and "bought into" through consensus to be able to avoid lawsuits over privacy issues.

Start with a Strategy

There are too many variables in the equation to go about randomly managing your policy for smartphone use, ownership, and control. At the core, you need to define your strategy upfront. What are the business goals you want to accomplish? How do you balance the needs of BOTH the employee AND the company? Since every function and level of a company-not just sales and marketing Road Warriors-is affected by this plan, the strategy must be well thought out.

Segmentation of user types is generally the first step of the strategy. Forrester analyst Ted Schadler recommends dividing your information workers into several groups based on how their mobile enablement benefits the company:

• Those who use the most sensitive data get company-paid, company-managed smartphones














• Those who work extensively away from their desks receive subsidies for most or all of their personal smartphone charges














• Those who work away from their desks occasionally receive a partial subsidy for their personal smartphone use














• Those who rarely work away from their desks receive no subsidy, and you may consider locking their smartphones out of your systems altogether.

Conclusion

So who should own the smartphone? There is no perfect answer. Sometimes it's the employee, sometimes the employer. Times have changed and employee expectations are different. The workforce today is demanding to choose their own devices. The locked down, two-year old corporate device just doesn't cut it anymore.

Planning for this dynamic is the new reality. Forrester's Schadler says, "The secret to smartphone management is treating employees like grown-ups and using a 'trust and verify' model for policy control. You have to stop treating it as an IT policing issue, and instead treat it as a business risk management question."

More and more companies are already starting to make this shift in their thinking. A balance needs to be found between issuing smartphones as an IT-controlled management tool, to letting a certain subset of employees own the responsibility for their own devices. That balance point will vary for every company. One thing is certain-the IL/CL debate will rage on for a quite a while to come.

Human Resources Diplomacy

Human resource management is not always or solely the presentation of gifts. Sometimes bad news has to be delivered. We are not thinking here of bad news as in, "You're fired," in which the relationship is ended. Think instead of "You did not get the promotion" or "We will not fund that training in your case." It sometimes helps to be able to layoff at least some of the blame in such instances. Doing so can help preserve cordial relations between a superior and subordinate. In addition, hearing bad news from a third person may help the person getting the bad news to save face, a psychological fact of life that has a lot to do with the persistence of management consulting as an industry.

As for objectivity, it is sadly the case that some general managers are less than paragons of objectivity and virtue. Some are susceptible to corruption, some attend to private agendas, some are prejudiced, and some are simply capricious. To place the administration of human resources practices solely in the hands of such a manager is unlawfully to produce good outcomes. Moreover, to place the administration of human resources practices solely in the hands of a virtuous paragon can lead to (incorrect) feelings of caprice, corruption, prejudice, and so forth. Not all paragons have had the time and track record needed to develop the untarnished reputation that deserve, and an employee who is denied a promotion or rise by a paragon can be forgiven for sometimes confusing his own unhappy exit with managerial discretion exercised unfairly. And when an individual manager is given a lot of authority, even if she is incorruptible, the temptation to try to corrupt her might prove too strong for those who futures she will influence.

Even a line manager who is a veritable paragon of merit and who is recognized as such has a lot of concerns to balance. When some of those concerns involve measures of performance that can be affected quickly (such as product shipping date) and others involve noisier, long-delayed outputs (such as the manager's and firm's reputation with the work), line managers may make compromises that are not in the organization's long-term interests.

Individual line managers may not fully understand or appreciate the organization's human resources strategy and policies, and the long-term reputation sent with employees. This can be a particular problem in settings characterized by relatively high rates of managerial mobility, which can impede stability, consistency, and "memory" as far as human resources management is concerned. Simplicity, consistency, and clarity must be traded off against the complexities of real life.

For all these reasons, human resources experts in particular special areas can play an important role in advising and educating line managers; helping sustain a coherent and consistent human resources philosophy through the organization; and even, in some cases, acting as independent authorities or appealing officers, in case employees feel aggrieved by line management decisions.

In-the-field human resources specialists can also help in evaluating and improving the performance of line managers. It is perhaps difficult to evaluate performance in the area of ​​human resources strategy and policy formation, but even evaluating how well policies are implemented is difficult. General Managers have a lot of things to attend to, and it is therefore expected and natural that human resources will be pushed toward the back burner.

