6 Tips for Effective Trade Show Displays

Small business owners, particularly those in the start-up phase, may find it hard to prepare for a trade show. The first step is to find out the show’s specifics, including the type of visitors it attracts, the size of the display table, and what’s included. From there, the business owner can decide what to bring and what to give away. Potential exhibitors can click here for some great trade show ideas.

Make the Display a Standout

If the provided display table doesn’t have a tablecloth, choose one that represents the company’s color scheme and image. Even if table coverings are provided, bring something that adds depth to the display, such as a table runner, to make the display stand out from all the others.

Put up a Presentation Board

If the display space permits it, put up a standalone presentation board. On this board, company owners can show potential clients the advantage of the business’ products and services. Include pictures, if available, and be sure the company’s name and logo are prominently displayed.

Use a Slideshow or Video to Grab Visitors’ Attention

Develop a slideshow presentation or video to display on monitors within the trade show booth. There are various racks and stands available for mounting flat-screen TVs, and they can easily be rented or borrowed. Visitors will undoubtedly find these videos appealing, and they’ll stick around to see what the exhibitor has to say.

Have a Few Giveaway Items

Have plenty of handouts, such as magnets, lanyards, pens, flash drives and business cards, available to distribute to visitors. Some items are more popular than others, but anything with the company’s name and contact info can be useful. Most people who go to trade shows expect to take home some freebies—don’t disappoint them!

Hire an Assistant

If the show goes on for a long time, the exhibitor should consider hiring some helpers. When there’s more than one person in the booth, exhibitors can take breaks and see what else is on display.

Be Welcoming

Perhaps most importantly, exhibitors should be inviting and friendly. Say a quick “hello” to those who look at the booth, and start a conversation when appropriate. Above all, have fun and spread the word about the company.…

Category: Advertising & Marketing

What is special education and Remedial teaching ?

Special education has been put in place to provide services, programs and environments, to ensure that the educational needs of special needs children are provided for.

 Special education is provided to qualifying students, at no greater cost, than to any other student, and the varying special learning of needs of student’s are addressed through special education. Some children may need wheelchair accessibility, adaptive bathrooms, physio therapy,occupational therapy,or speech therapy, as part of their daily school routine, thus the need for special education school’s came about when student’s required support that goes beyond that which is normally offered or received in the regular school and classroom setting.

There are many schools educating specific special needs such as:

  • Autism
  • Down’s syndrome
  • Deaf or blindness
  • Developmental delays
  • Emotional disturbances
  • Hearing Impairment
  • Mental Retardation
  • Multiple disabilities
  • Orthopaedic Impairments
  • Specific Learning Disabilities
  • Speech and Language Impairment
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Visual Impairment

To find out more about Special Education, you can check with local school board or Education department. They will be able to provide you with a list of special needs schools in your area, which will qualify for the needs of your child.

 STRATEGIES TO BOOST SUCCESS AT SCHOOL.

Wether your child is starting nursery, primary or high school, these little strategies can make a huge difference in your Childs enjoyment and progress during his schooling years:

  • A good nights sleep
    If your child has been staying up late during the holidays, start enforcing an earlier bedtime about a week before they go back to school. Get them back into a set routine, as children need there rest to concentrate and follow what is going on in class.
  • Check the school bag daily
    make sure you check your child’s school bag daily, for notes and permission slips from the teacher, rather than relying on your child to give them to you. It can be unpleasant for your little one to be the only student that didn’t wear the right clothes for an outing or forgot to bring a snack or money for a Cake n’ Candy sale.
  • Teach your child to ask for what he needs
    It is especially important for a special needs child to tell a teacher that he doesn’t understand what she might be explaining, or if they need specific help. One way to teach your child this is to throw in some words during reading time that you know he will not understand. Let your child know that you are going to do this and, explain to them that need to stop you when they don’t understand the word and ask you to explain. Make sure he knows that teachers like it when children ask them questions, about new words or anything they don’t understand.
  • Always go to parents evening
    Even if you know the teacher and speak to them when you pick your child up from school, make the effort to attend parent evenings in any case. You may miss out on key information that the special education teacher

Reward strategies: the important link to managerial effectiveness

Reward strategy is a complex area with the potential to have a profound impact on the effectiveness of management within any organisation. An aspect not often correlated with reward strategy is the concept of the incompetent manager. An incompetent manager is one who is promoted to a position where their skill set no longer matches the requirements of the position in terms of the level of technical, conceptual or human skills required (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, & Coulter, 2008).

Katz (1955) theorised that there were three skills needed by managers, technical, human and conceptual. The proportion of these skills required by managers varies, depending on the organisational level. Line managers require a higher level of technical skill, in order to perform managerial tasks involving the planning and organisation of technical work tasks. As the hierarchical level progresses, managers require less technical skill, and a great amount of human and conceptual skills. At some point, technical skill ceases to be a requirement at all.

When a technically competent front line staff member is rewarded with a promotion to a line manager position, there is a tendency for them to operate in a senior technical, rather than managerial role (Badawy, 1995). This is further accentuated by the lack of human and conceptual skills held by front line staff, for example the absence of the ability or desire to have difficult discussions with subordinates. The end result of such rewards to front line staff is an overall drop in efficiency, and staff who are promoted beyond their level of competence (Robbins, et al., 2008).

In order to prevent the use of promotions to managerial roles as rewards for technical staff, it is necessary to take a look into the reward strategy in use within the organisation (Hartel, Fujimoto, Strybosch, & Fitzpatrick, 2007). A common reason that non-financial rewards, such as promotion, are used, is that the organisation does not have the capability to provide financial rewards of significant value. Regardless, the use of promotion as a reward tool is almost certain to doom the organisation in the long term, and focus should be on other areas of reward strategy.

