business study

homework

2009-04-15T15:42:00.000-07:00

2.The agreement has to go to the board for expertise.
3.We have had a retainer working in the office this week to clear the backlog of letters.
4.His overall performance has imprived considerably since he went on a management training course.
5.The salary range for this sort of job is between 17000 and 19000.
6.We hired Mr Smith because of his financial technique.
7.Although the work itself was interesting, there was a lot of dissatisfaction with the organisation and its rules.
8.When he disobeyed the orders he was given, he was dismissed for gross misconduct.
9.There is a lot of friction between the sales and accounts staff which we need to resolve as soon as possible.
10.The company sent her on a management course to help her develop her managerial skills.
11.She has finished university and is now looking for a ratification with a design agency.
13.London is an expensive city, so people working for our company there receive a 2000 London placement in addition to their salary.
14.The management received a lot of feedback on how popular the new pay scheme was proving.
15.The union has threatened an escalation in strike action.

business vocabulary 3

2009-04-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

Objectives and strategy:
Aims：setting a long term objective
Business plan: a report which is about marketing strategy, production costing and financial implications of business start-up.
Copyright: It’s a legal protection against copying from others’ writing.
Corporate objectives: The goals of the whole enterprise.
Corporate plan: It’s the document that sets out how business strategy is to be implemented.
Entrepreneur: a person who has flair for business opportunities and risk taking.
Flotation: the term given to the launch of a company on to the stock market by the offer of its shares to the public.
Goals: targets that act as a focus for decision-making and effort.
Limited liability: owners/shareholders are financially only responsible for the amount they have invested in the company rather than their personal wealth.
Share: a certificate entitling the holder to dividends and shareholders’ rights in proportion to the number of shares owned.
Patent: the right to be the sole user or producer of invention of a new process or product.
Partnership: a form of business organization where two or more people trade together.
Private limited company (ltd): a small to medium-size business that is usually run by the family that owns it.
Public limited company (plc): a limited liability business with over £50 000 of share capital and a wide spread of shareholders.
Short-termism: a phrase describing the state of managers for whom rapid results are the top priority.
Sole trader: an individual who owns and control the business, but he may or may not employ other people.
SWOT analysis: It’s the assessment of a product, division or organization in terms of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Tactics: are measures adopted to deal with a short-term opportunity or threat.
Unlimited liability: means that, the owner of a business is liable for all the debts it may incur.

business vocabulary 2

2009-03-28T18:50:00.000-07:00

External influences:
Bank rate: the interest rate set by MPC
Business cycle: regular pattern of upturns and downturns in demand and output.
Capacity: the maximum amount of products a company can produce in a period time
Competition policy: government’s approach to ensuring that competition is active enough to provide consumers with goods and services that are high quality and fairly priced.
Consumer durables: goods which for households use but can use it for a period of time or long time.
Consumer protection: a type of law to protect the right of customers
Cycle unemployment: the consequence of an economic downturn.
Deflation: it’s a period of falling demand and prices.
Ethics: decisions which we making should follow moral
Excess capacity: having more production potential than they will use in the future.
Exchange rate: the price of one country’s currency expressed in terms of another.
Inflation: a sustained rise in the average prices of goods within an economy.
Interest rates: percentage of cost of borrowing money.
Investment: use capital to make future returns.
Market: to describe the meeting place between customers and suppliers.
Market economy: economy which allows markets to determine the allocation of resources.
Monopoly: single producer control a market.
Oligopoly: a market which is demand more than supply.
Resistance to change: refuse to change, mistrust of the motives of proposing change, and worried about loss of job security.
Stakeholder: people who interest in an organisation’s performance. (e.g. employees shareholders, customers, suppliers, financiers and local community)
Structural unemployment: happens when there is a change in demand or technology which causes long-term unemployment.
Unfair competition: firm use methods that harmful to the interest of other producers and consumers.

business vocabulary 1

2009-03-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Unit 1:
Accounting and finance:
Break-even point：When total revenue equal to total cost.
Budgetary control: By comparing actual with budget for revenues and expenses. Analyzing the divergences to cope with the unexpected.
Cash flow: cash inflow minus cash outflow
Cash flow forecast: predict a firm’s cash inflow and outflow detailed.
Contribution: total revenue minus variable costs.
Cost centre: a department to distribute the specific costs.
Factoring: a company let someone else to collection debt instead. Get 80% of the value of invoiced sales as cash advance from them.
Fixed costs: a type of cost of company which not change. (e.g. land, machinery
)
Overdraft: a firm spends more then it own, borrow money from bank and It has maximum limit for any period time.
Profit: total revenue minus total cost
Profit centre: a department of a company that has been given authority to run itself as a business within a business.
Safety margin: difference between demand and break-even.
Sale and leaseback: a contract to sale firm and at the same time buying back on a long-term lease.
Share capital: total value of invest from shareholders.
Variable cost: A type of cost which change along with output.
Variance analysis: analysis differences between actual and budget
Venture capital: risk capital,
Working capital: current assets – current liabilities
Zero budgeting: setting budget at zero, demanding that managers should give a full justification for every pound of budget they request.

Using computers in business

2009-03-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

Using computers in business is very common nowadays. Because use computers can improve working efficiency. It's really a good tool for communicating, organisation and do some research. So it can save a lot of time and it cost very low, basically it's fix cost.
However, using computers is also a skill. So companies may need to spend money train employees. That's cost money and spend time.

TQM improve management and profit

2009-03-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

TQM is a type of Japanese management which stand for total quality management. It means that the whole workforce has to be committed to quality improvements.
Many companies only pay attention to the quality of products. TQM is to improve quality of every part of business like selling, production, communication, finance and so on. So it improves management.
As TQM improve the quality of production, therefor it can reduce the waste therefor costs will be lower. The quality of products will be improved by TQM as well, so products are likely to be inelastic, so we can make selling price higher. Because of the high quality, so products are less likely to be given back and customers are less likely to complain. After TQM companies may easier to communicate with supplier. So it can reduce the cost, keep stock level low and make sure have enough material for production. All these benefits can either reduce costs or increase selling price. So TQM can improve profit.