Promoting a culture that elevates the management of human resources, relying on intrinsic motivation of line managers to some extent. But some accountability - some measurement of performance - will support the desired culture. Specialists are likely to have the best training and widest range of evidence for conducting comparative evaluations of human resources performance. Hence, they are well positioned to provide measures of performance on which line manager accountability can be based and to counsel line managers regarding how to improve their effectiveness in formulating and implementing policies for their units.

Developing Innovative Products

Phase 0: Feasibility Analysis

The goal of this phase is to identify existing technology to achieve the intended high-level function. If technology can be purchased as opposed to developed, the scope of consequent development forms changes.

Simply put, product development companies research and assess the probability that the current technology can be used to reach the intended functionality of the product. By doing this, the development efforts are reduced, which in financial terms represent a great reduction in development costs.

Moreover, if the technology is not yet available, then the assessment can result in longer development cycles and the focus moves into creating the new technology (if humanly possible) that can accomplish the functionality of the product.

This is an important part of the in any product development process because it is safer and financially responsible to understand the constants that a product can have prior to starting a full development cycle. A feasibility study can cost between 7-15 thousand dollars. It may be sound very expensive for some, but when it is much better than investing $ 100k + to end up with a product that no manufacturer is able to produce.

Phase 1: Specification or PRD (Product Requirements Document) development

If your product is feasible, congratulations! you are a step closer to creating your product and you can move into documenting what is going to go into the product itself, aka the guts (product objective, core components, intended end-user, aesthetics, User interphase, etc).

In this phase, product design and engineering focus on documenting the critical functionality, constitutions, and inputs to the design. This is a critical step to keep development focused, identify the high-risk areas, and ensure that scope creep is minimized later.

This document will help you communicate the key features of your product and how they are provided to work to all members of your team. This will ensure that you keep everyone involved on the same page.

Without one, you are more likely to stay off track and miss deadlines. think about the PRD as your project management breakdown structure (BDS)

Phase 2: Concept Development

Initial shape development work identifies options for form, as well as possible approaches for complex mechanical engineering challenges. Initial flowchart of software / firmware also happens here, as well as concept design level user interface work. Aesthetic prototypes may be included in this Phase, if appropriate. Prototype in this phase will not typically be functional.

Phase 3: Initial Design and Engineering

Based on decisions made at the end a concept development phase, actual product design and engineering programming can start. In this phase, Level 1 prototypes are often used to test approaches to technical challenges.

Phase 4: Design Iteration

This part of the project is where we focus on rapid cycles, quickly developing designs and prototypes, as the depth of engineering work increases. This phase can include Level 2 and 3 prototypes, typically through multiple cycles. Some products require as many as twenty prototype cycles in this phase. Others may only require two or three.

Phase 5: Design Finalization / Optimization

With all claims tested and validated, the design can be finalized and then optimized for production. To properly optimize for production, product design and engineering teams take into account the target production volumes, as well as the requirements of the manufacturer. Regulatory work may start in this phase.

Phase 6: Manufacturing Start and Support

Before production starts, tooling is produced, and initial units are inspected. Final changes are negotiated with the manufacturer. Regulatory work also should wrap up in this phase.

Are You Embarrassed by Your Sales Manager Job Description Skills? Here's What to Do

Supervisors, and especially sales managers, acquire their outputs from the group they manage. This requires behavioral attitude that enhance the company and accommodating attitudes.
• These abilities are created predominately from:
• An enthusiasm for individual needs and perspectives
• An eagerness to invest time and commit thought to analyzing states of mind
• A feeling of equity or reasonable management

RESPECT FOR OTHERS 'SPECIAL PERSONALITIES

Typically the business manager will have to work his or her way up in the company and will have to amaze product learning, a database of loyal clients, awesome thoughts regarding development of sales, and incredible compatibility with partners and customers alike. However, there is a likewise scope for experienced transactions directors to be parachuted into an organization to convey a crisp way to deal with dealing with the business department. Sales managers now and then decide and build up sales territories in accordance with the organizations' development plans. He or she will likewise be in charge of setting standards and sale objectives for the business officials and the business group in general. Successfully working in as the controlling hand for the business team, the business manager will likewise outline the staff's training programs, create methodologies for the business group to work productively and urge collections to outperform short-and-long term targets.

