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There are key performance indicators (KPIs) to use that can help spotlight the benchmarks being reviewed. A system for easily monitoring KPIs on a real-time basis helps gas and oil executives make the kinds of informed decisions that enhance productivity and cut costs.

Real-time, accurate, comprehensive, at-a-glance access to this information provides the edge that is needed to stay competitive.

Lifting costs. Lifting costs per barrel of liquid gas equivalent is one of the fundamental performances, demonstrating the extent to which a company is controlling operating costs. Annual lifting costs divided by annual production in barrel of liquid gas equivalent is the basic formula for calculating lifting costs.

Furthermore, it can reveal how efficient a company is at getting product out of the ground. Lifting cost is also considered a metric used in peer comparisons.

Every gas and oil company measure themselves to some degree. These measurements are always based on historical information. While there is certainly a value in historical analysis, it is a fundamental principle of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to be current or forward looking metrics. Additionally, it is also critical that KPIs be closely aligned to strategic company goals and implemented in such a way as to support positive change.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in gas production can be highly effective for exposing, quantifying and visualizing muda (the japanese lean term for waste). The essence of Japanese lean manufacturing and the central theme of the Toyota Production System (TPS) is to eliminate waste – in other words, to eliminate all activities that do not add value for the customer. Effective KPIs in quantify waste of gas production; provide an early warning system for processes operating outside the norm, and offer significant hints as to where improvement efforts should be focused.

Key Performance Indicators in gas production are also highly effective motivators. Motivation theory (i.e. work or organizational behavior) is a complex field with many diverse opinions; however, there is big agreement that a central key to effective motivation is setting challenging but attainable goals (e.g. SMART goals, which are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Specific). SMART goals are excellent ingredients for KPIs.

Effective KPIs in gas production can energize the plant floor – unleashing competitive spirit and promoting kaizen (the Japanese lean term for continuous improvement). This can be achieved by providing both a “will” and a “way”.

Key performance indicator in gas production must also provide meaningful, reliable, and accurate information. Thus, it is important to carefully document and define the methodology of measurement before implementing a given KPI. Desires and goals are often vague, whereas Key Performance Indicators are very specific. Since KPIs are indicators of progress and performance in gas production, it is vital that everyone that uses them be able to trust in their accuracy.

How Can Key Performance Indicators Help My Company? Can you imagine driving your car without a fuel gauge or at least a speedometer? Driving solely based on your rear-view mirror without side-view mirrors? This is exactly the current situation that exists on most plant floors today. Effective KPIs enable directors, managers, and operators to keep their fingers on the pulse of the plant floor or the drilling field.

Here are five steps to creating and maintaining effective Key Performance Indicators for your gas production plant:

– Study all strategic goals of your company.

– Carefully sort, select, define, and document KPIs that will drive the desired behavior.

– Create the “will” and the “way” as I described above (e.g. educate, echoe train, and listen).

– Begin using the KPIs to drive improved performance of both managers and employees.

– Do it again. Lean (Kaizen) is a continuous improvement process. That means your KPIs should evolve as needed to best match the current strategic goals of the company, even in the future plans.

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Source by Sam Miller

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Matthias Jeschke, the German off road enthusiast who made the first High Altitude World Record in 2005 aboard a Toyota Land Cruiser has once again set up a new record-breaking high altitude. This time, Jeschke and his team successfully made the high altitude world record in March 13th using two standard Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon 3.8 V6 model after a grueling week of expedition and navigation in Ojos del Salado located in the South American mountain range of Chile.

On the first day of expedition in Copiapó province in Chile, Matthias Jeschke’s team was divided into several groups. These include Two camera teams that will capture the actions in the team’s adventure; purchasing team that bought the last requirements; branding team who covered the cars with stickers of the team’s sponsors; engineering team that made the special electronic installation; and the navigation team who set up several notebook PCs, GPS equipment, satellite-phones and other things needed for the expedition.

On the 3rd day, most of the team members got a headache, dizzy spell, and a sick feeling because of restless nights spent on the mountain. Matthias Jeschke checked the performance of all team members in order to get them into the suitable groups for the following days of adventure. In addition, the team also conducted a hard testing for the Jeep Wrangler vehicles. The team tested the Jeep Wrangler’s capability in driving over boulders, rocks and sand, as well as the tipping limits of the off-road vehicle. Moreover, the engineering team checked the differential locks, shocks steering stabilizers, chassis parts, Jeep grille guard and other technical features of the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon.

During the 11th day of expedition, Matthias Jeschke’s team went up the Ojos del Salado, to a height of 6120 meters, and with huge effort of all team members, the Jeep Wrangler went up to a height of 6358 meters, which is the old record mark he made last 2005.

The biggest challenge was on March 12, the day before Matthias Jeschke made the new high altitude world record using the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. He said: “The team is exhausted. For days we have spent very much time in high altitude. It was windy all the time, and there was sand everywhere which flew into your ears and into any little gap. Climbing was only possible by a supreme effort to the point of exhaustion. Working in the burning sun (which tans the face although it is ice-cold was) also really challenging. Thus, you can see it was time for one day off.”

Finally, on March 13th, Matthias Jeschke and his team successfully climbed to an impressive altitude of 6646 meters aboard the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon. According to Jeschke, he is sure that no other person will ever reach or even break his unbelievable altitude because the already reached the top between both secondary summits, only 247 meters below the top of the Ojos del Salado and Chile-Atacama mountains.

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Source by Lisa Ziegler

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More and more young people are choosing non-traditional education to start and advance in their careers while completing and furthering their formal education. “Typical distance learners are those who don’t have access to programs, employees who work during scheduled class hours, homebound individuals, self-motivated individuals who want to take courses for self-knowledge or advancement, or those who are unable or unwilling to attend class” (Charp, 2000, p. 10). Three key elements surround the online learner: technology, curriculum, and instructor (Bedore, Bedore, & Bedore, 1997). These elements must be keenly integrated into one smoothly and operationally functional delivery tool.

While an online method of education can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined student, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. Online asynchronous education gives students control over their learning experience, and allows for flexibility of study schedules for non traditional students; however, this places a greater responsibility on the student. In order to successfully participate in an online program, student must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills in order to keep up with the pace of the course. For these reasons, online education or e-learning is not appropriate for younger students (i.e. elementary or secondary school age), and other students who are dependent learners and have difficulty

assuming responsibilities required by the online paradigm.

Millions of students use e-learning solutions in over 140 countries: corporations such as Kodak and Toyota and education providers like ExecuTrain, New Horizons, the Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS), Phoenix University amongst the hundreds of schools and colleges.

Studies have shown student retention to be up to 250% better with online learning than with classroom courses. Several recent ones have helped frame the debate. The Sloan Consortium published a widely distributed report titled “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005” that examined the growing prevalence of online education across U.S. institutions.

In addition, a study conducted by the Boston-based consulting firm Eduventures found that, while about half of institutions and more than 60 percent of employers generally accept the high quality of online learning, students’ perceptions differ. Only about 33 percent of prospective online students said that they perceive the quality of online education to be “as good as or better than” face-to-face education. Ironically, 36 percent of prospective students surveyed cited concern about employers’ acceptance of online education as a reason for their reluctance to enroll in online courses.

But what actually drives quality? A March 2006 report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education identifies six quality indicators: mission, curriculum and instruction, faculty support, student and academic services, planning for sustainability and growth, and evaluation and assessment.

The debate rages on while the Pros and Cons of Online Adult Education for today’s international students are constantly analyzed to determine if this type of education platform can deliver predictable and measurable results.

The Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS) is one institution which uses this type of delivery system. ENOCIS enhances their learning experience by offering many other “value added”, cost reducing benefits to students. Online pupils can apply for scholarships available to students of excellence and other financial aid programs like the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), with attractive interest rates. They also provide convenient payment facilities, on line banking, Western Union Quick Collect, bank cards and a student who is granted a loan can start repaying it after two months if they have a corporate guarantor.

