Keys For A Happy Financial New Year

For many people, the New Year signifies a fresh start. The mental and spiritual batteries are recharged after the drain of the hectic holidays. We’re more optimistic. We’re open to new possibilities, new strategies, and new aspirations. New Year can be a time to think about personal and financial goals and the “new” commitments you plan to make. Yet, for all the initial enthusiasm, keeping yourself motivated, committed and moving toward the accomplishment of those goals is often tough. Here are personal finance tips that can help you toward a happier new year.

1.   Set clear goals. 

We’re talking any goal you’d like to work toward or achieve in the New Year that has financial consequences. For example, perhaps you want to work less so you can spend more time with your family, or you want to change to a career that excites you more but that pays less.

Setting specific, realistic goals—and writing them down—is such a powerful financial tool for realizing them. It not only clarifies what you have to do financially to achieve the goals, it motivates you to achieve them within a specific timeline. Saving for something provides much more financial incentive than merely following the standard advice to save 10 or 15 percent of your monthly pay.

2.   Discuss the goals with your family. 

They can help you clarify the goals, motivate you to make changes, and aid in their achievement.

3.   Create a financial plan. 

All financial actions (or inactions) affect other financial actions. If your financial left hand doesn’t know what your financial right hand is doing, one may undermine the other. For example, lack of adequate insurance for home, health, and other aspects of your life could decimate your retirement savings and investments if something goes wrong.

You may need professional advice at this stage, or you may feel you can do it yourself. Regardless, the key is creating and following through with the plan.

4.   Review the last year. 

Life is continually in flux and change can have a profound impact on your financial plans. For example, during the past year did you get married or divorced, have a child, change jobs, or change short-term or long-term goals?

5.   Establish a spending plan. 

Achieving financial goals is built on a single principle: spend less money than you earn. First, list your regular, dependable sources of income. Then track how much and where you spend money every month (including cash). Average out on a monthly basis periodic expenses such as car insurance or property taxes.

Subtract monthly expenses from monthly income and…do you have a surplus, are you in balance, or are you spending more than you’re taking in? Are you skimming 5 or 10 percent right off the top of your income for savings and investing? If not, what expenses can you reduce or income increase in order to save toward goals? Automate savings to make it less painful.

6.   Reduce debt. 

Resolve to lower debt this year. As interest rates rise, every dollar of accumulated debt becomes a heavier and heavier drag on your entire financial life.

7.   Diversify your household assets. 

You know not to put all of your investment eggs in one basket (such as high-tech stocks). Apply this advice to your overall financial household. If possible, working spouses should be employed in separate companies in separate industries in order to reduce the possibility of both of you losing jobs at the same time. Go easy on company stock and industry stock where you work. If your employer or the industry suffers hard times, you might lose not only your job but also much of the value of your investments. Avoid investing in a single business or industry that dominates the economy where you live. If the company or industry suffers, so might your home values along with your investments.

8.   Educate yourself financially. 

The more you understand about finances—from budgeting to investments to insurance—the more confident and motivated you’ll be to take the right financial steps this year.

With 2014 behind us, don’t feel pressured to make resolutions because you feel you should. Instead, open yourself to the possibility that setting concrete financial goals can be the start of some truly positive changes in your life. Remember, the clearer your goals are, the more confident and motivated you’ll be to take the right financial steps in 2015 and beyond. Best to you in the New Year, and happy goal setting!

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BENCHMARKING

Benchmarking refers to the finding out, in an open and aboveboard way, how other firms may be doing something better (cheaper) so that your firm can copy and possibly improve on its technique. Benchmarking is usually accomplished by field trips to other firms. The technique has now become a standard tool for improving productivity and quality at a large number of American firms, including some of the best-known, such as IBM, AT&T, Ford, Du Pont, and Xerox.

