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~~~~ CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ~~~~
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pharoah88
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25-Aug-2010 19:49
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Sometimes, you need to ditch the rulebook Richard Branson
Lee Boss of Kenya asked: “How far should you go to please a client? At some point, there’s a risk of compromising your business. How do you keep customers happy without getting hurt in the process?” Prisca Were of Kenya asked: “Must a company be governed by internal written rules and regulations?” An organisation must establish a clear framework employees can refer to when carrying out their duties, and that framework will involve written procedures and rules — particularly when cash and accounting are at issue. That said, however, sometimes rules really are made to be broken: The rulebook should not become an excuse for poor customer service or an obstacle to great service. Almost everyone has at some point experienced a situation where a customer service representative has blamed the rules for his inability to help. If your company is going to stand out from the rest due to its truly excellent customer service, staffers should treat the rules more as flexible guidelines, to be followed as the situation demands. The customer is not always right — and neither is the rulebook. The customer service representative’s goal should be to strike a balance that serves both the customer’s and company’s interests in the best way possible. To a great extent, this can be achieved by empowering the staff at call centres, on planes and trains or in retail environments to use their common sense when handling questions and problems. Encouraging a good attitude towards problem-solving is crucial but so is a corporate culture that rewards initiative and does not discourage a creative approach. One customer service mantra that I have always loved is: “First to know, first to handle”. In other words, when a problem arises, there is a fleeting opportunity to solve it on the spot. Resolving problems this way has multiple benefits for both the customer and the company. For the customer, the advantages are obvious: The problem is solved, or at least alleviated. And for the company there is an obvious public-relations benefit: The customer is likely to tell other people how well the situation was handled. There are also significant cost benefits — for example, a reduction in the number of back-office customer relations staffers required to handle a formerly lengthy back-and-forth process for resolving customer complaints. At Virgin, a few senior managers and I host an annual “Stars Dinner” recognising top performers — staff members who have been nominated by their peers — and celebrating their achievements. We look for the best examples of customer service, innovation, community service and environmental work. This sort of event demonstrates to employees that you care about them and that you notice and appreciate their hard work and initiative. In the world of customer service, nice words from a supervisor are relatively easy to come by; the real proof is in positive feedback from customers. That’s when you know the right kind of culture is taking hold. I was particularly pleased by a note I received recently from Phil Williamson, a Virgin customer in Kenya, who wrote to me about a trip to London he’d booked with his wife. Shortly before the trip, Phil’s wife was travelling for business and was able to meet Phil in London using a plane ticket she’d received from a client. So they put her original ticket aside to use another time but, later, when they tried to book a new flight using that ticket, they found that it had expired because they had not paid a change fee. Hawa, a Virgin representative based in Kenya, explained the Williamsons’ situation to an accountant, who evidently told her that rules are rules, and that the airline would not make an exception. In the end, Hawa appealed to another supervisor, the ticket was refunded and a new one was purchased. “All’s well that ends well,” Phil told me. “But wouldn’t it have been so much better if the accountant had displayed a little more general business sense instead of sticking to his strict interpretation (of the rules)?” Phil’s story aptly demonstrates how close organisations come to losing customers every day, due to rigid adherence to rules and not enough thought on the part of those supervising front-line employees. Keep in mind this classic statistic: An unhappy customer will tell 10 people about a problem, while a satisfied customer will only tell four people about a good experience. So, work on developing a corporate culture that tries to “catch employees doing something right” and rewards dedication and initiative. Looking after your staff is the best way to look after your customers and keep them coming back for more. My recent column on the importance of establishing an ethos of strong customer service that extends all the way from the CEO’s office to the front lines touched a nerve for some readers.© 2010 Richard Branson (Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate) The writer is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. |
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pharoah88
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20-Aug-2010 16:20
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Watch what they do,
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pharoah88
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20-Aug-2010 14:43
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CAD steps into Profitable case SINGAPORE The Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) investigations are said to have followed numerous complaints against the six-year-old land-banking company, which promises exceptionally high returns of between 12.5 per cent and 900 per cent on investments ranging from real estate in England, to fuel products and art. Land-banking is the practice of speculating on land in the hope that it could be developed for residential housing or commercial purposes. Not all CAD probes unveil wrongdoing. A police spokesman said in an email reply: “It is inappropriate to comment on police investigations, if any.” This newspaper’s efforts to reach the company’s management by phone and by an email address provided on the company’s website were unsuccessful. When MediaCorp visited yesterday afternoon, the company’s Stanley Street office was closed. There were no signs that the office workers had packed up the place. Neighbouring tenants could not recall when the office last opened for business. A couple of months ago, more than 50 disgruntled investors turned up at the Speakers’ Corner to vent their anger at the group following failed efforts to get their money back upon maturity of their investments. Another dozen or so confronted operations director John Nordmann at the group’s office, which boasts a staff strength of about 100. These investors were said to have invested between $3,000 and $200,000 in various products. — In May, the Profitable Group was placed on the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Investor Alert List. Now, Today understands that white-collar crime busters have stepped in and begun a probe into its dealings.Conrad Raj and Teo Xuanwei |
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pharoah88
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18-Aug-2010 23:47
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sOmehOw sOmebOdy DON'T WANT Testing and Certification tO ensure a high level of integrity and fairness in the bankIng industry |
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pharoah88
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18-Aug-2010 22:57
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Playing for the BIG STAKES
Testing and certification ensures a high level of integrity and fairness in the gaming industry
FOR Weike Gaming Technology, testing and certification are important parts of the business as they allow the company to compete in the highly-regulated casino industry.
