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Midwest Tornado Aftermath Shows Cultural Cohesiveness
When tornadoes struck Pettis County, Missouri, last week we received a vivid example of the importance of culture on how we react to situations. According to reporter Chuck Orman of the Sedalia Democrat, Jerry Yoder and family emerged from the farmhouse's cellar to find the second story and room addition were completely destroyed. Extensive rebuilding needed to be done yet their Amish faith doesn't allow for any modern conveniences, such as power tools and machinery.The Amish culture is well organized and devoted to each other. Soon after the tornado had passed members of the local Amish community began arriving to help in the rebuilding. By Thursday more than 72 unpaid volunteers had repaired the Yoder home and put a new roof on his barn.This illustration shows the bonds of cultures as exemplified throughout the world by virtually all cultures.Experiental Impact of Diversity Growing up, Amish children experience an estrangement from non-Amish when they are out in the community because they look different. This experience is shared among Amish children who grow up knowing a sense of unity is instilled that will last forever. When adversity strikes this unity causes the community to band together.This exemplifies many other cases of cultural unity throughout the world. Having similar past experiences, members of a cultural group find it easy to unite because they have similar feelings how they would like to be treated when in the same situation as those facing adversity.We see this in generational cultures where the World War II generation comes together in unity over some key issues which are different from those and Generation X. This cohesiveness was also evident after the tsunami in Asia. The world mourned the staggering number of losses, however those with heritage to the region had stronger feelings about the disaster.Cultures in Business In business it is important to recognize cultural cohesiveness among workers and customers. To be effective in the multicultural world we need to understand that situations, products, and services may evoke different reactions based on cultural cohesiveness.The multicultural leader requires understanding the cultures represented in the communities we serve. The Multicultural Business Council offers workshops and certification in business leadership. As part of their goal to connect cultures through commerce, the organizati

do you know which sites are worth visiting, which sites to bookmark, which sites are worth going to more than once? The answer: branding. The sites you go back to are the sites you trust. They're the sites where the brand name tells you that the visit will be worth your time -- again and again. The brand is a promise of the value you'll receive.

The same holds true for that other killer app of the Net -- email. When everybody has email and anybody can send you email, how do you decide whose messages you're going to read and respond to first -- and whose you're going to send to the trash unread? The answer: personal branding. The name of the email sender is every bit as important a brand -- is a brand -- as the name of the Web site you visit. It's a promise of the va

How To Realistically Set Your Fees - Part 4
Effect Of Bad Debts So far, we have covered the major factors involved in setting your fee structure. We have set a realistic number of billable hours, calculated the effect of expenses and taken into account the cost of a benefit package. This has brought us to an hourly rate of $77. By charging $77 per hour, you will have an income of $46,000 per year, plus benefits. What happens when you have a client that does not pay you for your services? What happens if a customer goes out of business before your invoice is paid? How will these events affect your own planning? Do you want to take a bad debt write off on your taxes? Do you want to try to include for these contingencies in your fee structure? Your answers to these questions will have a direct impact on how you operate your business. Thankfully, unless you provide very poor service, most clients will eventually pay you. However, it may take you awhile to collect your money and you may have to settle for less than the originally billed amount. You have the option of adding late fees to your invoices, but keep in mind, the more time you spend trying to collect a past due invoice, the less time you have to devote to paying customers. Also, if you need to engage an attorney or collection agency, you will in all likelihood, not see the full amount of your invoice because of their fees. One way in which you can protect yourself is to build into your fees an allowance for bad or uncollectable debts. If you estimate that 5% of your invoices will be either unpaid or underpaid, then add 5% to your hourly rate. For example, your hypothetical fee is now $77 per hour, 5% of that is $3.50, added together gives you a rate of $80.50 per hour. If we round this off to $80, you would have approximately $3300 per year cushion. Allowing 5% for bad debts may seem high, however, keep in mind the present state of the economy and remember this figure can be adjusted as the economic conditions change. Today, it is not unusual for businesses to take longer to pay invoices then they did a couple of years ago. Most businesses expect to pay late fees for overdue invoices, however determining how much to charge and whether or not you are meeting the various legalities involved can be time consuming. It may be easier to add a percentage to your overall fees to offset bad debt. In a sense, you are spreading the economic risk over all your clients. For a small business this ma

That cross-trainer you're wearing -- one look at the distinctive swoosh on the side tells everyone who's got you branded. That coffee travel mug you're carrying -- ah, you're a Starbucks woman! Your T-shirt with the distinctive Champion "C" on the sleeve, the blue jeans with the prominent Levi's rivets, the watch with the hey-this-certifies-I-made-it icon on the face, your fountain pen with the maker's symbol crafted into the end ...

