July 31st, 2009
1. Not defining the problem. A business plan should define a problem and explain how your business will solve it. It should be focused on potential customers, not on the fix itself.
2. Not recognising the target market. Business plans which make unrealistic claims about the potential market share they can gather show not enough research [...]
July 31st, 2009
Treasury is increasingly concerned about the strength of the NZ dollar, which it says is one of the big potential spoilers both for economic recovery by the end of this year and for a sustained reduction in the current account deficit. It says if the currency stays high effecting export growth, the ratio of the [...]
July 31st, 2009
Infometrics CEO Gareth Kiernan says the pain of the recession is not deep enough to teach NZers what they need to learn. He says a predicted gradual improvement in the financial situation will accelerate to the point where debt and savings habits will again be a problem. He predicts NZ is in for a tough [...]
July 24th, 2009
You can have the best product or service out there, but if you do not treat your customers well, they will not come back. The three common pet peeves of customers when dealing with any type of business are: waiting for a long time, being ignored by employees, and not feeling appreciated as a customer.
Let [...]
July 24th, 2009
The Govt looks set to pass an Amendment to transport regulations allowing trucks to operate at up to 50 tonnes on certain routes. The current limit is 44 tonnes. A trial run last year found productivity increased between 10 and 20% - trip numbers fell by 16% and fuel use dropped 20%. The Govt says [...]
July 24th, 2009
Imports are collapsing but exports are rising, especially to China after the FTA which came into force late last year. This helped push May trade figures to a “very healthy” $858m surplus, the highest level in 16 years. The surplus for the month was equal to 21.7% of exports the highest percentage since 1993. Exports [...]
July 17th, 2009
The Reader’s Digest Trust survey has found NZers have lost faith in big Aust owned banks, and think Cadbury and Tip-Top are the best brands. Sony, Toyota, Panadol, Sanitarium, Fisher & Paykel, Colgate, Panasonic and Heinz Watties round out the top 10. The banks have taken a hammering as a result of the global financial [...]
July 17th, 2009
If you are facing the possibility of making staff redundant remember the four R’s.
Reason: Redundancy is a situation where employment ends because the position filled by the employee is no longer required: It’s the position itself which is redundant and the decision to make a position redundant should have nothing to do with the particular [...]
July 17th, 2009
A joint study for the Ministry for the Environment by the NZ Institute of Economic Research and Infometrics into climate change policy concludes introducing a carbon price, while not costless, will not significantly affect its potential growth rate. The two organisations support a broad emissions trading scheme - with free allocation of units to sectors [...]
July 10th, 2009
The Business Council of Australia wants the company tax rate to be halved, with GST lifted from 10% to cover the revenue shortfall. The Council also wants tax on capital gains and interest income to be slashed to 15%, saying the reforms would attract international investment and raise economic growth. Both Wayne Swan and [...]
July 10th, 2009
A joint study by Govt, business groups and unions has identified seven key drivers for improving productivity.
1. Building your organisation’s leadership and management capability.
2. Working to create productive workplace cultures.
3. Encouraging innovation and the use of technology in the business.
4. Investing in people and skills.
5. Organising work.
6. Networking and collaboration.
7. Measuring what matters.
While company HR [...]
July 10th, 2009
A new report showing only four of the country’s 84 councils are fully complying with the law by processing resource consents on time proves the case for reforming the system, and the need to get on with it.
The NZ Business Council for Sustainable Development says failings revealed in the latest two yearly report on how [...]
July 3rd, 2009
The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements, the only international organisation to predict the global financial crisis, is now saying the worst of it has probably passed. The bank says “glimmers of hope” are sparking a “rebound of risk appetite among investors,” pushing up borrowing by more than a quarter so far this year. In its [...]
July 3rd, 2009
New University of Waikato Management School research has shown the most significant factor in building a new brand is distribution, rather than the traditional marketing tools of advertising, discounting and a long product line. The research is co-authored by Waikato’s Professor Harald Van Heerde. His research found broad distribution has the largest direct impact on [...]
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Business Sense
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