Pros of Online Education:

The key advantages of the online education experience are briefly explained below:

1. Cheaper: Online courses may be more affordable than those offered at colleges or trade schools. You may also save on transportation costs like gas, bus passes, and parking permits because you don’t need to commute to school and there are no housing or meals plans to worry about since you do not need to live on or near a college campus. Housing expenses and other costs associated with living expenses are usually the most expensive aspects of a college education, so by taking an online course you could save quite a bit of money.

The best part of online education is the absence of travel and immigration problems. Some students may prefer not to pursue traditional on campus education, as it involves traveling to attend lectures. With online education, an applicant does not need to travel. Courses simply require accessing the internet in order to begin the learning process.

2. More Convenient: By taking courses online, you’re able to decide when you study and for how long. You are also able to schedule your studying around your work or social schedule.

Since you’re not bound to a classroom, you may do your work wherever you have access to a computer and the internet. You’ll be able to set your own pace and decide exactly how fast you want to go over the material.

Take online courses when you need them, not based on some college’s annual or semester schedule. You can learn when you need it (Just-In-Time) A course is as close as a computer with an Internet connection.

3. Flexibility: with no set class times, you decide when to complete your assignments and readings. You set the pace. In some programs, you can even design your own degree plan. The online students can carry out their private or official work, along with the online education. As it provides the convenience of time flexibility, a student can login and logout as per his desire whereas, the traditional education do not provide such flexibility in learning.

Flexibility of online education allows the student control over their studies. They can allot more time in the topics, which they feel comparatively hard and vice versa. The speed of learning depends solely upon the students.

4. Technology: With the help of the scientific technology, students can do their online education at any place. The only mandatory pre-requisite is the availability of computer along with an internet amenity. Side benefits include the learning new technologies and technical skills

5. Availability: distance-learning opportunities have exploded over the past few years, with many accredited and reputable programs.

6. Accessibility: with an online course, you can work on the course just about anywhere you have computer access. Your learning options are not constrained by your geographic location. The new virtual classrooms have created a myriad of learning opportunities for global learning and education center. On line education is a new era experience adapting to the needs of the world citizen.

7. Self-Directed: you set your own pace and schedule, so you control the learning environment.

8. Time Spent in Classroom: now you can take a course on just about any subject without ever having to be in, or travel to, a classroom so you have very little wasted time. Note, however, that some distance-education programs still do have an in-class component and normally to receive a fully accredited US university degree an international student must spend one or two semesters on campus.

9. High Quality Dialog: Within an online asynchronous discussion structure, the learner is able to carefully reflect on each comment from others before responding or moving on to the next item. This structure allows students time to articulate responses with much more depth and forethought than in a traditional face-to-face discussion situation where the participant must analyze the comment of another on the spot and formulate a response or otherwise loose the chance to contribute to the discussion.

10. Student Centered: Within an online discussion, the individual student responds to the course material (lectures and course books, for example) and to comments from other students. Students usually respond to those topics within the broader conversation that most clearly speak to their individual concerns and situations resulting in several smaller conversations taking place simultaneously within the group. While students are expected to read all of their classmates’ contributions, they will become actively engaged only in those parts of the dialog most relevant to their needs. In this way, students take control of their own learning experience and tailor the class discussions to meet their own specific needs. Ideally, students make their own individual contributions to the course while at the same time take away a unique mix of information directly relevant to their needs.

11. Level Playing Field: In the online environment learners retain a considerable level of anonymity. Discriminating factors such as age, dress, physical appearance, disabilities, race and gender are largely absent. Instead, the focus of attention is clearly on the content of the discussion and the individual’s ability to respond and contribute thoughtfully and intelligently to the material at hand.

On line adult education can be more effective and better for certain types of learners (shy, introverted, reflective, language challenged, those that need more time). Distance education courses are often better for people who learn through visual cues and experiential exercises.

12. Synergy: The online format allows for a high level of dynamic interaction between the instructor and students and among the students themselves. Resources and ideas are shared, and continuous synergy will be generated through the learning process as each individual contributes to the course discussions and comments on the work of others. The synergy that exists in the student-centred virtual classroom is one of the unique and vital traits that the online learning format posses..

13. Access to Resources: It is easy to include distinguished guest experts or students from other institutions in an online class as well as allow students to access resources and information anywhere in the world. An instructor can compile a resource section online with links to scholarly articles, institutions, and other materials relevant to the course topic for students to access for research, extension, or in depth analysis of course content material in the global classroom.

14. Creative Teaching: The literature of adult education supports the use of interactive learning environments as contributing to self-direction and critical thinking. Some educators have made great strides in applying these concepts to their on ground teaching. However, many classes still exist which are based on boring lectures and rote memorization of material. The nature of the semi-autonomous and self-directed world of the virtual classroom makes innovative and creative approaches to instruction even more important. In the online environment, the facilitator and student collaborate to create a dynamic learning experience. The occasion of a shift in technology creates the hope that those who move into the new technology will also leave behind bad habits as they adopt this new paradigm of teaching. As educators redesign their course materials to fit the online format, they must reflect on their course objectives and teaching style and find that many of the qualities that make a successful online facilitator are also tremendously effective in the traditional classroom as well.

Cons of Online Education:

Briefly explained are some factors that could negatively affect your success with distance learning courses:

1. The Technology:

a. Equity and Accessibility to Technology: Before any online program can hope to succeed, it must have students who are able to access the online learning environment. Lack of access, whether it be for economical or logistics reasons, will exclude otherwise eligible students from the course. This is a significant issue in rural and lower socioeconomic neighborhoods and educating the underserved peoples of the world. Furthermore, speaking from an administrative point of view, if students cannot afford the technology the institution employs, they are lost as customers. As far as Internet accessibility is concerned, it is not universal, and in some areas of the United States and other countries, Internet access poses a significant cost to the user. Some users pay a fixed monthly rate for their Internet connection, while others are charged for the time they spend online. If the participants’ time online is limited by the amount of Internet access they can afford, then instruction and participation in the online program will not be equitable for all students in the course. This is a limitation of online programs that rely on Internet access. Equity of access to learners of all backgrounds and parts of society

b. Requires New Skills/Technologies: if you’re not computer-savvy or are afraid of change or new technologies, then online education will probably not work for you. The online students are required to learn new skills, such as researching and reviewing the internet. For the online students, they need to learn the techniques of navigation on an online library for necessary information. Technical training and support of learners and instructors

c. Computer Literacy: Both students and facilitators must possess a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to function successfully in an online environment. For example, they must be able to use a variety of search engines and be comfortable navigating on the World Wide Web, as well as be familiar with Newsgroups, FTP procedures and email. If they do not possess these technology tools, they will not succeed in an online program; a student or faculty member who cannot function on the system will drag the entire program down.

d. Limitations of Technology: User friendly and reliable technology is critical to a successful online program. However, even the most sophisticated technology is not 100% reliable. Unfortunately, it is not a question of if the equipment used in an online program will fail, but when. When everything is running smoothly, technology is intended to be low profile and is used as a tool in the learning process. However, breakdowns can occur at any point along the system, for example, the server which hosts the program could crash and cut all participants off from the class; a participant may access the class through a networked computer which could go down; individual PCs can have numerous problems which could limit students’ access; finally, the Internet connection could fail, or the institution hosting the connection could become bogged down with users and either slow down, or fail all together. In situations like these, the technology is neither seamless nor reliable and it can detract from the learning experience.