Benchmarking requires:

1.  Picking a specific process that your firm seeks to improve and identifying a few firms that do a better job, and

2.   Sending on the benchmarking mission the people who will actually have to make the changes.

Benchmarking can result in dramatic costs reductions. For example, through benchmarking, Xerox was able to cut the cost of processing each order from $95 to $35 and, as a result, save tens of billions of dollars. Similarly, benchmarking allowed Ford to reduce the number of employees handling accounts payable from 500 to less than 200 in a few months. Through benchmarking, the Mellon Bank cut complaints by 60 percent and was able to resolve them on the average in 25 days instead of 45 days. Benchmarking has now become a standard tool to increase productivity and minimize costs at many U.S. and foreign firms. The explosion in interest in benchmarking has led to the formation of many benchmarking associations, councils, conferences, courses, data, and consultants. 

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The Strategic Alliance Boom

In the new global environment, with greater competition from more and more products and choices, alliances are not just a planning option but a strategic necessity. Strategic alliances are booming across the entire spectrum of industries and services and for a wide variety of purposes. According to Booz, Allen & Hamilton, the number of U.S. firms with partners in Europe, Asia, and Latin America is growing at a rate of 25 percent annually.

Why the boom? Here are several strategic reasons companies enter into alliances:

§  Fill gaps in current market and technology

§  Turn excess manufacturing capacity into profits

§  Reduce risk and entry costs into new markets

§  Accelerate product introductions

§  Achieve economies of scale

§  Overcome legal and trade barriers

§  Extend the scope of existing operations

§  Cut exit costs when divesting operations

Despite the many good reasons for pursuing alliances, a high percentage end in failure. A study by McKinsey & Company revealed that roughly one-third of 49 alliances failed to live up to the partners’ expectations. Yet such painful lessons are teaching companies how to craft a winning alliance. Three keys seem to be:

1.    Strategic fit: Before even considering an alliance, companies need assess their own competencies. Then they need to find a partner that will complement them in business lines, geographic positions, or competencies. A good example of strategic fit is AT&T and Sovintel, a Russian telephone company. The two joined forces to offer high-speed ISDN service for digitized voice, data, and video communication between the two countries. By joining together, the two telecommunications companies can offer new services for more business customers than either could do alone.

2.    A focus on the long term: Rather than joining forces to save a few dollars, strategic partners should focus more on gains that can be harvested for years to come. Corning, the $5-bilion-a-year glass and ceramics maker, is renowned for making partnerships. It has derived half of its products from joint ventures and even defines itself as a “network of organizations.” That network includes German and Korean electronics giants, and Mexico’s biggest glassmaker.

3.    Flexibility: Alliances can last only if they’re flexible. On example of a flexible partnership is Merck’s alliance with AB Astra of Sweden. Merck started out simply with U.S. rights to its partner’s new drugs. For the next phase, Merck set up a new corporation to handle the partnership’s $500-million-a-year business and sold half the equity to Astra. 

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Future Business Leader

Besides the traditional hard skills of accounting, marketing, and finance, the business executive of the future will be a leader and a visionary rather than merely a manager, he will have a global outlook and be knowledgeable of information systems and technology, he will capitalize on diversity and be a master of teamwork, he will be creative and show initiative, he will be able to discern patterns and opportunities in apparent chaos and have the ability to synthesize information rather than just analyze it, and, above all, he will be strong on interpersonal skills and be able to communicate effectively. In short, being smart and well trained in traditional business areas will no longer be enough for the business leader of the twenty-first century.

Specifically, the ideal business leader of the future must be cross functional, or have the ability to combine disparate skills to solve problems. He must be a visionary and a leader; that is, he must combine hard work and a deep understanding of the business in which he is in with the ability to inspire others to also work hard to make the vision a reality. He must work effectively on teams, be accepted by others as the person with the best sense of the challenge confronting the group, and be able to break problems into manageable, status-free tasks that others are willing to focus on. He must have a deep understanding of global issues and the ethical aspects of her business decisions. He must be familiar with and be able to use information technology and be comfortable with technology in general. He does not have to be a scientist, but he must understand in detail how the technology incorporated in the product or service that the firm sells works and avoid calling the experts every time he has to make a decision. He must have some experience with excellence – in whatever field – so as to recognize it and encourage it in others when he sees it.

