According to team building experts, office team building games are needed as much as success, since friendliness and kindness are feeling easily and deeply transmitted to others, that is, your customers, that really appreciate a warm service. Building solid and cooperative work teams is difficult at first but necessary to have a group eager to share their points of view and to work together in a way that promotes very good qualities of each employees participant. In other words – to accomplish its goals such as a employees.

Texas Corporation

Getting your workers to stop thinking of every other such as competitors and begin working such as a staff is not absolutely like effective like it sounds, however it is important if you want to be a effective force in your company. Amidst the advantages of staff property are the online video presentation:

Teams become much more used in implementing their own team building activities indoor. Inasmuch as you can split the accomplish its goals into responsibility spaces, a team could tackle pretty difficult projects much more clearly than a group of individuals.

Teams become visible with quite creative solutions due to they would network and brainstorm. By the time staff members jump ideas off about any company issue, they arrive at solutions that none can use evolved all by herself. So as long as team continue to accomplish their goals together, so many of them get that their person function benefits from their brand-new dexterity to see things from other new perspectives.

Teams are pretty enduring than reliance on individuals. If you utilize single person who is responsible since a plan, the loss of that human being might cripple the plan. By the time you are trusting on employees, the loss of only person may be tough; though the fulfillment of the expectations of the team will continue.

Teambuilding exercises for meetings compel your workers to deliver their topmost hard time on behalf of the staff

Why Team Building Activities are So Important?

Find more team building activities on our site at: [http://www.team-building-activities.info-a1.com/]

There are ways for lottery corporations to verify if you are the rightful owner of a ticket. The main one is via the signature on the ticket. There are others ways as well, including a claimant being able to tell the corporation where and when the ticket was purchased. But that is never as full-proof as the actual signature.

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Winning a lotto jackpot is against all odds and, if you are lucky enough to have all of your numbers come up, you deserve the money. A lottery win is usually a once-in-a-lifetime event, so if you lose your ticket, you’ll most likely never get another win. So, be careful and sign your ticket.

Further, if you check the numbers and find out that, in fact, you are holding a winning lottery ticket, there are other steps that you should take. In addition to signing the ticket, you should also make several photo copies and keep them in separate safe places. That way, if you lose the original, you could still prove that you held the winning ticket. And, don’t forget to keep the original in a very safe place.

Winning the lottery would be a dream come true for most people, but there are steps to be taken to make sure that you actually get the money that you win. Signing your lottery tickets at point-of-purchase is the most important of all the steps.

Why You Should Always Sign Your Lottery Ticket

Tino writes about lottery winners, like Gloria Mitchum who won million in 1989, and Jose Salmon who spent 0 a day to try to win a lottery jackpot.

After considering GRI 1, go to GRI 2. Per GRI 2, the classifier will choose to classify an incomplete or unfinished product (e.g. an unassembled bicycle) as if it were complete.

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After considering GRI 2, proceed to GRI 3. GRI 3 has three parts, and is used when an article consists of more than one substance (e.g. an mp3 player packaged with headphones). Per GRI 3a, a more descriptive classification of one part of the article is preferred to a less descriptive classification of the other part(s). Per GRI 3b, choose to classify the product based on the part of the article that gives it its essential character (e.g. the mp3 player gives the set its essential character, because the headphones are relatively incidental). Per GRI 3c, all other things being equal, choose the classification that occurs last in the harmonized tariff schedule.

If the article cannot be classified using the before-mentioned GRI’s, then proceed to GRI 4. Per GRI 4, the article can be classified as an article most akin to it if otherwise unable to classify. This can occur when fundamentally new products are introduced into the market (e.g. new high-tech devices).

Finally, GRI 5 explains that cases (e.g. camera cases, musical instrument cases, etc.) will be classified the same as the article for which they would contain (i.e. as cameras, musical instruments, etc.), UNLESS the case has its own essential character. An example of a case with its own essential character may be fine leather business card holder. It would be classified as a leather product rather than as if it were a business card.

Understanding Customs and Border Protection General Rules of Interpretation

Jon Sasaki is a licensed customs broker in the Portland, OR area.

Visit his website for import tips posted daily at [http://www.PortlandCustomsBroker.com]

Non Profit Payroll: Employee Records

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There are many state and federal laws and regulations concerning employee records that can be confusing and some times contradictory. What employee records should you keep to be safe? The following items if you actually have them (and you should) need to be kept in employee’s personnel files. We recommend for audit and IRS purposes that you keep them for at least seven full years.

• Employee job application
• Reference and background checks
• Offer of employment
• Job description
• IRS Form W4
• State W4 equivalent
• HLS Form I9
• Employee benefit enrollment or declining forms
• Annual performance evaluations
• Interim evaluations or disciplinary forms
• Exit Interview

Additional possible forms to keep

Non Profit Payroll: Payroll Pay Records

Non Profit Payroll: Employees

Officers and Directors

The Internal Revenue Code defines the officers of a corporation–president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer–as employees, and your 501(c)(3) must classify them as such for tax purposes. This applies if your organization pays these officers to perform their duties as officers.

A 501(c)(3) should not classify a corporate officer as an employee if he or she performs no services, or performs only minor services and neither receives nor is entitled to compensation.

By contrast, the Code defines the directors of a corporation–that is, members of the governing board–as nonemployees, and your 501(c)(3) must classify them as such for tax purposes. This applies if your organization pays its board members to attend board meetings or otherwise compensates them for performing their duties as directors.

Volunteers

From time to time, some 501(c)(3)s may provide volunteers with awards, or gifts. In general, if these are non-cash items of nominal value, such as a ham around the holidays, your organization should not count these items as taxable wages.

If your 501(c)(3) gives volunteers cash items, such as gift certificates or any other taxable fringe benefit, it must include these items in the volunteers taxable wages.

Employees

If a person is not an officer, director or volunteer and you compensate them for work done and they are not an independent contractor, they are an employee. Like other employers, 501(c)(3)s that pay wages to employees must pay Federal Employment taxes on those wages. These taxes include:

• Federal income tax
• FICA taxes (Social Security and Medicare)

Non Profit Payroll: Federal Income Tax Withholding

Your 501(c)(3) generally (except Statutory Employees) must withhold and pay Federal income tax from its employees’ wages.

