Information Technology vs Industrial Clusters The WritePass Journal

Information Technology vs Industrial Clusters Background and Introduction: Information Technology vs Industrial Clusters Background and Introduction:Discussion:Conclusion:  ReferencesRelated Background and Introduction: Information Technology (IT) has been an important force transforming human life on planet earth. It has changed the foundations of business, social, economic, financial, technological dimensions of human life. It has fostered the pace of life as well as changed the lifestyle and speed of human life. Now with the advent of internet, the speed of life has become an important determinant of keeping pace in different dimensions of life. The very meaning of markets and boundaries defining the markets and business domains have undergone a complete change because of the internet and fostering technological change that it brought in its wake. While corporate business world has taken full advantage of the internet, it has still I the early phases of realizing full support and potential of the internet. IT speculators suggested huge benefits from the internet which meant relocation and complete physical freedom from the customers, competitors and physical boundaries of the market which earlier defined the very limits of any industry. By early twentieth century, the markets were tended to be defined at local level, at city level and at the national levels. There was little mention of the international or global markets. This was because of limited progress achieved in the means of communications and transportations. Most markets were considered as physical definitions or definitions in terms of physical presence of the buyers and sellers. Each place where buyers and sellers could be physically present were defined as local markets. Where ever the buyers and sellers could gather together from a national scale were the national markets. The limited advancements in the means of transport and communications were a natural barrier on the market definition. Discussion: As the industrialization process grew and the means of transport and communications also grew with them. The beginning of the railways system and the telegraphs and telephone brought about some relaxations in the definition of the markets and the markets definitions also included the areas from far off here there were customers of any product or service where transport means such as railways and communication means such as telephone and telegraphs had access. Therefore the means of transport and communications have served as a key factor defining the geographical boundaries of markets. The definitions of the market boundaries has moved hand in hand with the advancements of the transportation and communications. The second half of the twentieth century has brought a technological revolution especially in the IT sector. The computer is the most fascinating invention of the twentieth century. It has transformed the speed and accuracy levels of the information processing. It has also promised and delivered transparency and merit. In the last fifty or sixty years the world has witnessed the rise of internet which has impacted the communications in an un-precedent manner. The rise of the internet has defined and redefined the basics of communications in every nook and corner of the world. The business markets and each industry and segment is deeply affected by the growth and usefulness of internet. Amongst the key benefits envisaged by the IT experts, the Internet was thought to redefine the markets as well. In several sectors such as services banking and retailing and IT, it was thought that the internet would introduce branchless services virtually eliminating the physical presence of the branches in every area of the country. But despite the wide spread use of the internet in every office and production factories and manufacturing area, it is noted that companies still prefer to be located near their competitors and outsourcers. Why? This is the primary question that we need to answer in this essay. In the conventional approach to networking, most industries in retailing services and banking followed an level headed approach with their competitors. In every area, Mcdonalds and KFC and Burger King have their outlets almost next to each other or as near as possible. Banks also tend to have their branches next to each other in every area regardless of the volume of business they can get. They go for prominence and presence as much as for their market share ion every area. The reasons are simple and straight forward. Despite the use of internet, physical presence through an outlet is thought as important as the market share and sales through that area. Secondly the most important characteristics are discussed as follows: In the banking sector concept of branchless banking was envisaged with the rise of internet. Despite after wide spread use and years of practice and websites each bank has launched and online services uploaded on their websites, the online services used by the clients, customers and banks is hindered by some plain truths. The mal practices, internet frauds, site hacking and other practices that put the online security of information under question mark, has caused clients, customers and banks to shy away from using the online services with full confidence. The use of the online services is limited and transactional volumes of the online services are still limited because of the limited trust and confidence earned by the online services because of security of online information. Most companies and clients and individual customers deem online data to be vulnerable and prone to theft. This causes the use of online services to be used in limited volume and thus limiting the concept of br anchless banking. Secondly, the traditional and conventional banking practices call for a physical presence of the ban k outlets in each area so that the customers may see and visit the bank they trust and deal with. This is owing to the fact that customers pledge their trust more with a bank physically present than with the one which has a presence only on the web. The so called ‘human element’ is still more important than the technologically advanced services such as online banking.   