INBOUND MARKETING MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

If you're in a promotion department then you simply need to move to an inbound approach, it's conceivable every thing you'll have to demonstrate the accomplishment of your inbound marketing program. If so, you'll likely be looking to hire a holding nothing back inbound advertiser, someone who can build and grow your inbound marketing system starting from the earliest stage. Search for somebody who is exceptionally self-motivated and flexible ... also, completes stuff (what's more, in case regardless you're trying to persuade your manager to make the move to inbound in any case).

21ST CENTURY DEALS SUPERVISOR

The business profession has changed over the prior decade as an after effect of advances in IT, the expansion of correspondence channels and automation. "The administration job is trying to understand the change and sale supervisors are critical to its prosperity," says one encountered sales director. Sale administrators today should comprehend IT system, perceive the force of web-based social networking, and be fully informed regarding sales and customer trends. He or she will be great with figures and ready to analysis measurements and always monitor deal figures and the group's execution, as indicated by agreed KPIs.

CAPABILITIES REQUIRED FOR SALES SUPERVISOR JOBS

Employer hiring stuff tend to search for applicants with a bachelor or graduate degree in a business organization with a concentration in marketing. Education in business law, economic matters, business administration, bookkeeping, arithmetic, finance, and statistics will surrender candidates a leg on the opposition. Computer and Internet skills are likewise valuable for record-keeping and information services. Many business supervisors are promoting inside from the business executive part. A few companies likewise offer confirmation programs, a capability that is turning into a standard among managers. The Institute of Sales and Marketing Management offers a scope of Marketing and sales manager job description add qualifications for expert business people from little Awards to larger Certificates and Diplomas. These capabilities are on the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and are directed by the UK government education controller.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with Marketing to assurance predictable lead era.

• Work together with sales manager to make and prepare prospecting process.

• Work together with sales leadership to make and prepare lead capacity handle.

• Hire high-performing business people as indicated by HR staffing rules.

• Prepare new sales representatives to guarantee achievement.

• Oversee everyday execution of all business collections and deliver reviews.

• Work with sales authority to produce thoughts for sale challenges and motivational activities.

• Lead and timetable week after week or potential month to month group gatherings with deals group and administration.

• When you hire, an employee must be stated in sales manager job description that that Prepare and guarantee adherence to sales handling.

Fleet Managers Using Geofencing to Monitor and Track Company Assets

Asset monitoring using geofencing is a cost effective way for businesses to track inventory and high valued content.

Asset monitoring and protection is an important part of fleet management.

An essential part of monitoring and protecting your company's equipment, fleet, or high valued content is being able to know where they are and what they are doing at all times.

This is what makes geofencing so valuable.

Geofencing or geo-fencing, is the process of using GPS tracking software to create a virtual boundary around a specific geographic location to be tracked using GPS tracking hardware.

Aside from just being a way to track activity within a specific geographic location, geofencing is a powerful tool used in establishing driver accountability, improving daily operations, and increasing overall company productivity.

Creating geofences to efficiently begin monitoring activity into and out of a specific location is very simple.

Step One: To begin creating your geofence, select the polygon radio button. Then give your geofence a name.geofencing

Step Two: Draw a polygon around the geographical location you want your geofence to encompass.

Step Three: After completing the polygon shape, type in a contact name and email for the geofence alert to be sent to. Click 'Set Geofence' go create.

NOTE: When creating a geofence, you want to make sure to create an entry / exit point to be used to trigger incoming and outgoing geofence alerts. If the location you are creating a geofence for contains a wash area, make sure to create an entry / exit point for it to trigger it's own event when trucks / vehicles are done unloading and need washing before being reloaded. Geofence alerts can help businesses to further manage a positive customer experience with real-time data about a drivers current location and whether they are loading, unloading, or even in a washing event.

Once a geofence is established, anytime traffic enters or leaves that specified area, alerts will be sent to fleet management specifying either an entry into or an exit out of the location.

Geofence alerts and reports allow dispatch to not only know where their fleets are, but also gives them the ability to know if their fleet, whether it is a vehicle, loaded trailer, or a piece of equipment, is moving or not.

