Successfull Business Strategy

In recent times, there has been an incredible upsurge in the number of people who want to study business management courses. From every indication, the benefits of a business management course are not restricted to the corporate manager in a blue chip firm. Everybody can benefit from this type of course, because it covers the many different aspects of running a business successfully.

For the student at college level, business management courses can serve to make the student or recent graduate more versatile and more marketable to employers of labor. This is a vital quality in today’s saturated labor market. Courses in business management cover a lot of ground. Those that take these courses get to learn a lot of things and these can be applied in real life situations.

In more specific terms, however, it is clear that taking courses in business management will be of immense benefit for the individuals who run businesses of their own. This is because these are the people who need business management skills the most.

For this group of people, the benefits of business management courses cannot be underestimated. For a start, courses in business will ensure that company owners learn the beauty of delegating duties and tasks to other people. Most owners try to do all the work there is to be done in the businesses they run by themselves. By taking courses in business, they will learn that this is not really possible or desirable. They will therefore begin to delegate and get better results.

Again, the era of the lone-wolf business man or woman is long over. These days, the emphasis is on teamwork and on getting results as a group. This is another important lesson that taking courses in business will teach you.

It has to be noted as well that taking courses in business is bound to make students learn more about the modern practices of business. Concepts such as outsourcing are still very foreign to a large number of business men and women. Courses in business will serve to expose people to these and other relatively new business practices.

Finally, courses in business will serve to boost productivity, increase sales, and make company owners more versatile than they already are. If you are looking to learn some new skills to take your company to the next level, then you should seriously consider investigating one of these courses.

Okay so, my comments here today are not to scare anyone, rather to consider asteroids from a risk management perspective. You see, not long ago, a concerned citizen and now a distant acquaintance contacted our Think Tank which operates online about the almost unthinkable thought of a very large asteroid slamming into Earth and wiping out the human race. Yes, a morbid thought indeed, and he promises me he is genuinely serious about this issue and hasn’t smoked anything in years.

Now then, after considering the accumulated knowledge on this topic I’ve been fortunate enough to run across, along with all the doomsday Hollywood Movies, a few books on the topic, some Discovery Channel shows, several research papers, and a couple of astronomy classes along the way – I decided to revisit the topic. Over the course of a little less than a week now, I’ve read no fewer than 50 research papers on the topic from all the best known astronomers dedicated to this area of study.

My acquaintance tells me he comes from a business risk management point of view having run many companies, and he also comes from a strategic thinking standpoint having studied war-gaming all his life, and asks me to consider the ramifications of this issue from that venue, and hold my critique until I’ve carefully considered it – indeed, I can safely say I have. Therefore, here is my assessment and the official position of our think tank;

It appears to me that it may be wise to back off any immediate mandated effort to go and kill a large comet or Asteroid which maybe heading for Earth right now. Likewise the concept of funding $50 Billion each and every year to put a space ship, attack crew, with the necessary number of nuclear weapons, as my acquaintance suggests is simply not currently feasible. In the future it might be, but we live in the present period, not the future. In 2-3 decades we may have better materials, better space vehicles, and better ability to manipulate gravity – currently we do not.

There are also several reasons for this risk assessment. First, an extremely large asteroid, one which could cause all life to go extinct on this planet, would be a massive space rock – we simply do not have the fire-power currently to shoot it down, divert it, or bump it out of the way. One estimate would be that it might take 2000 nuclear bombs to do this, which as my acquaintance claims would take some 4,000 large Delta Rockets to get up into space.

Secondly, there are not that many very large sized asteroids that we know about which are for sure on a collision course for Earth. There are many potential smaller ones to practice on yes, and maybe that’s a present day option instead.

Third, we do not have an accurate census of the threat, more studies are needed, and we need to know more information, and that information must be more accurate, currently the margin for error on our data of size of the objects is estimated at 100%, meaning if an ECA (Earth-Crossing Asteroid) is 50 meters in diameter, it could very well be 100 meters, that quite frankly isn’t good enough data for risk assessment. More work is needed, and it should be funded to get accurate data.