A modern customer does not have the luxury of time and his time is money. He wants to invest his time as much cautiously as money. He knows that if he mismanages his time, he will loose money, therefore time is money. The ebanking is an answer to many of his needs on this perspective. He can perform many of his jobs and day to day banking activities which ate into his precious time, He can deal with all financial activities by means of ebanking. A modern customer is an ebanker. He prefers not to visit a bank branch as long as he can meet his banking need via one of the available ebanking means and ways. Therefore, ebanking is considered as an answer to many of the problems of the customer of modern day baking market. â€Å"Challenges remain even in Latin America. In locations not served by banks most users open an account primarily to access welfare payments, or because their employer deposits their salary directly into their account. Apart from withdrawals, the most frequent use of the accounts is for making utility bill payments.† http://economictimes.indiatimes.com â€Å"The power of cellular phones has been tremendous in the country, and the branchless banking program would target cell phone users with little or no access to banks, he said.†(www.thejakartapost-banking-start-bali.html) Telebanking is also considered as part of the internet banking. In the telebanking services by dialing the given Telebanking number from anywhere, the customer can access their accounts and by following the user-friendly menu, entire banking set up can be conducted through Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system which is purpose built and designed to serve the customer. There are sufficient numbers of hunting lines available with this system and the customer calls never fail or go un attended. The system is built around in several local languages and acts to the usage ability of the customer. The modern day organization is highly interactive and dependent on the ebanking services. The accounts department is functional on ebanking system and it can check its daily cash balance and issue checks and make payments and transfer the funds through ebanking and tele-banking services alone. It saves on the time and effort of the organisation. Branchless Banking has potential as stated by Time s of India â€Å"Branchless banking has a huge potential to reach the unbanked and underserved segment of the population, he said and added that the branchless banking certainly will help people to take better advantage of the banking facilities at affordable cost† (http://timesofpakistan.pk) The cultural factors that tie and define business values for a specific locality also define the brand equity and market share in specific pockets of a market forcing companies to locate themselves in each area close to their competitors and outsourcers. This forces most banks and retailing companies like Mc donalds, KFC, Burgar King to stretch out and make their branches available in the local vicinity of their competitors. If a competitor in retailing will have an outlet in one area, he may well get the touch and feel of the local buyers more intimate touch and feel of the local buyers. He can respond to their needs more sharply and meaningfully than if he is not there. Same goes for the banking sector as well. Each branch manager has to perform as part of his duties a heavy job of personal banking and personal relation building with his clients in each pocket of the market to make its customers feel at home with their bank. â€Å"  Branchless banking is very useful and helpful in both urban and rural areas† states (http://telecomnewspk.com) With the rise of IT and internet services, the cluster formation or geographical concentration of competing companies is maintained because of the customers increasing demand for ‘Customization‘ in the products and services areas.   This forces most companies to locate themselves close to their competitors so that they may learn about the local taste and preferences. Each retailing outlets tries to serve the customers in a customized fashion in terms of local taste and preferences. Same is true for the banking sector as well. Most banks open their branches close to their competitors because they want to make sure that they meet the needs of their customers in a superior fashion to their competitors. With the rise of IT and internet services, the cluster formation or geographical concentration of industrial units is maintained because of the production economies and tax holidays offered by certain states. The competitors tend to have their industrial units in the same areas because they want to keep pace with the tax holidays that are earned by their competitors. It affects their cost of production and thus the cost of sales of their products and service. Therefore, the competing companies tend to locate themselves close to their competitors and outsourcers as it may be caused by the tax benefits and tax holidays earned by the companies in certain industries. This leads to the cluster formation or geographical concentration of industrial units despite the widespread used of the internet and IT services. With the rise of IT and internet services, the cluster formation or geographical concentration of industrial units is maintained because of the fact that many companies tend to maintain their outreach to the market and access-to-market at the same level as their competitors’. This factor is important in the case of many products and services such as foam and bedding industry which is a heavy produce to carry and it needs to be located near the market and thus in order to maintain a competitive edge with the competitors on ‘outreach’ to the market, the companies tend to locate their industrial units close to their competitors. This is also why with the rise of IT and internet services, the cluster formation or geographical concentration of industrial units is still maintained. The cost of transportation as part of production cost is an important determinant of the choice of location for companies for their industrial units. Companies tend to locate their industrial units near their competitors because they want their transportation cost to be the same as of their competitors.   