Vocal Smoke Alarm

2009-03-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Unlike conventional ‘whistling’ smoke alarms, the signal one safety vocal smoke alarm is presently the only alarm that allows a parent or carer to record an emergency vocal message, Research suggests that this is more effective than smoke alarm tones.

This is a good idea, because when smoke alarm ring some people may don’t know what happened or what to do. Instead of strident conventional ‘whistling’, this sounds much better, and can tell people exactly what to do. But this product is not difficult to produce. So if the product is successful, this company may face many competitions in the future. So they can apply patent. For a new product, even it's a good product, how can people know this product? So choose the right way to advertise and sell products is very important.

The best way to motivate Premiership footballers is....

2009-03-06T13:45:00.000-08:00

Football is one of the most popular sport in the world. There are many famous footballers in the world. Their wages are higher than normal people. Some have really high wages. As Premiership footballers, they must have very high wages. So use money to motive them is not good enouth. They are in high level in MOSLW stage, so they probability in self-actualization stage. So become famous and more successful person can motivate them. Also, let them to be captain, give them more responsibility. It's a theory Y. If they buy shares of their the football club, they will get power and can make money. In a word, the best way to motivate is giving responsibility and power to them.

The best leadership style

2009-03-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

There are four types of leadership, they are Dictatorial Style, Authoritative Style, Consultative Style and Participative Style.
Dictatorial Style: The leader or manager using this style operates like a dictator. They make all the decisions about what, where, when, why, how things are done, and who will do them by themselves. Employees can only do as leaders tell them. It can make employees to be disciplined, but it can cause early retirement or abdicate. Leaders ignores advice employees give, it's not good for management, production and improve products.
Authoritative Style:When leaders want to make decision, they would like to ask people who they think are the most qualified and experienced. To consider his/her views to be most valid. The weakness of this leadership style is they are often denied opportunities to use or exhibit their skills in decision-making venues. The strength of this style is to produce action when it is needed.
Consultative Style: This style is using the skills, experiences, and ideas of others. However, leaders are still who make decisions.
Participative Style: Team member ideas or equal with the leader. It's good for improving creativity. Usually accept team idea over own, but it takes more time to make a decision.

I don't think there is the best leadership style. Each of them has its weakness and strength. So how to use them in correct way and in right situation is the most improtant thing. For creative people who full of good ideas, we can use participative Style. For people who have skill and experience, we can use consultative Style. For people who are lazy and arrogant we can use dictatorial Style.

A new month coming

2009-02-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

My life was so hard in this February. I can't remember anything particularly bad. Just some unlucky things came one to another. And then lose motivation completely. I was trying control myself and motivate myself, but still ......
Next month I will move to a new host family and it sounds good. So it's good news for me, and I will start doing work, and trying to get A in each subject.
I really want to go to top university, so do as I say is the most important thing.

Are motivational theorists still relevant?

2009-02-24T16:04:00.000-08:00

To motivate employee is very important to a company. Because of the recession the unemployment is increasing. Many companies cut jobs to reduce costs. So how to motivate employees and increase productivity is very important. So I think motivational theorists are still very useful and it’s necessary to learn it. There are many famous theorists such as Taylor Hertzberg, Mayo, Maslow, Vroom and McGregor. In different situation we should use different way to motivate people. For example, after you cut many jobs in company, employees will under pressure and afraid to loss job(Hertzberg demotivate - pressure). If some people work for money, pay more money is a good way to motivate them(Taylor payment buy results).
In a word, motivational theorists are still useful and helpful for management. The point is if we can use it correctly.

Failure of Nissan

2009-02-23T14:57:00.000-08:00

As recession getting worse, many companies make less profit than before. Nissan which is one of the biggest car companies in Japan will cut about 20,000 jobs because its sales keep going down. Net loss for the October-December period amounted to 83.2 billion yen ($904 million), compared with net income of 132.2 billion yen in the year-earlier period. Revenue dropped 34% to 1.817 trillion yen. It expects a net annual profit of 160billion yen, down from 484bn yen a year earlier, and well short of its previous 340bn yen forecast. That’s what happening to this company now.
I think reasons why these happen to this company are:
1. Recession comes, people have lower income and they lose confidence.
2. Higher costs, the growth of wages and more expensive materials make costs going up.
3. Competition, demand of the market is going down, but there are still many competitors. The prices of cars are becoming cheaper. So it difficult to cut the price when costs going up.
So I think, reduce the costs is the best way to survive. Cutting jobs is a good idea, but not too much so that can make sure the company have enough productivity to achieve the market. And keep some jobs is also good for society.
Relocation is another idea, now many big companies are changing place of factories. They are more likely to move to developing countries because labour, land and materials are cheaper there.
Maybe they can find out new product. Such as bike, motorcycle.
Here is some news for you to have a look.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7701398.stm
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nissan-may-forecast-annual-loss/story.aspx?guid=%7B620762B0-E3C4-4E80-A9A1-365B71372E6C%7D&dist=msr_2

English Speaking Contest of national college students

2009-02-07T10:22:00.000-08:00

Her speech is talking about protecting environment. She is a really good speaker, and she won the English Speaking Contest.

Wednesday market and Cover market

2009-02-04T14:02:00.000-08:00

Today, we visited two markets Wednesday market and Cover market.

Wednesday market is an open market which can buy fruits, vegetables, meet, food, shoes, clothes and so on. Wednesday market is not such a big market and also the quality of products are low. But compared with supermarkers and shops the price is much lower. But I think the quality of fruits are same. Cover market is a market which is inside. Compared with Wednesday market the quality of products in cover market are higher, however the price are little bit higher. Both market don't have a lot of customers, maybe it's because of it's wednesday and it's day time. People got to work at this time. But for cover market, it opens everyday. But wednesday market only open on wednesday, so this is a weedness of this market. And I think people are more likely to by products in cover market, because the quality of products in cover market are higher then wednesday market and also it's cheaper then supermarket. Because wednesday is a open market and it sells food, but it looks not very clean so maybe customers will think about their health so maybe they prefer cover market.

