Tag: How to

  • What is Biology?

    What is Biology?

    The study of living organisms, divided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behavior, origin, and distribution; The plants and animals of a particular area, and the physiology, behavior, and other qualities of a particular organism or class of organisms.

    Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, evolution, distribution, identification and taxonomy. Modern biology is a vast and eclectic field, composed of many branches and sub disciplines. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain general and unifying concepts within it that govern all study and research, consolidating it into single, coherent field. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, and evolution as the engine that propels the synthesis and creation of new species. It is also understood today that all the organisms survive by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable and vital condition known as homeostasis.

    History of Biology:

    The term biology is derived from the Greek word βίος, bios, “life” and the suffix -λογία, -logia, “study of.” The Latin-language form of the term first appeared in 1736 when Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) used biologi in his Bibliotheca botanica. It was used again in 1766 in a work entitled Philosophiae Naturalis sive physicae: tomus III, Continens Geologian, biologian, phytologian generalis, by Michael Christoph Hanov, a disciple of Christian Wolff. The first German use, Biologie, was in a 1771 translation of Linnaeus’ work. In 1797, Theodor Georg August Roose used the term in the preface of a book, Grundzüge der Lehre van der Lebenskraft. Karl Friedrich Burdach used the term in 1800 in a more restricted sense of the study of human beings from a morphological, physiological and psychological perspective (Propädeutik zum Studien der GE Samm ten Heilkunst). The term came into its modern usage with the six-volume treatise Biologie, oder Philosophie der lebenden Natur (1802–22) by Gottfried Reinhold Treviranus, who announced; The objects of our research will be the different forms and manifestations of life, the conditions and laws under which these phenomena occur, and the causes through which they have been effected. The science that concerns itself with these objects we will indicate by the name biology [Biologie] or the doctrine of life [Lebenslehre].

    Biology is the study of living things. It encompasses the cellular basis of living things, the energy metabolism that underlies the activities of life, and the genetic basis for inheritance in organisms. Biology also includes the study of evolutionary relationships among organisms and the diversity of life on Earth. It considers the biology of microorganisms, plants, and animals, for example, and it brings together the structural and functional relationships that underlie their day-to-day activities. Biology draws on the sciences of chemistry and physics for its foundations and applies the laws of these disciplines to living things.

    Biology living world scale
    Biology – Living World Scale

    Many sub disciplines and special areas of biology exist, which can be conveniently divided into practical and theoretical categories. Types of practical biology include plant breeding, wildlife management, medical science, and crop production. Theoretical biology encompasses such disciplines as physiology (the study of the function of living things), biochemistry (the study of the chemistry of organisms), taxonomy (classification), ecology (the study of populations and their interactions with each other and their environments), and microbiology (the study of microscopic organisms).

    Their fascination with biology has a long history. Even early humans had to study the animals that they hunted and know where to find the plants that they gathered for food. The invention of agriculture was the first great advance of human civilization. Medicine has been important to us from earliest history as well. The earliest known medical texts are from China (2500 B.C.), Mesopotamia (2112 B.C.), and Egypt (1800 B.C.).

    In classical times, Aristotle is often considered to be the first to practice scientific zoology. He is known to have performed extensive studies of marine life and plants. His student, Theophrastus, wrote one of the West’s earliest known botanical texts in 300 B.C. on the structure, life cycle and uses of plants. The Roman physician Galen used his experience in patching up gladiators for the arena to write texts on surgical procedures in A.D. 158.

    During the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci risked censure by participating in human dissection and making detailed anatomical drawings that are still considered among the most beautiful ever made. Invention of the printing press and the ability to reproduce woodcut illustrations meant that information was much easier to record and disseminate. One of the first illustrated biology books is a botanical text written by German botanist Leonhard Fuchs in 1542. Binomial classification was inaugurated by Carolus Linnaeus in 1735, using Latin names to group species according to their characteristics.

    Microscopes opened up new worlds for scientists. In 1665, Robert Hooke, used a simple compound microscope to examine a thin sliver of cork. He observed that the plant tissue consisted of rectangular units that reminded him of the tiny rooms used by monks. He called these units “cells.” In 1676, Anton von Leeuwenhoek published the first drawings of living single celled organisms. Theodore Schwann added the information that animal tissue is also composed of cells in 1839.

    During the Victorian era, and throughout the 19th century, “Natural Science” became something of a mania. Thousands of new species were discovered and described by intrepid adventurers and by backyard botanists and entomologists alike. In 1812, Georges Cuvier described fossils and hypothesized that Earth had undergone “successive bouts of Creation and destruction” over long periods of time. On Nov. 24, 1859, Charles Darwin published “On the Origin of Species,” the text that forever changed the world by showing that all living things are interrelated and that species were not separately created but arise from ancestral forms that are changed and shaped by adaptation to their environment.