This is also a reason why despite the rise of IT and internet services, the cluster formation or geographical concentration of industrial units is still maintained. Companies tend to locate themselves close their competitors because of the fact that they want to maintain their edge with their competitors in terms of getting the market feedback. They want to maintain an equal closeness and proximity to their clients or customer base or target market with their competitors and ear the title of caring and respect for the customer in the eyes of the customers. Therefore even with the rise of IT and internet services, the tendencies of concentration of industrial units is still maintained.   Industrial clusters develop â€Å"Industrial clusters develop in places where a business can develop links with other firms (and universities, government bodies and so on) to boost its performance† (cogentsi.com) Lastly, companies tend to locate themselves close their competitors because they want to conduct market intelligence and collect information about their competitors activities and utilize that information in their business plans. This leads to industrial clusters and concentration of industrial clusters within geographical areas, despite the increasing use of information technology and internet services. In so doing companies maintain their edge with their competitors in terms of market intelligence. They want to maintain a close eye on their competitors and thus even with the rise of IT and internet services, the tendencies of concentration of industrial units is still maintained. Conclusion: From the foregoing discussion, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that despite the rise of internet and wider spread use of information technology, companies tend to concentrate their locations within close geographical locations. The use of internet and information technology has certainly increased the efficiency and functional performance of the companies at a mass level, the potential benefits accruing from branch-less services and reducing the geographical concentration are still far from reality.   Most of the companies tend to be located near their competitors and the outsourcers because of the cost advantages and strategic reasons that hold, sway and largely dictate the strategic decisions of companies such as locating industrial units.   References http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/branchless-banking-in-india/articleshow/3386737.cms thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/01/branchless-banking-start-bali.html http://timesofpakistan.pk/business/2011-01-21/branchless-banking-is-future-of-financial-sector-shahid-kardar/22094/ cogentsi.com/industrial-clusters.htm http://telecomnewspk.com/2011/03/formal-branchless-banking-in-pakistan/ http://mobile-financial.com/node/14211/Marketing-Branchless-Banking

How to Align Content Marketing and Social Media in 9 Steps

How to Align Content Marketing and Social Media in 9 Steps Ask a business owner with a strong online presence and they’ll tell you- content marketing is one of the quickest, most successful ways to increase organic traffic. And, ask anyone and they’ll tell you- of course you need to manage your social media pages to grow your business and your customer base. But if you’re tackling both of these initiatives and not doing them in sync, you’re doing it wrong.    Creating and distributing content allows your business to reach new audiences, position your CEOs as a thought leader, and answer all of your customer’s most common questions while (hopefully) converting those clicks into sales. Likewise, businesses rely on social media to act as the face of the brand and often, as the prime distribution channel for content. Because your business’s social media pages are where your customers likely engage with you the most, they can be invaluable sources of feedback. Good content marketing and social media often have the same common goals- to increase site traffic, ramp up conversions, and build a general audience of devoted users. Because many of these objectives overlap, it is essential that your content marketing and social media presence are effectively aligned to get the most out of your audience and to reach as many people as possible. What is ? is the best marketing management platform to organize and execute all your marketing projects. That includes content + social media integrations that make scheduling and promoting content easy, all in one place. See it in action. How to Align Your Content Marketing and Social Media Presence in 9 Steps Table of Contents: Plan Ahead With Task Management Software Compare Metrics Monthly Target New Audiences Based on Engagement Use Graphics to Promote Content on Social Media Integrate Social Media Elements Into Blog Posts Use Blog Content for Facebook Live Material Launch a Cross-Promotional Content Series Across Channels Use Top Writers for Twitter Chats, Reddit AMAs, and Quora Originate New Content Ideas From Social Media Followers and Polls Bonus: Coordinate Content + Social Media With One Free Calendar Template If theres one thing content marketing and social media have in common, its this: success starts with planning. And they each work best when theyre planned and executed together in one place. The most effective way to plan and schedule all your content + social media posts is to use a calendar. Like the one included here below. With this free Excel template, you can: Plan your content calendar. Know what youll publish and work ahead. Schedule social media promotion. Line up posting days and times to make sure your content gets seen. Improve content + social visibility. When everything is planned in one calendar, your entire team can stay in the loop. Download it now, then follow each of the nine steps in this post to bring your content and social worlds together. 