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Company Liability: Hostile Sexual Harassment Environment
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, and sex.Federal sexual harassment law is broken into two categories: Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Sexual Environment. This article looks at Hostile Environment.A Hostile Environment occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct ruins an employee's work environment.When this occurs the behavior or its effect unreasonably interferes with work performance and/or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment either at work or at company-sponsored events.The behavior must be unwelcome and in most cases repeated.Types of harassment includes: sexually explicit jokes, pinups, or graffiti vulgar statements and sounds abusive language indirect sexual comments overt sexual conduct It is important to note that with this type of harassment, it doesn't matter whether the behavior was intended to be harassing or flattering. The harassment is always defined by the victim. If the victim finds the behavior unwelcome, regardless of the intent, then it is harassment.The courts have held employers liable in cases that involved supervisors, other employees, and/or customers or vendors.Court CaseThe U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a settlement with London International Group, LLC (LIG) in a lawsuit charging the Eufaula-based plant, which manufactures condoms, with subjecting a class of employees to a hostile work environment in which they have been subjected to numerous racially and sexually derogatory cartoons and comments since 1995.Award: $625,000 in monetary damagesFor more on other types of Sexual Harassment, read about Sexual Favoritism or Sexual Harassment by Non-Employees.Protect your business from this type of harassment. Make sure your employees are well-trained in harassment and discrimination prevention and awareness.

ending on what type of business you do. The ones that will work for any type of business is your local Chamber of Commerce. These are people in your area and they need to know that you exist. And the only way they are going to know that if you join the Chamber of Commerce and then actually go to the meetings and events. This will give you not only the opportunity to let people know about your business but also you can learn about other businesses in the area and see what they are doing to grow their business. There may even be some joint venture opportunities that help you gain recognition and strength in your business. Along with that you want to join groups that are associated with your type of business or even other small business groups. This can be things like eWomen network, networks4computers.com, international association of botanical gardens, etc. No matter what your business is there are going to be networks associated with that and you need to be a part of them. Visit them first. Make sure they are going to be helpful and have great integrity before you join them. The main thing is you have got to be a part of networks to grow your business. And the information you learn and the relationships you build are going to just be phenomenal.

Inventory Reduction Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between inventory management and inventory reduction?Inventory management is the activity which ensures the availability of the inventory items in order to be able to service customers. In an MRO environment the customer will be the maintenance and production department; in a finished goods environment the customer is the external customer. Inventory management involves the coordination of purchasing, manufacturing and demand to ensure the required availability.Inventory reduction is the activity that minimizes the cash investment in inventory while maintaining the availability promise of inventory management. Inventory reduction focuses on identifying those items where the inventory holding is in excess, given the current actual demand and supply characteristics, and then works to reduce the cash investment in these items. This means that a significant cash release can be achieved with no change in the inventory risk profile.2. How does the different focus of inventory management and inventory reduction impact the outcome?Because inventory management aims to ensure availability, the focus is primarily on eliminating stock outs, where the availability promise is not met.Inventory reduction focuses on cash and eliminating any unnecessary investment in inventory with no change in the inventory risk profile. The logic is this: any stock out triggers an action to restock and to typically overstock in order to avoid a future stock out. Therefore, opportunities exist for inventory reduction that will not increase risk. Where the inventory is already overstocked there is no trigger to take action, hence a specific program of activity is required.Eventually, inventory management must lead to an over investment of cash in inventory as people seek to eliminate stock outs, whereas, inventory reduction results in a minimized investment of cash while maintaining the availability promise.3. What is the difference between inventory optimization and inventory reduction?Inventory optimization uses the existing constraints to calculate the required level of inventory for a desired level of availability.Inventory reduction challenges the constraints to

“I am really glad we met. I want to do business with you”. How would you like to hear a statement like that? It’s Easy! All you have to do is network. You can take all the great ways there are out there to meet, communicate, and make interactions into transactions but none will be as successful for you as networking. Nothing can every replace that face to face interaction that builds bonds between two people. No other form of contact is so strong to drive your life and your business to the greatest heights.

What is networking you may ask? There are many definitions, but it is simply connecting with people of like interests for the purpose of uncovering opportunities, sharing information and learning of best practices. You cannot do it alone. So it is imperative that one gets out and meets new people that they can get help with for information, contacts and business. You will find all parts of your life are filled with networking starting way back in kindergarten. You learn to talk to other people, learn from them and make connections that allowed you to make differences in your life.