As recession getting worse, people will more likely to go shopping in market which have cheaper products. So this kind of plece is a good place.

ways to use bricks

2009-02-03T15:20:00.000-08:00

1.build houses
2.make road
3.use it to fight
4.use it to protect myself when someone attack me
5.when you tired, you can sit on it
6.use it to make a pool
7.use it as a pen, to write on floor when the floor is cement
8.use it to make a parterre
9.to keep a door open
10.to sharpen knifes
11.make it as a sculpture
12.trip someone
13.break nuts
14.use it as dumbbells
15.hit on your head when you feel bad
16.train kung fu
17.make it as an ax
18.use it to kill animals like hunting
19.use it to make BBQ
20.use it to make a bed
21.use it to make a bowl
22.use it in war to attack, such as sling
23.stand on it, you can see further
24.stand on it, you can get something high
25.if you drop the ball in a lake, throw them in lake, let the ball come to bank
26.hit nail into wood
27.after raining, there are some ponds on road, use bricks to pass ponds
28.use it to make wall
29.use them to make a stick stand straight
30.use it as a target

Generation Y

2009-01-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

Generation Y is workforce which are younger generations. So as younger people, full of energy, confidence, learn fast, time are their predominances. So Generation Y can bring energy to a company. So how to movative them, train them is very important. Here are some pieces of advice obout movative Generation Y:
They are looking for work/life balance
They want to be heard and valued
They need regular recognition
They want to work somewhere fun
They are motivated by challenge and a collaborative environment

However, i think there are still some problems may happen.
1.Generation Y usually have less experience, and easier to make mistakes.
2.Generation Y are more flippancy, they more likely to change jobs.
3.After spend long time train Generation Y, they may leave the company, it's not good for company.
4.Generation Y sometimes they are too confident, they want high wages but do less work.

YouTube - Barack Obama Pre-Inauguration Speech 2009-01-21

2009-01-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

Internet Browser: IE vs Firefox

2009-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

As we know, Microsoft monopolize many software such as IE, OFFICE, FRONTPAGE... Because most of computers use windows operating system. So customers will default to use the softwares which with this operating system. After customers learn how to use these softwares and can use them easily, they may not want to use others softwares which are have the same fuction. Google has itself Internet Browser firefox. So how google break this monopoly and replace IE?
I've got some ideas, or some ideas which google is trying to do.
1.Make Browser more convenient and more easy to use. As the developing of technology, computer have more and more functions. But customers want it more easy to use and more simple.
2.Make it more safer. Virus is one of the biggest problems of computer, and most of virus are come through Browser. And also can protect customers password. So make it more safer, custumers will more likely to use it.
3.Cooperate with other websites and softwares. If firefox is better than IE, how customers know that? They can Cooperate with other websites and softwares. e.g. In some websites if people want to watch some videos or read something, it must use firefox to read it. In software, they can put firefox and popular software together, after people fix one software, it will ask if they want to fix firefox as well?
4.Advertising. I think advertising is easier for google. Google itself is a big website and it's a good place to advertising, so it have lower cost to advertising.

Shortcut Guide: How to start your own £100,000 a year internet business

2009-01-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

This report is talking about how to start internet business.
1. The most important web-wealth is market, focused on market not products.
2. what to sell?
● Find the right market and marketing methods.
●You should be fanatical about what you sell.
●We’re looking for niche markets here, not vast worldwide markets.
●your product must be easy to mail or deliver.
●Targeting people who want health/wealth/happiness. They are a large market and hungry for products too.
●Don’t even think about a product until you have the market, then make the product fit the market.
3. how your website should look?
●Corporate, slick and glitzy are your enemies.
●To be absolutely clear, here’s what to avoid:
• Logos
• Drop-down menus
• Fancy graphics
• Animations
• Sound
●pictures: 1. A product shot, if it needs one.
2. A head and shoulders shot of you, the honest-to-goodness proprietor. (But not in a suit, make it a warm, ‘I’m a normal bloke/woman’ sort of shot.)
●SHORTCUT SAYS:
When it comes to what your website looks like, you need to take into account the ‘Ten Golden Rules for KillerWebsites’...
a. NO LOGO! Nobody gives a monkey’s about your logo apart from you.
b.Mainly text.
c. No graphics. No animations.
d. No menus if possible.
e. NOTHING which leads them away from the text of your message.
f.Your sales message are what carries them through to the sale at the end.
g. Neutral background.
h. Not full width lines – too long to read.
i.Two colours maximum.
j. ALWAYS black for the ‘body text’.

4. who should design your website?
Not yourself!
SHORTCUT SAYS: Stick to your guns and make sure you find a designer who is willing to do exactly what you want them to do, keep it simple, and keep it cheap.
And remember, it is always better to get someone in – it frees your time up for working out the more important stuff.

5. How many products to sell?
One !
SHORTCUT SAYS: When you have a designer, just point them to this site and say “That’s what I want!”

6. Why do people use the internet?
People using the internet don’t want to be sold something; they want information... and THEN they might end up buying something if there isn’t a heavy sell. You MUST get your head around this because when you do, you’ll be poised to scoop out your share of internet profits.
SHORTCUT SAYS: The standard formula is ‘headache – aspirin’. The first part of your pitch talks about their ‘headache’ and sympathises with their problem. It offers some practical guidance and help. That’s the take-home content.