2. The Institution: Many online education facilities are relatively new with many courses and hence, lack in modern instructors for instructing the new curriculum. Estimates show that there is still a need for an increase of more 50% of qualified instructors for online education.

b. The Administration and Faculty: Some environments are disruptive to the successful implementation of an online program. Administrators and/or faculty members who are uncomfortable with change and working with technology or feel that online programs cannot offer quality education often inhibit the process of implementation. These people represent a considerable weakness in an online program because they can hinder its success.

3. The Facilitator :Lack of Essential Online Qualities: Successful on-ground instruction does not always translate to successful online instruction. If facilitators are not properly trained in online delivery and methodologies, the success of the online program will be compromised. An instructor must be able to communicate well in writing and in the language in which the course is offered. An online program will be weakened if its facilitators are not adequately prepared to function in the virtual classroom.

4. Perceptions/Reputation: while slowly changing as more and more mainstream colleges and universities embrace distance learning, there still is a stigma attached to distance education to the student’s interaction in the online education. Some of the students believe that, there are few opportunities with regards to face-to-face interactions and feedbacks.

5. No Instructor Face Time: If your learning style is one where you like personalized attention from your teachers, then online education will probably not work for you.

6. Little Support: students are expected to find their own resources for completing assignments and exams, which is empowering for some, but daunting for others.

There is little support and limited guidelines provided in online education system. Online students are required to search as per their own imaginations for completing exams and assignments.

7. Lacking Social Interaction: while you often interact with classmates via email, chat rooms, or discussion groups, there are no parties or off line get-togethers.

If you enjoy meeting new people and learn better while you’re interacting with other people, you may want to reconsider online education.

8. No Campus Atmosphere: part of the traditional college experience, of course, is the beauty of the campus, the college spirit, but you have none of that with distance-education courses.

Since you’re not on campus or in classes, you may lack opportunities to meet other students. You will not have many opportunities to interact face-to-face with your professors, so they may not have a real sense of who you are as a person.

9. Making Time: if you are a procrastinator or one of those people who always needs an extra push to complete work, you may have a hard time making time for your online classes. On line learning requires new skills and responsibilities from learners

10. Academic honesty of online students: requires a new mindset to online assessment. Most education experts agree that rote memory testing is not the best measure of learning in any environment and new measurement and evaluation tools are evolving.

11. Types and effectiveness of assessments: The importance of outcomes in online learning cannot be over emphasized. Does the program have measurable results? Are students learning what you say they should be learning? Then there are institutional outputs: course completion rates, job placement rates (if that’s the goal of the institution), graduation rates, student success on third-party tests, and student satisfaction scores.

These factors, both the pros and cons, contribute greatly to making an informed decision about the direction of your career path and how you are going to accomplish your goals: on line, in the classroom or a combination of both.

Institutions and companies that use continuing education to meet their needs also face similar decisions. Institutions that deliver online education are confronted with a series of challenges, including the search for good faculty, use of technology, and provision of adequate student services.

The Sloan Consortium report “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005” found that 64 percent of chief academic officers and faculty believe that it takes more discipline for a student to succeed in an online course than it does in a face-to-face course.

More and more major business and industry is turning to on line continuing education as a viable and cost effective resource for training its personnel. Hilton Hotel has 380 hotels worldwide and is represented in 66 countries.

When you weigh the benefits and advantages of on line adult continuing education the cost of study and flexibility of scheduling tip the scales of programs like the Enoch Olinga College, Capella and Phoenix University’s distance learning program on line adult continuing education is becoming a world wide respected form of education.

However, as with any situation, there are both pros and cons with the concept of online education and the benefits of the virtual or global classroom. You may want to evaluate both before you decide on an online education program. By examining the advantages and disadvantages, you will be able to make a more informed decision. But, at the end of the day, online learning is independent learning. A lot of structure has been put into online programs, but it still comes down to a learner sitting in front of a computer by him or herself. The knowledge you receive or the benefits it will generate either in development of self esteem or increasing earning capacity will depend sole upon you the student.

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Source by David W Morris

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Insurance–it’s everywhere. One can insure just about anything. Are tires an investment one needs to insure? Tire insurance, also called a road hazard policy, road hazard warranty, or tire reimbursement plan, is a rapidly growing industry in the automotive world.

Tire warranty plans pay in full or in part for the replacement or repair of damaged tires and/or rims from “road hazards.” Road hazards are defined as pot holes, debris, nails, wood, and other hazards found in the road. Curbs, sidewalks, and stone walls are not road hazards. This is an important distinction to consider when deciding if tire insurance is right for you (discussed further ahead).

Tire plans last for a specific period of time and tire wear tread-depth. Some plans last 2-3 years. Others can last 5 years or 60,000 miles. Several plans come with fixed amounts of coverage: $500 per year up to 4 years. Many contracts require three years of law school to comprehend. In terms of tread depth, a tire is usually considered worn out (and thus the plan null and void) at 2/32 to 3/32 of an inch.

Another important distinction is in the type of plan.

Tire reimbursement plans are just what they say. You, the plan holder, will be reimbursed after the claims process is finalized–usually 2-8 weeks. There is an out-of-pocket expense. These plans are often sold by new car dealerships. The prices can range from $300 to $600 dollars.

Road hazard policies operate similarly to reimbursement plans. However, some tire insurance providers, in partnership with the repair facility, may have a direct-pay relationship. Thus, there would be no out-of-pocket expense, except for applicable deductibles, and items not covered in part or in full. These plans are primarily sold by tire dealers and repair shops. The prices range from $10 to $30 per tire. They also can be based on a percentage of the cost of the tire: usually 12% to 15%.

Both types of plans have a number of variables, requiring a magnifying glass to read the fine print. Also, many are pro-rated warranties, covering only a percentage of the cost of the tire based on its wear.

Claims and Coverage

Depending on the plan, claims are initiated by the repair shop. The process is fairly smooth, although there can be a significant delay from the provider for authorization. This delay may be an hour or an entire weekend. This means that you’ll have to “ok” the tire replacement, and then hope it’s authorized for the full amount, or drive on your spare.

Some plans offer national coverage either among their service facilities or from other repair centers. Claims procedures will vary. Others only provide local coverage, or coverage at the selling facility.

Limitations

Tire insurance does not mean that everything is covered. Pro-rated warranties are based on the wear and tear of the tire. You may get 75%, 50%, or only 10% coverage depending on the tread-depth. You’ll pay the remainder. While there are plans that offer full coverage, even these have limitations, or they may conflict with a repair shop’s policies.

For example, many plans allow for a maximum of $30 to mount and balance one tire, and a maximum of $15 to repair a tire. However, sport tires often have significantly higher mounting and balancing fees–upwards of $50 per tire–and tire repair prices can exceed $90. There are also discrepancies on the tire and rim prices themselves, which in the end, may have to be supplemented by the service customer.

Although there usually is not an issue with the latter given the competitive market, the service center’s price mark up may be unacceptable to the plan provider. In this case, the service center needs to lower the price or you, the service customer, need to pay the difference–or go somewhere else. This does happen!

Rim Replacement and Repair

Rim replacement is becoming less frequent. With the high cost of aluminum wheels and sport wheel packages, tire insurers have opted to have them repaired. Repair will only be done if the rim does not hold air. What this means is that even if the rim is warped–enough to cause a vibration and even premature tire wear–they won’t replace it. Rather, they will send it out to be straightened and repaired.

Rims are replaced only if the damage is so extensive that the new tire, when mounted on the rim, won’t hold air. However, even in this case, especially if it’s an expensive sport wheel, they may still attempt to repair it.

Repairing rims is a bad option. While some rim repair is acceptable, badly warped or damaged rims will in no way ever be the same.

Alignments

If a car hits a road hazard hard enough, such as a pot hole, it’s wise to have the alignment checked. Road hazard policies and tire reimbursement plans do not cover alignments. The service customer will have to pay for this procedure.