This is especially important in cases where construction equipment left on a site sets off a geofence alert after-hours.

It may also indicate a possible theft or off-hours use of company equipment by an employee or someone else.

Either way, asset monitoring using geofencing means being able to catch both instances of activity and could mean a savings to the company bottom-line.

Logistics Software is the Ultimate Transportation Management Program

It's difficult to think of an area of ​​business that has not benefited from SaaS offerings. And if you own a manufacturing company or plan on starting one, you may be familiar with truckload transportation management software, a form of logistics software that is available on both a SaaS model and as an internal software solution. The value of logistics software is typically discussed in relation to third party logistics (3PL), with its main benefits being that it offers logistics solutions at a significantly lower price than 3PL while offering more shipping options.

Logistics software offers the same logistics expertise as 3PL providers for a lower price because it's priced as a software service and not as a logistics consulting service. It offers a broader range of shipping solutions because it does not act as a business entity that prefers its own shipping solutions or the solutions of its associates. But there are also other benefits of using logistics software instead of 3PL; Below, we take a look at three reasons why logistics software is the ultimate transportation management program.

Companies Can Become Their Own Logistics Providers

When shipping companies get large enough, they usually purchase their own flight fleet and hire a team of logistics professionals to oversee it. But for small to midsize shipping companies, the financial necessity of outsourcing logistics means that they have to maintain a relationship with a 3PL that 3PL clients regularly characterize as being distant and disconnected, and it's easy to see why. If you are not a logistics expert, it's difficult to maintain a business dialogue within someone who is. But logistics software effectively places the power of the logistics function in the hands of shipping companies by providing an easy to use customer interface, making it an ideal transportation management program.

Companies Receive a Comprehensive Logistical Approach

There are four types of 3PL providers: standard 3PL providers, service developers, customer adapters and customer developers. But only customer developers offer a comprehensive approach that results in new shipping solutions. The problem? Cost wise, hiring a customer developer is essentially like hiring your own team of logistics professionals. And if you can not afford that, then hiring a customer developer is a bad decision as well. Companies hire standard 3PL providers and service developers when they have a specific need, but not when they when they want the best systematic shipping process; and customer adapters are rented by companies that simply want their shipping process "managed".

Companies can Significantly Reduce their Annual Shipping Costs

Research shows that companies that implement logistics software can reduce their annual shipping costs by 10 percent at the end of the first year. With the aid of logistics software, shippers typically pay more than they need to in freight transport and a variety other costs commonly associated with the shipping process, including but not limited to: TMS software costs, annual software maintenance costs, gain shares, freight margins and common rate based licensing costs.

SAS for a Great Career

SAS certification has assisted thousands of candidates by enhancing their level of personal development. The popularity of SAS is noticeable as it deals with different types of structured and unstructured data belonging to different destinations. It is one of the customized integrated tools used for predictive modeling, data mining, and analyzing multivariate and forecasting purposes.

Working of SAS

The major industrial sectors using SAS are banking, pharmaceuticals, education, government and other commercial sectors. For users' convenience, the SAS data is saved in HTML, RTF and PDF formats. However, the original data is either available in SAS format or tabulated Excel format. The data in rows are referred to OBSERVATION and columns as VARIABLES. In addition, the data is comprised of two phases; compilation phase and execution phase. This business-intelligence-software programming offers the facilities to manage and analyze enormous data sets with just the click of a few buttons or programming.

The compatibility of SAS over flat and un-formatted files encourages users to use the software in various data analysis disciplines. Here are the industrial sectors listed below, which have explored SAS reliability:

• Financial analysis, Publication, Psychological testing, Sales forecasting













• Study consumer behavior, financial risk analysis, Academic research













• Website, Data analysis, Business Intelligence













• Banking and Pharmaceutical analysis

Participants, who have high career aspirations, can opt for a SAS Global Certification program. There are ten best reasons provided below to become SAS certified professional:

1. SAS certification helps to develop logical thinking and changes your perception when you look at the data.













2. It empowers your industry validation and SAS expertise.













3. Develops rapport with your employer and enhance the chance of personal growth in an organization.













4. It offers a good career and strengthens earning power.













5. SAS credential comes with a digital badge, which is easy to share documentation.













6. SAS certification makes you ready for immediate relevancy to real-world needs.













7. SAS is in high demand around the global industry.













8. Defined training paths and certification assist in easy preparation at affordable prices.













9. SAS certified individuals have the plethora of opportunities available in the field.













10. SAS certified participants are listed in the Directory of SAS Certified Professionals, which has the access to all employers that validate your credentials.

