“Social Accountability”- conformance to SA8000 Standards to effectively compete in the global market. What is SA8000? Social accountability standards SA8000 is an internationally recognized measure of compliance with reference to good practice in human resource management and focuses mainly on following areas for compliance. 1.      Child labour 2.      Wages and compensation 3.      Disciplinary action 4.      Discrimination 5.      Forced labour 6.      Freedom
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Many organizations do not realize the real value of its information assets till it faces an information security disaster. Information assets stored in paper form, computer or as employee knowledge and expertise will face various threats due to the degrees of vulnerability. Damage through fire, loss, theft or acquisition by competitors can threaten the very
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Managing change with Information Technology  Many companies were forced to make radical changes to their business operations within the last 5 years because of global competitive pressures.  With each new global trade agreement and technological innovation, companies see new opportunities as well as greater threats to their businesses. Each new technological innovation can offer a
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Successful Export Marketing for SMEs If a small company is to embark on an export driven development program, the issues of globalization would not be on how to protect local markets, but on how to compete in an open market and succeed.  Unlike in countries such as Australia and Canada with large mineral resources to
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Planning and managing business growth for SMEs Planning and managing your business to grow, is like planting and nurturing a tree to bare fruit. The questions that should first come to your mind are; where should I plant it? What type of tree should I plant? Why do I need a tree? How long would
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With the advent of easy worldwide access to Internet and the proliferation of computers linked to fixed and mobile phones, telecommunication has broken down many a corporate barrier. It has enabled many small and medium sized organizations and individuals to carryout day to day transactions over telecommunication networks, regardless of limitations due to geographic distances
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In our quest to succeed in the emerging global market, should we simply imitate standard management styles and force a cultural change in our people’s mindset, or should we adapt a set of management principles based on our own regional cultural values? Most senior managers in industry today have had their management training based on
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With such cultural, religious and ethnic diversity, the East can be an exiting place to market your products. Yet it can present major challenges to those embarking on an Eastern Mission. The Sri Lankan market can be considered as a unique market with a number of niche opportunities. How is marketing in the East so
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If your customer is king, how would you manage your relationship with him? First consider the focus on your customer. What does your customer value most in the service you offer? Is your organization’s unique selling point based on a “personal service”? Can you identify and define your customer’s buying behavior, his values and his motivation
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Putting your ISO 9000 certificate to effective use If your organization uses a valuable ISO 9000 certificate simply as an advertising tool, it is losing out on 80% of its real value. Instead it should be used as the most powerful tool to turn your organization into a dynamic system offering a higher valued service
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