? What is Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a new currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are made with no middle men – meaning, no banks! There are no transaction fees and no need to give your real name. More merchants are beginning to accept them: You can buy webhosting services, pizza or even manicures.

Why Bitcoins?

Bitcoins can be used to buy merchandise anonymously. In addition, international payments are easy and cheap because bitcoins are not tied to any country or subject to regulation. Small businesses may like them because there are no credit card fees. Some people just buy bitcoins as an investment, hoping that they’ll go up in value.

Acquiring Bitcoins

Buy on an Exchange
Several marketplaces called “bitcoin exchanges” allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. Mt. Gox is the largest bitcoin exchange.

Transfers
People can send bitcoins to each other using mobile apps or their computers. It’s similar to sending cash digitally.

Mining
People compete to “mine” bitcoins using computers to solve complex math puzzles. This is how bitcoins are created. Currently, a winner is rewarded with 25 bitcoins roughly every 10 minutes.

Owning Bitcoins

Bitcoins are stored in a “digital wallet,” which exists either in the cloud or on a user’s computer. The wallet is a kind of virtual bank account that allows users to send or receive bitcoins, pay for goods or save their money. Unlike bank accounts, bitcoin wallets are not insured by the FDIC.

Wallet in cloud: Servers have been hacked. Companies have fled with clients’ Bitcoins.

Wallet on computer: You can accidentally delete them. Viruses could destroy them.

Anonymity

Though each bitcoin transaction is recorded in a public log, names of buyers and sellers are never revealed – only their wallet IDs. While that keeps bitcoin users’ transactions private, it also lets them buy or sell anything without easily tracing it back to them. That’s why it has become the currency of choice for people online buying drugs or other illicit activities.

Future in question

No one knows what will become of bitcoin. It is mostly unregulated, but that could change. Governments are concerned about taxation and their lack of control over the currency.
Source:CNNMoney

مدیریت بر مبنای هدف :(Management by Objectives (MBO

What is Management by Objective?

The process of setting objectives in the organization to give a sense of direction to the employees is called as Management by Objectives.

Management by Objectives; a system that seeks to align employees' goals with the goals of the organization. This ensures that everyone is clear about what they should be doing, and how that is beneficial to the whole organization. It's quite easy to see why this type of managing makes sense – when the parts work in unison the whole works smoothly too. And by focusing on what you're trying to achieve, you can quickly discriminate between tasks that must be completed, and those that are just a waste of valuable time.

Some of the important features and advantages of MBO are:

1. Motivation – Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing employee empowerment. This increases employee job satisfaction and commitment.
2. Better communication and coordination – Frequent reviews and interactions between superiors and subordinates helps to maintain harmonious relationships within the organization and also to solve many problems.
3. Clarity of goals
4. Subordinates tend to have a higher commitment to objectives they set for themselves than those imposed on them by another person.
5. Managers can ensure that objectives of the subordinates are linked to the organization's objectives.

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محیط سازمانها و مدیران - The Environment of Organizations and Managers

categorized:Organization

Environmental factors play a major role in determining an organization's success or failure. Managers should strive to maintain the proper alignment between their organization and its environment.

All organizations have both external and internal environments.

The external environment is composed of general and task environment layers. The general environment is composed of the nonspecific elements of the organization's surroundings that might affect its activities. It consists of five dimensions: economic, technological, sociocultural, political-legal, and international. The effects of these dimensions on the organization are broad and gradual. The task environment consists of specific dimensions of the organization's surroundings that are very likely to influence the organization. It also consists of five elements: competitors, customers, suppliers, regulators, and strategic partners. Because these dimensions are associated with specific organizations in the environment, their effects are likely to be more direct and immediate.

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Definition of 'Microfinance'

A type of banking service that is provided to unemployed or low-income individuals or groups who would otherwise have no other means of gaining financial services. Ultimately, the goal of microfinance is to give low income people an opportunity to become self-sufficient by providing a means of saving money, borrowing money and insurance.

Micro financing is not a new concept. Small microcredit operations have existed since the mid 1700s. Although most modern microfinance institutions operate in developing countries, the rate of payment default for loans is surprisingly low - more than 90% of loans are repaid. 

Like conventional banking operations, microfinance institutions must charge their lenders interests on loans. While these interest rates are generally lower than those offered by normal banks, some opponents of this concept condemn microfinance operations for making profits off of the poor.

The World Bank estimates that there are more than 500 million people who have directly or indirectly benefited from microfinance-related operations.

