Stephanie Willson's Business Blog

AppWorx Brings IT Efficiency

2007-10-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

(Diagram Source: AppWorx)

The following is a brief overview of my experiences and research into the AppWorx application which interfaces with SunGard Higher Education or Banner. AppWorx is a job scheduling and application software for systems operators, programmers, and administrators while reducing IT costs.

AppWorx is unique since it follows a job process throughout the life cycle. AppWorx accelerates business processes and simplifies application management through schedule management through “point and click” instead of scripts which can be traced completely by the program’s administrator.

AppWorx allows for all the traditional batch management tasks, as well as submit jobs and view output. It allows the user to integrate batch processing requirements across many applications. For operations, AppWorx helps a data center with a “lights-out” processing.

Information knowledge, such as business rules, job parameters, passwords, log-ins, conditional processing logic, exception handling procedures, sit in the AppWorx repository simplifying the new process set up, change management, and production maintenance.

The following buttons/windows are running across the AppWorx screen which are listed in the following order: Explorer Window, Requests Window, Output Window, Modules Window, Chains Window, Agents Window, Agent Groups Window, Applications Window, AppMaster Administration Window, Calendars Window, Data Types Window, Export Window, Import Window, Libraries Window, Logins Window, Output Devices Window, Output Groups Window, Program Types Window, Queues Window, Roles Window, Role Authorities Window, Output Interfaces Window, Substitution Variables Window, Thread Schedules Window, and Users Window.

Audit ability is a key component to AppWorx which allows the Administrator to be able to see who accessed the system, what, and when they did. Encrypted passwords are undetectable - even when passed through the network.

Recorded history, audit function for tracking changes, audit reports, separation of production and development and QA environments, role-based security, encrypted server and database passwords, and immediate error alerts help to minimize the IT role in Corporate Reporting

It is recommended when assigning roles there is a good system of checks and balances that are customizable specifically to each user duties based upon the Administrator’s decision. Some times roles overlap their access. Inherited role access is when the functions of one role overlap with the function of another role. For example, if Role A overlaps with Role B, then the unshared functions in Role B will remain in a no-edit format to that user. Also, it is smart to assign more than one role to a user in which there is definition to the “edit” and “non-edit” roles. There is no limit to creating additional roles to the user.

Controls for AppWorx roles take place at these three levels:
- For the AppWorx client the control is in the user logins.
- For the objects in the AppWorx database the control of functions are with roles.
- For the Database the control of the database and hosts are through logins.

User access can further be restricted by designating edit authorizations to certain roles, but not to others. I find AppWorx very interesting and it is highly regarded in the IT world.

Diagramming Can Be Tricky Stuff!

2007-08-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

There are so many different ways to diagram for reports and manuals when it comes to visually creating an explanation of how something is done in both words and pictures. There also seems to be a big difference between two types of diagrams: Systems and Processes.

Systems Diagrams tend to show how something is happening within an organization or situation. It is here that one will find computer, people, and other pictorial icons. The page can be very pretty and fun to look at, but it can also start to look very busy. Under a Systems Diagram I outline the steps shown in the picture. I have found that it is easier for the reader to follow the steps below if they are written out in Excel instead of Word. In Excel the description can be crisper and more contained, especially if you wrap the cells and outline each box. This helps the reader to be able to follow the chart more easily.

Process Diagrams tend to show how an idea or paper is "processed" by a system. Here instead of icons one will find boxes, triangles, diamonds, and other geometrical shapes which each represent something different in a process such as a decision or a step. The Process Diagram is necessary in illustrating the idea behind the System Diagram. Both Diagrams can be used in conjunction for a manual, but personally I think the Systems Diagram is the most fun to create!!

Visio - I Love It!

2007-08-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

I have been using Visio in my work to produce diagrams to describe concepts for other people to understand and I love it! It is such an easy to use program once you get used to it! I like how easy it is to lay out the design for the end user to read. I number each step of the process and outline below each diagram the steps that take place in my pictures. I feel that Visio combined with a description in Word really lays out for my readers exactly the process that I am describing and how it is taking place. This combination also caters to helping describe the process to people with different learning styles and disorders. It is great to know that I can really get a complex idea across to my audience. I am a total fan!

Ode to Oracle

2007-08-09T18:52:00.000-07:00

Oracle is a really impressive company. I have met many current and former employees of Oracle and I have always been impressed. My former professor at American University, Nicole Melander, at one time had worked for Oracle which she always spoke of very highly. After further research into this company it is easy to see why!

I have even blogged previously about Tom Kyte at Oracle who writes the blog Ask Tom. My favorite posting of Tom's was the snow letters that read ORACLE created by an Oracle employee.

Oracle has such an impressive data base and systems. There are so many platforms that many businesses and universities run on that it boggles the imagination. Oracle has general software applications for massive systems to run on servers housed in institutions. Oracle also has supplemental software to further tweak and customize existing systems. Wow!

I must admit that I am really impressed with Oracle!

Visio - Love It or Hate It!

2007-08-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Visio comes in two different packages: Visio Professional (2007) and Visio Standard (2003).

Visio is a visual diagramming software that describes:
- Business processes
- Organization charts
- Project schedules (timelines)
- Office space layouts
- Technology networking diagrams
- And much more with the use of pictures instead of words.

The program can also be a visual picture used to supplement text that can be bulleted with numbers or letters to mark the picture section being referrenced. Visio can also be used to create stand alone graphics for company logos and other such visual applications.

You either LOVE IT or you HATE IT. Some people love this software so much that they have dedicated websites to this software:
- MVPs
- Visio MVP
- Visio Guy

Others hate it and would prefer to read pure text instead of look at the picture to describe the the information that is being conveyed to the target audience. These testimonies will not be referenced here.

Microsoft Office provides online tutorials to teach you how to use the software. However, these tutorials are short-sighted by Microsoft since the tutorials are only geared towards Visio Professional, so if you purchased Visio Standard, then you will be completely lost and find the tutorials to be useless after spending hours trying to follow along. After complete frustration you can find online tutorials for 2003 which are not obviously placed on their website.

There is a good safety net though if you feel completely lost, but it will cost you extra?! You can buy a help book at your local bookstore to walk you through the program. Having the 2003 version presents several problems again however when going to the bookstore as most Visio books are geared towards Visio 2007.

The Barnes and Noble in Georgetown only had the Dummie's book for Visio 2007. Fortunately they have the official Microsoft Office Visio Step by Step book available in BOTH the 2007 and 2003 software versions.

The Microsoft Office Visio 2003 Step by Step book is pretty good. It comes with a disk with tutorials to ensure that you understand the software. The tutorials are very helpful in "showing" how the software works with a hands on approach! There is also introductory information about different uses of the software at the beginning of each chapter which promotes insight and ideas on how to implement this software in different work applications.

An Amazon Reviewer also spoke highly of the book:
"Just what the title says., August 2, 2005
By
William L. Reeves "LamarDesignStudios" (Tampa FL) - See all my reviews Well organized and easy to study. Suits multiple learning styles. The CD has some excellent additional information. "

Business Intelligence Platforms

2007-07-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a debate amongst businesses on the best statisitcal databases out there for running queries. Everyone says theirs is better and here are a few:

SAS
SPSS
Cognos
Business Objects
Siperian

Which do you prefer and why?

I Love YouTube

2007-06-19T21:02:00.000-07:00

I really like this YouTube video that I posted on the blog I have volunteered to author on behalf of the non-profit company Second Chance Employment Services:

Here's a video back from the 1980's called Luka by Suzanne Vega found on YouTube. Thank you Suzanne Vega for breaking the silence!

Another Banner!

2007-06-13T20:46:00.001-07:00

I decided to create a new banner for my Jewelry Line instead. This one may still be a work in progress while I figure out a better way to get my words more readable. I like this one better than the other one I made because it is a picture of my own work in the background!

Banners, Banners, Banners!

2007-06-10T19:53:00.001-07:00

I have really gotten good at making banners. I created the banner shown above for my jewelry business. I have joined the online community in creating a Website, Blog, and Store. I have gotten really good at making these banners :->

I enjoy designing wearable art. My friend Jen is getting married and she has asked me to design her some earrings to go with her wedding gown. I am also going to be designing a necklace that I will be donating to Second Chance Employment Services for their upcoming gala on September 27th to help raise money to bring at-risk women meaningful employment and financial independence.

What new creative things about the Internet have you enjoyed making?

Job Recruiting Styles

2007-06-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

On Tuedsday, April 17, 2007, I gave a PowerPoint Presentation to my Technology Social Networking Class called Innovative Job Recruiting Styles. I just found a copy of the PowerPoint Presentation that I made for Professor Nicole Melander online and wanted to post the link here and re-run the article I wrote for my presentation below and the powerpoints can also be found at http://sixdegrees.wikidot.com/local--files/jobs/Stephanie.ppt#301,15,Podcasts:

I read some interesting articles focusing on innovative Job Recruiting Styles. This interested me since I will be doing a presentation tomorrow morning at American University on Blogging and Recruiting.

I contacted a respected blogger, Trey Reeme, at OpenSourceCU and asked him some of his thoughts on this subject. Mr. Reeme pointed out the following article called The See-Through CEO which states, “There's a whole class of CEOs who can hardly write an email. In this new digital world, there are haves & have-nots, & people who can't write convincingly - they're leaving themselves defenseless. The people who clearly enjoy writing & blogging are like CEOs 2.0 - they have competitive advantage over other CEOs.” Clearly Mr. Reeme feels strongly that writing ability which can be expressed through blogging can be a saving grace in managing a CEOs reputation.

Blogging is a great way for companies and their vital employees to reach outside of themselves into the world. How then could a company transform this power into their Human Resources division to recruit top employees?

i agree. blogs aren't all that - but they do have their place is an article about how companies should not bother with blogging to recruit employees. That instead they should focus on their current recruiting methodologies and let the website designers bother with the blogging. This may be true in general for now, but it certainly works with some of the techie companies like Microsoft, T-Mobile, and Skype. In time, like other technologies, blogging may reach a larger audience other then the IT industry.

The youth are more open to innovative recruiting methods. That's why the controversial online social network site Facebook has teamed up with Jobster which can be found in the article Facebook, Jobster To Launch A Site For Young Job Seekers. It is hyping Facebook which used to be focused only towards college students now open to the public to further be opened up with college recruiting. The irony here is that Facebook has been keeping students from getting jobs from using the website leading parents to investing in the company Reputation Defender to clean up their child's reputation. I blogged on this topic earlier in February 2007.

It will be interesting to watch the different innovative ways that companies will begin changing their mode of operations. The recruiting practices of the Human Resources department will be most telling in the new directions we take through where they feel they can implement new techniques via youth, techies, or other groups.

Choose-A-Size Ad

2007-06-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

I had another client ask me to make them an ad at 400X300 instead of the banner at 700X100. I was definately able to help them with this new size and create an new ad button now that I have learned how to make these. I am really happy with the results and feel confident making an ad link of any size.

Learning these little things on the internet is pretty cool! What are the most recent things you've learned online lately?

I Love DC: White and Nerdy#links

2007-05-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

I Love DC: White and Nerdy#links
I had to learn how to create Ad Banners for a client over the past week in more than one dpi and in a specific size. I taught myself and took some advice from a friend. It took me a couple days to sleep on it and figure it out, but I am creative and did it! Having a "can do" attitude is important in business.

Busy With The Gala

2007-05-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

I am currently busy working on organizing the upcoming annual gala for Second Chance Employment Services to be held on September 27th! This is a worthwhile cause that benefits in helping real women at-risk gain financial independence. I have experience in fundraising and I look forward to taking my experience to the next level. I also created a blog for Second Chance that I am monitoring as well. I enjoy this sort of work as it is fulfilling using my skills to help others.

Dream Client: Second Chance

2007-05-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

I have started to build my Consulting Business with a client that I love and support, Second Chance Employment Services! I have created and currently maintain the Second Chance Blog which is an incredible experience. This is a picture of me and Ludy Green, CEO of Second Chance.

Last year I attended an event for Second Chance and wrote a post about it in this blog entitled Something Important To Me on March 11, 2007 on my I LOVE DC Blog. This is a picture of me with another attendee at the Last Kiss of Summer 2006 Event.

I'm so excited and pleased since this is a non-profit organization that I believe in and is effective in finding at-risk women real employment to give them sustainable financial independance. God bless you Ludy Green for making a difference in so many women's lives!!

Homage To Beautiful Jewelry

2007-05-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

I love handmade, unique pieces of jewelry. You can imagine my excitement when I stumbled across the Queen Doll New York website with gorgeous handmade pieces! This one is called Supreme Ruler and is really cute!

Choose Your Own Adventure: Management Simulation!