To figure out how much Federal income tax to withhold, employers should ask employees to complete IRS Form W-4, Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate. Ask each new employee to complete and sign a W-4 by his or her first day of work. Keep the form on file, and send a copy to the IRS if the IRS directs you to do so in a written notice.

If a new employee fails to provide a completed Form W-4, your 501(c)(3) should assume single status with no withholding allowances.

Non Profit Payroll: FICA Taxes

FICA taxes go toward Social Security and Medicare. Your 501(c)(3) must withhold and pay these taxes from employees’ wages, with one exception: If your organization pays an employee less than 0 in any calendar year, it need not withhold FICA taxes for that employee. A 501(c)(3) must pay both the amount of FICA tax withheld from employees’ wages and the organization’s match of that amount.

Non Profit Payroll: Federal Unemployment Taxes

The following is a direct quote from the IRS 940 instructions available at the following link:

http://www.irs.gov/instructions/i940/ch01.html#d0e251

“Religious, educational, scientific, charitable, and other organizations described in section 501(c)(3) and exempt from tax under section 501(a) are not subject to FUTA tax and do not have to file Form 940. “

What it comes down to is that if you are a 501(c) (3) and you have received your favorable determination letter from the IRS you don’t have to pay Federal Unemployment taxes.

Non Profit Payroll: State Unemployment Taxes

States vary on unemployment taxes on non profits and you should check with your State Unemployment Insurance Department for the rules in the States you have employees.

Non Profit Payroll: Paying Federal Income and FICA Taxes

Your 501(c)(3) must pay withheld income taxes, together with both the employer and employee portions of FICA taxes (minus any advance earned income credit [EIC] payments). These payments must be paid electronically using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) or by mailing or delivering a check, money order, or cash to an authorized depositary. Note that some taxpayers are required to exclusivly deposit using EFTPS. Check with a qualified non profit payroll tax professional for additional information.

Non Profit Payroll: Reporting Payroll Taxes

Once your 501(c)(3) deposits the Federal income and FICA taxes, it must submit returns reporting that it has withheld and paid them. Just as the 501(c)(3) pays Federal income and FICA taxes together, it must report them together on IRS Form 941Employers Quarterly Federal Tax Return. They must also be reported annually on IRS Form W2 a copy of which is also distributed to your employees

Non Profit Payroll: Conclusion

There are many similarities between Non Profit Payroll and For Profit Payrolls but several differences not all of which have been discussed here. We always recommend that you use a qualified payroll outsourcing company with CPA’s on staff. That way your questions can be answered professionally and any problems solved by a CPA who is eminently qualified by training and experience to work with the IRS on payroll tax problems.

Non Profit Payroll

Charles J. Read, CPA has been in the payroll, accounting and tax business for 30 years, the last fifteen in private practice. Mr. Read is the author of “How to Start a New Business”.

For Professional Payroll services at a Budget Price go to http://www.PayrollonaBudget.com a Paperless Payroll Company.

Go to http://www.CustomPayroll.com For a full service payroll service bureau with CPA’s on staff.

See an excerpt of Mr. Read’s interviews from William Shatners “Heartbeat of America” television show on the websites linked above.

“The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is an independent low-budget horror movie which was filmed in 1974. Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel wrote, directed, and produced the film which starred Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Teri McMinn, William Vail, Edwin Neal, and Paul A. Partain. The plot is very simple. A group of friends go on a back roads road trip in Texas and become detoured and become tragic victims to a family of sadistic cannibals which includes the infamous chainsaw-wielding maniac “Leatherface.”

Texas Corporation

Tobe used the story of real-life murderer Ed Gein to create the “Leatherface” character. Ed Gein also inspired many other fictional stories and movies including Halloween, Psycho, Silence of the Lambs and the movie Ed Gein.

Ed Gein was from Wisconsin and is suspected of several murders which took place between 1954 and 1957. He never used a chainsaw in the killing of his victims. He murdered two women by shooting them. He later beheaded his victims and gutted them like a hunter would gut a deer and used some of their body parts as clothing and for furniture and created masks from the skin of his victims.

The truth about Texas chainsaw Massacre is that one of the similarities to the movie and the real Ed Gein is the house. As in real life the house in the film contained similar horrific content to that found in Ed Gein’s home such as body parts, skulls, bodies hanging from a meat hook and a vest made from human skin. The police even found a human heart cooking on the stove in Gein’s house which suggests he engaged in cannibalism much like the characters in the movie.

Like the character “Leatherface” Gein was suspected in many murders. Gein was only convicted of two murders despite a mountain of evidence gathered from his house. Eventually Ed Gein put in a mental institution where he died of heart failure in 1984. It was later discovered that Gein was severely damaged by a very strict and religious upbringing by his extremely domineering and controlling mother.

The truth about Texas Chain Saw Massacre can be found online at various websites, from DVD’s, in books and from some of the actors in the movie and from writer/director Tobe Hopper himself who continues to tell people that his movie came from his imagination and is a work of fiction. Still there continues to be doubters who swear the movie is based on a true story.

“The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is often said to be one of the greatest horror films of all time and has been the influence for many horror films and it appears its truth and fiction will continue to be disputed by people from all over the world.

Truth About Texas Chainsaw Massacre – What Really Happened

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author. To learn more about truth about texas chainsaw massacre [http://chainsawsandsafety.info/truth-about-texas-chainsaw-massacre-what-really-happened], please visit Chainsaws and Safety [http://chainsawsandsafety.info] for current articles and discussions.

