The things I do...

Should CFOs Network Online?

2009-12-07T11:52:00.000+08:00

Social networking on the Internet is all the rage these days, if the mushrooming of CFO-focused groups in sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter is any indication. A simple search will turn up such professional groups as “Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Network,” “China CFO,” and “Super CFO” on LinkedIn and “Indian CEO, CFO, CA, CS, ICWA, CFA, Finance, Corporate & Legal Professional” on Facebook.

It’s the digital equivalent of the face-to-face networking that business folks have always done, whether in industry conferences, Rotary clubs, cocktail parties, golfing trips or other social occasions. Tech-savvy executives see e-social networking as an additional tool for this time-honoured rite, and also invaluable as a free marketing vehicle for the business and for maintaining business contacts.

Read complete article at Social Media: Should CFOs Network Online?

Cutting Free

2009-11-21T11:24:00.002+08:00

自我追寻

在某些时段，想放弃安全的工作去追求自己的梦想。你怎样知道这是对的？而什么令这个决定更有意义？

来看看自由撰稿人Alexandra Wong 走过四年的心历路程。。

全文：The Star: Cutting Free

Social Networking at Work Costs Employers Big Bucks

2009-11-02T12:08:00.002+08:00

So there you are at work with the computer right in front of you. The browser is already up because you were doing some research for your boss. What would be the harm in quickly checking in with Facebook or maybe Twitter? Then why not check your email. It will only take a few seconds more. Oh, but there's that quick reply you have to dash off to your friend. O.K., so what's the harm in spending just a few seconds more tending to personal matters. Before you close down your browser, you remember that you thought of a really funny status update you wanted to post. Back to Facebook. You'll be done in a jiffy. By the time you close down your browser, you've spent more than fifteen minutes not working — make that 20.

Your social networking activity could be costing your employer a lot of money. Morse plc, a U.K. company, released the results of a survey that indicated U.K. businesses are losing £1.38 billion each year because of their employees' use of social networking sites at work. I wonder how much would be added to that figure if you also included other online activities, such as checking email and shopping. Half of the 1,460 office workers who were surveyed admitted to spending "40 minutes on these sites each week, equating to just under a full working week being wasted each year by employees using social networking sites at work." They don't think they are as bad as their colleagues who, they reported (in a classic case of pot meet kettle), spend almost an hour a day on these sites.

By Dawn's Career Planning Blog
Read on: Surfing the Net on Your Boss's Time

Tribalisation of what?

2009-08-07T20:53:00.001+08:00

如何让你的社区产品更有价值

在线社区已经成为目前最主要的网络应用之一，很多企业和组织都建立了相应的在线社区，但如何才能让你的在线社区为你产生更多的价值呢?最近一项名为“The 2008 Tribalization of Business”的研究针对这个问题，对140多家拥有在线社区的不同的组织进行了调查。

2008 Tribalization Of Business Study

研究的结果显示，在线社区对于这些组织最大的价值在于增加口碑(35%)、增加品牌认知(28%)以及增加客户忠诚度(24%)。毋庸置疑，网络社区对企业来说是一种有效的营销及客户管理工具。

而阻碍在线社区这种工具产生它应有价值的最主要因素，既不是技术也不是资金，而是如何吸引用户(51%)、如何增加管理社区的时间(45%)。

而在调查中，这些组织认为在线社区的重要元素包括：类似人群的连接能力(54%)、可以帮助他人(43%)、是否有热点话题(41%)、社区管理的质量(33%)等等。

本次调查还发现了一个有趣的现象，就是这些组织建立这些社区的初衷和他们实际的实施内容普遍存在着差异。

所有的调查结果都表明，已经建立的大部分在线社区都能为企业带来不可忽视的价值，其很多企业本身也已经意识到在线社区的重要性。但是在具体实施的过程中大部分还缺乏经验，策略和方法的选择有很多不确定因素。

这里的问题可以尝试用这两种对策：

首先是专职人员的配备。目前大部分企业中和在线社区相关的工作，都是由市场部门的人员来兼任或者索性是外包。对公司品牌和产品的了解和对网络社区文化的专业知识是在线社区的管理人员必备的条件。这样，公司内有专门的人来负责这部分工作才是一个比较好的解决方案。关于这方面的内容，也可以看看Mr.6最近写的一篇关于“社群经营经理”的文章。

其次是新技术和新服务的运用。随着网络服务平台化和各种数据的不断开放，有很多问题也可以通过技术来解决或者改善。例如Google OpenSocial、Facebook Connect等等都将可以帮助企业非常方便的吸引用户、并方便的管理用户间的关系。即使企业没有特别高的技术实例，很多网站提供的各种便于使用的API 也可以帮助企业提高在线社区的互动性。

The Star: What does "tribalisation" mean in business?

Entrepreneurship requires four areas of mastery

2009-07-25T16:37:00.003+08:00

There is a myth that entrepreneurs have special traits that distinguish them from other people or they have some sort of secret method to success. No entrepreneur, including Richard Branson, has a secret formula. Entrepreneurship is not easy. But, it can be learned and should be taught to everyone.

Based on a research of 500 entrepreneurs, they found four areas of similarities among the majority of successful entrepreneurs: personal mastery, business mastery, entrepreneurship mastery and leadership mastery.

The key to personal mastery is self awareness. The best entrepreneurs know what their strengths are and they leverage on them. In addition to knowing oneself, the best entrepreneurs learn from an early age how to create, communicate, influence, and develop their personal effectiveness.

Business mastery is the ability to think strategically, understand industries, new trends and changes and innovate in new spaces. Business mastery is about developing “a vision of extraordinary possibility.

Entrepreneurship mastery is the technical skills needed, including the day-to-day mechanics of running a business, producing products, delivering services, making money and managing people.

The final key is leadership. And at the heart of leadership is decision making. Entrepreneurs must learn to make good decisions quickly. Entrepreneurs bounce back quickly and learn from bad decisions made. The main reason for most failed start-ups is leadership failure.

Likewise, many start-up leaders fail due to lack of leadership to engage, encourage and develop their employees.

To master these four areas requires learning and practice which many new entrepreneurs don’t invest in. Nearly 95% of all entrepreneurial efforts fail. If we closely study these failures, it is usually a lack of mastery in one or all of these areas.

Every great entrepreneur was once an amateur. There is an old saying that goes, “there are three kinds of people in the world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who don’t even know anything is happening.”

It’s never too late to learn and become a person who makes things happen in this world. Yes, you can dream.

Source: Now everyone can dream by Roshan Thiran

Jam from kitchen to factory

2009-07-11T20:45:00.000+08:00

小果酱大生意

2002 年，当同龄人正在新潮的互联网上创业时，14岁的Fraser Doherty在他父母的厨房里开始学着用奶奶的秘方调制果酱。邻居们和教堂里的朋友们非常喜欢这些果酱的味道，便一传十，十传百，建立起了不小的名气。 Doherty接到的订单之多，单靠在自己的厨房里已经不能满足需求了。他便从一个200人的食品加工厂租赁时间，每月租上那么几天来制作他接到的订单。

到他16岁时，Doherty便离校退学开始全职果酱生意了。

2007年初，英国一家高端超市Waitrose找到了他，希望能在旗下的超市里出售Doherty的超级果酱 Super Jam。数月之内，Waitrose 184家超市的店面里，便出现了超级果酱的身影。这使Doherty和他的生意都上了一个新台阶。
于是，他从银行贷款5000英镑（约合9000美元）以支付日常费用和租赁更多的工厂时间，来生产三种品的果酱。Tesco超市也跟进了，将Doherty的超级果酱摆进了其全英国300多家店里。

去年，超级果酱销售额高达120万美元，比2007年猛增60％。目前排队等待上架的超市包括英国Asda沃尔玛、爱尔兰的Morrisons和Tesco。

2008 年，Doherty有力量了，便开始了一个超级果酱茶会的公益活动，目前已经举办了100多块。主要是为苏格兰、英格兰和威尔士在家独居的老年人或老人院里的老人组织歌舞活动，并提供饮料。今年，Doherty准备将超级果酱打进全英国最大的食品连锁店。其生意合理估值约为100万美元至200万美元之间。

对一个20岁的年轻人来说，能做到这样真是不氏是。Doherty对其他年轻的创业家的建议是：对冒险有自己的想法，享受冒险的过程吧。

Forbes: Jam, from kitchen to factory

The First Million at age 20

2009-07-04T21:08:00.002+08:00

在20岁前挣100万

Ephren Taylor。这位泰勒同学是个游戏迷，买得起任天堂游戏机，但买不起游戏。所以在1994年他12岁时，他决定自己写游戏。于是每天下学后都到公园去读一本书，Andre LaMothe写的《怎样在21天内做一个视频游戏》（没有家庭作业就是好啊）。几个月后，他写出了自己的第一个游戏，情节是射杀想绑架总统的坏蛋（读游戏书也能这么爱国！）。然后他以每份10美元的价格卖给了30个朋友。

这仅仅是开始，当泰勒同学 13岁时，习惯自学的他开始设计网站。然后在聊天室等地方推广，通过电话（当然是压低声音假装成熟）和经纪人谈价格。最初报价每建一个站200美元，后来发现竞争对手相同的服务报价几千块时，他也突破了这个价格。一般是经纪人拉活，完工后客户直接把支票寄给泰勒。“当我收到一张从卖维他命和营养品的网络商店寄来的3800美元支票时，我父母以为我肯定是在贩毒。”

16 岁时，泰勒拉了好友Michael Stahl入伙，他们建了个招聘网站，专门面向高中生和大学生。他们把当地的记者叫来开了个新闻发布会，说要开张新生意。报道一报，立刻为网站吸引来了3 万个访问者。他们的定价这次还是有点低，每个招聘信息收费38美元。不过很快他们发现必胜客、花旗集团这些大公司为了招募到年青人才愿意付比这贵100倍的价格。于是这俩家伙就租了办公室，雇了他们以前的历史老师。2001年该网站在互联网泡沫破灭中应声倒下，不过最辉煌的时候，网站估值达350万美元。

现在，26岁的泰勒经营当地一家控股公司，投资一些社区相关生意，比如克立夫兰和堪萨斯市的低成本住房等。此外，他还担任City Capital公司的CEO，抽投资旧城改造和油井等生意。另外，一年他还要做70多场演讲，每场8000美元。

Forbes: Video-game design; Web-site design; job-posting site for teens

Tax filing for sole proprietorship 03

2009-06-30T20:22:00.000+08:00

SOLE proprietors can optimise their taxes by taking capital allowances on business assets into account.

Fixed assets: Fixed assets acquired for use in the business are eligible for tax relief in the form of capital allowance. Capital allowances are deducted from the adjusted income of a business to arrive at statutory income. Depreciation on fixed assets is not tax deductible.

Newly acquired assets will be given an initial allowance of 20% and annual allowance of 10%, 14%, 20% or 40%, depending on the asset category.

The capital allowance amount is computed on a straight-line basis by reference to the cost. Full capital allowance is given even though it is acquired and in use for less than a year.

The cost of the asset includes alteration costs and incidental costs for the installation of fixed assets.

Small-Value Assets: With effect from YA 2006, where the sole proprietor acquires fixed assets (small- value assets) which are not valued at more than RM1,000 for each asset, the full cost of the asset enjoys capital allowance in a year (100% cost = capital allowance).

The maximum capital allowance allowed for small-value assets in a year is restricted to RM10,000.

To optimise tax planning, the acquisition of fixed assets like printers, telephone systems, fans, calculators and kettles should be staggered to reduce taxable income.

Capital allowance is given on a year’s basis even if it is acquired and in use for less than a year. Sole proprietor may consider accelerating the acquisition of small-value assets in November/December 2008 instead of January 2009 as capital allowance is available in YA 2008 to reduce taxable income.

Motor vehicles: Motor vehicles used in business are entitled to capital allowances.

The qualifying cost eligible for capital allowance is restricted to RM100,000 provided:

·it is a newly acquired car; and

·the cost does not exceed RM150,000.

Other motor vehicles which do not satisfy the above two conditions will be given qualifying cost of RM50,000 even if the actual cost may have exceeded RM50,000.

Capital allowance can be claimed on the full cost of commercial vehicles, which are motor vehicles used directly to transport trading stock, such as lorries and vans.

Other motor vehicles used in the business are known as passenger vehicles, which are restricted to a maximum cost of RM100,000. These are used in business to meet customers, bankers or suppliers. To maximise claims on passenger vehicles up to RM100,000, the sole proprietor has to ensure the cost of the new motor vehicle does not exceed RM150,000.

Personal fixed assets: Sole proprietors may transfer personal assets for use in their business. Once such assets are used in the business, capital allowance is then available.

The sole proprietor has to first establish the market value of the assets at the time they were brought into use in the business. The assets will then be recorded in the balance sheet of the business.

Annual allowance is given on the market value of these assets, but no initial allowance is allowed.

In the event that the sole proprietor continues using the assets for personal use, the portion of such personal usage must be excluded and no capital allowance is available on that portion.

Details: Tax planning for business assets

Tax filing for sole proprietorship 02

2009-06-28T21:13:00.000+08:00

SOLE proprietors should take advantage of allowable business expenses and deductions on bad debts to reduce their taxable income.

Business expenses: Revenue expenses incurred directly in the production of business income are tax deductible against the gross income of said business and are commonly known as business expenses.

The general rule of thumb is that business expenses must be recurring in nature, permissible under the Act, have been incurred, reasonable and acceptable to a particular industry, and are not related to the acquisition of capital assets or expenses.

Other deductible expenses available for tax deductions include accounting fees, legal fees for recovery of trade debts, rental for premises, sales advertisement, entertainment expenses for trade debtors, and cash stolen from the cash register by cashiers.

Non-deductible expenses would include items like prepayment of insurance expenses for fire and theft; costs of renovation or construction for premises; fines imposed for traffic offences or custom offences; penalties on income taxes; donations to political parties, church or religious body; legal fees for bank loans or acquisition of premises; and legal fees for defense in suits for violation of trade regulations.

Mixed overhead expenses: Sole proprietors often have limited resources to acquire assets for exclusive business use. Therefore, personal assets such as motor vehicles, mobile phones, home offices and computers are mutually used for business and private or domestic purposes.

In such cases, a sole proprietor in a business has to segregate expenses incurred, differentiating between business expenses and private expenses. Items such as petrol, repair and maintenance on vehicles, telephone charges, Internet charges, house interest expense and utilities have to be apportioned into business and private expenses.

In practice, sole proprietors first need to segregate out the private expenses.

A reasonable and reflective basis has to be developed by analysing the actual expenses and usage for several months.

Once a basis is ascertained, the ratio will be applied on such expenses from year to year. The common basis from a practical viewpoint will be 1/3, 1/4 or 1/5 for private use, depending on the business industry and personal conditions.

Since the taxpayer is fully responsible for the tax computation in a self-assessment system, penalties on an incorrect return would be imposed if the taxpayer intentionally and purportedly claims private and domestic expenses as business expenses. This could amount to:

·100% of the tax undercharged

·a fine of RM1,000 to RM10,000.

Entertainment expenses: These are incurred primarily to maintain existing sales revenue or to increase sales.

Although entertainment expenses are generally 50% deductible, the following entertainment expenses are, however, fully tax deductible as specifically allowed by the Act:

·Staff amenities such as the provision of food and beverages in the office, annual staff dinners, company trips, and family days.

·Promotional gifts at trade fairs, trade or industrial exhibitions held outside Malaysia and for the promotion of exports from Malaysia.

·Promotional samples of the business’ products.

·Provision of entertainment for cultural or sporting events; open to public; wholly to promote business.

·Provision of promotional gifts; within Malaysia; consisting of articles incorporating a conspicuous advertisement or business logo.

·Provision of entertainment which is related wholly to sales arising from the business.

Public Ruling 3/2004 clarifies entertainment related wholly to sales as entertainment which is directly related to sales provided to customers, dealers and distributors but excluding suppliers (trade creditors).

Bad debts: Specific provisions for bad debts are tax deductible, provided they arise from credit sales (trade debts) and there are commercial reasons for such provisions. Bad debts arising from sales of fixed assets to other debtors are not tax deductible.

Bad debts written off on trade debts are tax deductible in situations where trade debtors are bankrupt, dead, have absconded or liquidated.

At the year ending Dec 31 and interim periods at March 31, June 30 and Sept 30, 2008, sole proprietors must analyse their trade debtors aging report to ensure immediate action can be taken on defaulted trade debtors and make continuing provision of specific provision for bad debts.

As the sale is assessed to tax on an accrual basis, the specific provision for bad debts can reduce business adjusted income. The particulars of the trade debtors must be recorded in detail and the reasons for the provision and the non-supplying of stock to them are to be compiled for tax audit purposes.

Specific deductions: The following expenses are tax deductible against gross business income even although they may be capital expenditure and only remotely connected with the business:

·Equipment like wheel chairs to assist disabled employees to work in business premises.

·Cash donations or in kind to public, college or school libraries up to RM100,000 in a year.

·Expenses incurred to maintain a child care centre for employees.

·Sponsorship of art/cultural or heritage activities approved by the Culture, Arts and Heritage Ministry up to a ceiling of RM500,000 for local, RM200,000 for foreign and RM500,000 for combined local and foreign activities.

Double deductions: The following expenses enjoy additional deductions in arriving at adjusted income:

·Remuneration paid to disabled employees.

·Insurance premiums paid to a Malaysian insurance company on importing and exporting cargo or raw materials.

Details: Business expenses and bad debts

Tax filing for sole proprietorship 01

2009-06-27T20:52:00.002+08:00

ACCORDING to the Companies Commission of Malaysia, the majority of the 810,150 registered companies in Malaysia are owned by sole proprietors or business enterprises.

These entrepreneurs are probably paying too much in taxes, since professional tax advice would be too costly for sole proprietors with a typical annual turnover of RM300,000 to RM500,000.

Here is how you can optimise taxes and avoid penalties by implementing permitted accounting standards, segregating trading stock from items for personal use and applying stock write-down and obsolescence policies.

·Sales/Revenue: Revenue is recognised once trading goods are sold to customers. In practice, the issuance of sales invoices are demarcation points for sales to be recorded in the accounts. For service industries, revenue is recognised at the point when services are rendered and completed.

Sales revenue at all times must be recorded at market price, which is the arm’s length or actual sales price between the trader and his customer.