2007-05-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

The Capstone Class for students graduating at American University this spring used Management Simulations Inc which is a computer simulation of a publicly traded manufacturing plant that competes against several other firms in the same industry of making sensors. There were 6 groups and I was on the Ferris team. Everyone was divided up into different roles within the organization. My role was to share R&D with Zia and to be the VP of Finance since I was the only Finance major in our group. Our professor asked us as a question on our final exam to consider the strategy of our team and describe R&D, marketing, production, finance, and human resources in using this strategy. Below is a description of what took place and what I would have done differently in the future:

Strategy of our Company
I was supposed to share R&D with Zia and solely was in charge of Finance. I found that it was impossible for me to do the Finance page without doing a “mock up” simulation for all the sections for each year so that I would have “real numbers” to work with for when we worked as a group. This really exposed me to a lot of the sections of the simulation. Since I was in charge of these two sections I have put together a set of the decisions here.

Our company originally focused on only the “size” and “traditional” markets of the simulation choosing to ignore and delete the “performance” and “low-end markets”. We were going to create a niche and dominate a certain section through both price and an incredible, high quality product and add more lines. Unfortunately, this backfired on us and we did very poorly. We revisited our strategy and changed it to include all four markets, did not include a new line, and gave up having the most competitive price, but did maintain having a premium product. We changed the prices to insure that we had a minimum contribution for each line of 30%.

R&D
I co-chaired this position with Zia and we usually always put my numbers into the simulation. We mistakenly used only $1 Million for our budget in R&D. Later we figured out that we could use up to $1 Million for each line totaling a ceiling of $4 Million for each year. Upon this discovery we became much more competitive with other teams in terms of the type of product that we were offering and turned out the finest products in the class.

We used the courier as a guide post for making “decisions”, but also looked at what other companies were offering and took the product to the highest design level without leaving its market.

Marketing
Initially we tried to get into a price war with other companies, but this did not serve us well at all. We ended up setting our price where our contribution margin would be 30%. This was not always achieved, but we did strive to keep it at that level.

The marketing was a challenge since we had done so poorly financially in the beginning which did not give us enough money to market our product. We were very conservative through the first half of the simulation in marketing until our cash flow allowed us to be more aggressive.

We balanced out a budget for both promotion and sales. This was very complicated as each section was so specified. We ended up finding the strength of each market and placing a good amount of money where a specific strength was and gave no money where there would be little impact to our market.

Production
We did not do any automation because we ran into financial problems and lack of cash. In the future we would have automated more, but I know we made the best decision for our group at that time considering the level of debt we were in.

We were over-confident in the first round and had made more product than we were able to sell which really hurt us. From that point forward we only produced about 100 more units each year than we had sold from the previous year as we decided that it was better to “stock out” than be overstocked.

Finance
I was in charge of Finance and co-worked R&D with Zia. I found that keeping our cash reserves between 12-18,000 kept away the loan shark “Big Al”. Anything above that cash limit was used to slowly pay off our bonds at a rate of about $20 Million at a time or excess cash would used for company investments, but usually it went to paying off the bonds. Initially when we had money problems I did have to go to the marketing department and negotiate their spending. This was painful, but it seemed to be the only option. Later I let marketing know that they could spend as much as they wanted once the cash flow problem had been solved.

I did not pay any dividends to the stockholders as I wanted to increase the value of our stock like IBM and make holding the stock more of an investment than being paid to hold it through dividends like a “Utility stock.”

Human Resources
We did a lot of training and recruiting. This seemed to become expensive, but was well worth it. We also reduced some labor costs by investing in TQM (Total Quality Management). We paid our employees market rate wages to avoid labor problems with the union.

How the strategy worked and what you would do differently next time?
The strategy didn’t work so well since we clearly had to shift gears quickly. The changed strategy served us well and our stock as it began to increase and we became very profitable later on. As our cash flow increased we were able to increase investments in marketing and other areas of improvement. Our stock price went up and our bond rating was great – AAA!

I was given the opportunity to try it again differently through a follow up simulation for the final exam, but this time with four rounds. I really learned a lot from that final as well. I used more automation which brought down the materials costs significantly. I continued to keep the contribution margin at about 30%, but in this different environment I found that to be a mistake and learned further through this simulation that I needed to increase my contribution margin further which means that I would need to also increase the prices of my products.

I was not sure if I should continue to turn out a “premium” product for all niches, but I found that when I did it served me better to keep the products the best quality for each niche. So I learned from this “extra chance” that next time I would keep good quality products that command a high price. I would also increase my contribution margins.

I spent a lot more on marketing and I felt that paid off well and would do it again in the future. I was too conservative with my sales projections and would probably risk producing more goods than being “sold out” most of the time. This last time we competed against the computer, but I liked competing against real people – it made it more realistic and surprising with human choices and strategies. This was a lot of fun!

Part of the extra simulation was a exam which I did not feel represented the simulation. I did not like that part, was not reflective of what I had learned, and was more of a chore if anything. I feel that this part should be removed as it is not a true measurement of the simulation. It was only busy work and not worth my time. I found this part disappointing.

Further Reasons Behind Stock Choices

2007-05-02T11:55:00.000-07:00

We were also asked to explain how our stocks reacted to news and business developments my college class, Business Policy and Strategy in which we were to “invest” approximately $10,000 in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc.

I am graduating from American University with a degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance and Accounting. I was with UBS Financial Services under a financial advisor last year.

I knew before taking this course that in order to properly diversify a portfolio there needs to be at least 15 different types of stocks. I had a portfolio made entirely of socks with no bonds or mutual funds because the goal of this portfolio is for retirement and I was taught never to buy a stock that you could not let sit for at least 20 years.

I think this portfolio did well in spite of the fluctuations we experienced in the stock market this spring. The following is a list of news events that effect the stocks that I chose which were:

AAPL Apple
APD Air Products & Chemicals
BAC Bank of America
BK The Bank of New York
C Citigroup
CL Colgate-Palmolive Co
CSCO Cisco
DD DuPont
FDX Fed Ex Corporation
GS Goldman Sachs Group
HPT Hospitality Properties Trust
IBM IBM
MER Merryll Lynch & Co Inc.
WYE Wyeth

The Following are several headlines of what happened in the news that played a part in effecting the stocks that I had chosen with my comments in red:

Tue, May 1, 2007
UPDATE - Google expands personalization with iGoogleat Reuters

This is past the date that I snap shot my portfolio, but this would cause the Google stock to increase.

Mon, Apr 30, 2007
Joe Nocera on Steve Jobs' Role in Apple Scandalat Business 2.0
Apple TV On Sale at Costco for $289at Business 2.0
Bad blood between Adobe and Microsoftat Business 2.0 (Mon 9:59am)
Monday Morning Apple Linksat Business 2.0 (Mon 9:40am)
Ahead of the Bell: Apple Edges UpAP (Mon 9:08am)
Bad blood between Microsoft and Adobe will cause the Microsoft stock to go down.
Steve Jobs being named in a scandal will hurt Apple despite the positive market share.

April 29
U.S. Manufacturing Sector Accelerates - AP -The nation's manufacturing sector showed surprising strength in April, growing at a faster-than-expected pace and pushing up prices for fuel, metals and corn-based products, a trade group said Tuesday.
Venezuela Seizes Last Private Oil Fields - AP President Hugo Chavez's government took over Venezuela's last privately run oil fields Tuesday, intensifying a struggle with international oil companies that could slow development of the world's largest known petroleum deposit.
Schools Banning IPods to Beat CheatersAP (Sun, Apr 29)

Sat, Apr 28, 2007
[$$] Subscribing to the IPhone Revenue Streamat Barron's Online (Sat, Apr 28)
April 27-28 Manufacturing increasing prices for fuel, metals, and alternative fuels will depress the market since these will raise the cost to do business in every sector.
Venezuela further increases the cost of oil and fuel by seizing oil fields.
IPods being used for cheating may reduce sales by parents, but the IPhone getting publicity may negate the bad news.

Saturday April 28, 2007
Chile Asks Google to Fix Map Gaffe
Dollar Slumps; Euro Hits Record High
Google stock will go down by messing up their mapping software. The stockmarket will suffer from the Dollar decreasing in value.

Friday April 27, 2007
Economy Crawls, Raising Recession Fears
Chevron 1Q Profit Surges 18 Percent
Southwest Gas 1Q Profit Up
Venezuelans Struggle to Food Staples
Goldman Invests in Arcadian Networks
State by state, Microsoft responds to assault on its dominanceat MarketWatch (Fri, Apr 27)
Microsoft Milks The Monopolyat Forbes.com (Fri, Apr 27)
Some Apple laptops may have batter problems - no safety riskat CNNMoney.com (Fri, Apr 27)
Microsoft's Vista Sales Boost 3Q ProfitAP (Fri, Apr 27)
Apple says some notebooks may have battery issuesat Reuters (Fri, Apr 27)
Apple iPhone's Slippery Secretat Business 2.0 (Fri, Apr 27)
Apple And Amazon Spur Tech ETFsat Forbes.com (Fri, Apr 27)
Economy bad news will cause the market to go down.
Gas companies making prices may help people feel that the fuel industry is holding on through the fuel problems.
Goldman stock may increase from investments.
Microsoft stock may increase from doing well
Apple stock may decrease from laptop problems, but the coordination with Amazon may mitigate the issue.

April 27 – Wyeth CFO, Kenneth Martin, resigning April 27, 2007
Change of leadership at Wyeth will cause the stock to go down

Thu, Apr 26, 2007
Apple Shares Above $100 on 2Q ProfitAP (Thu, Apr 26)
[$$] Apple, Microsoft Stir Interestat The Wall Street Journal Online (Thu, Apr 26)
[$$] Apple, 3M Post Gains On Profitsat The Wall Street Journal Online (Thu, Apr 26)
April 26 – Wyeth Shareholders wish to keep CEO/Chairman role together and pay dividend
Wyeth Shareholders Support Pay Proposal
Positive press for Apple and Microsoft will help increase their stock prices. Wyeth struggling to keep leadership may decrease stock.

Wednesday April 25, 2007
Treasury Prices Down Despite Mixed Data
Individual Taxes Set One-Day Record
More Banks Respond to Student Loan Probe
Treasury Prices Down means that the government feels we have a strong economy which may stimulate the market. Taxes coming in strong gives the government money to spend which stimulates the market. Banks answering to loan problems which will hurt bank stocks.

April 24 – Wyeth Key Biotech Qualities outlined in Wall Street Publication and FDA Approval
FDA approval will increase Wyeth stock.

Thu, Apr 19, 2007
Microsoft Exec Disses iPhone Down Underat Business 2.0 (Thu, Apr 19)
Earnings Outlook: Mac, iPod sales, new product releases to dominate Apple reportat MarketWatch (Thu, Apr 19)
April 19 – Wyeth Profits rise on vaccine sales on quarterly report
Microsoft dissing iPhone puts both companies in the media which is good for both Microsoft and Apple. Wyeth stock should rise from positive vaccine report.

Wed, Apr 18, 2007
iPhone on target for end of June launch, AT&T saysReuters
Apple stock should increase with new product getting coverage to hit the market.

April 15 – Wyeth Ends license agreement with SCOLR
Wyeth ending a license agreement will decrease their stock price.

Friday April 13, 2007
Google to Acquire DoubleClick for $3.1B
Google stock will increase from new technology.

Wed, Apr 11, 2007
Apple Adds MGM Movies to ITunesAP (Wed, Apr 11)

Apple stock will increase from new product offering.

April 5 – Wyeth FDA drug inspection complete

April 3 – Wyeth Purchases Japan Branch

April 1 – Wyeth Stock praised by Barron’s
April 1-5 is all positive news for Wyeth and will increase the stock price.

Friday March 30, 2007
Wall Street's Major Indexes
Ethanol Demand Boosts Corn Planting
Microsoft: Attacks on Windows Flaw Rise
Increase in corn will effect the fuel and agricultural markets by increasing their stock prices. These markets will effect the rest of the other markets as they will make doing business more expensive and will cause stock prices to drop. Microsoft attacking Windows will hurt both companies stocks.

March 26 – FDA approval and Wyeth gets BeneFIX Approval
FDA approval will cause Wyeth stock to rise.

Sunday March 25, 2007
Wall Street Awaits Home Sales, GDP Data
'No Child' Test Demands Taxing System
Group Meets in Shadow of Foreclosures
Subprime Bust Forces Families From Homes
Problems in the housing market will cause banks to have negative effects on their stocks. It also means that will have a struggling economy which will slow investment and cause all markets to go down. Extra taxes will also hurt the stock market.

Tuesday March 20, 2007
Treasury Prices Up Ahead of Fed Meeting
DuPont CEO Earned More Than $10M in 2006
March 20 – Wyeth’s Alzheimer research program expected to fail
Treasury prices up will lead to conservativism in the stock market. DuPont executive compensation will make the stock go down. Wyeth getting negative press will make the stock go down.