Sounds impossible? Maybe it is, but those who come closer to this ideal will rise to the pinnacles of business leadership in the future. Having an M.B.A. from a good school is important, but in today’s world no one is automatically impressed. The business leader of the future must sell himself and above all must perform. Today’s corporations have enormous expectations from its newly minted M.B.A.s, often expecting them to have talents and abilities that few chief executives possess. Most of the 700 or so business schools, from Harvard to the most modest, understand this and are striving to reengineer the training of M.B.A.s to reflect the qualifications that the future business leader must possess for the new, competitive, dynamic world of the twenty-first century. The difficulty is that many of the new required skills are hard to measure and teach in the classroom, and that is why many business schools are taking in students who already have some business and real-world experience. 

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The Management Revolution

Business and society are today in the midst of a revolution comparable to the Industrial Revolution in both scale and consequence. Today’s revolution has four components: the globalization of markets, the spread of the information technology and computer networks, the dismantling of traditional managerial hierarchies, and the creation of a new information economy. These four components are all occurring fast and at the same time, and are affected by and affect one another.

Globalization (the first component of today’s revolution) once meant simply exporting some goods and services to other nations and maybe setting up a few production facilities abroad. Today, globalization means that more and more managerial decisions must consider the world as whole, rather than the region or the nation, as the relevant marketplace. Because of the tremendous improvement in communications and transportation, tastes are converging internationally, many more products than in the past are now imported and most others parts of components made abroad, and domestic producers face ever growing competition from abroad.

The second component of today’s revolution is the spread of the information technology and computer networks. Practically every bank teller, post office worker, retail clerk, telephone operator, bill collector, and so on works with a computer today. This greatly speeds up the delivery of goods and services, cuts waste, reduces inventory, and generally increases productivity. The computer has also dismantled traditional managerial hierarchies and decimated the ranks of middle management (the third component of today’s revolution). In the past, middle managers were the transmission lines for information between top management and workers. Today, information can in most instances be transmitted from top management directly to workers and vice-versa by a simple tap of a computer key and without any need of middle management.

The fourth component of today’s revolution is the rapid spread of the information economy where the creation of value is increasingly based on knowledge and communications rather than as in the past on natural resources and physical labor. For example, many auto repairs will soon be made not by a mechanic with a wrench but by a technician who fixes an engine knock by reprogramming a computer chip, and goods and services will increasingly be marketed and distributed electronically. Today’s four-pronged revolution affects drastically not only how traditional products and services are produced and distributed but also the entire organization of production, consumption, and management in ways that are not yet fully evident or understood. 

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Don't Hurt Your Finance By Budgeting Blunders

They say that what someone doesn't know won’t hurt them. Unfortunately, when it comes to money, this sentiment doesn't apply.

Emotional spending is common and can cause a big problem if you do it consistently. Too much emotional spending — and even one trip that results in particularly expensive purchases — can consistently derail a budget. It’s easy to rationalize spending when you are emotional, because sometimes spending in general, or indulging in a particular purchase, momentarily makes us feel better. However, when we make financial decisions based primarily on our emotions rather than our needs or budget, we later experience buyer’s remorse.

Everyone knows that a budget is the linchpin holding together your financial empire. If you don't have a budget, whether or not you know it yet, you have money problems. But to avoid money woes, it isn't enough to create a budget. You have to design one that works properly. That’s why you'd do well to steer clear of these five mistakes consumers often make when budgeting.

Creating the budget – then not tracking the budget. It's easy to say you're going to spend a certain amount on your mortgage, your cable bill and other fixed expenses. But as everyone knows, variable expenses like groceries and gas can really throw things off.

Tracking your cash isn't always easy to do. With so many supercenters like Walmart some people get a distorted view of what they are spending on groceries because when they go to the supercenter, they're purchasing a variety of items beyond groceries.

