Dec 28

Fax is still the most widely preferred way to send images. The major disadvantage in terms of meetings, at least for collaboration, is that outputs from fax machines cannot be modified. Also, the quality is often very poor. If you want recipients to be able to modify still images, the best bet is to send graphic files as e-mail attachments. Of course, it’s necessary to send it in a format that can be altered and to make sure that any recipients have the appropriate software to alter the files.

Also, make sure that all recipients can receive attachments-and that they know the maximum size allowed. If your files are too big, a compression program (such as WinZip) may reduce them to an acceptable size. Of course, your recipients need to have the same program or one that’s compatible to restore the files to their original format.

As a last resort, you may need to save the files to a CD and send it by mail-which can take a lot of time and effort, especially if there are more than a few people collaborating and/or they’re spread out across borders.
There are other disadvantages to collaborating through email attachments:

  • Sending large attachments can take a long time, especially with dialup connections.
  • When any member of the group modifies a document, that version needs to be sent to all members.
  • If two or more members of the group modify the same document at the same time, somebody must merge the changes into a single version manually.

If your meetings involve much modification of files, data conferencing would be a better way.

Taken From : The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings

Dec 27

A good article must be through some steps of re-reading and even re-writing. This is what is called as the step on doing some editing. Any article shall have editing process to remove some unimportant words and to check whether the ideas are already constructed cohesively and coherently. And most of the time, somebody (with a good practice of the language and those who are experienced in editing) will know and see the spot at where the unimportant excess shall be removed.

The editing is most important for students. This even emerging when the paper is used as a proof that they understand and master the topic and any other subject that the teachers or professors give. Yet, as well as we know, students most of the time are in such hectic times, especially in the end of semester. There are just so many tasks that the students have to accomplish and be done within a short time. Then, there will be essay editing missed, and the ideas the students try to convey do not seen clearly and the mark is not good enough.

Avoid this to happen as students can now have online essay editing service that will gladly do some helps to read, suggest and edit some things that shall not be there in the essay!

Dec 24
Discussion Lists
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A discussion list is a community connected by a program that distributes every e-mail from any subscriber (member of the group) to every other subscriber, automatically. This is a convenient way of creating a forum for meetings, with two advantages over e-mail:

  • It allows for archiving all messages automatically, which can be useful for later reference.
  • It allows for adding people to the group at any time, because they can catch up on what has happened earlier.

As with e-mail, discussion groups can make it easier for meeting participants to contribute because they have time to organize their thoughts and express them more carefully. This is usually an advantage, especially for people who have trouble with language or who are not native users of English. Read the rest of this entry »

Dec 23

Mobile phone is now becoming a primary need for everyone. Just by having one mobile phone, you can get all the great features to cheer up your day. Today’s mobile phone is not only used to make a call and sending text messaging. It can be used for many purposes. You can use your mobile phone to enjoy music, watching TV shows, movies, and other multimedia, accessing the internet, taking photograph or video, playing games, and even do computer work. Mobile phone is not only a communicational tool but it is also a tool to access all the modern entertainment.

Since your mobile phone is your essential partner in living your life, you need to buy the best one so you can gain the highest satisfaction from the features in it. In the modern world today, you don’t need to visit the phone stores one by one just to find the perfect one. You can shop your dream mobile phone online. You just need to sit back on your couch in front of your computer connected to internet then making one click to Phone-shops.co.uk to access your online Phone shops. This website provides various choices of phone shops you can visit to find the best deal of your dream mobile phone. You can compare mobile phones from different brands with the help of this site.  It is because this website also provides reviews of phones. You can read them to find out the features of certain mobile phone series. You can check the latest mobile phone series from many manufacturers by visiting this website. You will be able to get the detail information about each mobile phone series by reading the review of it. It will give you reference in finding the mobile phone you need. This website is your only destination to get direct access to the leading mobile phone shops online. The website also provides the review of each mobile phone store.

Read the review carefully because each mobile phone store has special feature. You can only get the best deal for your mobile phone if you visit the right mobile phone shop. Whenever you are about to buy a new mobile phone, all you have to do is just visit the website. You will definitely enjoy your search for the perfect mobile phone at this website because it is the most convenient way for mobile phone shopping. Anytime you want to shop mobile phone, just click the website and enjoy your shopping.

Dec 19
E-mail discussions
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E-mail discussions also make it easier for members of the group to participate passively: they may read every e-mail they receive, but send out few or none. The facilitator may want to send out occasional reminders to encourage the quiet members to get involved in the exchange.

Of course, there will also be members who will be very active, pouncing on the keyboard to reply to every e-mail received. Here again, the facilitator may want to remind the group about the need to allow all  members to participate. Read the rest of this entry »

Dec 17

In business world, information is the most important thing that you need to have and updating. With latest information, you will know how the business world condition is, so you can take a good decision for your business in that situation. And in the end, you will get the best result from it. You also need to have good management for your business.

The best media that you can use to find latest information about business world and everything that happens in it is internet. And Thane-Richie.com is one of the best website where you can find all the latest news about Ritchie Capital Management, which are one of the successful company in driving change that interest in clean energy, whole food, low cost effective health care, remote/mobile diagnostic and urban farming. If you want to know about what the next step and achievement of this company, this website will give you the information that you need. You also can comment and share information here.

So, visit this website and find the latest and updated news about this management company. You will know the best news that you can use as your reference to decide what your business next step in business world. And hopefully, you can step to the right and successful track.