Thursday March 1, 2007
Corn Turned to Ethanol to Rise Next Year
DJIA Leaders & Laggards: Intel, Citi
Hospitality Properties to Offer Notes
Apple shares rise 3.6% following Lehman upgradeat MarketWatch (Thu, Mar 1)
Apple Shares Climb 3 PercentAP
Alternative fuels will increase the price of the energy stocks which will slow down all other sectors. Citibank gets good press which will increase its stock. Hospitality Properties offering notes will decrease their stock. Apple stock will go up with positive reviews by Lehman and other sources.

Wednesday February 28, 2007
Wyeth: FDA Inspection to Take More Time
FDA inspection delay will make Wyeth stock go down.

Thu, Feb 22, 2007
Microsoft Hit With $1.52B in DamagesAP (Thu, Feb 22)
Cisco-Apple Truce Murky on DetailsAP (Thu, Feb 22)
Microsoft Tells Some Users No on VistaAP (Thu, Feb 22)
Dow dips after recent record; oil prices jump.at CNNMoney.com (Thu, Feb 22)
Apple and Cisco Resolve Trademark Disputeat BusinessWeek Online (Thu, Feb 22)
S&P Keeps Strong Buy on Appleat BusinessWeek Online (Thu, Feb 22)
You want a piece of this, eh Cisco?at Fortune (Thu, Feb 22)
Apple, Cisco Call A Truceat Forbes.com (Thu, Feb 22)
Microsoft hit with lawsuit damages will make the stock go down along with having customer problems with Vista. Cisco and Apple getting along will help both stocks go up. Oil prices go up which will increase fuel stocks, but decrease other markets.

Overall for the news – I still feel strongly that it is important to review a stock over a longer period of time (6 months) instead of daily to get a real sense of the overall fluctuations as daily news can make a stock go up and down which doesn’t give a true reading for the direction that a stock is headed.

What do you think caused the fluctuations?

Virginia Tech Day of Silence

2007-04-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

A coordinated One Day Blog of Silence is scheduled to be held today on April 30, 2007 in honor of the victims of Virginia Tech. Instead of leaving comments, please post this picture on your blog to uphold the silence and solemn remembrance. Please use this day to meditate and pray for the victims, families, and effected area surrounding the horrible incident that took place at Virginia Tech earlier this week. Thank you.

My Stock Portfolio

2007-04-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

For one of my final college classes this semester we were to “invest” approximately $10,000 in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. I am graduating from American University with a degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance and Accounting. I was with UBS Financial Services under a financial advisor last year. I knew before taking this course that in order to properly diversify a portfolio there needs to be at least 15 different types of stocks. I had a portfolio made entirely of socks with no bonds or mutual funds because the goal of this portfolio is for retirement and I was taught never to buy a stock that you could not let sit for at least 20 years. I think this portfolio did well in spite of the fluctuations we experienced in the stock market this spring. I also gave my opinion on the health of the stock by reading its annual chart. Below is the portfolio I put together with my personal stock choices and its performance over 3 months:

As follows for each stock: Ticker Symbol, Company Name , Number of Shares, Bought on 2/1/07, Sold on4/28/07, Value on 4/28/07, Reason for being placed in portfolio, My analysis of company's annual chart.

AAPL Apple 10 Shares 83.94 99.92 $999.20
I picked Apple because of the recent Ipod popularity. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

APD Air Products & Chemicals 5 Shares 74.71 78.06 $390.3
I picked APD because it is such an unusual company and I wanted to diversify my portfolio. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

BAC Bank of America 20 Shares 52.84 50.77 $1,015.40
I picked Bank of America because I currently work here. Based on its annual chart I would have to question if this is a good stock to continue holding in the portfolio.

BK The Bank of New York 20 Shares 40.17 40.81 $816.20
I picked Bank of NY Company because I’ve talked with them about a portfolio problem when I worked for UBS. My supervisor once gave me a 5 minute speech on the virtues of this bank and its stock – it made a distinct impression on me and I decided that day to invest in Bank of NY in the future. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

C Citigroup 5 Shares 54.73 53.37 $266.85
I picked Citigroup because it is Bank of America’s competitor. Based on its annual chart I would have to question if this is a good stock to continue holding in the portfolio.

CL Colgate-Palmolive Co 5 Shares 68.11 67.04 $335.20
I picked Colgate because it is a household name in daily goods such as toothpaste and soap. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

CSCO Cisco 5 Shares 26.59 27.03 $135.15
I picked Cisco because it is a technology company and I wanted to diversify my portfolio. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

DD DuPont 20 Shares 50.58 49.69 $993.80
I picked DuPont because it is a classic company specializing in chemicals used daily in American and international households. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

FDX Fed Ex Corporation 2 Shares 111.89 107.22 $214.44
I picked Fed Ex Corp because it is a household name in package delivery. Based on its annual chart I would have to question if this is a good stock to continue holding in the portfolio.

GS Goldman Sachs Group 10 Shares 212 224.28 $2,242.80
I picked Goldman Sachs because it is a top company in the investment banking world. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential. I also heard that the CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, is an AU alumni - is this true?

HPT Hospitality Properties Trust 5 Shares 46.97 46.04 $230.20
I picked HPT because it is a REIT specializing in hotels and travel centers and I wanted to diversify my portfolio. Based on its annual chart I would have to question if this is a good stock to continue holding in my portfolio.

IBM IBM 10 Shares 99 101.17 $1,011.70
I picked IBM because it's a classic household name in technology. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

MER Merryll Lynch & Co Inc. 5 Shares 94.78 90.11 $450.55
I picked Merryll Lynch because it is an investment company with a solid history. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

WYE Wyeth 5 Shares 50.62 55.45 $277.25
I picked WYE because it is a medical company and I wanted to diversify my portfolio. Based on its annual chart it shows very strong growth and potential.

Which stocks would you choose for your portfolio?

Business Clothing and Office Space

2007-04-20T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Language of Clothing for Corporate Dress

Organizational Behavior

April 18, 2006

Stephanie Willson

Josette Balthazar

Katya Wildgen

Danielle Brooks

In the movie Office Space Initech represents a computer corporation which houses primarily senior management executives, non-management employees, (which include software engineers, and technicians), and administrative staff. The employees and executives in the corporation represent a good foundation of what most employees and executives might be found wearing in the workplaces across America.

The importance of wearing the right corporate dress can determine how employees and management are perceived and treated by their peers, their supervisors, and other business clients in corporate America. Choosing the correct wardrobe and accessories, among other important details can make or break even the most well intentioned employees. That said, recommendations as to how each of characters in the movie would have survived the ‘Bob’ interviews in retaining their jobs at Initech are explored.

The characters portrayed as the “Bobs” in the movie wore executive level ‘uniforms’ to the office, and their style of dress enhanced their relationships with upper management in the company. The Bobs personified the management “gold standard” of dress: the rules that should be followed if one wants to be perceived positively and respected within the professional realms of the firm.

Upper management executives at Initech include Vice President - Bill Lumbergh and Don, who both played two of Peter Gibbon’s eight bosses. Their chosen forms of office attire differentiated them from their subordinates. These executives also interfaced well with the consultants, such that the consultants mirrored the type of outward appearance that the executives respected.

The movies main character, Peter Gibbons, serves as an ideal bridge between a model representation of the regular employee and an executive. Peter’s character places a foothold in both of these worlds. In certain scenes of the movie, Peter portrays his feelings about Initech with regard to the types of clothing he chooses to wear.

Non-management employees at Initech include software engineers, technicians and the administrative staff. The ‘office uniforms’ worn by Michael Bolton, Samir, Milton Waddams and Tom Smykowski provides adequate detail about their status within the organization. Their choice of clothing automatically places them in a ‘lower level’ position within the organization.

The level of hygiene/grooming and the types of accessories worn by each of the main characters in the movie, such as glasses, briefcases, watches, shoes, and so forth, are equally as important in preparing for an interview. One might emphasize the importance of these factors in their personal presentation. Research based recommendations for how the non-management employees could have aced the ‘Bob’ interviews had they chosen the correct work pieces are also disclosed.

Initech’s best known management proto-type of who the other characters should have been emulating in dress was their dreaded boss, Bill Lumbergh. Take notice of the body language between Lumbergh and Slydell and one will soon realize that these two men saw each other as social and work environment equals. When looking on the surface of what Lumbergh and Slydell have in common, one can see that they have communicated through their similar and shared clothing styles in which they view each other as peers. Although they both have different ways of expressing their own personal flair, there are enough details to clue each other into with whom they are speaking.

The biggest key giveaway towards the unspoken management dress code at Initech is the suit. In the book Dress for Success by John T. Molloy, the management characters follow Molloy’s advice and follow the unwritten dress code that they all seem to understand. They know how to announce to the company that they are still wearing suits even though they have taken off their jackets. The primary symbol that is displayed amongst one another when their jackets have been taken off is their suspenders. Suspenders are usually only worn with suit trousers, cueing the viewer that they did indeed come into the office with a jacket which is sitting by their desk and ready to be put on at a moments notice.

The Dress for Success book goes into detail by instructing non-management individuals how to mock dress like their superiors on a budget, which is in fact based upon empirical research using a scientific method. The results are so tangible and exact that other experts in the clothing field have repeatedly had to give credit to this author like, Allison Laurie in her sociology textbook The Language of Clothes, in which Laurie states, “John T Molloy instructs businessmen and women on how to select their clothes so they will look efficient, authoritative and reliable even when they are incompetent, weak and shifty.” (Laurie)

The most basic principal to remember in this Dress for Success book is when working for a corporate office with a formal dress code; one should wear a dark suit – always! In the book The Gentleman’s Wardrobe Book, the suit is also strongly encouraged for success in one’s career:

“In this age of fast hiring and promoting, some managers are making decisions on people in the first ten seconds of a meeting. When you dress appropriately, others know that you know the rules. You want to respect those around you and be respected; dressing well has more to do with that than people realize. I hear a story of how a promotion was denied because of a man’s failure to know how to dress properly. Management responds by assuming that if he can’t dress well, he may not be able to adapt to what is necessary in other parts of the job.” (Karlen and Sulavik)

In Molloy’s research, he gets into the psychology behind management by conducting one of his many surveys in which he interviews one hundred top executives of major corporations by asking them questions such as:

“Would a number of men at your firm have a much better chance of getting ahead if they knew how to dress? Ninety-six said yes, four said no.

Would you hold up a promotion of a man who didn’t dress properly? Seventy-eight said yes, twenty said no and two chose not to express an opinion.” (Molloy)

Clearly, since presentation is so key in not only getting your job, but in keeping it as well; the rest of the office at Initech would have done well to emulate a toned down generic version of Lumbergh and their other Initech managers in their dress as much as possible. The managers basically all wore the same uniform which the Bobs responded to very positively. The basic dress was again a suit in which trousers had suspenders, a tie to express their status, long sleeved oxford shirts in all white, or when colored then to be having white collars and cuffs, Italian shoes, and expensive accessories such as Swiss watches, class rings, thin metal rimmed glasses, and metal pens.

The nuances of each manager’s clothing choices reflected their individual personality setting themselves apart amongst their peers as not only an equal, but as an individual. Bob Slydell, went to the extreme of wearing leather braided suspenders to set himself apart as being creative. Lumbergh’s obsessive showcase of matching or coordinating ties and suspenders set himself up as not only the flamboyant clothes horse, but also as the man in charge. The other managers stuck with the general unofficial dress code without much deviation since they played less of a primary role in the movie requiring distinction and authority.

Peter Gibbons represents a foothold in both the non-management and upper management worlds at Initech. In his non-management position, Peter wore starched, button down cotton shirts and ties, with dark, pleated business slacks. The face of his watch was classic in style, and attached to a plain black leather band. In terms of grooming, Peter’s hair is always well groomed, and his face clean-shaven. Peter chose to wear brown shoes, which were not high in style and aligned more with his non-management position within the company.

Within his role as manager however, Peter dressed himself in plain dark suits with white button-down shirts of a higher-grade cotton material. In this new management role, Peter understood that his wardrobe had to change to go hand in hand with his higher level position within the company.

Alternatively, Peter’s meeting with the Bobs was unique in that during the interview, he was the only employee who had been dressed in weekend attire which included jeans, flip flops, and a flannel shirt. This situation confused the consultants because they were unsure as to Peter’s dress whether he held an upper management position or if he worked within the lower ranks at Initech. The Bobs, therefore assumed that Peter was management material who usually wore a suit to work on a regular basis. This perception was based on the fact that not only did Peter throw the consultants off with his weekend attire, but he also exuded a high level of confidence in his demeanor. What the Bobs did not realize was that Peter did not really care what they thought. His non-challant attitude came across as confident and probably even arrogant to them; therefore justifying their assumptions that he must have been a part of ‘upper management culture’. This example shows that portraying a high level of confidence and wearing the right attire can go a long way in influencing the perceptions of one’s audience.