Founded in 1998, Weike designs, develops and manufactures gaming products such as slot machines, electronic table gaming machines and network systems for Asian markets such as Singapore, Macau, the Philippines and Malaysia.
According to chief executive David Kinsman (picture), the company’s client list includes top gaming operators such as Las Vegas Sands and the Genting Group, and sales are forecast to reach US$20 million ($27.1 million) this year.
Testing and certification are of utmost importance for the gaming manufacturer as all its products need to comply with various international and country regulations, Mr Kinsman said. In Singapore, Weike’s gaming equipment is certified to the Casino Regulatory Authority’s technical standards.
Gaming machines are first assessed on whether they match regulatory technical standards. Then, they are subjected to “platform integrity testing”, which includes electrical safety. Finally, there is a round of mathematical testing to ensure that the machines operate as they are designed to do.
Testing and certification can also help elevate the standards of manufacturing.
In the case of Weike, industry best practices were introduced to its manufacturing process to improve the quality and performance of the company’s products.
This helped Weike bag the 2009 Best Asian Manufacturer Award by However, the testing and certification process has not been easy for Weike. Each piece of gaming equipment that Weike produced had to be sent to the United States or Australia for the procedure.
“As gaming machines are typically bulky and heavy, it is costly to ship them around. It is also very time consuming,” said Mr Kinsman.
So it was good news to Weike in April this year, when the Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC) granted accreditation to the first gaming testing laboratory in Singapore, BMM Compliance.
BMM has been assessed under SAC’s Accreditation Scheme for Gaming Laboratories, which is based on international standard ISO/IEC 17025. It covers both the management system and the technical capability of the laboratories.
Here, the BMM laboratory provides an easily-accessible facility for Weike to test its products for various regulated markets around the world.
“Having a laboratory at our doorstep makes the entire process simpler and faster. We can also work closely with them to improve on our products quickly,” Mr Kinsman said. Betting on future growth With some 60 casinos and 340 clubs in Asia, the gaming industry is poised for further growth. Estimated gaming machine sales for the region average between US$50 million and US$75 million annually.
The presence of gaming testing laboratories in Singapore will also attract other gaming machine manufacturers to set up operations here, said Mr Kinsman. |
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pharoah88
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18-Aug-2010 19:53
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Discipline is key Letter from Wong Siew Hoong Director, Schools, Ministry of Education(MOE) WE REFER to the letter by Mr Ho Kong Loon (“Where’s the discipline?”, Aug 12). MOE is committed to high standards of discipline in our schools and will take the necessary measures to ensure that schools are safe and conducive learning environments for all our students. We believe that an orderly classroom environment, marked by respect for teachers and peers, is necessary for learning to take place. MOE does not condone any display of disrespect by our students towards their teachers and considers this behaviour as a serious disciplinary offence. There are clear guidelines for principals to manage such misbehaviour. Based on these guidelines, schools decide on the approach to manage this misbehaviour, taking into consideration the student’s profile, as well as any underlying medical or psychological condition of the student. Where necessary, schools will impose severe disciplinary measures, including corporal punishment and suspension. Such an approach is also adopted when students commit other serious offences or break school rules. MOE will support measures taken by schools within our guidelines to uphold high standards of discipline in schools. MOE and our schools value parents as partners in managing student misbehaviour. Parents are ultimately the primary care-givers, and play a critical role in managing their children’s behaviour. Schools will continue to engage parents to nurture and develop students with a sound moral compass. |
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pharoah88
Supreme |
18-Aug-2010 18:41
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Overheating Apple iPod brings Tokyo rush-hour train to a halt TOKYO Passengers had complained of a strong burning smell, forcing the train to come to a halt for eight minutes in western Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward, reported “When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart,” a spokesman for rail line operator Tokyu Corp was quoted as saying. He said there were no reports of injuries. It wa s unc l e a r which iPod model was involved. But there have been around 60 incidents of overheating, including four cases involving minor burns, in Apple’s first generation iPod nano music players in Japan. Last month, Apple was ordered by the Trade Ministry to improve safety warnings on the devices, reported Apple attributes the problem to batteries provided by a single battery supplier, and says overheating incidents were very rare. However, there have been several instances of iPods overheating in other countries. Apple is being sued by the mother of a 15-year-old boy in Ohio who claims his 16GB iPod Touch exploded in his pants, burning his leg. Last year, an 11-yearold girl in Britain said her iPod Touch also exploded and flew some 3 metres into the air. — A crowded commuter train in Tokyo was delayed on Friday during the morning rush hour due to an overheating Apple iPod music player.Reuters.Reuters.AGENCIES |
