Let me bring things back to basics. I will not deal in anything beyond the necessary basic guidelines to those who are considering of being posted or are currently being posted out of your country of residence.
The key component is communication. If you cannot communicate with the locals, then you are nothing more than just a decoration in the office that does not contribute to anything. In ensuring clarity, comprehension and acceptance to an idea or opinion, two or more parties involved in that discussion must understand each other.
An interesting thing to note is that most Malaysians, based on their background of multi-ethnicity, are capable of multilingual capabilities and despite being in the cultural situation where one has to learn multiple languages, most Malaysians do undertake the initiative to learn an additional language to be more conversant and competitive in an international environment - English, and thus anywhere Malaysians go, despite our strong rooted favor or preference to use our own cultural language, we can still use English for the universal communication with other parties all around the world.
To summarize, the basic things before anything else considered for an international job opportunity is one must Learn English, Speak English, Write English and Read English, and most important is Understand English.
It’s a wonder at times, if most of the mistakes done by management or even in cases where technical situation is involved, could it be because they cannot understand the proposal papers? Or even the manual book?
This is not an advertorial for an English language course, just a basic and common knowledge that I need to impart to those who reads this blog.
And please… it’s English! Not Ingrish or Chinglish!
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Leadership books usually discuss about characteristics of good leadership. So, today I’ll talk about bad leaders. People in position of leadership usually think of themselves as good leaders. In reality, there are good leaders, just so, so leaders and bad leaders. Specifically, I’ll talk about a particular category of bad leaders, i.e. nasty leaders.
Nasty leaders subscribe to what I term as toilet paper leadership. The essence of toilet paper leadership is that people should be treated as toilet paper because they are to be used to either make the leader look good or to clean their *##@#. To understand toilet paper leadership I’ll contrast them with good leaders. I’ll refer to good leaders as passionate gardener leaders.
Toilet paper leaders are typically self-centered. They are opportunists and are mainly concerned with their own interest. They will use terms such as “common goals” and “mission” to disguise their intentions.
They rely on impression management to impress their superiors. But their subordinates usually can see that these leaders are not concerned about the organization. Passionate gardener leaders see themselves as servant leaders.
It is not that they are not concerned about personal gain. Like a good gardener, these leaders are concerned with the beauty of the garden.
These leaders see their goals as something to be attained by honestly working for the organization. They create winners out of everyone just like the gardener ensuring each tree turns into a beauty because they believe this is the only way to make the organization win and attain their own personal goals.
Passionate gardener leaders know that when the contribution of their subordinates is recognized, the credit will also naturally come to them. No need haggle over it.
To toilet paper leaders working smart is about taking advantage of people. When something good is done by their subordinates they will step in front to take the credit. When something bad happens they will put the subordinates on the firing line, especially when the bad things happened as a consequence of the leader’s action.
BEIJING: An emerging recovery in China is good news for the rest of Asia but the nation does not yet have sufficient clout to boost the global economy as a whole, analysts say.
Data published last week have raised hopes that China could be the first major economy to disentangle itself from the worldwide crisis, providing new growth momentum for several of its trading partners.
“It’s one of the surprises in the past two months,” said Glenn Maguire, a Hong Kong-based economist for Societe Generale.
“Those economies that are either capital goods exporters or commodity exporters to China are starting to show encouraging trends in exports.”
A slew of economic figures unveiled on Thursday draw a complex picture of an economy that, while experiencing a dramatic slowdown, is showing signs of being just about to turn a corner.
While overall economic growth in the first quarter was at 6.1 per cent - a near two-decade low, according to some analysts - investments in fixed assets in the cities were up by over 30 per cent in March.
This reflected massive public spending, which the government launched in November soon after the global crisis broke out and which is now also benefiting major exporters to the Chinese market, analysts said.
“China’s role and influence as a growth engine in the region is growing fast while the US influence is certainly decreasing,” said Lee Moon-Hyung, an economist at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade.
The nations in the region standing to reap the largest potential gains from a Chinese recovery included Australia, Vietnam and South Korea, Morgan Stanley concluded in a recent report.
Evidence of a positive spill-over effect remains tenuous. South Korea’s exports to China actually declined 22.2 per cent year-on-year in March, but Lee from the economic institute argued there were some positive signs.
“Manufacturers of LCD panels, auto parts and components as well as petrochemical products are benefiting from China’s 4 trillion yuan stimulus package and other policies aimed at boosting domestic demand,” he said.
In a startling example of similar dynamics, Chinese imports of US semiconductors more than doubled in the first two months of 2009 from the same period a year ago, according to Chinese customs statistics.
But it is unlikely that a Chinese recovery will have a broader impact on the economies in Europe and North America, according to economists.
The global crisis may have come as a shock and seemingly turned the world upside down, but basic trade patterns will remain the same for the foreseeable future, some argued.
“We can’t expect the Chinese recovery to be an engine for the Japanese economy,” said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. - AFP
Starting an online business is not always as easy as it may sound. But, running an online business has many benefits over its offline counterpart. Firstly, and the most appealing, is you’ll most likely be working from home from your own computer, and working the hours that suit you. And secondly, you have the potential to make a lot more money than you would if you were working for someone else.
Before embarking on an online entrepreneurial quest for the perfect home-based business, it’s advisable to look at the array of online business opportunities available, and decide which would be the most suitable for you. While it’s quite conceivable, that the most profitable and legitimate type of online businesses can be operated successfully by one person, most involve a collaboration of skills and input.
For the individual, making money online is a very real prospect, but there are some important factors that should be considered before taking that first vital step.