Commercial leases can be described in four categories: gross, modified gross, triple net, and absolute net. A gross lease does not require the tenant to reimburse the landlord for any of the expenses that the landlord might incur in operation of the premises. Under a gross lease, the tenant pays base rent and the landlord absorbs all costs for common area maintenance (“CAM”), real property taxes, landlord’s insurance, and other charges associated with the operation and maintenance of the property. A modified gross lease typically requires the tenant to reimburse landlord for “pass through” costs over a stated expense stop or base year. For example, the tenant may be required to reimburse landlord for all CAM over .00 per square foot, or alternatively, the tenant may be required to reimburse landlord for all CAM in excess of base year 2005. In most situations, the commercial tenant will be asked to sign a “triple net” lease, which requires the tenant to reimburse landlord for CAM, real estate taxes, and landlord’s insurance. The “pass through” costs included in a “triple net” lease can vary, and can include additional items other than just CAM, taxes, and insurance. Thus, a prospective tenant will be well served to review a proposed lease with counsel to ensure that tenant understands the nature and type of pass through costs it will be expected to absorb under the lease. Also, in certain circumstances, a landlord may utilize a “net” or “absolute net” lease, which requires the tenant to absorb ALL costs of maintenance and operation of the property, including capital expenditures and major repairs. Typically, an absolute net lease is utilized where the tenant is the sole and 100% occupant of the building – for example, a restaurant or an office building occupied by one tenant.

Texas Corporation

Commercial leases can be further described by the type of use associated with the property – office, retail, warehouse, pad, or “ground”. An office lease is generally used in buildings intended for non-industrial business use. Retail leases are generally utilized for shopping malls and strip centers. Warehouse leases are generally seen for industrial or light industrial uses. Pad or ground leases are often used for restaurant premises or for premises where the tenant will be responsible for building and maintaining the structure. Texas law does not require a commercial landlord to utilize any specific form of lease, and the type of lease a prospective tenant may be faced with signing will vary by the type of building, intended use of the premises, and preference of the landlord.

The lease’s duration and base rent are of primary importance to the commercial tenant. Usually, a commercial lease is for a term of 5 to 20 years with fixed escalations in base rent or escalations based on an economic index, like the consumer price index. Also, the tenant may be offered options to extend the lease term or expand into adjacent or other areas of the property. Depending on the property and the landlord, lease term and base rent may be negotiable. As a general rule, the larger the space tenant intends to occupy, the greater the flexibility the landlord will show in negotiating provisions in the lease. However, if a property enjoys a high occupancy rate, a landlord will be less likely to show leeway in negotiating the economic terms of the lease. Yet, I am reminded of two great adages of the commercial world: (1) everything is negotiable; and (2) if you don’t ask, you won’t know.

Also, a tenant should take care to read and understand the description of the premises contained in the lease. Most commercial leases are based on “rentable square feet”, a number which is usually larger than “usable square feet”. The tenant’s rent and responsibility for reimbursement of pass-throughs (CAM, taxes, insurance, utilities, etc.) are normally based on the rentable square feet of the premises. Discrepancies in square footage and boundary lines should be resolved prior to execution of the lease, or the tenant could face unforeseen costs or potential litigation.

Many landlords offer a tenant “build out allowance” as an inducement to lease the premises. These sums, however, do not represent “free” money and landlord’s payment of the allowance is tied to specific conditions in the lease. For example, if the tenant breaches the lease and abandons the premises prior to the end of the lease term, the tenant may have to repay the build out allowance, along with landlord’s other damages. The tenant should make sure it understands when and under what circumstances the build out allowance will be paid.

Additionally, the tenant should understand his “lease commencement date” and “lease expiration date”. The lease commencement date may or may not be on the date tenant occupies the premises. Also, the landlord may have promised the tenant a 60 month term but the lease could provide a fixed expiration date for a term of less than 60 months. Again, careful scrutiny of the lease is required.

In addition to base rent, the tenant customarily will be asked to pay “additional rent”, which constitutes pass-throughs (CAM, taxes, and insurance) and any other charges that landlord might deem to include in your lease. CAM, pass-throughs, and other charges reimbursable under the lease are the primary source of tension in the modern commercial landlord/tenant relationship. The tenant wants the certainty of knowing what his rent and charges are going to be on a monthly and yearly basis. The landlord wants protection from unexpected rises in taxes or the costs of providing services to the property. The key: read your lease and KNOW every charge you will be faced with once your tenancy begins.

In the retail context, in addition to base and additional rent, the prospective tenant is often asked to pay landlord a percentage of tenant’s gross sales on a monthly or quarterly basis. The landlord usually justifies these charges as a necessary component of compensating landlord for providing a vibrant mall or strip center for tenant to conduct business. In most commercially viable retail property, payment of percentage rent is unavoidable. However, the “breakpoint” and amount of percentage rent should be negotiated.

Another area of significance to the commercial tenant is the services that will be provided by landlord and reimbursement of landlord for those services. Similarly, tenant should understand those services that landlord will not provide, because tenant will be responsible for those services as an out of pocket expense. Further, unless the lease is gross, the landlord should identify the components that constitute the costs of operating the “common area” for which it seeks reimbursement through tenant’s monthly CAM charges. The definition of CAM varies from lease to lease based on landlord preference, the type of property, and the negotiations of the parties. If a gross lease is not available, the tenant should negotiate the items to be included in CAM, the items that will not be included in CAM, and an annual cap or limit on expenses that landlord may attempt to pass through to tenant.

The landlord will normally want reimbursement for tenant’s share of real property taxes and landlord’s insurance costs. The lease should provide a definition of “tenant’s share” or “tenant’s proportionate share” based on the square footage tenant will occupy versus the square footage of the building. The commercial tenant must have a full understanding of all these provisions prior to signing the lease.

Key provisions in the commercial lease define the events of tenant’s default and landlord’s remedies for tenant’s default. The tenant should also address what constitutes landlord’s default and tenant’s remedies. Tenant default provisions are usually defined by two categories: (1) economic defaults; and, (2) non-economic defaults. Economic default provisions deal with failure to pay rent, failure to pay for charges assessed under the lease, failure to pay taxes when due, etc. Non-economic default provisions typically refer to other provisions in the lease – use of the property, hours of operation, or failure to provide services required by tenant under the lease. It is essential that the tenant have a full understanding of (1) what constitutes an event of default; (2) tenant’s right to cure, if any; and (3) landlord’s remedies for tenant’s default.