·Sales recorded on accrual basis: Accounting standards in Malaysia require revenue to be recorded on an accrual basis. This means sales must be recorded notwithstanding whether it takes place on credit or cash terms; whether cash is received or not is irrelevant.

·Cash accounting: This is not a permitted accounting standard in Malaysia. Under the cash accounting basis, revenue is recognised solely based on cash received and there is no reference to the sale of goods or completion of services.

Sole proprietors computing income tax on this basis are considered as submitting an incorrect return and will be liable to a tax penalty of 100% and/or a fine up to RM10,000.

·Deemed sales for use of own stocks: Traders who wish to use their trading items (stocks) for donation, personal use or as gifts must record these items at market value, since Section 24(2) of the Act deems these as sales revenue. These transactions are treated as sales and the “profit” which was never earned is subject to income tax.

To avoid this situation, the sole proprietor has to request that the supplier invoice him separately on his personal account for the item that he intends to give away or keep for his own use. Do not bill the item to the business enterprise.

·Cost of sales: Trading stocks are assets to the sole proprietor and reflected in the balance sheet. The cost of trading stock is only allowed as a deduction against sales revenue when the stock is sold.

Excess unsold stock is an asset and not deductible. Sales quantity and the cost of sales must be identical.

The sole proprietor should develop a stock write-down policy to evaluate the quantity or quality of unsold stocks as the Act allows tax deductions for stock written down or stock write-offs due to obsolescence.

The stock policy has to be applied consistently for at least three years. Tax authorities may review such a stock policy during the tax audit.

The write-offs of the stocks or write down in the value of trading stock must reflect actual market conditions. Sole proprietors must record the details of such stocks and provide the specific reason why certain stocks are written off or written down as part of the documentary evidence for tax audit inspection.

Details: Revenue recognition and cost of sales

Slow recovery for global economy?

2009-06-04T20:19:00.000+08:00

A NEW survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) shows that finance professionals are forecasting a slow recovery in the world economy.

The professional body says in a statement that the Global Economic Conditions Survey among 805 of its members in 80 countries reveals a slow and credit-constrained recovery that can threaten the world’s leading economies with stagnation.

It suggests that “confidence has been lost in the sectors and countries that were once the engines of world economic growth, and that the resulting decrease in demand and supplier credit may be causing much more damage than the banking sector’s new-found aversion to risk.”

According to the survey, the contraction in world trade has affected professionals in Asia-Pacific badly, especially in China. It has also resulted in a loss of confidence among professionals in the region for their Western counterparts.

“Despite this, accountants in emerging markets and the developing world are expecting the global economy to bounce back sooner – with African countries such as Botswana, Zambia, Ghana and Kenya having the most optimistic respondents,” the ACCA says.

The research also shows that hopes of an early recovery are underpinned by trust in governments’ responses to the crisis, with businesses having to play a part too.

Source: ACCA global economic conditions survey findings revealed

2009 BrandZ™ Top 100 Ranking

2009-05-31T20:29:00.001+08:00

明略行Millward Brown Optimor于日前发布了第四年度的BrandZ全球品牌100强排名，其结果显示即使在目前比较恶劣的经济形势下，各大品牌仍有效地捍卫了它们原有的品牌价值。

BrandZ全球品牌100强排名以美元来衡量品牌价值，它通过结合两方面的数据来进行品牌价值评估：包括企业财务数据及BrandZ对消费者和企业用户的研究数据(BrandZ是当今世界最大的品牌资产研究数据库)。

前100强的品牌价值总值已达到了1.95兆美元(略微上涨了1.7个百分点)。其中，谷歌名列第一，价值1000亿美元;微软排名第二，价值762亿美元;可口可乐首次位列第三，价值676亿美元。

“在目前的经济环境下，很多企业的价值会有所下降，而此时，品牌会变得尤为重要，因为品牌能帮助公司在艰难时期坚持下去。”Millward Brown Optimor的首席执行官 Joanna Seddon这样说，“那些在艰难时期会继续坚持对品牌进行投资的企业，在经济状况好转时，会比那些现在削减品牌投入的企业拥有更强的优势。”

今年共有15个新的品牌进入排名。帮宝适在新晋者中名列最高，排名31，任天堂(排名32名)和VISA(排名36名)紧接其后。从今年的排名中可以看出这样一些趋势：

价值 — 那些以“物有所值”所著称的品牌表现优秀，这意味着质量与价格一样重要，例如：沃尔玛(+19%)、阿尔迪(+49%)和欧尚(+48%)。H&M(+8%)现成为了服装的第一品牌。

小腐败 — 人们即使在荷包紧张的情况下，仍不免偶尔奖励一下自己。比如麦当劳(+34%)、万宝路(+33%)以及百威(+23%)这样的品牌都表现不错。

居家 — 能在家里体验或享受的品牌显示了强劲的增长。这包括了在家购物(在线购物)：亚马逊(+85%)和eBay(+16%);能在家制作的咖啡：奈斯派索优 Nespresso(+27%)和雀巢Nescafe(+23%);以及游戏：任天堂首次进入排名就跃居第32名。

无线 —通过iPhone和黑莓，在移动设备上使用互联网越来越流行，刺激了数据服务的需求，从而带动了移动运营服务这一产业的整体巨幅增长。沃达丰今年首次进入前十(+45%)。

明略行全球首席执行官Eileen Campbell就此排名发表评论说：“成为世界上最具价值的品牌之一是一项了不起的成就，我们祝贺所有榜上有名的品牌。在一个营销支出正遭受前所未有的严格审查的时刻，这个排名让营销者们能够证明品牌为企业所创造的价值”。

来源: 2009 BrandZ™ Top 100 Ranking

High time to refinance your loan?

2009-05-03T20:58:00.001+08:00

WITH lending rates at historical low levels, the obvious question to ask is – should one refinance their home loans? The answer is simple – if there are net savings to be enjoyed by refinancing the existing loan, then yes. If the impact is neutral, then there’s little point going through all that hassle.

Two years ago, banks were charging home buyers base lending rate (BLR) “plus” interest rates for their housing loans.

Today, the BLR for mortgages has fallen to a “minus” level. In addition, then, the average BLR was about 6.75% which was later adjusted to about 5.55% currently.

The fall in lending rates followed the unprecedented cut in overnight policy rate (OPR) by Bank Negara Malaysia since November last year by 150 basis points to 2% as it stands now.

Over the week, the central bank paused on its rate cut, leaving the OPR unchanged.

This has led some economists to predict that there will be no more OPR cuts for the rest of 2009 and 2010 which may give borrowers a reason to lock in their interest rates for housing loans at current low levels.

If the economy stabilises by next year, analysts expect interest rates to rise. But the views are mixed as there are also analysts who feel that if the situation worsens, Bank Negara could further cut the OPR.

Dr Choong Kwai Fatt, tax consultant and associate professor at the Faculty of Business and Accountancy, Universiti Malaya, opines that now may be a good time to refinance home loans.

“For refinancing, we recommend customers to change to Flexi loan, which allows them to make additional repayment and draw balance at any time with convenience of automated teller machine cards and cheque books. In addition, any amount in the current account is used to reduce the outstanding loan amount, hence there are interest savings,” he says.

Typically, banks’ lock in period is about five years; customers who switch banks before this period ends will have to fork out a penalty fee which comprises 3% of total loan amount or loan outstanding or a minimum penalty of RM5,000-RM10,000.

The fees however vary from bank to bank. There are other costs involved in switching lenders as well such as search fees, inspection fees, stamp duty and loan legal fees (usually costs less than 3% of total loan).

It is important to note that all rates and terms and conditions are negotiable, and hence, vary on a case by case basis.

Details: High time to refinance your loan?

Easy Guide to Taxation for Employees 02

2009-04-25T20:59:00.000+08:00

On short-notice payment and child-care allowance

Q: In November 2008, I voluntarily ceased my employment and had to pay short notice of RM2,000 (supported by an official receipt). However, I was compensated with a sign-in bonus of RM6,000 from my new employer.

The problem is the sign-in bonus is stated in my EA form but the short notice of RM2,000 is not deducted from the form. Can I automatically net off the amounts and disclose RM4,000 as my sign-in bonus because RM2,000 is my actual expense?

A: Sign-in bonus is capital in nature and not taxable in the event the salary that you receive subsequently upon commencement/exercising of employment with the new company is at the commercial rate. The amount is not to be included in the EA form.

However, if the sign-in bonus is in lieu of reduced salary, the amount is income in nature and subject to income tax. In this scenario, the amount is to be included in the EA form.

The amount paid by you as compensation for short notice of resignation is not deductible as it is not directly incurred in deriving employment income as you have stopped working in your old company.

My former company did not disclose my travelling allowance of RM1,500 in my EA form as tax-exempt benefits. Upon calling it, the company refused to issue a fresh EA form to me. What can I do?

Travelling/petrol allowance received by an employee for travelling from home to workplace and vice-versa is exempted up to RM2,400 while travelling/petrol allowance received for travelling in exercising employment, is exempted up to RM6,000.

In your case, if the amount is authentic and verifiable, even without a revised EA form, you may straight away deduct the amount from your total income reported in the EA form. The adjustment is at column C1 where, the amount is represented by: Total income (as per EA form) – travelling allowance incurred (RM1,500) = Total income from employment (C1)

I paid RM280 per month for my four-year-old daughter’s nursery in 2008. I understand that child-care is exempted from tax up to RM2,400 per year. Can I claim it (since I paid for it and it’s not an allowance)?

Child-care allowance of RM2,400 is tax exempted if provided by employer to staff. In your case, no deduction is available as such allowance was not paid by your employer. You have only incurred a domestic expense which is irrelevant in computing your employment income tax. Domestic expense is not deductible.

I sought treatment using the “Tui-Na” therapeutic massage for my left leg. The total cost of treatment was RM89.60. Can this sort of expense be treated as a form of medical expense tax relief under the traditional acupuncture and ayuverdic categories?

The medical benefit (including Chinese Tui-Na) is tax exempt provided it is given by the employer to the employee. Benefits cover ayurvedic and acupuncture effective YA2008. However, you cannot claim this expense when computing your employment income, since it is paid by you and not your employer.

If a self-employed person makes a contribution of 12% to the EPF under his firm, is the contribution deductible to the proprietor firm and is there any limit?

If you are earning business income as a sole proprietor, you may utilise the B form to submit your tax return. BE form is for individuals earning employment income. In both cases, the total EPF contribution by the employee or the self-employed person plus the amount of insurance premium paid are deductible up to the aggregate of both amounts (up to a maximum of RM6,000).

Where the employer is concerned, a Sdn Bhd firm is entitled to claim the EPF contributions for employees as a full deduction from their business income and the maximum contribution is 19%, as governed by Section 34 (4) of the Income Tax Act, 1967. However, for the sole proprietor, the amount is not deductible when computing business income.

How do I disclose interest subsidies on housing, car and education loans?

Interest subsidies on housing, education or car loans provided by the employer to the employee are all tax-exempted in full, provided the aggregate amount of loans from all of the above does not exceed RM300,000.

If you qualify for exemption and your documentation is verifiable, you may deduct the appropriate amount from your total income reported in the EA form. The adjustment is at column C1 where the amount is represented by:

Total income (as per EA form) – exemptions entitled (subject to maximum) = Total income from employment (C1)

How do I apply for retrenchment benefits for my husband?

As long as the compensation is given by the employer to the employee (your husband), he is entitled to claim the exemption. No prior approval from Inland Revenue Board is required. The computation is as follows: Employment income as per EA form – (RM10,000 x the years of completed service) = Total employment income (column C1 in BE form)

I understand that the payment of bonus/directors’ fees related to 2008 in year 2009 has the tax savings advantage of 1% if the annual income is RM250,000 and above. Please explain.

If the chargeable income is more than RM250,000, the tax rate is 28% for YA2008. However, the tax rate will be 27% in YA2009. Hence, if your bonus is disclosed in the EA form in 2009, you will save 1% since your chargeable income is assessed on 27% (YA 009) instead of 28% (YA2008).

Details: Tips on filing your income tax

Easy Guide to Taxation for Employees 01

2009-04-25T20:51:00.000+08:00

Q: As a sales and marketing executive with a financial institution, I am paid a basic salary and sales commission and am not entitled to any claims (petrol, toll, parking and car maintenance). I use my own car to do my job. My average monthly expenses for sales and marketing activities are about RM500.

I understand that with the new provisions under Budget 2009, the employee is entitled to tax exemption for certain benefits. Since my company does not provide such benefits, can I claim marketing and travelling expenses under “Perbelanjaan Keraian”?

A: The actual amount you incurred can only be deducted provided that you received either entertainment or travelling allowances from your company. In your case, the amount you incurred is not deductible.

I understand that meal allowances can only be claimed for tax relief for outstation travel or overtime. I am being transferred to a branch in Klang next month from my present workplace in Puchong, and my employer has agreed to give me an additional monthly amount of RM800 as meal allowance.

Can I deduct my meal allowances since I reside in Subang Jaya and don’t do overtime? My working hours are 9am-5pm and I work six days a week.

Your meal allowance for employment in the Klang branch will not be eligible for deduction as it is not in respect of working overtime or travelling outstation.

What are the tax exempt employee benefits in relation to employees who have been given a fully-expensed company car and a company petrol card? I know that I will be assessed on the Scale Car and Fuel benefits for the use of the company car. For YA2008, am I entitled to the relief of RM2,400 for the tax exempt petrol card?

If so, can this RM2,400 be deducted from the Scale Fuel charge in YA2008 so that the Scale Fuel benefit assessed in the tax year will be lowered by RM2,400?

If (1) above is allowed and my actual petrol card expenses for the year exceed RM2,400, can the balance of actual petrol bills spent under the petrol card be deducted from the Scale Fuel benefit up to the maximum of exhausting the amount of the Scale Fuel benefit?

The benefits in kind with regards to the car benefit and fuel benefit are to be taxed. These cannot be deducted as additional tax exempt benefits.

Monthly parking claims and fixed mobile-phone allowances are submitted to my company at the end of the month and these will be reimbursed into our salary in the following month. These claims are subject to EPF contribution. Therefore, are they tax-exempt for YA2008 and do they need to be disclosed under the tax-exempt benefits in the EA form?

Both parking and phone allowances up to the actual amounts incurred which are borne by the employer are tax exempt with effect from YA2008. The amount is to be disclosed as tax exempt benefits in the EA Form.

Can interest on housing loans and car loans be deducted from gross salary on the EA form? Are medical expenses such as maternity expenses deductible?

Interest on housing and car loans are deductible only if paid by the employer on a total loan amount of up to RM300,000. Similarly, medical expenses are only deductible if the amount incurred has been paid by the employer and this benefit is extended to maternity and traditional medical expenses. However, should these expenses be paid personally by the employee, they are not tax deductible.

My organisation is a resident company and our expatriate Japanese director and technical manager has two types of income – salary from Malaysia and salary from Japan. Please advise whether we have to declare our Japanese director’s income in total (i.e. Malaysia and Japan) or just Malaysia-derived income to the Malaysian government?

All employment income derived by the Japanese expatriate for exercising employment in Malaysia is subject to income tax, including the amount paid in Japan, if it is related to the exercising of employment in Malaysia.

Is the tax benefit on childcare allowance up to RM2,400 a year to be deducted directly from the EA form? Is this applicable if there is no such benefit from the company I work for?

The childcare allowance is only tax exempted if you receive such an allowance from your employer; otherwise the exemption will not be applicable to you.

In the event you do receive the childcare allowance, the amount (the lower of the actual amount received or RM2,400) is to be excluded from the employment income and disclosed in section C1 of the Form BE.

I bought a comprehensive insurance policy (life + medical + investment) and the insurer is unable to split the premium payment into life insurance and medical insurance. Can I treat this totally as a medical premium as I have already disclosed RM6,000 for my life insurance premium and EPF deduction?

In the event that the amount cannot be segregated, the amount is to be disclosed either as life or medical insurance premiums based on the description stated in the insurance premium receipt.

Source: Easy guide to tax filing

Better Net security ranking for Malaysia

2009-04-24T20:58:00.001+08:00

马来西亚网路安全排名有进步

Symantec最新的網際網路安全威脅報告 (Internet Security Threat Report Volume XIV) 指出，2008年的網路惡意程式碼 (Malicious Code) 活動繼續以前所未有的速度增加，直接威脅電腦使用者的機密資訊。而马来西亚在东南亚国家排名降至第九，2007为排名第6。

報告指出去年網路瀏覽行為 (Web Surfing) 繼續成為使用者感染惡意程式的主因。攻擊者利用愈來愈多特製的惡意程式碼工具套件，肆意開展和散播各類威脅。另外，Symantec在研究期間偵測到的威脅中，有九成皆以盜竊機密資訊為目的；而具有「按鍵側錄」(Keystroke-logging) 功能的威脅，在所有針對機密資料的威脅中佔76%，較2007年的72% 有所上升。這種功能常用於竊取網路銀行帳戶資料等機密資訊。

另一方面，報告發現了網路釣魚 (Phishing) 活動與日俱增。Symantec去年共偵測到55,389個釣魚網站，較2007年的33,428個激增了66%。去年的網釣活動中，有76% 均以金融服務為誘餌，比例高於2007年的52%。

此外，報告發現垃圾郵件有增無減。整體而言，Symantec發現去年網路的垃圾郵件由2007年的1,196億條，激增至3,496億條，增幅高達192%。

Source: Better Net security ranking for M'sia

Lessening the burden

2009-04-17T21:51:00.008+08:00

FOR YA2008, employees need to make a minimum annual salary of RM26,804 before triggering income tax. Married couples should ensure that the higher-earning spouse claims child relief to lessen the tax burden.

Details: More tips on lessening your income tax burden

Tax reliefs:

Changes in tax regulations

2009-04-17T21:39:00.000+08:00

These changes in tax regulations are:

Bonus/directors’ fees
Employees receiving director fees or bonuses in 2009 in relation to work performed in 2008 or prior to 2008 will only be taxed in year of assessment (YA) 2009 under a new amendment to the Income Tax Act 1967 to ease filing under the self assessment system via the Finance Act 2009 (gazetted on Jan 8, 2009).

These director fees or bonuses would be included in the EA Form 2009 to be submitted on April 30, 2010. They must not be treated as income in 2008 and should never be included in EA Form 2008.

EPF contributions: 11% or 8%?
Taxpayers need to consider the tax consequences if they elect to pay the mandatory minimum contribution of 8% to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF).