Fourth, we have no clue as to the consistency, make-up of any of these space rocks which have been found and discovered and are already part of the NEO (Near Earth Object) or NEA (Near Earth Asteroid), we are only guessing based on reflectivity, spectrometry, radiometry, and other readings – and this still only tells us of the surface of such objects. We do have some idea that some of these asteroids and comets have a good deal of macro and micro-porosity, which is in our favor should one come to Earth at just the right angle to enter the atmosphere and not skip back out into space.

Fifth, due to the fact that likelihood of such an event within the next 100-years is a low percentage, we should wait until we have better technology to do something about it, while we fund practice missions to asteroids, and various strategies to deflect, destroy, or divert (D3) them. What we learn will confirm what we are dealing with. Sun Tzu – know your enemy well, and know yourself well. We know we currently do not have the political will, or technology, and we know very little about these space rocks, although that is changing.

Sixth, a semi-large asteroid that we might be able to shoot down or D3 using all of our current nuclear fire-power is hit or miss, and we have no idea if we’d be able to see it in time, or if it would for sure hit us, as our data is inaccurate, and we know that. So whereas, it might kill 100 million or even 500 million people at or after impact, the human race would still go on.

So, in closing – We don’t have the capability of taking out the BIG ONE right now, a smaller one wouldn’t completely take us out – and we have time on our hands, thankfully. Thus, we need to use that time expediently and carefully. We need to fund a complete and accurate census of all asteroids and comets catalogued by;

1. Size,

2. Speed,

3. Orbit or Period,

4. Stream or Cluster (if any),

5. Estimated Make Up and Density,

Simultaneous, we need to work on better materials for space craft, better equipment, more fire power, and delivery systems. Such as;

1. Sample collection by all means,

2. Carbon nano-tube, graphene composite construction,

3. Advanced radar, spectrometry, telescope, radiometry – all types of systems,

4. Advanced space propulsion systems (all types need funding, prototypes, and testing),

5. Defensive energy systems, including: Laser, Nuclear, Vibrational, Gravity manipulation technologies,

Along the way, as this strategy progresses, it makes sense to expedite the research, prototypes, and take risks as necessary to develop a solid strategy and have the capability to D3 any medium to large size space rock threat. We must maintain the will to deal with this ever present threat, and not simply write it off as something we can’t do anything about, or that we hope will never happen.

Why? Because the Dinosaurs are no longer with us – they didn’t have a planetary defense system. Humans are smart enough to solve this problem and deal with this inevitable future challenge because it’s not if, but when, and right now, we don’t have enough information for a solid risk assessment – thus, it’s wise to be prudent in this matter. This is the official position of the Online Think Tank in the matter of saving the human race from extinction from a Comet or Asteroid strike.

The importance of risk management is often under-estimated by many companies. Resources invested in risk assessment are often considered to be unnecessary, yet businesses are willing to cope with ‘firefighting’ to deal with unfolding uncertainties. A properly formulated risk management (RM) plan can not only protect value, but also entail organized activities to increase economic and shareholder value while fulfilling compliance requirements.

Judging by the current financial turmoil and its consequences on regional businesses, the need for RM as never been greater. It is evident that a well-integrated, company-wide risk management does not only protect against emerging risks, but it also helps provide a competitive edge that spreads confidence and enables high performance.

In many organizations, the risk management function represents no more than a short-term response to an emerging situation or new regulatory requirements. But, recent victims, particularly in the banking and real-estate sectors highlighted the potential threats of this. A more appropriate approach would be to devise a RM plan that assesses potential risks across an entire organization, taking into account political, economical, social and technological factors. Other factors such as market dynamics and legal and regulatory requirements could also be taken into consideration.

A more comprehensive approach to risk management is often adopted by successful companies, as an indicator of robustness and high performance. Nowadays, leading companies, particularly in the financial sector are more likely to adopt a wholesome approach to risk management, and put in place processes and technologies for a successful implementation.