Assignment and subletting provisions are also important to the tenant. Texas law prohibits subletting without the consent of the landlord. Tex. Prop. Code §91.005 (2005). If the tenant desires to sell the business, merge with another business, or change the entity under which it conducts business, lease provisions regarding assignment and subletting will come into play. Many leases provide that the tenant may assign or sublet the premises with the consent of the landlord, which consent “shall not be unreasonably withheld”. Obviously, the more flexibility the tenant has in its assignment and subletting provisions, the more flexibility the tenant will have in the conduct and prospective sale of its business.

The modern commercial lease will normally address landlord and tenant’s responsibility for accidents and personal injury, casualty, damage to the building, and eminent domain. These provisions vary by jurisdiction, landlord, building, tenant, and use of the property. The tenant should review these provisions thoroughly with counsel to see if they meet the tenant’s risk expectations with respect to the property.

The tenant may also seek options to extend the term of the lease. The option clause should state the number of options available to the tenant, the term of each option, the rent for each option period or the formula for determining rent for each option period, and the method tenant will utilize to exercise the option. Also, the tenant may want to include expansion rights associated with the premises, which can include a “right of first refusal”, “right of first offer”, or a general expansion right granted with respect to certain space or areas in the building or property.

In sum, the commercial lease will address, in great detail, the aspects of the relationship between landlord and tenant, and will vary by use, location, landlord preference, tenant bargaining power, and jurisdiction. In Texas, there are very few statutory regulations governing the landlord/tenant relationship, and most characteristics of that relationship will be defined by contract. There is no “standard” form of commercial lease and the provisions that can be included in the lease will be determined by the creativity of the parties and their counsel. As with any other contract, the tenant should KNOW WHAT IT IS SIGNING. The consequences of signing a “bad lease” can include unforeseen expenses and business failure.

The Elements of a Commercial Lease – A Tenant’s Perspective

The Dillon Law Firm focuses on the representation of entrepreneurs and businesses in the areas of contract, corporate, real estate, and trademark law. The firm endeavors to provide quality legal services at a reasonable cost and delivers many of its services on a flat or fixed fee basis. The firm also offers small business consulting and general counsel services to companies that do not have the resources to justify full time in house counsel. In addition to its business practice, the firm assists individuals with wills, estates, probate, and guardianship matters.

So what are reciprocals? Reciprocals are usually defined as a group of individuals, corporations or entities who, as members, agree to exchange contracts of insurance (policies) and share their insurance risks among themselves within their select group. Each member (policyholder) of a reciprocal exchange individually appoints and authorizes a common attorney-in-fact to manage the affairs of the exchange. Therefore, they are similar to mutuals except the people that manage the policies are not employees of the company, but these “attorney-in-fact’s” who manage the reciprocals finances and deals with underwriting, claims administration, investments and any other day to day operations. The attorney in fact is usually paid a percentage of total profits for their service.

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Reciprocals also have a “subscribers advisory committee”(SAC), which is essentially a governing board. Like the attorney-in-fact, the subscribers appoint the body of persons to become the SAC. The SAC has general responsibilities for the finances and insurance activities of the reciprocal. For instance, the compensation of the attorney in fact will usually be determined by periodic negotiations with the SAC.

As far as tax advantages, all insurance companies, including reciprocals are regarded as corporations when it comes to federal income tax purposes. This means that the insurance company is subject to the double tax that is applicable to most corporations. Therefore, income is taxed once at the corporate level and taxed again when distributed to the company’s shareholders. Reciprocals, however, have a unique tax advantage over other insurance companies in that they are allowed to take a deduction for the amount of its annual net income that is allocated to the subscriber SSAs. (Subscribers Savings Account).

What is a Subscribers Savings Account? At the end of each year, the remaining premium will be deposited into the Subscribers Savings Account, which is held in the name of each active member. The company typically does not pay tax on the money deposited into the SSA accounts, allowing the surplus balance to build faster than retained earnings in a typical insurance company.

The reciprocal insurance structure has been used by groups of professionals including doctors, lawyers and architects and some industries, including pharmaceutical manufacturers, when coverage they need has become scarce and extremely high priced.

Though reciprocals represent a smaller number of insurance companies, they are a viable option and shouldn’t be overlooked when searching for the right coverage for your specific needs.

What is a Reciprocal Insurance Exchange?

Reciprocal Insurance Companies:
Pure Homeowners Insurance
Farmers

So, what are the essentials when it comes to strategic planning towards the development, creation, and implementation of KPIs? First of all, it is necessary to define certain elements for this strategic framework that you are formulating.

Texas Corporation

Goals.

The first element pertains to the goals that the company or enterprise has plotted for itself. These goals take on several forms – long-term, short-term, strategic, operational, departmental, corporate, and individual. If a company wants to achieve success in the corporate ladder, then it is a must for it to have goals of these different forms, that they be aligned with each other accordingly. A goal is actually a picture of the destination that you are aiming for, the place where you are aiming to be. As a lot of people say, you can predict the future; and the only way to do this is to create it. When it comes to goals, the only way you can create the future of your company is to see that future first.

Plans.

Think of plans as road maps that take you to your destination. If you plan to drive to New York from Texas and arrive there in just a few days, then you need to map out your route. If you do not do this, then you will not be able to maximize your time, and chances are, you would just be driving around aimlessly. Thus, it becomes important to create strategic plans to do just that.

Standard Processes.

There are always standard processes in doing things. If you are operating a coffee shop, then you surely would know that there is a standard process in preparing a Caf9 Latte or a Cappuccino. In truth, this standard process just might be universal across all coffee shops all over the world, minus a few tweaks here and there for the shops to create their signatures and trademarks though. The same standard processes exist in the strategic planning and implementation of KPIs. It is important to stick to a standard process that has been proven beneficial. This does not mean, however, that there is no room for innovation here, for there certainly is. As in everything in life, there is always room for improvement.

Measures.