Road Hazard Protection Positives

Some plans include tire rotations, wheel balancing, and nationwide coverage.

Myths

Can I pop all 4 tires and get a new set of tires?

You can try. But this type of claim will trigger a number of red flags with the insurer. The policy holder will likely send out adjusters and/or require photographs. You will also have a difficult time explaining how a “road hazard” caused all 4 tire pop.

New tires come with a warranty.

New tires do come with a warranty by the tire manufacturer (Michelin, Yokohama, Goodyear…etc), but not a road hazard warranty. The warranty by the tire manufacturer only covers defects in workmanship. New tire warranties do not cover punctures or damages from external sources. This is why “road hazard” protection is being pushed.

New tires are rarely defective. If there is a problem, it’s usually noticed when balancing the tire. Or, there is a drivability concern such as vibration or noise. If there’s a defect it’s generally caught right away, and the tire swapped out.

It’s so cheap; it’s a no-brainer, right?

Actually, the experts don’t agree with this statement.

The Economics of Tire Warranties

An article from the Washington Post by Terence O’Hara explains the economics of extended warranties and purchase protection plans in general. It is quite fitting for road hazard warranties. He writes:

The decision to buy an extended warranty…defies the recommendations of economists, consumer advocates and product quality experts, who all warn that the plans rarely benefit consumers and are nearly always a waste of money.

‘[Extended warranties or purchase protection plans] make no rational sense,’ Harvard economist David Cutler said. ‘The implied probability [of having an issue with the product] has to be substantially greater than the risk that you can’t afford to fix it or replace it. If you’re buying a $400 item, for the overwhelming number of consumers that level of spending is not a risk you need to insure under any circumstances.’

In short, road hazard warranties are a waste of money. Don’t insure that which you can afford to replace.

Numbers Game and Slim Chances

Like all insurance, tire insurance plans are a numbers game. However, this is a game you have a 98% chance of losing. Insider statistics show that the percentage of claims paid out by providers is as low a 2%.

Curbs

Another interesting note is that a lot of tire damage is caused by curbs. Curb damage is not covered under most road hazard policies. High granite curbs with sharp edges slice through tens of thousands of tires per year.

You Won’t Notice

Many people don’t even notice tire damage. Other than to see if the tires are holding air, who “really” looks at tires? Tires are subject to a whole host of external influences which cause bubbles, slices and gouges. Despite the potential dangers of damaged tires, the damage very often does not translate into any noticeable drivability issue. The point is that if you don’t notice any tire damage you can’t benefit from the coverage.

Research Shows

Those raving about the benefits of a road hazard policy are the actual folks in the industry who stand to benefit from the sale. They’ll argue that it’s so cheap–only $10 to $20 per tire. Even so, for four tires, that’s $80 based on the “possibility,” the “chance,” of damaging a tire that meets the repair/replacement requirement protocols.

Auto Insurance

If a rim and tire has incurred significant damage, it’s quite likely that other problems have resulted as well. The first is that the vehicle may have been jarred out of alignment. Secondly, hub bearings, front end components: tie rods, spindles, ball joints, and a variety of other components may have sustained damage. In this case, auto insurance, which you are already paying for, will pay for everything–brand new.

Free Road Hazard Warranties

Many tires come with road hazard warranties FREE. In other words, in an effort to secure retailers, many tire distributors provide service centers FREE road hazard insurance. Some shops pass this on to their tire customers, others sell them. Ask if the tire “comes” with a road hazard protection policy. If not, request that one be provided at no additional charge. It’s worth a shot.

Also, some car manufacturers provide road hazard warranties FREE of charge for 12 months or 12,000 miles. If you’re buying a new car or even used, ask that the dealer provide a complimentary road hazard policy (after all the wheeling and dealing is done, of course), and just before you commit.

What’s the best road hazard policy?

Money in your bank account.

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Source by Theodore Olson

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One of the most powerful management concepts to have originated from Japan (and there are plenty of them) is Jidoka. Best described as ‘intelligent automation’, this concept was originally by Toyota to ensure that its production line became very efficient. It used empowers machines to interrupt the production line if and when an erroneous situation originated. The idea behind this concept is that defects should be stopped automatically using localization and isolation so that they do not get carried forward, thereby getting bigger. There are many advantages to using Jidoka at the work place. They include:

– Ensuring that the number of defective products is drastically reduced so as to become negligible. This brings down production costs drastically since wastage is eliminated.

– Improving the quality of products that are manufactured, ensuring that customers are always satisfied when they buy your products.

– Identifying problems early on in the manufacturing process so that they can be rectified easily and quickly without holding up production for very long.

– Reducing the instances of equipment breakdown, thereby decreasing equipment repair and replacement costs. This also ensures that there is no gap in production.

– Increasing overall productivity at the workplace.

– Increasing employee morale by giving them the authority to interrupt production whenever they detect a mistake. Feedback from employees is a very important component of this system.

– Reducing the need for full time inspectors since process capability will become high.

– Reducing the need for lots of people on the payroll since workers can be made to supervise more than one machine at the same time.

As you can see, the benefits that Jidoka offers are directly related to your company’s profitability since they help improve quality whilst reducing costs at the same time. Of course, there are certain expenses associated with making this happen. However, the benefits of having a good reputation in the market because of the ability to produce high quality products cannot be overstated.

It is very important to know how to do Jidoka in the right manner. The best way to do this is to bring a management consultant on board. This person will set up various systems and will also advise you regarding the changes that have to done in various work processes. It is also important to get co-operation from all employees in order to make this a success. Training programs will help ensure this.

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Source by Rizvana Abdul

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One of the most popular tourist activities of Dubai is the Famous “Dubai Desert Safari”. The desert safari is basically a trip into the depth of the desert on a 4×4 Toyota Land Cruiser. This exciting trip begins with the tour operators vehicle picking you up from your house or hotel. The vehicle seats 6 people so if you would like privacy you can negotiate a cheaper rate with the tourism company beforehand and get the whole vehicles for yourself. After being picked up you will be driven to a meeting point where the rest of the vehicles will assemble and all the vehicles will proceed into the desert as a convoy, The desert safari is quite a roller coaster ride as driver will drive thrillingly up and down red sand dunes. After a short ride the convoy will come to a stop in the middle of a desert at a camel farm you will get opportunities to take photographs and stretch your legs.

After the camel farm you will proceed to the desert camp of the tourism company where you will disembark and proceed into the Bedouin camp established to give you an insight into the desert life led by traditional Arabs. The camp is a fully functional tourist structure with all modern amenities including wash rooms, electricity and telephones.

You will spend approximately 3 hours at the desert safari camp and you will have an option of buying souvenirs from the souvenir shop, you can also buy a video and pictures of your adventurous trip, there are ladies who will put henna mehndi on your hands before you are served a traditional and continental dinner buffet. After the dinner there is a belly dancing display and the belly dancer will be happy to teach you some steps you will never forget. After the dance you are dropped back to where you were picked up from. To sum it up the Dubai desert safari is a must do if you are going to Dubai.

Tour Name: Dubai Desert Safari

Approx. Time: 4-5 Hours

Approx. Cost: AED 160- AED 240 (US$ 43- US$ 64)

Included: Pick and Drop, Food, Camel Rides, Sand Boarding, Hinna Mehndi

This product is offered by almost every tour operator in Dubai, price and quality of service varies.

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Source by Syed A Rizvi

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A lot of people don’t realize how cost effective it is to hire a web designer in India. It seems difficult to navigate all of the ins and outs when it comes to finding a professional designer so many people just go with the first firm they hear about. This article gives some new reasons to break out of that box and look into hiring outside of your usual network. India is increasingly becoming a popular choice because it’s a cutting edge country that offers a lot of benefits to customers seeking exceptional design work. Here are the top 5 reasons why you should look into this option if you are looking for a reliable, tech savvy web designer.