By opting to contribute 8% to EPF instead of the previous 11%, they lose out on dividends, decrease the potential size of their retirement nest egg, and could suffer additional income tax.

Details: If you pay minimum EPF how does it affect you taxes

Tax benefits for employees

2009-04-17T21:07:00.002+08:00

IT’S tax season again! Employees are required to submit their tax return Form BE for year of assessment (YA) 2008 on or before April 30, where the income assessed is in relation to the basis period of Jan 1 to Dec 31, 2008.

Additional goodies for YA2008:

Compensation for loss of employment
Employees who are retrenched on or after July 1, 2008 will be granted an income tax exemption of RM10,000 for each completed year of service with the employer or companies in the same group. If the retrenchment was before July 1, 2008, then the amount exempted for each year of service will be RM6,000.

Tax-exempt employee benefits — allowances
(a) Petrol card/petrol allowance/travel allowance
(b) Meal allowance for working overtime, travelling outstation.
(c) Parking allowance.
(d) Medical treatment for employees, spouses and children to include traditional medicine such as ayurvedic treatment and acupuncture.
(e) Interest subsidies on housing, car and education. The total loan amount is restricted to RM300,000.
(f) Childcare allowance up to RM2,400 a year.
(g) Employers’ products or services which can be provided free or at a discount which must not exceed RM1,000 a year.
These allowances need to be disclosed in the Form EA as tax-exempt benefits although they are not taxable on employees. These benefits are also available for YA2009.

Official duties – travelling allowance
In the Budget 2009 announcement, the Government said petrol cards, petrol allowance, travelling allowance and toll cards for official duties up to RM6,000 a year will be tax-exempt.

This means that the employer will exclude RM6,000 a year from the taxable income of employees as reported in the EA Form. However, the employer needs to disclose this RM6,000 as a tax-exempt benefit in the EA Form.

Details: Tips for filling your income tax returns

Management Tools 2009

2009-04-03T20:36:00.001+08:00

Management Tools 2009: An Executive's Guide by Bain & Company

Over the past three decades, management tools have become a common part of executives' lives. Whether trying to increase revenues, innovate, improve quality, increase efficiencies or plan for the future, executives have looked for tools to help them. The current environment of globalization and economic turbulence has increased the challenges executives face and, therefore, the need to find the right tools to meet these challenges.

To do this successfully, executives must be more knowledgeable than ever as they sort through the options and select the right management tools for their companies. The selection process itself can be as complicated as the business issues they need to solve. They must choose the tools that will best help them make business decisions that lead to enhanced processes, products and services and result in superior performance and profits.

Successful use of such tools requires an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each tool as well as an ability to creatively integrate the right tools, in the right way, at the right time. The secret is not in discovering one magic device, but in learning which mechanism to use, and how and when to use it. In the absence of objective data, groundless hype makes choosing and using management tools a dangerous game of chance.

Source: Management Tools 2009: An Executive's Guide
Download : Booklet [pdf] More: Management Tools

Malaysia's Top 10 Favourite Brands 2009

2009-03-27T21:05:00.000+08:00

2009大马十大最受欢迎品牌

100Plus和Sony是大马消费者最受欢迎的2品牌，据The Nielsen Co.在今年14/1至4/2超级品牌网上调查的结果。拿过4次超级品牌的Gardenia是唯一登上十大本土品牌。

此次调查共有1,500名大马消费者参与，调查也同时在新加坡和香港进行。各别排行榜如下：

Malaysia's Top Ten Favourite Brands 2009
1. 100Plus
2. Sony
3. Google
4. Maggi
5. Panasonic
6. Shell
7. Gardenia
8. Colgate
9. ICI Dulux
10. Honda

Singapore's Top Ten Favourite Brands 2009
1. Colgate
2. Google
3. Starhub
4. NTUC Fairprice
5. Sony
6. SingTel
7. Yahoo
8. Straits Times
9. 7-Eleven
10. Nippon Paint

Hong Kong's Top Ten Favourite Brands 2009
1. 7Eleven
2. Circle K
3. Sony
4. Coca Cola
5. Starbucks
6. Yahoo
7. Cathay Pacific
8. Colgate
9. Nike
10. TVB Hong Kong

MTM - My Personalised Beauty Care

2009-03-20T21:06:00.002+08:00

MTM 寫上我名字的保養品

由日本實驗室衍生出來的MTM，每一間專店都有一個類似實驗室的區域，在這裡，美容顧問穿著嚴肅的白袍、戴著口罩，像個化學師那樣一臉嚴謹地為消費者量身調配保養品。

除了用高科技儀器檢測肌膚，美容顧問也會向消費者諮詢29道問題，包括“每天逗留在冷氣環境的時間多久”、“長期服用什麼藥物／健康食品”、“一般用餐的含鹽量”、“每天喝水／茶／咖啡／果汁／汽水／紅酒的數量”、“體內是否附置任何金屬物件”等，掌握了詳盡的個人資料後，再從中調配最合適的保養品。

調配好的保養品，MTM會即時為顧客印上名字、品名和使用期限，一瓶215克的標準庄產品，保鮮期是6個月。

MTM這種“個人護膚，現場調配”的概念，撼動了流水線式生產的美容傳統，也把人性化、個人化和更細緻入微的服務概念注入保養品領域。

报导：Truly exclusive

Mi Adidas -Create Your Own

2009-03-13T20:49:00.000+08:00

Mi Adidas 專屬我的球鞋

Mi adidas是打造個人化（Customize）鞋款的新概念，它運用先進的電子儀器，量度出腳部長度與闊度、檢察腳部的壓力分布及體能特質，再由消費者挑選出心水的球鞋顏色，同時輸入個人名字，一雙結合科學數據及個人風格的球鞋就呈現眼前了。

訂造私家Mi adidas，由鞋墊以至顏色都可任你自由配搭，製作出一對完全屬於自己的球鞋。如Predator Absolute便有90種顏色，跑鞋Supernova及Adizero更有120種，消費者也可以配合所選的不同鞋底物料，創作自己的設計，更可在鞋舌位或其他地方繡上名字及符號。

不過，這雙Adidas能否與眾不同，就要看你的眼光和創意有多少了！

报导：Shoes made to fit

What's the real rate of return?

2009-03-06T21:03:00.000+08:00

真正的回酬是多少？

国行日前的降息令很多靠定期存款利息过生活的退休人士担忧，过低的存款利息低抗不了通货膨胀。虽然数据显示1月份的通货膨胀已从最高8.5%降至3.9%，但定期存款利率是2.5%，负回酬是1.4%。虽然1988和1998国家经济也是萧条，但回酬率各别是1.8%和0.4%；而2008年则是-1.7%为30年来的最低。

投资者必须明白回酬不能年年平均2.9%。在目前经济情况，保住本金是最重要的。若以财务规划的条例来说，我们必需备有4至6个月的生活费。多储蓄，少消费是不败的法则！

原文：What's the real rate of return?

Shopping with a click

2009-02-27T21:14:00.000+08:00

按滑鼠来购物

之前介绍过网上采购时装用品，好处当然是不必乘车跑几间购物中心，省钱和时间，而且大多衣物都低于RM50。缺点只是不合身或不如在网路看到的款式，但可以送人或再出售。(看看这网站Page from the diary)

对这些Blogshop主人则认为是一个真正开店的踏脚石，因为低成本RM1000就可开Blogshop，而且可以建立客户网络，为开店铺路。

Soh Yien Yee - .Stop.Shop.Splurge.
[http://stopshopsplurge.blogspot.com]

Samantha Lee - A Model Studio
[http://amodelstudio.blogspot.com]

Jessica Ling - The Aura
[http://theauragems.blogspot.com]

Source: Shopping with a click of the mouse, Blogshop owners say it’s a stepping stone to real business

Related: Virtual shopping for fashion hunting

Sea Inspiration of Misaki

2009-02-20T20:36:00.004+08:00

Misaki来自海的启发

往往天才之手令一个生意产生。当然它还必需发生在对的时间和地点。

闪耀的比利时珠宝公司Misaki是因为一个在航空公司朋友向创办人推介在空中售买珍珠的概念而诞生。

应用当地的设计师，有时和欧洲设计师合作，Misaki以欧洲手艺和款式，结合创意，当今精致，诱人的设计。采用日本无可匹比的珍珠，制成耀眼和高品质的珠宝饰物。

来看看最新系列 -来自海的启发：

原文：Sea Inspiration

Facebook beat out Myspace

2009-02-13T21:01:00.000+08:00

Facebook beat out MySpace to become the most popular social networking site in January, according to Compete.com.

In Compete's Top 25 Social Networks Re-Rank, which ranks sites by number of total visits, Facebook was listed as having over a billion visits for the month. By comparison, MySpace had a mere 810 million visits, according to Compete. The positions represented a reversal of fortunes from a year ago, when MySpace was the most popular site and Facebook was number two.

As for the number of visitors on the two social networking sites, Compete claims that MySpace had 58.5 million uniques versus 68.5 million for Facebook. But users seem to be getting a lot more out of Facebook these days, based on two other metrics provided by Compete. Over the last 12 months Facebook has steadily grown in the number of visits per unique visitor and time spent on the site. MySpace has tailed off, especially in the latter metric. Compete's data charted a significant drop for MySpace last summer, when the average time spent the site fell from 20 to about 11 minutes.

Source: Facebook Takes Over Top Spot, Twitter Climbs
Related：Facebook beat MySpace

MONEY $ENSE -Getting Smart With Your Money

2009-02-06T20:22:00.003+08:00

If I had it my way, every Malaysian student should read this book before going out into the working world.

It introduces you to the financial vehicles such as insurance, loans, investments and savings account – all from a Malaysian perspective. It also teaches you how to budget your monthly expenses, pay debts, and whether to buy property or rent.

If you want to start managing your money better, this book will give you a good start.

Download free ebook MONEY $ENSE [pdf] by AKPK
Related post:
Financially Secure Marriage Planning
Effective Cashflow Management
Control Your Spending Habit
7 ways to manage debts wisely
Secrets to achieving a loan-free life
Heed the warning signs
No problem$ if you plan well
Shop smart for the festivals
Resolutions to stay financially fit
Smart ways to spend your bonus
Spend smart during holidays

Consumer Tips by Association of Banks in Malaysia

2009-01-24T20:34:00.004+08:00

Protecting Your ATM Card

ATM Card is a debit card that you can use to access your account(s) at your Bank, and at other MEPS ATM. Besides that, you can use your ATM Card to access other service Terminals such as Cash Deposit Machines and EFTPOS terminals (if the service is available at your Bank). If your ATM Card bears the VISA PLUS, VISA Interlink, MasterCard Cirrus or Maestro logo, you will be able to perform the ATM or EFTPOS transaction overseas.

Download ARTICLE [pdf]

Protecting Your Credit Card

A credit card is a payment instrument that enables you to make purchases of goods and payment of services instead of using cash or your debit card. You can use the credit card at any merchant locally or internationally, which displays the same credit card brand as that on your credit card.

The credit card issuer will pay the merchant on your behalf first and bill you later. When you get your statement, you are required to settle at least the minimum payment amount by the due date. The credit card issuer will impose finance charges (interest) on the outstanding amount if it is not paid by the due date.

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Investing In Unit Trust

Unit Trusts are collective investments that allow investors with similar investment objectives to pool their funds to be invested in a portfolio of securities or other assets.

As investors seek to maximize returns on their financial resources, unit trusts provide an ideal way for them to gain in the long run, returns superior to cash savings and fixed deposit investments. Unit trusts allow investors to have easy access to a wide range of investment exposure not normally available to them.

A professional fund manager is appointed to oversee the performance of the pooled funds in the respective portfolio.

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Pre-Payment Charges On Housing Loan

Most banks offer home loan facilities for their customers to purchase or refinance their properties. A typical housing loan requires a customer to pay a fixed monthly installment on a fixed due date. This is assuming there are no changes in interest rates, otherwise the installment amount and loan period could change.

When a customer wants to pay in excess of the fixed monthly installment, the excess amount is termed as “prepayment”.

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Security Tips When Banking Online

Internet Banking is becoming increasingly popular as it allows you to carry out various banking transactions at the comfort and convenience of your home, office or wherever you may be, during and after banking hours. However, there are still some customers who remain hesitant over online banking due to newspaper reports of internet banking scams such as “phishing” and “script editing”.

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Accessing Basic Banking Services At Minimal Costs

One may have already heard of the basic banking services, namely, Basic Savings Account (BSA) and Basic Current Account (BCA) but does not know that under these accounts, one can enjoy for instance free 8 ATM withdrawals and 6 over-the-counter visits. This article will provide you with some general information about BSA and BCA as well as assist you to choose the type of accounts that would best cater to your banking needs.

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Source: TIPS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC, More: ARCHIVES

Your Career's Business Plan

2009-01-23T20:49:00.000+08:00

Create a business plan for yourself, and make your career your life's work.

Author and career consultant Ronna Lichtenberg believes that by taking a day to think about the way you earn your living, you can make a huge difference in making your job more fulfilling. Whether you work for an employer or yourself, in a major corporation or behind the counter in a coffee shop, you're the CEO of your career. The tools any CEO needs are the same ones the rest of us need.

By following the steps outlined in Ronna's seminar, you can create your own business plan and find more fulfillment your career.

Who Are You?
* Write a curriculum vitae in 15 lines or less—not a résumé, but a description you might give to someone introducing you as a speaker.
* Repeat the exercise, but write your description as if it were 15 to 20 years from now.
* Start thinking about what it would take to get from the first introduction to the second. In CEO lingo, this kind of thinking is called gap analysis.

Most people have trouble with this exercise, according to Ronna. While many of us often worry about our careers, we don't take the time to think about them in a focused way. To help the process, Ronna suggests asking yourself these questions:

* Do you know what your most valuable skills are?
* Could you write an ad for yourself?
* Do you sometimes feel there's something stopping you from reaching your potential?

The next step involves thinking about what it means to invest in Me. Inc, and how to be your own CEO. Any CEO needs the following:

*A vision for the business
*Financial skills
*A marketing plan
*The ability to manage and motivate others

Work on these skills, concentrating on the next 18 months to three years. Ronna says that it's easy to become overwhelmed and give up if you go beyond that time frame.

Develop a Vision
Use these exercises to help you begin to see what Me, Inc. means for you. Remember, some people are better at visualization than others, so keep at it. After the exercise, take out your curriculum vitae again and look at it in the context of your visualization. Is your image of your future self in sync with what you described as your best working day? If not, why not? Rewrite your description to fit your new vision of your future.

It's time to develop a Me, Inc. business plan! Thinking about yourself as a business can feel funny, says Ronna, but even as an employee, you're offering buyers a set of products and services for a given price. Ask yourself these questions:

* What is your advantage over the competition?
* How does your "price" compare?
* Who is your target customer?

You may find it difficult to answer these questions, especially when trying to articulate exactly what your products and services are. Dig deeper for your answers.

Sell Yourself
Now you'll use your business plan to pitch Me, Inc. Selling may be uncomfortable for you, but to be successful, you need to be able to describe what you bring to the marketplace.

* Create your own ad: Fill in the blanks: The goal of your ad is "to convince ______ to buy ________ because _______." With this goal in mind, create your ad.
* Pitch your ad: Invite a friend or co-worker you trust to listen to your pitch. Give yourself three minutes for the pitch, and give your friend two minutes for comments.
* Make an impression: After your pitch, the listener should know what your "brand" was, and what made it different from its competitors.

You've figured out who you are, what your plan is, and how to sell yourself—what's the next step? First, evaluate yourself based on what you've learned.

Exercise Two: The Relationship Inventory

Once you know what you're selling, who are you going to tell? In the case of Me, Inc., you're going to be spending your time and energy. You'll be advertising yourself to the people you pay attention to. Make the most of your limited time by spending it with people who can help you grow.

Exercise Three: Making It Happen

* List three specific steps you would take to reach your goals.
* Write yourself a letter detailing your plans, stash it away, and read it six weeks later.
* Share your plan with a trusted friend and set a specific time each week to measure your progress.

Don't let yourself off the hook. If you're having trouble, figure out what's holding you back. Don't just dump the plan—revise it and recommit yourself. Soon you'll be on your way to working for the best company possible—Me, Inc.!

