When I began my working career, drug testing was not even a word combination. I had never been exposed to drugs beyond the point of alcoholic beverages, and then only on special occasions and holidays. To contemplate daily usage of some foreign substance was beyond my realm of possibilities. I was not alone. That was twenty-five years and many drug issues ago.Today, if you apply for a job, of any kind, you will be drug tested. Why? Because a lot has changed in twenty-five years. Today, the prevalence of drug abuse in every level of our society has grown beyond anyones belief. Drugs have infected...

Appraisals have a pretty bad reputation in many organizations. Managers dread having to give them and employees hate having to take them. But by simply focusing on 7 high-value components of appraisals, you can turn them into one of the most important activities you perform and start to love them. Here are those 7 features.1. Re-state The Key Areas. Appraisals give managers and employees the chance to re-state the key result areas of the job. These are, quite simply, what people are paid for. For a manager, they might be: Production; Quality; Costs; Safety; Staff. For an engineer, they might be...

The director of telemarketing operations at a financial services company looks out across his 3600 square foot call center on a typical Monday morning. Look at all those empty chairs, he laments. It is sickly Monday and my partiers are taking their usual unscheduled day long break. The problem of the three day weekend or absenteeism in general doesnt just affect the manager in this setting. What about the other 80% of the work force who showed up? They are now burdened with additional duties while filling the vacancies that have temporarily developed.With the challenge of recruiting qualified workers...

The important processes that have to be clearly delineated for Data Mining, Analysis and Modelling are:Data model: what data will be available and how will it flow?Data gathering: how will data be gathered both in physical and technological terms?Data gathered: what data will be gathered?Data types: what types of data will be gathered?Data formatting: how will data be held?Data warehousing: where will data be held?Data mining: how will we retrieve data from the warehouse?Information modelling: how will we create models and what of?Information access: how will we access the data models and reports?Presentation...

Changing consumer attitudes are driving Customer Relationship Management. Fuelled by Internet induced expectations and an even increasing mood of self reliance among customers, companies have to compete in an environment where communication, buying processes, data management, delivery and service are all-important in the battle for longterm, profitable relationships.Customers now require:- Control over the buying process (information, comparison,selection, easy to find, use and respond to)- The best possible price (including delivery, and withoutcompromise to brand or product quality)- The quickest,...

How many times have you heard a business owner or manager say that they spend their workday always sweating at putting out fires? I hear it all the time. Think of a raging forest fire. There are sweaty fire fighters working hard, just yards in front of the flames. There is one person in a helicopter 10,000 feet above the flames. Those on the ground and the one in the helicopter are all looking at the same fire but they have totally different views. Those on the ground are putting out fires. The one in the helicopter is directing the fire fighting effort. In business, even the smallest of businesses,...