You're branded, branded, branded, branded.

It's time for me -- and you -- to take a lesson from the big brands, a lesson that's true for anyone who's interested in what it takes to stand out and prosper in the new world of work.

Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

It's that simple -- and that hard. And that inescapable.

Behemoth companies may take turns buying each other or acquiring every hot startup that catches their eye -- mergers in 1996 set records. Hollywood may be interested in only blockbusters and book publishers may want to put out only guaranteed best-sellers. But don't be fooled by all the frenzy at the humongous end of the size spectrum.

The real action is at the other end: the main chance is becoming a free agent in an economy of free agents, looking to have the best season you can imagine in your field, looking to do your best work and chalk up a remarkable track record, and looking to establish your own micro equivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you'll not only reach out toward every opportunity within arm's (or laptop's) length, you'll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team's success -- you'll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season's free-agency market.

The good news -- and it is largely good news -- is that everyone has a chance to stand out. Everyone has a chance to learn, improve, and build up their skills. Everyone has a chance to be a brand worthy of remark.

Who understands this fundamental principle? The big companies do. They've come a long way in a short time: it was just over four years ago, April 2, 1993 to be precise, when Philip Morris cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 40 cents a pack. That was on a Friday. On Monday, the stock market value of packaged goods companies fell by $25 billion. Everybody agreed: brands were doomed.

Today brands are everything, and all kinds of products and services -- from accounting firms to sneaker makers to restaurants -- are figuring out how to transcend the narrow boundaries of their categories and become a brand surrounded by a Tommy Hilfiger-like buzz.

Who else understands it? Every single Website sponsor. In fact, the Web makes the case for branding more directly than any packaged good or consumer product ever could. Here's what the Web says: Anyone can have a Website. And today, because anyone can ... anyone does! So how do you know which sites are worth visiting, which sites to bookmark, which sites are worth going to more than once? The answer: branding. The sites you go back to are the sites you trust. They're the sites where the brand name tells you that the visit will be worth your time -- again and again. The brand is a promise of the value you'll receive.

Medical Billing - Hiring A QA Tester
In our last installment of medical billing, we looked at what was involved as far as the software company hiring a programmer to create their software that will eventually be sold to the public. But programmers aren't enough because the software needs to be tested. The truth is, programmers make lousy testers because they are biased. That's why the software company needs to hire QA testers to make sure the software works as it should. So what should a medical billing company look for when hiring a QA tester? What follows is a list of a few things that you're going to want.Unlike other industries, QA testing medical billing software is a whole different animal. The reason is because you are dealing with a number of functions rather than just the one or two main things that most software does. For example, with medical billing software you have to not only be able to send out the claims, which is basic, but you also have to post money, add items to various databases, print, barcode and the list goes on and on. That's why most medical billing software companies actually hire specialists in each are. For example, they may hire a QA tester just to test electronic billing modules. Yes, that's how specialized this can be. So what do you look for in a QA tester?Ideally, you would like to find somebody who actually has experience with medical billing. But this is highly unlikely because most QA testers who are working at medical billing software companies simply just don't leave their jobs. They pay well and the security is off the charts. They pretty much have jobs for life. So luring one away is going to be very hard. The salary you would have to pay would make it almost unaffordable to have them around.The next best thing then, if you can't find somebody in the industry, is to find somebody who works for the government in some form. The reason is because the regulations of this industry are enough to choke a horse. There is more legal red tape in medical billing than just about anywhere else. Somebody who is used to working with red tape will be very good to have on board.Another thing you want to look for is somebody who is very familiar with the technology of the times. Medical billing software is quite complex. Your QA tester must be comfortable with modems, printers, barcode machines and retail sales machines. If they have a a good handle on operating systems as well, that will come in handy because

s need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.

It's that simple -- and that hard. And that inescapable.