How can you determine the relevance of your outcomes and results if you do not measure them? There should be measures instilled so that companies can keep track of their inputs and their outputs. More importantly, these measures determine whether or not the decisions companies make are indeed the ones they ought to be making.

These are just some of the key areas companies should look into when incorporating KPI strategic planning. All of these and more play a very important role towards the success of any existing business.

The Importance of Enforcing KPI Strategic Planning

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#1: Obtain Your Adjuster License

Texas Corporation

It is highly recommended that you obtain an adjuster license as a first step in this career. Obtaining a license demonstrates to hiring companies that you are a legitimate applicant, that you know the basics of claims practice and policy, and that you are legally certified to handle claims in the state you are licensed in. As a general rule, it is best to first obtain a license in the state of your residence. Many states, however, do not require a license to operate as an adjuster. Kansas, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia are but a few examples. In this case it is suggested that you obtain either a Texas or Florida adjuster license. Both licenses are very well respected and highly reciprocal – meaning you can obtain other states licenses with them without having to take that state’s exam or required coursework. Texas and Florida adjuster pre-licensing courses, which satisfy all requirements for obtaining their respective state licenses, are available in either a classroom or online setting. Course tuition will average 9 for online and 9 for classroom. After the course has been completed and you have submitted your application to the regulating authority, you can expect to be a licensed adjuster in just a few weeks.

#2: Obtain Critical Adjuster Training

For those making career transitions from the residential or commercial contracting industries, supplemental training may prove unnecessary. But for those who have little previous experience with construction, loss analysis, estimating software, and standard methods of repair, it is tremendously helpful to undertake some practical training. Probably the most important training a newly licensed adjuster should consider is Xactimate training. Used by roughly 75% of independent adjusters, Xactimate is the most popular estimating program today. Others, like MSB IntegriClaim, have their place, and may be preferred by particular insurance carriers. Still, Xactimate is accepted by more carriers than any other and is the best place to begin learning software estimatics. Courses, ranging from 1 to 5 days (0 to ,200) may be taken and courses taught by actual claims adjusters ought to be preferred.

#3: Find a Job

Becoming an adjuster doesn’t make sense unless there is work to do. While ultimately there is no silver bullet (outside the handy personal contact) for finding work, understanding the employment landscape will go a long way towards helping you land a job.

Understanding Demand

The bottom line is that the demand for independent adjusters fluctuates greatly and depends on the frequency and severity of catastrophic weather events. In 2005 and 2006, in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, finding work as a cat adjuster was almost as simple as raising your hand. 2007, however, saw surprisingly clement weather and did not produce many claims. Adjusting companies consequently could afford to be far pickier in their hiring process. 3 to 5 experience requirements became common and job prospects were bleak for new cat adjusters. At the time of this article, the 2008 storm season has been extremely tough on the Midwest with flooding, hail, and tornado. And with the anticipation of a potentially huge hurricane year, adjusting companies are scrambling to fill their deployment rosters and are relaxing experience requirements in order to do so. Because demand is weather driven, timing is crucial in finding work as an independent adjuster.

Who do I Work For?

It isn’t always correctly understood who cat adjusters work for. Lets clear this up. Technically, and for tax purposes, an independent adjuster is an independent contractor that works for oneself. Work is typically obtained, however, through adjusting firms that in turn contract with insurance companies to handle claims. For example, after Hurricane Katrina, insurance companies didn’t have nearly enough adjusters on staff to handle the massive influx of claims. Acme insurance company, as a theoretical, would then give out 10,000 claims to be handled by Pinnacle adjusting firm. Pinnacle adjusting firm in turn hires individual independent adjusters in sufficient numbers to handle the 10,000 claims. Those adjusters who work efficiently and with little oversight (babysitting) get the most claims from Pinnacle. So, if you are looking for a job as a cat adjuster, you should be looking towards getting on with adjusting firm.

Where do I Look for a Job?

There are several useful adjusting firm directories and social networks that keep you apprised of adjuster job listings. Adjusting firms maintain deployment rosters of qualified adjusters who are eligible for being put to work in the event of a catastrophe. A new independent adjuster should aspire to join as many rosters as possible. The ultimate goal is to have a steady stream of invitations to work which can be accepted or declined at your discretion. Remember, you are your own boss!

#4: Maintain Your Good Standing

Staying on top of Continuing Education (CE) requirements keeps you in compliance with your adjuster license and also gives you a legitimate opportunity to advance your knowledge base and skills as an adjuster. CE opportunities abound in both online and classroom form. Failure to maintain CE compliance can result in very steep penalties and forfeiture of your license. Considering the ease by which most states’ CE is kept this should be easily avoided.

Independent Insurance Claims Adjuster – 4 Steps to Become a Cat Adjuster

As well as working as a catastrophic claims adjuster, Daniel Kerr is the owner and operator of adjusterpro.com, a one-stop training, licensing, and career resource for insurance claims adjusters.

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For a company to thrive today, strategists must find ways to increase the organization’s ability to read and react to industry and market changes. They must know their goal to boost the company’s strategic flexibility by recognizing disruptions earlier and responding faster.

Strategic flexibility or adaptability can be defined as the organization’s capacity to identify major changes in its external environments, quickly commit resources to new courses of action in response to such changes, and to recognize and act promptly when it is time to halt or reverse existing resource commitments. Being adaptable means leaders must not get stuck in a too-rigid way of looking at the world. The organization must view change as an inevitable and essential part of an organization’s growth, in order to achieve this adaptability.

Texas Corporation

When there is uncertainty or unpredictability in the environment, managers tend to focus almost all their energy on successfully executing the current strategy. What they also should be doing is preparing for an unknown future. Flexibility stems from the ability to learn; managers tend to overlook the negative and emphasize the positive. They need to understand not only what led to the positive outcomes but also what led to the negative ones. This will optimize their learning experience. According to Ford (2004) four points to foster and maintain adaptability include challenging complacency, giving all employees a voice, encouraging participative work and driving fear out of your group.