Only budgeting monthly. While most of your bills and expenses occur on a monthly schedule, there are some that might not fall neatly into that cycle. Leonard Wright, a San Diego-based member of the National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, points out that most people have quarterly, semiannual or annual expenses.

Not setting a realistic budget. If you're cash poor, it can seem irresponsible to budget for entertainment. So you don't. You plan for your mortgage or rent, your food, your utilities, gas and other essentials, and that's it. You will not budge from your budget.

So even if you don't plan on eating out or catching a movie, budget for the possibility. The worst that happens is you have money left over at the end of the month. If you don't budget for some extras, you'll probably end up doing something extra anyway, and that's where the trouble comes in.

Trouble also occurs when you’re not honest with yourself about how much you make – or don't make. This should go without saying, but some people develop their budget based on their gross and not their net. Working from gross is OK if you accurately reflect your tax liability. It is important to budget based on your take-home pay.

Not planning for emergencies. Even if you account for everything going on in your life, you need to plan for what hasn't happened. Someday, you will need a plumber. Or your home will be infested with termites. Or your car will need new brakes. Emergencies crop up, especially when you're living an active life.

If you're already living paycheck to paycheck, it may be impossible to put money aside every month for the possible flat tire or sudden operation. In fact, that may be what you use your credit card for. But if you have the money to put cash aside for life's bumps and bruises, that's an instant upgrade to your budget.

Not considering the true cost of a financial decision. Maybe you bought a house and knew you could handle the mortgage payments, but you didn't think about maintenance costs or the furniture you needed to purchase.

There are plenty of one-off purchases, like books and furniture, where you'll pay money once and never again, but a lot of items require maintenance or ongoing costs. Think printer ink, pet food, a smartphone.

If you live your life without consulting your budget, you really don't have a budget. You only have money problems, whether you know it yet or not.

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Get Your Financial Health for 2015

Money worries? You're not alone. Financial stress — from job loss, credit card debt and retirement — is the second leading cause of stress in America. Beside that, a large spending on certain celebrations or holidays can also be a cause of money worries. The end of the year can be hectic. Between juggling parties, last-minute holiday shopping, travel and spending time with family and friends, the last thing we want to do is think about our financial health. While it’s tempting to put off reviewing your finances until the New Year, you might lose the opportunity to make some critical financial changes and save some serious dough before the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31.

Stop worrying about your finances! Here are six easy ways to get your financial health in order for 2015:

1.   Review your spending. Analyze your spending patterns over the last few months. If you’ve gone a little overboard on holiday gifts or dining out, it might be time to revisit your budget. Review your financial goals from last year, and assess if you were successful in meeting those goals. You might also consider whether they will work for you in the coming year or if it is necessary to make adjustments. If you have yet to establish a budget, there is no better time than now to get started.

2.  Get a free credit report. Get your annual free credit report now so you know where you stand before heading into the New Year. Look over your report, and check for errors or negative information. If your credit history could use some improvement, make 2015 the year you get back on track.

3.    Develop a debt payoff strategy. Before heading into 2015, take the time to review your balances. If you have extra cash in the bank, it’s worth making a large payment toward cutting down your debt. If you can’t pay down a debt you accumulated this year, create a debt payoff plan that will get it down next year.

4.   Automate everything. If you haven’t already, now is the time to finally automate your bills and savings. The more you can automate, the easier your finances will be in 2015. Download a free bill payment app that will help you pay your bills on time and maintain a regular savings plan. This is also a good time to review and cancel any automatic subscriptions you aren’t using such as music streaming services, magazines, newspapers or premium subscriptions.

5.   Spend your FSA. Flexible spending accounts allow employees to set aside a portion of earnings tax-free to pay for qualified expenses, most commonly medical expenses and child care. So if you have an FSA for qualifying expenses, now is the time to submit any outstanding claims.