Acquiring a SAS certification validates SAS skills in Programming, Analytics, Data Science, Administration, Data Management and Enterprise Business Intelligence.

Aspirants keen to understand SAS, skill the programming, and want to master the technology, they must opt for SAS training course for the beginners. Later, opting for advanced SAS training and certification will assist them in finding a great and exciting career ahead.

Resume for Chief Auditor

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Global Business? Speak the Language and Content of Your Client

According to many sociologists, in the last decades we have been experiencing a "sea change" in several fields of humanity, from technology, science, economy to politics. This huge shift they talk about is called "Globalization" and it has seriously affected our lifestyle, our habits, the entire social structure and hence the way we deal with the contemporary world.

As a matter of fact, our world seems to have been experiencing a sort of time-space compression since 1972, as a famous anthropologist and geographer, namely David Harvey, affirmed in his famous book The condition of Postmodernity: An inquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change (HARVEY, David, The condition of Postmodernity: An inquiry into the Origins of Cultural Change, Blackwell, 1992). Think out to the rapid flow of information triggered by the ICT revolution that nowdays enables us to send a message to the other side of the world in real time through "a click on the palm of our hand". Think out to the increased flexibility of the means of transports thanks to the technological advances that enable us to move through the world in a matter of hours. All these improvements have made the world get smaller and smaller in a metaphorical sense so that today in the business field organizations are no longer bounded by their geographical location.

All of a sudden, their markets have no limits at all and they can start looking at new opportunities overseas where they could not even imagine going only some years ago. In other words, what happens is that they become global and, as they achieve this new status, their new customer targets are no longer exclusively composed of local clients. New global segments emerge that share more or less the same lifestyle thanks to globalization. For instance, the Chinese women of the emerging middle-class act like and identify themselves with the American women.

Companies willing to internationalize have a desperate need to start off from internationalizing their communication ... but, would not it be enough to use English for their foreign communication ?? Perhaps, the jury is still out on this issue but No ! We definitely think No and we are going to show you why below.

Multilingual communication: fundamental for going global in business

In today's global economy multilingual communication is an essential tool to succeed in business because:

• Buyers in every country are increasingly demanding products or services described in their own language
• companies that realize the point above too late inevitably lose market shares and 33% reduction in long-term profitability of the product life cycle on average, according to McKinsey & Co
• companies' global brands decline in value if they speak a non-local language

Unfortunately, it seems that many organizations are failing to address their efforts towards localization and translations along with creating relevant and valuable multilingual digital content. If they do it, most of the time is just an accidental process without yet a carefully considered plan nor relying on a well-conceivable strategy behind it.

Redefining the value of content management: towards multilingual global content management

The user, potentially interested in a product or service just just Googles it on the Internet and guess what? Among the Google's list of results, he picks out and clicks only on those delivered in his own language. This action will be repeated in any touch point of its online journey before ending up purchasing the searched product or service.

Therefore, what a business would better do is to start redefining the value of its content management and upgrade it to a multilingual global content management. The later drives the global customer experience, increases the customer satisfaction, promotes the brand awareness, its consistency and supports the time to market goals. Moreover, since the content is a significant corporate asset, it must be managed as any other corporate asset, since it is imperative to turn it into a multilingual one and working relentlessly on its translation to the client / user's idiom.

As the former German Chancellor Willy Brandt once said:

If I'm selling to you, I speak your language. If I'm buying, dann müssen Sie Deutsch sprechen.

(Then we must speak German)

Although one might be induced to think that simply embedding a Google Translator plugin into his business website would do the trick, it would soon find out how short sighted this choice is. Not only would translations turn out to be of poor quality but this would also heavily affect the reputation of its business and brand.