The truism of networking is that when you talk to a person you have just met; you are not only talking to them but their network of hundreds of people too. You have got to be aware of that or you could make a critical mistake. Too often people look at name tags as they are coming up to meet someone. They see the name of the person’s business and they start to make judgments. They think “oh they are a plumber, plumbers aren’t going to be interested in my jewelry business” or they assume “oh I have already met several coaches or makeup retailers or whatever” and then they are already shutting down. They are already deciding that that person isn’t who they want to talk to grow their business. That is such an inaccuracy it almost takes your breath away. What a way to lose the very business you are trying to grow. They could easily have a friend or a sister or co-worker or any number of people that need to know you. But you will never meet them if you have already prejudged who is going to be the right or wrong person to talk to. Another point to consider in this matter is that what they are doing right now may not be what they are always going to do. And there very well may come a time when they too will become your ideal client.

Most people after they have heard the term networking from time to time get a pretty good understanding of what networking is. Some people though get a bit confused if you will on what is you should and should not do. You should be meeting as many people as possible. It is not about trying to see how many business cards you can give out in a certain time period. Yes, there is an exchange of cards that is important but more importantly there should be an exchanging of self. It is a time to start growing a relationship. It is not a time to be looking for a sale. This is hard for people at times. Especially at first when you are trying so hard to get the clients you want and you want to just get them as fast as you can. That is not how networking works.

To be the best networker you can be means you have to know the appropriate way to network. To start off, the very best way to network is to find out how you can be of service. What is it that you can do for the person standing in front of you that can help them grow their business? This is such a wonderful way to approach networking because it allows you to give of yourself and feel even better about yourself than you did before you started to network. Some people struggle with the best way to put this into words. Look into your heart and find what works for you. It may be “how can I be of service to you”. For others something else may work better like “what can I do for you that you haven’t been able to do for yourself”. Only you know your personality and what works best for you. The main thing is be sincere and be of service and see what happens for you.

The next best thing that you can do is to be ‘other focused’. Like being of service you want to see how you can help them. This goes even further than just being of service. When you are other focused you are listening intently to what the other person is saying. You are not waiting your turn or thinking about what you will say next. Your focus is on them and what they are sharing with you. They may help you understand what your client is looking for. They may give you clues to how you can sell to them. They may simply be giving out emotions and information that will help you grow a true relationship with this person. Always look at them and not around to see who else you could start talking to. See only them and what they are telling you. Listen, respond, and care and you will build the best relationships and networks without ever even having to really try.

This kind of falls in with the last paragraph above and that is that you always want to strive to be more interested than interesting. When trying to prove how interesting you are you will often lose the person either physically or mentally as you are talking to them. But when you focus on them and you are more interested in what they are telling you, you will see great strides in the depth and width of your network. When you are interested in someone you will start to understand them and be able to relate to them better. Instead of taking years to form friendships you will find that you can become ‘fast friends’ with them. You will know more about them and be able to understand their needs. This will aid you in helping them, serve them, and you become the person that everyone wants to be around. How would that be for growing your network if you are the one that people like to be near?

The next key question that comes up is, where do I network? Though the answer is the same as the last two questions, I am going to give some more specifics on this one. But yes, the answer is everywhere! As you know we are always so busy. Too busy to network some may even say. That is exactly what is going to help us network is the fact that we are so busy. So when you go to your dry cleaner, or pick up donuts, or take the kids to games or scouts; those are the people you can start networking with for your business. When you have to go get groceries, go get the car worked on, or go renew your drivers license; there is your audience, your potential client to begin to grow your business. Don’t waste those opportunities. Take them in hand and make the most of them. Beyond that though, you do want to do some formal networking. So what all does that entail you may ask. That means that you are going to go to and then join organizations that are based on people networking with other people and helping each other grow their businesses. Now there are hundreds of different organizations. You are going to have to determine which ones are going to work for you. Some are going to be basically the same for any type of business and some are going to be unique depending on what type of business you do. The ones that will work for any type of business is your local Chamber of Commerce. These are people in your area and they need to know that you exist. And the only way they are going to know that if you join the Chamber of Commerce and then actually go to the meetings and events. This will give you not only the opportunity to let people know about your business but also you can learn about other businesses in the area and see what they are doing to grow their business. There may even be some joint venture opportunities that help you gain recognition and strength in your business. Along with that you want to join groups that are associated with your type of business or even other small business groups. This can be things like eWomen network, networks4computers.com, international association of botanical gardens, etc. No matter what your business is there are going to be networks associated with that and you need to be a part of them. Visit them first. Make sure they are going to be helpful and have great integrity before you join them. The main thing is you have got to be a part of networks to grow your business. And the information you learn and the relationships you build are going to just be phenomenal.