1. India is currently outpacing the rest of the world with highly educated. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation the web design, IT, and computer industry is one of the fastest-growing industries, both in terms of production and exports. India is a tech powerhouse and is poised to become a global leader in technology.

2. The United States actively recruits Indian tech talent to work in big firms. You can get the same web designers who work for top American companies to work on your project for a bargain rate! America clamors for superior designers but many techs don’t want to leave so they do amazing work while staying in their country.

3. Lower cost and higher quality. Who wouldn’t want this option? It’s like getting a Mercedes quality car for a Toyota price. Web design is a field where you have to impress the user at first glance. If your design is polished and user friendly then you have a leg up on your competition.

4. The Internet has made the world a much smaller place. You don’t need to hire the website designers around the corner to get quality work. You can look anywhere in the world for top notch talent. This means that you can search for a great fit for your projects. India happens to have web designers that rank among the best in the world because so much education is geared towards the field.

5. Your time is valuable. You should feel confident leaving your important web design tasks in the hands of competent designers. You don’t have the time to worry if your job is going to be done in time or look the way you want it to. If you are working with people who know what they are doing then you can rest easy knowing that your web design is going to be done to your exact specifications.

All in all it’s pretty easy to see why you should take a look at outsourcing your work to Indian designers. When you hire a web designer in India you are gaining the advantage of low cost, well educated, tech savvy professionals who will make your project the best it can be. For more details, please visit.

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Source by Dionn Mack

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The answer to the question is somewhat long and complicated. So we will begin with writing that while someone with ADHD may qualify for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act, not everyone with the diagnosis of ADHD will qualify. And that may include you or your child.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was established by Congress in 1990. The purpose of the Act is to end discrimination against persons with disabilities when it comes to housing, education, public transportation, recreation, health services, voting, and access to public services. It also aims to provide equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The ADA was written to offer protections to individuals with disabilities, not individuals with any particular diagnosis. The Americans with Disabilities Act seeks to protect individuals with significant impairments in function.

By the way, it is estimated that the population of the United States is over 300 million persons. And it is estimate that about 19% of persons have some type of long-lasting condition or disability. That would be somewhere near 60 million persons. This includes about 3.5% with a sensory disability involving sight or hearing, about 8% with a condition that limits basic physical activities such as walking or lifting. It also includes millions of people with mental, emotional, or cognitive impairments.

Since Congress enacted the ADA courts have had several challenges in defining the scope of the Act.

• What exactly is a disability?
• Who would be defined as having a disability?
• Is having a diagnosis the same as having a disability?

These are some of the questions that the courts have had to wrestle with, not to mention the questions related to how schools, work places, public transportation agencies, and more, are to implement the Act in daily operations with both employees and customers.

So, to the Question: Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity – ADHD – included in the ADA?

The answer is “Yes, No, or Maybe.”

The ADA defines “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits

one or more “major life activities,” such as walking, seeing, hearing, or learning. Having a

diagnosed impairment, such as ADHD, does not necessarily mean that an individual is disabled within the meaning of the ADA.

The ADA does provide for “mental” conditions or mental illnesses, and potentially ADHD fits in this category. But as with physical impairments, the diagnosis of a mental illness or mental impairment such as ADHD is not sufficient by itself to qualify for protection under ADA. Again, having a “diagnosis” is not the same as having a “disability.”

We are not lawyers, and our readers probably are not either, but it is interesting to look at some of the recent court cases regarding the ADA that directly related to children or adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

These two cases seem to expand the definition of “major life activities” to include concentration and cognitive functions:

• Brown v. Cox Medical Centers (8th Cir. 2002), where reportedly the court stated that the “ability to perform cognitive functions” is a major life activity;
• Gagliardo v. Connaught Laboratories, Inc. (3d Cir. 2002), where reportedly the court held that “concentrating and remembering (more generally, cognitive function)” are major life activities.

But the courts have placed limitations on the scope of the Act as well, and have not just tried to accommodate everyone with ADHD. The court has its limits, and they have ruled that the ADA has its limits.

For example Knapp v. City of Columbus (2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 17081) is the story of three firefighters with ADHD who wanted the City to make accommodations for them in their jobs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit declined to extend ADA coverage to three firefighters who had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Three firefighters had claimed that ADHD substantially limited their ability to learn, so the City should make accommodations for them. But the court held that the firefighters failed to establish that their ADHD met the standards to qualify as a disability under the ADA.

A very important limitation of Act involved a ruling from an earlier Supreme Court case with Toyota in 2002 which the Sixth Circuit Court used in this case with the firefighters. The Sixth Circuit applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s test in Toyota Motor Mfg., Kentucky, Inc. v. Williams, 534 U.S. 184 (2002).

Under the Toyota Motor ruling the courts must consider whether the person making the claim is unable to perform the variety of tasks central to most people’s daily lives, not whether the claimant is unable to perform the tasks associated with his or her specific job.

When applying this test, the Sixth Circuit wrote that when a person who is seeking protection or accommodations under the ADA can fully compensate for an impairment through medication, personal practice, or an alteration of behavior, a “disability,” as defined by the Disabilities Act, does not exist.

In other words, if a child, teen, or adult with ADHD can “get the task done” or “get the job done” by using medications, applying behavioral management techniques, receiving counseling, using biofeedback, using Attend, or other treatment interventions, then they do not have a disability that is protected under the ADA.

In this court case, all three firefighters testified that taking Ritalin controlled their symptoms, and that they were able to fulfill their family and work obligations. Thus, an ADA disability was not found.

So, it would follow that if you, or your child, could function pretty well at work or in school when taking medication or Attend, or using some other treatment, no disability as defined under the ADA would exist – at least according to the 6th Circuit Court.

Also, it seems that as a result of this ruling, employers under the Sixth Circuit do not need to make accommodations for employees with ADHD under these conditions:

1. When the disorder has not been shown to substantially impair their ability to perform tasks central to daily life;
2. When the ADHD symptoms can be improved by medication or other treatments.

Here is a pretty good list from a major university of the conditions that must be met for ADHD to qualify for coverage and protection under the American with Disabilities Act of 1990:

• The ADHD must cause significant impact or limitation in a major life activity or function;
• The individual must be regarded as having a disability;
• The individual must have a record of having been viewed as being disabled;
• The applicant must also be able to perform the essential job functions with or without accommodations to qualify as an individual with a disability under the meaning of the Act.

To establish that an individual is covered under the ADA, documentation must indicate that a specific disability exists and that the identified disability substantially limits one or more major life activities. Documentation must also support the accommodations requested.

1. The evaluation must be conducted by a qualified professional, such as psychologist, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, or other medical doctor who has had comprehensive training in the differential diagnosis of ADHD and direct experience with an adult ADHD population. The name, title, and professional credentials of the evaluator should be clearly stated. All reports should be on letterhead, typed, dated, signed and otherwise legible.
2. Documentation must be current. The diagnostic evaluation must adequately address the individual’s current level of functioning and need for accommodations. In most cases, the evaluation must have been completed in the last three years. A school plan, such as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan, is insufficient documentation for a university, but can be included for consideration as part of a more comprehensive evaluative report.
3. Documentation necessary to substantiate the diagnosis must be comprehensive and include:
   • Evidence of early impairment. Historical information must be presented to demonstrate symptoms in childhood which manifested in more than one setting.
   • Evidence of current impairment, which may include presenting attentional symptoms and/or ongoing impulsive/hyperactive behaviors that significantly impair functioning in two or more settings. In addition, the diagnostic interview should include information from, but not limited to, the following sources: developmental history, family history, academic history, medical history, and prior psycho-educational test reports.
   • Alternative diagnoses or explanations should be ruled out. The evaluator must investigate and discuss the possibility of dual diagnoses and alternative or coexisting mood, behavioral, neurological, and/or personality disorders that may confound the diagnosis of ADHD.
   • Relevant testing information must be provided and all data must reflect a diagnosis of ADHD and a resultant substantial limitation to learning.
   • Documentation must include a specific diagnosis. The diagnosis must include specific criteria based on the DSM-IV, including evidence of impairment during childhood, presentation of symptoms for at least the past six months, and clear evidence of significant impairment in two or more settings. The diagnostician should use direct language in the diagnosis of ADHD, avoiding the use of such terms as “suggests,” “is indicative of,” or “attentional problems.”
   • An interpretive summary must be provided that demonstrates that alternative explanations have been ruled out and that explains how the presence of ADHD was determined, the effects of any mitigating measures (such as medication), the substantial limitation to learning caused by the ADHD, and the rationale for specific accommodations.