7. The landing page and credibility.
●Internet businesses which fail ALWAYS do so for two simple reasons:
a. Not enough traffic being driven to the website.
b. The traffic being driven to the website is not converted into a sale effectively.
SHORTCUT SAYS: Remember why your visitor came to your site in the first place. Think about the process which got them there. What KEYWORDS did they enter? They have a problem they want to solve, so they entered a keyword in a search engine or responded to a small classified advert or an email advert in an opt-in ezine. They saw your pay per click ad and clicked on it. And now here they are on your landing page.
●There are two things the internet is starved of:
• Informational Content
• Real Contact
8. How to drive traffic to your website?
● Here are the six ways we can achieve this:
1. Pay for an advert (like a Google AdWords) to appear on peoples’ searches.
2.Manipulate the search engines so that our website gets in the top spots for FREE when people
search for something. This is also called ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ and it’s why you need a decent web designer and not Glynis Jones from 43b, RubyTerraces who’s doing it as a little hobby.
Your web designer will know exactly how to get your website as close to the top of the search engines as possible. This takes more time (often several months) than buying your way in – but it’s free!
3.Tiny adverts in classified sections of newspapers. These are low cost, simple adverts which contain a headline and a website address.
4. Create your own opt-in e-zine, which has solid information but also has slots for adverts.This is how a lot of internet millionaires have managed to get where they are.
5. Put those same adverts in other people’s opt-in e-zines. But bear in mind, they will want a cut of your profits!
6. Send someone an email which persuades them to go to your website. This is email marketing, not SPAM.
●Remember to always be genuine.
There are two ways to be genuine:
1. Email list rental – Use only opt-in email lists.This would be where you rented the email list from a company which has its own email list of people who asked to receive emails on a certain topic (e.g. health). Most of the time, these lists are very unresponsive as the people who are on them usually just forgot to un-tick a box somewhere in the small print and ended up on the list.When they get an email they think they’re being spammed (even though they aren’t really). Double opt-in list rental is slightly better.This is a better quality list to rent and quite rare.This is where the person has been put on an ‘opt-in’ list but also, they have been sent a confirmation email which asks them once again if they want to be sent email messages. So they have, in fact, opted in twice. However, there’s something even better than this...
2. Create you own list –This is the best one of all.What your ultimate aim in all this should be is to build your own email database of customers as quickly as possible.Your own email list who know you and trust you (providing you’ve earned that trust!).

2009-01-17T15:30:00.001-08:00

2008 a remarkable year for China

2009-01-17T14:50:00.001-08:00

How best to fight the recession? +my comment

2009-01-13T01:02:00.000-08:00

"Fears that the power of interest rates to boost the economy is failing have left The Times Monetary Policy Committee sharply split over how the Bank of England should react today.Worries that banks’ refusal to lend means that the cost of all borrowing is becoming less relevant have opened divisions over the best next move on rates.Most members of the independent panel of economic experts are warning of the mounting threat to the economy from the lending drought and on the need for aggressive and unconventional action by the Bank and Treasury to tackle the issue.But The Times MPC is deeply divided over the implications for today’s decision on interest rates, which is expected to involve a cut to under 2 per cent, a level not reached since the Bank was established in 1694.Three members call for the Bank to cut rates by a full percentage point to 1 per cent, in what would be its third drastic reduction in three months. Yet such action is opposed by three other members, who argue that rate cuts have become an irrelevant distraction. This faction calls for radical alternative steps to force more bank lending and to boost the flow of credit to businesses. It is suggested that these could include extended guarantees for the banks and perhaps direct public lending to companies.Even The Times MPC members backing a big rate cut today call for this to be coupled with unorthodox moves through so-called “quantitative easing” – pumping money into the economy and driving down commercial interest rates through the Bank buying up existing debt.Sushil Wadhwani, a former member of the Bank’s MPC, who called for a full percentage point cut in rates, said: “Rates need to get close to zero quickly and the Bank should then shift to unorthodox measures.”Bronwyn Curtis, of HSBC, agreed and also backed a one-point rate cut: “If the Bank has to go down the path of using unconventional measures, it is better to cut rates sooner rather than later to pave the way for it.”A more modest half-point rate cut was advocated by Geoffrey Dicks, of RBS, Charles Goodhart, a founding member of the Bank’s MPC, and Sir Alan Budd, former chief economic adviser at the Treasury. Professor Goodhart said that uncertainty over the state of consumer demand and new wage deals, and the weakness of the pound, justified a more cautious move.Two panel members – Sir Steve Robson, former Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, and Rupert Pennant-Rea, former Bank Deputy Governor – said that there was little point in cutting rates at all. Their stance was backed by Martin Weale, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, who said that this meant there was also little point in voting for any rate change and opted to abstain.Sir Steve said that “it is pretty clear that cutting rates is having little effect other than to destabilise sterling in a worrying manner”. He argued that the focus should be on the “crux of the problem”, which he said was banks’ “deleveraging” and resulting lending curbs, as well a “major loss of confidence” in many parts of the economy . . . The authorities need to address these issues directly . . . this would point to actions such as open-ended guarantees for the liabilities side of banks’ balance sheets or lending directly from the Government’s balance sheet.”Mr Pennant-Rea agreed. “The best option is for the Government to guarantee bank loans, for specified purposes and for a limited period. It is high time the monetary debate concentrated on the banks.”
Source: The Times today

When recession comes, who can be the saver, to save the world? I think maybe government can lead people go out of the recession. When recession comes, usually government will cut the interest rate. Therefore people will more likely to spend money or invest than keep money in bank. So that can raise cash flow and boost the economic growth. Government should also support and encourage people to start up new business, therefore more jobs can be created. So that can reduce the unemployment. On the other hand, government should also support jobless people the be trained and help them to get a new job.

Christmas website

2008-11-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

http://www.christmasrants.com/dont_forget_your_teachers_christmas_present.html
This website is for people to buy christmas present. In this site, it gives you some advices about christmas present. And it gives you some pices of information. It gives you many kinds of presents to choose. All the information is very clear. The main color of this website is red, it's a good color for christmas. But I think that's not enough. This site is still too simple. They can make this site more colourful and put more pictures in this site. They can also put some songs about christmas in website. When people search this site, make them feel that christmas is coming and feel happy and exciting. So that people will more likely to search this site.

