Portfolio Management - Let The Professionals Take The Load

Do you have a lot of shares in different companies?
Do you have a large sum that you are looking to invest in the stock market?
Are you finding that doing the essential research too time consuming?

You might want to consider a portfolio management company.

Share Portfolio management is an option for those with a high value portfolio of shares, or a large amount of capital to invest in shares and commodity futures. Portfolio managers have various minimum values that they require to actively manage your investments.

The reason large minimum values are in place is because of the high commission charges that these companies make. It would not be worth a small investor, with $10,000 employing a company to manage his portfolio of shares in one or two companies.

Having a professional Portfolio Manager does remove a lot of anxiety from the individual. The manager's role is to ensure that your portfolio is a balanced one, without excess exposure to currency fluctuations or to any one sector of the market.

It is part of the managing company’s role to conduct research, so that they can advise you on the best options. Research is an area that many individual investors find difficult, unless they spend hours every day watching share prices. The professional advisor employs people to conduct research into specific companies or market sectors, allowing you access to better research than you would have otherwise.

Your Portfolio Manager will also ascertain the degree of risk that you are happy with and ensure that your portfolio of shares is not at odds with your risk acceptance.

For anyone with a smaller amount than a Portfolio Management Company will manage there are other options. Look at Investment Trusts and Unit Trusts. These are companies which take investors cash, pool it and buy a balanced portfolio of shares in stock market companies, reducing the investor's overall risk.

Payroll management service for your online business

First of all, I would like to give you brief introduction about Payroll management system. It is especially for big and average companies. Board of directors, management executives and managing directors know very well that if they want to success their business then it must be well managed. Handle to big venture through man power is very difficult. Businesses can be thankful who handle the payroll management.

Generally business owners are spending their time to manage peoples, employee salary management, client management etc. Sometimes business owner can be mistake to give proper salary and employee come back to owner for this solution at that time payroll management system can help to decrease this kind of issues. It will help to business owner to focusing another area like get more clients, effective works etc.

You can easily trust on Payroll system because it is very accurate and also help to decrease time for small business owners. Payroll accounting system is one of the most effective area where could be benefits from outsourcing and doing job perfectly.

There are many features available in Payroll MYOB software such like at advance leave management and leave enhancement details, up to date employee timesheet, automatic credit their salary to direct bank, reminder setup and many more feature available through. If you are taking more time to spend for looking after the payroll than you'd like to Payroll management software. MYOB Payroll is the complete payroll software solution to growing business. You can handle up to 20 employees using MYOB Payroll because it allows to creating payroll data file which can pay. It’s only for small company. Windows payroll system program is fully features that are suitable for any size of business setup.

We at Office buy Ltd. are selling  officebuy.co.nz/Index.aspx MYOB payroll management software , business application software, retail management enterprise, business supporting software in Auckland, New Zealand.

Organize Your Life With Document Management Software

Over the years, it becomes quite a tedious job to rummage as well as sort through your files. This has led to an increasing demand for document management software. It is now a whole lot easier to organize your paper documents from paper format into digital archives.

1. Itaz doQuments

Itaz doQuments document management software is a document management application that can help you create a more centralized, searchable database for all your electronic documents. Saved scanned documents must be in PDF, TIFF or PEG file formats so that the document management software can process them. For easy reference, you can put additional indexing information to your electronic documents so that you will use these information to quickly find as well as group your documents based on whichever criteria that you can come up with.

The document management software is available in three editions: from the Standard edition to the Professional edition to the Enterprise edition. You can choose from these three editions the type of doQuments document management software that can cater to your needs and lifestyle. Each edition of this document management software is specially designed for:

- Individuals
- Small businesses
- Large organizations

Starting from this document management software's Standard Edition, this edition of the doQuments document management software application is especially designed for the home as well as for the use of small offices. It is the easiest one to use out of the three and provides an effective solution in the managing not only of paper but as well as electronic documents.

One of its key features is its ability to provide the multi-user environment - users from multiple computers can have access to the doQuments document management software simultaneously. As for being economical, this document management software is fairly easy to upgrade once you start thinking of getting the doQuments' Professional or Enterprise document management software editions.

2. Advanced Features

Paramaterized search results ensures you can easily locate the documents that you need in just one mouse click. DoQuments is ideal for companies with large intranet or internet sites as it is possible to integrate them easily.