6.   Review your insurance plans and rates. Look over your health, life, homeowners, renters and car insurance plans. It’s easy to “set it and forget it” – and then end up with the same insurance carrier for years. If you have any changes coming in 2015 that you need to plan for, now is the time to shop around for new insurance plans and rates. 

With only a few days remaining in 2014, there’s no better time to give yourself a full financial review and make sure you’re doing all you can to set yourself up for success in 2015.

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Why Do You Exist and What Do You Stand For?

To identify the organization’s core purpose, try this exercise:

Start with the descriptive statement “We make X products” or “We deliver X services.” Then ask, “Why is that important?” but ask it five times. After five whys, you will find that you’re getting down to the fundamental purpose of the organization. For example, “We make gravel and asphalt products” can be transformed into “We make people’s lives better by improving the quality of man-made structures.”

To identify the organization’s core values:

1.    Push with relentless honesty to define what values are truly central.

2.    If you come up with five or six, start over. Chances are you are confusing core values (which do not change) with operational practices, business strategies, and cultural norms (all open to change).

3.    After you’ve drafted a preliminary list of core values, ask this question about each one: “If the circumstances changed and penalized us for holding this core value, would we still keep it?”

4.    If you can’t honestly answer yes to the above question, then this value is not a core value and should be dropped. After all, if markets change, companies shouldn't change values to match markets. Rather, they should change markets.

Well, I suggest you to identify your organization’s core values now! 

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How Business and Marketing are Changing?

We can say with some confidence that “the marketplace isn't what it used to be.” It is changing radically as a result of major societal forces such as technological advances, globalization, and deregulation. These major forces have created new behaviors and challenges:

Customers increasingly expect higher quality and service and some customization. They perceive fewer real product differences and show less brand loyalty. They can obtain extensive product information from the Internet and other sources, permitting them to shop more intelligently. They are showing greater price sensitivity in their search for value.

Brand manufactures are facing intense competition from domestic and foreign brands, which is resulting in rising promotion costs and shrinking profit margins. They are being further buffeted by powerful retailers who command limited shelf space and are putting out their own store brands in competition with national brands.

Store-based retailers are suffering from an oversaturation of retailing. Small retailers are succumbing to the growing power of giant retailers and “category killers.” Store-based retailers are facing growing competition from catalog houses; direct-mail firms; newspaper, magazine, and TV direct-to-customer ads; home shopping TV; and the Internet. As a result, they are experiencing shrinking margins. In response, entrepreneurial retailers are building entertainment into stores with coffee bars, lectures, demonstrations, and performances. They are marketing an “experience” rather than a product assortment.

COMPANY RESPONSES AND ADJUSTMENTS

Companies are doing a lot of soul-searching, and many highly respected companies are changing in a number of ways. Here are some current trends:

§  Reengineering: From focusing on functional departments to reorganizing by key processes, each managed by multidiscipline teams.

§  Outsourcing: From making everything inside the company to buying more goods and services from outside if they can be obtained cheaper and better. A few companies are moving toward outsourcing everything, making them virtual companies owning very few assets and, therefore, earning extraordinary rates of return.

§  E-commerce: From attracting customers to stores and having salespeople call on offices to making virtually all products available on the Internet. Consumers can access pictures of products, read the specs, shop among on-line vendors for the best prices and terms, and click to order and pay. Business-to-business purchasing is growing fast on the Internet: Purchasing agents can use bookmarked Web sites to shop for routines items. Personal selling can increasingly be conducted electronically, with buyer and seller seeing each other on their computer screens in real time.

§  Benchmarking: From relying on self-improvement to studying “world-class performers” and adopting “best practices.”

§  Alliances: From trying to win alone to forming networks of partner firms.

§  Partner-suppliers: From using many suppliers to using fewer but more reliable suppliers who work closely in a “partnership” relationship with the company.

§  Market-centered: From organizing by products to organizing by market segment.

§  Global and local: From being local to being both global and local.