Reward strategy is divided into four broad areas, base financial rewards, performance based financial rewards, benefits, and non-financial rewards (Hartel, et al., 2007). Most organisations place a significant focus on financial rewards, however it is well understood that money is not a motivator; its absence is a demotivator (Hartel, et al., 2007; Robbins, et al., 2008). This means that, beyond a certain point, money ceases to motivate employees. Therefore, in rewarding technical staff, the focus must move to performance based rewards, or non-financial rewards.

In using performance based financial rewards, it is possible to control reward costs. Additional reward payments are contingent on performance, which should be linked to organisational performance or profit. This allows the organisation to develop a reward strategy that is somewhat scalable, allowing employees to receive equitable rewards for their performance, without committing the organisation to excessive costs. In a similar …

Charter Schools: Passing or Failing?

CHARTER SCHOOLS: PASSING OR FAILING?

Charter Schools: Passing or Failing
Patti Bonner

Strayer University, Summer 2008

Abstract

This study’s objective was to Research of a “choice” school that operates under a performance contract which details specifics as the school’s mission, program, goals, demographics of the students served, methods of assessment, and ways to assess success. Such educational arrangements are known as charter schools, which are publicly funded schools that have greater accountability for academic assessment and fiscal practices, while receiving more independence and experiencing fewer regulations than traditional public schools. Research shows that there is a fair amount of success with this type of contractual education, and that a fair amount of issues accompany the success, such as fluctuating changes in student performance that are immeasurable by test scores. Another issue with the contractual educational facilities that is heating up in recent months is the conflict that arises between this type of learning environment versus the traditional public school system. This paper examines differing authorities in an attempt to determine whether charter schools are achieving their intended missions, or falling short of their goals – the verdict of this author’s research is that the structure is conducive to innovative practices, although the overall end results demonstrated by charter schools does not measure up to their tangible and intangible costs.

Charter Schools: Passing or Failing

This study into the report card of charter schools in the United States will attempt to decide whether this mode of education is more or less successful in the quest of education.  The unique research covered in this study represents the most recent journal articles that are related to these public schools that are operated independently of the local school board. Charter schools being unique in that they differ in various degrees from the curriculum and educational philosophy of other schools in the same system, they can also take the form of experimental public schools for mainly primary, but some secondary, education.

Charter schools do not charge tuition and frequently have lottery based admissions. They, therefore, provide an alternative to public schools, oftentimes offering a curriculum that specializes in a certain field– e.g. arts, mathematics, etc. Others simply seek to provide a better and more efficient general education than nearby public schools.

Public school funding in the United States is not a product of intelligent design. Funding programs have grown willy-nilly based on political entrepreneurship, interest group pressure, and intergovernmental competition. Consequently, now that Americans feel the need to educate all children to high standards, no one knows for sure how money is used or how it might be used more effectively (Hill, 2008).

These institutions are also exclusive in that some are created and organized by teachers and or parents and or community leaders, in a totally autonomous school environment, while others are state-run charters that are unaffiliated with local school districts and founded by non-profits such as universities and government entities that may appear in clusters across a geographic area.

The term “charter” possibly …

innovative hr practices

INTRODUCTION

Innovative HR practices build competencies and capabilities for superior and winning performances today and simultaneously create long term fertility for innovation of business ideas and strategies for future.

Employees who go the extra mile by performing spontaneous behaviors that go beyond their role prescriptions are especially valued by the management. This phenomenon is critical for organizational effectiveness because managers cannot for see all contingencies or fully anticipates the activities that they may desire or need employees to perform (Katz & Kahn 1978, Organ 1988). Work behavior that goes beyond the reach of organizational measures of job performance holds promise for long term organizational success (Van Dyne, Graham & Dienesch 1994) because these types of action are purported to improve organizational efficiency, effectiveness and adaptability (Organ 1988). Doing jobs beyond what is required without expecting to be rewarded is what is referred to in this study as Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB).

Enhancing an organization’s competitive ability is increasingly critical and behaviors, which may improve individual and organizational efficiency, become more valuable. Although there have been many studies of OCB in organizations, no known studies have examined the linkage of individual innovativeness with OCB where the effect of superior–subordinate as a mediator, is included.

INNOVATIVE HR PRACTICES

All managers have heard and read countless times how to build teams, empower your workforce and develop trust. The common place human resource practices prevalent across the entire business world are just as relevant to this business as any other. The HR policies must be integrated with business policies. The HR Professionals must have balance in terms of centralization or decentralization of HR practices are ethnocentric while others management be geocentric or regiocentric.

TOMORROW HR PRACTICES

 In turn trends like these are changing the way firms are managed organizations today must grapple with revolutionary trends accelerating product and technological change, globalizes competition, deregulation, demographic changes and trends towards a service society and the information. These trends have dramatically increased the degree of competition in virtually all industries, while forcing firms to cope with unprecedented product innovation and technological change. Companies in such an environment either become competitive high performers or they die.

EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION, MORALE AND INNOVATIVE HR PRACTIES

                                         “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times”                                                                                           

                                                                             – Charles Dicken

 The challenges facing the organization have never   been greater

    Issues coming on the radar of an HR Manager today are diverse; from micro level            issues where an individual employee needs hand holding to the macro issues pertaining to a global workforce and virtual teams. HR managers are expected to offer instant solutions for these issues and strategies.
As an HR Manager there are a number of areas where you might want to bring in an external consultant.

  Employee Motivation in work place

         A strong team needs individuals who are dedicated to giving their best at   work.  Highly self-motivated, committed, ambitious employees give the most to their company and get the most from their work. But if you are lacking employee …