    While much of the world’s attention was captured by biology questions at the macroscopic organism level, a quiet monk was investigating how living things pass traits from one generation to the next. Gregor Mendel is now known as the father of genetics although is papers on inheritance, published in 1866, went largely unnoticed at the time. His work was rediscovered in 1900 and further understanding of inheritance rapidly followed.

    The 20th and 21st centuries may be known to future generations as the beginning of the “Biological Revolution.” Beginning with Watson and Crick explaining the structure and function of DNA in 1953, all fields of biology have expanded exponentially and touch every aspect of our lives. Medicine will be changed by development of therapies tailored to a patient’s genetic blueprint or by combining biology and technology with brain-controlled prosthetics. Economies hinge on the proper management of ecological resources, balancing human needs with conservation. We may discover ways to save our oceans while using them to produce enough food to feed the nations. We may “grow” batteries from bacteria or light buildings with bioluminescent fungi. The possibilities are endless; biology is just coming into its own.

    Characteristics of Living Things:

    Defining a living thing is a difficult proposition, as is defining “life”—that property possessed by living things. However, a living thing possesses certain properties that help define what life is.

    Biology Human Lifecycle
    Biology Human Life-cycle

    Complex organization: Living things have a level of complexity and organization not found in lifeless objects. At its most fundamental level, a living thing is composed of one or more cells. These units, generally too small to be seen with the naked eye, are organized into tissues. A tissue is a series of cells that accomplish a shared function. Tissues, in turn, form organs, such as the stomach and kidney. A number of organs working together compose an organ system. An organism is a complex series of various organ systems.

    Metabolism: Living things exhibit a rapid turnover of chemical materials, which is referred to as metabolism. Metabolism involves exchanges of chemical matter with the external environment and extensive transformations of organic matter within the cells of a living organism. Metabolism generally involves the release or use of chemical energy. Nonliving things do not display metabolism.

    Responsiveness: All living things are able to respond to stimuli in the external environment. For example, living things respond to changes in light, heat, sound, and chemical and mechanical contact. To detect stimuli, organisms have means for receiving information, such as eyes, ears, and taste buds.

    To respond effectively to changes in the environment, an organism must coordinate its responses. A system of nerves and a number of chemical regulators called hormones coordinate activities within an organism. The organism responds to the stimuli by means of a number of effectors, such as muscles and glands. Energy is generally used in the process.

    Organisms change their behavior in response to changes in the surrounding environment. For example, an organism may move in response to its environment. Responses such as this occur in definite patterns and make up the behavior of an organism. The behavior is active, not passive; an animal responding to a stimulus is different from a stone rolling down a hill. Living things display responsiveness; nonliving things do not.

    Growth: Growth requires an organism to take in material from the environment and organize the material into its own structures. To accomplish growth, an organism expends some of the energy it acquires during metabolism. An organism has a pattern for accomplishing the building of growth structures.

    During growth, a living organism transforms material that is unlike itself into materials that are like it. A person, for example, digests a meal of meat and vegetables and transforms the chemical material into more of himself or herself. A nonliving organism does not display this characteristic.

    Reproduction: A living thing has the ability to produce copies of itself by the process known as reproduction. These copies are made while the organism is still living. Among plants and simple animals, reproduction is often an extension of the growth process. More complex organisms engage in a type of reproduction called sexual reproduction, in which two parents contribute to the formation of a new individual. During this process, a new combination of traits can be produced.

    Asexual reproduction involves only one parent, and the resulting cells are generally identical to the parent cell. For example, bacteria grow and quickly reach maturity, after which they split into two organisms by a process of asexual reproduction called binary fission.

    Evolution: Living organisms have the ability to adapt to their environment through the process of evolution. During evolution, changes occur in populations, and the organisms in the population become better able to metabolize, respond, and reproduce. They develop abilities to cope with their environment that their ancestors did not have.

    Evolution also results in a greater variety of organisms than existed in previous eras. This proliferation of populations of organisms is unique to living things.

    Ecology: The environment influences the living things that it surrounds. Ecology is the study of relationships between organisms and their relationships with their environment. Both biotic factors (living things) and abiotic factors (non-living things) can alter the environment. Rain and sunlight are non-living components, for example, that greatly influence the environment. Living things may migrate or hibernate if the environment becomes difficult to live in.

  • Do You Really Want to your Own a Business?

    Do You Really Want to your Own a Business?

    If “Yes” So, this article of post little help you How to Start. “Hope springs eternal in the human breast,” said English poet and essayist Alexander Pope several centuries ago. He wasn’t describing people expanding or starting a business, but he may as well have been. Everyone who goes into business for themselves hopes to meet or surpass a set of personal goals.