Business idea for car windshields

2008-11-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

Is this a product extension strategy: "Make all car windshields out of photochromic glass that darkens to a moderate sunglass tint when exposed to sunlight. This innovation would improve driver comfort and safety, especially when traveling into the blinding glare of a rising or setting sun."
In China and some countries many traffic accidents happen at night. Beacuse when people driving at night the lights which are from the cars coming in opposite way make driver can't see. So I think this product can solve this problem and improve driver comfort and safety. But is it effect the sight of drivers ? If this product can make sure that it not effect the sight of drivers, it will be a nice and useful product.

2008-11-18T14:14:00.000-08:00

"Introduce mugs and cups with special sensors that would give a voice alert like 'This is your third coffee today', 'Your coffee is getting cold', 'I am empty; refill me if you want', and so on." - would these sell well at Christmas?
This product sounds quite good, it's a new product which is interesting. It can make people happy while they are drinking. I think the piont of this peoduct is not how useful it is. It's just new and for fun. People maybe would like to have one or buy one as a present. This product also can buy it for childern, they will interested in it. So I think this product do have a market. Maybe it will have a good sale.

The idea from Google

2008-11-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

"Add an 'I'm NOT Feeling Lucky' button to Google that would automatically take users to a random webpage that would NOT be the topmost return for their query. This option would complement the 'I'm Feeling Lucky' button, giving the search process a creative twist." - would this be popular? Would this increase Google's revenue?

I think this button is useful and convenient. As we know, this kind of website is for search the information or other website which we need. The more information the website get the more people will use it. But sometimes when we are like to go to some websites but we forget the address, then we will try to search it. Normally after we type the key word we will have thousands of links. It's difficult for us to choose. This button probably can go straight to the website which we need. In this case, it will be very useful. So I think it's a good idea, but it won't increase Google's revenue a lot. Because Google is already famous, many people already know this side, so maybe some more people will use this side because of this button, but it wouldn't be a lot. And revenue of this side is not only from people who use this side, but also come from the advertisement. Some other websites pay for google and we people search the information, that website will be in the first page. The price of advertisement depends on how popular the webside is. Google is already very popular, so the price of advertisement wouldn't increase a lot.

So in a word, this maybe will increase Google's revenue,but it won't be a lot.

Recycling Vending Machine

2008-11-17T03:52:00.000-08:00

Users bring empty beverage containers to this ‘reverse vending’ unit and the machine sorts the machine sorts the materials into recyclable groups and crushes it. Income is made by being the local supplier of such machines to governments, school and large organizations and emptying them.
http://www.reversevending.co.uk/
This is a business idea which is good for society and environment. As the environment become more and more important. Government will definitely support this business. After receiving empty beverage containers, they can sell to the factories. My advice for this business idea is put vending machines to the right place, such as near the dustbin and the place which are selling drinks, then people will like to put empty beverage containers into the vending machines.

In-Store Surfing Simulator

2008-11-16T17:18:00.001-08:00

Originally available on cruise ships and in water theme parks, the Flow Rider uses pressurized water to create an indoor surfing simulation experience with wakeboards.
http://www.adrenalinastore.com/
I think it’s a nice idea. The cost of this business will be very high. But no matter where the country is, no matter how bad the weather is, we can still surfing whenever and wherever we want. That’s the U.S.P. of this business idea. As we can see in the picture, we can also sell clothes and boards at the same time. This surfing is also more safety, so more people can do this sport. But the weakness of this business idea is in winter, less people will like to do this sport, that’s the problem, so the temperature is very important for this business. So when they choose the place location is very important.

British Empire(company report)

2008-11-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

Website: http://www.british-empire.co.uk/

Type: Public Limited Company

The company: The company is an investment trust and its shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is a member of the Association of Investment Companies. The Group's net asset value at 30 September 2007 was 815million pounds and the marker capitalisation was 762 million pounds.

Objective: The investment objective of the Company is to achieve capital growth through a focused portfolio of investments, particularly in companies whose share prices stand at a discount to estimated underlying net asset value.

Business idea from another blog

2008-11-16T15:16:00.000-08:00

My new business idea is about tips in the local pubs and restaurants.Yesterday I was in the “Dong Dong” and after dinner a waiter bring me the bill with 1.5 pounds tips including. It really disappointed me, because service was bad, food was awful. And I thought about the improving of the income from tips.I would like to explain some of the reasons. The first reason is to motivate employers to work harder and to be polite. The second reason connects with the first one. It is a new good staff who wants joy your business.It should be a psychological pricing strategy. It is tominimalise the value of the tips. (Minimum 1 pound) And make some notes in the bottom of the menu, like “We like to now, what the money you are minimum forget on the as table 1 pound, thanks for coming, weare wait you again tomorrow” The reason why tips should be 1 pound, because the change what they have not more than 1 pound and if costumer want give more tips it is probably and they stopped care about that, few extra pounds. It is better if we charge average cost of tips. The local pub or restaurant have average no more than 30 pound per day, but after that decision income from tips increasing incredible depend from how many customers coming per day.I can see just one weaknesses connect with the local pubs where the customers now the barmen, but actually the can spend one money for a good barmen friend. You can say what if you have a restaurant the tips more than one pound, but entrepreneur can variable the minimum tips, without depending from bill. And one more things you can say what some people are coming just to have cup of tea, but it just 11% of all customers. Not so much, and the business can decide about minimum price to include the small clients. I no it’s not so clear but I need more time to develope this idea.

This is an idea from another blog. The first thing is about spelling mistakes.
1 We like to now(should be "know"), what the money you are minimum forget on the as table 1 pound, thanks for coming, weare wait you again tomorrow
2 I no(should be know) it’s not so clear but I need more time to develope (should be develop)this idea.
3 It should be a psychological pricing strategy. It is to minimalise(I know what he wanted to say, but the spelling was wrong.) the value of the tips

I don't think this is a good idea to improve income. As I know in the UK tips are about 10% of bills. Just ask more tips for customers is not a good idea. And also tips are for waiters to improve thier own income, not for restaurants. I think if how much tips waiters get depends on how good thier services are, maybe it will be a good idea to improve service and it a kind of way to motivate staff.