How to Balance Your Team
You are the manager of a small business, a team, a department, a project or even a complete company. And you are to hire someone new. There is this candidate, but she is your opposite in nearly everything; you favour spontaneity, she doesn’t, you take subjective decisions, she rationalizes whenever possible and where you are more extraverted, she is not.From portfolio management we can learn to spread our investments. There are many theories about how to do this. Fewer theories exist about how to balance a team. We learn about different functions, activities and processes, but less about the way to balance these. Especially when people are involved.Managers of different teams, of different organizations will respond uniquely to this question. Any organization or team has its unique characteristics, yet there are many traits that are familiar amongst all of them.According to your personal preferences you will focus more on one style and leave other management styles intact. In business however, your personal style is only slightly relevant in managing teams. This counts more for larger organizations where you are chained to a large network of people. The style of the organization determines how decisions are taken. Your influence is minor.Still, in every team and on a small scale your influence can be significant. And then you are to decide. Do I hire someone resembling the rest of the team members – they all do what I say – or do we need someone to make the team a bit more diverse?At first sight this diversity seems more difficult to manage. This is especially the case when your values, the values of the team and organization are less explicitly known. You will have a communication problem not only with new team members but also with third parties or others within your company.Diversity should come together with coherence. If you value teamwork you should value diversity. This does require investment in (sound) communication.© 2006 Hans Bool

’t who they want to talk to grow their business. That is such an inaccuracy it almost takes your breath away. What a way to lose the very business you are trying to grow. They could easily have a friend or a sister or co-worker or any number of people that need to know you. But you will never meet them if you have already prejudged who is going to be the right or wrong person to talk to. Another point to consider in this matter is that what they are doing right now may not be what they are always going to do. And there very well may come a time when they too will become your ideal client.

Executive Search
The executive search is the search of senior individual for the recruitment of posts in various organizations. The search consultancies are involved in providing their clients, with highly qualified and experienced individuals.The search consultancies with their established and strong networks in the market sectors use various other methodologies and techniques to search men for their client companies. They search for the most talented people in the market who can be fitting to a particular kind of job.There executive search is also called as head hunter search. The contingency search is the search for lower level executives.As executive search has become a highly profiting industry, the search consultants who are making success are earning a lot of money. Because of the profit of this largeness, there is a higher competition in this sector.

r about yourself than you did before you started to network. Some people struggle with the best way to put this into words. Look into your heart and find what works for you. It may be “how can I be of service to you”. For others something else may work better like “what can I do for you that you haven’t been able to do for yourself”. Only you know your personality and what works best for you. The main thing is be sincere and be of service and see what happens for you.

Incredible Power In Numbers
As a promoter and publicist representing liberal arts clients, my daily existence can be anything but normal. As such, I would like to disseminate a bit of my experience that may be of significant benefit to business owners who work in more mainstream industries.Although previously only a witty saying to me, I now have firsthand experience that the age-old axiom, "There is power in numbers," is indeed an accurate statement. For, it is a verifiable fact that the more something is presented to more people, the more it will continually find responders who support it.As an example, in the music industry, in order for a recording artist to obtain a Gold record award for sales, the artist must sell a minimum of 500,000 units of the recording.While that number may seem somewhat of a respectable achievement, it pales in comparison to the actual number of people that the recording has been exposed to who have, subsequently, rejected it. This number is in the thousands and, perhaps, even in the millions.This is because, with the promotion and publicity aspects of any given marketing campaign, regardless of the product or service at the center of attention, there is a "weeding out" process through rejection before obtaining and retaining the number of committed buyers.This is, in part, due to such factors as multiple distractions of daily life or a significant number of competitors of a similar product or service. The time of year or geographical location can also be important factors determining the success of a product or service. Equally, so can the stock market and current events play major roles on product or service success as well.And, rarely, if ever, is that "weeding out" process complete at the beginning of the campaign, but it alternately exists throughout the promotional campaign.Therefore, without going into product or service specificity, the below general guidelines should prove highly effective in providing a good positive return on the investments of time and finances for marketing most products or services.1. Start out with a great (not simply good) product or service.2. Ensure that the product or service is unique in some capacity, i.e., less expensive, works faster,