1. Plan Ahead With Task Management Software One of the most essential steps to aligning your content marketing and social media teams is planning within the same task management tool on shared boards or calendars. A task manager such as   can be a great tool to keep your team aligned and to track marketing plans holistically. By sharing calendars between all marketing team stakeholders, social media leaders can plan promotion for upcoming content initiatives, while content marketing teams can review social posts and make suggestions for captions and creatives. On , social media managers can be tagged prior to posts being published so that social posts can be planned in-line. Source: https://www.getapp.com/marketing-software/a// It’s essential that content marketing and social media teams coordinate within planning software to share new content and suggest improvements to content distribution efforts. With the right task management software, you can help ensure that your team is publishing content  at the right cadence and giving readers a reason to return day after day, week after week. 2. Compare Metrics and Engagement in Monthly Sessions In addition to planning in a common task management tool, content marketing and social media teams should meet in person frequently to compare overall performance metrics and traffic wins and losses. Use these meetings to align objectives for the following month and quarter, and ensure that your business’s content marketing efforts are working. Frequent meetings can help uncover trends in performance and engagement and better align future content plans. With multiple team members working on various initiatives, big picture metrics can easily be forgotten or pushed aside. Keep your team focused on the end goal- whether that’s signups or conversions or something else- and make sure that everyone is working towards the same KPIs. Unsure where to start? Focus on overall site traffic (sessions or pageviews) from social platforms and the number of  conversions through call-to-actions within blog content. To stay on track in these meetings, follow these steps. Both teams should come prepared with wins, losses and overall metrics. Focus both on the metrics that relate to respective platforms (sessions, engagement, shares) as well as the long term goal metrics (sign-ups, conversions, sales). In the meeting, brainstorm on how both teams can better align goals, whether that means the social media team re-shares successful content multiple times, or content creates more pieces covering topics that Facebook users are eating up. Keep the conversation going throughout the month by sending a weekly round-up email with one big win and one big loss every Friday. Determining how metrics can be shared effectively and solutions can be gleaned and applied from them will help both teams succeed in the long run. If your content marketing and social media teams are one in the same, it’s still important to set aside time to align thinking and compare successes between platforms. Recommended Reading: The Best Times to Post on Social Media Based on Research 3. Target New Audiences Based on Engagement So you’ve instituted a monthly metrics session- now what? Once you’ve begun to uncover trends and insights between platforms and on your blog, it’s time to put this data to work. Hone in on what’s working (and, of course, what’s not) and look for new audiences you can tap into. Once you’ve begun to uncover trends and insights between platforms and on your blog, it’s time...For example, social media can target specific hashtags, post content in different Facebook or LinkedIn groups, or work with other influencers or businesses to start new social swaps. Step 1: To interact with new groups on Facebook, search for a particular keyword, filter for groups, join the group, and interact with other users. Step 2: On LinkedIn, the sidebar on the left-hand side of your homepage will display different relevant hashtags and new groups to explore. Use both of these tools to promote relevant content to new audiences. Step 3: On Twitter, add relevant, popular hashtags, like G2 Crowd did below to your tweets to increase engagement in new audiences. In turn, the blog can cover different topics that work specifically on Facebook or produce content in different formats like video, listicle, or slideshow depending on how they perform on new platforms. When targeting new audiences, social media and content marketing teams should ensure that they don’t neglect their core audience in pursuit of expanding exposure to new niches or audience segments. 