    A business (also known as an enterprise, a company or a firm) is an organizational entity involved in the provision of goods and services to consumers. Businesses serve as a form of economic activity and are prevalent in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and provide goods and services allocated through a market to consumers and customers in exchange for other goods, services, money, or other forms of exchange that hold intrinsic economic value. Businesses may also be social non-profit enterprises or state-owned public enterprises operated by governments with specific social and economic objectives. A business owned by multiple private individuals may form an incorporated company or jointly organize as a partnership. Countries have different laws that may ascribe different rights to the various business entities.

    The word “business” can refer to a particular organization or to an entire market sector (for example: “the financial sector”) or to the sum of all economic activity (“the business sector”). Compound forms such as “agribusiness” represent subsets of the concept’s broader meaning, which encompasses all activity by suppliers of goods and services.

    Sole Ownership: A sole proprietorship (ownership), also known as a sole trader, is owned by one person and operates for their benefit. The owner operates the business alone and may hire employees. A sole proprietor has unlimited liability for all obligations incurred by the business, whether from operating costs or judgments against the business. All assets of the business belong to a sole proprietor, including, for example, a computer infrastructure, any inventory, manufacturing equipment, or retail fixtures, as well as any real property owned by the sole proprietor.

    Do You Really Want to your Own a Business - Sole Ownership

    While your particular configuration is sure to be unique, perhaps you will agree with some of the ones I have compiled over the years from talking to hundreds of budding entrepreneurs.

    Independence: A search for freedom and independence is the driving force behind many businesspeople. Wasn’t it Johnny Paycheck who wrote the song “Take This Job and Shove It?”

    Personal Fulfillment: For many people, owning a business is a genuinely fulfilling experience, one that lifetime employees never know.

    Lifestyle Change: many people find that while they can make a good income working for other people, they are missing some of life’s precious moments. With the flexibility of small business ownership, you can take time to stop and smell the roses.

    Respect: Successful small business owners are respected, both by themselves and their peers.

    Money: You can get rich in a small business, or at least do very well financially. most entrepreneurs don’t get wealthy, but some do. If money is your motivator, admit it.

    Power: When it is your business, you can have your employees do it your way. There is a little Ghengis Khan in us all, so don’t be surprised if power is one of your goals. If it is, think about how to use this goal in a constructive way.

    Right Livelihood: From natural foods to solar power to many types of service businesses, a great many cause-driven small businesses have done very well by doing good.

    If owning a small business can help a person accomplish these goals, it’s small wonder that so many are started. Unfortunately, while the potential for great success exists, so do many risks. Running a small business may require that you sacrifice some short-term comforts for long-term benefits. It is hard, demanding work that requires a wide variety of skills few people are born with. But even if you possess (or more likely acquire) the skills and determination you need to successfully run a business, your business will need one more critical ingredient: money.

    You need money to start your business, money to keep it running, and money to make it grow. This is not the same thing as saying you can guarantee success in your small business if you begin with a fat wallet. now, let me confess to one major bias here. I believe that most small business owners and founders are better off starting small and borrowing, or otherwise raising, as little money as possible. Put another way, there is no such thing as “raising plenty of capital to ensure success.” Unless you, as the prospective business founder, learn to get the most mileage out of every dollar, you may go broke and will surely spend more than you need to. But that doesn’t mean that you should try to save money by selling cheap merchandise or providing marginal services. In today’s competitive economy, your customers want the best you can give them at the best price. They will remember the quality of what they get from you long after they have forgotten how much they paid.

    In practical terms, that means you must buy only the best goods for your customers. Anything that affects the image your business has in your customer’s mind should be first-rate. It also means that you shouldn’t spend money on things that don’t affect the customer. For example, unless you’re a real estate broker your customers probably won’t care if you drive an old, beat-up car to an office in a converted broom closet, as long as you provide them an honest product or service for an honest price. Save the nice car, fancy office, and mobile telephone until after your business is a success.

    Self-Evaluation Exercises

    Here’s a question to ponder: Are you the right person for your business? Because running a business is a very demanding endeavor that can take most of your time and energy, your business probably will suffer if you’re unhappy. Your business can become an albatross around your neck if you don’t have the skills and temperament to run it. Simply put, I’ve learned that no business, whether or not it has sound financial backing, is likely to succeed unless you, as the prospective owner, make two decisions correctly:

    • You must honestly evaluate yourself to decide whether you possess the skills and personality needed to succeed in a small business.
    • You must choose the right business.

    A small business is a very personal endeavor. It will honestly reflect your opinions and attitudes, whether or not you design it that way. Think of it this way: The shadow your business casts will be your shadow. If you are sloppy, rude, crafty, or naively trusting, your business will mirror these attributes. If your personal characteristics are more positive than those, your business will be more positive, too. To put this concretely, suppose you go out for the Sunday paper and are met by a newsie who is groggy from a hangover and badmouths his girlfriend in front of you. chances are that next Sunday will find you at a different newsstand.