The companies chosen for this task vary by industry: a famous automobile manufacturer (Ford) a bank going through a merger (Compass) and a start-up software company (DawningStreams). Ford and Compass have been in business for a long time; it is likely they have changed their strategic plan based on changing forces and trends. DawningStreams is new (established in 2005 and incorporated in 2007). Even though they have not had their first sale and have no staff, the owners have devised several iterations of their strategy.

There is a diversity of stakeholders all that are interested in the activity of business organizations. Emphasis must be placed on their adaptability in strategic analysis and their adaptability in strategic management of business organizations. The organization must have a strategic management model.

Each company might scan the same areas, but for different reasons. Considering technological advances, Ford would prepare itself to lead the market by having various electronic equipment in their vehicles, as well as robotic equipment with which to build them and the supply chain technology to keep all in check. Compass Bank is going through a merge and expanding globally; therefore they will need to keep abreast of communication technology. DawningStreams is a software company; they will need to monitor those companies who would be their competition to ensure their product offers better functionality. All three companies would make sure potential customers would be able to get good information from internet websites and advertisement, which encompasses yet another area of technology the organizations may need/want to scan. In this instance, many members of the organization must be enrolled: upper management and finance, who will determine budgetary factors; the IT department, who will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of some of the technology; the staff who must be trained to use the technology; a sales force who will sell the technology.

To the outside observer, it may seem unnecessary for any but Ford to scan the (actual) environment when it comes to issues such as emission control, fuel efficiency and hybrid cars. That is true however; Compass Bank and DawningStreams can plan a strategy to be friendlier to the environment (and their pocketbooks) by practicing paper reduction (through the aforementioned technology). Lastly, DawningStreams’ product may be useful as a file sharing service to environmental groups.

With regard to the legal environment, all three must be acutely aware of laws, which affect their respective industry among others. To Ford, legal applies, among other areas, to environmental protection laws and department of transportation safety laws. To Compass Bank, they would abide by the rules of the Federal Reserve (www.federalreserve.gov) and the Federal Insurance and Deposit Corporation (www.fdic.gov). DawningStreams must follow laws as they pertain to the transfer of files, which have intellectual property and also the export of products, which have algorithms. All three companies are global and will need to monitor those laws in other countries, which could effect the strategic planning.

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

Ford Motor Company – Socio-cultural

Ford Motor Company embraces the socio-cultural changes taking place to allow the company to move in the right direction with respect to attitudes in the society. Two areas that stand out in terms of socio-cultural attitudes would be that of fuel economy and smaller cars. The growing concern by the public for better fuel economy has influenced the company’s introduction of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The organization is committed to the hybrid to improve fuel economy as a global strategy to meet customer demands. The increased demand in society for such environmentalism has assisted in the decision for Ford Motor Company to look forward to adding the hybrid feature to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan and continue in such a strategic planning direction.

The customers that use these vehicles get a substantial break on their insurance in many states and a tax credit as well while enjoying the increased mileage of a vehicle that runs on gasoline and capabilities for 100 percent electric power. The environmental scanning by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to be knowledgeable of the fact that the people in the United States are buying more small cars today than any other type of vehicle segment. The lifestyles changes have been monitored and there is good data that shows that such a trend will continue in this direction and the expected growth in this segment will continue. The company has redesigned the inside and outside of the Ford Focus to set the car apart from the competitors in the small car segment while increasing upgrades and features to experience positive outcomes. The direction that the company is taking is based on a competitive advantage and being a leader in the industry. The vehicle line has both a sedan and a coupe to attract targeted markets including younger buyers at an entry level to build upon brand loyalty and customer retention. Ford Motor Company will continue to use the socio-cultural factors to drive the business and enjoy future success.

Ford Motor Company – Legal –

Ford Motor Company with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency adheres to the legal aspect of environmental scanning. Ford Motor Company accepted an award in March 2007 from the Environmental Protection Agency called the Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. The company is the first automaker to have ever been awarded the award two years in a row. The award has come to be presented due to the commitment made by the company to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from all of the facilities in the company.

The organization is committed to the responsible use of resources and energy efficiency. The leadership realizes that the environmental protection laws are of great importance and use the environmental scanning to move in the right direction to obtain future success in the company. In 2006 alone the company has improved the energy efficiency in the United States operations by five percent and saving approximately million with enough energy saved to equal 220,000 homes. The effective energy management protects the environment and reduces the greenhouse emissions. Some of the actions taken by the company include replacing lighting fixtures that use 40 percent less energy and using different low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps in the properties to include the plants, corporate offices, distribution centers, and research and development campuses. Due to the environmental scanning that takes place at Ford Motor Company the company will use the information that is collected and continue in this direction. New projects for the company include Fumes-to-Fuel that is a system that converts paint fumes into electricity that is being performed with Detroit Edison along with attempting to consolidate the application of primer, base and clearcoat paint applications into a single application to eliminate the need for separate applications and ovens. In addition to the paint booth emissions Ford Motor Company will continue to rely on alternative energy sources such as landfill gas and wind and solar technologies to power their manufacturing facilities.

Ford Motor Company – Technology –

Another environmental scanning tool that Ford Motor Company monitors and uses would be the technological portion. The company has invested billion in the latest technology for flexible manufacturing. The technology that is involved is in many forms to include wireless technology that is installed on the delivery trucks with supplies to the plant as a monitoring status and improved efficiency to reduce inventory. The flexibility of products in the same plant allows the organization to use the same machinery and process for all areas from body assembly, paint facility, and final assembly. The improved efficiency at the manufacturing facility allows for several vehicle platforms to be built on the same line to produce multiple models and quickly change the vehicle mix, the volume, and options based on customer demand.