4. Creatively Market Content With Graphics or Clips on Social Media One common content marketing tactic is to create e-books to thoroughly explain a topic, secure leads, or introduce a new product. These are longer form guides that can be key to increasing conversion, but they also take a lot of effort and time to produce, so it’s important to ensure that social is aligned before the work begins. Creating a series of graphics made specific for social media platforms can be a great way to promote an e-book or tease it’s release before it’s widely circulated. For example, if an upcoming e-book lists a number of steps for improving your business’s online security, you could design a colorful graphic for each step with a brief description. The release of these graphics daily will pique the interest of social media followers to download the e-book and read the rest of the steps. If there are no steps to list, excellent pull quotes from the e-book can be equally effective. With a tool such as Canva, you can access and edit great free designs in a couple of minutes, as I did below. Step 1: To get started, sign up for Canva and create your first design. Step 2:   Then select a layout and edit the text, background, and colors. Step 3: Once your edits are complete, you’ll have a beautiful graphic to market your e-book. This tactic can be employed for YouTube or embedded videos as well by cutting a particularly good clip or a few clips from the video and releasing them on social media, and directing followers to a link if they’d like to watch the full video. On Facebook, this approach will yield many more views  than a typical post because Facebook videos results in 135% more organic reach than photos, on average. For best results, the content creator and social media team should coordinate on which steps, quotes, or clips would be best received by a social audience. With ’s scheduling feature, you can determine and schedule posts at the best time for your audience. 5. Integrate Popular Social Media Elements Into Blog Posts One of the best aspects of online blogs, as opposed to traditional media, is the room for innovation and creativity in communicating information non-traditionally. For example, as emojis have gained widespread use in wordlessly communicating emotions through text messaging and social media, they have also gained use in blogs to spice up content. To stay ahead of the curve and keep up with new trends, social media teams should communicate to content marketers what social audiences respond well to and what can be implemented on blogs to keep content relevant and interesting. To stay ahead of the curve and keep up with new trends, social media teams should communicate to...Because of the speed and frequency of communication on social media, new trends can be tried and proven much more effectively here than on your blog. A few different elements from social media that can be added to blogs could be videos, gifs, image slideshows, and memes, depending on how they’re received on social media. A great use of gifs can be found on ’s The Skimmer’s Guide to , which very creatively utilizes gifs throughout to keep the reader engaged. Of course, when applying any of these elements, content marketing teams should use discretion. For a more serious topic or professional guide, a meme or gif may not be appropriate. Likewise, a video or image slideshow could be distracting from core text or break the attention of the reader. By testing engagement on both social media and in blog content with new elements, teams can safely innovate and stay ahead of the communication curve. Recommended Reading: The Best Content Calendar Template to Get Organized All Year 6. Use Blog Content for Facebook Live Material You can’t get it right every single time. One of the unfortunate facts of creating content is that many of the posts you create may go unseen. But consider this- a post that didn’t quite work in one form could be repurposed and utilized in a whole different way. For example, a blog post that didn’t quite catch on in written form could be turned into a video script and presented to a Facebook or Instagram Live audience. Another example could be taking steps from a blog post, creating graphics from it, and uploading them as a slideshow on Instagram to be flipped through. Step 1: To get started, select the right blog post that would be interesting to your Facebook audience. Step 2: Choose parts of the post that could be succinctly summarized in a 15-minute Facebook Live. Look for clear steps that are actionable and easy to describe. Once found, write a script with an introduction, the subjects you’d like to cover, and a conclusion. Step 3: Promote the Facebook Live on different social media accounts. Step 4: To launch the Facebook Live, go to your Facebook page and click ‘Live’ in the action panel. Though you can’t make every single post work, it’s a good idea to narrow in on blog posts that you’d like to give a little more â€Å"juice† to. Task social media teams to come up with ideas that could work based on existing content and work from there. If you want to do a Facebook Live, consider whether you have relevant content you can reference in the chat or edit to make a scrip. Don’t look at low clicks as a failure- look at it as an opportunity to innovate and improve. Recommended Reading: 49 Facebook Marketing Tips to Get Better Results Right Now 7. Launch a Cross-Promotional Content Series Across Channels One great way to increase engagement across all channels and create a cohesive content marketing experience is to launch a series that can work across many platforms. For example, a new content vertical could launch in conjunction with a YouTube series that’s also cut down shorter snippets for Facebook. Say your goal is to gain YouTube subscribers for a new account- you could plan a content series that embeds a new YouTube video in every post, enticing readers to click through and (hopefully) subscribe. Neil Patel, an expert on digital marketing,   promotes across multiple channels including YouTube, e-books, blog posts, and social media, which has made his name omnipresent in the marketing space. If you’re building a presence on YouTube and have a popular blog, try the following tactic that Patel utilized. Step 1: After creating a couple videos for YouTube, write a comprehensive blog post on a complementary topic. For example, Neil wrote a blog post explaining that everything he has taught about SEO was wrong: Step 2: Then,   embed the YouTube video, which is a natural next step in the blog post’s call-to-action into the near end of the blog post. This will encourage readers to watch