§ Decentralized: From being managed from the top to encouraging more initiative and “intrepreneurship” at the local level.

MARKETER RESPONSES AND ADJUSTMENTS

Marketers also are rethinking their philosophies, concepts, and tools. Here are the major marketing themes as the millennium approaches:

§  Relationship marketing: From focusing on transactions to building long-term, profitable customer relationships. Companies focus on their most profitable customers, products, and channels.

§  Customer lifetime value: From making a profit on each sale to making profits by managing customer lifetime value. Some companies offer to deliver a constantly needed product on a regular basis at a lower price per unit because they will enjoy the customer’s business for a longer period.

§  Customer share: From a focus on gaining market share to a focus on building customer share. Companies build customer share by offering a large variety of goods to their existing customers. They train their employees in cross-selling and up-selling.

§  Target marketing: From selling to everyone to trying to be the best firm serving well-defined target markets. Target marketing is being facilitated by the proliferation of special-interest magazines, TV channels, and Internet newsgroups.

§  Individualization: From selling the same offer in the same way to everyone in the target market to individualizing and customizing messages and offerings. Customers will be able to design their own product features on the company’s Web page.

§  Customer database: From collecting sales data to building a rich data warehouse of information about individual customers’ purchases, preferences, demographics, and profitability. Companies can “data-mine” their proprietary databases to detect different customer need clusters and make differentiated offerings to each cluster.

§  Integrated marketing communications: From heavy reliance on one communication tool such as advertising or sales force to blending several tools to deliver a consistent brand image to customers at every brand contact.

§  Channels as partners: From thinking of intermediaries as customers to treating them as partners in delivering value to final customers.

§  Every employee a marketer: From thinking that marketing is done only by marketing, sales, and customer support personnel to recognizing that every employee must be customer-focused.

§  Model-based decision making: From making decisions on intuition or slim data to basing decisions on models and facts on how the marketplace works.

Successful companies will be those who can keep their marketing changing as fast as their marketplace and marketspace. 

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The Societal Marketing Concept

Some have questioned whether the marketing concept is an appropriate philosophy in an age of environmental deterioration, resource shortages, explosive population growth, world hunger and poverty, and neglected social services. Are companies that do an excellent job of satisfying consumer wants necessarily acting in the best long-run interests of consumers and society? The marketing concept sidesteps the potential conflicts among consumer wants, consumer interests, and long-run societal welfare.

Consider the following criticism:

The fast-food hamburger industry offers tasty but unhealthy food. The hamburgers have a high fat content, and the restaurants promote fries and pies, two products high in starch fat. The products are wrapped in convenient packaging, which leads to much waste. In satisfying consumer wants, these restaurants may be hurting consumer health and causing environmental problems.

Situations like this one call for a new term that enlarges the marketing concept. Among those suggested are “humanistic marketing” and “ecological marketing.” We propose calling it the societal marketing concept.

The societal marketing concept holds that the organization’s task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and the society’s well-being.

The societal marketing concept calls upon marketers to build social and ethical considerations into their marketing practices. They must balance and juggle the often conflicting criteria of company profits, consumer wan satisfaction, and public interest. Yet a number of companies have achieved notable sales and profit gains by adopting and practicing the societal marketing concept. Two pioneers of the societal marketing concept are Ben &Jerry’s and The Body Shop. But, as recent events show, even they encounter difficulties.

These companies are practicing a form of the social marketing concept called cause-related marketing, Pringle and Thompson define this as “activity by which a company with an image, product, or service to market builds a relationship or partnership with a ‘cause,’ or a number of ‘causes,’ for mutual benefit.” They see it as affording an opportunity for companies to enhance their corporate reputation, raise brand awareness, increase customer loyalty, build sales, and increase press coverage. They believe that costumers will increasingly look for demonstrations of good corporate citizenship. Smart companies will respond by adding “higher order” image attributes than simply rational and emotional benefits. Some critics, however, complain that cause-related marketing might make consumers feel they have fulfilled their philanthropic duties by buying products instead of donating directly to chosen causes. 