    I’m not saying you need to be psychologically perfect to run a small business. But to succeed, you must ask people for their money every day and convince a substantial number of them to give it to you. By providing your goods or services, you will create intimate personal relationships with a number of people. It makes no difference whether you refer to people who give you money as clients, customers, patients, members, students, or disciples. It makes a great deal of difference to your chances of ultimate success if you understand that these people are exchanging their money for the conviction that you are giving them their money’s worth.

    The following self-evaluation exercises will help you assess whether you have what it takes to successfully run a small business. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open a computer file.

    Your Strong and Weak Points

    Take a few minutes to list your personal and business strengths and weaknesses. Include everything you can think of, even if it doesn’t appear to be related to your business. For instance, your strong points may include the mastery of a hobby, your positive personality traits, and your sexual charisma, as well as your specific business skills. Take your time and be generous.

    To provide you with a little help, I include a sample list for Antoinette Gorzak, a personal friend who has what she hopes is a good business idea: a slightly different approach to selling women’s clothing. You’ll get to know her better as we go along. Her strengths, weaknesses, fantasies, and fears are surely different from yours. So, too, almost certainly, is the business she wants to start. So be sure to make your own lists—don’t copy Antoinette’s.

    Your list of strong and weak points will help you see any obvious conflicts between your personality and the business you’re in or want to start. For example, if you don’t like being around people but plan to start a life insurance agency with you as the primary salesperson, you may have a personality clash with your business. The solution might be to find another part of the insurance business that doesn’t require as much people contact.

    Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that their personalities will have a direct bearing on their business success. An example close to the experience of folks at nolo involves bookstores. In the years since nolo began publishing, they have seen all sorts of people, from retired librarians to unemployed Ph.D.’s, open bookstores. A large percentage of these stores have failed because the skills needed to run a successful bookstore involve more than a love of books.

    General and Specific Skills Your Business Needs

    Businesses need two kinds of skills to survive and prosper: Skills for business in general and skills specific to the particular business. For example, every business needs someone to keep good financial records. on the other hand, the tender touch and manual dexterity needed by glassblowers are not skills needed by the average paving contractor. Next, take a few minutes and list the skills your business needs. don’t worry about making an exhaustively complete list, just jot down the first things that come to mind. make sure you have some general business skills as well as some of the more important skills specific to your particular business.

    If you don’t have all the skills your business needs, your backers will want to know how you will make up for the deficiency. For example, let’s say you want to start a trucking business. You have a good background in maintenance, truck repair, and long distance driving, and you know how to sell and get work. Sounds good so far—but, let’s say you don’t know the first thing about bookkeeping or cash flow management and the thought of using a computer makes you nervous. Because some trucking businesses work on large dollar volumes, small profit margins, and slow-paying customers, your backers will expect you to learn cash flow management or hire someone qualified to handle that part of the business.

    Your Likes and Dislikes

    Take a few minutes and make a list of the things you really like doing and those you don’t enjoy. Write this list without thinking about the business—simply concentrate on what makes you happy or unhappy.

    If you enjoy talking to new people, keeping books, or working with computers, be sure to include those. Put down all the activities you can think of that give you pleasure. Antoinette’s list is shown as an example.

    As a business owner, you will spend most of your waking hours in the business, and if it doesn’t make you happy, you probably won’t be very good at it. If this list creates doubts about whether you’re pursuing the right business, I suggest you let your unconscious mind work on the problem. most likely, you’ll know the answer after one or two good nights’ sleep.

    Specific Business Goals

    Finally, list your specific business goals. Exactly what do you want your business to accomplish for you? Freedom from 9 to 5? money—and if so, how much? more time with the children? making the world or your little part of it a better place? It’s your wish list, so be specific and enjoy writing it.

    How to Use the Self-evaluation Lists?

    After you’ve completed the four self-evaluation lists, spend some time reading them over. Take a moment to compare the skills needed in your business to the list of skills you have. do you have what it takes?

    Show them to your family and, if you’re brave, to your friends or anyone who knows you well and can be objective. of course, before showing the lists to anyone, you may choose to delete any private information that isn’t critical to your business. If you show your lists to someone who knows the tough realities of running a successful small business, so much the better. You may want to find a former teacher, a fellow employee, or someone else whose judgment you respect.

    What do they think? do they point out any obvious inconsistencies between your personality or skills and what you want to accomplish? If so, pay attention. Treat this exercise seriously and you will know yourself better. oh, and don’t destroy your lists. Assuming you go ahead with your business and write your business plan, the lists can serve as background material or even become part of the final plan.