The technological changes that are being embraced by Ford Motor Company through environmental scanning enables the company to experience huge cost savings through new product launches and 50 percent reductions in cycle changeovers along with waste reduction. Robots are among the technological changes that are being experienced within the organization to include the 400 from the project that are used to weld and assemble the metal body of the vehicle for stamping and assembly. Artificial intelligence in the form of advanced visions systems and laser tracking systems are used to ensure quality through accuracy and dimension abilities. A multi-million dollar training facility is used to ensure that the workforce has the knowledge, skills, and ability to reap the benefits from the new technology that is being used by the company. The training that is administered includes the new servo-electric weld gun system that identifies the perfect center for welding that has replaced the older and loud air-powered system that used a less sophisticated spring system. The environmental scanning of technology that is performed by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to have positive outcomes in efficiency while remaining a competitive company in the industry through cost savings and continuous improvement.

Compass Bank- Political -

On February 16, 2007, Compass Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Compass Bank, announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBV Madrid: BBVA) (“BBVA”) will acquire Compass for a combination of cash and stock. Compass will become a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of BBVA and will continue to operate under the Compass name. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2007, pending customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA.

BBVA, which operates in 35 countries, is based in Spain and has substantial banking interests in the Americas. The transaction will facilitate BBVA’s continued growth in Texas and will create the largest regional bank across the Sunbelt. Upon completion of the transaction, Compass will rank among the top 25 banks in the United States with approximately billion in total assets, billion in total loans and billion in total deposits. In addition, the combined company will rank fourth in deposit market share in Texas with .6 billion in total deposits and 326 full-service banking offices.

Compass is a billion Southwestern financial holding company that operates 415 full-service banking centers in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Compass provides a broad array of products and services through three primary lines of business – Corporate Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Compass is among the top 30 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of Compass and the relevant bodies of BBVA, Compass will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA. After closing, BBVA intends to merge its U.S. based banking affiliates – including the former operations of Texas Regional Bancshares, State National Bancshares and Laredo National Bancshares – with Compass.

The aggregate consideration is composed of a fixed number of approximately 196 million shares of BBVA common stock and approximately .6 billion in cash. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2007.

The merger between both companies will be determined by the political factors ranging from implications of laws and regulations to the state of world politics including the consideration of wars which may be going on in different parts of the world. New laws, regulations, tax programs and public policy create forces and trends, which may provide challenges and barriers or opportunities for any company or organization.

Compass Bank – Technology –

Ford is in the process of implementing a laser marking system on its production line to ensure the highest standard on each transmission assembled. The system will be checking for quality on different points on the assembly line. Ford is teaming up with a company called MECCO to implement this process and a trial run of the new system will last for 3 months. MECCO is a leader in its industry when it comes to laser technology. The decision to implement this new laser marking system came because it is more cost- effective and safer than previous ways of marking checkpoints for quality.

Although this process at Ford has not officially been implemented yet, Compass Bank can learn a few different things. It may be a good idea for Compass Bank to do a short trial of online cell phone banking to see how popular it becomes and if it worth all the time and effort, being spent to get it launched. Compass Bank should also consider investing into a company who is the best at what they do, is in the same time zone, and can meet their demands in a timely manner, not simply because they may be cheaper. Finally, Compass Bank can learn that they need to consider what will be most cost-effective and in the best interest of the company over time. Organizing a time line and a list of costs and potential risks would also be beneficial to Compass Bank so they know what to expect and when with the implementation of online cell phone banking.

When completing the global scan one looks for emerging new technologies which may impact any business in any industry. At one time the emergence of the Internet was a technology that was becoming an emerging trend across all industries. Today very new technologies are used to develop information systems at a fraction of the cost and time of processes that were used five years ago. Wireless is a telecommunications technology that may have moved from a trend to a force in revolutionizing the way information is stored, accessed and used across all industries around the world. Some, if leveraged by a company within an industry before competitors use it, may even provide a competitive advantage.

Compass Bank – Competition –

Although mergers may be costly and rather difficult, the value it creates in the end is the desired outcome companies seek. The eagerness to merge is based on several beliefs, those beliefs are, that the performance gains are greater, expenses are reduced, market power is increased, and shareholder’s wealth is also greater than before. The value of a merger is enhanced when the overall benefit is more valuable than the aggregate of two separate pre-merger companies.

In the end, both John and Bernard should consider this before finalizing a decision. When Zion’s purchased Stockmans, there overall value increased by 43 branches. These branches will help performance and brings much more power to the financial market. In the Journal of Money article, Pilloff states “Companies are more willing to acquire others to avoid being acquired themselves.” Keeping this in mind, companies must figure out a cross border strategy.

As part of the broad environmental scan, it is important to identify the internal capabilities of the organization. There are various models for defining capabilities. Most focus on the broad set of intangible assets such as brand, human capital, organizational capital and even relationship capital. Others include the more concrete assets such as available capital, the organization structure, current technologies and information technology infrastructure. In addition to doing a broad environmental trend, Compass Bank needs to do a more detailed capability assessment using any of the models available.

DawningStreams – Competitors –

Business activities are becoming more and more complex to manage, because of distance, time zones, number of parties involved in projects, number of tasks to achieve, multiple prioritizations, lack of general synchronization, insufficient secure and confidential communication channels and growing complexity of IT infrastructures. The use of task list managers has become very common. It is becoming more difficult to keep teams synchronized, to follow and to implement new business processes and to exchange sensitive information confidentially. The DawningStreams software application is aiming at increasing the practicality of daily executive activities. The types of business, which will most probably be interested in our product, are construction (size of network), consulting (need for synchronization), pharmaceutical research (secure exchange of information) and the software industry (complexity of manufacturing).

Many companies have already developed software applications that enable secured communications and file sharing. However, most, if not all, are relying on Microsoft technologies, which prevent them from expanding to Mac or Unix users. DawningStreams is developed in Java, which can be used on any platform, including Mac and Unix. Microsoft has acquired the Groove Company and has released a new version of the product, which can perform many of the functionalities of DawningStreams, but not generic activities (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/default.aspx). This is our closest competitor by far. More recently, we found, merely by accident, a company called Shinkuro (www.shinkuro.com), which offers the file sharing aspects of DawningStreams but lacks other capacities.