Dink-Mixing Vending Machines

2008-11-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

In another interesting vending machine variation, a British company has created a machine capable of mixing drinks and requiring far fewer top-ups than conventional machines through an innovative internal pouch system.
Technology: Interconnected resealable pouches can be stored in high volume and filled in-machine on demand.
www.waterwerkz.co.uk
The vending machines for selling drink is a very old idea. But their U.S.P. are the machine it self which can require far fewer top-ups than conventional machines and the drink they sell. So if this new drinks are really good. I think put vending machines in school and near office is a good idea. If they can keep creating new drinks when the sales goes down, many people will like to try the new drink. I think it will be a good business.

Acting Troupe for Home Performance Hire

2008-11-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

Teatr Rozmaitosci in Warsaw, Poland, offer clients an in-home theatrical performance form a group of professional actors-what a party or dinner novelty!
http://www.springwise.com/entertainment/teatr_rozmaitosci
This is a new business idea which is a kind of service. Their customers are the people who feel lonely and bored at home and also they are not definitely poor. But why people choose to have this service instead of going to theater? I think probably most of people will prefer to go to theater or cinema. So I think it’s difficult to make this idea work and let business make more profit. But when someone have a big party and celebrate some festival at home, maybe they would like to ask this service. And some old people who can’t go out will like this service. So it still have some market. This is a new idea, so how to let other people know this service is very important, and different customers like different shows, so they should have many chooses for customers. If they want to do this business in other countries, location and culture are the other tings they need to consider.

2008-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is a quite good advertisement. But next one is unbelievable!!! Be careful the word he said, and the environment of the room.

Free Photocopies on Advertising-Sided Paper

2008-11-02T15:06:00.000-08:00

Tadacopy in Japan offers students free photocopying though there is on reason why the business model could not work more broadly. The revenue comes from advertising placed on the reverse side of the paper.
www.tadacopy.com
This is a really new business idea. And it’s a new way to make profit. The revenue comes from advertising placed so if we want make business bigger. I think first we should let more and more students come there and use it and make it popular. So that the price of advertising placed will be higher. But I think the costs of this business will be very high. Because photocopies for students are free. How to reduce the costs is another thing we should do. Maybe we can limit the number of students to copy in a day. So if students want to copy they will come earlier and maybe it can make it popular at the same time.

iPod Vending Machine

2008-11-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

A company specializing in ‘automated retailing’ now offers iPods through vending machines. They also sell Elizabeth Arden cosmetics, digital cameras and other electronic products via sophisticated vending machines.
http://www.zoomsystems.com/
Using vending machines to sell iPods can reduce costs and it is easier for customers to buy the product? What about the guarantee for the product? How can I make sure OF the quality of the product, especially this kind of product? Another problem is to how to keep the machine safe. If using vending machine s to sell products which are expensive. Probably someone will break the machine and steal products. So it’s difficult to keep them safe. I think they can put machines inside of the shop.

Soccer Ball Vending Machine

2008-11-02T10:08:00.001-08:00

Nike has developed football vending machines-perfect for special edition balls that are not available in normal retail channels. As Nike stared this program in Singapore in 2005, these machines should be starting to turn up on second-hand marker and thus offer an interesting business proposition.
www.mediabuyerplanner.com/2005/09/19/nike launches soccer ball/
The U.S.P. of this business idea is the special edition ball. But why sell them in vending machine? I don’t think it’s really good idea. Using vending can reduce the cost that’s true. But if balls are really specially, maybe someone wants to steal them. And also selling balls need more space then selling sweets and drinks in vending machine. So if they want to sell more we must make it bigger.
I think they can put vending machines which are selling cheap balls near football playground or park.

Fully Retractable Umbrella

2008-11-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

The Lotus 23 is a self-cleaning (think rainy water), fully-retractable umbrella with flexible ribs that allow it to flow with the wind, It is also cheaper to manufacture and more durable than a conventional umbrella.
I like this product because it’s a product which is easy to take and use. Also it’s more durable than a conventional umbrella. So that’s the U.S.P. of the product. It's a fully retractable umbrella which is good for protecting the environment. Retraction will also reduce costs. Countries which are rain a lot will have a big market. Especially for some countries which are rain a lot and have strong wind. Customers need more durable and convenient umbrella. So it will have a big market. But if the product sell very well, they should try to preventing others copy it.

Portable Esprossa Maker

2008-10-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

Introduction of the product
Discover the products designed to offer you an outstanding espresso wherever you go, whenever you want. Premium quality espresso – anywhere! With Handpresso, coffee breaks are shared and enjoyed together. Actually, Handpresso has invented a new coffee ceremony for you. So, now, your espressos can be prepared with friends, guests or within the family, indoors as well as outdoors.
www.handpresso.fr
This is a nice product which can let you make coffee whenever and wherever you want. I think the U.S.P. of the product is very easy to use and carry. While we are having a picnic, make a nice cup of coffee. That's a really good idea. So in my opinion, this product will have a big market. Because it's a new idea, maybe it won't be have many competitors. If demand is very big, and they want to make the business larger very soon, cash flow is very improtant. How to sell this product is also very important, let customers know this product is the thing they need to do.