ur network. When you are interested in someone you will start to understand them and be able to relate to them better. Instead of taking years to form friendships you will find that you can become ‘fast friends’ with them. You will know more about them and be able to understand their needs. This will aid you in helping them, serve them, and you become the person that everyone wants to be around. How would that be for growing your network if you are the one that people like to be near?

Worry-Free Trade Show Booth Install and Dismantle Tips
When you work with an Install and Dismantle (I & D) company at your next trade show-- and every exhibitor must hire an install and dismantle company-- it is important to have full communications with them so that your trade show exhibit will remain intact. It is essential for the trade show exhibitor, therefore, to provide the installer with a written, descriptive, detailed breakdown of all the trade show booth items and components.This inventory list should not only include the number, size and dimensions of the trade show exhibit items, but also a description of what these pieces are. In fact, it would be helpful to have a photo of the inside of each crate. Providing specific and detailed information on your trade show display can make a huge difference in your trade show booth installation and dismantling efficiency and cost.A detailed inventory list provided by the trade show exhibitor that includes not only the number of crates and skids, but also a detailed description of what is in each skid of the trade show exhibit helps guard against losing pieces that may get detached. Everything should be itemized including literature, giveaways, monitors, hanging signs, etc. If these trade show exhibit items are included in detail, there is less chance for error. By giving this information to your trade show exhibit installer, they will be able to do their job more efficiently, saving you time and money. Since everyone is in a hurry as the trade show move-in date gets closer, having a list on hand in advance will help ensure a worry-free trade show booth installation on the trade show floor.According to John Taggart of Coastal International, a Sausalito, California based company that specializes in installing and dismantling trade show exhibits, the work his employees do relies heavily on the information he gets from the trade show exhibitor.Here are some of the installation guidelines that Taggart identifies as essentials for a worry-free exhibit:Understand the trade show floor facility. Determine in advance where the electrical is positioned in that facility. Does the electrical distribution come from the floor or from the ceiling? If the electrical comes from the ceiling, you will need to hide the elect

Okay you know the when, who and where. The next steps help you with how to network. This starts with who you are. Now that seems easy enough. My name is … My company is… It does start with those basics. Who you are also has to incorporate your target market. Admittedly some company names allow people to immediately know what you do. “Window Cleaning by Jan”. That one is easy to figure out. Often though our company names don’t exactly tell people what we do and that is okay. But that is also why we must include our target market in who we are. So it would be something like this: “Hi my name is Joe Smith with Doctor Time. I work with doctors who need to find more time in their life”. It is direct, easy to understand, and you immediately understand who this person works with as clients. Basically you are incorporating what you have learned before in knowing what your niche is and then understanding the market that that niche is going to touch.

The next step after the saying who you are is what your uniqueness is. Some people call this the Unique Selling Point (USP) or Unique Selling Proposition. There are lots of people out there doing the same thing you are doing. Though that might not be fun to hear it is the truth. So you have to be able to distinguish yourself from all the others out there. Why of all the people out there selling printing services should they use you? Why of all the goal setting coaches out there should they think you will do a better job? This is not always an easy part to come up with because we were taught not to brag. Well bring out the brag book because you are going to do some bragging today! People need to know why you are special. They want to know what makes you shine brighter than the other stars. So you have to let them know.

You may be thinking but that is where I get stuck. I don’t what makes me unique. This is where you have play some and think some. First off a lot of your key traits are things that have been a part of your life all along and you just accept them as who you are and yet they may be the exact traits that make you unique. I had an experience that really brought this to a head for me. Back in the corporate environment where I work my boss at the time was giving me my review. He was saying that I am so organized and get my work done in such a timely manner. He wanted me to right how I am able to accomplish that. I told him you just do your job. Okay that was not what he wanted from me. But I had to think about it. REALLY think about it. In my mind I was really just doing my job. I began to think about what he was asking. My parents had taught me if something needs to get done you get it done. Procrastination was not allowed. I am an avid list maker to make sure things get in order, prioritize and then get done and off the list. Even though this came very natural to me, I realize not everyone did things this way. So I was able to understand those traits and have something to give me boss that helped him understand how I accomplished what I did. So you really have to take a close look at you. What are you so good at that you don’t even think about? That may be your USP.