Peter’s attire at times exemplifies his contempt toward Initech in general. In the article “The Psychology of Clothes” by Ernst Harms, it states that “dress is founded primarily in the world of emotions. It is not only a kind of covering but also a kind of mimicry through which man expresses any of his subjective social sentiments.” (Harms) In various scenes in the movie, Peter’s personality and frame of minded tended to come out in his choice of office wear. His outward appearances at times placed him at risk with his superiors. For this reason, it is important that one adhere to a consistent level of professionalism in the office place with regard to outward appearances. As one author puts it:

“Results from a sample of MBA students indicate that those who valued workplace attire used it to manage the impressions of others and believed that it positively impacts the way they feel about themselves and their workplace outcomes.” (Karl/Rust).

When the non-management employees met with the Bobs they could have perhaps done much better in the interview with some planning. Their need to emulate management’s attire is easily affordable to them and could have been picked up at many discount stores such as “Filine’s Basement, T.J. Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory, Men’s Warehouse, Today’s Man, and Ann Taylor Loft”. (AU Career Center)

Three Initech employees that personify the average non-management employee are Michael Bolton, Samir, and Tom Smykowski. Michael and Samir are classic software engineers while Tom is a customer service representative who communicates frequently with the computer engineers. Michael and Tom have a similar style of dress regardless of their different departments. Samir has his own unique flair that sets him apart from both management and his peers.

Michael’s professional dress consists of short-sleeve striped shirts, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. Michael’s shirts are lightly shaded in mostly light grey or blue, but his tie is often of a much brighter color than his shirt. Michael’s typical accessories are a black belt, an electronic watch and glasses with wide lenses. Michael’s hair is medium length and groomed in a careless manner.

Samir, the other computer engineer, wears all spectrums of color especially in the jewel tones when it comes to his professional outfits. The color of his usual long-sleeve shirts varies from bright purple to dark gray leaning more towards bright colors. Samir’s classic uniform consists of dark pants, black shoes, and a leather belt which is similar to Michael’s belt. Samir’s bright gold watch seems even brighter than necessary and was distracting to the viewer. He also wears a very short haircut, and profiles a mustache and a beard, which usually has negative connotations in corporate America.

Samir may think that his bright-color look makes him look representative and important, but it is actually diminishes his position and authority. One of the rules of business attire is to stay simple: “The less detail, the fewer the colors, the stronger your authority is. Clean lines, simple designs and monochromatic looks all work well in the business environment”. (Hempsall) Regardless of Samir’s position at Initech, he still can prove his professionalism by showing respect to himself and his co-workers if he considered giving preference to lighter shades and clean cuts in his choice of slacks and shirts.

Tom Smykowski who dressed in an older version which is very similar to Michael’s consisted of short-sleeve striped shirts, dress pants, tie, and big glasses. Tom wears a tie that is a tone or two darker than his shirt, computer watches, and a very conservative and neat hair cut. Compared to Michael and Samir, who keep their badges on their belts, Tom keeps his badge on his shirt pocket along with two pins.

All three characters are dressed in business casual, but none of them reaches the unofficial dress code. Gloria Starr, president of Global Success Strategies, Inc. specifies these issues by giving her impression of some professional employees that “they’re great at their jobs; however, they don’t have any idea how to present themselves professionally with their clothing.” (Lee).

Samir, Michael, and Tom’s clothing implicitly announce to the Bobs in their interview that they, as employees, carry no weight in the company through their personal choice of clothing and in their styles, colors, and accessories. None of these men wore suits, which automatically placed them in secondary positions within Initech. The Bobs, when making their cuts know that there will be no repercussions in cutting their jobs, and there will be little need to explain their decisions. “We are much more likely to believe, respect, and obey the man who wears a suit than a man who does not. Suits are associated with authority, with position, with power.” (Molloy)

Today, short-sleeved button-down shirts are not a proper way to stay professional within the business casual look. Michael’s appearance needs lots of improvement to achieve the look of a respectful engineer. His clothes are occasionally wrinkled, and his hair requires neat grooming. His electronic watch is also too eccentric for his peers. According to the Potentials, “the forces of economy, business culture, etiquette and the media came to pull office attire trends back towards the more formal end.” (Potentials) While Samir, Michael, and Tom complain about their failure to get promoted based on their professional achievements, they would be wise to heed the words of Anne Marie Lee, who states “if they can’t trust you to dress appropriately, how can they trust you with large budgets?” (Potentials) . Lee meant this figuratively in terms of trusting them with handling weighty business responsibilities.

Milton Waddams could have also followed the advice set forth above for Initech’s non-management employees. However, since many other factors dictate one’s upward mobility within a company which are beyond mere clothing such as one’s skills, connections, and personality, Milton may or may not have received better treatment by the employees at Initech regardless of his personal dress. Throughout the movie, Milton made several disconcerting statements that ranged from the squirrels outside his window being married, to his intentions of setting fire to the building. This sort of behavior seems to have the need to be addressed at a much deeper level that only a qualified psychologist could help Milton deal with properly before moving onto other issues that may have been affecting his personal performance.

Clothing expresses a loud communiqué about each employee, which subconsciously cues the viewer in as to where each character fit into the dynamics of Initech. The movie did not seem to emphasize corporate women in that they had very little time on the screen. Some things that were very striking to the viewer about the women who worked at Initech were that they were all in non-management positions within that company. Meena, the redheaded woman in customer service, could have toned down her overdone make-up, since “a woman with overdone makeup is unattractive at any age”. (Ebony 3).

Some of the other women in the movie that did not even receive names in the plot also tended to wear a lot of jewelry. This stood out since jewelry is also another accessory that should be subtle and not too overdone:

“Multiple rings, bracelets, and necklaces can get in the way of work and project an image of being flamboyant or extreme. In the Corporate field jewelry should be kept to a minimum. Too many rings become painful in a handshake and too many bracelets hinder computer and telephone work. Too many necklaces can be noisy and catch on a desk.” (Co-Ed 2)

For personal grooming and accessories for non-management to succeed in their Bob interviews, there were some noticeable areas that would have helped Samir, Michael, and Tom. As with so many elements of grooming and appearance in the office, less is more.

Mike Stikowsky, Michael Bolton, and Samir all seemed to have the same issues when it came to accessories, so it is best to address them generally as non-management employees. The one exception seemed to be Michael Bolton’s nails, which were very dirty and promoted poor hygiene and needed better care. “In general, men’s nails should be short, clean, and filed smooth with no ragged cuticles” (Bremer 1).

The technologically savvy non-management employees in the office were most often seen sporting calculator watches - which is understandable for a techie to have reverence for such an item. However, in an interview this item would be seen as more eccentric rather than being appreciated for its small circle of devoted followers. Samir instead wore an overly shiny gold watch which was distracting to the viewer and may have given negative messages towards his being a minority. Michael, Tom, and Samir all should have invested in a simple watch such as a Timex, which is very affordable, understated, and convenient to purchase at local stores such as Target or Rite Aid.

Michael’s top frame black glasses did not seem to compliment the fine features of his face. He would have done better to have purchased something in a trimmer finish as the other Managers were seen to be wearing. Tom seemed to find a much better pair of glasses to compliment his face, but he did need to find another place to store his pens besides the breast pocket of his shirt, which should have been placed inside his jacket. Michael chose to wear beat up, clunky shoes that were badly in need of a polish. A slim pair of dress shoes, such as simple penny loafers would have been preferable. Michael also could have done better in his interview if he were to take the time to simply polish his shoes and carefully look after them, which would have improved their look and life, and allowed Michael to stay within his budget.

Peter Gibbons was the perfect example of how simple changes in accessories could have the biggest effect. In the beginning of the movie, Peter accessories included a nylon briefcase, sports watch, unpolished shoes, and a belt. After Peter’s interview with the Bobs, his accessories also changed. His watch became simply styled, the nylon briefcase was no longer carried, his shoes were polished, and his belts, which matched his shoes, were now worn with his suits. As a result of Peter’s promotion, his accessories changed accordingly to set the right impression to the other workers in the office.

As with the newly promoted Peter Gibbons, the correct protocols of accessories were mostly displayed by the Bobs. Peter also seemed to emulate his superiors, such as Lumbergh and other Initech managers. The Bobs and Lumbergh soon became Peter’s peers instead of his superiors, and this communicated simply and succinctly though the changes in Peter’s clothing and accessories.

In conclusion, the importance of professional dress in the corporate environment is essential in determining the future potential for non-management professionals. The recommendations stated above will likely enhance and solidify ones positive relationship with upper management at the office. Once dress has been recognized as an essential element in obtaining one’s upward mobility within the organization, then the other skills and talents that an employee utilizes will no doubt be more seriously considered by their superiors.

Good examples of corporate dress for one’s individual place of employment should be modeled and based upon the upper-level management styles and accessory choices. Management usually provides a good template for which one can use as a personal ‘dress-for-success’ compass. When planning to attend an interview, it is recommended that utilizing discount stores such as Felines Basement, Target, and Burlington Coat Factory, to purchase the right clothing and accessories, is vital and obtainable in creating the right first impression of the interviewee. In this a person has a better chance at not only obtaining that great job, but also of keeping it by maintaining a professional appearance. One’s continuance to care for their personal appearance by mimicking their superiors in a generic, yet similar style will help them to level the playing field so that when the next round of Bobs interviews makes its appearance at their company that they may be noticed for their job performance instead of their lack of professional dress.

Bibliography

American University Career Website for Corporate Interview Dress –

http://www.american.edu/careercenter/students/career/dressforsuccess.pdf

“The Psychology of Clothes” by Ernst Harms. Copyright 2000. Volume 44, page 239. The American Journal of Sociology. The University of Chicago.

The Style Incentive. Anne Marie Lee. Potentials. Minneapolis. Sep 2005 V.38, Issue 9; pg 32

Pescatore, Mark J. It’s all about appearances. Government Video. New York: Sep 1,

2005., Iss. 1610; pg 4.

Molly, John T. New Women’s Dress for Success.1996 Warner Books, New York NY pg 41.

Karlen, Josh and Sulavik, Christopher. The Indispensible guide to Classic Men’s

Clothing. 1999 Tatra Press Brooklyn NY

Alison Laurie. The Language of Clothes. Henry Holt and Company NY 1981.

Hempsall, Vincent. Profit. Toront: Jun.1999. Vol.18, Iss.4; pg.8

Lee, Anne Marie. Potentials. Minneapolis: Sep 2005.Vol.38, Iss. 9; pg. 32, 8 pgs

Molloy, John T. New Dress for Success. Warner Books Edition. New York, NY 1988

Bremer, Jill. “Grooming and Appearance”.

http://www.bremercommunications.com/Civility_In_The_Workplace.htm. Retrieved April 15, 1006

“FROM COED CASUAL TO CORPORATE CHIC: Achieving a Professional

Look - wardrobe for college graduates entering the job market” Ebony Sept,1999. pp. 1-3 <http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_11_54/ai_55553241 Retrieved April 18, 2006

“Power-dressing for professionals: corporate, casual and chic”.Ebony, Jan, 2005 , pp.

1-3.< http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_3_60/ai_n8700562 >.Retrieved April 18,2006

Dressing to impress: beliefs and attitudes regarding workplace attire. Joy V. Peluchette

Katherine Karl and Kathleen Rust. Journal of Business and Psychology Published online: 1 April 2006

2007-04-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

A coordinated One Day Blog of Silence will be held on April 30, 2007 in honor of the victims of Virginia Tech. This picture will be posted on this web on April 30th and instead of leaving comments post this picture on your blog to uphold the silence and solemn remembrance. Please use this day to meditate and pray for the victims, families, and effected area surrounding the horrible incident that took place at Virginia Tech earlier this week. Thank you.

Marketing Plan for Hewlett Packard

2007-04-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

MARKETING PLAN MEMO

Hewlett Packard

TO: Mark Hurd, CEO

FROM: Stephanie Willson Herda and Kimberly Peterson

DATE: December 9, 2005

SUBJECT: Marketing Comparison of HP and Cannon in Printers for Students

Executive Summery

Hewlett-Packard is trying to keep an edge against its competition by having extraordinary customer service. HP can better reach one of its target markets targeting college students by focusing on the parents who buy their college children printers. Three changes to HP printers are needed to better serve this niche and maintain Hewlett-Packard’s competitive edge against competitors such as Canon. The first is to make the ink more affordable, the second is to eliminate unneeded features from the printers, and the third is to make it easier for people to compare HP printers to other models properly.

Customer Service

Hewlett-Packard has been around long enough to get a large enough following of returning loyal customers. Focusing on customer service has been Hewlett-Packards answer to competition for the new millennium. With the new generation becoming the buyers for tomorrow there needs to be an understating of what motivates these first time buyers to make that most important purchase that will set their potential loyalty to that company for the long term.

Customer Service is becoming the primary distinguishers for companies today. Noting on the primary importance of customer service, you, Mr. Hurd, stated on the HP website, “I want HP to be known as the company customers can trust to deliver – that once we make a commitment, they can bank on us to live up to it. If we can do that, HP will be successful, but most important, our customers will be successful”.