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pharoah88
Supreme |
18-Aug-2010 17:50
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nOn dOcumentaiOn and nOn aUditing are serIOUs faIlUres iN cOrpOrate prOcess gOvernance
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pharoah88
Supreme |
18-Aug-2010 17:45
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The importance of documentation Letter from Manmohan Kaur I WRITE in response to Ms Feng Shumin’s concerns about poor care and non-documentation after her grandmother’s hip surgery at Changi General Hospital (“Reader says grandmother got poor care in hospital”, Aug 17). As a retired director of nursing, I have no doubt the nursing care plan was in place and interventions carried out. But due to lack of documentation, the nurse informed the family member that the injury was sustained prior to admission. Also, there is a discrepancy on whether the patient was ambulated on the second day, post-surgery. It appears that the nursing notes are not audited on a regular basis. I am not writing to point fingers at the nurses or the hospital. But to preclude any future problems all events, including incident reports, care and interventions, must be carefully documented using evidence-based nursing protocols. I hope the hospital will take this matter seriously and conduct refresher courses, if necessary, to improve nursing documentation skills. |
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pharoah88
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16-Aug-2010 16:41
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Apple truly is a magical company. I don't mean that in the sense that they make magical products, but that every time they release one, as sure as clockwork you'll find haters crawling out of the woodwork to slam them. Latest poster-child in point: iPhone 4. Does the iPhone 4 have faults? Sure. But historians will remember that it isn't the only one. The original iPhone was slammed for not having a physical keyboard. The iPhone 3G was criticized for having a scratchable plastic back, and the 3GS had low battery life. iPhone 5 is certainly going to be criticized for something, as are 6, 7 and 8, for the simple fact that nothing is perfect (except for chocolate, and even that makes you fat), but somehow people demand nothing less than perfection from Apple. It's great to hold a company to such high standards, but it's hard to imagine similar hype in the media over any other mobile phone's problems. And problems abound, as Apple insists on aggressively proving through its growing video demos of phones with antenna issues (which have since been mysteriously pulled). But perhaps the more aggressive PR move is Apple's reveal of its previously-secret, hundred million dollar antenna testing chambers. Is it possible, after viewing these immense design and test labs, with 18 PhD scientists and engineers on staff, to give Apple the benefit of the doubt on their expertise with the antenna over, say, media analysts? Is it possible to lend credence also to the reports of people who don't actually experience signal problems with the iPhone 4? Is that maybe why we haven't seen a much larger fallout as you'd expect with over three million iPhone 4s sold in three weeks? Is it possible that the amount of press this has been getting is simply – gasp – sensationalism? Nay! the haters cry. But haters gonna hate. Microsoft haters hat Microsoft. Creative haters hate Creative. Apple haters hate Apple. It's like a circle of life. After the official Apple news conference, the haters have shifted from crowing about the antenna to crowing about how Apple has handled the whole affair. Legions of pundits are furious that the almighty Steve himself didn't get on his knees and beg for forgiveness. It just never ends. To the Apple haters, let me extend an olive branch: It's just a phone. If you don't like it, don't buy it. Nobody's shooting anybody for not buying one, volcanoes won't explode, dogs and cats won't be living together. Imagine all the people, living life in peace. Chill out, relax, enjoy the weekend. And not hating yet another Apple article. |
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pharoah88
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16-Aug-2010 16:27
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The Real Reason HP's CEO was asked to Leave?The REAL REASON HP's CEO was asked to Leave?HP's CEO Mark Hurd resigned because of a sexual harassment scandal and fudged expense reports. Or did he? The New York Times contends there that's a larger story to why Hurd was asked to leave: Then there were the company’s employees. The consensus in Silicon Valley is that Mr. Hurd was despised at H.P., not just by the rank and file, but even by H.P.’s top executives. (Perhaps this explains why Ms. Lesjak was so quick to denigrate him once she took over.) “He was a cost-cutter who indulged himself,” was one description I heard. His combined compensation for just his last two years was more than $72 million — a number that absolutely outraged employees since their jobs were the ones being cut. |
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pharoah88
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13-Aug-2010 14:06