    You have accomplished several things if you have followed these steps. You have looked inside and asked yourself some basic questions about who you are and what you are realistically qualified to do. As a result, you should now have a better idea of whether you are willing to pay the price required to be successful as a small businessperson. If you are still eager to have a business, you have said, “Yes, I am willing to make short-term sacrifices to achieve long-term benefits and to do whatever is necessary—no matter the inconvenience— to reach my goals.”

    Reality Check: Banker’s Analysis

    Banks and institutions that lend money have a lot of knowledge about the success rate of small businesses. Bankers are often overly cautious in making loans to small businesses. For that very reason it makes sense to study their approach, even though it may seem discouraging at first glance.

    Do You Really Want to your Own a Business - Bankers

    Banker’s Ideal

    Bankers look for an ideal loan applicant, who typically meets these requirements:

    • For an existing business, a cash flow sufficient to make the loan payments.
    • For a new business, an owner who has a track record of profitably owning and operating the same sort of business.
    • An owner with a sound, well-thought-out business plan.
    • An owner with financial reserves and personal collateral sufficient to solve the unexpected problems and fluctuations that affect all businesses.

    Why does such a person need a loan, you ask? He or she probably doesn’t, which, of course, is the point. People who lend money are most comfortable with people so close to their ideal loan candidate that they don’t need to borrow. However, to stay in business themselves, banks and other lenders must lend out the money deposited with them. To do this, they must lend to at least some people whose creditworthiness is less than perfect.

    Measuring Up to the Banker’s Ideal

    Who are these ordinary mortals who slip through bankers’ fine screens of approval? And more to the point, how can you qualify as one of them? Your job is to show how your situation is similar to the banker’s ideal.

    A good bet is the person who has worked for, or preferably managed, a successful business in the same field as the proposed new business. For example, if you have profitably run a clothing store for an absentee owner for a year or two, a lender may believe you are ready to do it on your own. All you need is a good location, a sound business plan, and a little capital. Then, watch out Neiman-Marcus!

    Further away from a lender’s ideal is the person who has sound experience managing one type of business, but proposes to start one in a different field. let’s say you ran the most profitable hot dog stand in the Squaw valley ski resort, and now you want to market computer software in the Silicon Valley of California. In your favor is your experience running a successful business. on the negative side is the fact that computer software marketing has

    no relationship to hot dog selling. In this situation, you might be able to get a loan if you hire people who make up for your lack of experience. At the very least, you would need someone with a strong software marketing background, as well as a person with experience managing retail sales and service businesses. naturally, both of those people are most desirable if they have many years of successful experience in the software marketing business, preferably in California.

    Use the Banker’s Ideal

    It’s helpful to use the bankers’ model in your decision-making process. Use a skeptical attitude as a counterweight to your optimism to get a balanced view of your prospects. What is it that makes you think you will be one of the minority of small business owners who will succeed? If you don’t have some specific answers, you are in trouble. most new businesses fail, and the large majority of survivors do not genuinely prosper.

    Many people start their own business because they can’t stand working for others. They don’t have a choice. They must be either boss or bum. They are more than willing to trade security for the chance to call the shots. They meet a good chunk of their goals when they leave their paycheck behind. This is fine as far as it goes, but in my experience, the more successful small business owners have other goals as well.

    A small distributor we know has a well thought-out business and a sound business plan for the future. Still, he believes that his own personal commitment is the most important thing he has going for him. He puts it this way: “I break my tail to live up to the commitments I make to my customers. If a supplier doesn’t perform for me, I’ll still do everything I can to keep my promise to my customer, even if it costs me money.” This sort of personal commitment enables this successful business owner to make short-term adjustments to meet his long-range goals. And while it would be an exaggeration to say he pays this price gladly, he does pay it.

    Note: This article of “Do You Really Want to your Own a Business?” from Internet and book of How to Write a Business Plan, only for share knowledge with help.

  • What is a Business Plan?

    What Is a Business Plan?

    A business plan is a written statement that describes and analyzes your business and gives detailed projections about its future. A business plan also covers the financial aspects of starting or expanding your business—how much money you need and how you’ll pay it back.

    Writing a business plan is a lot of work. So why take the time to write one? The best answer is the wisdom gained by literally millions of business owners just like you. Almost without exception, each business owner with a plan is pleased she has one, and each owner without a plan wishes he had written one.

    Why Write a Business Plan?

    Why Write a Business Plan?
    Why Write a Business Plan?

    Here are some of the specific and immediate benefits you will derive from writing your business plan.

    Helps You Get Money

    most lenders or investors require a written business plan before they will consider your proposal seriously. Even some landlords require a sound business plan before they will lease you space. Before making a commitment to you, they want to see that you have thought through critical issues facing you as a business owner and that you really understand your business. They also want to make sure your business has a good chance of succeeding.

    In my experience, about 35% to 40% of the people currently in business do not know how money flows through their business. Writing a business plan with this book teaches you where money comes from and where it goes. Is it any wonder that your backers want to see your plan before they consider your financial request?