There is an urgency in your message towards all employees to focus on the customers and the service given to them, and to help and solve the costumer’s problems in order to improve the business they provide with HP. Hardening Marketing, Hewlett-Packard’s marketing solutions provider, surveyed HP customers and sales representatives which helped them to “improve the overall effectiveness of HP’s communications” by refocusing upon HP’s customer service objectives. (Harding Marketing)

Hewlett-Packard seems to have been taking Hardings advice seriously. One of the most successful customer service aspects of HP is it’s willingness to share HP’s research in order to help make customers feels like they are involved in the business process.

2. Competition and Old Revenue Makers

Canon has also been focusing more on their customer service as well. Liew Sip Chon, Canon Marketing new president and chief executive, is planning to achieve customer service by training and developing his staff in order to make them more professional and service-oriented. “All that infrastructure won't count for anything if our people (don't know their stuff) and can't execute their work with a smile.”(Raj)

Before Hewlett-Packard’s major push towards customer service, HP had gained most of its profits primarily on ink cartages. With the overall growth in printers declining, HP printer chief Vyomesh Joshi realized that they had to make a major transformation in order to ensure HP's dominance in printing and imaging.

Hewlett-Packard is finding that the big problem today with most PC owners is that they already have printers, which is why the demand is expected to nearly flatten in the coming years. While waiting for customers to upgrade their printers, manufacturers have their sights set on the newest customer - the college student. This tightly budged consumer is primarily motivated by cheap prices first, brand second. Peter Burrows with Beg Elgin report that, “HP has been trying to compete by restructuring the company in order to cut costs”. (Burrows)

3. Survey Findings

The survey found in Appendix A outlines questions in search of the motivation behind a college student’s choice of printer. The results of student’s surveyed were surprising and publications in the media seem to echo those findings as well. Even sales associates promote items which are congruent to the survey and the research found in publications.

The findings in the survey showed that 63% of college students who own a printer, own a Hewlett-Packard and 16% own a Canon. It also found that 63% of college students had their printers purchased for them by their parents and 95% said they would buy that same printer brand in the future. 83% of the parents chose to purchase an HP for their student. The final analysis of these findings identified that the largest target market for a college student’s first printer were the parents that buy printers for their children.

There are few main points of differences between the Hewlett-Packard and Canon printers geared towards college students. Upon researching the differences there seemed to be a lot of confusion among consumers and even sales people regarding the differences between brands. Generally, opinions tended to indicate that if you want to print photos, then a Canon is what you are told to buy. However, if you are looking for printing documents, then you are pointed towards the Hewlett-Packard.

Considering that our target group is parents who want to purchase a printer for college papers known as document printing, they will most often be encouraged to purchase an HP for their student. So far this study has been favorable towards Hewlett-Packard for when parents are in search of a printer. However, HP’s first weakness is also encountered due to the fact that students are on a very limited budget, so their primary complaint amongst HP owning students is the cost of the ink.

4. Weak Ink

Sebastian Rupley reporting for PC Magazine conducted a reader survey on printers. Rupley found that, “Hewlett Packard earns a significantly better average rating this time around, as it has for many years, but Canon’s absolutely stellar ratings, especially amongst newer printers and photo printers, look to be helping it slowly pull away from the perennial favorite.”

Rupley then points out that people are unhappy with the cost of Hewlett-Packard’s ink regardless of its high quality. It is then brought to light Canon’s latest advantage in printing, “This weak point (ink cost) seems to be giving Canon its climbing power in taking over HP’s spot in the lead.”

Unlike Canon’s customer competitors who complain about their ink costs; Canon customers are highly satisfied with their ink. Canon printers also allow for third-party ink, unlike Hewlett-Packard. Third party ink is significantly cheaper than any manufacturer’s ink and it is not allowed by most manufacturers. Canon, who does allow it, has customers rating both third party ink and Canon ink as being very high in quality. (Rupley.)

It seems that these readers echoed clearly what the university students that were surveyed in Appendix A also were also complaining about. Ink being a major expenditure for a college student may well open these students to learning more about a rival company such as Canon.

5. Comparison Shopping

Hewlett-Packard also seems to be confusing audiences with its direction. The most popular model for college students are the All-In-Ones which are cheap, small, and functional. However, HP is getting some negative publicity since people can not distinguish which printers to compare with Hewlett-Packard’s competitors. The Best Buy employee that was interviewed found in Appendix A seemed to have difficulty in comparing different HP models against Canon models.

In Forbes Magazine, Steven Manes chose to compare two printers, one being Hewlett-Packard and the other Canon, by price as his indication that they were similar models to each other. Manes reports how he tested the two inkjets of what he believed was comparable cost, size and weight. What he found was that Canon will charge twice as much as the Hewlett-Packard for extra items and that the HP held 50% more paper.

Things began to go downhill when Manes began printing photos. To Manes the Hewlett-Packard took twice as long, he annoyingly had to swap in a special ink cartridge, left white margins around the photos, and put ugly vertical streaks in images that came out perfect with the Canon. Manes praised the Canon for producing borderless prints and there was no changing of the ink cartridge. He then sums up his feelings to the readers with, “HP’s attention to quality seems to be slipping. If you really need a versatile portable printer, pick the Canon.” (Inkjets to Go.)

6. Too Many Bells and Whistles

Then, Business Week reporter Larry Armstrong investigated the differences between the Hewlett-Packard and the Canon printer, but this time the journalist rightly compares the correct printers with each other. Armstrong points out, “If you’re cramped for space – trying to squeeze all your electronic gear onto a dorm-room desk – it’s time to consider an all-in-one-printer.”

The comparison between the Hewlett-Packard and the Canon model is key. In this article they compare the $100 Hewlett-Packard to a $250 Canon. Whereas Manes in Forbes was comparing printers by price, Armstrong was comparing printers by function. Considering that our target is looking at a first time printer, that needs to be small, and being bought for a student, the $100 HP is a clear winner against the Canon. The article also admonishes that “where space is really tight you’ll want to see the HP models. They’re about the size of a bulging briefcase.”

The Hewlett-Packard receives praises until you get to photo printing where Armstrong, “Wasn’t impressed with the picture quality. The HP prints are a little fuzzy and lack detail.” The Canon on the other hand received a lot of recognition in this area. (Printers.)

Hewlett-Packard’s rush to answer the call for photo printers was met by new challenges in the expense to customers since it uses a lot of ink. Another problem with HP trying to meet this need has been the use of the one large color cartridge, which had to be replaced as soon as a single color ran out. “This was bad news for Hewlett-Packard Co., the leader in home printers, which makes a lot of money selling ink and paper to consumers.”(The Mossberg…Snapshots.)

7. Promotions

HP has been promoting themselves in several ways. First, HP has been offering a discount on printers through the purchase of a computer. Sometimes HP will also offer free printers with the purchase of a laptop. HP also offers rebates on select printers as well. Canon does not have such a promotion strategy since they do not make computers, but they do offer mail-in rebates.

Hewlett-Packards and Canons are sold at major computer outlets such as Best Buy and Comp USA. Hewlett-Packard seems to get extra promotion in the store and from direct mail catalogs. Products can also be purchased directly from manufacturer’s websites.

In comparing the websites, HP seems to be the easiest to use. Hewlett-Packard was easier to navigate through and find a product. Upon reaching HP’s printer page, the items are neatly categorized along with an option to display more information if needed. All of this made it very attractive, and as a customer, we think this makes it easier to buy a product off of the website.

Comparatively, Canon just displays their items cheaply on the page and the tabs for more information aren’t as easy to reach as opposed to Hewlett-Packard’s. They also require a lot more steps before coming to the printers section. However, Canon does recover some ground with downloadable for customer projects such as scrap booking, which is the number two hobby in America. These features are accessible straight from the Canon website.

Hewlett-Packard has answered that by partnering with Snapfish that can be found at http://www.snapfish.com/. The imaging-and-printing business is a very critical unit for HP because in 2001 all of Hewlett-Packard’s profits were generated from this unit, which is why HP bought an “online-photography site Snapfish earlier this year and is developing a digital-photo kiosk.” (Wall Street Journal. Aug 12, 2005).

8. Targeting Our Market

Hewlett-Packard’s third weakness is its need to be clearer regarding which line of printer is targeting for which consumer and for its specific job. It seems that HP is confusing its audience when it adds features to its products such as the photos to a simple printer meant for college students. This can seem like a great feature, but it’s not the primary reason for why the parent chose to buy their student a particular printer.

Hewlett-Packard is doing a great job in advertising, see Appendix B. In the past years, Canon’s marketing has gone down compared to HP not only nationally but internationally as well. You do not see Canon anywhere in the media anymore. When you turn on the television, most of the printer commercials you see are by Hewlett-Packard.

When you think about HP, you can easily associate it with the + symbol that you see on their ads. This symbol is all over, so as soon as you see it, you think of Hewlett-Packard, which usually would follow the symbol. Canon has not yet associated its self with a brand icon. Since HP gets more promotion, people tend to lean towards the Hewlett-Packard product over the Canon.

Hewlett-Packard and Canon both have slogans, but they differ a little because HP’s slogan is about the overall company while Canon’s slogan is specifically designed for its printers only. Hewlett-Packard’s slogan is HP “invent” which is easily recognizable to the general public. Canon’s slogan for their printer segment is: “There is no Substitute”.

9. International Exposure and Leadership

Internationally Hewlett-Packard has done a great job in promoting itself. In Holland, HP is more known more for their computers; therefore the brand recognition brings Hewlett-Packard printer sales. HP also markets their product aggressively in Europe. They are keeping the image fresh in the minds of the European consumers, which is one thing that Canon has not been doing.

Due to the European saturation of Hewlett-Packard, Canon has chosen to focus in India looking to obtain a 30% growth in the year 2006. Alan Grant, president and CEO, Canon India, said, “The new augmented strategy at Canon is all about building the industry’s best technology portfolio together with aggressive marketing initiatives, putting it to work for our customers.” (Choudhary.)

Overall, Hewlett-Packard seems to be finding some creative ways to remain at the top of the printer markets. In Fortune, Peter Louis reported the HP to be “THE BEST OF THE REST. These products were significantly better than their rivals-though not necessarily cheaper.” (Winners and losers of 2003) Hewlett-Packard is still the industry leader and will remain so with the great new strategies that HP has been engaging along with the suggestions that follow.

10. Implementation

Hewlett Packard is already doing a stellar job in advertising and promotion. Customer service has also been receiving a lot of recognition and is helping HP to maintain its repeat of customers. Where Hewlett -Packard needs to place it’s focus in keeping it’s lions share of university college students is to focus on it’s weaknesses that seem to be giving Canon and other competitors an edge.

Therefore, Hewlett-Packard needs to focus on making the ink more affordable. Since quality didn’t seem to be much appreciated when considering price, HP may want to pursue the idea of creating a second class ink specifically made for college students. This option could be made possible with no expenditure, by allowing a third party to make cheaper HP inks like Canon does. Hewlett-Packard could even make a profit off of this by setting up a licensing agreement with these third party ink makers.

Second, it seems relevant for Hewlett-Packard to back off of adding photo printing and other such added elements to printers for the basic needs of a college student for the purchasing parent. Hewlett-Packard should instead focus on making the printer small, trimmed down, easy to use, and affordable. HP will be putting out a printer that will meet the needs of their first time customer, the college student, will create for Hewlett-Packard a long time customer in the long run who can afford the upgraded version in the future.

Third, Hewlett-Packard needs to be clearer with customers, sales people, the media, and all other interested parties as to which HP printers compare to their competitors. This will help promote more clearly what Hewlett-Packard is offering to its specific target. The intended target will then be able to more confidently and quickly make its purchasing decision. These three simple components will help HP continue into the new millennium as strongly as it had in previous decades.

Bibliography

Channel Times. Anjali Choudhary. New Delhi. Oct 20, 2005.
Customer service crucial in realising goal: Liew. Adeline Paul Raj. Business Times Kuala Lumpur: Feb 2, 2005. p. 02
Harding Marketing. http://www.hardingmarketing.com/success/lit_model.cfm. 2005
Hewlett-Packard Co. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Sep 13, 2005. pg. 1
http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/pf-new.cgi?IN=referer
Inkjets to Go. Stephen Manes. Forbes. New York: Apr 28, 2003. Vol. 171, Iss. 9, p. 102
PC Magazine. Sebastian Rupley. September 20, 2005. Vol 24, No 16 (p.92-93
Printers. Larry Armstrong. Business Week. New York: Aug 8, 2005. Iss. 3946, p. 77
The Mossberg Solution: Testing Out a Speedy New Home Photo Printer; H-P Uses Special Paper, Single-Color Cartridges For 14-Second Snapshots
Walter S. Mossberg. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition). New York, N.Y.:Aug 24, 2005. p. D.5
Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Aug 12, 2005. pg. B.3
WHY HP IS PRUNING THE PRINTERS. Peter Burrows, with Ben Elgin, in San Mateo, Calif. Business Week New York: May 9, 2005. Iss. 3932, p. 38
Winners and losers of 2003. Peter Lewis. Fortune New York: Dec 29, 2003. Vol. 148, Iss. 13, p. 187-190

I Love DC: VA Tech Massacre Chillingly Like Columbine

2007-04-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

I Love DC: VA Tech Massacre Chillingly Like Columbine
This is a link to my other blog where I posted on the horrible event that took place today at VA Tech.