Source: Investing in Me, Inc

For sale - Balance of life

2009-01-17T20:35:00.001+08:00

出售剩余人生

如果对生活无望，剩余人生也能拿来买卖。北京一名25岁正妹陈潇，在中国淘宝网开设「出售剩余人生」，只要网友出得起价码，就可以安排她的时间。陈潇靠这个另类服务赢得不少顾客，最高一天赚了2千元人民币。

「安排陈潇的生活是你们的权利，为你们服务是我的义务…」这是「陈潇的剩余人生店」的网络简介。陈潇的时间价格为1小时20元人民币，1天100元人民币，违法的生意不做。

曾经做过服装生意的陈潇，去年底因为心情不好在网上发文表示：「对生活感到绝望，想换一种生活方案，就由网友来安排我的生活吧。」之後，她开始认真按网友请求做事，最後正式开店。

这跟台湾所谓的跑腿商机有点类似，陈潇帮人送过咖啡、买火车票、陪同吊点滴、给乞丐送饭以及代替网友品尝小吃等业务。每次顾客只需支付钟点费与交通费。

陈潇表示：「难免会遇到骚扰情形，不过真诚的人也很多。」当前已有数百人购买陈潇的剩余人生。虽然有人认为陈潇只是想炒作赚钱，但也有网友认为，她让这个虚幻的网络变得真实而温暖。

【论坛原创】我把自己的下半生交给网络(开始吧)

Global Retail's New Dream Lover - Vietnam

2009-01-16T21:06:00.000+08:00

全球零售商的新夢中情人

根据科尔尼的「2008全球零售业发展指数报告 (Global Retail Development Index, GRDI)指出，对于打算在海外开店的零售商来说，最具吸引力的地区是中东地区和北非，但人气最旺的单一国家市场则非越南莫属。

越南由第四名跳升第一，把蝉连三届冠军的印度挤到第二，俄罗斯和中国也各向退了一名。美国经济疲软、油价攀升、中国制造业成本激增，使得零售商把注意力转到扩张海外业务。越南在零售扩张最具吸引力国家排行榜能够跳举榜首，是综合了经济、政治风险、国民平均所得、市场饱和度和市场吸引力等因素的评估结果。

越南的零售市场规模虽然还很小，但因为市场竞争程度不高，且国内生产总值 (GDP)成长率高达8%，使得越南市场非常具有吸引力。另一有利因素是越南消费者在亚洲地区年龄层最低，他们向城市移居，消费支出迅速增加。据估计越南的零售市场规模在200亿美元，但越南政府预计今年零售市场可有20.5%的成长率，而达到5430亿美元。

反观大马则由2007年的第8名跌至2008年的第13名。

全文：Vietnam Tops A.T. Kearney's Annual List of Most Attractive Emerging Market Retail Destinations

The World's Hardest-Working Moms

2009-01-10T20:40:00.000+08:00

全球工作最勤奋的妈妈

这里有一个问题：人们的寿命越来越长，年轻人越来越不愿养育后代──世界工业化发达的国家尤为如此。这些发展趋势都会令高技能劳动力的供应大大减少，抑制经济发展，并最终降低发达国家人们的生活品质。只有一种人能够将我们从未来逐渐衰退的漩涡中解救出来：母亲。

有越来越多的决策者、学术专家以及企业领导人都得出了这样一个结论，那就是：长期经济增长离不开许许多多在职妈妈们做出的贡献。由于大多数先进国家的高技能劳动力减少，而女性在受教育程度方面已经开始超越男性，越来越多的人将她们视为未被充分挖掘的一笔重要财富。

经济合作暨发展组织（Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD）一份题为《Babies & Bosses》（孩子与老板）的最新研究报告指出：「在许多『工业化国家』，人们认为越来越多的职业女性（尤其是在职妈妈），对维持经济发展以及保证养老金和社会保障体系向全民推广并实现可持续发展起着重要作用。」欧盟计画到2010年，其成员国的女性就业率至少应达到60%。

全文：The World's Hardest-Working Moms

Global Retail Theft Barometer 2008

2009-01-09T20:43:00.000+08:00

全球零售盗窃晴雨表2008

俗话说，小偷状元材，任凭如何藏、如何防，道高一尺，魔高一丈。尽管零售巨头各显神通反偷盗，惟窃贼无所不在，花招更是层出不穷，甚至上演“贼喊捉贼”，叫业者束手无策。

别以为身为诚实消费者的你我就能置身事外，殊不知这笔“贼费”已悄悄地潜入我们的生活消费，导致每一个家庭每年被迫为盗窃者的行为“买单”，吸收高达43.59美元（约157令吉）的“隐蔽税”。

根据美国保点系统Checkpoint Systems委托英国诺丁汉零售研究中心The Centre for Retail Research执行全球零售盗窃晴雨表（Global Retail Theft Barometer）的调查显示，大马2007年6月至2008年6月的经营损失达2亿5600万美元（约9亿1995万6480令吉），较前期高出3.4%，经营损失率为 1.53%。亚太总经营损失达154亿零500万美元，大马为众亚太国家中，经营损失第三高的国家，在全球则排名第五。

全文：不景氣竊案增‧天下防賊

One week's job done in 3 days

2009-01-03T20:57:00.000+08:00

《3天搞定一周工作！东京女社长的超强时间管理法》
◎出版／世茂出版◎作者／臼井由妃◎译者／李晓妃◎

她从懵懂的家庭主妇，一夕间被迫变身为日理万机的女社长，不但没有因此被击垮，反而在短短时间内让让公司跃升为年收23亿日圆的知名企业。

忙得不可开交的她居然在几年内陆续考上理学博士、健康医科学博士、房地产经纪人、MBA……等。「没时间」是她的口头禅，然而日复一日之下，她学会独门时间活用术，不只把时间变充裕，更同时取得多项难考证照，她说：「时间是不会拒绝你的」，有心想做事的时候，时间是不会拒绝你的。愿意尝试任何事的人，在时间、金钱、心灵上反而更有余裕，不管再怎么忙录，想做的事情还是要做。时间不该用减法去计算，而是用加法，「欲望」能让目标达成的时间缩短。

现代人总是活在强大的压力下过生活，有了工作时间就没了玩乐时间，多出了玩乐时间，却少了睡眠时间，由于竞争激烈，还必须挤出微薄的时间来学习新技能，许多人都会苦喊时间不够用。本书的女社长从家庭主妇，一夕间变成日理万机的女社长时，也总喊著时间不够用，后来她学会活用时间，此后她的时间不只够用，还有余裕可以从事各项活动。现代人最该学习的时间管理，让最多时间的女社长来教导你。

Notebook PC Shipments Exceed Desktops

2009-01-02T20:40:00.004+08:00

第三季度笔记本出货量首超台式机

市场调查公司iSuppli发表报告称, 第三季度全球笔记本电脑的出货量首次超过了台式机. 该季度笔记本电脑出货量增长近40%至3860万台, 而台式机下降1.3%至3850万台.

iSuppli的分析师马修·威尔金斯Matthew Wilkins认为, 由于笔记本电脑市场的快速增长已经持续了一段时间, 因此这个结果并不是非常令人惊喜; 不过这却标志一个笔记本时代的到来, 笔记本已不再是商业市场或高收入消费者的专有工具, 而是成为每个人的工具.

iSuppli称, 尽管全球经济不断恶化,但第三季度PC出货量依然增长了15%至7900 万台, 该机构原先的预期为增长12%. 前5位的电脑生产商排名未改变, 惠普依然占据第一,出货量为1490万台, 市场份额接近19%; 戴尔、宏碁、联想和东芝分列第二至第五位. 宏碁在该季度表现最好, 市场份额环比增长45%、同比上升79%. 苹果的市场份额环比下降了0.5个百分点至3.2%, 排在第七位.

iSuppli也因此提高2008全年的增长预期, 从原先的12.5%提高到13%. 不过该机构预计明年的增长率只有4.3%.

原文：Notebook PC Shipments Exceed Desktops for First Time in Q3

Once Upon a Cow

2008-12-23T20:54:00.012+08:00

誰殺了我的牛？

◎我希望我可以那麼做，但是……。
◎對不起我來晚了，但是……。
◎要是……就好了。
◎其實問題是……。
◎如果……還有什麼用。
◎坦白講……。

這些句型，是否常常出現在你的對話（或想法）中呢？請小心了，天下雜誌最近出版的一本小書《誰殺了我的牛？》便警告：藉口、辯解、托辭、謊言、難以捉摸的解釋等等，都是阻礙你邁向幸福人生的「牛」，如果不狠心殺牛，不論是職場上，生活上，你都將永遠困於平庸。

什麼是「牛」啊？這是年少時身上帶著不到兩百塊美金到美國，一路拼搏唸到哈佛的拉丁裔作者卡密歐‧克魯茲Camilo Cruz為我們開場講的一個寓言故事。簡單地說，「牛」象徵所有我們緊緊攀著不放的藉口和自我設限，因為我們一直安逸地生活在水草豐美的自我欺騙中，於是永遠無法成就或許更美好更不一樣的生活。

有的「牛」來自你的內心，有的「牛」來自旁人有意無意的評論；稍不留意，小牛也會長成大牛。問題是，豬不知道自己臭，牛也一樣。許多人得意洋洋地認為自己沒有「牛」，殊不知渾身是「牛」。作者分析「牛」有七種，分別是：「自我安慰牛」、「不是我的錯牛」、「一切都是命牛」、「完美主義牛」、「自覺無能為力牛」、「深奧的哲理牛」、「自欺牛」，都是扼殺幸福人生的惡牛。

發現「牛」還算簡單，重點在於你是否承認你有「牛」；問題是，該怎麼殺咧？作者說，「牛」存於你心，因此改變想法就是根本之道。自我覺察，了解你的「牛」是哪種「牛」，分析「牛」背後你的真正想法，再設想「牛」繼續存在的壞處，以及殺了「牛」以後的好處，自然能擺脫你的「牛」，開創不一樣的人生！

在报章看到这本书的介绍提到摆脱平庸，勇敢杀掉7头牛！而由千里写的編輯手札非常棒，所以转载于此。

原文：問題是，豬不知道自己臭──你也總是藉口不斷，自我設限嗎？

Ready for SSDs?

2008-12-22T21:13:00.000+08:00

准备接受SSDs了吗？

SSD固态硬盘的英文名称为：Solid State Drive，可以应用于台式机、笔记本、移动设备、游戏机等，加速启动，提高性能，同时降低功耗。

SSD固态硬盘的优点

1. 速度快。根据相关媒体测试：在同样配置的笔记本电脑下，运行大型图像处理软件时能明显感觉到SSD固态硬盘无论在保存还是在打开文件时都更快。当按下笔记本电脑的电源开关时，搭载SSD固态硬盘的笔记本从开机到出现桌面一共只用了18秒，而搭载传统硬盘的笔记本总共用时31秒，差距还是相当大的。

2. 耐用防震。因为全部采用了闪存芯片，所以SSD固态硬盘内部不存在任何机械部件，这样即使在高速移动甚至伴随翻转倾斜的情况下也不会影响到正常使用，而且在笔记本电脑发生意外掉落或与硬物碰撞时能够将数据丢失的可能性降到最小。

3. 无噪音。SSD固态硬盘工作时非常安静，没有任何噪音产生。得益于无机械部件及闪存芯片较小的发热量小、散热快等特点，SSD固态硬盘因为没有机械马达和风扇，工作噪音值为0分贝。

4. 重量轻。SSD固态硬盘比常规1.8英寸硬盘重量轻20-30克，可千万别小看这些重量，在笔记本电脑、卫星定位仪等随身移动产品上，更小的重量有利于便携。此外，重量的减轻也使得笔记本搭载多块SSD固态硬盘成为可能。

目前阻碍SSD固态硬盘普及的最主要因素就是产品售价。其次，缺乏终端设备的支持也是SSD固态硬盘所面临的另一大问题。

Malaysia Salary Guide

2008-12-20T21:03:00.000+08:00

马来西亚薪资手册

马来西亚的Kelly Services自2006起，每一年都推出一份薪资手册。有关手册列出各大行业的主要职业的薪资范围。不论你是企业主或受薪者都是很好的参考资料，想查阅可到Malaysia Salary Guide下载[pdf] - 2006, 2007, 2008/09。

Kelly Services是一家总部设在美国密歇根州特洛伊市的财富500强公司，他提供包括人事方案，临时员工，外包业务，第三方招聘以及全职员工招聘等各项业务。

他在全球37个国家和地区设有经营机构，每年为750,000位就业者提供就业机会，这些就业者覆盖办公室服务，财务，工程，信息技术，法律，科学技术，创新行业，轻工业，教育，健康服务等各个行业。2007年，Kelly Services的年销售收入为57亿美元。

Government fundings & advisory services for SME

2008-12-19T20:59:00.000+08:00

为中小企业所设的政府基金及咨询服务

在8MP及IMP2期间，其中一项重要的发展是在2004年6月成立了全国中小型企业发展理事会(NSDC)。此理事会由首相主持，显示了政府对中小型企业发展的高度承诺。

此理事会负责协调各政府部门及机构之间的中小型企业发展工作，并且对未来的发展提供一个政策策略架构。

现今共有超过12个政府部门及38个次相关机构处理的中小型企业发展工作。这其中的每一个机构都对特定的目标拥有指定的发展目标。

资料来源：SMEinfo

中小型企业可联络以下机构以获取咨询服务：
1. 信贷担保机构(CGC)
2. 国家银行一站式财务咨询中心BNMLINK
3. 中小型工业发展机构(SMIDEC)的中小型企业专业咨询小组(SEAP)
4. 银行机构的中小型事务单位SMEinfo
5. 中小型企业咨询中心(SAC)
6. 农业与农基工业部(MOA)咨询服务

除了从游览以上网站了解详情或下载此份资料[PDF]

My 101 Post

2008-12-18T20:18:00.000+08:00

写在第101篇

卡通世界有101忠狗，台湾则有台北101；当这个部落格写到第100篇时，我在想以后的稿篇该怎样写，我知道我必须给自己一个大方向。从一年前开始开始写时，就有朋友问：“你的部落是写些什麽？”，当女儿向同学说爸爸有个部落，他们都会有奇怪的眼神！

我同意本地的网路媒体人Onn Yeoh称“每个部落客都是一个媒体”，也认同台湾詹宏志说“网路的未来是由你自己去定位”，美国的OM Malik则开创一个专业平台，点击率远远超越The Wall Street Journal，但是却有过劳的隐优。从他们的身上不难发现网路带来的机会和危机，然而它又必须再找到平衡点，才能将优点完全展现。

在开始这个部落时，我以整合转贴网上资料为主；往后会加以搜寻和分析再发表，这是其一，符合新媒体人提升附加价值的要求。其二，专注于事业上的部份如创业、管理、营运和融资；将生活、家居、环境篇转到日前设立的另一个部落“美好生活@蔬果良品”。其三，不定时发表关于资讯工艺、网路行销和趋势的篇幅。纵观本地以英文为媒介已相当成熟，往后将增加中文篇幅，希望可协助到授中文教育的这一块。

短短的省思希望给自己勉励，也和大伙交代；让我们向2009跨步！

Merry Christmas!

Malaysia Most Valuable Brands 2008

2008-11-26T21:01:00.002+08:00

The brand value was derived through a valuation study commissioned by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) and The Edge. It was conducted by Interbrand, one of the largest brand consultancies internationally.

The total value of the top 30 brands stood at RM61.8bil, a 9% growth over the RM56.6bil achieved last year.

The study said 14 brands showed a growth in value this year.

Only brands that were public listed or owned by listed companies were considered for the study. Hence Maxis, which was ranked third in last year’s study, was not in the list as it was delisted.

Meanwhile, Mamee Double Decker and Bonia have dropped out of the list. Sin Chew, JobStreet.com and Ogawa are the new entries in the top 30.

Source: The Edge Daily

Extended Reading: The Star , MMVB 2007

ICCA Best Marketing Award 2008

2008-11-20T21:44:00.010+08:00

Honoured: (From left) ICCA president Leigt Harry, director of sales Simone Sfeir, Henry and convention bid manager Amelia Roziman posing for a photo after the award presentation ceremony in Canada recently.

The ICCA Best Marketing Award, established in 1997, recognises the excellence and outstanding achievements of organisations in their effort to market their destination or product. Entries can range from full scale campaigns and branding exercises to individual promotions and events. The ICCA Best Marketing Award is open to all ICCA members, regardless of their sector. The business or organisation that wins the competition will receive the Award at the ICCA Congress Closing session in Victoria.

Winner 2008

Sarawak Convention Bureau - Malaysia

"Winning this award is the ultimate endorsement of our marketing creativity and shows that, as a relatively new bureau, we have come a very long way in a short time. The win is also important in reaffirming to our government and industry stakeholders that we are on track to succeed in delivering on our ambitious growth targets over the next few years."

Jill Henry, Chief Executive Officer
Sarawak Convention Bureau

Finalists 2008

The 3 finalists for the ICCA Best Marketing Award 2008 were:

1 Arena and Convention Centre Liverpool - U.K.
2 Salt Lake City Convention and Visitors Bureau - U.S.A. - Click here to see their marketing video
3 Sarawak Convention Bureau - Malaysia - Click here to download their presentation

Malaysian Entrepreneurship Platform -eBay

2008-11-14T21:54:00.001+08:00

MALAYSIANS are using eBay as a platform for entrepreneurship and cross border trading according to a survey by eBay Southeast Asia.

The study revealed that 41% of eBay Malaysia members considered themselves serious sellers — either actively sourcing for products to sell on eBay or using eBay as the primary source of income.

Malaysians are also very active buyers, spending close to one third of their time online browsing for goods and services on the auction website. Also, 42% visit eBay once to three times a week.

Clothing, shoes and accessories were the most frequently purchased items on eBay Malaysia (38%), followed by books (36%) and computers and networking services (34%).

The visitors surveyed on the local website were generally affluent and well-educated with 64% having completed tertiary education and 75% earning at least RM20,000 per year.

On average, Malaysian shoppers spent approximately RM411 on eBay, out of the total RM542 spent online.

Credit cards were the most common payment method while PayPal came in second.

Other interesting findings on eBay Malaysia — 75% are adults in the age group of 25 to 49, more than 60% are male, 84% use broadband, and the majority spend an average of 29 hours per week online (of which seven hours are spent purchasing products or services on the Internet).

Source: The Star, by ZAM KARIM

Security about data encryption programs

2008-11-04T21:12:00.001+08:00

Data on a computer is only worth encrypting if that data is actually secure. Unfortunately, some data encryption programs have significant security gaps, according to a study by the Hamburg-based magazine Computerbild. The magazine tested eight encryption programs, including some freeware releases, in co-operation with experts from the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology.

Four programs received "inadequate" marks due to significant security problems. Those include Free CompuSec, Disc Enryptor, DriveCrypt and Desktop Home. Some of those programs store the password for accessing encrypted data in plain text, which would give thieves easy access.

The winner was Steganos Safe 2008. TrueCrypt won the prize for "most affordable software".

Source: The Earth Times

The Outstanding Young Malaysian Awards 2008

2008-11-03T21:43:00.007+08:00

陳栩原（左5起）、拉查維南、陳蓮菁和覃永建期待，十大傑青能成為時下大馬青年的標桿。左起：陳慶祥、馬金泉、彼得和潘建成。右起：葉永興、莫哈末巴亞魯丁、阿德里安、李昭揚和曾文秀。
2008年大馬十大傑出青年獎候選人亮相。前排左起：曾文秀、馬金泉、陳蓮菁、陳栩原、吉隆坡文華青商會會長覃永建、前青商會國家總會長劉秀嬌及青商會顧問拿督陳金平；後排左起：黃恩德、陳慶祥、張書景、嚴文忠、李昭揚、諾阿馬里、葉永興、雷智雄及青商會國家副總會長陳俊輝。

2008年馬來西亞十大傑出青年(TOYM)名單

商業、經濟或企業成就：
潘建成（31歲）Phison、電子公司董事長
拿督曾文秀(36歲）、 RAMAJUTA公司董事經理

學術領導成就：
李昭揚博士（39歲）、理大昆蟲學教授

文化成就：
阿牛陳慶祥（32歲）、歌手
馬金泉（39歲）、共享空間專業舞團創辦人

人道及志愿服務成就：
阿迪安拉新邦（31歲）、PACOS Trust社區組織委員和JOAS土著聯繫主席

科學及工藝成就：
葉永興博士（40歲）、博大科學與技術教授
莫哈末巴亞魯丁（36歲）、博大化學部主任

個人發展成就：
拿督妮柯爾（25歲）、世界排名第一的女壁球手

原文：星洲日報‧2008.11.02

Internet penetration in Malaysia

2008-10-25T21:43:00.004+08:00

While traditional media continue to dominate the Malaysian media scene, the Internet is becoming a more integral part of the media mix.