Dec 15
E-mail
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Electronic mail is ideal for making announcements, sharing information, and eliciting opinions. It’s also practical for serial meetings, in which participants can exchange information, opinions, suggestions, and so forth over a period of time. In fact, for some topics a discussion by e-mail might be more appropriate than a brief one-hour meeting, because an e-mail discussion allows participants more time to think and to consult resources.

An e-mail message will usually consist primarily of text, but it’s possible to attach files to the messages, allowing participants to share documents, images, graphics, audio, and video-if each has the software to open the files.

E-mail is fast-sometimes almost synchronous. It’s convenient. It’s inexpensive. The technology is almost universal and simple to use. Also, e-mail may encourage people to be more candid, because they can’t see the others to whom they’re sending their messages.

Unlike synchronous means of communication, it allows people time to think. This may be an advantage particularly for people who are introverts or who are less at ease when they feel pressured to act quickly.

Each participant has a copy of every contribution-although sometimes messages can become so long and involved with replies that it’s difficult to sort out the pieces. That’s why it’s useful to establish a protocol, such as the following:

  • Keep contributions short, focused on one issue at a time.
  • Identify the issue in your subject line.
  • Begin each e-mail with your name, so it’s easy to know immediately who’s saying what.
  • Put your contribution at the top of your e-mail, not inserted into previous texts.
  • Make contributions easy to read: short sentences, short paragraphs.

Since e-mail has become so essential to most people in business, there’s generally no need to explain how to use this technology. However, even experienced users will occasionally make mistakes, such as using “Reply” rather than “Reply All” or neglecting to identify the subject appropriately.

There are other potential problems. Do all members of the group have access to computers? If not, then make sure that you’re also using alternative channels for communication. Technology should help us expand opportunities for collaboration, not exclude people or make them feel marginalized.

Bear in mind, too, that not all people who have e-mail accounts check their e-mail regularly. Because the technology allows almost instantaneous exchanges, that’s what we expect, so it can be frustrating meeting by e-mail with people who check their inboxes only a few times during the day or who take a long time to reply. It’s important, then, to start serial meetings by expressing expectations, e.g., “Since we’d like to take care of this issue within the next day or two, please check your e-mail every hour or so and reply to messages as quickly as possible.”

Taken From : The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings

Dec 11
Follow-up
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After the audio conference, use e-mail or fax to distribute the minutes and to encourage participants to ask any questions or share any concerns. If not all members of the group have access to computers, use alternative channels for communication.

Make available (on the organization’s intranet or in the library) any records of the meeting-any  presentations, audiotapes, videotapes, and so forth.

Set up a discussion list to allow further exploration of issues raised during the audio conference.

Taken From : The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings

Dec 8
Meeting
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Start by asking each participant to identify himself or herself and-if any of the participants do not know each other-to explain briefly why he or she is involved in the meeting. This helps create a feeling of  community and sets the tone for the meeting. It’s also a good way to test the quality of the audio-far better than repeating, “Testing, 1, 2, 3″ again and again, because it invites the participants to think about the people, rather than focus on the technology.

It’s a good idea to post the names of all participants and their locations on a flipchart at each location, to create a “map” of the group. People who will be meeting together over a period of time can send photos of themselves, so there’s also a visual sense.

After you review the agenda and objectives, establish guidelines for audio conferencing, such as the  following:

  • Identify yourself when you start to speak; e.g., “Pat Ohura, from Production, in Kalamazoo”-whatever it takes so that participants at other sites know who’s talking.
  • Pause from time to time to allow questions or other reactions- or just so others can take notes.
  • Keep your contributions brief. If others want to know more, they’ll ask.
  • If you point to something on any materials, such as charts or handouts, specify what you’re indicating.
  • Imagine that the room is totally dark or your eyes are closed. That’s how you’re coming through to remote participants: if they can’t hear it, you’re not communicating it.

The facilitator should try to involve all participants and make it clear who should contribute when. It may be necessary to direct questions and comments to specific individuals or at least specific locations, for two reasons. First, without any visual cues, participants are likely to hesitate to contribute. Second, without visual cues, it’s more likely that more than one participant at a time will start talking.

Somebody at each site should explain any actions or silence at that location: e.g., “Pam is writing the ideas on a flipchart and Todd is taking notes, which he’ll fax to you during the break,” or “The silence here is all of us pondering that question.”

At the end of the meeting, the participants should evaluate it. What worked?
How could the meeting process be improved?

Taken From : The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings

Dec 4
Audio Conferencing
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Also known as a conference call, an audio conference connects three or more people by telephone or through the Internet.

The primary advantages of an audio conference are that it saves time and money, it’s relatively simple to set up, and it’s easy for people unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with newer technology. It’s an effective way to meet when there’s no need to share visual materials or when the materials have already been shared through some other means, such as by e-mail, fax, or delivery service.

Preparation

E-mail or fax the agenda and send any other materials in advance. Emphasize the importance of preparing. Pauses that would seem natural and normal in a face-to-face meeting can seem very long when the  interaction of participants is aural only.
Emphasize that all participants must be ready to begin the conference on time. Ask remote participants to connect fiveminutes before the scheduled start time. If any participants are in different time zones, state the start time in all the relevant time zones, so there are no misunderstandings.
Allow in your agenda for a possible late start and delays due to technological problems as well as for a different “feeling of community” among participants. Take precautions to keep your location quiet and free from distractions and interruptions. Remind all remote participants to do the same. Noises can divert attention and even be confusing when your only contact is aural. Side conversations can disrupt any meeting, but they’re definitely to be discouraged when audio conferencing.

If any site is using a speakerphone, test the acoustics of the room to make sure that all participants are coming through loud and clear and that there are no echoes or other disruptive sounds.

Taken From : The Manager’s Guide to Effective Meetings

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