BBC NEWS "China toy firm closure"

2008-10-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

A Chinese toymaker which supplied firms including US giant Mattel has gone out of business with the loss of up to 7,000 jobs.
Rising raw material and labour costs and slowing US demand forced Smart Union to close its doors this week.
Workers have since been protesting outside the firm's factories and a government building in Guangdong province to demand their unpaid wages.
More than half of China's toy exporters have gone bust so far this year.
Hard times in Toytown
The Chinese news agency Xinhua said 52.7% of the country's 3,631 companies making toys for export went out of business in the first seven months of the year.
It blamed rising production costs, the stronger yuan and tightened toy safety standards.
Smart Union's shares were suspended on the Hong Kong exchange on Wednesday and provisional liquidators were appointed by the High Court in Hong Kong on Friday.
The company's financial difficulties were clear from the results it released last month - Smart Union made a pre-tax loss of 201m Hong Kong dollars ($26m; £15m) in the first half of the year. In the same period a year earlier it had lost HK $2.5m.
Pay withheld
Former staff protesting outside one of Smart Union's factories were met with a sign which read, "Because business is bad, we are unable to give you your salaries," the Reuters news agency reported.
"I feel very agitated now," said factory worker Huang Luo Hui.
"We need money to pay for our housing and food. We have been waiting for a few days now. The government said they will solve this problem in three days. Today [Friday] is the third day and we have had no reply from them."

Discussion:
Many companies put there factories in China, or let factories which are in China produce and supply produce products. Because in China labour and raw material are very cheap. So build factories in China can reduce costs. Maybe that’s why many products here are made in China. So the factories in China only get little money for producing products. Companies which are from other countries keep the most of profit.
But as the rising of raw material and labour costs, the owner of factories in China realize that only produce products can’t make a lot of profit. And also as the exchange rate of yuan going higher and raw material costs rising, producing products in China will be more expensive.
Many people said that many business in China just copy. That’s true. But nowadays we realize that copy is not a good idea because copy can only make a little profit, because most profit is given by companies which are have patent. So Chinese government begin to encourage independent innovation. And also Chinese government and bank of China will support small businesses. But in the short term, many factories in China will still keep copying. As the developing of China and more and more people join in independent innovation, the business in China will change a lot.

about the word "factoring"

2008-10-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Chris could help me please. I try to translate to Chinese,but I'm not sure. For example there three groups of people bank, A, B. A owe B money. So bank give 80% value of invoiced sales to B as a cash advance. And then bank ask A 100% value of debt. So bank can keep 20% as profit. Is that right?

‘Affordable’ Recreational Submarine

2008-10-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

A Dutch company now offers recreational submarines that have a top speed of 3.5 mph, can submerge to 50 metres and weigh around a ton – pricing is approximately $130000 per submarine.
http://www.uboatworx.com/
It’s a nice product which has good-looking and high speed. So people who like submerging will like it. But $130000 is a lot of money, only people who are very rich will buy it. Because of the high price, the market will be smaller.
So how to make the market larger is very important. I think they can rent submarine in the sea side to tourists. So the price will be much lower and many tourists will like to try it. So they can make more profit.

$10000 Car Wash For Celebrities

2008-10-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

By offering a week-long, 61-step car wash with rare Brazilian wax called Zymol Royale wax. Witty Brit Paul Dalton has built a fiercely loyal celebrity following in Britain who are happy to have their exotic cars lovingly TL Ced by him. For $10000 per car wash. And he is about to put his prices up.
www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleld=114981
This is a new business idea. I think some celebrities do like this kind of service. They not only need to wash cars, for some good cars but also need to maintain cars. But celebrities only the some group of people, so the market is so small. I think they don’t need to celebrities, they separate the service level. They can focus on the people who have good cars not only celebrities. So they can have three prices and three different services. The price is higher the service is better.

The Tweel Rubberless Wheel

2008-10-11T07:55:00.000-07:00

Michelin have developed an "airless, intgrated tyre and wheel"(think a wheel without a tire, like a kind of small metal wagon wheel) that creates wheels far more durable than ever before and can be fitted to wheelchairs, Segues and eventually passenger cars.
So this kind of new product is quite new, there is no competitors. The U.S.P. is also clear and obvious. But while they solving one problem, it may bring other problems. Is it save when car drive very fast or drive on snow? When cars suddenly turn around what will happen? So if they can make sure these things are OK, I think it will be a really good product. And also the price is important as well. With the technology, maybe the price is very high, so reduce the cost is also necessary.
If all these problems are solved, it definitely will be a nice product which have a big macket.

Waterless Urinal

2008-10-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

Waterless Urinal can keep urinal clean by itself. Usually after being used for a long period, it will become dirty and smelly.This product can solve this problem.

ZeroFlush’s totally unique and patented design achieves the ultimate in waterless urinal design. Requiring considerably less maintenance than other green solutions, ZeroFlush is highly attractive to those responsible for building services.

However, this product not only keep it clean, but also save money,time and water. So that's quite good product for public toilet. This is a new idea which with the technology. So it won't have a lot of competitors.

Evaluate the ideas (2)

2008-09-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

‘Shark Shield’ Shark Deterrent

People who like surfing, diving, and swimming will like this product. With these products people won’t be afraid of shark any more when they are diving, swimming, or surfing. It’s the new idea and with the technology, there won’t be a lot of competitors. So we find the U.S.P. and the way they sell products which is selling in internet is cheaper and easy to enlarge the range of products.
But the weaknesses are also obvious. In 2001 only 76 people attacked by sharks, there’re only 5 people died. How big the market is? What’s the probability of people can be attacked by sharks? And the price is $670. Will people pay for that price only for a little probability attacked by sharks?
I think on beaches, we can rent these products, that’s much cheaper and maybe more people will use it.

Cheeseburger In A Can
This idea is not bad. For people who camping and travelling in the wild it’s convenient. And the price is acceptable. But as a food the one of the most important things are tastes. How can they ensure the taste of the food which isn’t fresh and cold. The main customers are the people who camping and travelling in the wild. So that’s not a big market.

Evaluate the ideas

2008-09-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

Sugar Jewellery
These products are for children. As the sugar the most important thing is taste. Using beautiful shapes to allure children is really good idea. While children eating delicious sugar at the same time they are enjoying the good-looking sugar. So the U.S.P. of these products is the shape.
However the weakness of these products is lethal. Low technology makes competitors very easy to copy. So the new U.S.P. is meaningless. Because everyone can do it, so I think it’s not going to be a long term.