According to the latest Nielsen Media Index survey, Internet penetration in the country has doubled over the last five years, now reaching two in 10 Malaysians.

Media Reach

(Base: people aged 15+ in Pen. M’sia)	July'06-June '07		July'07-June '08		% Var
Media	('000)	Reach %	('000)	Reach %
TV (yesterday)	13,047	93	13,416	94	+1
Radio (past week)*	12,611	90	13,208	92	+2
PosAd (past month)	9,270	66	9,143	64	-2
Newspapers (yesterday)	7,695	55	7,667	54	-1
Magazines (past month)	3,821	27	3,803	27	-
PowerScreen( past month)	3,389	24	3,170	22	-2
Internet (past week)	2,554	18	2,937	21	+3
Cinema (past 2 weeks)	592	4	617	4	-
Vision Four Guide (past 3 months)	618	4	393	3	-1

Source: Nielsen Media Index and *Nielsen Radio Audience Measurement (Sw2’07 & Sw2’08)

Best Global Brands 2008

2008-10-18T21:51:00.003+08:00

Source: Interbrand | Best Global Brands List | 2008

Slides: Business Week - Best Global Brand

Extend reading: brandchannel.com - Lessons Learned

KL Photography Festival 2008

2008-10-14T22:07:00.004+08:00

吉隆坡摄影节(Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival)

“吉隆坡摄影节”是摄影人出版社的年度盛事。这项结合了摄影和旅游的盛会由《摄影人》、《旅游玩家》以及《Advanced Images》联合呈献，并获得马来西亚旅游局支持。2008吉隆坡摄影节将于10月18-19日时间早上11时至晚上9时假Lower Ground, Berjaya Times Square进行。

每年的吉隆坡摄影节皆有主题摄影展，集结了来自全国各地的摄影作品，让你有视觉上的美好体验。此外，吉隆坡摄影节也有多场精彩的中、英文摄影讲座和旅游分享会。

其中摄影讲座涵盖的范围包括纪实摄影、数码影像处理及摄影师的经验之谈等。在旅游讲座方面，则有旅游玩家们的旅游经验分享会、幻灯片欣赏会和交流会。

此外，也少不了摄影器材的展销，各大厂商将会把最新、最优良的摄影器材推介给观众，为前来参与盛会的人们提供更多选择。

同时，摄影节也安排了现场模特儿摄影比赛，让摄影师来到现场拍摄，除了可参与展览、讲座，更可有多样化的选择。

这一系列的活动入场免费，欢迎喜爱摄影和旅游的朋友踊跃出席。欲知更多详情，欢迎联络摄影人出版社，电话：03-2148 2378或传真：03－2148 2446。

1st Malaysia Chinese Blog Award

2008-10-13T21:40:00.012+08:00

《第一届马来西亚中文部落格大赛》成绩终于出炉！

充满争议的赛事是于2008年1月接受报名，于4月30日截止，只是收到200+人报名，几乎难产；还好于日前选出！

《第一届马来西亚中文部落格大赛》由由南洋商报及马华梳邦区会主办，得奖名单如下：

最佳创新部落格：
钟进贺 - Rawangboy
入围：谢沛璁 - 阿包摄影空间 , 李金声 - 視●思覺失調

最佳经济评论部落格
-
入围：陈鹏天 - 股票投资理财秘密 , 吴继宗 - "股领风骚"

最佳社会关怀部落格
徐唯 - 背包里的心情故事
入围：马志强 - 士心弓虽的家 , 王德祥 - 天堂鸟

最佳生活品味部落格
陈思琳 - 摄魂馆
入围：张如意 - 如意轩 , 阿丰 - 美食心厨房

最佳少年部落格
江宏 - 王子※记忆游走
入围：林振虹 - luvsulMMer , 楚珊 - 黑公主

另外，《2008第二屆大馬中文部落格祭》也于9月30日正式截止報名。

此赛事总共吸引了1111個報名參賽，計有460個报名因不符參賽資格而被淘汰，最終共有651個报名成功進入初審階段！详情

Virtual shopping for fashion hunting

2008-10-08T22:03:00.004+08:00

年轻的部落客因为天天浏览e-shop找寻她们的喜爱的衣服饰物而开辟潮流猎寻网站和写评论，甚至拥有自己的e-shop,比比皆是！以下摘来3位，不妨到她们的部落看看，可能有意想不到的收获！

Sources: The Star

Boo Sha-Lyn - Diary of an E-Shopaholic
[http://diaryofane-shopaholic.blogspot.com]

Charlotte Khor - Little Accompaniments
[http://littleaccompaniments.blogspot.com]

Soh Yien Yee - A Shopaholic’s Den
[http://ashopaholicsden.blogspot.com]

Recycle your phone

2008-09-28T22:41:00.001+08:00

Can one phone save the world?

If every 3 billion phone users recycle just one phone, we van save over 240,000 tonnes of raw materials. The result is equivalent to stopping CO2 emissions from 4 million cars. Every phone contains significant amounts of copper, aluminium, gold, plastic and other non-metals that can be salvaged and reused.

By recycling just one phone, you can shield the environment from a lot of harmful substances. With our Nokia Kiosks, saving the earth has never been easier.

You can find Nokia Kiosks at these locations:

- Nokia Concept Store, The Gardens

- Nokia Store, The Curve and KLCC

- KTS Cellular, Giant Hypermarket Bandar Kinrara

More : Recycle a phone, adopt a tree

Google News comes to town

2008-09-25T20:43:00.000+08:00

Search giant Google has just introduced yet another new product — this time it’s the localisation of its news aggregation site, Google News.

Officially live on Sept 18, the localised site, which is accessible from http://news.google.com.my, gives the user a page of constantly updated local news of the day.

“Our mission is to organise the world’s news info and make it accessible to everyone,” says Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, product manager for Google News.

Rahul said that the intent of the Google News site is not to take content away from publishers but to help people find what they’re looking for as fast as possible.

Hopefully, this will also channel traffic as quickly as possible to the publisher’s website, he says.

The main advantage of Google News Malaysia is to give readers a choice of a wide range of articles and views on the same story.

The technology that runs Google News is much like the one used for its search engine, i.e. webpages are ranked based on their popularity and certain predefined patterns of traffic on the Internet.

Currently, Google News Malaysia culls news snippets from more than 4,500 English-language sources such as The Star and The Borneo Post.

Like the US version, Google News Malaysia is split into several categories, ranging from technology to sports, all of which offer news from local sources.

Creative Thinking -Scamper Techniques

2008-09-19T21:09:00.001+08:00

SIMPLY put, creativity is about coming out with something new. Being creative may not make you another Michelangelo, but new ideas are certainly necessary for today’s fast changing world.

As Edward de Bono, the world’s foremost authority on lateral thinking and innovation, said: “It is no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems. Businesses need creativity … to make the shift from administration to true entrepreneurship.”

You can also use creativity in your daily life. You can look at what you are doing and find alternative ways to improve. Problems become opportunities for you to use your creative thinking.

Critical versus creative

Our brain’s left hemisphere is all about logical, rational and sequential thinking while the right brain hemisphere is concerned with intuitive, random and subjective thinking.

Schools tend to concentrate on boosting the left brain in “scholastic” subjects and right-brain activities such as creativity and aesthetics tend to be downplayed. As a result, many people end up being more critical than creative.

Stimulating the right brain can be done by attempting tasks that require imagination and a fresh approach. The human brain has the ability to create an infinite amount of ideas. Unfortunately, most people use only 2 to 3 per cent of their brain capacity.

As a technique for generating ideas, take a look at a classical method called Scamper, an acronym for a collection of seven techniques. There are success stories for each of these techniques:

Substitute: The Russians failed to market vodka in the United States in the 1930s because clear alcohol was not popular. Heublein bought the rights, and looked for other ingredients (substitute) to colour the drink. Moscow Mule, Screwdriver and Bloody Mary were born and caused vodka sales to rise from 6,000 cases a year to 38 million in 1988.

Combine: Customers of American gas company Arco asked if they could walk over to the adjacent convenience store to pick up a hamburger and a quart of milk after they had pumped their gas. As a result, customers can now do all three (combine) all at the same petrol kiosk.

Adapt: William Durant, the founder of General Motors, had great ideas but could not run the company profitably. He was replaced by Alfred Sloan, who was able to take many of Durant’s ideas and turn them (adapt) into reality.

Modify: 3M’s advertisements to sell Post-It pads did not cause sales to pick up. Its general sales manager, Joe Ramey, noticed that people who used the pads could not stop. He convinced the company to modify its marketing approach by giving away free samples. Since then, the Post-It has become one of 3M’s all-time champion products.

Put to other uses: A toilet tissue manufacturer discovered a carload of paper that was too thick to be made into tissue. Unable to return it, he asked himself what else could be done with the paper?” (put to other use), and paper towels were born.

Eliminate: Before 1836, mail charges were paid by the addressee, with the fees computed according to distance and weight. This made correspondence expensive and slow. Rowland Hill proposed that postage be uniform regardless of distance (eliminate), and that this fee be prepaid by buying and affixing a stamp.

Rearrange: Xerox’s first copier was priced at $4,000 and few companies were willing to make such a capital investment. Xerox understood this and began selling what they produced: copies. At 5 cents a copy, company staff could pay for the documents from petty cash (rearrange).

Taking up a hobby is a good start to being creative, and magic is one hobby that requires a lot of creative input. Since magic tricks rely on illusions, it takes a lot of creative effort to make something that is not real appear believable.

You will find that the process of conceiving a magical idea and communicating it to the audience through a performance is a creative process.

Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Sony -Asia's favourite brand

2008-09-11T22:37:00.004+08:00

Japanese electronic giant Sony is Asia's favorite brand, according to a survey of Asian shoppers released on Sunday that was dominated by consumer technology firms.

Sony replaced Finnish phone maker Nokia as the region's top brand, ahead of another Japanese electronics firm Canon and U.S. sportswear firm Nike, according to the survey by Media magazine and market researchers TNS.

The appeal of technology across the region was highlighted by the presence in the top 20 of U.S. firms Hewlett-Packard and Apple, South Korean giants Samsung and LG, as well as Japan's Panasonic, the survey found.

U.S. Internet firm Google was seen as the top media and telecommunications company, while Coca-Cola was the most popular beverage, the survey found.

Asia Pacific’s top 20 brands

RANK	BRAND	RANK	BRAND
1	Sony	11	Nokia
2	Canon	12	Colgate
3	Nike	13	Nestle
4	Google	14	Starbucks
5	Hewlett-Packard	15	Panasonic
6	Coca Cola	16	Honda
7	Adidas	17	Apple
8	Samsung	18	LG
9	7-Eleven	19	Nescafe
10	Yahoo	20	Toys-R-Us

A total of 3,600 consumers in 10 different markets including Australia and China were interviewed for the survey.

Asia, including increasingly China, has become a key market for many of the world's leading firms in the past 10 years, with many targeting the region's gadget-mad consumers.

Complete Story: ‘ASIA PACIFIC’S TOP 1000 BRANDS’ 2008 FINDINGS

New Media: GigaOm.com

2008-09-08T20:50:00.004+08:00

GigaOm.com which deliver technology news, analysis and opinions on topics ranging from broadband and online games to Web 2.0 was founded by Om Malik in 2006. Before launching his own publishing venture, Om was a senior writer for Business 2.0 magazine covering telecom and broadband stories. Currently they serve a monthly global audience of 1.75 million consumers and professionals interested in the latest news in the world of high-tech.

According to a special write up by Sin Chew Daily, GigaOm.com having a daily hits of 50,000 which generate monthly advertisement income of USD50,000. Compare with The Wall Street Journal which having 2 mil of subscriptions and out of 80,000 is log in daily for news, GigaOm.com is a great example for success New Media provider as it is open and free.

Beside GigaOm.com, here are some highlights by Zhan Hongzhi [詹宏志]:

- with the exist of Blog, everyone is a media; when information is floated, review and guide become effective; who can eliminate quantities will create values

- with the exist of search engine like Google, everyone will refer to Wikipedia, great encyclopedia was ignored as you have to pay for it; editor new role is to ensure this information are correct, accurate and relevant.

- has a vision in you, no one will come and tell you what happens next

2008 BPMW Day 11

2008-08-22T21:29:00.013+08:00

十八。台商OBU贷款保证业务介绍，讲师：陈素莺董事长，海外信用保证基金

十九。国际政经情势与公民外交，讲师：吴建国副主委，外交部非政府组织国际事务委员会

- 前言：公民外交
- 整体外交形势
- 非政府组织发展情形
- 全民外交意涵
- 全民外交之具体作法
- 非政府组织国际参与展望

二十。侨务工作综合座谈,许振荣副委员长主持

结业！

我们的部落格：Taiwan2008.666bbs.com.tw, 谢谢秘鲁大哥！

2008 BPMW Day 10

2008-08-21T21:45:00.002+08:00

十五。全球化企业的在地化用人策略，讲师：夏侯欣鹏教授，辅仁大学企管系

- 核心职能与企业策略的连结
- 企业策略思考之核心职能
- 核心职能为基础的人力资源制度

下载：流程導向專業職能辨認工作坊[PPT]

十六。以平衡计分卡推动策略与绩效管理，讲师：于泳泓执行董事，安永会计师事务所

- BSC(Basic Score Card)思维模式
- BSC理论实务
- BSC标竿案例
- BSC延伸应用
参考：Alignment: Using the Balanced Scorecard to Create Corporate Synergies

十七。品味美酒，品味人生，讲师：王灵安品牌大使，寰盛洋酒公司

- 酒，濃情催化地在課程中增進關係互動與了解
- 酒，是一杯香醇的沉醉是卸下心防溝通的媒介
- 酒，有歡笑有眼淚每一段都值得被珍藏與回味

中国MSN报导：品味杯酒人生

2008 BPMW Day 09

2008-08-20T22:30:00.013+08:00

参访白木屋品牌文化馆，令人耳目一新。看看这些海报，你将有所体会！

在品牌经营策略里，白木屋是用情景沟通品牌，透过美学，呈现精致品味；透过情境，活化品牌沟通；透过实做，传达品质触动。

在白木屋谋杀了很多照片和用午餐后，大伙就往莺歌陶瓷博物馆参观，和在莺歌陶瓷老街的宇宸陶艺工坊习陶瓷。就这样完成了一天的文化知性之旅。

2008 BPMW Day 08

2008-08-19T22:00:00.012+08:00

十四。成功国际商务谈判，讲师：陈彦豪主任，台北大学兼国际谈判及同步翻译中心

- 国际商务谈判的理念与功能
- 国际商务谈判的过程
- 国际商务谈判的技巧
- 国际商务谈判实务原则
- 国际商务谈判的30个基本句型

书籍参考：
谈判技巧手册（蔡宗扬译），
实质利益谈判法（罗竹西译）,
Negotiation 5e by Roy Lewicki

十五。从现金流游戏谈财务智商提升，讲师：邱淑芸执行长，驯钱师财商研究中心

财务智商的功能：不只是投资绩效，而是宏观从容地面对人生各种财务状况起起伏伏的变化。

富爸爸现金流游戏讲解

2008 BPMW Day 07

2008-08-18T22:00:00.006+08:00

十一。国际行销通路规划与拓展，讲师：张昭焚董事长，钰德科技（股）公司。

公司策略规划，行销理论回馈，消费者行为，品牌行销，钰德公司介绍与行销案例分析。

十二。如何以网路行销开启国际贸易大门，讲师：卢天俊总监，都可行销公司

网路现象与行销趋势：新鲜事，发展功能进程，行销趋势。

数位行销工具的应用：工具分析，Web 2.0的行销应用，网路社群经营。

网路行销规划与效益分析：步骤，顾客关系管理，忠诚度应用策略。

十三。拓展全球新兴市场，讲师：黄文荣副秘书长，外贸协会

- 台湾贸易环境的变化
- 新兴市场之拓销策略（以印度为例）
- 地区拓销策略
- 产业拓销策略
- 海外展览拓销策略

2008 BPMW Day 06

2008-08-16T22:00:00.004+08:00

九。DISC性向检验与团队动能分析，讲师：李胜隆执行长，双赢管理顾问公司。

- DISC 個性測驗 - MBA智库百科
- DISC 问卷（最符合自己以及最不符合自己的形容词）
- DISC 個人行為模式

十。组织沟通与领导技能实战训训练，讲师：陈晓明经理，行动力体验学习中心。

陈讲师是一体验式学习(John Dewey-learning by doing)教课，由學員自願參與一連串活動，然後分析他們所經歷的體驗，使他們從中獲得一些知識和感悟。

2008 BPMW Day 05

2008-08-15T22:00:00.007+08:00

参访浩汉产品设计，由黄国煌副总经理亲自接待。看完公司简介，就分组参观企业。

午餐后，我们就到鈊象电子，由李柯柱董事长亲自接待。看完公司简介，一样分组参观企业。最让大家兴奋的是可以免费试玩游戏机，只是时间太短！

来自实践大学企业创新与创业管理研究洪铅财所长以鈊象电子作个案实务研讨。

2008 BPMW Day 04

2008-08-14T22:00:00.009+08:00

参访杏辉医药集团，由李志文董事长亲自接待。看完公司简介，就分组参观工厂。

午餐就在有到地风味的宜兰小菜和充满艺术气息的《客人城》美食天地享用。

过后，一伙人到宜兰县政府出席“投资兰阳：产业发展新契机”座谈会，由县长吕国华主持。

旅游是宜兰的重点活动：宜兰劲好玩, 创意游赏之旅。

下午我们进行文化知性之旅到国立传统艺术中心游玩去！

2008 BPMW Day 03

2008-08-13T22:00:00.011+08:00

六。活用财报分析创造营运绩效，讲师：叶清恩董事长，台湾企业经营智库。

导论：财报就像一本故事书 [刘顺仁教授]
像读故事书一样读懂财务报表！循序渐进三大制胜秘籍，带你深入浅出玩透财务报表！

心法篇——内功练习法，破解通往财富之路的关键密码，轻松解析企业竞争力。

招式篇——外功练招式，轻松掌握资产负债表、利润表、现金流量表、股东权益变动表四大报表。

进阶篇——活学活用财务报表，锻炼五大神功。克故，避开财报陷阱，保护自己；制胜，提升企业竞争力，武林称雄。

七。国际汇率风险评估与避险操作，讲师：杨声勇教授，中兴大学财金系。

经营环境变迁，企业如何因应？

-企业经营环境变化加速，企图复制过去成功经验是企业竞争力衰退的开始 [Donald Sull, LBS]

- All of life is the management of RISK, not its elimination [Walter Wriston, Citicorp Ex Chairman]

- Change: The Only Constant [Phippe Jorion]

- 风险管理机制的确立，是企业必须面对重要的议题，更是企业应培养的积极习惯

八。从国际行销观点看华人品牌塑造，讲师：James Soames 总监，Subkarma International Associates Co., Ltd.