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Meet the new Civil Service head Peter Ong to take over from Peter Ho on Sept 1 SINGAPORE Mr Ong will also be appointed Permanent Secretary (Special Duties) in the Prime Minister’s Office and Permanent Secretary for National Security and Intelligence Coordination. A statement from the Public Service Division says current civil service head Peter Ho will be retiring from the Administrative Service after 34 years in the public sector. But, 56-year-old Mr Ho will continue to contribute to the public sector in various capacities after his retirement. He has already accepted an invitation to serve as Senior Adviser to the Centre for Strategic Futures that he was instrumental in setting up to strengthen the capacity of the Singapore Public Service to prepare for the future. He will also be a Senior Fellow at the Civil Service College. Thanking Mr Ho for his contributions to the public sector, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Civil Service and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said as head of the Civil Service, he had steeredthe public service with visionary leadership and strategic thinking. And as a strong proponent for a networked Government, he galvanised agencies to work together to tackle national issues. There have also been other changes to appointments of Permanent Secretaries. From Sept 1, Mr Bilahari Kausikan, currently Second Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be appointed its Permanent Secretary. Brigadier-General Chee Wee Kiong, currently Director, Security and Intelligence Division, in the Ministry of Defence will be appointed the Ministry’s Second Permanent Secretary. Ms Chan Lai Fung will relinquish her appointment as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Law and remain as Permanent Secretary (Finance)(Performance). The present Director of the Internal Security Department, Mr Pang Kin Keong, will be the Law Ministry’s new Permanent Secretary. — Singapore will have a new Head of Civil Service from Sept 1. He is Mr Peter Ong, who is currently Permanent Secretary in the Finance Ministry, a post that he will continue to hold. |
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pharoah88
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12-Aug-2010 17:22
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SGX to extend trading hours of derivatives market from Aug 30
SINGAPORE : The Singapore Exchange (SGX) is extending the trading hours of its derivatives market from August 30. Trade will close at 2am, instead of 1am. [7th mOOn ? ? ? ? Or fOreign tOlent ? ? ? ?] Pre-opening continues to begin at 7.30am, when trading orders can be placed. SGX is also shortening the trading break to 30 minutes between the T session close and the start of the Pre-Opening of the T+1 session. This applies to the SGX Nikkei 225 Index and SGX MSCI Taiwan Index suite of products. SGX senior vice president of Derivatives, Janice Kan, said the new hours will allow customers to better manage their positions in response to news and market movements during the European and North American trading hours. The enhancement is also in line with SGX's strategy to make its market more accessible to international and domestic customers. - CNA/al http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1074660/1/.html |
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pharoah88
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11-Aug-2010 09:45
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Blemishes in local charities . . . . continues He hopes the Charity Accounting Standards and the refined Code of Governance, which are scheduled to be rolled out by the end of this year, take into account the varying resources of charities. The COC’s office is also looking to enhance oversight of fund-raising appeals conducted by commercial and third-party fund-raisers. The Commissioner reported yesterday other steps to promote good governance and best practices: A pilot shared services programme has seen 21 organisations signing up and 89 others in discussion to do so. More than 800 charities have also been trained to better use the functions and resources of the Charity Portal. To enable the public to continue to donate with confidence, COC introduced a pilot service to allow the public to send an SMS to check if an organisation has a permit to solicit donations in public. This, after the COC Office, at times, received complaints from the public about for donations by possibly dubious charities. Under the scheme, the public can send a SMS to 74688, using the format “FR<space><license/certificate number or organisation name>” to verify a fundraiser’s authenticity. |
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pharoah88
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11-Aug-2010 09:39
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Blemishes in local charities Charities Commissioner spots some flaws in internal controls Leong Wee Keat weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg SINGAPORE Namely, the way charities manage conflicts of interest and their internal controls in areas such as the provision of loans and handling of cash donations. Not quite a clean bill of health, but after 100 governance reviews done last year by Mr Low Puk Yeong and his office — an increase from the 74 and 56 conducted in 2008 and 2007, respectively — only one charity, Sri Siva Krishna Temple at Marsiling, was cited as a serious concern. The formal inquiry on the charity — for suspected forgery of payment vouchers and misappropriation of funds — is complete. The case, which marks the first time the COC has sought to remove a charity’s trustee under the