Operational Risk Management Awareness

The term Operational Risk Management (ORM) is not new. It has been tossed about in businesses across North America for the last several years. ORM and the oft associated term Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) have generally been used as corporate buzzwords, business culture idioms referenced in board meetings and articulated during presentations. Recent developments, such as the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act in 2002 in response to growing financial scandals in the U.S., have brought Operational Risk Management, Enterprise Risk Management and related concepts from the backrooms to the forefront of corporate America.

The inescapable reality is that every single day businesses incur losses and experience operational disruptions due to failures by employees, incorrect implementation of processes and technologies as well as wilful disobedience to internal controls. These losses may be manifest in the form of uncollectible receivables from disappointed clients, lost sales due to call centre failures or unproductive employee downtime when computer systems are unavailable, or a host of other potential problems. While most businesses have developed ad hoc methods of dealing with such losses in the past, legislation (such as SOX and the Basel Accord) has made standardized compliance procedures much more complex. Thankfully, just as these new rules have given rise to increased awareness of ORM/ERM, new tools (including Risk Management software) have been developed to aid compliance efforts.

The new regime of Sarbanes-Oxley, under the direction of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) which is in turn accountable to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), has undoubtedly benefited the business world by providing a foundation from which to decrease corporate fraud. However, the complexity and associated technical, labour and administrative costs posed to business is also considerable. The realities of both individually large and collectively mundane errors resulting in loss, as well as the newly regulated reporting of those losses, affect virtually all areas of every business each and every day. Therefore, it is in each company’s best interest to simultaneously find ways to cut losses while keeping regulatory compliance costs down. Hence the rebirth of Operational Risk Management/Enterprise Risk Management and the new demand for Risk Management software solutions.

Traditionally, few operational losses were measured in any accounting system, and rarely were the loss incidents tracked and analyzed in any way; the time and paperwork required to do so was simply daunting. Because there was no standard legislation in place, any Risk Management software tools were often proprietary and slightly more than electronic log books at best. New technologies and attitudes have allowed loss incidents to be seen as more predictable and able to be grouped into risk categories. Proper analysis of these incidents can result in attribution to root causes which aids in mitigation. Even this beginning leads to dramatically reduced costs while achieving huge gains and strategic advantages from well crafted Operational Risk Management policies and Enterprise Risk Management procedures.

Changes in legislation, technology and attitudes related to ORM/ERM have produced not just economic gains, they have led directly to re-invigorated business innovation and even created improvements in the quality of life. For example, safety, quality and environmental related loss incidents have proven to be not only manageable and avoidable, but sound management of these issues has conferred greater advantage on those who succeeded while driving many who did not adapt out of business. While large scale corruption may have brought about regulatory changes, these changes have spurred a re-visioning of Enterprise Risk Management. Advanced Risk Management software has allowed business to more directly mitigate losses. This has resulted in a cleaner, more efficient and more competitive business environment.

In the post-SOX environment, the same social and political pressures on organizations are present. Improved attitudes and tools have encouraged the proliferation of sound Operational Risk Management to the economic and strategic benefit of those properly prepared for the journey.

Musketeer Management: All For One and One For All

There’s nothing like being in a great team. It is one of life’s greatest highs and one of the real pleasures of going to work. Unfortunately, though, for many, it is a dream to be longed for rather than a daily reality. In teams that don’t click, the experience is frustrating, painful, and stressful. And for the organization that allows such teams to exist, an unproductive waste of talent.

But all that can change.

With 7 simple acts of teamwork, teams can change from being the source of our greatest anguish into being the source of our greatest joy. Here’s how.

1. Sharing. If you want to measure the strength of your team, do a sharing audit. Simply record the number of acts of team sharing in any day. That’s sharing information, sharing ideas, sharing feelings, values and needs. Or simply just sharing being together. Your score will tell you just how together your group is. The most important feature of team sharing is goal sharing. If your people don’t even share the team goal, chances are you have a bunch of individuals who happen to work near each other, not a team.

2. Asking for Help.  Strong teams are strong because the individuals in it have different but complementary qualities. Sue’s a great detail person. John sees the big picture. Ron gets on with everyone. Jill is a loner. And so on. That means that when anyone has to do something they’re not particularly gifted at, they can turn to someone else in the team for help. In strong teams, you frequently hear people asking for help. In poor teams, it is considered a sign of weakness.