To Brand or Not to Brand?
- Am I Branding for the right reasons?
A brand is a 'feeling' felt by the customer and 'promise' by the company.
A brand is beyond 'What you do well', 'What your customers value' & 'What is ownable over time'.

- Can my organisation change?
Branding is a 'mindset' that must be shared by all.
Branding implies shifting focus from product to consumer (Features-> What you will fee -> Who you are)

- Is there a market for my brand?
Know your market, set yourself achieveable targets.

- Am I able to differentiate myself from the rest?
Good branding is being different to everybody else, remaining focused, knowing the competition's strengths & weakness and staying consistent

2008 BPMW Day 02

2008-08-12T22:00:00.024+08:00

三。企业经营策略规划与展开，讲师：陈建雄副董事长，华宇企业管理顾问公司。

- 企业主必需了解自己事业是处于那个阶段 -初生/成长/成熟/衰退期
- 创业时以技术决定成败，稳定时以管理决定盈亏，衰退时以策略决定存亡
- 唯一不变：变；前预变，后应变
- 展开架构：经营蓝图+公司愿景-〉策略展开+核心能力-〉策略制定+价值评价-〉中长期计划+功能策略-〉平衡计分卡+目标管理

延伸参考：TRIZ
书籍：TRIZ發明問題解決理論，The Great Depression of 1990 & Surviving the Great Depression of 1990 by Dr. Ravi Batra

四。成功领导与沟通艺术，讲师：徐礼集老师，美国人类心智发展研究基金会。

现代企业领导人必需拥有以下认知能力才能成功领导和沟通：

- 经营环境变化趋势
- 人与事互动观念
- 企业团队共同目标与责任
- 基本人性掌控与运用
- 领导，整合与沟通的互动
- 问题解决与潜在能力激发

延伸参考：四书，易经，老子，庄子

五。台湾的政经发展，讲师：廖耀宗主任秘书，行政院经建会。

- 台湾经济发展：
资源（血汗）-〉投资（资本）-〉创新（知识）
- 台湾面临内外部挑战
- 台湾产业发展趋势和商机
- 永续产业发展策略

核心竞争能力：
- 有价值（开发机会/规避风险）
- 稀有（竞争者有一点或没有）
- 模仿代价高
- 不可代替性

核心特色例子：

日本方西瓜

沙滩看飞机[Maho Bay Beach]

木曾三川公园[鬱金香花祭2008]

白川乡合掌屋

久住花公园

2008 BPMW Day 01

2008-08-11T22:00:00.024+08:00

主办单位侨务委员会的许振荣副委员长和执行单位中小企业协会的王振保秘书长来欢迎来自世界各地的学员回国研习。

欢迎餐会后，课程正式开始。

一。企业社会责任与企业价值创造，讲师：黄正忠秘书长，企业永续发展协会。

企业社会责任(CSR)是当今企业发展的大课题，目前世界企业永续发展协会 World Business Council for Sustainable Development 拥有210家跨国公司会员，来自30种产业，40个以上的国家；同时在60个国家皆有联盟组织。

WBCSD 结合了200家世界龙头企业，总市价7兆美元，总营收5.5兆美元，雇用员工总数1300万人；每天超过一半的世界人口在购买WBCSD会员公司的产品或服务。

黄讲师以下面4个范围来解说：
1. CSR - Why is an issue?
2. CSR - What issue matter?
3. CSR - Benchmarking for Actions Supply Chain Management?
4. CSR - Reputation, Risk, Opportunity, Cost, Competitiveness?

进一步了解：
企业永续发展协会，WBCSD

二。跟LV級演唱家學唱歌, 讲师：林夏緹老師, 金唐朝大囍光音公司

晚上是学员联谊交流时间，林老师与我们分享会唱歌的重要性，运气和唱歌技巧。林老师载歌载舞，大家欢乐满堂！

林老师的书：一定要会唱歌，部落格

2008 Business Planning & Management Workshop

2008-08-10T22:00:00.000+08:00

两年前赴台湾上了由侨务委员会主办的《高阶经理人研习班》，受益良多。

所以今年再度申请《企业营运规划研习班》，这课程很符合我目前的工作要求，很幸运的我的申请被接纳。

于是我和另一位申请者郑联兴[Evergreen Hardware D.I.Y. (M) Sdn Bhd]在KLIA机场再与另一位申请者丁碧美[Manjung Ling Frozen Bird Nests (M) Sdn Bhd] 于八月十日下午14.20乘搭中华航空CI 656飞往台北桃园机场。

我们于晚上19.00抵达，一行人就叫了部计程车往研习地点新北投的龍邦僑園會館去。一个小时后check in 然后到邻近的熟食档用餐，过后就回饭店和前一日到的李佩云[Ee Her Enterprise Sdn.Bhd. ]会合，那时已经22.00也就回房休息了。

Tracking Printers to Fight Crime

2008-07-30T21:31:00.004+08:00

Q. Is it true that laser printers put an invisible code that contains the printer’s serial number on every document printed?

A. Some, but not all, laser printers do leave a series of nearly imperceptible yellow dots on the printed page. These dots usually contain the encoded serial number of the printer and may also include the time and date that the document was printed.

The so-called yellow tracking dots have been found on more than 100 colour laser printer models from major manufacturers. The dots are used by Secret Service to track counterfeiters. As anyone with a colour laser printer of good quality should know, the ability to print fake money has become much easier but no less illegal.

The Secret Service has said it decodes only the information contained in the dots to investigate counterfeiting cases. Once it has the serial number of the printer, the agency can work with printer companies to find out where the printer was sold.

The existence of these dots has long had privacy advocates worried. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy rights group, has been closely following the yellow dots issue because there are no legal provisions to stop government agencies from using the technology to track documents in cases unrelated to counterfeiting.

Source: J.D. Biersdorfer, New York Times
Extend reading: Is Your Printer Spying On You?
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):
List of Printers Which Do or Do Not Display Tracking Dots

Website traffic driving strategy

2008-07-27T21:51:00.001+08:00

YOU have invested your time and energy to build your organisation a great new website, but you are not getting quite the results you were hoping for.

Few customers are visiting or interacting with you and rarely do you get prospects to contact you through the site. So what can you do to improve the odds that you are reaching your anticipated audience?

1 PAPERWORK

This is the easiest and most economical method of advertising your site. Make sure you place your domain name on every form that is generated by your organisation. Some of the forms to consider: quote, invoice, orders, bill of lading, purchase order, checks, statements, labels, letterhead, envelopes, fax forms and e-mail signature.

2 VOICE MAIL ANNOUNCEMENT

Announce your domain name and an attention-grabbing message on your corporate and individual voice mails. A great way to attract users to your site is to offer an incentive that is available only on the web. Some examples: “For additional and current specials, check out our website…” or “Check out our website for the article regarding the seven deadly mistakes people make when planning a party.”

3 E-MAIL SIGNATURE

Include your demographic information such as name, address, telephone and fax numbers, your web address and promotional information.

4 VERBAL

Make sure you and your staff are constantly promoting your website and its content and value to your customers.

5 NEWSLETTER

Develop an electronic newsletter to advise your customers and prospects of your products and services and all of the incentives available on the web.

Provide an easy link within the newsletter to direct the user to the appropriate web page. My recommendation is to strive for a monthly frequency distribution.

6 LINKS

Trade links (URL) with other business associates, customers and vendors will drive traffic your way. When providing a resource link on your site to take the user elsewhere, make sure to open that link in a separate session. Once the visitor is on your site, keep them on your site voluntarily and do not force them to leave your site by clicking on an outside resource.

7 MEDIA

Always include your website domain name when advertising or writing about your company in newspapers, magazines, trade publications, radio, TV, web and banners.

8 SEARCH ENGINES

Optimisation and Pay-perclickSEO and PPC is a huge growing segment of the economy and is the reason why companies such as Google, Yahoo, Overture and others have grown as much as they have.

The basic concept is to properly optimise your site using certain key words and phrases to increase the odds that people can easily find you when they surf and search the web. This area requires professional assistance.

Implementing the proper plan to drive traffic to your site is a complicated task that requires strategic and tactical planning. However, you may find that some areas I illustrated above are pretty easy to embrace and are economical as well. Don’t lose the opportunities that are out there. Finish building it so they will come.

– Source: Straits Times/Asia News Network

Is your savings safe?

2008-07-21T21:26:00.001+08:00

The answer is YES! If your have deposited your hard- earned money in the bank of Malayisa, Perbadanan Insurans Deposit Malaysia (PIDM), a government agency is providing deposit protection against your savings.

Eligible deposits are protected up to RM60,000 per depositor per member bank. Member banks are commercial banks and Islamic banks in Malaysia.

Eligible deposits include savings and current accounts, fixed and Islamic investment deposits, joint and trust accounts - for individual depositors and business entities.

Find out more by calling 1-800-88-1266, visit PIDM's website at www.pidm.gov.my or pick up a leaftlet from any of member banks.

Now you could win RM25,000 by entering the "PIDM & You contest", from 14 July to 31 August 2008, check it out.

WALL-E Free Movie Passes

2008-07-19T21:29:00.001+08:00

WALL-E (promoted with an interpunct as WALL·E) is a 2008 computer-animated adventure-comedy-romance-science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton. It follows the story of a robot named WALL-E who is designed to clean up a polluted Earth. He eventually falls in love with another robot named EVE, and follows her into outer space on an adventure.

In conjunction with "RECYCLE and you could save the world" promotion activities, Petrosains is give away 2 complimentary movies passes for the first 10 people daily who purchase Petrosains admission tickets from 22nd Jul - 31st Aug.

Beside learning more about the science of recycling, also enjoy FREE viewing of WALL-E, so hurry up to Petrosains today!

WALL-E will be in cinema on 14th Aug 2008!

Wikipedia on WALL-E
Trailers at YouTube on WALL-E

Your online data is safe?

2008-07-11T21:20:00.000+08:00

I used to spend a lot of time nagging people to back up their PC hard drives. Now I'm spending a growing amount of time telling them to back up their online information. It's great that users can now tap into so many services that exist in "the cloud" - which was a graphical representation of the old phone system, but is now used to stand for the internet. But the fact that your data is online doesn't mean it's safe.

Microsoft's Hotmail has been the great teacher. I can't imagine that any other web-based service has reduced so many people to tears. If you've never had the pleasure, Hotmail's most important feature has been that your email only survives as long as you log on every 30 days. Miss the deadline due to, say, a delayed flight, illness or simple forgetfulness, and Microsoft deletes your mailbox. If you had anything important in there, too bad. It's gone.

If you're still playing Russian roulette with Hotmail, then at least upgrade to the new Live version. This doesn't delete your email unless you fail to log on for 90 days. Better still, you can download a version of Windows Live Mail to your desktop. This will collect your email from Hotmail and other services, and save it on your PC's hard drive. So if Microsoft deletes the online copies, you haven't lost them forever. There are many other ways to lose your web-based data. A nice example was the chap who had all his email, his photos and a website with Yahoo, and some of these services were paid for. Sadly, he wrote something on Yahoo Answers that apparently violated the provider's terms of service, so they deleted his account.

A friend who took my advice and switched from Hotmail to Gmail also lost all his email, because he hadn't downloaded it with, say, Thunderbird. In this case, it's not clear if he just forgot his password or was hacked. Either way, his mailbox wouldn't let him in, and Google made him wait five agonising days before he could say he'd forgotten his password and answer the security question. Which he couldn't answer, as it happens. Oh, how we laughed.

And if you assume most of these software-as-a-service providers have foolproof backups, think again. If a service has 200 million users, spread over thousands of servers in various locations, it could have many terabytes of data and gigabytes of mail arriving in a continuous stream.

Taking daily backups is a non-trivial task. Sure, they could have operators stacking thousands of tapes in underground bunkers, but how much would it cost to find the bit of tape you need? If you are not paying anything for a service, it's best to assume that there are no backups, and that no one is going to provide any real personal help.

In fact, those are wise assumptions even if you are paying top whack. If you are wrong, you may get a nice surprise, but don't bank on it. Even cloud-based services that are reliably set up, well run and have great backups are not invulnerable. Companies go bust all the time. Your data ends up on the back of a lorry, destined for some other underfunded web 2.0 startup. You won't even get chance to bid it a fond farewell.

I think personal computing is wonderful, but hard drives fail and laptops get lost or stolen, so it makes sense to back up your data. I think cloud computing is wonderful too, but operators make mistakes, passwords get lost, servers get hacked, companies fail and so on, so it makes sense to back up your data.

As Schofield's Second Law of Computing asserts, data doesn't really exist unless you have two copies of it. Preferably more. And the only person who can be held responsible for that is you.

Source: Jack Schofield, Guardian Newspaper

Buy Nothing Day

2008-07-05T21:22:00.002+08:00

FOMCA declares 'Buy Nothing Day' on July 16

Why? That day has been declared the "Buy Nothing Day" by the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).

Fomca, with the cooperation of its partners, wants the Buy Nothing Day to be a day for consumers to review and reflect their personal values, especially in relation to consumerism.

It is also a time for consumers to think of their spending patterns, and about their values in relation to the importance given to family and friends, and the goods they acquire.

The Buy Nothing Day is organised in conjunction with the National Consumer Campaign (NCC), which is on from June this year till June 2012 under the theme of Change Begins With Me.

"The focus of the NCC is for Malaysian consumers to change their consumer behaviour and to take greater responsibility to face challenges that have an impact on their lifestyle," Fomca president Datuk N. Marimuthu said at the launch of the Buy Nothing Day.

"The time for cheaper fuel and foodstuff is over. Malaysians need to re-examine their lifestyle and make changes to the way they live to adapt to global challenges like increasing fuel prices," he said.

Also present at the launch were representatives from the campaign partners – Cuepacs, National Council of Women's Organisation (NCWO) and the Malaysian Youth Council.

Meanwhile, following are some of the positive measures consumers can do:
· Packing lunches/snacks at home and having them at the office;
· Having more meals at home and eating out less;
· Reducing electricity consumption, such as reducing the amount of time the air-conditioner is switched on or using the fan more often;
· Planning travel in advance;
· Using public transport more often;
· Buying only when necessary, and evaluating the needs versus the wants;
· Using energy-efficient equipment, like a front-loading washing machine rather than a top-loading one;
· Stop using credit cards; and
· Buying house brand goods instead of branded goods.

More on 'Buy Nothing Day' at Wikipedia

Mobile Art by Zaha Hadid

2008-07-02T21:16:00.005+08:00

Zaha HADID于2004年获颁被誉为建筑界诺贝尔奖的普利茨克奖（Pritzker Prize）。她每一项充满动感和创意的建筑，都是累积了30多年革命性实验和研究的心血结晶。HADID不时突破界限，探索新的空间概念，在城市、建筑和设计三个互相关连的范畴内，追求完美的视觉美感。

HADID作品的其中一个特色，是以先进的技术，把天然地形和人为的建构融为一体，令建筑、景观和地质精妙地接合一起，结果为她的作品带来几何、天衣无缝和无懈可击的澎湃活力。

位于德国沃尔夫斯堡的Phaeno科学中心，正好引证了HADID一直追求的流质形态。其它影响深远的前作包括辛辛那提的罗森塔尔当代艺术中心和德国莱比锡的BMW中央大楼，均以崭新的空间意念和大胆而前卫的外型设计，把我们对未来的展望整合为真实的建筑，赢尽赞赏。

More on Phaeno Science Center, BMW Central Building

Mobile Art 2008

2008-07-01T21:05:00.009+08:00

那天在等人的时候，习惯性拿起身边的杂志，发现了这个崭新的艺术品，在这里让大家品味品味！可惜的是它只经过香港和日本。。。

由Zaha HADID建筑公司设计的香奈儿 Mobile Art展览馆的外形是从品牌著名的菱格纹手袋的创作理念撷取灵感，以自然组织的模式构想，亦兼顾实际的用途。

Zaha HADID说：「Mobile Art展览馆的奇妙之处，在于如何把身心的感受，转化为感官的体验--以完全天马行空和令人着迷的环境，在世界各地为香奈儿这件经典作品喝采。我认为这个展览馆也是一项完全的艺术品，从亚洲出发，然后到美国和欧洲，在于期间不停的演化。」

Source: 香奈儿Mobile Art当代艺术展览

More on Zaha Hadid Blog: Travelling Exhibition Pavilion for Chanel

Financing for SME

2008-06-26T21:51:00.001+08:00

Are you an SME looking for financing to grow your business?

If your answer is YES, so come and hear the bankers speak on:

SME Financing in Malaysia - Issues & Challenges
Contract Financing
21st Century Banking Channels
Structured Trade Options for SMEs
Survival of the Fittest - Effective Cash Flow Management
Managing Risks
Trade Products - Pre-shipment / Post-shipment
SME Credit Bureau / CGC Guarantee Scheme

Also you can join the special Meet-The-Bank Session!

This Banking Industry Seminar for SMEs is organised and sponsored by The Association of Banks in Malaysia.

Seminar title: Enhancing SME Awareness And Access To Financing
Date: Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Venue: Grand Ballroom, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur.
Registration: RM 100 before 30 June 2008, RM 150 before closing date 5th July 2008
Tel: 03-2078 8041 Fax: 03-2078 8004 Email: banks@abm.org.my

Details & Registration Form: HERE [pdf]

Facebook beat MySpace

2008-06-25T21:00:00.001+08:00

Facebook may have started to win the global popularity contest over the rival social network site MySpace, judging from some recent figures.

Last Month, Facebook had 123.9 million unique visitors and 50.6 billion page view worldwide, according to the research firm ComScore.

MySpace, meanwhile, had 114.6 million unique visitors and 45.4 billion page views.