Furthermore, a global economy is more and more requiring not only a multilingual content but also a content which is appropriate to the targeted population. In other words, a business must meet the expectations in terms of localization and translation processes of a targeted country, otherwise even a perfectly translated message may sound weird for a native speaker.

For instance, a Spanish firm could use in its website an expression such as

llevar el gato al agua - to take the cat to the water

to highlight that they have fulfilled a very complex task in a particular job, a feat.

Clearly, the English translation does not convey the same meaning of the original Spanish one and a web user would feel puzzled when reading this expression. As a consequence, that business would not be perceived as professional and its reputation would soon break down into pieces. It goes without saying that the user / potential customer would dash off to another business website and, sometimes, buy a product or service from the competitor.

How To Choose A Boxing Gym

Health Clubs

Exercise fads come and go. If you don't believe me, sit up after midnight and watch the parade of info commercials on TV. The majority of them focus on the latest hot trend for shaping up. Some health clubs do offer boxing classes, but they may only view it as a temporary fad. In other words, the classes will be offered only as long as gym management thinks that what their customers will demand boxing training. If you want to do training for the long run, find out if the gym offers the class on a regular, on-going basis. This is important if you're going to put your money down. Health club memberships usually aren't cheap, and their contracts can be hard to break.

Some health clubs have fitness or aerobic boxing classes, which focus only on the workout itself. No sparring is involved. If you only want to hit the bags and the punch mitts, these classes are perfect. If you do want to compete at some point, talk to the trainers to see if they do prepare people for that. If not, seek out another gym.

Take into account the atmosphere of the health club. Some are glorified social clubs, while others cater to a certain crowd, like bodybuilders, for example. The culture of the club may have a bearing on how you may like or not like training there.

Traditional Boxing Gyms

A buddy of mine attends a gym where mostly professional boxers train. He described the boxing training atmosphere as being intense and no-nonsense. The fighters are hungry, and they want to win championships.

These types of gyms are usually privately owned. Some have a mix of amateur and professional boxers among their members. I have heard of a few gyms that are strictly for professional fighters only. Be prepared to work when arriving at the door of a traditional boxing gym. The trainers will expect that everybody who comes there will work hard on their training. They're not going to waste time on anyone who won't.

Prices vary. Unlike health clubs, some boxing gyms do not require people to be locked into long term contracts.

Participants can pay their membership dues on a monthly basis. On average, monthly fees can be as low as $50.00 all the way up to a couple of hundreds a month. Those who know they'll be going less often can pay a day fee, which may range between ten to twenty-five bucks each time. Paying a day fee is also a good way of checking out a gym before committing to boxing training there.

Personal training as well as group classes can be had at traditional boxing gyms, but keep in mind that separate fees are involved.

Some of the older gyms haven't gotten around to making their places welcoming to women, unfortunately. Don't be surprised to find there's no designated women's washroom or locker room in older gyms. If you can overlook having to use a converted custodian's supply room in order to change into your workout clothes, more power to you. Maybe if you push enough, management will make the changes.

Municipal Park District Boxing Gyms

If you live in or near a big city, boxing training via the park district may work for you. The fees to work out are much less than going to a health club or to a private gym. Another plus is that these types of boxing gyms often can be found closer to your neighborhood.

Their biggest asset, being open for all, can also be a park district's boxing gym's major drawback as well. All kinds of characters are drawn to boxing gyms. Private health clubs and traditional boxing gyms can put barriers up to keep some problem personalities out. Those who train at park district gyms may have to grin and bear some difficult people. It's a great idea to talk to the coach before signing up to get a feel for how those types of gyms operate.

Boxers in these types of boxing gyms often participate in local competitions, and some park districts do hold boxing shows throughout the year. If you find an adults-only boxing class through the park district, great! But keep in mind that the park district's main focus is being family-friendly and providing recreation for youths. Many of their boxing programs may be for all ages, in the same gym, at the same time. If it's not going to be a problem to train alongside grade and high school kids, then go for it. Being around people who are at different levels in terms of boxing skills is a good thing. Everyone can learn from each other.

These types of boxing gyms tend to be no frills. The field house, or building where the boxing gym is, may not be in the best of shape. There may not be locker rooms or showers, depending on the location. If the coach can't make it in on any given day, the gym may not open.