Although DawningStreams will face competition from many existing players, the fact that it will combine a super-set of functionalities in one application, for a very reasonable price, will give it some leading edge over other competitors. If the US patent is granted, the position of DawningStreams will become a niche. Even if the patent were not granted, it would take a profound architectural redesign of Groove (or other competitors) to include generic activities and match the offer of DawningStreams. As a strategy we will monitor the activities of those companies’ websites and understand what they offer in terms of similar functionality and try to ensure we match or best those functionalities to the best of our ability and resources

DawningStreams – Political -

Maintaining the secrecy of information is the fundamental function of encryption items. Persons abroad may use such items to harm US law enforcement efforts, as well as US foreign policy and national security interests. The US Government has a critical interest in ensuring that persons opposed to the United States are not able to conceal hostile or criminal activities, and that the legitimate needs for protecting important and sensitive information of the public and private sectors are met. Since 2000, US encryption export policy has been directed by three fundamental practices: technical review of encryption products prior to sale, streamlined post-export reporting, and license reviews of proposed transactions involving strong encryption to certain foreign government end-users and countries of concern. US encryption policy also seeks to ensure that American companies are not disadvantaged by the European Union’s “license-free zone.” (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams will contain cryptographic functions. Any reliable and efficient cryptographic system requires a central authority to avoid identity theft. Cryptography is a key functionality of DawningStreams. All specialists insist on designing systems using well-studied algorithms and fully tested protocols; novelty is considered a source of risk. The cryptographic layer of DawningStreams will rely on a dual public-private key system. The private key encryption system will implement Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard (http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/), the public key system will implement RSA (www.rsa.com) and the hashing function will implement the 256 bits version of the Secure Hash Algorithm (http://secure-hash-algorithm-md5-sha-1.co.uk/ ).

Encryption products can be used to conceal the communications of terrorists, drug smugglers, and others intent on harming U.S. interests. Cryptographic products and software also have military and intelligence applications that, in the hands of hostile nations, could pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national security, foreign policy, and law enforcement interests of the United States are protected by encryption export controls. These controls are consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 13026, which was issued on November 15, 1996, and the Presidential Memorandum of the same date. (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams also plans to be an international company, as offices now exist in the Netherlands and the US. As part of the strategy, we will ensure we remain compliant by registering our product with any necessary agency and allowing those agencies access to the processes if they feel there is a threat. We will be responsible to monitor (as best as we can) our client base and to put the proper verbiage in our contracts that illegal activities will not be tolerated. We will continue to monitor the BIS site mentioned in previous paragraphs and also sites in the European Union such as the Crypto Law website of legal expert Bert-Jaap Koops (http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/)

DawningStreams – Technology/Intellectual Property –

The management of organizational strategy requires a comprehensive assessment of the macro environment of the business. Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the original ideas and innovations evolved by an organization in order to haul up its systems and processes. Creation of ideas requires large investments. This necessitates the protection of IP. Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, processes, and systems of an organization against those that are rated best in the industry. It helps in uncovering weaknesses and flaws in the organizational systems, processes, and products. (Watson, 2003)

The study of the global research conducted by McAfee Inc. and MessageLabs Ltd. on security threat in small businesses in the U.S. reveals that 80 percent of small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMB) believe that an information technology (IT) security failure would be damaging in attaining their business priorities. Yet, only few are courageously making steps to fight against infringements due to resource limitations from other business related priorities. The research implies that company size plays an essential part in the way senior management views security. Among the challenges that SMBs face include keeping up-to-date with security solutions and keeping costs low. Small-to-medium businesses’ behavior towards security is very tactical and meets only immediate requirements. (unknown, 2007)

DawningStreams’ relevance to these forces is two-fold. We are a software company—there is an opportunity for us to lose the intellectual property by those who would download and attempt to modify the code. We have competitors who offer functionality similar to ours, however we offer an additional functionality the others do not. It is this ‘specialty functionality’ for which we applied for a patent the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the patent is granted, there is less likelihood of software piracy or the loss of our IP. Environmental scans should show us if there are other companies trying to do this.

The functionality, which most resembles our competitors’, is the ability to share files. That brings in a different concern with intellectual property- the possibility someone else’s IP could be sent from one of our users to another, as this could seriously damage our reputation, as what happened with Napster. (www.napster.com).

Conclusion

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

References

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Investor Relations. Retrieved from the Internet on March 31, 2007 at

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/77/77589/bbvarelease.pdf

Cole, Jim. Zions makes small deal, cites growing Arizona market. American Banker, 171(175), 1-1. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from Proquest Database.

Ford Motor Company (2006). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved March 2007,

from the World Wide Web, Web Site: [https://ford.com]

Ford, S. (2004) Adapted from 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed, Harvard Business School

Press. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Hockenberry, Todd. (2006). Ford implements advanced laser marking. Industrial Laser Solutions, 21(4), 6-7. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost database

Jacobs, P. (2005) Five Steps to Thriving in times of Uncertainty. Negotiation (p.3) Retrieved

April 1, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

McLean, J. (2006) We’re going through changes! British Journal of Administrative Management

54. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Pearce, J. & Robinson, R, (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 2007, from the University of Phoenix, Resource, MBA 580-Strategies for Competitive Advantage Course Web Site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Author Unknown, Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back in corporate vogue. (2006) Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

Unknown (2007) 80% of Small-to-Medium Sized Firms Fear a Security Threat. Computer Security Update 8 (4). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Unknown (2006) Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back

in corporate vogue. Retrieved from the Internet at

http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

US Department of Commerce (2007), Encryption (ch.10, section 742.15). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from the Bureau of Industry and Security Website at http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2007/foreignpolicyreport/fprchap10_encryption.html

Watson, G. (2003) Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from the Oklahoma State University website at http://www.okstate.edu/ceat/msetm/courses/etm5111/CourseMaterials/ETM5111Session3Part2.ppt#260,1,Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy

Forces and Trends in Business

Steven Brown, MBA is a loving husband and father of two boys. He enjoys his time with his family by providing a strong family foundation of Christian Faith. After completing his Bachelors degree, Steven wanted to further his ability to teach and share to others his mindset that they can do anything if they would believe in themselves.