Should you sell a service?
Unless you have a well-developed skill such as, web design, graphics design, writing or some other creative or artistic flair, you’ll have to concentrate on finding or creating a product.
In selling your services, you must first determine whether a paying market actually exists for your services. Initially, you’ll need to do some research and look at similar services being offered. A good indicator is usually when there are numerous similar services available. This would suggest a buoyant market, but it’s not always the case. A friendly yet inquisitive email sent to a few established service providers in the business you’re considering, should give you an insight.
Take a good look at the existing competition. Look at the quality of their work. Could you do it better? What prices are they charging? Could you do it cheaper? If you can effectively do either of these you’re on your way to building online wealth.
Should you sell a product?
More people than ever buy products online, but the main thing to consider is whether you want to sell a tangible product or a virtual product.
As with selling a service, you must first determine whether a market exists for your product. Look at similar products then decide whether there’s room for another player. All products will have to be sold through a website, from which an order can be taken and a payment can be processed. If you have the knowledge and necessary skills, you can easily build the website yourself. Otherwise you will have to pay a professional.
A tangible product is something that can be held in the hand, therefore it will also need to be packed and shipped. Processing orders is very time consuming, but more importantly you may have to keep inventory, which can be very expensive plus you’ll need to find storage space.
An alternative is to sell virtual products. These include downloadable e-books, videos and information products. You’ll still need a website with ordering and credit card processing facilities, but you will not need to keep any inventory and it won’t take up any space (except on your computer’s hard drive) Many successful Internet marketers use this method to maximum effect.
Selling someone else’s product
Some of the best online business opportunities are very simple to set up and run. The first of these is affiliate marketing. You simply find some existing products that are being successfully sold on the Internet, and sign up for their affiliate program. Basically, this is straight-forward process. You complete an online application form and you’re given a reference number, which you can embed into your marketing links. The host company will also track your sales and pay you commissions. All you have to do is sell their products.
Some people go overboard on affiliate programs, trying to sell anything and everything they can sign up for. It’s advisable to concentrate on a few related items such as e-books on a similar subject - when that enterprise begins to make money online, start all over again with a set of different products. With careful consideration and clever marketing, affiliate programs can be the perfect way of making money online.
Buying a business or franchise
If you’d prefer to buy a readymade business, there are many to choose from. Some established and profitable Internet businesses will gladly sell you a franchise. This will most likely be a clone of their existing business, but beware! Owning a franchise business on the Internet will prove useless unless you have territorial rights. The problem with online franchises is your limitations on what you can sell. You must sign an agreement with the franchisor, that you, the franchisee will only sell their range of products.
Online investment opportunities
Not strictly a business opportunity, but investing in real estate or stocks and shares has become big business in itself. The Internet has opened up all kinds of opportunities for investors, and it’s so easy to go online and find stock brokers willing to advise you where to put your hard-earned cash for the maximum return. The big consideration with investing is to remember that prices can fall just as quickly as they rise.
Finding the right market
Whatever service or product you decide to offer your online customers, you must first establish whether there’s a need for it. If there is, you’ll have to work on an effective strategy of getting your product in front of your prospect ahead of the competition.
It’s been proven time and again that small is big. The small or niche market has been responsible for many people making a nice profit from the Internet. It’s as well to remember, that a niche market on the internet could number well over a million potential customers. Just 5% of a market this size, each buying a product with a $10 profit margin, would return $500,000 in profits.
A few examples of niche markets might be: Holidays for singles over 40, sports and fashion wear for children 6-24 months or easy car maintenance for lady drivers.
Online Auctions
The phenomenal success of online auctions, eBay in particular, is unprecedented. Not only are the online auction companies making large profits, they give everyone an opportunity to sell something to anyone anywhere in the world. From fashion accessories to collectibles and sports equipment to memorabilia, there appears to be a market, although limited, for everything.
The key to success here is to buy wholesale and sell volume. When you’ve got to the point of making good money from online auctions, simply write a book and tell everyone else how you did it. To get started in online auctions, go to eBay, click on wholesale, buy some stock and resell individually back on eBay.
Paid Surveys
Some people might not consider clicking boxes alongside questions a valid business opportunity. But if you consider it work, and the survey companies are willing to pay you, then it must be a form of business to be considered. It’s something almost anyone can do, doesn’t require any specialist knowledge or skill and can be done from anywhere.
The downside is, it’s tedious and won’t make you a fortune. However, it’s the ideal part-time opportunity for people with a few hours to spare or to run alongside a new venture during the ‘quiet’ periods.
Enthusiasm, Commitment and Self-Discipline
Looking at the various online business opportunities and how you should evaluate them is only part of the equation for online wealth building. Working for yourself in your home-based business will require real enthusiasm, commitment and copious amounts of self-discipline. Whichever route or opportunity you consider, all will require a degree of ‘do-ability’.
Be prepared to spend long days and nights at your computer, especially in the early months, building your business and getting your products in front of likely prospects. You’ll only get out what you put in.
Accounting the costs
If you establish an online business and you’re making a full-time income, don’t forget to inform the authorities.
You’ll need to keep records of all your business transactions for accounting purposes and you’ll need to set aside a percentage of your profits to cover taxes. Microsoft’s Excel program is perfect for keeping records of this nature, but don’t forget to keep a back-up of your files, just in case. The message here is to play it straight and keep it legal.
Of all the things you should consider, when planning to start an online business, the most important is undoubtedly marketing. Marketing strategies can make or break a business.
Newbie, short cut all the unnecessary struggles. I recommend Atomic Blogging
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