Source: Investopedia 

دانلود کتاب الکترونیکی واژه های کسب و کار - Business Words You Should know

When you hear a business word you don’t understand, look it up and close the book. Easy. But it can be much more than that as well, depending on your needs.

فرمت: pdf

زبان: انگلیسی

حجم: 1.656kb

دانلود کتاب الکترونیکی واژه های کسب و کار

?What is Multi-Level Marketing

Definition: Multilevel marketing (MLM) is a business structure in which products are marketed directly to consumers (which is known as direct selling) by sales representatives (or distributors) whose compensation is based on their own product sales as well as the sales of the distributors whom they recruited to the multilevel marketing company. These recruits are called their down line. MLM sales reps do not receive a salary. Compensation is based on commissions and/or bonusesven; no salary is given.

Multilevel marketing, also known as “network marketing,” is a legitimate way of selling goods or services through independent distributors. Generally, independent sales people do not receive a salary. Instead, they are compensated through commissions based on the sale of products, both for their own sales as well as on the sales of those they recruit and support. Legitimate  MLM's base compensation primarily on the amount of products sold - not on the mere act of recruiting. That is a key difference between Pyramid Schemes and  MLM's.

MLM's are also known as:

• direct selling

• network marketing,

• affiliate marketing, or

• home-based business franchising plans

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Social marketing

Social marketing is the systematic application of marketing, along with other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioral goals for a social good. Social marketing can be applied to promote merit goods, or to make a society avoid demerit goods and thus promote society's well being as a whole. For example, this may include asking people not to smoke in public areas, asking them to use seat belts, or prompting to make them follow speed limits.

Although "social marketing" is sometimes seen only as using standard commercial marketing practices to achieve non-commercial goals, this is an oversimplification. The primary aim of social marketing is "social good", while in "commercial marketing" the aim is primarily "financial". This does not mean that commercial marketers can not contribute to achievement of social good.

Increasingly, social marketing is being described as having "two parents a "social parent" = social sciences and social policy, and a "marketing parent" = commercial and public sector marketing approaches.

Beginning in the 1950s when Wei-be asked "Why can’t you sell brotherhood and rational thinking like you can sell soap?”, the concept has in the last two decades matured into a much more integrative and inclusive discipline that draws on the full range of social sciences and social policy approaches as well as marketing.

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مدیر آینده یک مربی است - The manager of the future is a coach

The role of the manager will increasingly become that of the coach: making demands of the employee regarding new goals and then helping the employee to reach these goals.

The managers of the future are going to focus on ensuring the development of employees and organization. They will lend a hand in turning words into action and coaching the individual in reaching his or her goals as well as those of the organization.

Management is making people do something they otherwise wouldn't have done. This does not mean that the manager should return to the whip and military discipline and that the organization should rebuild the pyramids with hierarchies and long lines of command. Far from it. This means that the manager along with each employee must set goals for his or her development that harmonies with the company's overall goals and strategies. And this means that the manager regularly should hold the employee onto 'the narrow path of virtue' towards the agreed goals and help the employee to get there.

The most important task of the manager may be to create a company culture where following up is a given - not something perceived as mistrust or accusation, but rather as an offer. The role of the manager will increasingly become that of the coach: making demands of the employee regarding new goals and then helping the employee to reach these goals.

Author: Martin an independent consultant and lecturer

Role of a Leader

Following are the main roles of a leader in an organization:

Required at all levels: Leadership is a function which is important at all levels of management. In the top level, it is important for getting co-operation in formulation of plans and policies. In the middle and lower level, it is required for interpretation and execution of plans and programs framed by the top management. Leadership can be exercised through guidance and counseling of the subordinates at the time of execution of plans.

Representative of the organization: A leader, i.e., a manager is said to be the representative of the enterprise. He has to represent the concern at seminars, conferences, general meetings, etc. His role is to communicate the rationale of the enterprise to outside public. He is also representative of the own department which he leads.

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مفاهیم ششگانه مدیریتی که در موردشان مبالغه شده است./ مترجم: بهنام دادخواه

Six Most Overrated Management Concepts

این مفاهیم معمول یک دنیا افکار درهم و برهمی را در خود پنهان می کنند. به هیچ وجه در دام این اصطلاخات صنفی گرفتار نشوید. تأسیس یک شرکت موفق بیش از هر چیزی به یک تفکر روشن نیاز دارد.

متأسفانه دهها مورد از مفاهیم مدیریتی وجود دارند که نه تنها موفقیت را آسان تر نمی کنند بلکه گرایش به تشویق ایده های نامناسب و تصمیمات بد دارند. اطمینان حاصل نمایید که در هیچ یک از این تله ها گرفتار نشوید!