Medical Billing - The Internals Of Software
The things that medical billing people take for granted. Open up your software, push a button, login. Push another button, get a patient menu. Push another button, pull up a patient. Click, click, click and the process goes on and on. Medical billers have no clue what is actually going on behind the scenes of their software. In the following installments and this is mainly for you tech heads, we're going to show you exactly what goes on behind the scenes with your medical billing software with the main parts of the system. To cover everything would take a lifetime.We'll be covering how patient files get put into the system and how they are ultimately access by a biller and placed into a work order to be billed. While this seems like a very simple process, it is actually quite complex and requires a lot of indexing and cross-referencing.Another thing we're going to cover is how a claim gets sent electronically. This is one of the mysteries of medical billing as this whole process is actually invisible. While you can see a patient being pulled to a page, you can't see a claim file being transmitted. How does it go? Where does all that data come from when you have so many record specifications? How does the software know to interact with your transmitting device, which is usually your modem? These and other questions will all be answered.We will also discuss how forms are printed. How does the software know exactly where to place that patient name and address? How do you choose a form, as there are so many of them? Where does the data get pulled from when all you see in front of you is a patient name?If you're curious as to how security is set and how the software knows to lock somebody out of a certain part of the system, we're going to cover that too. The many options that you have to security systems make this part of the system mind boggling to say the least. We'll do a detailed walk through of a DME security system and show how it works.Wonder how your software knows how to read those automated posting files that come from Medicare with all your money tied up in them? No problem. We'll dig deep into the auto posting system so you can see exactly what is going on behind the scenes there.What about those add-ons? How does the system know that you even have them or not? Remember, they are not part of the standard package and have to be added later. So what is actually done by the so

o your best work and chalk up a remarkable track record, and looking to establish your own micro equivalent of the Nike swoosh. Because if you do, you'll not only reach out toward every opportunity within arm's (or laptop's) length, you'll not only make a noteworthy contribution to your team's success -- you'll also put yourself in a great bargaining position for next season's free-agency market.

Start Getting Paid To Surf The Web
There are many different paid to surf sites on the internet. These old websites are called H.Y.I.Ps or High Yield Investment Programs. They are all frauds and need new money to stay in business. The main reason these sites stick around is because back in 2000 there where many legit paid to surf programs. You could remember these programs as many people earned tons of money from them. AllAdvantage was the first paid to surf site that lead to many others such as; Cashsurfers, Clickdough, Desktopdollars, and many others.How do these companies stay in business and why are they not scams?These early paid to surf sites where legitimate in the way they conducted their business. Many businesses, especially start up companies on the internet back in 2000 needed to advertise their new websites. So they would pay these Paid To Surf companies to show their advertisements to their members.AllAdvantage had over 3.5 million members, so even if 1% of those members responded to their ad, they would get over 35,000 new visitors to their website. The paid to surf company would then pay its members for allowing the company to send its advertising ads to them. Remember that the member never had to pay anything and still got paid. This isn't true for the new paid to surf (HYIPs) of today.To participate in a H.Y.I.P. you would have to deposit a sum of money into your account using an unverifiable money depositor such as egold, which then you would be forced to surf a particular number of sites everyday to get paid. If you remember 12dailypro, they lasted almost a year before they went out of business and scammed its members.Today these HYIPs are going out of business because most people are realizing they are ALL scams. I believe the old paid to surf sites are making a comeback! The original owners of AllAdvantage have created a new site and are currently building its members base so that they can start building their advertisers base. The new site is called AGLOCO.If you have heard the news about MySpace or Youtube, you will have heard they have been sold for millions of dollars, why? Because they have made millions of dollars worth in advertising. Advertisers are willing to pay large sums of money to show their ads to their members base. Now AGLOCO is in this same process and the great thing is, is its free to join, free to get more information, so how could it ever be a scam? If you wish to learn more about this company plea

be precise, when Philip Morris cut the price of Marlboro cigarettes by 40 cents a pack. That was on a Friday. On Monday, the stock market value of packaged goods companies fell by $25 billion. Everybody agreed: brands were doomed.