Many companies are progressively realizing the need to integrate their risk management plan into their business strategy. This can be an invaluable way to protect value and ensure sustained growth. Value creation can be achieved through
(a) assisting management in directing capital fund to most productive avenues,
(b) assessing the risk associated with new investment decisions to increase business efficiency and productivity and
(c) improving relations with ratings and regulatory agencies, particularly for listed companies.

Prevailing RM practices not only address mitigation, compliance and control, but also become an integrated part of business strategy. The provision of risk-related guidelines for decision-making processes improves strategic execution to increase shareholders returns and raise the organization to a higher level of performance.

The company strategy and RM often coincides at different phases of the planning cycle, including
(a) a strategy formulation which defines the company’s risk culture, rules and regulations to manage risk, and adopting the right technology to identify, monitor and track risks;
(b) a strategic RM where inherent risks are embedded in any business strategy;
(c) a business strategy evolution where RM evaluates varying strategic options and helps direct company resources towards more profitable options and
(d) the risk management can be assessed in a variety of ways, depending on the maturity of planning within a company. Different companies have different level of appetite to risk taking and companies should identify the best approach for their risk strategy.

The chosen approach should target a number of objectives including:
(a) compliance where traditionally a few business areas are considered for risk assessment to ensure adherence to policies and procedures, establishing clear guidelines keep the company compliant, but remain vulnerable to risk;
(b) value protection which employs more advanced techniques to safeguard current assets and shareholder value, but does not address the overall risk profile of the company and
(c) value creation which involves a dedicated risk evaluation team that usually establishes relevant standards to mitigate risk across the whole organization.

In order to determine the best strategic approach to risk planning, the following steps could be pursued:
(a) establish strategic guidelines by determining what company stakeholders expect from risk management and outline the role of the risk management teams;
(b) determine risk profile by establishing and agreeing what level of risk the company is willing to take and the analysis to be performed;
(c) choose the approach by identifying key performance indicators to monitor risks being taken and expose if the company is operating within its comfort zone;
(d) carry out gap analysis by benchmarking the company’s existing risk plan, if it exists, with the risk strategy and analyze what remains to be completed and
(e) develop a strategic roadmap by identifying the key actions required to realize business strategies and put the new program into action.

In the face of uncertainties, the leaders of regional businesses are encouraged to devise a strategy to risk management as an instrument that enables businesses to achieve and maintain superior performance. This not only identifies and deals with wide-ranging risk potentials, but also creates and enhances shareholders’ values and permits a long term of growth and profitability.

Putting up your very own business is feasible by considering some options that can allow you to get the investment money. The most effective thing is enough knowledge on the sorts of government grants for small business you could take advantage. All it needs is appropriate guidance, difficult function, and some patience. There is plenty of government aid that is possible to avail and we see a good deal of them over the internet and newspapers. Even though a whole lot of them are there to choose from, you just need to be very careful by checking if this information is true as you don’t want to waste more cash than you gain.

In order that it is possible to know that all the things you ought to have about government grants for small business is try inquiring about them on the web via government web sites or you are able to go directly for the nearest government agency in your place. The assistance offered by the government doesn’t necessarily mean cost-free cash. They are generally within the form of low-interest loans. Although there are lots of cases when the government provide total assistance with respect on the case, one ought to understand that these government grants are primarily for nonprofit organizations that support scientific researches, medical and technological purposes, and those that have purposes which will benefit the community. A large variety of government grants for small business can only be awarded to individuals who passed the screening and strict reviews completed by the government.

The nation’s government presents various kinds of grants and funds for those who are proven worthy and eligible to receive them. Government grants for small business are the most controversial offers. You can get an excellent deal of information in internet about the steps and procedures you should follow if you desire to apply. These government grants are produced to promote free competition and to protect the interest of the small business sector. It is true that the possibilities of winning a grant is small especially if you are promoting a business which is entirely profit in nature. All it takes is tough work and proper awareness so that you can succeed.