3. The 3 A’s. Another audit you can do to find out if you have a team or just a bunch of individuals is the 3 A’s Audit. The 3 A’s stand for Appreciating, Accepting, and Acknowledging. They are the features of great teams and stand in contrast to the 3 C’s of poor teams: Criticising, Complaining, and Condemning.

Accepting means letting people know they’re valued members of the team. Acknowledging means letting them know they belong. And appreciating means letting them know the team just wouldn’t be the same without them.

4. Valuing Others. We all need to feel important. When we are valued, we take pride in who we are and what we do.
Warren Bennis, professor of business administration at the University of Southern California, describes his campus as “a dry, crack-infested part of LA”. But, he says, every morning is a delight because the grounds of the campus are so fresh and well-kept. He adds: “It makes a big difference to me. But I wonder if anyone has reminded the gardeners of the importance of their work.”

Have you told someone in your team lately how much you value them?

5. Giving Feedback. Strong teams are defined by the amount of interaction there is between team members. When interaction is low, so is team morale. One essential type of interaction in strong teams is feedback. It can take 3 forms:
•    positive feedback given by anyone in the team to someone else when they do something that benefits the whole team
•    constructive feedback given by anyone in the team to help someone else in the team perform better
•    requested feedback from anyone in the team when they want someone to help them with their performance.
•   
When there is a constant exchange of these kinds of feedback, given skillfully without criticism and rancour, the team cannot help but grow and develop.

6. Building On Others. When management consultant Peter Honey explored the differences between teams and groups, he found that one of the key differences was that teams pick up on each others’ ideas and build, whereas groups don’t. This feature is also known as convergent listening. Team members are intently interested in what others have to say. Rather than let it go by without comment, they take something from it and develop it into something worthwhile.

7. A Friendly Climate. A friendly climate is the result of team morale. Morale is a state of mind that radiates confidence in people. It happens by itself when everyone feels sure of their place in the team. Nobody is anxious to prove themselves to anyone else. Nobody shows off. Nobody seeks to be better than anyone else.
When this happens, individual egos disappear, and team spirit emerges.

This isn’t Utopia. It’s reality in workplaces throughout the world. But it does have to be worked for and it does require commitment from everyone in the team. Whether you’re a team member or team leader, the results are worth that commitment.

Mismanagement At The New York Times

The New York Times Company (NYT) isn’t just reporting the news – it’s making the news. At yesterday’s annual meeting, shareholders withheld 28% of their votes for the four directors elected by holders of the company’s common stock. Nine other directors are elected by holders of the Class B shares, effectively granting control of the company to a group holding less than a 1% economic interest in the business.

Most of the large newspaper companies have not done a great job of earning the best returns for their shareholders. Some of these companies overdid acquisitions. The New York Times Company illustrates the danger of adding to the empire – you dilute the crown jewel.

In 1993, the company bought The Boston Globe. Unfortunately, this is exactly the kind of paper that will be hurt by online news sources. Second-tier major city dailies are not in a strong position, because they try to be all things to all people.

A newspaper can thrive by dominating a specific niche. That niche can be geographical or topical. Community newspapers can thrive, because they still have no real competition. The news they report is unique. It is very important to a very small group of people.

A company that owns clusters of these papers in wealthy suburbs will do fine. By reporting on local schools, sports, and events these publications set themselves apart from all other news sources. They have a mini-monopoly both on the news they provide and on the ads they run.

There are places in states like New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvannia where advertisers benefit from targeting specific communities, because the demographics of the next town over are not nearly as attractive. A lot of this has to do with public schools. I don’t see that system changing anytime soon. So, I imagine these properties will fare much better than big city newspapers.

The New York Times Company has one great asset – its brand. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal each have a very valuable national brand. People all over the country have been exposed to them through other media outlets. The value isn’t really in the size of the circulation. If you think of the entire country as their potential market, their circulations are tiny (the news business is very fragmented).

A few years ago, it would have been crazy to think of the entire country as a potential market for these publications. But, I don’t think that’s the case today. These papers could earn a lot of money online. Of course, they have to figure out how to earn money online.