Another way of discovering what is unique about you is to remember what you liked doing as a child. The child in all of us wants to come out and play. In the same sort of mode think of things that you like to do that is quirky. One of my neighbors built sort of upside bikes. Okay the wheels were still on the ground but the seat and bars where all set up differently. That was quirky. But he could have taken that quirk in many different directions. He could have taught kids how to make them and then sell them. He could have built them himself and sell to bike shops. The options become very open when you are doing something that you love and that makes you stand out from the crowd. If you still feel unsure ask friends what is unique about you or what is quirky about you. You may be very surprised what comes from that and it make be the exact thing you needed to know to make you stand out above the crowd.

The next thing you want to look at is what your benefits are. It is crucial here that you know your benefits well and that you can articulate easily. And just as important is to always be focused on the results the benefits produce and not the how you get there. Sometimes thing they have to state that they have a seven step process or they take you through so many exams or surveys to help get your results. People don’t want to nor will they focus on the benefits if they are put in that way. You want to let them know how what you do is going to solve their painful issues. Tony Robbins talks about how people only do things for two reasons; the pleasure they will get from it or even a stronger motivator is the pain they will avoid. Take what people hate, dread or fear and find a benefit that you create through your business. Examples would be; “No more cold calls EVER!” or “Be Fit in Less Time than It Takes to Drive to McDonalds” or “Fear not, We Will Take Care of That for You”. Create something that is going to stick out and make people go ‘whew, now I don’t have to worry about that’. People want a product or service that is going to make their lives easier, happier and results driven.

The last part of the how to network is letting people know what you need in the next thirty days. Just put it out there and you will be surprised what happens. I was at an event and when we were doing our accelerated networking, one lady was telling us she had just moved into a much bigger office and she needs file cabinets. Now that seemed like a weird request, but four of the next fifteen people that spoke had file cabinets they were willing to give her. Isn’t that great? So we all need things in our lives and not always just clients. So let the group know as you are giving your accelerated network speech (which is usually one minute) what you need than watch and see what happens!

So now you want to take the three of the how to network items; who you are, what is your uniqueness and what are your benefits, and put them in three formats. The first is the ten second response, the second is the elevator speech and the third is the full one minute network speech.

The ten second response is when you are being announced and they can only say your name and what you do. “Hi I am so and such and I give you the courage to take chances and make changes”. Something quick, direct and tells the quick story. You then want to have your elevator speech which gives you just a few more seconds so add your best benefit to that list. And then you have your accelerated network speech which includes all three items. Practice, practice, practice until each format flows easily from you but does not sound like it is memorized.

The last thing you have to do is follow up. That sounds simple, easy to do, and just makes sense right? This is the biggest mistake people make, is that they don’t follow up. All networking is based on relationships you make. So if you meet someone once and then never talk to them again, it is very unlikely you will ever hear from them and then you cannot make a sale.

What should happen immediately or at least by the next day is that you email or call each person you got a card from during a networking meeting. This step is so simple and yet here is an example of how people do not do this vital step. I went to a four day convention recently. I got close to fifty cards. I

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Are you still trying to decide what you want to be when you grow up? Well knock it off! Let's see, your options are leaching off your parents till you're 30 and then trying to find a career when you're way too old and nobody wants to deal with you. That's stupid! Or, if you like people, and you want to help people then you can find out how to become a Nurse.

Nobody likes being ripped off - especially if they’re in business. Yet most businesses are paying hundreds or thousands of dollars to their web designer for shoddy, substandard work. Are you? Luckily, there’s a quick and easy way to find out.

Europe consists of more than 40 different countries out of which 27 are already members of the European Community - all of which are waiting for you. These are the most industrialized countries, however, it will still take some years to form out of them a 'real' community with an easy exchange of people and goods. The total number of inhabitants reaches today about 500 million inhabitants - an economical factor which can not/should not be disregarded.

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