    There are as many potential lenders and investors as there are prospective business owners. If you have a thoroughly thought-out business and financial plan that demonstrates a good likelihood of success and you are persistent, you will find the money you need. of course, it may take longer than you expect and require more work than you expect, but you will ultimately be successful if you believe in your business.

    Helps You Decide to Proceed or Stop

    one major theme of the book may surprise you. It’s as simple as it is important. You, as the prospective business owner, are the most important person you must convince of the soundness of your proposal. Therefore, much of the work you are asked to do here serves a dual purpose. It is designed to provide answers to all the questions that prospective lenders and investors will ask.

    But it will also teach you how money flows through your business, what the strengths and weaknesses in your business concept are, and what your realistic chances of success are.

    The detailed planning process described in this book is not infallible—nothing is in a small business—but it should help you uncover and correct flaws in your business concept. If this analysis demonstrates that your idea won’t work, you’ll be able to avoid starting or expanding your business. This is extremely important. It should go without saying that a great many businesspeople owe their ultimate success to an earlier decision not to start a business with built-in problems.

    Let’s You Improve Your Business Concept

    Writing a plan allows you to see how changing parts of the plan increases profits or accomplishes other goals. You can tinker with individual parts of your business with no cash outlay. If you’re using a computer spreadsheet to make financial projections, you can try out different alternatives even more quickly. This ability to fine-tune your plans and business design increases your chances of success.

    For example, let’s say that your idea is to start a business importing Korean leather jackets. Everything looks great on the first pass through your plan. Then you read an article about the declining exchange ratio of U.S. dollars to Korean currency. After doing some homework about exchange rate fluctuations, you decide to increase your profit margin on the jackets to cover anticipated declines in dollar purchasing power. This change shows you that your prices are still competitive with other jackets and that your average profits will increase. And you are now covered for any likely decline in exchange rates.

    Improves Your Odds of Success

    one way of looking at business is that it’s a gamble. You open or expand a business and gamble you’re and the bank’s or investor’s money. If you’re right, you make a profit and pay back the loans and everyone’s happy. But if your estimate is wrong, you and the bank or investors can lose money and experience the discomfort that comes from failure. (of course, a bank probably is protected because it has title to the collateral you put up to get the loan.)

    Writing a business plan helps beat the odds. most new, small businesses don’t last very long. And, most small businesses don’t have a business plan. Is that only a coincidence, or is there a connection between these two seemingly unconnected facts? my suggestion is this: let someone else prove the connection wrong. Why not be prudent and improve your odds by writing a plan?

    Helps You Keep on Track

    many business owners spend countless hours handling emergencies, simply because they haven’t learned how to plan ahead. This book helps you anticipate problems and solve them before they become disasters.

    A written business plan gives you a clear course toward the future and makes your decision making easier. Some problems and opportunities may represent a change of direction worth following, while others may be distractions that referring to your business plan will enable you to avoid. The black and white of your written business plan will help you face facts if things don’t work out as expected. For example, if you planned to be making a living three months after start-up, and six months later you’re going into the hole at the rate of $100 per day, your business plan should help you see that changes are necessary. It’s all too easy to delude yourself into keeping a business going that will never meet its goals if you approach things with a “just another month or two and I’ll be there” attitude, rather than comparing your results to your goals.

    Issues Beyond the Plan

    I have written this book to provide you with an overview of the issues that determine success or failure in a small business. Experienced lenders, investors, and entrepreneurs want a plan that takes these issues into account. of course, this book can’t cover everything. Here are some of the key business components that are left out of this initial planning process.

    Bookkeeping and Accounting

    This book discusses the numbers and concepts you as the business owner need to open and manage your small business. You have the responsibility to create bookkeeping and accounting systems and make sure they function adequately. One of the items generated by your

    accounting system will be a balance sheet. A balance sheet is a snapshot at a particular moment in time that lists the money value of everything you own and everything you owe to someone else.

    Taxes

    While there are a few mentions of tax issues throughout the book, most of the planning information doesn’t discuss how taxes will be calculated or paid. The book focuses its efforts on making a profit and a positive cash flow. If you make a profit, you’ll pay taxes and if you don’t make a profit, you’ll pay fewer taxes. A cPA or tax advisor can help you with tax strategies.

    Securities Laws

    If you plan to raise money by selling shares in a corporation or limited partnership, you’ll fall under state or federal securities regulations. You can, however, borrow money or take in a general partner without being affected by securities laws. A complete discussion of these issues is beyond the scope of this book. For now, take note that you must comply with securities regulations after you complete your plan and before you take any money into your business from selling shares or partnership interests.

    Your Management Skill

    This book shows you how to write a very good business plan and loan application. However, your ultimate success rests on your ability to implement your plans—on your management skills. If you have any doubts about your management ability, check out the resources other article. Also see another posts for a thought-stimulating discussion of management.