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The Body Shop

In 1976, Anita Roddick opened The Body Shop in Brighton, England, as a tiny storefront selling body lotions. Today The Body Shop boasts 1,500 branches in 47 countries. The company manufactures and sells natural-ingredient-based cosmetics in simple and appealing recyclable packaging. The ingredients are largely plant-based and often come from developing countries. All the products are formulated without animal testing. The company also helps developing countries through its Trade Not Aid mission, contributes to rain-forest preservation efforts, is active in women’s and AIDS issues, and set an example for recycling. Yet, like many businesses striving to be socially responsible and profitable, The Body Shop has faced intense scrutiny and suspicions about its ethics. It has also been the victims of its own success and has been edged out by younger, fresher protégés whom it inspired.

Competitors, such as Bath & Body Works, Aveda, and Origins, are all unhampered by an expensive social mission. Declining store sales, particularly in the United States, have jolted The Body Shop into some new management and marketing moves. Outspoken Anita Roddick has stepped down as CEO, although she is still actively involved in crafting the social agenda and developing new products. One of her initiatives, Hemp, a line of hempseed-oil body care products, promises to put The Body Shop in the spotlight again and rev up sales. Advocates of industrial hemp, a nonnarcotic relative of marijuana, say the fast growing crop provides an environmentally friendly alternative packaged and consistent with The Body Shop’s environmentally conscious philosophy. 

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Ben & Jerry's

Twenty years after Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop opened in Burlington, Vermont, sales have climbed to over $190 million. The company has more than 600 employees and 10 franchises. Why the appeal? For one thing, Ben & Jerry are masters creating innovative flavors such as Cherry Gracia and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. For another, customers know that 7.5 percent of the company’s pre-tax profits are donated to a variety of social and environmental causes. For a while it seemed the company could do no wrong. Then, in the mid-1990s, facing stiff competition in the super premium ice cream category, the company suffered a series of losses. It began a highly publicized search for a new CEO to lead the company. The choice, a McKinsey consultant, was greeted with high hopes but lasted only two years. Current CEO Perry Odak, who arrived in 1997, has steered the company back on track to an impressive 12 percent growth in 1998.

Odak has refined product lines, changed funky but confusing packaging, and tightened the company’s loose and often chaotic business practices. And for those fearing a sellout from Mr. Odak – whose resume includes a stint at U.S. Repeating Arms rifle makers – they need only consider this: Tightening the company’s business practices is not only improving the bottom line but also seems to be promoting performance when it comes to worthy causes. Elizabeth A. Bankowski, the company’s social mission director, said: “We now meet and identify social mission objectives by function, and it’s taken as seriously as every other business objective.” Since Odak took over the day-to-day management of the company, performance reviews even reflect how well employees identify and meet their social mission objectives. 

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INTRODUCTION

Everyone will always get in touch with things related to economic. For those who have their own business will always be concerned with management and marketing. Why do we always get in touch with economic in life? Even though we are not an economic student or never interested with economic issues or things like that.

Well, we need foods, clothes, houses, and many things. All activities to get all of them can be qualified as economic activities. Okay, to make it simple I say that we all need money to get those things I have mentioned. Money we have will be used for transactions to get your foods, clothes, houses, or any other things. Those transactions are economic things.

How about people who get their stuff by exchange it with other stuff? Hmm.. I guess it is barter, right? It is also economic activity. As long as you lost your belongings to get new or expecting things it can be called economic activities.

Well, don’t be confused. You may read some posts in this blog to know better about economic, management, marketing, or things like that. Most of posts may be referred to companies or people who have business but for you who don’t, it still worth it to read. It can open your mind about economic, management, marketing, and strategies or it might be inspired you to start your own business. Those two expecting effects are good to come and implemented together. I really hope I can share a lot of useful information and also news for you.

Alright, get your comfort position, open your mind, start reading and enjoy this blog! 

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