Link to Fenty Gets A Black Eye With DC Parents

2007-04-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

This is a link to a blog I posted on my I LOVE DC Blog. I linked the post here for anyone interested in politics in Washington DC and the dire situation of the public schools.

Sibley Hospital RFID Recommendation

2007-04-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

RFID Business Applications

Radio Frequency Identification for Sibley Memorial Hospital

May 1, 2006

Stephanie Willson

Cheryl Spencer

Michiko Enohata

Stanley Rosholt

Executive Summary

Sibley Memorial Hospital is a small suburban hospital located in Northwest Washington, DC. Although Sibley currently has a niche market that helps them do well, they are facing more competition in the health care sector that is getting fiercer everyday as other hospitals adopt new technologies to increase their efficiency. The number one trauma center in the DC area, Washington Hospital Center (WHC), has already started implementing new technologies that other hospitals are still looking into. One of the most exciting technologies that WHC has begun setting in place is RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). Sibley would do well to follow Washington Hospital’s lead and update their systems as soon as possible in order to be competitive as new forces join the health care sector.

Company & Market Overview

Since 1890, Sibley Memorial Hospital has been a non-profit and community-based hospital licensed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide health services in the Washington metropolitan area. In addition to being a full service hospital with 328 beds, Sibley provides various specialties and is especially known for treatments for breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and rehabilitation, and for its radiology services, and senior nursing services. The hospital also has a 24-hour level II emergency department.

Sibley’s organizational strategy, according to its mission statement, focuses on providing quality health service and facilities in order to promote wellness, to relieve suffering and to restore health in the community. Also, emphasis is given to providing the best health service as safely and humanely as possible.

The market value of health-related services in the U.S. healthcare industry was $1.7 trillion in 2003. The market is expected to double by 2013, primarily due to the increase in the aging population (Mergent Online). As trends in the industry, more hospitals are likely to introduce and update advanced technology in order to integrate information or keep track of medical procedures. Mentioning the relationship between RFID and medication, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends the attachment of RFID tags to ensure that all drugs in the U.S. are the safest in the world from the point of manufacture to the point of dispensing (E-health Insider).

Competitive Forces Analysis

Competitors

Sibley Memorial Hospital’s main competitors include: the Washington Hospital Center, Georgetown University Hospital, Greater South East Community Hospital, Providence Hospital, Howard University Hospital and the George Washington University Hospital. The Washington Hospital Center has a competitive advantage due to its location in the heart of Washington D.C. and its high reputation in trauma and premium cardiology services, which make it appealing to residents throughout the city and surrounding regions (Urban Institute). Georgetown University Hospital shares with Sibley the more affluent population in the Northwest Washington, DC area and it also attracts patients from the Northern Virginia suburbs. The Greater South East Hospital has been serving the residents of the Anacostia area for nearly four decades while Providence serves the African-American residents of Northeast Washington, DC. Howard University Hospital also serves the African-American population of Washington, DC. and is also geared toward the affluent black population of Prince George’s County. (Howard University Hospital Website) Lastly, George Washington University Hospital’s central location, accessibility, and reputation make it the hospital of choice in its neighborhood and it also attracts patients from other areas of the city.

Threat of New Entrants

The threat of new entrants is low due to the high amounts of capital needed to establish a new hospital. In addition, each of the DC hospitals has a niche that they focus on. A new entrant would have a very difficult time creating a respectable reputation and client loyalty while competing with already recognized hospitals in the area. Moreover, the shortage of medical professionals makes the task of entering the market very difficult. Although the threat of new entrants is low, there are two possible threats. The first threat is the possibility of Sibley not maintaining its technical edge inviting other area hospitals to compete for Sibley’s target clients. The second, threat is that of large consortiums such as MedStar (a$2.7 billion dollar non-profit organization), which owns Washington Hospital Center and Georgetown University Hospital, buying smaller hospitals.

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Sibley Hospital does not have much control over the suppliers that provide it with complex equipment and maintenance (i.e. imaging equipment). Moreover, it does not have an advantage over other hospitals for attracting specialized medical personnel (radiologist practice) due to their technical skills and licensing restrictions. On the other hand, Sibley Hospital has bargaining power with the numerous suppliers providing disposable products (i.e. gloves).

Bargaining Power of Buyers (Patients)

In order to reduce their costs, patients might bargain for higher quality and greater levels of service at lower prices. (Hokskisson/Hitt) Obviously, there is less bargaining for lower prices by patients when they require immediate, possibly life threatening, treatment. In the case of a Sibley Hospital patient, bargaining for lower prices is not an option since the hospital is ranked among the nation’s top five percent of hospitals in a report by WebMD. (SibleyWebsite) Moreover, prices are already preset due to agreements with insurance companies.

Threat of Substitute Products

The threat of substitutes for the services that Sibley Hospital provides is low. However, the revenues generated by Sibley’s emergency services is being threatened by the emerging Minute Clinics located in some Target and CVS stores in Baltimore and in Maryland’s D.C. suburbs. They offer a quick, convenient and inexpensive treatment to common illnesses like strep throat, allergies, bronchitis, and ear infection among others that are usually treated by hospital emergency personnel. (Minute Clinic Website)

Value Chain Analysis

Primary Activities: Operation

One of Sibley’s valuable aspects, as stated in their slogan “A Community of Caring”, is that Sibley becomes involved with people’s by focusing on better community health care, including maternity, geriatrics, pain management, and various kinds of surgeries. Also, another valuable cultural aspect is that of being innovative in striving for excellence, which makes it more attractive in terms of delivering effective performance in its services to patients.

In regard to its organizational structure, Sibley is divided into departments according to the types of service provided. However, an important factor is the integration of each unit into a management structure that makes the overall medical treatment system more efficient. Sibley emphasizes that their success is always dependent on the people who work there. Therefore, Operations, which is based on better patient care with quality medical professionals helps make Sibley invaluable.

Primary Activities: Service

Sibley’s service activities are focused in their excellence in breast health, quality of geriatric long-term care, and rehabilitative medicine as described below:

Sibley’s Center for Breast Health: Forty percent of treated diseases at Sibley Hospital involve breast cancer which makes the hospital a leader in the Washington metropolitan area in the field of diagnosis and treatment for women.

Sibley’s Long-term Care: In 2000, Sibley opened Grand Oaks, which offers residential facilities for older adults. The staff provides personalized 24-hour assistance in order to maximize residents’ dignity, privacy, choice and safety, which makes the Grand Oaks more attractive for its clients.

Sibley’s Rehabilitation Medicine: Sibley has a one of the Washington areas’ most complete and sophisticated outpatient rehabilitation services. A well equipped gym, therapeutic pool, hearing and speech center with patient-first care helps individuals retain an active and painless life.

Support Activities: Human Resource Management

Sibley Hospital creates value by offering highly qualified human resources based on its clear vision and criteria for employees. According to its website, employment philosophy describes that all employees are supposed to provide the following values: “personalized and compassionate service, excellence and continually improving quality, teamwork, job satisfaction, professionalism, wise use of resources to provide value, innovation, trust and respect, up-to-date technology, a clean, attractive, quiet, safe environment, and honesty, integrity, flexibility and unselfishness”.(Sibley Website)
To deliver these values, the hospital focuses on equal opportunity employment policy without regarding to race, religion, national origin, sex, or age. These aspects are not considered during employment procedures of hiring, placement, transfer, training, compensation and layoff. As an overall policy, the hospital management says that they hire the whole person, which means they respect the entire personality of individual workers.

SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis

A SWOT analysis will help one to better understand where Sibley Memorial Hospital is already strong within the medical industry and also where they should make their improvements.

Strengths

Sibley’s main strength is that it has a strong following of affluent Northwest Washington, DC residents. Most hospitals are not so fortunate as to deal with such a steady stream of patients who have either good health insurance and/or deep enough pockets themselves to afford the quality of better patient care that Sibley strives to deliver. Sibley also has a few niche markets that also help to keep the hospital viable and profitable in areas such as geriatrics and maternity. Geriatrics, or elder care, is the primary focus of patient care at Sibley, which reflects the demographics of its location in one of the wealthiest and older parts of the Washington, DC area. Also, Sibley is in the growing market of our nation’s aging population, the majority of which have high incomes that ensure a higher rate of payment. Additionally, since Sibley does not have as much ER traffic as a major trauma center, a patient is more likely to get the proper supplies which may be in shortage at a much busier hospital.

Weaknesses

Sibley has several weaknesses that may be difficult to overcome considering the large number of excellent hospitals in the DC area. Washington Hospital Center is DC’s #1 Trauma Center and a small hospital such as Sibley may lose its opportunity to serve the local community if its patients believe that they will receive better ER patient care at a major trauma center. Depending upon the number of disaster victims or injured patients requiring immediate ER treatment whereby triage is necessary, a patient may or may not receive better care from going to a major trauma center for help. If an injury is something minor, such as a cut off finger or an infection, a patient could spend several hours at an overly busy hospital waiting to receive care since these conditions are not classified as causing imminent death, which could happen with an asthma or heart attack. A little known secret in the ER field is that although one will receive the same priority for minor emergencies at a smaller hospital – one can spend less than 1/10^th the time that would have be spent at a major trauma center to receive treatment. Smaller hospitals are also just as well equipped to handle a major life threatening traumas, such as an asthma attack, and receive the same amount of quality care a trauma center would have provided.

Many people mistakenly assume that a bigger hospital means better ER services. Sibley has not tried to promote itself as the first choice for ER services in its surrounding community since it relies on its good reputation to get promoted through word of mouth. This overconfidence could result in the hospital losing a lot of potential medical business to other hospitals. It could become a major problem if that reliability on its reputation results in the failure to invest in new technology. Sibley is already technologically behind Washington Hospital Center and this gap could widen significantly to become potentially threatening to Sibley’s profits in the future. Sibley’s affluent client base also does not force it to be as frugal as other hospitals in the area, and this also could potentially expose Sibley to unexpected problems if it does not take advantage of new technologies to keep its prices and costs down.

Opportunities

Sibley’s opportunities are to promote itself more strongly within the DC community as being able to provide better patient care than other area hospitals. In order for it to compete with a major trauma center, Sibley’s staff will again need to consider equipping the hospital with the latest technologies, as Washington Hospital Center has already been doing, in order to maintain a competitive edge.

Sibley has the opportunity to increase satisfaction in their maternity ward by tagging babies to relieve new mothers’ anxieties with extra protection against possible accidental mix-ups between babies and other issues such as the abduction of babies from hospital rooms. Sibley also has the opportunity to build upon its areas of expertise through more efficient patient care by streamlining medication to patients in accurate and timely doses. This will also enable Sibley to cut its costs in the long run by remaining cutting edge in medical care through technology, like new RFID applications, in order to hold and maintain its title as one of the top hospitals in the country.

Threats

One potential threat to Sibley Memorial Hospital is its small trauma status. Washington Hospital’s trauma center may be unnecessarily taking Sibley’s clients based upon its trauma status when Sibley’s patients assume that they will be receiving better emergency care from a larger hospital with better ER services. Sibley also has very little incentive to cut its costs which can lead to overconfidence and risk of losing patients to other hospitals in the long run. With increasing medical costs and increasing difficulties for workers to obtain affordable health insurance, major hospitals are implementing new technology as quickly as possible in order to remain profitable. Sibley will need to be planning ahead for new upcoming trends in technologies in order to remain competitive.

IT Recommendation

Sibley could use RFID technology as a step toward increasing their cost efficiency, their patient care, and improving hospital security. Sibley could also take advantage of other barcode technologies that will graduate into RFID applications to help keep them current and quickly adapt to changes in the health care industry.

In conducting several interviews with both Sibley and Suburban Hospitals, we found that these smaller hospitals were the hungriest for tighter controls over their medications being delivered to their patients since they have smaller budgets and are less likely to make new technological investments. Currently, Sibley hospital runs on a Pyxis machine system which requires the use of a witness to operate and verify the transaction. Also, Pyxis machines require the medical practitioner to type a code into the keypad to identify themselves and retrieve the item needed. These Pyxis machines, which help hospitals to track inventory, slow down the ER and medical staff on every floor. There is currently barcode system that has come up with a solution to the Pyxis machine problem being used by WHC that Sibley could implement into their biggest problem – patient medications. The name of this coveted barcode system is called Bedside Medication Verification (BMV). Since RFID-only BMV is not in the market yet, Sibley could start implementing this hybrid barcode technology and be ready to upgrade up to the RFID-only BMV when it becomes available in the near future.