    Issues Specific to Your Business

    How successfully your business relates to the market, the business environment, and the competition may be affected by patents, franchises, foreign competition, location, and the like. of necessity, this book focuses on principles common to all businesses and does not discuss the specific items that distinguish your business from other businesses. For example, this post doesn’t discuss how to price your products to meet your competition; I assume that you have enough knowledge about your chosen business to answer that question.

  • How to Compare Between Management and Administration?

    Compare Between Management and Administration

    How to Compare Between Management and Administration? The use of two terms management and administration has been a controversial issue in the management literature. Some writers do not see any difference between the two terms, while others maintain that administration and management are two different functions. Those who held management and administration distinct include Oliver Sheldon, Florence, and TEAD, Spriegel and Landsburg, etc. According to them, management is a lower-level function and is concerned primarily with the execution of policies laid down by the administration. But some English authors like Brech are of the opinion that management is a wider term including administration.

    This controversy is discussed as under in three heads:

    (I) The administration is concerned with the determination of policies and management with the implementation of policies. Thus, the administration is a higher level function.

    (II) Management is a generic term and includes administration.

    (III) There is no distinction between the terms management and administration and they are used interchangeably.

    (I) The administration is a Higher Level Function: Oliver Shelden subscribed to the first viewpoint. According to him, “Administration is concerned with the determination of corporate policy, the coordination of finance, production, and distribution, the settlement of the compass of the organization and the ultimate control of the executive. Management proper is concerned with the execution of policy within the limits set up by the administration and the employment of the organization in the particular objects before it… Administration determines the organization; management uses it. Administration defines the goals; management strives towards it.”

    Administration refers to policy-making whereas management refers to the execution of policies laid down by the administration. This view is held by TEAD, Spriegel, and Walter. The administration is the phase of business enterprise that concerns itself with the overall determination of institutional objectives and the policies unnecessary to be followed in achieving those objectives. The administration is a determinative function; on the other hand, management is an executive function which is primarily concerned with carrying out of the broad policies laid down by the administration. Thus, administration involves broad policy-making and management involves the execution of policies laid down by the administration as shown;

    A Table of Compare Between Management and Administration;

      Basis Administration Management
    1. Meaning The administration is concerned with the formulation of objectives, plans, and policies of the organization. Management means getting the work done through and with others.
    2. Nature of work Administration relates to the decision-making. It is a thinking function. Management refers to the execution of decisions. It is a doing function.
    3. Decision-Making Administration determines what is to be done and when it is to be done. Management decides who shall implement the administrative decisions.
    4. Status Administration refers to higher levels of management. Management is relevant at lower levels in the organization.

    (II) Management is a Generic Term: The second viewpoint regards management as a generic term including administration. According to Brech, “Management is a social process entailing responsibility for the effective and economical planning and regulation of the operation of an enterprise in fulfillment of a given purpose or task. The administration is that part of management which is concerned with the installation and carrying out of the procedures by which the program is laid down and communicated and the progress of activities is regulated and checked against plans.” Thus, Brech conceives administration as a part of management. Kimball and Kimball also subscribe to this view. According to them, the administration is a part of management. The administration is concerned with the actual work of executing or carrying out the objectives.

    (III) Management and Administration are Synonymous: The third viewpoint is that there is no distinction between the terms ‘management’ and ‘administration’. Usage also provides no distinction between these terms. The term management is used for higher executive functions like the determination of policies, planning, organizing, directing and controlling in the business circles, while the term administration is used for the same set of functions in the Government circles. So there is no difference between these two terms and they are often used interchangeably.

    It seems from the above concepts of administration and management that administration is the process of determination of objectives, laying down plans and policies, and ensuring that achievements are in conformity with the objectives. Management is the process of executing the plans and policies for the achievement of the objectives determined by an administration. This distinction seems to be too simplistic and superficial. If we regard chairmen, managing directors, and general managers as performing administrative functions, it cannot be said that they perform only planning functions of goal determination, planning, and policy formulation, and do not perform other functions such as staffing functions of selection and promotion, or directing functions of leadership, communication, and motivation. On the other hand, we cannot say that managers who are responsible for the execution of plans and formulation of plans and policies, etc. do not contribute to the administrative functions of goal determination, and formulation of plans and policies. In fact, all managers, whether the chief executive or the first line supervisor, are in some way or the other involved in the performance of all the managerial functions. It is, of course, true that those who occupy the higher echelons of organizational hierarchy are involved to a greater extent in goal determination, plans and policy formulation and organizing than those who are at the bottom of the ladder.

  • How to Speak English Fluently?

    How to Speak English Fluently?

    Improve your speak English fluently with practice and gain the skills to speaking the language without stopping or stuttering.