Obviously, dealing with government regulations with their specific definitions can be very frustrating and difficult. It would be important to have realistic expectations in regards to the American with Disabilities Act and ADHD.

We would recommend getting legal advice from an attorney who specializes in educational law, or has expertise in the Americans with Disabilities Act, to learn more about how the ADA may apply in a specific case to a particular individual with ADHD.

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Source by Douglas Cowan, Psy.D.

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A competitive advantage could simply be defined as the advantage or ability a firm has over its rivals in the industry; or the ability a firm has to outperform its industry rivals.

A firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it has the capabilities or means to push out its rivals in striving for the favour of customers. This applies internationally or locally as well as to both services and products.Thus, a sustainable competitive advantage is the persistence the firm applies despite efforts by competitors or potential entrants to copy or overtake it. Sustainability therefore, requires that strategic assets are not easily available to others and imperfectly mobile. This will be considered later.

Porter (1990) states that, though not all nations are in the forefront of competition, the home nation which shapes the competitive advantage is the starting point for a firm’s competitive advantage and also from which it must be sustained. However, in whatever field of endeavor, competitive advantage creation must be a choice of management and it must really fit to achieve results. It must be noted here that competitive advantage can normally be traced to one of three roots:

Superior resources, superior skills and superior positions.

Competitive strategy is one of the ways in which a business relates to its environment by competing with other firms who are also trying to adapt within the operating environment. It is with this aspect- the competitive strategy which if appropriately chosen and implemented appropriately give the firm a competitive advantage over its rivals.

It must be noted here that the prescriptive view of strategic planning emphasizes the importance of the organizational environment as a source of threats and opportunities and the need for effective responses by the organization if survival was to be assured and the success achieved. The response is later formulated into plan which formulates major decisions about entry into new markets or development of new products and services guided by set goals. Under the influence of Porter’s writings in the 1980s the emphasis shifted from the plan to the selection of an appropriate generic strategy to position the business unit in its competitive environment. Porter, arguing that the environment poses threats and brings opportunities than with trends and events, suggested that the environment could be analyzed using the five forces analysis to identify the issues which affect the level of competition in an industry; after which a strategy is formulated to combat it.

The resultant strategy, which he referred to as generic, distinguished some strategic options the firm can possess:

Cost leadership: the business could position itself as offering a low cost product as a standard price i.e. cost leadership strategy. Costs are reduced at every element of the value chain. Producers can exploit the benefits of a bigger margin than the competitors. Toyota is a good example of an organization that produces quality cars at low price coupled with a brand and marketing skills to use a premium pricing policy.

It could offer a product that was different from that offered by rivals. I.e. differentiation. This allows companies to make prices less sensitive and focus on value that generates a comparatively higher price and a better margin. Even though additional costs will be incurred pursuing differentiation, it is possible that this will be offset by the increased revenue generated by the sales.

By focusing on a small but well-defined part of the market, for instance a particular buying group or product area or geographical area. Also known as niche, this is usually suitable for a small company i.e. focus strategy.

Generic Competitive strategy, usually used after competitive analysis or as a response to competitors advantage, is defined as the basis on which a strategic business unit (SBU) might achieve or counter competitive advantage in its market. (Johnson and Scholes, 5th Edition.)

Building on Porter’s (1980) generic competitive strategies, Bowman et al argues that organizations achieve competitive advantage by providing their customers with what they want, or need better or more effectively than competitors and making it difficult for competitors to imitate. This was later developed into five generic strategies which would be used in this discussion. Thus, the generic competitive strategies are the fundamental activities on which an SBU seeks to achieve a lasting advantageous position in its environment and gaining the favor of stakeholders by meeting the expectations of buyers, users or other stakeholders

The following are Bowman’s five-generic competitive strategy options and examples of organizations who applied them to gain competitive advantage: no frills strategy, low price strategy, hybrid strategy, focused differentiation strategy and added value or differentiation strategy.

In brief, a no frills strategy combines a low price, low perceived added value and targets a price-sensitive market. No frills strategy is now a popular strategy with low-cos airlines Easy Jet and Ryanair seeking to enter the airline industry to compete with likes of Virgin and is a determinant in the market. This, therefore, affords the firm the needed competitive edge over its competitors who charge higher price. This strategy is a success because there could possibly be a segment of the market that overlooks the low quality of the commodity provided it fulfills the same purpose.

To obtain the competitive advantage using no fills strategy revenues must increase and the product must really be price-sensitive. Easy Jet frills strategy seems to be going on well as a result of the cost savings techniques they are using. For instance no ticketing, no ticket agents, no in-flight food or drink for customers as well as the short-haul flight. Now, almost all supermarkets in the UK use no frills strategy by introducing own brands the price of which have been reduced to attract customers in order to gain a competitive advantage.

The next generic strategy is the low price strategy. This strategy pursues a lower price than pertains in the market whilst trying to maintain similar value of product or service as those offered by competitor alike. There is the potential of price war among competitors and in the long run consumers are likely to lose as the firms might not be able to sustain the lower-price-good-value strategy. Notwithstanding the price war and low margins, there are some suggested ways in which a low-priced strategy can bring about a firms competitive advantage. The market segment must be low-price sensitive, and also the SBU has a cost advantage over its competitors.

However, in practice, the lower price strategy usually brought about by lowering operational cost alone does not give the firm the competitive advantage if the firm is not able to sustain it in the long-term as there are now more firms entering the market because of low or no entry barriers like small capital requirements and also how efficient the staff might be.

Hybrid competitive strategy seeks to achieve differentiation and a price lower than that of competitors simultaneously. This is not an easy strategy to pursue because to differentiate a product or service involves some money and increases cost the very thing the low price seeks to reduce. This strategy is fit for the DIY industry as the likes of Robert Dyas are not able to stand the competition. The success of this is dependent on providing unique more efficient products or services to consumers whilst at the same time operating at a lower cost to be able to lower its price below the industry level. The success of this strategy could further be enhanced if the firm has economies of scale and can increase volume of sales more than its competitors, thereby, reducing its base cost as a result. Asda’s George brand is an example of a generic hybrid strategy in a SBU.

Another strategy is differentiation strategy. This seeks to provide products or services completely different from those of its competitors by adding features valued by consumers. The main objective of using this is to either maintain the market share or increase market share relative to its competitors. A clear example of this is aircraft manufacturer Airbus’s wider fuselages, cockpits designed for use in more than one aircraft and electrical rather than mechanical flight controls.

Those features have helped Airbus win customers like New York-based Jet blue; although Jet Blue is staffed with former employees from Boeing. (Fortune, Europe Edition 22 November 17th 2003; pp34) This strategy could be used to achieve a competitive advantage which is its ultimate aim by the firm investing more in R&D, unique designs and features. The marketing-based approaches in terms of good marketing communication (example advertising the products or services) as well as the brand power to win the loyalty of consumers. (Example Airbus)

The fifth generic competitive strategy is the focused differentiation strategy which seeks to provide high perceived value; justifying a substantial price premium usually to a selected market, segment. It is usually adopted to counter or to compete others in seemingly similar segment. This could therefore be argued that focused differentiation is just an extension of any of the four strategies so far considered depending on the competitors in this new segment which is usually middle to high income earners. A convincing example is the introduction of Lexus in 1989 by Toyota to compete with other luxury brands of BMW and Mercedes Benz new series.