BMV is unique and will solve many problems for Sibley by increasing the quality of care that their patients receive and increases the hospital’s efficiency and security. “BMV processes data contributing to safe administration through the “Five Rights” of medication management: Right Patient, Right Medication, Right Dosage, Right Route, and Right Time.” (Meditech) BMV devices are programmed for each floor in which they alert the nursing staff as to when a patient is in need of their next dose of meds and then dispenses it to the nurse in the correct dosage based upon the patient’s weight. BMV devices are programmable to the care giving staff and allows for medical notations as well. This machine helps reduce the stress of the nursing staff, reduces medication theft, keeps exacting records and documentation while ensuring that patients receive the correct medication at the right time. By first implementing BMV, Sibley Hospital will become more up-to-date and ready to upgrade to the machines when they do transfer into an RFID system which is the current trend towards all systems using barcodes.

Sibley Hospital could also make use of automatic active RFID picture ID tags which would simplify the security and payroll services. The IDs would have a picture and imprint of the medical staff so they can be verified easily by a third party. The tag would have a specific frequency identifying each user, thus reducing the need of witnesses to slow down the hospital in using RFID compatible technology in place of Pyxis machines.

An additional IT recommendation for Sibley would be the implementing of RFID tags on hospital equipment for better inventory control. Hospitals have reported that equipment such as wheelchairs and IV pumps “go missing” at a very expensive rate. (Mass High Tech) Sibley Hospital could start by implementing this technology in its emergency room, not only to incur savings in equipment costs but to better track equipment location. In this way, in case of a life threatening emergency, doctors will quickly know the whereabouts and have access to the hardware that would save the life of people if found quickly.

Our last IT recommendation for Sibley Hospital would be to get the “smart-tag” for newborns and other “at risk” mobile patients, such as those with Alzheimer’s. Tags for babies are a brilliant and almost expected security service provided by hospitals today considering the proliferation of media attention towards newborn baby abductions. These tags will give new moms peace of mind and will increase maternity loyalty with Sibley which already has a strong hold in Northwest DC for “the hospital to have your baby” amongst those in the know in Washington, DC. Tags for Alzheimer’s patients would also be great security and cost savings implementation for Sibley Hospital. These patients might not be aware of their actions and leave the facility, which is the reason these patients need constant monitoring by nursing staff and/or security guards in every room at every hour. (Wistechnology.com) A bracelet with RFID technology could be attached to these patients and only if they leave a certain area of the hospital, security guards will be alerted. By implementing this one change Sibley hospital would experience a 50% decrease in Alzheimer’s patient security cost and that translates into big savings. Those savings could be reinvested in other areas of the hospital in order to develop IT competitive advantages to better position itself against its competitors.

Conclusion

Sibley Memorial Hospital should move on the new RFID technology and RFID-ready technology that Washington Hospital Center has already implemented for better patient care. RFID will help Sibley become more cost efficient today, help them maintain their competitive edge while preparing them for the unknown technological advances in the future. This exciting new technology has many applications in many inexpensive forms, making it only that much more of an advantage for Sibley Memorial Hospital to implement into their medical patient care system.

APPENDIX

Sibley Memorial Hospital Main Competitors

The Washington Hospital Center, part of the MedStar Health network, is the largest non-for-profit hospital in Washington DC. Licensed for 907 beds, it operates at near capacity. (Washington Hospital Center Website)

In its website, it advertises as having one of the most comprehensive heart programs in the country, treated the most cancer cases in Washington and leading trauma centers, neuroscience treatment, and kidney transplants. The Washington Hospital Center’s location in the heart of Washington DC and its high reputation in trauma and cardiology services make it appealing to residents across the city and the region. (Urban Institute)

The Georgetown University Hospital, also part of MedStar Health, is licensed for 609 beds. It had gained strong reputation in the areas of neurosciences, gastroenterology, gynecology, orthopedics, urology, comprehensive cancer care and transplantation among other services. Georgetown University Hospital shares with Sibley the affluent white population of North West Washington D.C. and also attracts patients from the Northern Virginia suburbs. (Georgetown University Hospital Website)

The Greater Southeast Community Hospital is a 450-bed hospital delivering comprehensive inpatient and outpatient services. It has served the residents of the Anacostia area for nearly four decades. (Greater Southeast Community Hospital Website)

The Providence Hospital is licensed for 382 beds in its medical facility and for 240 beds in its nursing and rehabilitation center. It is a full service community hospital and its services include geriatrics, maternity, orthopedics, outpatient diagnostic services, emergency department, and rehabilitative services, among others. It has been serving the African-American residents of Northeast Washington D.C. (Providence Hospital)

Howard University Hospital, licensed for 482 beds, is the nation’s largest African-American hospital. Its services include a Level I trauma center, a comprehensive care cancer center, a women’s wellness center and centers in transplant surgery, among other services. It is geared to the African-American population of Washington D.C. and the more affluent African American population of Prince George’s County. (Howard University Hospital Website)

The George Washington University Hospital, a for-profit hospital, is licensed for 371 beds and its services include Level I trauma, breast care, cancer care, cardiovascular care, childbirth services, neurology and neurosurgery among other services. Its central location, easy accessibility, and high reputation make it the hospital of choice of its neighborhood and the rest of the city. (GW Hospital Website)

References

About GUH. (2006). Georgetown University Hospital Website. Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.georgetownuniversityhospital.org/body.cfm?id=219

About GW Hospital. (2006). GW Hospital Website. Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.gwhospital.com/p923.html

Bedside Medication Verification (BMV). Meditech. http://www.meditech.com/productbriefs/pages/ProductBriefsCSBMV.htm

Center for Breast Health. Sibley Hospital Website, Retrieved April 23, 2006, from

http://www.sibley.org/services/b_bcenter.tmpl

Chappell, L. (2005). RFID can be a Matter of Life and Death in the Medical World. Wistechnology.com. Retrieved April 29, 2006, from http://wistechnology.com/article.php?id=2383

Employment Philosophy. Sibley Memorial Hospital Website, Retrieved April 22, 2006, from http://www.sibley.org/employment/emphil.tmpl

ER Triage at Eisenhower Medical Center. http://www.emc.org/body.cfm?id=14

February 2005 Nine Tech Trends by Healthcare Informatics http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/issues/2005/02_05/cover.htm

February 2003 The Essentials of Healthcare Documentation by Claudia Tessier (Healthcare Informatics) http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/issues/2003/02_03/tessier.htm

Fiscal Year 2005 Statistics. (2006). Washington Hospital Center Website. Retrieved April 22, 2006, from http://www.whcenter.org/body.cfm?id=155

General Information/Accreditation/Mission Statement. Sibley Memorial Hospital Website, Retrieved April 22, 2006, from http://www.sibley.org/geninfo/mission.tmpl

Grand Oaks. Sibley Hospital Website, Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.sibley.org/services/s_grandoaks.tmpl

Hendrickson, D. (2004). RFID in Hospitals show ROI promise. Mass High Tech Website. Retrieved April 29, 2006, from http://masshightech.bizjournals.com/masshightech/stories/2004/12/06/story9.html

History. (2006). Howard University Hospital Website. Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.huhosp.org/About/History.htm

Hokskisson, R.E., Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. (2004). Competing for Advantage. Ohio: Thomson Southwestern.

January 2003 Doctors Orders by Mark Hagland (Healthcare Informatics) http://www.healthcare-informatics.com/issues/2003/01_03/cpoe.htm

Mergent Online, Healthcare: North America, Retrieved April 22, 2006, from

http://www.mergentonline.com.proxyau.wrlc.org/IndReports.asp?Page=110&type=IndReports&ReportNumber=226 Industry Reports

MinutClinic, (2006). Minute Clinic Website. Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.minuteclinic.com/Home/Locations/Find_State/tabid/81/Default.aspx?StateId=MD+Baltimore+and+Suburban+MD

Ormond, B.A., Bovbjerg, R.R. (1998). The Changing Hospital Sector in Washington, D.D.: Implications for the Poor. Urban Institute. Retrieved April 22, 2006, from http://www.urban.org/uploaded PDF/dchosp.pdf

Our Hospital. (2006). Greater Southeast Community Hospital Website. Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.greatersoutheast.org/SiteGen.asp?Section=hospital&Page=history

Personal MD. ER Triage Varies Widely. http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1999032906.shtml

Pyxis machines. UAB Health System. http://www.health.uab.edu/hospital/show.asp?durki=11319

Rehabilitation Medicine. Sibley Hospital Website, Retrieved April 23, 2006, from

http://www.sibley.org/services/s_rehabmed.tmpl

RFID tags on medication introduced in US. E-health Insider, November 17, 2004
http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/item.cfm?ID=931

Services & Facilities. (2006). Providence Hospital Website. Retrieved April 23, 2006, from http://www.provhosp.org/Servicesfacilities.htm

Sibley Memorial Hospital. (2006). SibleyWebsite. Retrieved April 22, 2006, from http://www.sibley.org/

Hospital Interviews:

Suburban Hospital: - Maharow Ershadi, Pharmacy

Sibley Memorial Hospital: - Desmo, Information Technology Department

william azaroff | blog

2007-04-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

william azaroff blog
Interesting blog about Poverty and Banking Education. There are groups out there trying to help, such as Social Compact run by John Talmage, President and CEO.

Navy Federal Credit Union No Show

2007-04-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Last week I was excited to recieve an invitation from a professor to sit in on a class and listen to a Guest Speaker for a class at American University today. I cleared my schedule for this morning only to discover upon arrival for this special visit that the speaker, the Navy Federal Credit Union HR Director would not be attending. I had hoped to report back here with what I had learned, but unfortunately the only thing to report was a no show.

Blogging Suggestion for Pentagon Federal Credit Union

2007-04-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

Pentagon Federal Credit Union

MEMO

To: Frank Pollack, CEO and James Schenck, COO

CC: Professor Richard Linowes

From: Stephanie Willson

Re: Membership Retention, Satisfaction, and Marketing

Date: March 5, 2007

Executive Summary

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is a strong competitor amongst credit unions which are gaining more popularity in the financial industry. Average consumers respond more readily to a credit union that aims primarily in serving the public unlike that of a traditional bank which is more directed towards serving commercial businesses. Credit unions are limited in their customer base by membership requirements and Pentagon Federal Credit Union’s membership status specializes on military personnel. Since credit unions are relatively small in comparison to banks – their resources are also smaller which forces them to function very frugally. Using new and upcoming technology, credit unions can get around some of these expenses. A pro-active, low cost marketing plan responding to a new breed of technologically savvy consumers should be implemented in order to encourage and maintain memberships with Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

Background

Pentagon Federal Credit Union was established in 1937 and ranked as the third largest Credit Union in the United States located in Alexandria, Virginia. It boasts $9 billion in assets increasing at an impressive rate of $1 billion annually. Pentagon Federal Credit Union has been able to grow its size through various tactics including the acquisition of and merger with other credit unions. In the past year Pentagon Federal Credit Union merged with Budget Federal Credit Union and Fort Buchanan Federal Credit Union. This sort of growth helps to diversify shareholder risk while increasing shareholder resources.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union has a philanthropic partnership with the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation covering 100% of their administration costs. Through them they have been serving the public through various causes such as gifting to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in which they renovated a suite of military hospice rooms. They also funded the Faces of the Fallen exhibit, and gave financial support to the Asset Recovery Kit (ARK). Additionally, Pentagon Federal Credit Union has made disaster relief available to its members affected by the hurricanes in the south and participated in many other forms of giving back to the community.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union strives to be efficient and has reduced costs in many areas. Currently posted on their website is a request to members for changing to online statements which will help them save money on paper, printing, and mailing costs.

Some interesting facts about credit unions are that they don’t have customers, but instead they have members since the money they deposit is considered shares into the institution. Credit unions are also tax-exempt and have a volunteer and unpaid board of directors which allows them to pass these savings on to their members. The credit union industry accounts for approximately 10% of consumer deposits and 15% of consumer loans. Most credit unions have small holdings of less than $1 billion in assets – most are in the $500,000 range. Credit unions are small in sizes due to their membership common bond restraints which have been vigorously kept in check by the banking industry that fears credit union competition. An example of a small bank in the Washington, DC area is Chevy Chase Bank.

Small credit unions holding less than $5 million in assets cannot afford the normal costs of a financial institution such as processing checks, sending out statements, and having automated teller machine networks. These smaller credit unions will join a credit union network through a trade association that pulls together resources in order to contract out these services. Pentagon Federal Credit Union is large enough and has the assets to internally manage these aspects that the smaller credit union is forced to contract out.

Credit union loans to customers are also fairly small. In 2004 the average loan was $12,900. Since loans are so small in size, there are also very few delinquent loans which further adds to the solid financial foundation behind a credit union. Below is an example of how credit unions diversify their loan structure in order to better serve their customers:

*Consumer Loan Holdings:*
1st Mortgages	30.5%
Used Autos	21.8%
New Autos	17.0%
Other Real Estate	12.2%
Credit Cards	5.8%
Unsecured Loans	5.8%
Other Loans	5.4%
Leases	0.4%

Pentagon Federal Credit Union has more assets at its disposal than the average credit union so it has the capability to offer a mortgage loan of up to $400,000, which is considerably larger than what a smaller credit union could offer.