According to the research firm, this is the first time Facebook has edged past MySpace in those measures. Facebook has its growing popularity outside the country to thank for the milestone.

In the United States, however, MySpace is still on top and pulls in twice as many visitors as its main competition on a monthly basis, according to the firm.

Source: CNET News.com

Protect yourself on the Internet

2008-06-23T21:35:00.001+08:00

Bruce Schneier, Security Guru said nothing you can do to protect yourself on the Internet!

He said the best barrier against security threats is prevention.

Security products are still important just like seatbelts to keep fatalities in automobiles low, he said.

Here, Schneier listed the things that home users can do to improve security:

1. Turn off the computer when you’re not using it, especially if you have an “always on” Internet connection.

2. Keep your laptop and PDA with you at all times when you go outside — treat it as you would a wallet or purse.

3. Back up data regularly.

4. Set up automatic updates so that you automatically receive security patches.

5. Limit the number of applications installed on your machine.

6. Limit the use of cookies and applets.

7. Keep in mind that Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption does not provide any assurance that the vendor is trustworthy or that its database of customer information is secure.

8. Think before you do business with a website. Limit the financial and personal data you send to it.

9. Never reuse a password for something you care about. It’s fine to have a single password for low-security sites, such as for newspaper archive access.

10. Assume that all PINs (personal identification numbers) can be easily broken and plan accordingly.

11. Never type a password for a service that you care about, such as a bank account, into a non-SSL encrypted page. If your bank makes it possible to do that, complain to them. When they tell you that it is OK, don’t believe them; they’re wrong.

12. Turn off HTML e-mail. Don’t automatically assume that any e-mail is from the “From” address. Also delete spam without reading it.

13. Use either a combination or separate antivirus and antispyware software. Always update them.

14. Use personal firewall software. If you can, hide your IP address. There’s no reason to allow any incoming connections from anybody.

15. Install an e-mail and file encryptor. Encrypting all your e-mail or your entire hard drive is unrealistic, but some mail is too sensitive to send in the clear. Similarly, some files on your hard drive are too sensitive to leave unencrypted.

Schneider admits that none of the measures are foolproof.

But these precautions are all good network-hygiene measures, and they’ll make you a more difficult target than the computer next door.

And even if you only follow a few basic measures, you’re unlikely to face many problems.

Source: A silver lining in a gloomy outlook

World Environment Day 2008 -2

2008-06-02T21:55:00.003+08:00

Did you know that

PAPER

ALUMINIUM

GLASS

PLASTIC

World Environment Day 2008 -1

2008-06-02T21:52:00.001+08:00

World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action.

The World Environment Day slogan for 2008 is Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy. Recognising that climate change is becoming the defining issue of our era, UNEP is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on greenhouse gas emissions and how to reduce them. The World Environment Day will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and life-styles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption.

As awareness, here are something that good to share which I found at "Save Our Sumatran Rhinos" by Honda Malaysia.

Online Shopping's Facts & Figures

2008-05-31T21:39:00.003+08:00

“The Internet is no longer a niche technology—it is mass media and an utterly integral part of modern life. Almost no aspect of life remains untouched by online media. As our lives become more fractured and cluttered, it isn’t surprising that consumers turn to the unrivalled convenience of the Internet when it comes to researching and buying products,” said Linda Lim, Director, Online Research, The Nielsen Company, Malaysia.

This is based on their recent research, the facts and figures about Malaysian online shopping. If you are planning for Internet Marketing, you may take this as a reference.


1. Have you ever make a purchase over the internet?
A. Yes	70%
B. No	30%

2. When was the last time you made apurchase over the internet?
A. Less than a month ago	39%
B. 1 - 3 months ago	16%
C. 3 - 6 months ago	19%
D. More than 6 months ago	26%

3. Top method payment used by Malaysian to make their last purchase over the internet in the past 3 months
A. Credit Card	75%
B. Money Transfer	38%
C. Cash on delivery (COD)	18%
D. Paypal	15%
E. Prepaid Card	11%

4. Top items purchased in the past 3 months
A. Airline ticket reservation	55%
B. Tour/hotel reservation	41%
C. Computer hardware	22%
D. Books	21%
E. Event tickets	18%
F. Others	24%

5. What helps Malaysian decide the site to use for shopping online?
A. Personal recommendation	53%
B. Search engine	37%
C. Special offering	34%
D. General surfing	30%
E. Same site I buy from regulary	24%
F. Online advertising	23%
G. Online recommendation site	21%
H. Shopping comparison website	16%
I. TV/Printer other advertising	15%
J. Same store I buy from online	12%
K. Others	7%

Sources: Nielsen News 14 April 2008

Readcycle for Charity

2008-05-21T21:32:00.004+08:00

Recycle the joy of reading. READcycle.

Donate your good condition OLD BOOKS such as children books, dictionaries, atlases and encyclopedia (no torn cover, pages or scribbling) to the underprivileged children and help build their literacy level.

This is another good program for your school holiday. Just bring along 10 English books to BookFest @ Malaysia 2008 and received a 1-year POPULAR Adult Card plus one Free ticket into the Exhibition.

BookFest @ Malaysia 2008 will be held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) Hall 1-5 from 24 May - 1 June 2008 time 10am - 10pm. Be there.

The Secret Free Screenings

2008-05-18T21:37:00.009+08:00

〈The Secret 秘密〉这部影片至今已销售200万套，书籍上市不到半年也卖了500万册。这影片探讨的"秘密"就是宇宙间的"吸引力发则"，启发人们运用这个法则，相信心想事成，让生命更圆满。

免费观赏会是由巴生新镇佛光青年主办，详情如下：
日期：24/05/2008 星期六 20.15pm
地点：32A Jalan Tiara 5, Bandar Baru Klang, 41050 Klang.
电话：03-3344 2261 /
016-232 1420 / 012-233 0965

关于〈The Secret〉资料：Official Web Site, Wikipedia, Blog
书籍：台湾版（繁），中国版（简）

Trailer: 1st 20 mins

Riches Visualization Tool

SPAM Free -Using Email Icon

2008-05-12T21:55:00.006+08:00

Getting a lot of SPAM lately? Did it begin just after you published your email address in your website/blog or comments on other's blog? If that’s the case then there’s a way you can stop your inbox from getting spammed.

There are a number of techniques,

First is the usual geeky way. It involved publishing your email address like this: sample@hotmail [dot] com or sample [at] hotmail [dot] com or sumthing similar.

Or using a picture which contains your email address. It looks nice too! Just see the following examples.

They look cool, don’t they? You can easily generate these kinds of icons from this cool sites: 1. limcorp.net 2. nexodyne.com 3. needasig.dom 4. coolgenerator.com 5. mailonpix.com . You can use the email icon generator there for FREE. Enjoy!

Remember: Leaving ur email address publicly is an open invitation for spam. So be careful before youu leave Your email address here and there. Help fight spam!

Buddhist-themed Movies Free Screening

2008-05-11T11:24:00.000+08:00

Here it comes with another Free Screening!

The 2008 Wesak International Film Festival (WIFF) presents Buddhist themed and inspired cinema from several countries - full length movies, documentaries, animation and children's films. The objective of the WIFF is to use the audio-visual media to create greater awareness of Buddhism among the general public.

The film festival is spread out over two weekends, beginning from Saturday, June 14 and closing on Sunday, June 22 2008 [Screening time]. It will be held at the Malaysia Tourism Centre, located in 109, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, a very accessible location near the Petronas Twin Towers.

A special attraction on opening night on June 14 will be a performance by Ravenna Michalsen, a US artist, who will perform her own Buddhist musical compositions. [Listen to her SONG] Interspersed among the films during the festival will also be performances by local Buddhist musical groups.

MOVIE SYNOPSIS

Green Rangers wanted

2008-05-10T22:12:00.003+08:00

YOU are wanted!

THE public can now get involved in environmental preservation with the Green Ranger Wannabe campaign.

The Selangor environment department launched the programme to recruit people who are interested to volunteer in environmental activities organised by the state or other NGOs.

“We want lay people, young and old, to help in the fight to protect the environment. We would contact them when we need volunteers for events.” Selangor tourism, consumer affairs and environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said.

She said everyone could contribute to saving the environment with small measures like separating garbage and recycling.

Those who are interested in becoming Green Rangers can email bukitlanjan2008@gmail.com or salkiah@doe.gov.my.

Source: The Star

Internet Marketing in 5 Lessons

2008-05-09T22:06:00.007+08:00

Why do you need an Internet marketing strategy? There are scores of compelling reasons.

For one, the Internet saves you money. The efficiencies of managing member interactions on line far outweigh the initial investment in technology and ongoing maintenance. For another, your competitors are doing it—so you don't want to fall behind. Perhaps most compelling of all: Your members expect you to make their lives easier by serving them on line.

But the Web can be daunting. Member expectations are high. New applications come out daily. Whizzy features abound. Legacy systems remain a millstone. It's hard to keep up, never mind marshal the resources needed for continuous innovation.

So let's step back and look at a simple way credit union marketers can carve out an effective Internet marketing strategy for themselves, without investing a lot of time and money in tools, or agencies, or fancy consultants. In fact, most of this you can do on the back of a cocktail napkin.

Developing a reasonable, effective Internet strategy involves five easy lessons.

Lesson One: Marketing Basics. Ask yourself: Am I doing everything I can to understand my members' needs and expectations, and satisfy those needs, every day?

OK, that's not an Internet strategy, to be sure. But it does make an important point: No Internet strategy can work if the basics are not in place. First you must excel at marketing, and then worry about great Internet marketing.

When an exciting new tool comes along, it's very easy to get excited about its cool features, and forget about marketing basics. So, first, look at your members and their needs, and deliver extremely well against those needs.

Lesson Two: Go-to-Market Strategy. Credit union marketers already have pretty good strategies in place. They know their members, their buying preferences, and how to sell to them and service them. So lay out that process, step by step.

Lesson Three: Automation. Do this with the best processes, using the Web wherever it fits, wherever it adds value.

This is pretty simple. But it works. Here's an example. Let's say a credit union goes through the following stages in its marketing process. I'll list beside each stage several examples of excellent Internet techniques that make the process cheaper or faster or more satisfying to members.

* Research customer needs: Try switching to online focus groups, or simple customer surveys on your Web site.

* Communicate, run campaigns: Use e-mail, put an offer on your Web site, or shift some of your seminars to the Web, especially those involving current members.

* Fulfill campaign inquiries: Make your collateral material available for Web download, and deliver it via e-mail. That way, collateral material can be not only updated instantly, but also customized to the individual respondent's interests. Prospects can be qualified by e-mail or by Web-based surveys.

* Transact: Migrate your teller function on line. Customers can check balances, manage their accounts, or pay their bills 24/7.

* Manage relationships: Use ongoing communications, via e-mail or Web site, to keep those relationships nurtured and growing.

* Gain referrals: Viral marketing offers within your e-mail messages will encourage your happy members to introduce you to their friends and colleagues. A referral request box can also be part of your Web site.

Lesson Four: Re-engineer Sub-optimal Processes. When reviewing your go-to-market process, you surely found some areas of weakness where a change is indicated. A bad process should not be automated. Instead, review and refine it. I'm not saying this will be easy, politically or practically, but take advantage. This is an opportunity to add value across the board.

Lesson Five: Brainstorming. Pull together a team, put them off site for a day or so, and ask them to Think Great Thoughts. There are plenty of great Internet applications emerging that are new and different, and do not necessarily fit into your current go-to-market process. This team's mission is to identify them.

The team should be made up of creative marketing types, the most tech-savvy ones you have, plus an equal representation from IT, plus some sales people. Together, these folks should come up with some new ideas that will make your members feel way beyond satisfied, to the point of being excited. Some of the great new ideas the Internet has allowed are instant messaging and low-cost auctions. New ideas are there, for the taking, to apply to serving your members.

Now, I haven't even approached the whole opportunity the Internet provides in other areas of the business. Just think, if your back office is more efficient, and your HR benefits administration is humming on the Web, then more resources may be freed up for great marketing investments. Go figure it out. And have fun.

By RUTH P.STEVENS, one of the World’s Most Influential People in B-to-B Marketing. MORE articles.

Smart Consumer Video Clips

2008-05-08T21:41:00.000+08:00

We are all Smart Consumer, here are some video clips from Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations. By watching it, you maybe become even smarter...

Bijak berbelanja	Kualiti Produk	Cetak Rompak

Buatan Tempatan	Tarikh Luput	Mini Sitcom

Grow with Green at Petrosains

2008-05-07T22:12:00.008+08:00

What have you plan for this school holiday?

You may consider this, visit Petrosains! From 6 May to 30 June 2008, Petrosains 'Grow with Green' campaign will presented through their interactive science shows and activities to educate visitor how to take little steps to make a big difference in giving life back to the environment.

Location and contact details:
Petronas Twin Towers, Level 4 Suria KLCC, 50088 Kuala Lumpur
Info/booking: 03-2331 8181, Email: infopetrosains@petronas.com.my

Have a meaningful and fruitful school holiday!

Search Engine Tricks

2008-05-06T22:03:00.007+08:00

Most of us use a search engine on a daily basis but conduct a search the same way every time. There are a lot of search tricks, though, that are available in most of the major search engines, and these can be not only fun to use but also very helpful at times. Read on to learn more.

Q: How can I exclude specific terms from a search result?

A: Most search engines recognise the plus (+) and minus (-) signs as operators that allow you to narrow search results. When you use the plus sign directly in front of a word, you're telling the search engine that search results must include that word. If you use the minus sign directly in front of a word, you're telling the search engine that results returned should not include that word.

As an example, let's say you want to search for pages that include 'bill clinton' in them but not 'hillary.' Using the plus and minus operators, the search phrase would like this: +bill clinton -hillary. Note that there must not be a space in-between the plus or minus sign and the term to which it is attached. [Sample at Google]

Also, if the search term that must be included in search results contains spaces, as in 'bill clinton' above, put quotation marks around the term. Quotation marks, when used with or without the plus or minus signs, tell a search engine that the exact phrase must be included in results that are returned.

Q: A friend told me I should leave out words like 'and' and 'or' when I conduct searches. Why is that?

A: Your friend is probably thinking that the search engines will confuse these words with what are called Boolean 'operators,' which are specific words that you can use to help refine your queries in search engines and thereby return more relevant matches. But there's little chance of that happening these days. Some search engines do not recognise Boolean operators, and those that do require that you use call capital letters to designate them.

Boolean operators recognized by most search engines are AND, OR, and NOT. Using Boolean operators is really quite simple. Type AND between two or more terms to link them together and narrow a search. With AND, only pages that have each and every one of your key words will be listed. Type in OR between search terms to find any documents that include either of the terms. Type in NOT to exclude a term from a search, as in 'Hemingway NOT Ernest.' Boolean operators must be typed in upper-case letters; this is how they are distinguished from. Boolean operators work with most but not all popular search engines. [Sample at Google]

Q: How can I find a list of pages that belong to a specific Web site?

A: One way is to log on to the Web site and see whether there's a site map listed. Some sites provide one.

If not, though, you can use several tricks to search for pages within a particular domain, or Web site. First, you can use the 'site' command in most search engines to get a listing of pages that are indexed by the search engine you use.

Here's how. Log on to Google, Yahoo, or MSN, and in the search field, type the word 'site,' without quotation marks, followed by a colon (:) and the Web address of the site itself. If you want to find all of the pages on Microsoft.com, for example, you would type site:www.microsoft.com. Then press Enter or Search, and the search engine will return all of the pages of that site that are indexed. [Sample at Google]

Q: Is there any easy way for me to search for sites that are similar to a specific Web site?

A: Yes. You can use the prefix 'related,' followed by a colon (:) and then the site in question. Do not include spaces before or after the colon.

The 'related' limiter is, in fact, a seldom-used but terrific way to locate Web sites are similar to those that you enjoy the most. It's a far better way than trying to hunt down similar sites with a more general search term. If, for example, you're addicted to the site YouTube.com, you can go to Google or another search engine and type 'related:youtube.com' and press Enter. What you'll get are a list of sites that the search engine has categorized in the same way that it has categorised the site you include after the colon. [Sample at Google]

Q & A by Jay Dougherty

Plan and Win RM50,000

2008-04-30T22:20:00.005+08:00

FANCY learning about financial planning and at the same time grab a chance to win up to RM50,000?

Thanks to Axa Affin Life Insurance Bhd, now you can, by taking part in the online game contest Turning Point.

Turning Point is a virtual boardgame that simulates “quality-of-lifestyle and wealth-management experience,” the company said.

Axa Affin Life Insurance said the game is aimed at creating awareness among working Malaysians that financial planning is an important element in everyday life, and that life comes with obligations and surprises.

The contest ends on June 30, 2008, and is open to citizens and permanent residents of Malaysia age 21 years and above.

The top eight who accumulate the most points will be chosen as winners. The grand prize winner will walk away with RM50,000, second prize winner with RM10,000 while the third place winner will win RM5,000. Consolations prizes of RM1,000 each will be given to the next five winners.

Small Things Everyone Does

2008-04-29T21:37:00.002+08:00

With regard to man wreaking damage on the environment, one great scholar asks, “What is development if it is destroying our own future?” So, it is not the big things that the organisations do that count most. It is the small things everyone does that carry weight. As a Malay proverb says, “Sikit-sikit, lama-lama jadi bukit”, meaning “bit by bit it becomes a hill”.

In coming years, environmental issues will be a very important challenge to face.

How do we as consumers adapt to it? We can do the following small acts on our part to save the earth:

- Take your own bags for shopping to carry home groceries. Plastic bags are not eco-friendly and are non-biodegradable. Plastic bags take 400 years to bio-degrade.

- Use a bicycle or walk for short trips and local shopping. It’s 100% eco-friendly and keeps you fit.

- Turn off televisions, stereos and computers when not in use - they can use between 10% and 60% of the power when on and contribute to global warming.

- Prepare and bring home-cooked meals to work or school. It’s healthier and far more economical than eating outside.

- Collect unused paper products at home and take them to recycling centers. Recycling of wood products can save millions of trees a year.

- Stop using chemical pesticides. Planting certain plants in your kitchen garden, such as mint and basil can help to keep pests away.

- Replace lights used with compact energy saving fluorescent lamps. They use ¼ of electricity and last 4 times as long as a normal light bulb.

- Decide on what you need before opening the fridge. Repeated opening waste electricity and add up to your utility bills.

- Avoid using Styrofoam. It’s non-biodegradable and depletes the ozone layer.