For the focused differentiation strategy to be used to obtain a competitive advantage over competitors in the industry, the business unit must find ways to make the production more efficient to be able to pass on the savings to customers. The business unit must identify new segments and must also be prepared to aggressively create new market segment where it is believed first movers get huge advantage. Again Toyota prides itself in this by being the first to introduce a brand,scion,specifically for young buyers in January, 2003 which was a success and the introduction of hybrids in 1997 selling 127,000 far more than Honda.( Hybrid uses two engines and is environmentally friendly.) (Fortune, Europe Edition, Number 24 December 22 2003; pp57).

The essence of the various strategies discussed so far is to create or add value to the products or services in order to give improved and or enough satisfaction to the customer so that the firm will gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. However, it is one thing for a firm to gain a competitive advantage and another to sustain the competitive advantage so gained. So when a firm is able to get a competitive advantage over its competitors, it becomes expedient to try to sustain this advantage.

Some of the ways to sustain the competitive advantage is by what is described as isolating mechanism. This is the application of forces like barriers of imitation which limit the extent to which a competitive advantage can be duplicated or matched or even possibly scrapped through the resource creation activities of other firms. Though similar in principle to the barrier of entry force, whereas the entry barriers protect profitability of an entire industry, isolating mechanisms sustain the competitive advantage of a single firm. For example legal barriers like trademarks, patents or intellectual property rights as in Microsoft’s case.

It could also be for the mere fact that the leading firm makes it difficult for the competitor to catch up with the firm’s technology because it entered the market earlier and it continues to research and might be able to move to a superior position by the time its competitors catch up. This is known as the early mover advantage. Because the business unit has entered the market earlier, the past success in the market is believed to sustain the firm.

Nevertheless, no matter how discrete the strategy adopted to gain the sustainable competitive advantage or enough satisfaction that the customer may get as well as the mechanisms put in place to sustain the competitive edge, simple economics has proved that man’s needs are insatiable and with the information technology age, there is an improved dynamism in business that products and services can become obsolete before they even reach the next user.

The question is can the firm continue to create more economic value than its competitors now than then?

Now with the advent of information systems and technology, this traditional way of competitive advantage or competitive edge has, therefore, taken a different turn. Information gathering and I mean a competitive information gathering in deed can to some large extent make a difference to a firm’s position in an industry and for that matter affect its competitive advantage one way or the other.

A good and recent example is Asda installing radio frequency identification (RFID) system, a device which could be used to scan bar codes of incoming goods which could save Asda $8.35 billion annually through improvement in its supply chain management. Fortune, Wal-Mart keeps the change, November 10,2003pp 23.

Firms can either use their own database or an informational gathering software to track its operations and get the required information like inventory, customers, and trends of competitors’ performance and about the fast moving products to formulate their strategies or form what is known as information partnerships for the purpose of sharing information to gain competitive or strategic advantage; and even link their systems with some competitors to achieve synergies.

This is becoming important as a result of the fact that competition in the business world today is not only within a particular industry one operates but can also be cross-competition with people in other related industry like universities and publishers competing due to forward and backward integrations. Baxter Healthcare International is known to offer medical supplies from its competitors and office supplies through its electronic ordering channel to its customers. By doing this the firm increases its customer base as well as loyalty of its customers is enhanced.

At this juncture, the statement that “there is no such thing as a sustainable competitive advantage” can be considered in relation to the circumstances that happened in Sears, which used to be USA’s largest retailer until Wal-mart overtook it after a diversification strategy went bust in spite of the fact that it (Sears) has been heavily computerized with more expenditure going into information technology and networking than all other non-computer firms in the United states apart from Boeing. So why couldn’t this huge amount spent in computers and networking been able to give them the competitive edge over its rivals? Is it due to the fact that the hardware alone is not sufficient to provide the information needed unless it is integrated with the appropriate software? Sears did exactly that.

Trying to reinvent itself, Sears started to explore almost all strategies including low pricing strategy, delayering, improved marketing ploys as well as embarking on a $4billion five-year store renovation to make the stores more attractive. All to no avail.

Then Sears noticed that, its merchandise buyers do not have reliable information on precisely what customers were buying at each store. Management was relying on 18 separate systems that often gave conflicting and redundant pricing information. They could only view a division’s daily performance. This was not good for a firm of Sears’s stature. Sears later tightened its grips over the business once again by building a larger database involving the consolidation of information on transaction records,90 million households,31million Sears’ card users, their credit status, and other related data.

The database houses the company’s Strategic Performance Reporting System (SPRS).Now Sears’ 1,000 buyers and managers know what hot-selling merchandise to replenish right away. This competitive information gathering to some extent helped turn around Sears. Its store sales started rising and planned to join partnership with AOL to boost its online business by targeting AOL’s 21 million customers by developing content for AOL on subjects such as how to build a deck, tips on home decorating and other home improvement topics; and also move its suppliers to an electronic ordering system similar to that described for Baxter Healthcare, by linking its computerized ordering system directly to that of each supplier to eliminate paperwork completely for an improved flow of goods into its stores.

As previously discussed, if a firm can keep or maintain its lead on creating value, leveraging strategic assets for example access to efficient distribution channels, maintain market position and may be low cost advantage then it can be said to have a sustainable competitive advantage. This is absolutely not possible in this dynamic business world. The most difficult part of this is that the firm must create more economic value than its competitors every now and then. Will its competitors be looking on without doing anything?

Microsoft for example is spending billions of dollars to develop its own search engine that will be incorporated in both its online service MSN and its new operating system due in 2006 to combat Google’s dominance in the search engine industry. (Fortune, 22 December 2003pp 17).

In my own opinion based on the discussions above, if really sustainable competitive advantage is the persistence of a firm’s ability to outperform its industry, then suffice it to say that, as much as gathering and use of competitive information as illustrated in the Sears’ story above can give a firm a (sustainable) competitive advantage, it is really difficult if not impossible to sustain any competitive advantage for a very long time. This is so because of the rate of technological changes, changes in business strategies, and the fact that customers’ loyalty can wane and affect sales leading to a fall in market share and thus competitive advantage. Boeing was overtaken by Airbus in the aviation industry at some time. Sears’ leadership was taken away by Wal-mart.

In spite of the availability of choice of the five generic strategies, it is supposed that the onus of their success rests with management and how the technology and the information gathered are blended for use. This is so because a careful monitoring and evaluation constantly and the right identification and proper timing of a particular segment are keys to the success of these strategies due to market dynamism.

REFERENCE

Can Sears reinvent it? A case study taken from London South Bank University IS.

Davenport, T.H; Prusak, L. (1998) Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know. Havard Business School Press, Boston, Ma.

Fortune, December 13,2004, pp59

http://informationr.net/ir/8-1/paper144.html

Laudon, K.C; Laudon, J.P. (2004) Management Information Systems: managing the digital firm, 8th edition, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Scholes, K.and Johnson, G (1999) Exploring corporate strategy, 5th Edition. London: F.T Prentice Hall.

Sheila,C.Main Article: Knowledge Management, issue 18,2004

Yogesh, M. B. The Company, – What Really is Knowledge Management? Crossing the Chasm of Hope. Gartner Group Inc.,October 1996

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Source by John Whonderr-Arthur, Ph.D. Esq

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I was about 12 the first time I ventured to the Pinto Basin although I didn’t know that was w it was called at the time. It was the mid 1970’s and I was just a kid brought along with my brother and sister while Mom and Dad explored the desert around Palm Springs on a Sunny afternoon in a Toyota Landcruiser with their friends. I knew we were a long way from home. It felt like we’d traveled out beyond the moon. The earth had quit being golf courses and city streets a long time ago. Now it was just sand and rocks and hills and the occasional scrub grass.