Charities Act, has been referred to the police. Otherwise, charities were “receptive” to the governance reviews and took the necessary action to strengthen their controls, said Mr Low. For example, Bizlink — a voluntary welfare organisation that encourages the employment of people with disabilities — now requires its staff to take the additional step of signing administrative forms when helping disabled clients cash their cheques at banks. The new procedure is “more cumbersome” and did not go down well with longtime staff, Bizlink chief executive Alvin Lim acknowledged. But, he said, “we are a charity, and we have to live up to the utmost level of good practices, including down to something minor like that”. Common findings will be shared later with other charities to identify governance gaps and develop plans to address them. Nearly 500 charities and Institutions of Public Character already took their own steps last year to build up governance and management capabilities by tapping $3 million worth of grants under the VWOs-Charities Capability Fund. Down Syndrome Association chairman Ong Chin Wah noted, though, that smaller charities find it harder to practice segregation of duties due to their limited manpower. — After placing charities and their practices under the most intense scrutiny for a year since the old National Kidney Foundation saga, the Commissioner of Charities (COC) has spotted some blemishes: |
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pharoah88
Supreme |
10-Aug-2010 20:01
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PAY FOR WHAT YOU GET Crowd-sourcing can lead to significant savings. InnoCentive, a crowd-sourcing company, worked with Precyse Technologies, a wireless technology company that wanted to conserve its own engineering resources, to develop a product that would activate a device remotely. The project was listed on InnoCentive’s Marketplace. The price tag was listed as US$50,000. Problem “solvers”, as InnoCentive calls its work force, selected Precyse’s project from the queue. The result: Hundreds of ideas for technology that could activate a device remotely. “They didn’t just deliver a solution but the algorithm and calculations that proved it could be done,” said Mr Rom Eizenberg, chief marketing officer at Precyse. And if a project does not work out, the money you paid often can be refunded. When PocketMac, a software developer in San Diego, hired 99Designs to create a shopping cart icon for its site, it was dissatisfied with the results; 99Designs returned the company’s US$200 upfront payment. Th e New York Times |
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pharoah88
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10-Aug-2010 19:57
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PAY ATTENTION Mr Rosen, of the Rosen Law Firm, also turned to crowd-sourcing for a company logo. He put out a query through 99Designs and reached designers around the world. Throughout the process, Mr Rosen’s firm gave feedback to designers. The process led to a logo that reflected the company’s mission. On Trada’s pay-per-click platform, businesses can track the individuals working on their campaigns. Engagement is crucial, Mr Robertson said: “Don’t look at crowd-sourcing as set and forget.” |
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pharoah88
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10-Aug-2010 19:54
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HONE YOUR GOAL Mr Riley Gibson, chief executive of Napkin Labs, said that setting clear goals made all the difference. The best queries, he suggested, are exploratory in nature: “What do people think of the product? How can we make it better?” Mr Robertson, the Trada chief executive, added that businesses needed to explain their project, their customers and their company in detail. |
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pharoah88
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10-Aug-2010 19:51
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FIND A PARTNER IN THE CROWD To find prospective firms, combine a Web search for the task you want completed, with the term “crowdsourcing”. Then turn to Twitter. “This is where social media can be super helpful,” Mr Robertson said. Business owners should solicit feedback on crowd-sourcing providers on Twitter. Be sure to include the tag “#crowdsourcing” in your post.
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pharoah88
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10-Aug-2010 19:48
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DEFINE THE JOB The Rosen Law Firm wanted to improve the pay-per-click text ads it uses to generate business online. Strategically apportioning the monthly US$6,000 budget among 80 to 100 keywords was an arduous task for his limited staff, said Mr Lee Rosen, president of the firm. Selecting keywords is more art than science: “We needed a human being”, said Mr Rosen. Or, perhaps, many human beings. Then, Mr Rosen heard a podcast by Mr Niel Robertson, chief executive of Trada, a crowd-sourcing firm that specialises in pay-per-click advertising. In consultation with Trada, Mr Rosen broke down his US$6,000 monthly budget and determined a maximum rate he would spend on each click daily, and where he wanted to advertise. Trada then posted the campaign to its crowd of experts, who created ads and keyword lists. If the campaigns come in under budget, the experts pocket the difference. Trada now handles the planning and spending for the Rosen Law Firm. Mr Rosen’s budget remains the same but his employees have been freed. |
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