برای مشاهده متن اصلی روی لینک زیر کلیک کنید:

Six Most Overrated Management Concepts

These common buzzwords hide a world of sloppy thinking. Don't get stuck in any of these jargon traps.

Making a company successful requires, above all, clear thinking.

Unfortunately, there are dozens of management concepts that, far from making success easier, tend to encourage fuzzy ideas and bad decisions.

Make sure you're not falling into any of these traps:

برای مشاهده متن اصلی کلیک کنید.

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SWOT Analysis Example

In SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, the analyst first looks into the business unit to identify its strengths and weaknesses. The analyst then reviews the environment in which the business unit operates and identifies opportunities presented by that environment and the threats posed by that environment. The following lists show questions that an analyst would ask in conducting a SWOT analysis.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

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Steps to Improving Employee Performance

Here are some suggested steps to conducting an effective performance improvement conversation:

1) Start the conversation stating something the employee does well. This will help the employee be more open to hearing about where improvement is needed.

2) Describe the problem (performance issue) clearly and in a non-threatening way. Talk about the specific behavior and refrain from discussing personality traits. Discuss what the person did and not who the person is. Always remain positive explaining that you will be an active partner in correcting the situation.

3) Ask for the employee’s help in solving the problem. Mutually discuss alternative solutions and mutually agree on actions to be taken to solve the problem. Try to use the employee’s solution where possible. When the employee’s ideas are part of the solution, he/she will be more committed to making it work.

4) Provide resources to help. In some instances, there’s an easy remedy to the situation. Possibly a better process/procedure is needed to help the employee become more efficient. Alternatively, the employee may need some additional training or a class to develop a certain skill.

5) Set a specific action plan with follow up dates. Ask questions to make sure the employee understands what is expected. Then develop an action plan that specifies performance expectations and the date for completion. (E.g. the first draft of the PowerPoint presentation should be completed in one week.) You should ensure that there are checkpoints along the way so that there’s an opportunity for changing course if necessary.

6) End on a positive note. It is important to communicate to the employee that you are confident he/she can solve this problem and make a positive contribution to the organization.

7) Follow up and recognize improvement. Remember to hold the follow up meeting when you initially specified. Recognize any improvement and continue to coach the person in sustaining this improvement. If improvement has not occurred, then move to the disciplinary process.

Although these steps cannot ensure improved performance, they are a start in the process. Improving employee performance can be a win-win for everyone. The employee wins by learning what is needed to enhance performance, thereby changing behavior and becoming a more productive member of the organization. The manager wins by counseling a person to achieve desired behavior thereby resulting in a more productive and satisfied employee. Lastly, the organization wins by retaining motivated employees who understand their role and the roles of others in contributing to the goals and culture of the organization.

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By Sandy Albert & Cathy Rim sky

Important Aspects of Data Management

Data Resource Management is the development and execution of architectures, policies, practices and procedures that properly manage the full data lifecycle needs of an enterprise.

This definition is fairly broad and encompasses a number of professions, which may not have direct technical contact with lower-level aspects of data management, such as relational database management.

Data modeling

In information system design, data modeling is the analysis and design of the information in the system, concentrating on the logical entities and the logical dependencies between these entities.

Data modeling is an abstraction activity in that the details of the values of individual data observations are ignored in favor of the structure, relationships, names and formats of the data of interest, although a list of valid values is frequently recorded.

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Benefits of distance education

Flexible delivery allows you to fit study around work, social or family commitments. You can study at home, in the office, or any place and time that suits you.

Benefits of distance education

The advantages of studying by distance education allow you to:

• change or enhance your career prospects wherever you are - rural, metropolitan or overseas
• fit study around work, social or family commitments. You can even study at home in your PJs!
• vary your study load to suit your schedule - full-time or part-time distance study is available with many CSU degrees
• develop and demonstrate your autonomy through self-motivation and self-direction of your degree

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چگونه ایده ای را به رئیستان بفروشید؟ ... ? How to Sell an Idea to Your Boss

What do you do if you're a middle manager who sees the big picture but you work for a boss who only focuses on the here and now?

That was the heart of question I received at recent workshop I conducted on leading from the middle for a national conference of training and development professionals. It was clear that the questioner had had first-hand experience with a boss who wanted his direct reports to know their place and not be thinking or acting big. And therein lies the challenge for eager, upwardly mobile self-starting managers: you want to put your ideas into play and see their results, but your boss only wants you to do what you're told.

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