- Volunteer for a green project in your local community. Start or join a community environment program to preserve the environment in your neighbourhood.

- Share the advice and tips you’ve learned on sustainable consumption with your family and friends.

- Cool your house the smart way. Use white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away. Air conditioners contribute to global warming.

- Buy locally grown food. Not only will you be saving money but you are also supporting the livelihood of local farmers.

- Help reduce the world’s rubbish dumps – don’t use disposable products like paper plates and napkins, plastic utensils and cups.

- Saving water means saving electricity; because one of the biggest users of electricity is supplying water and cleaning up sewage.

- Follow nature’s way to care for your garden. Use organic compost instead to improve soil health for gardening.

Source: FOMCA

Blogging Advices

2008-04-27T10:05:00.002+08:00

Born out of the necessity for certain quarters to reach out to the people effectively and personally, blogging has shown its prowess in the recent general election and now many politicians are getting into the act.
This is what Oon Yeoh commented in The Star, he is a writer and a New Media analyst.

Here are some advice from him on blogging:

- Don’t outsourcing blogging duties. It’s got to be from you and the postings have to reflect your true personality and world view. If there are some grammatical mistakes, so be it. What’s important is that it’s real.

- Don’t play it safe. Express yourself. Nobody wants to read boring, politically-correct comments.

- Post updates regularly, at least once a day, ideally more. But keep them short. A paragraph or two is plenty for blog postings.

- A good practice is to embed links into some keywords in your blog posting. Such links are useful because they make it easy for the reader to do follow-up reading on the topic you’re blogging about.

- Respond to comments or at the very least let them run. Blogging is not column writing. Nor is it a monologue but rather a dialogue between the blogger and his readers.

- Like any activity that requires discipline and hard work, once you stop blogging, you’ll get rusty and it’s pretty hard to get the momentum going again.

Financially Secure Marriage Planning

2008-04-25T22:25:00.003+08:00

SMATRT MONEY SERIES

Some married people would joke that there are three “Rings” in marriage – the Engagement Ring, the Wedding Ring and the Suffer-Ring! Ouch! How did that “ring” ever get onto our finger? Statistics have shown that one of the root causes of marital problems revolves around money. Just imagine if one individual can’t manage his finances well, what more when you put the two together (along with a few more juniors!)

Let’s Talk…

Are you a saver while your spouse is a spender? Coming together from two separate worlds, we may have our own ideas and feelings about money. We should sit down with our spouse to discuss how we regard and use money – be it how many pairs of shoes you “need” to buy to how many packs of cigarettes you smoke per month. Be honest about all debts and loans, especially if you have any outstanding credit card loans or the number of Ah Long “friends”! Being opened with your finances, you can be difficult but it’s better to share that information now than face surprises later. Talking about money early in your marriage may save you a lot of heartache.

Tying the Financial Knot

When we tie the knot, we have to ensure that our own financial knot is not entangled. It would be wise to be clear on each other’s roles and responsibilities pertaining to household finances. For example, who is going to pay the bills, save for children’s education and pay those monthly loan installments? It is also very important to decide on the issue of parental allowance as both parties have to agree on giving an acceptable amount to parents on both sides. Ideally, if both the husband and wife are working, they should maintain at least 3 accounts – “My Account”, “Your Account” and “Our Account”. This would allow each party to maintain some independence over their personal purchases while contributing their fair share towards joint expenses. Having a combined Cash Flow Statement showing “His”, “Her” and “Our” income and expenses, may be a good idea.

Another area is on the treatment of each other’s assets and liabilities. If a marriage starts on a clean sheet of paper, then both of you could still decide later on – either in joint names or in either party’s name. However, if the union comes with “excess baggage”, then the couple would need to be clear on how to deal with their existing personal assets and liabilities. Are they going to combine them or treat them separately as their own responsibilities? Very often, couples tend to carry over their liabilities into their marriage and that may be the bone of contention later on in their married life. Having a combined Net Worth Statement showing “His”, “Her” and “Our” assets and liabilities, may prevent any arguments.

Peace of Mind

Another very important area that should be looked into is Life Insurance. It would almost be a necessity to have sufficient coverage when we get married and start a family. This is because we are no longer living for ourselves anymore but also for our loved ones. Are we to leave our spouse and children in dire financial distress should something unfortunate happen to us? Life Insurance ensures that our dependents can pick up the pieces and carry on living with some measure of financial comfort. They need not worry about where the money coming from or whether they would still have a roof over their heads.

For those who already have some life insurances, it is advisable to review your benefits. You may need to drop some coverage if your spouse’s plan covers the family or perhaps enhance them to include your family. It is also advisable to update your beneficiaries if necessary. Ultimately, we want to optimize our benefits to be able to walk down the aisle with peace of mind.

Plan Your Financial Future Together

After reviewing what you have and expressing your feelings about money, you can now start planning your financial future together, which in essence is planning your life together as husband and wife. The other area may be your love nest. Where is it going to be? When is it going to be? Will it be landed or a “space in the air”? If landed, will it be single or double-storey or perhaps a semi-D or your very own bungalow? Property cost may be the single largest family expense and both of you have to manage your expectations.

The second thing may be children. Those bundles of joy may need bundles of cash too! It’s not too far-fetched to say that we may need as much as One Million Ringgit to raise a child in the future as a big chunk of it goes towards their education. Therefore, if the both of you decide to have a football team, then you’ll really need to sit down and start planning!

Last but not least, one of you may decide to quit job after marriage to concentrate on building a family. That’s not a bad idea but this topic should be discussed as early as possible to better prepare yourselves. Both of you have to agree on who’s going to be the “Finance Minister” and who’s going to be the “Home Minister”. It may be gradual (like going from full-time to part-time) or it may be immediate but the decision should not give raise to financial predicament.

Living Happily Ever After…

Marriage is just not a word; it’s a sentence… a life sentence! As you enter into this new stage of life, remember to review your finances together regularly as both of you will be taking a long journey together as man and wife. While Love is important, Money is a necessary ingredient towards a blissful marriage. So, start Planning for a Financially Secure Marriage so that we too, may one day have a fairytale ending: “… and they Lived Happily Ever After…”!

Source : AKPK
Related post:
Effective Cashflow Management
Control Your Spending Habit
7 ways to manage debts wisely
Secrets to achieving a loan-free life
Heed the warning signs
No problem$ if you plan well
Shop smart for the festivals
Resolutions to stay financially fit
Smart ways to spend your bonus
Spend smart during holidays

Effective Cashflow Management

2008-04-25T22:15:00.013+08:00

SMATRT MONEY SERIES
Do you ever wonder why there are “too many months at the end of your money?” Do you find it difficult to keep track of your expenses? Ask yourself this: “Who's the Boss - ME or MY MONEY?”

Who’s the Boss?

One of the areas of Financial Planning is Cashflow and Debt Management. In this regard, it is important that we understand the kind of relationship we have with our money - do we have Control over our money or does money Control us? Who is the Master and who is the Servant? If we allow our Cashflow and Debt to manage us, then money’s our master. On the other hand, if we can manage our Cashflow and Debt effectively, then we are the master of our finances.

Let's take a look at this simple guideline:

Who's in Control?	Master	Servant
Cashflow & Debt	Money	Man
YOU	Man	Money

The question now is: "How do we make Man the Master of His Money?" BUDGETING, of course! One of the tools in managing our Cashflow and Debt effectively is through Budgeting. Even our country practises this and it is important that we too, form a habit of budgeting and more importantly, sticking to it!

What’s a Budget?

For most of us, a budget is perceived as something that restricts our spending and its main purpose is to make us Save, Save and Save some more. That is why so many of us just don't get down to it. In reality, a budget is a plan for spending our money - it does not tie us down. In fact, it liberates us! It does not tell us what we cannot spend, but rather it tells us what we can spend on without having to feel guilty about it later.

Let's take a look at some Key Components of a Budget:

Cash Inflow	Cash Outflow
Salaries Bonuses Dividends Rental Income Interest Income Part-time Job	Fixed Expenses: Loan Repayment Children Education Life Insurance Premium Maid Salary	Variable Expenses Income Tax Food Utilities Gifts Travel/Holiday Entertainment Road Tax / Motor Insurance Medical Expenses Car / Home Repairs

There are basically two main components to a Budget: Cash Inflow (Income) and Cash Outflow (Expenses). We’d have a Surplus if our Income exceeds our Expenses. On the other hand, when our Expenses are more than our Income, this would result in a Deficit. This Deficit would either eat into out previous years’ savings or force us into debt.

Needless to say, our goal is to ensure that our income is more than our expenses and most people will focus on increasing their Income rather than controlling their Expenses. Ironically, in our pursuit of increasing our income, we "unconsciously" increase our Expenses as well! The end result - our Net Cash Flow position would remain relatively the same or worse-off!

How Do I Do It?

There are really no hard and fast rules but below are some simple yet effective strategies for better control over one's Cashflow through proper Budgeting:

1. LIST
a) List down all your sources of Income
b) List down all Expense Items for the month, categorizing them as either Fixed or Variable (do not overlook one-off lumpy expense items like Road-tax & Motor Insurance premiums)
c) Calculate the Net Cash Flow position (total inflows minus total outflows)

2. CHECK
a) Screen through the list of Variable Expense Items and try to identify items that can be done away with or delayed.
b) Do a reality check to see if the budget is realistic and take one step at a time (don't be too hard on yourself, for starters)

3. TRACK
Warning: This involves a great deal of Discipline!
Depending on your preference, you could either record all your spending on a daily basis with the help of a PDA or you may stick to the conventional "555 Pocket Booklet". If possible, try to keep the receipts for all your purchases and sort them out according to your budgeted itme. At the end of each week, transfer the numbers over to the Master Budget Record. Do this religiously for the next 30 days and it will become your second nature.

4. REVIEW
After the 30-day period, sit down with your spouse or an advisor to review your progress by comparing “Amount Budgeted” versus “Actual Amount Spent” and determine the reasons for the difference. Adjust your budget or spending, where necessary.

In Summary…

The main thing to bear in mind is to ensure that our Cash Inflows are always more than our Cash Outflows in order to have “Cash Overflows” or what is commonly known as Cash Surplus. Only then could we embark on the journey towards Financial Independence. A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. So, take your first step by preparing your Family Budget and more importantly, stick to 'em!

Source : AKPK
Related post:
Control Your Spending Habit
7 ways to manage debts wisely
Secrets to achieving a loan-free life
Heed the warning signs
No problem$ if you plan well
Shop smart for the festivals
Resolutions to stay financially fit
Smart ways to spend your bonus
Spend smart during holidays

Control Your Spending Habit

2008-04-25T22:01:00.004+08:00

SMART MONEY SERIES:

“To Spend or Not to Spend… that’s The Question!” How many times have this question crossed our minds? Almost every time when we take money out of pockets, right? Have a day passed by without us having spent a single cent? Unlikely! The question is not whether to spend or not but rather, How Do We Control Our Spending Habits. Below are some smart spending habits to adopt in order to be financially healthy.

Spend According to Budget

There is a Malay proverb that says “ukur baju di badan sendiri” that we should measure our clothes on our own shoulders. This is the equivalent of saying that we should spend according to our budget. We have already covered the topic on Budgeting in our previous article and to reiterate it: Budgeting is really a plan for us to spend without feeling guilty about it later. What is important here is that we need to have a “Spending Plan” in the first place. Without it, we would most likely be spending on impulse or what is commonly known as Impulse Buying. We can’t avoid impulse buying totally and it’s not wrong. There would be times when we just can’t resist that aroma flowing from that cup of Cappuccino or that pair of shoes or handbag which is on sale! However, when it becomes the norm rather than the exception, we have to be wary of our spending habit.

In preparing your Spending Plan, you should also learn to anticipate your needs. For example, if we are going to get ourselves new clothes for the coming festive season, get it earlier during the Mega Sale or whenever a good bargain comes our way (for example, during a warehouse sale or closing down sale). If we were to buy an umbrella each time it starts raining, we not only end up with too many umbrellas but may have to pay a premium for it. It is also advisable to budget for unexpected expenses like wedding angpows, car repairs, home repairs etc. These items, if not provided for, may throw us off-budget!

Compare Prices

Do we make it a habit to shop around before buying something or do we just buy it? Some of us might argue that the time and cost of shopping around before buying a bottle of cooking oil or a tube of toothpaste may not be worth it. True and that is why we have to be a Smart Consumer – we should plan our purchases and have a record of prices of these essential items. Here, we could devise our very own “Price Book” to record down the prices of the items that we buy regularly and know exactly where and when we could get the best deal!

For example, if Store A has the lowest prices for most of the items in our shopping list during weekdays, then we should plan our grocery shopping during the weekday there. However, if Store B has the best bargains during the weekends and we are only free during the weekends, we should go there instead. The point is – have a Shopping List, a Price Book and Stick to them. In fact, we can make this entire process a fun family activity by getting our children help in doing a “price survey” each time they go shopping. Each family member can then compare notes to see who can find the best bargain in town! This would not only help us in comparing prices but also teach our children the value of money.

Branded Stuff

What’s in a Name? Everything and it may be worth more than the product itself and as consumers, we tend to buy the brands that we trust the most. This is well and fine but when we end up buying things that we don’t need or can’t afford, it becomes a problem. Some of us buy branded stuff because we are influenced by the images conjured and emotional appeal created by the advertisement itself and not because we need it. As a Smart Consumer, we have to sometimes look beyond the brand and ask ourselves: “Do I really need it?”, “is it really worth that much?” and “Can I really afford it?” Don’t make purchases based on images or even what your friends have but rather on your needs and the merits of the product itself.

Buying Second-Hand Items

The thought of buying second-hand items might put some people off but this is a great way to stretch your Ringgit. The greatest benefit of doing so is to allow the first buyer to take the initial depreciation of the goods, which is normally the largest. Take for example of buying a brand new car. Most of the time, the new car owner would suffer between 10-20% depreciation of the value of his new car the moment he drives it out of the showroom! If he sells it after 3 years, he may sell it for two-thirds of the initial purchase price, if he is lucky! Imagine if you’d bought it from him… it’s like getting a “discount”. Yes, you may not get that “new smell” of a car but does it really matter? It may be worth the sacrifice as long as the car is well-maintained, accident-free and heavily discounted, don’t you think so?

Another good example of products that we may not want to buy it new is baby products, especially clothing and toys. Some of us might cringe at that idea but it is not uncommon. Baby clothing is not cheap and your baby will most likely wear for short period of time as the baby will outgrow the clothing very fast. Ideally, we could get hand-me-downs for free by dropping a hint here and there. Otherwise, we could either borrow or buy them second-hand from parents who will no longer need them anymore.

Buying Second-Hand items can also include new items sold at a fraction of their original price because of product defects, factory overruns and clearance of old stocks. Unless you are a celebrity or some very important public figure, you do not need to be spotted with the latest fashion or newest model of mobile phones, watches etc. If we do not mind the slight defects or it being a slightly older model, there are bounds of opportunities to grab a good bargain. There are numerous places to consider when buying these items, including warehouse sales, factory outlets, garage sales, junk stores and the flea markets. The process of bargaining can be quite fun and you will certainly sharpen your bargaining skills over time!

The Sleep Test

Shopping can be an addiction and is never easy to resist. We all know the symptoms when the buying bug bites… we feel the adrenalin rush that makes our hearts desire for it; then it goes right up our head and we start rationalizing about it. We tell ourselves that since we worked so hard, we truly deserve it and want to reward ourselves JUST THIS ONCE! Finally, it triggers our hands to dig into our pockets and out comes the “Plastic Card” – CHARGE IT!

Our will may be strong but our flesh is weak! After all, we are only humans, right? However, one effective way to counter this is through “sleeping over it”. This will be especially useful for big-ticket items like buying a new car, changing that old furniture set, renovating our home, buying that plasma/ LCD TV or even that home-theatre system or whatever else we are considering. Before committing ourselves to these items, sleep over it and take a closer look at our budget to see if the purchase fits into your current plan. Discuss it over with your spouse or family and take all the time you need to think it through carefully because once the money is gone, it’s gone!

Remember: When making your next purchase, ask yourself these questions: “Do I really NEED it?”, “Is it within my Budget?” “Is it the Best Deal?” “Can I find a cheaper Brand with the same value?” “Can I find a Second-Hand item instead?”

Be a Smart Consumer and let’s “Make Prudent Financial Management A Way of Life” today!

Source : AKPK
Related post:
7 ways to manage debts wisely
Secrets to achieving a loan-free life
Heed the warning signs
No problem$ if you plan well
Shop smart for the festivals
Resolutions to stay financially fit
Smart ways to spend your bonus
Spend smart during holidays

The 11th Hour - free Screenings

2008-04-15T21:48:00.005+08:00

In conjunction with Climate Change Week 2008, YTL brings Malaysians their only chance to watch Leonardo DiCaprio’s environmental docu-movie The 11th Hour on the big screen!

Produced and narrated by DiCaprio, this acclaimed documentary explores the impact we impose on Earth’s ecosystems and what each of us can do to change the course mankind is headed for.

Outstanding for its message of hope, this gripping docu-movie features dialogues with experts from all over the world, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking and over 50 leading scientists.

The 11th Hour was an official selection at Festival De Cannes, and was nominated Best Documentary at the 2007 Golden Satellite Awards.

Free public screenings will be held from Wed 30 Apr until Sun 4 May 2008 at the KL Performing Arts Centre (KLPac). [MAP]

To get a free pair of tickets, please register online HERE from Sat 11 - Tue 22 Apr 2008. Tickets will be allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis.

You will be informed via email by 23 April if you have been successful in getting tickets.

Successful registrants can then collect their free passes from The Platinum Plus Lounge, Starhill Gallery, Relish Floor on Saturday, 26 April and Sunday, 27 April from 10am - 10pm. Tickets that have not been collected will be released to other registrants.

The movie will not be shown in local cinemas so this is your only chance to catch it on the big screen!

Cite Mini Book Fair

2008-04-12T11:53:00.002+08:00

2008城邦迷你书展
日期：4月10日-4月16日
时间：11am-6pm
地点：11 Jln 30D/146 Sg Besi KL
电话：03-9056 3833
传真：03-9056 2833 (24x7)

配合世界书香日，城邦献上一份小小诚意，在其SHOWROOM搞一个迷你书展，提供一个书香观摩的机会，希望点燃您对阅读的热情！

城邦书讯 Vol. 16 2008 春季 [pdf]