Getting personal attention once in awhile may be a challenge depending on how many people are in the class. Some people question the level of training and the quality of coaches who work within the municipal recreation system. But you may prefer training in these types of boxing gyms as opposed to privately owned gyms.

All Female Boxing Gyms

These gyms are a great alternative for women who want to avoid dealing with issues in predominately male gyms, such as sexism and macho attitudes. The emphasis is on empowering women. They tend to be more respectful of women who are only interested in becoming fit, as opposed to wanting to compete. Many offer classes for those who prefer classroom structure.

Ask questions, talk to the coaches, and talk to the people who attend the gym so you can get a clearer picture of which gym will work well for your training purposes.

Mercedes 126 Repair - Tracking Down Vacuum Leaks

Mercedes always had a penchant for using manifold vacuum as a control device for various ancillary systems. As elegant as that may be, it does result in an engine compartment with a multitude of vacuum lines and connections, on top of an already-complicated fuel injection and air-management system. If that myriad of components has never been renewed on a 20-year-old car, there will almost certainly be leaks, and they can be tricky to track down.

Vacuum Leak Symptoms

Major vacuum leaks will make the engine very rough or lumpy at idle as the optimum air-fuel (A / F) ratio is compromised by the intake of unmetered air. The car may still drive reasonably well, because the relative magnitude of the leak becomes much less significant as the throttle opens and the engine draws in the large amounts of air it needs for combustion under load. Idle speed may also be elevated, as the vacuum leak frustrates the efforts of the idle-control system to regulate the amount of air admitted to the intake ports.

The economy gauge in the instrument cluster should be pegged left at idle (except in gear with the A / C on). But this gauge is not accurate enough for proper diagnosis. We really want to connect a hand-held vacuum gauge to the intake manifold. The best place to do this is at the back of the manifold on the passenger side, where the gray line to the interior accessories takes its feed. A healthy engine at idle, according to most textbooks, should indicate 17-22 in / Hg of vacuum; In the case of a V-8 Mercedes 126, we should be seeing around 20. A lower number can indicate many things, including improper ignition timing and generally poor engine condition. But if the engine is other sound sound, vacuum leaks will be noticeable here.

Best Detection Method

One way to find vacuum leaks is with an automotive stethoscope. You may be able to actually hear the intake of false air. But the best way is to use your car's oxygen senor as a diagnostic aid. The oxygen sensor on the early V-8's is a single wire device, sending a voltage close to 1.0 when the A / F ratio is very rich and close to 0.0 when the mixture is very lean. By connecting the sensor's output wire through a voltmeter to battery ground, we can use it to test for vacuum leaks. To do this:

• Get the sensor HOT by driving the car.
• Test the sensor's lean response by creating a massive vacuum leak. Disconnect the gray line at the back of the manifold, where you hooked up your vacuum gauge.
• Test the sensor's rich response by spraying carb cleaner into the intake. (The air cleaner needs to be off for this work.)
• If the sensor is not responding correctly, replace it. It is vital for proper mixture control and fuel economy.
• If the sensor is working, test for vacuum leaks by spraying small amounts of carb cleaner around suspected leak areas, such as fuel injector seals and breath hoses. If you see a brief spike in the voltage, you've found a problem area.
• Do not go crazy with the carb cleaner: it is hostile to old rubber.

Unfortunately, not all of the possible culprits can be reached with this procedure. The rubber "donuts" between the upper- and lower-halves of the intake manifold are almost impossible to test. But usually, some combination of this procedure plus temporarily isolating vacuum-powered accessories will expose the leak.

Finally, a word on a vacuum leak location that is easily overlooked, but which can be very serious if allowed to get too far. The vacuum line from the back of the intake plenum to the brake booster is critical for brake performance; these cars are very difficult to stop without servo assistance. The line itself is easy to inspect for cracks, but it's hard to verify the integrity of the check valve in the line. The valve can look fine from a distance, but hairline cracks may be developing right at that point where the thick tubing mates with the valve. Try flexing this area with the engine running and see if your id changes, and give it the carb cleaner spritz test, too. New lines, including the check valve, are $ 40-50 and worth replacing for peace of mind if the original is still on there. Do not ask me how I know ...!