What's the Best Background Check Company?
A good background check company will facilitate the hiring process for an organization by providing them with accurate and up-to-date details of their candidates. The company should have the resources to retrieve in short time information such as credit records, social security numbers, driving record, criminal records, and educational background.Background research companies must operate in sync with softwares such as Applicant Tracking Systems and Human Resources Management Systems that their client companies might use. This will help both parties to exchange information quickly and smoothly. Organizations value background research companies that help them in their hiring decisions and aid in minimizing instances of hire-and-fire that result in an additional burden on the company.Good background check companies will have reliable resources of information such as individual researchers who may be their employees or individual contractors. These individuals gather information on people as per the directions given to them. The companies may also buy the information from resellers who collect data such as employment records. Courthouses are a good source of criminal records. Also, there are several data aggregators who provide access to credit bureaus as well as federal and state information resources. The veracity of the information offered by trustworthy background research companies can always be checked and these companies update their databases continuously.A good background research company will be in a position to offer its clients quick turnaround time. This is because the longer it takes for information to be made available, greater is the cost involved in the operation and the chances of error. The background research company obtains its information from various sources and the process of obtaining data can be time consuming, especially if traditional means of communication such as letters or faxes. Even if the information is emailed, there are bound to be requests for clarifications from the research company, the back and forth communication will invariably lead to a loss of time. Companies that have an integrated information flow which is standardized and is also implemented by their business partners will provide information fast and will be preferred for a repeat job by client companies.A good background research company understands the importance of entering into a contractual agreement with its clients wi

Nobody understands branding better than professional services firms. Look at McKinsey for a model of the new rules of branding at the company and personal level. Almost every professional services firm works with the same business model. They have almost no hard assets -- my guess is that most probably go so far as to rent or lease every tangible item they possibly can to keep from having to own anything. They have lots of soft assets -- more conventionally known as people, preferably smart, motivated, talented people. And they have huge revenues -- and astounding profits.

They also have a very clear culture of work and life. You're hired, you report to work, you join a team -- and you immediately start figuring out how to deliver value to the customer. Along the way, you learn stuff, develop your skills, hone your abilities, move from project to project. And if you're really smart, you figure out how to distinguish yourself from all the other very smart people walking around with $1,500 suits, high-powered laptops, and well-polished resumes. Along the way, if you're really smart, you figure out what it takes to create a distinctive role for yourself -- you create a message and a strategy to promote the brand called You.

What makes You different?

Start right now: as of this moment you're going to think of yourself differently! You're not an "employee" of General Motors, you're not a "staffer" at General Mills, you're not a "worker" at General Electric or a "human resource" at General Dynamics (ooops, it's gone!). Forget the Generals! You don't "belong to" any company for life, and your chief affiliation isn't to any particular "function." You're not defined by your job title and you're not confined by your job description.

Starting today you are a brand.

You're every bit as much a brand as Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop. To start thinking like your own favorite brand manager, ask yourself the same question the brand managers at Nike, Coke, Pepsi, or the Body Shop ask themselves: What is it that my product or service does that makes it different? Give yourself the traditional 15-words-or-less contest challenge. Take the time to write down your answer. And then take the time to read it. Several times.

If your answer wouldn't light up the eyes of a prospective client or command a vote of confidence from a satisfied past client, or -- worst of all -- if it doesn't grab you, then you've got a big problem. It's time to give some serious thought and even more serious effort to imagining and developing yourself as a brand.

Start by identifying the qualities or characteristics that make you distinctive from your competitors -- or your colleagues. What have you done lately -- this week -- to make yourself stand out? What would your colleagues or your customers say is your greatest and clearest strength? Your most noteworthy (as in, worthy of note) personal trait?

Go back to the comparison between brand You and brand X -- the approach the corporate biggies take to creat

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Discussing with Erik Lie the experiences with Stock Options Backdating (SOBD) and the economic impact of his work. According to Erik, at least 15% of the stock options grants between 1996 to August, 2002,were backdated. Some were within 30 days of the grant date, others more egregious. The number of companies though he said that were going to come clean would be far less than 15%. Here is what we came up with.

Classified ads are one of the most inexpensive ways to advertise your products or service. People read classified ads for a purpose. They are specifically looking for products, services and information that appeals to them. Unfortunately many people misuse classified ads. They try to sell a product directly from the ad. People read classified ads for a purpose. They are specifically looking for products, services and information that appeals to them.

Are you or someone you know techno-phobic? Do you have a customer base who is still relies on an old fashioned pen and paper to record appointments, dates, times, places and people? Help you’re average “Joe customer,” yourself or your loved ones to a custom calendar.

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