Dad and his friend, Lee, came across a group of low hills at one end of a long wasted valley in what’s called Joshua Tree national park. I knew that much. I also knew, looking at the hill, that the worn road was rougher than anything my Dad had attempted yet in his four-wheeler. But the urge to see what was just beyond the ridge was too great. Rather than risk the car this far away from help we decided to walk to the crest and peer over its edge. There we saw the shifted dirt which marked a mine as having been dug. So we trekked down the other side and found not just one mine, but three.

The first turned out to be the deepest and the most interesting. I went back several hundred yards into the hill from which it’d been carved. At one point you had to get on your hands and knees to crawl through the remaining hole from a long past cave-in. Then you had to walk across an old plank board lain over a bottomless hole some eight feet or more across. There was an old rickety ladder stretching down forever in it. We dropped rocks down its gaping maw to try and gauge its depth. We could hear the rocks hit the sides of the hole a couple of times as they fell. But of the bottom we heard nothing. The board was old, knotted and split. The hole could’ve been a mile for all it scared me. But I walked across.

Further into the mine I came across something so incredible many people I tell hesitate to believe. I’m no geologist. I couldn’t spot a vein of gold if it had neon sign on it – and that’s what the makers of this mine had been looking for nearly a hundred years ago when they dug it, I’m sure of it – but of turquoise, there’s no mistaking it. It’s a deep greenish blue and bright as all get out, even in its raw form. And right there in the wall of that mine was a streak of it as wide as a man and running floor to ceiling in the cave, disappearing into the roof and running beneath its floor.

Before we left that day I had gone into the mine a second time, claw hammer ready and armed with a five gallon paint bucket. I chipped and clawed and ripped that stuff away from the mountains grasp until my bucket was full and brought it all home. it made a neat display in my bedroom framed against a backdrop of my Star Wars album. The remainder of the turquoise I gave away as Christmas gifts, rocks as big as my fists and blue-green as the Pacific at Hawaii.

The other mines were fun, though not as magnificent. One went straight down like the hole in the first mine. But there was no horizontal path to traverse. The other had an old rail track still laid down and a busted rusty ore car at the mouth of the cave, went in only about fifty feet and then there was another ladder going down about thirty feet to what looked like a landing. Since I was the smallest kid, my dad elected me to climb down the ladder, figuring if it could hold me no one bigger would give it a try. I went to the bottom but the landing led to no where, it just dead ended.

We drove home that day in the dark with great stories to remember for the rest of our lives.

Fast forward twenty plus years into the mid 1990’s. I wanted to find it again but for the life of me I had no real sense of where it was other than on the far side of Joshua Tree National Park, and that was a whole lotta desert to have to prowl through. Still, with no better plan I got a map and divided it up into sections. The first time I went in my Jeep Wrangler with just one of my kids and my wife. We didn’t find it. The second time we rented a Jeep Cherokee, because I had more kids, out of the airport and searched another section of the desert. Still no finds. But the third trip, while in a big rented four-wheel drive Ford Excursion complete with in-laws and a bigger family yet, we struck gold – or turquoise you might say.

As we went down a dirt road that took me farther out into the desert than I could swear to having gone before, I saw set of hills off in the distance with a rutted worn out road climbing over one of them. My skin tingled. We parked at the bottom of the road and I grabbed flashlight, hammer and bucket, a host of kids and family behind me. At the top of the crest I saw the shifted dirt of the first mine, and low and behold at the bottom of the hill near it was a beat-up old Toyota pick-up truck, still operational, and a small cadre of men dressed in worn-out clothes. Apparently others had found the mine over the years too.

Still, this was it, again. I went into the mine and crawled through the now even older cave-in, went past the deep hole and the plank that stretched over it, careful to not let my kids do anything foolish near it. And when I got to the vein of turquoise I was somewhat surprised, though not entirely, to find that my vein had been mined out. There were still some fragments of what I remembered, which I chipped away at for old time sake. And I found a few other pieces of blue-green on the floor by kicking away the dirt. But the main swath of turquoise was gone to other families, boys, whoever who had also discovered it over the years. We had found the mine and I will never lose it again, it is embedded in my mind as a great destination in the middle nowhere to go to: my own personal bit of the lost Southwestern landscape complete with tales of buried treasure, only tales.

A few years after that, a friend of mine, Chris Shurilla, came to see me. He had some rappelling gear and we headed out to the mine. We crawled past the cave-in and looked into the deep hole and the ladder stretching down forever. There was an old wooden trellis built over the hole which heretofore I had missed, probably because I was always watching where I put my feet and how close to the hole I was on my earlier trespasses. We tied off on the beam, clamped ourselves onto the line and dropped two hundred yards of roped into the hole.

Chris had no fear. He swung out over the empty space and ZEEEE, he ripped down the rope at a frantic pace. I was cautious as a virgin bride on her wedding night, white knuckling down the ladder one rung at a time even though I was tied off and supposedly secure, safe. The one of the ancient rungs crumbled under my weight and I swung out into the dead space. Chris laughed at me and yelled to hurry up. Once I coughed my heart back out of my throat I sped up my descent. When I caught up to Chris he was hanging in mid-air of a larger chamber. The narrow throat had opened up into a cavity some thirty or forty feet across. The ladder still stretched through the middle of the blackness where it was crossed by an old cat walk supported by two by four somehow affixed to the seemingly distant cavern walls. It was like something out of a Stephen King novel. The cat walk ran into a dark side cavern on each end cut into the earth. Chris says faster than I can respond, “I’ll go check it out,” unhooks his belay and trots off across the ancient planks suspended in darkness light as a cat on a windowsill.

“Chris, you idiot,” I yell. Those boards are probably a hundred years old. He comes bouncing back beneath me with no concern. “Oh they’re fine,” he says. And while I wouldn’t swear to it, maybe it was just my fear kicking into overdrive, I thought I saw him bounce on them as a way of testing their mettle. Had they failed I don’t know what he or me, would do. “That end,” he said, jerking a thumb back towards the hole he’d just investigated, “only goes a few feet and dead ends.” The he went to the other side, disappearing in the darkness again, “This side too.” He came back and tied back onto the line and we went down some more.

We had about another 75 feet we cold drop before we got too close to the end of the rope for comfort. Chris still hung comfortably on the rope with no hands holding the endless ladder or the sides of the rocky hole. I was clinging to the ladder still, for what it was worth, cause for all its old age, it felt better than nothing. But seeing Chris hanging there and the empty blackness beneath him we still knew we could go no further. We pried a rock off the side of the hole and dropped it. Though we were 200 yards down from the original starting point, the rock made no final resting sound. We did it again with another rock. We still could not hear it hit bottom.

We climbed back up and found our wives and kids were pissed at us. We’d been down that hole several hours and they said they’d been yelling for us after the first thirty minutes. The only thing they knew was the rope was still taut and it occasionally swung.

The entire area of the pinto Basin is littered with mines. if you go out there, you have a good chance of dying. I’m not saying this to be an alarmist. but seriously: there’re holes in the ground big enough to drive a car into and some of them have no bottom. There’re caves that go into the mountains hundreds of yards, past holes and cave-ins and rotten supports and you’re hours away from help even by car if you have a problem. And what if the car breaks down.

Do not go out there unless you are experienced and prepared. At times, I can’t believe I did it as a kid and then did it again with mine and then did it again with a rope, repelling gear, and a fearless friend.

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Source by Eric G. Meeks