    How to Speak English Fluently?

    Fluency is the ability to speak a language with ease, without any hiccups! Now, you must be wondering what I mean by ‘without any hiccups’. Do not take that literally! It is an idiom. An idiom is a group of words whose actual meaning is different from the literal meaning. ‘Without any hiccups’ does not mean speaking a language without suffering from a bout of hiccups, what it means is speaking a language without stopping and stuttering, and being unsure of how to use your words.

    Fluency means knowing how to use your words with ease and comfort. Fluency comes with practice. You cannot study every “How to speak English” book and expect to be fluent in the language. Practice is a must! Also, if you think you read well and so you must be fluent as well, you are mistaken! Reading and speaking are very different. The thing with leaning English is that you need not concentrate on the grammar while speaking. Concentrate on conversing. English is a weird language with a lot of loopholes. 

    Practice:

    Practicing speaking in English is a must. You cannot learn how to speak fluently otherwise. The reason for this is the slang that has infiltrated the language and also the utter lack of regard for grammatical rules while speaking. However, if one starts using correct grammar, by the book, English would sound extremely weird.

    Small talk:

    Learn how to begin a conversation. This will also grow your confidence. While standing in line, ask the person in front or behind you a simple question such as ‘What time is it?’ Try continuing with the conversation. If you have trouble understanding the person, politely ask them to repeat what they said. Normally, people say “I’m sorry?” but you could also say “Pardon”. 

    Confidence:

    Practicing English speech will require confidence. During a social gathering, start small conversations. Do not hesitate to ask the person to repeat him or herself. If you do not understand the meaning of a particular word or phrase, ask them to clarify. Chances are they know you are in the learning process and would gladly help. Do not think that you can go home and open Google translations and type in the word or phrase they used. This does not work! Also, do not feel embarrassed when somebody corrects you. You could also go to a karaoke bar!

    Listen:

    Reading and speaking is not enough. Listen to how people speak, the pronunciations, and the way words are use. Watch T.V., listen to songs etc. This way you are listening to other people speak and observe how they pronounce the words.

    Read books:

    Read novels. Concentrate on the formation of the sentences. Novels have dialogues, a conversation between two people that you can use to your advantage. Notice how people speak. They do not pay attention to the grammar as much as they do to talking. Also, when you are reading, mark every unusual phrase or word and find out what it means. Incorporate new words into your vocabulary.

    Do not translate:

    Avoid translating what you hear, or what you say. Translating a phrase from your mother tongue to English or vice versa will completely ruin the actual meaning of the phrase. It will also most likely be incorrect. Instead, use a dictionary.

    Study words and phrases:

    I’ve been using the term ‘phrases’ a lot. You may know a thousand words in the language, but putting them together and making an intelligible sentence could be difficult. This is because you are not concentrating on using the words you are learning. To speak fluently, you need to learn how to put words together into phrases and sentences.

    Idioms:

    Idioms are an essential part of the English language. You will find yourself dumbstruck if you do not understand idioms. You might hear somebody saying ‘break a leg’ to you before your English exam, and you would be baffled at why somebody would want you to break a leg. ‘Break a leg’ is actually an idiom meaning ‘best of luck’ or ‘I hope you do well’. Fluency in English requires the knowledge of idioms.

    Do not think of yourself as a student:

    To become fluent, think of yourself as a person who can speak English. You will make mistakes, but these are the building blocks. As a student, you would probably find yourself studying Grammar books. This is not important. To speak English properly, you do not need to study Grammar books. You would also be wasting a lot of your time by reading these books.

    Recruit a friend as a mentor:

    An English-speaking friend is the perfect person to be with when learning the language. Surrounding yourself with people who can speak English fluently is important. You can ask a friend to help you along the way. Make it a point to talk in English, no matter how scattered it sounds. Ask friends and colleagues to correct you if you are wrong.

    Movies and songs:

    Build a library of English songs and movies. This works better than just reading or listening to others speak. Songs and movies stick to your mind. ‘My Fair Lady’ is a good movie to watch since you are learning English.

    Think in English:

    Make it a point to think in English and not your mother tongue. Whenever you are talking to yourself or thinking, do it in English. This way you will become more comfortable with the idea of speaking and learning the language.

    Record yourself:

    Every night before going to bed, record your day’s events in an audio journal in English. You will find that you speak much better when you do not have to worry about embarrassing yourself in front of others. When you realize that you can speak reasonably well without stumbling around, your confidence will grow and you will find yourself initiating conversations. Incorporate these points in your day-to-day life.

    Note: Steps to Start Improving instantly;

    • Watch an English movie twice and concentrate on how a person speaks,
    • On a piece of paper, note down all idioms and colloquialisms you come across,
    • Look up their meanings,
    • Make your own sentences and try incorporating them in your everyday life.