Air-Powered Car
Nowadays more and more people have cars. Especially in the developed countries, almost everyone has a car. Except the different shapes and capability, the motivity of the car are the same. So this new car will have a new market for sell. And also the price is only $5000, it’s quite cheap. That means it will have a larger market. With the new technology, competitors can’t have the similar car in short time.

Starbucks Hot Coffee Vending Machines

2008-09-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Hot Coffee Vending Machines are not new ideas anymore. But it's not very popular, so it still can make some profit. I think the problem is very difficult to make this business bigger. Maybe in school, office some people do like it, to be honest the market is not very big.

$100 Cup Of Cat-Poo Coffee

2008-09-26T03:53:00.005-07:00

People drink coffee everyday, it's a very common product. How can we make it special? Here is a new idea: By mixing the extremely rare Kopi Luwak bean freashly 'expellded' from a rare Indonesian cat through its faeces into coffee, one London entrepreneur has created an exotic new coffee brew in London that sells for 50 pounds/$100 a cup. Would Ripley believe this?

I think it's a really good idea, the price will get attention for people. People will think why the price is so high? And then they will interest in it, they want to try it. If the coffee is really nice, they'll think it's worth buying it. So they add the value to coffee and low cost make more profit. It's easyer to break-even.

However, high price also can be weakness, it's very expensive for many people, so that make the market smaller. And if we want to make this business bigger, the fixed may very high, because they need to buy a lot of shops to sell coffees. So it's better to open shops in some big cities and in some developed countries. That means open shops which people have high income.

Edible Tablewate

2008-09-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's a good idea, because it's good for protecting emvironment and people can save time. They don't need to clean forks, spoons, dishes.... I think this product has a big market. Everyone use these things everyday. These are also one-off products. After people have meals, they will eat these dishwares and next time we need to buy a new one. So that means if people use these products, they well buy a lot.
At the same time, there're still some problems. First is price, everyday one person use 3 forks and spoons. Then people will pay for 90 forks and 90 spoons a month. People may think it's very expensive, and they need always to buy forks and spoons.
I think we can make that Edible Tablewate more delicious, not only made of flour. They can have a lot of tastes like chocolate, cheese... so that maybe many children will like them.

Massaging Backpack

2008-09-22T15:32:00.000-07:00

I think it's a nice business idea. Because it's a compelely new idea and don't have a lot of competitors. This product is for the people who travel a lot or use backpack a lot. While they find the U.S.P, at the same time the product has technology. So it's not very easy to copy.

But I think this product still has some weaknesses. First is how big the marked is? We do have some people need this product, but how many people like travelling and use backpack a lot? So I think the market is not very big. Another thing is, this product can't change the weight of the backpack,so do the people who carry backpack really feel comfortable? So there're still some problems we need to solve.

Mobile phone sale

2008-09-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Several days ago, I lost my mobile phone. So my host mother said she can give me an old phone, all I need to do is buy a new SIM card. Next day I went to a shop which called 4U to buy SIM card. The card is very cheap to call aboard. I just said I need a SIM card to salesman. Then he gave me two SIM cards and said 20 pounds. They didn’t ask anything even what kind of card I need where I need to call. I don’t know what’s going on at that moment. So after that I checked the card they gave me was the thing I wanted. I also can’t understand why they gave me two SIM cards, but I only need one. And they gave me 20 pounds for top-up (10 pounds each).
But unfortunately, I can’t use that card in that phone which my host mother gave me. So I have to buy another one.
I went to some mobile phone shop such as O2, Orange and so on, but most of phones are locked. That means phones which are in Orange only can use the SIM card in Orange. Finally I bought a phone in 4U. Again, they gave me a SIM card and I have to pay 10 pounds for top-up (this card is for making phone calls in the UK). Why it’s so hard to buy a phone? All I need is a phone.
So in the end I got 3 SIM cards
Selling is very important in business, businessmen use different ways to try to sell more products. But I don’t think sell phone like this is a good idea.

● They use B.O.G.O.F. to sell SIM card, but this product is not like the food, or other products, the more the better. One SIM card one number is enough. How can your friends find you if you have many phone numbers. Also nowadays SIM cards are completely free, just top-up first, so use B.O.G.O.F. to sell SIM card is meaningless.
● All the phones in Orange are locked, so if customers buy phones from Orange have to use Orange SIM card and network. Maybe it can make more profit, but at the same time they lose some customers. If someone has SIM card and want to buy a phone, he can’t buy a phone in Orange. So I think Orange should have some mobile phone not be locked.

So I think the way they sell phones is not a good idea, at least some customers are not happy with that. Maybe in a short time they can use this way to make more profit. But I don’t think the business which only think about to get more profit and never think about customers will be a long term. In other wards, in the long term think about customers first, then you can make more money.

The problems a British business faces in trying to do business in China (1)

2008-09-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

China is one of the largest market in the world, 1.3billion people and cheap labour force. It's a place which full of opportunities.

I really don't know about business in UK, so I only can think of a few things. But I'll try to know more . After that I'll continue to write about this question.

I think language is a problem, some times we need interpreter if English people do business in China. But I think the problem is not as big as we think, nowadays more and more Chinese can speak English.

Compared with China,The consumtion level in UK is higher, if the products are too expensive and also don't have Unique Selling Point, that will be a problem in sales.

Most of Chinese people pay more attention to the practicability of the products, so maybe English is a bit different, if the businessman doesn't realise the difference, that also could be a problem.

The first week to study business

2008-09-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

This is the first week to study business. It's a completely a new subject for me. Other subject such as maths and chemistry I've learned some before. So when I heard this subject, my first question is "what is business study?"

In the dictionary the business means: the activity of marking, buying , selling or supplying goods or services for money.

Then the second question is "how to learn this subject", compared with maths there's no question to calculate, and most of question have more then one answer. You can find many ways to solve problems and there's no formula to solve the problem. The only thing you can do is keep thinking and find out your way to solve problem.

But for a international student I think the biggest problem is language, hundreds of new words are waiting for us.

Step by step I believe sooner or later I will find a good way to study business.