Problem

The main disadvantage of credit unions is that the common bond requirement keeps them small, thus reducing the accumulation of valuable resources needed to stay competitive against local banks they are unable to offer the range of services that can be provided by larger institutions. Even the trade associations are unable to level this playing field for customer competition.

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is a large credit union and a mid-sized financial institution when compared to its larger competitors as a whole. Being a military credit union, Pentagon Federal Credit Union can also maintain its size by having a large enough membership base which is continuously growing. Pentagon Federal Credit Union is a large credit union that can only grow by either attracting new members who must be in the military services or acquiring other credit unions. In attracting new members, there is a great deal of competition and new technologies increase the competitive drive in the industry.

Recommendation

Pentagon Federal Credit Union can to retain and increase its membership base through blogging as an inexpensive marketing tool to grow its business by attracting more members and maintaining its current customers. Pentagon Federal Credit Union can achieve this end by stepping further into the technological future by attaching to their already existing website a blog page for their consumers.

A blog is a website in journal style with the newest postings listed first. Blogs are interactive. They allow customers two-way communication with the company so they can voice their concerns and also praise what the company is doing correctly. Blogs also help customers feel valued by a company which helps to create brand loyalty.

Naked Conversations by Scoble and Israel list the following Six Pillars of Blogging that differentiates it from another form of communication: Publishable, Findable, Social, Viral, Syndicatable, and Linkable.

Naked Conversations - Six Pillars of Blogging:

1) Publishable by providing information cheaply and instantly.

2) Findable through search engines.

3) Social by promoting interesting conversation amongst people.

4) Viral having information that runs through it faster than a news service.

5) Syndicatable by getting RSS-enabled blogs.

RSS allows a person a subscription to blog updates without having to revisit the site periodically.

6) Linkable by connecting to many users of varying interests.

Many other financial companies, including credit unions, have already implemented blogs into their website to drive membership and retain customers. Wells Fargo Bank by far has the most interesting blog which targets several different customer types. The following credit unions have followed suit:

UFirst Federal Credit Union with their Board of Directors
VanCity Credit Union located in Vancouver, Canada
Verity Credit Union
Service One Credit Union posted by CEO Valerie Brown
Savings and Loans Credit Union
Coast Capital Savings is currently looking into jointing the blogosphere as well

Although banks have more money to invest into their marketing tools than credit unions, VanCity has a very interesting and well done blog that should cause Wells Fargo Bank to take note.

Who was the leader in beginning blogging for businesses? Microsoft! Microsoft was getting such a bad reputation as being the “Evil Empire” that they decided to reach out to the public through a two-way communication forum. They began blogging with customers and went so far as to video themselves at work. They wanted to transform their appearance from a “bunch of suits” into a company run by normal human beings. This form of public relations worked and turned around the negative opinions of many people who had formally been anti-Microsoft. Microsoft acknowledges that blogging has given them an advantage over companies, like Apple, that don’t allow their employees to blog.

Google Bombs

If credit unions have not yet felt the pressure to blog, they will feel the presence of bloggers shortly. Credit unions that have not sufficiently prepared for the tech future may unexpectedly experience a Google Bomb and not have the protocols in place to handle this situation. A Google Bomb is created by an experienced blogger that positions their post to the top of a Google search by creating repetitive links in their blog post and title. These little tricks give their posting what is called “Google Juice.” This sort of behavior is against Google policy. However, a company would have to become aware of the problem on their own before they could remove such a posting.

Damage control against an upset customer is also easier to clean up through blogging policies, especially if the company maintains its own blog. With the Internet, angry customers who do not feel heard are beginning to post websites against companies. Bison Federal Credit Union in Oklahoma was the victim of a disgruntled employee, when the ex-employee and her husband made a website entitled “Bison Federal Credit Union Sucks”. Bison Federal Credit Union had no idea for quite some time why their revenue flow decreased during the months that this site was running. Upon discovery, Bison Federal Credit Union unfortunately had to take the legal approach and get a court order to take the website down. The good news for Bison Federal Credit Union is that the complaint was on a static web page and not an independent blog. If this posting had been a blog, it would have received higher rankings since blogs receive increased traffic over websites. However, Vistar Credit Union had even less luck and found itself in a blog post entitled “Vistar Credit Union – The Worst Bank Ever”.

Posting on a blog already attached to the credit union’s website would give an upset customer a venue to vent their anger towards their financial institution and also allow a credit union the ability to respond, maintain the upset customer, and attract new membership as a proactive and responsive credit union. A blog page owned by the credit union can be edited and this tactic can also be implemented if all other efforts fail to soothe the other party.

The worst situation for a financial institution would be for an upset customer to start their own blog that the blogger can control. There are several steps to handle a situation where this sort of negative publicity is taking place. Trey Reeme of OpenSpaceCU, a blogger that promotes communication and transparency between credit unions and their customers, recommends the following steps in handling a negative blogger:

Trey Reeme’s Steps - Handling Negative Bloggers

1) Respond to their blog as if you were leveling the complaints of a customer venting in your lobby.

2) Acknowledge that your credit union can stand up to their criticisms and look really good by responding.

3) Do not ignore the blogger as they may be technically savvy and a non-response would lead to further attacks to a wider audience.

4) Avoid filing a law suit which would create more widespread negative public relations.

5) Have a blogging policy in place ahead of time.

Action Plan

Engage current and future customers through blogging. It improves customer service to members while also getting them to boast publicly their positive opinions about Pentagon Federal Credit Union. This online two-way word of mouth will help to influence other potential members in a strong level of trust and built-in confidence with the credit union.

Rate changes and other offerings to customers can be posted on this blog site creating a free ad. This form of marketing would best be targeted towards a more technologically savvy member and the upcoming younger computer generation. A blog page should be part of the company website. Comments should be posted several times a week by the Chief Executive Officer and the Board of Directors in which they can comment on the virtues and benefits of membership with Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Through this web site the credit union can answer questions and concerns for members regarding policies, rates, and other concerns that will build trust and loyalty.

Blogging and other new technology forums are inexpensive great marketing tools that bring the customer in without shouting at them like traditional ads. Blogging cannot be avoided or ignored indefinitely as customers and their technological usage increases to new levels and demands.

The future of credit unions is expected to be bright as consumer interest in this financial service grows. Credit unions are becoming less numerous although their membership sizes are growing through new memberships, increased assets, and mergers.

Conclusion

Pentagon Federal Credit Union is the third largest credit union in an industry that is gaining more growth and popularity. Consumers respond to credit unions that cooperatively look after the public’s interest first, unlike a traditional bank which is competitively and primarily first in serving commercial businesses. Credit unions are small in comparison to banks, so their resources force frugality. Credit unions spend money directed towards marketing and advertising costs for drawing in more members in comparison to other financial institutions. New technology will help credit unions can get around marketing expenses for targeted audiences. Blogging can be used to deal with customers who sound off at companies publicly and respond to these members while looking good. Pentagon Federal Credit Union can be prepared to handle these blogs before receiving a Google Bomb in addition to receiving positive publicity with their most technological and younger consumers. Blogging will affect credit unions and other institutions significantly in the near future.

Resources

https://www.penfed.org/index.asp

http://www.pentagonfoundation.org/

Financial Markets and Institutions NYC 2006 By Frederic Mishkin and Stanley Eakins, pgs. 504-510

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

http://www.microsoft.com/en/us/default.aspx

Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers NYC by Robert Scoble and Shel Israel, pgs. 20-28

http://www.apple.com/

http://www.ciicu.com/ Tue, 29 August 2006 – Pod Cast: Current Issues in Credit Unions Episode 5

http://blog.wellsfargo.com/

https://www.vancity.com/

www.google.com

http://www.opensourcecu.com/articles/category/credit-unions-who-blog

http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=20210

http://www.bisonfcu.org/atm.html

http://www.socu.com/about_blog.cgi

http://savingsloans.typepad.com/

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cu/20001219a.asp?prodtype=cuc

http://banking.about.com/od/creditunions/a/creditunions.htm

http://www.creditunions.com/cuarticles/template.asp?article_id=2208

I Love DC: New Financial Industry Blog Page

2007-03-23T14:11:00.000-07:00

I Love DC: New Financial Industry Blog Page

This is the link to my original blog posts before March 23, 2007 that have been copied to this Financial Blog Site

New Blog Site

2007-03-23T13:19:00.001-07:00

I really enjoy blogging about the financial industry, especially credit unions. Since posting on credit unions has deviated from the purpose of my course at American University, I have decided to start a new blog dedicated to the Financial Industry that will be kept separate from my course blog which is http://ilovedcblog.blogspot.com/. I have copied over the credit union posts from my other blog and pasted them here. I am also creating a link here to further authenticate the original postings. Thank you!

What's the difference: credit union vs. bank?

2007-03-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

I came across this great blog posting called Communicating the "Difference" by John Cote which can be found at:
http://www.opensourcecu.com/articles/2007/03/19/communicating-the-difference#comments

It's about explaining to people the difference between a credit union and a bank. I myself have had to explain this one several times to many people. Usually I give the quick, "A bank was originally formed to invest and lend money to commercial businesses who at a much later time began investing and lending money to regular people through it's retail branches. A credit union is a membership of regular people investing and lending money amongst each other, the regular people, instead of primarily targeting commercial entities."

I still get blank looks at the end of that explanation which is why I enjoyed John's entry so much when he said,'How is a credit union different from a bank? These and other cosmic queries are often met with a shrug, a vacant stare, and if the questioner is lucky in the latter case, a quick “I’m not sure, let me get somebody else that can help you.'"

Here are a few of many items that differentiate a credit union from a bank:

They don’t have customers - instead they have members
Money deposits are considered shares into the financial institution.
Tax-exempt
Not-for-profit
Volunteer and unpaid board of directors.

Clearly - this cannot be recreated by a bank.

Reputation soured by hostile takeover?

2007-03-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Reputation is everything, especially for an industry trying to define itself from another which is especially the case between Credit Unions and Banks. Credit Unions strive on being cooperative with each other and putting people and members first as a way to distinguish themselves from a bank. This distinction and reputation helps credit unions maintain their tax-free status. The industry is now scrambling to recover from an attempted hostile take over by Wings Financial Federal Credit Union over Continental Airlines Federal Credit Union as can be seeing in the following LA Times news post:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wrap10.1mar10,1,3175489.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true

There seems to be a lot of activity amongst credit union advocates where such avid postings about this sort of behavior can be found at many sites including Trey Reeme's Opensourcecu blog and DougTrue's blog:

http://www.opensourcecu.com/articles/2007/03/16/is-wings-hostile-takeover-step-one-towards-conversion#comments

http://www.dougtrue.net/

Thank you Trey and Doug for bringing this issue to everyone's attention!! How will the credit union movement ultimately respond to this sort of behavior? What do you think they should do to salvage their reputation that they have painstakingly built for years?

Perhaps Wings Financial Federal Credit Union should lose their status as a credit union and be turned into a bank or better yet Wings Financial FCU should get a hostile takeover instead. What is the best remedy for the industry in this instance?

Tom Kyte

2007-03-23T11:32:00.000-07:00

Our Professor Melander had a guest Tom Kyte from Oracle visit our class to discuss blogging. Tom was kind enough to take a picture of us:

Interestingly I had been researching blogging, lawsuits, and credit unions several weeks before Tom's arrival. This led to an interesting discussion on law suits.

An interesting podcast I had found on blogging: http://www.ciicu.com/ Tue, 29 August 2006 Current Issues in Credit Unions Episode 5 Topic:Google bombing and internet libel: how should a credit union handle these attacks from a marketing and legal perspective. This episode had guest speaker Trey Reeme from Trabian and the Open Source CU blog (http://www.opensourcecu.com/).

Mr. Reeme had outlined several key points in how to deal with a "Google Bomb" which is when a blogger makes a post and links and relinks their post to trick Google into pushing the negative post to the top of a Google search. The following is a list of what was suggested on the broadcast as to how a credit union should handle such a post:

"1) Respond to their blog as if you were leveling the complaints of a customer venting in your lobby.

2) Acknowledge that your credit union can stand up to their criticisms and look really good by responding.

3) Don’t ignore the blogger as they may be technically savvy and a non-response would lead to further attacks to a wider audience.

4) Avoid filing a law suit which would create more widespread negative public relations.

5) Have a blogging policy in place."

What most interested me about Tom's visit was our interesting discussion about point 4 on law suits. Having been through the court process myself (isn't divorce fun?) I can only imagine the stupidity and negative publicity that this sort of behavior perpetuates along with the costly expense that benefits no one.

It was great to have a meaningful discussion to better illistrate the importance of keeping a cool head when dealing with blogs.

Thank you again Tom for visiting our class! Thank you Professor Melander for the lively discussion!