Long-term, I don’t like the idea of expensive online subscriptions. It looks like a great idea now, but it could limit future ad revenue. Becoming a dominant online news destination would prove extraordinarily profitable. Unfortunately, no one is going to capture more than a tiny sliver of the online news market by charging a lot of money for their content.

It isn’t just an issue of people not wanting to pay. It’s also an issue of exclusivity. The less exclusive an online news source is the more often it will be cited. People who don’t visit your site are far less likely to reference it. Just as importantly, no writer wants to exclude any part of his own readership. So, many writers simply won’t cite a subscription service.

Some online writers do reference subscription services. Knowing how strongly people react to being excluded, I think writers who cite paid services are absolutely nuts. Even if it isn’t consciously acknowledged, readers will enjoy your site less if it points out something they can’t have.

Both The New York Times Company and Dow Jones (DJ) went the route of buying an established online destination. I’m always skeptical of these kind of me too acquisitions. These businesses did need to go online, but they needed to do it in their own way. The acquisitions will probably work out better than I thought they would. But, I still think the real value is in the brand.

Is the New York Times Company cheap? It’s close. If you agree with me about the potential for a real national news brand, the stock looks cheap. Otherwise, it looks about fairly priced.

Newspapers have been beaten down a lot recently, but they were so well-loved to begin with that they aren’t at the kind of levels that guarantee market beating returns regardless of how well they’re run. That’s happened in other businesses. You could extract more cash from a dying business than the stock was selling for. That isn’t the case here. The stock is currently priced as if it were a continuing (albeit mature) business.

If the New York Times is truly a dying business, it isn’t worth the current price. But, if there is real value in the brand, it’s a bargain right now.

I’m not confident in the decision making at this company, because I’ve seen how capital was misallocated in the past. Many of these questionable investments were small relative to the value of the core franchise. But, that doesn’t excuse the lack of focus and the lack of a true owner oriented culture.

The favorable economics inherent to the business are no excuse either. There are very profitable companies out there that aren’t nearly as profitable as they could be. For instance, Campbell Soup (CPB) consistently earns good returns on capital; but, I haven’t seen any evidence that those returns were the result of skillful capital allocation. I think much the same is true at the New York Times Company. A great franchise helps cover-up less than optimal uses of capital – and the Times’ management has benefited from inheriting a great franchise.

If I were confident about the way this company will be run and the way capital will be allocated, I’d be buying shares right now. There’s real value and real opportunity in this franchise. But, I’m not sure there’s the will to do what needs to be done.

Mastering The Difference Between Leadership And Management

It is a common belief that management and leadership are the same role. While it is common that a manager also plays the part of the leader, these two roles are truly separate in function and in the way they add to the success of an orginization. By understanding the difference between management and leadership you will become more effective in helping others see the road ahead.

To understand the difference between management and leadership, consider the construction of a new road. To build that road there are workers, machinery and tools which are all vital in the road’s construction. Managers help ensure those workers, machinery and tools work together in the most efficient way possible. A manager makes sure those workers are well-trained, motivated, rested and that they know what they’re supposed to do next. The manager does the same thing with the tools and the machinery to make sure that they’re working correctly and that the workers are able to use them efficiently and safely. This is the role of management. On the other hand, a leader makes sure that the road is going in the right direction before the construction begins. That leader also monitors conditions in new situations to ensure that the road under construction is still the correct one and is still going in the right direction.

How does this affect you as a leader? Are you spending your time managing people when you should be making sure that the road ahead is the one that you want to be on? To expect to be an effective leader you must present a clear vision and a trail you are willing to walk on first. While there are times when it is appropriate for a leader to fill a management role, it is vital to understand the difference between leadership and management so you can be effective no matter which role you happen to be filling at a given time. If you are a leader overseeing managers, it is important that you provide them with the correct perspective so they may be effective in their management role. Don’t manage the managers. Lead them.

If you are not in a formal leadership role, it is also important that you understand that when a leadership opportunity arises there is a difference between being a leader and managing the effort. Even if you end up filling both sets of shoes it’s important to understand the difference in roles in order to fill them effectively. If, on the other hand, you learn how to lead by showing people that you are walking down the right road, you will become a natural leader and will be able to help many others find success as your achieve your own.