the video, increasing your viewership, and perhaps then watch the next video in sequence or even, subscribe to your channel! To promote an e-book or report, a social media team could release a series of videos on Facebook or Twitter explaining aspects of the e-book or report’s findings with attached links to the piece of content itself. In addition, selections from the content could be published on LinkedIn either under the brand or executives’ profiles with links to the content included. Recommended Reading: How to Promote Your Blog With 107 Content Promotion Tactics 8. Use Top Writers for Twitter Chats, Reddit AMAs, and Quora Twitter chats (public conversations within a unique hashtag) are excellent ways to interact with other companies in your space, gain followers, and assert your brand as a thought leader on a specific subject. Likewise, a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), where executives answer common questions about a topic or the company itself, is an excellent tactic to increase engagement and publicity in a niche community. For upcoming chats and AMAs, social media teams should coordinate with writers or company executives to ensure they’re on hand when questions begin to roll in and to provide comprehensive responses that wow participants. Tap into your blog to come up with new topics to cover and angles to take. Quora, a platform where users ask and answer questions, is another place where social media and content marketers should coordinate engagement. For the sake of optics on Quora, it can be better if individuals at a company create an account and answer questions, rather than brands. The writers who handle the blog can be excellent resources to answer questions and provide invaluable insight. Step 1: After signing up for a Quora account, a writer simply must answer a few questions in their niche before Quora and other users begin asking them for other answers. Once in your account, click Answer to find the right question. Step 2: Write your answer and click submit. Try different answer formats like steps and lists, adding useful images, and making your responses long and comprehensive to receive recognition and upvotes. 9. Originate New Content Ideas From Social Media Followers and Polls Social media followers who regularly interact with content are often a brand’s most engaged audience with untapped feedback to provide. To come up with creative new ideas for content creation, poll your social audiences with direct questions about topics they’d like covered or content mediums they like most. Step 1: To poll followers on Twitter, add your question then click Add poll. Step 2: Add poll answer options and click Tweet. Integrating more polls and surveys is a great way to plan future content and gather meaningful feedback from those who are more dedicated to your brand.

The 12 Best Books on Writing Ive Ever Read - Jerry Jenkins

The 12 Best Books on Writing Ive Ever Read - Jerry Jenkins The 12 Best Books on Writing Ive Ever Read Regardless how many books I’ve written (nearly 200) and sold (over 70 million), I fear if I’m not learning, I’m stagnating. My late mother was a convincing example of one who never believed she had arrived. Mom was not only a piano teacher well into her eighties, but she was also a piano student. So it’s the memory of my mother that spurs me also to keep reading everything there is to read- especially about writing. The books below (in alpha order by author) represent a fraction of those available. You could read one per  day for the rest of your life and not exhaust the resources. But, in my opinion, these are the best books on writing available. Some require wearing your big kid pants due to language, which I have noted. 12 Books Every Aspiring Author Should Read 1. The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work By  Marie Arana This book came from ten years of Ms. Arana’s  Washington Post Book World  column. More than fifty fiction and nonfiction authors share how they discovered they were writers and how they work. I was fascinated by what pleases and annoys them. Arana also profiles each writer. Click here to get the book. 2. Plot Structure: Techniques and Exercises for Crafting a Plot that Grips Readers from Start to Finish By James Scott Bell (friend and colleague) Anything but a dry textbook, this breezy guide is from a former trial lawyer who keeps you entertained while covering basics like how plot impacts structure, the difference between popular and literary fiction, and how to serve as your own book doctor. Click here to get the book. 3. Getting into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors By  Brandilyn Collins (friend and colleague) Calling on her theater training, Collins teaches bringing characters to life the way actors do on stage. She draws on the Method Acting approach to explain and adapt characterization techniques for novelists. Click here to get the book. 4. The Writing Life By  Annie Dillard Dillard’s hauntingly ethereal prose soars even when she’s writing about writing. That’s rare. I resonate with her honesty about how grueling the craft can be. This is one of the best books on writing available. Click here to get the book. 5. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft [language] By Stephen King (acquaintance) At the risk of hyperbole, there’s so much to recommend here that I hardly know where to begin. Besides all the practical advice, you get King’s own rags-to-riches story in his inimitable voice. You  learn a ton  while being wildly entertained. Click here to get the book. 6. How to Write Bestselling Fiction  [mild language] By Dean Koontz I’m not overstating it that this book changed my life. It informed the way I wrote the Left Behind series, which has sold more than 60 million copies and still sells six figures every year, nearly a decade since the last title was released. I use this as a textbook when I teach writing. Click here to get the book. 7. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life  [language] By  Anne Lamott Lamott has you howling with laughter one minute and weeping the next as she recounts, with brutal honesty, the joys and travails of the writing life, single parenting, overcoming addiction, and coming to faith. Click here to get the book. 8. Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level By Donald Maass An agent challenges you to do more than just spin a yarn, but to also think â€Å"big concept,† tackle major themes, and write life-changing works. Click here to get the book. 9. Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies By Sol Stein (acquaintance) Novelist, editor, publisher (Stein Day), and writing teacher, Stein is one of the deans of the American literary scene. His career spans decades, and he shares insider stories of famous novelists and their work, as well as everything he learned along the way. I sat under his teaching years ago and still follow his advice. Click here to get the book. 10. On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction By William Zinsser Zinsser’s background  should not be missed. He was a graceful classicist as a writer, and this million-seller has been lauded for its warmth and clarity. Zinsser offers sound tips on the fundamentals of writing any kind of nonfiction you can think of. Click here to get the book. Now, don’t read  any  of those books for writers, until†¦ †¦you’ve read the bible of writing books: 11. The Elements of Style By  William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White Failing to start your reading on writing with anything other than this undisputed classic would be akin to reading the top ten Christian classics while ignoring the Bible. This short paperback is recommended by every writing teacher I know. I’ve read it at least once a year for more than 40 years. Its simple truths cover everything from style and grammar and usage. Make them second nature. Click here to get the book. 12. Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One Never Lets Them Go By Les Edgerton Les is one of the most powerfully edgy writers in the business, and you must have your big kid pants on to read his novels. But any writer will benefit from this great resource. Packed with helpful, practical advice, it carries his blunt tone (but nothing offensive). I refer to it regularly. Click here to get the book. If you’ve read none of the other books on this list, start with Stephen King’s  On Writing. A short course in mistakes to avoid while writing, it’ll remind you why you wanted to be an author. Then, especially if you want to be a novelist, read Dean Koontz’s  How to Write Bestselling Fiction. You could learn more in just those two books than in an entire college writing course. BONUS:  Before investing in one of these, download my free guide:  How to Write a Book: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Steps.     Click here to download How to Write a Book: Everything You Need to Know in 20 Steps. What’s your favorite book on the craft of writing? Share it with all of us in the comments section†¦

Olympia Machine Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Olympia Machine Company - Case Study Example However, there are weaknesses in the current compensation plan. Regardless of the large volume of sales, there are high fixed selling expenses and also common measures that determine salary increases of the salespeople have not been established by the management. Some of the key issues that any new compensation plan must address include how to poise a balance between capital equipment and sales. A salesperson must be able to not just take any order that comes along but sell. Secondly, a weighted plan that allows a salesperson to assess what pays off and what does not should be addressed, in order for him or her to be more resourceful. Finally, there has to be a common standard where salary increases for all like employees should be known. This is of importance since the management is able to weigh how prolific a salesperson is. In the point system, together with a salary, a salesperson is given bonus points in relation to his or her performance in the sales activities. However, with this system, detailed reports about the performances of the salespeople are required thus increasing the organization’s overhead cost. In this plan, a salary, expenses and a commission on sales were taken into consideration. This way, the salespeople had security because they were assured of a salary and were still motivated due to the commission rates incurred on several products. However, this would mean that the commission plan with specifications would result to a cut in current salary base for most salespeople. The bonus plan involved giving the salespeople an opening to earn bonuses from their sales, without putting a boundary past a target. They also received the same salary as before. However, upholding a liable sales-expense-to-sales ratio would go against the Company’s philosophy of upholding such. I would therefore recommend the

Strategic problems facing HRM operating in multi-national companies Essay

Strategic problems facing HRM operating in multi-national companies - Essay Example This paper will talk about the possible strategic problems faced HR managers while working in multinational organizations. The three key problems discussed here are ‘Compensation and Reward Systems’, ‘Training and Development’, and ‘Job Expectations and Motivation Policies’. The symptoms are that HR departments are getting ready to take full advantage of their capital as well as staff when businesses need to progress. One of the most frequently talked about criticisms regarding HR is that several experts do not have the progressive thinking and strategic counseling focus considered necessary to be an successful business partner (Ulrich, 2013, p. 22). They do not use the time to know the business they sustain as well as concentrate additional on transactional HR activities that do not have the influence the business needs. HR managers have to be trusted consultants to the organizations as well as to the leaders they work with. They have to be effectual coaches and are responsive to their vital part as to successfully review workforce abilities and facilitate scheduling for potential requirements (Becker & Huselid, 2006, p. 899). HR should concentrate on turning into a trusted mentor to their business with the aim of give power to managers to drive better organizational performance. Human resources departments are in front of major problems as their responsibilities turn out to be broader as well as more strategic in the recent times. HR is â€Å"more than a basic function† (Dowling et al, 2008, p. 32) that includes appointment, development and retention of workforce. It is a main factor in developing a workforce that focuses on the objectives of the business. With bigger significance comes bigger hindrances - according to a study by Shipton et al (2006), the major problems faced by HRM are compensation and reward systems; training and

Role of Culture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Role of Culture - Research Paper Example Introduction Before going into the discussion regarding role of culture in a country, let us get a better understanding of what culture actually is. Culture represents the customs and traditions of people living in any specific society. Kartha (n.d.) states, â€Å"Culture is something that a person learns from his family and surroundings, and is not ingrained in him from birth†. It is a pattern of such behaviors and characteristics, which a person needs to learn if he or she wants to survive in a society in an appropriate manner. In this paper, we will not only discuss the role which culture plays in the lives of people living in Puerto Rico but also we will examine the culture of Puerto Rico from different aspects, such as, education, business management, communication, politics, food, religion, and etiquettes. Role of Culture in a Country Culture plays a critical role in shaping the behaviors and characteristics of people living in any specific country. Culture shapes the wa y the citizens communicate with each other. It gives an identity to the people of a country, which differentiates them from the people of other countries. Culture is the backbone of every society or any country. Every country has a different culture, which differentiates from the cultures of other countries. ... â€Å"Usually, people who settle in other nations imbibe the new culture, while at the same time strive to preserve their own† (Kartha, n.d.). Cultural Influences of Puerto Rico Culture plays its role in setting the dimensions for the economic progress of Puerto Rico. Beautiful landscapes and rich culture of Puerto Rico provide a sensual feast for the visitors (Beasley, 2010). Culture is involved in every aspect of the country’s growth and development. Some of the most common fields in which culture holds a very significant position include education, business management, communication, politics, food, religion, etiquettes, and gender roles. Let us discuss how culture makes an impact on the progress and development of Puerto Rico, which is an unincorporated territory of the United Sates of America. Impact on Education Culture has a very significant impact on the education of Puerto Rico. Cultural tendencies influence the way students participate in the process of learni ng. Understanding of the culture also influences perception and awareness of the students, which helps them deal with different challenges regarding education. Improvement in the process of learning is the best example of cultural influence on education in Puerto Rico. Students improve their process of learning when their teachers emphasize on mental representations, visual learning strategies, and hands on learning. In Puerto Rico, it is one of the main responsibilities of a teacher to integrate the elements of culture in the process of educating the children because in this way, children can become familiar with norms and values of their own culture. Those students, who learn the values of their cultures and exhibit them throughout their educational career, achieve

The Spring Gala Concert, Featuring the USA Percussion Ensemble, USA Essay

The Spring Gala Concert, Featuring the USA Percussion Ensemble, USA Steel, and the World Music Group - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the opening piece in the Spring Gala Concert was David Skidmore’s ‘Unknown Kind’. Skidmore is a relatively young composer having been born in 1982. Still, his compositions have been regularly performed around the country and at universities. His composition ‘Unknown Kind’ was originally performed at Carnegie Hall in 2007. While the author enjoyed the composition itself it ran counter to many of my expectations. The researcher had been expecting something more along the lines of traditional classical music, but the composition was slightly minimal and experimental. Still, it set a unique tone for the rest of the concert, as the rest of the compositions continued a slightly experimental theme. The ‘Unknown Kind’ composition was followed by a performance of Shostakovich’s ‘intermezzo’. This work fell along more traditional classical lines. This was perhaps the piece the author enjoyed the most as it balanced these classical elements with a sort of offbeat tone. David Maslanka’s ‘Crown of Thorns’ followed this piece. This was a highly minimal piece and during the performance, the author witnessed a young child dozing to sleep. The researcher didn’t share the child’s boredom, however, and after a period he came to appreciate the eccentricities in the work, as they offered an escape from run-of-the-mill type tonality. The intermission followed the conclusion of this piece.