Personal Website - shaun manzano

Personal Website - shaun manzano

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Join PMI - Project Management Institute

I just recently became a member of PMI and a member of the local chaper in Hampton,VA.

Here is some of the published news within the chapters article:

"Where else can you visit the Carib-bean, enjoy all the food you could possibly imagine, stay in beautiful accommodations, choose from a myriad of free entertainment opportu-nities, and get professional develop-ment. . all at the same time. . .and at a price too good to pass up? PMI Hampton Roads and PMI Central Virginia have got the perfect solution for you. . .Check out the details on this fantastic opportunity! (Stephen Matney, PMP, 2009)"

Hope to see you also join as a member. I am currently studYing toward my initial PMP Project Management Proffesional certification.

Best Regards,
Shaun Manzano

Read: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:http://www.pmihr.org/upload/NewsletterJune2009.pdf

http://www.pmihr.org/

Write a Resume Haiku

Retrieved from: http://www.pongoresume.com/blogPosts/345/write-a-resume-haiku.cfm

Here is my Haiku
Educator

Passionate leader who
Identifies core needs and sets
Individuals on a path

Ever notice that people tend to make things harder than they have to be? Wouldn't the job search be simpler, for example, if you could forgo the trouble of crafting a brilliant resume that details your past experience, and instead just sum up your essential nature, your true value, in the form of a haiku?

In case you've forgotten, haiku is a Japanese form of non-rhyming poetry which, in English, contains three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively. The goal of a haiku is to paint a mental image in the reader's mind.

And that's exactly the goal you're trying to achieve in a resume! But a resume does it in one or two pages (plus cover letter), while a haiku does it in 17 syllables.

Give it a try!
See if you can write a resume haiku that communicates a sense of what makes you a great job candidate, and helps readers picture you successfully fulfilling their business needs. This exercise is not only a fun time-waster, it might actually help you zero in on the core message you want to present to employers.

Here are a few samples to help you get started:

Administrative Assistant

Knows what bosses need
And provides them with the tools
That make them look good

Customer Service Representative

Able to listen
To people being bitchy
Without bitching back

Ad Copywriter

Understands people
Puts their pain into words that
Make them want to buy

Real Estate Agent

Helps you look beyond
These four walls to see instead
Your dream lifestyle here


Hope you enjoyed the article.

Regards,
Shaun Manzano

Shaun Manzano NCO of the Quarter - April - June 2009

All, I just received notification that I was awarded the quaterly award for the base level check out the link.

http://www.916arw.afrc.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123158933
NCO of the Quarter - April - June 2009 Tech. Sgt. Shaun Manzano 916th CS

Regards,

Shaun Manzano

Jones International University

Are you ready to transform your life? JIU offers an unparalleled online educational experience that provides essential tools and strategies for career starters, career changers and career advancers. We don't stop at providing exceptional, relevant degree programs in a flexible online format — we support your lifelong success by empowering you to become a Total Professional. TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE JIU ADVANTAGE

Branding Your Self

I have talked on similar topics like this, but nothing this comprehensive. In a previous post I suggested some job marketing stratgies that would help you manage your professional job search. Read this article below to gain full insight on the power of IT and its use of social networks to brand yourself.

Retrieved from: http://mashable.com/2009/07/27/linkedin-personal-brand/

Whether you’re a job seeker, consultant, entrepreneur or happily employed, LinkedIn can be an incredible asset for your career. You can connect to over 43 million professionals in over 200 countries around the world. LinkedIn is not just a virtual resume that should be tucked away for a rainy day. Instead it acts as a resume, cover letter, references document, database of your contacts throughout your life and a place where you can learn, share and interact in a professional manner. The following four steps, will help you build a powerful brand on LinkedIn so that you attract jobs you’re passionate about, while fostering a network that can support your career moving forward.

1. Brand your profile
Your LinkedIn profile needs to be absolutely flawless, since you’ll be judged harshly by recruiters who are analyzing you to see if you fit their corporate needs. That means no spelling or grammatical errors and it should be completely filled out, leaving no experience or details out. Think of your profile as an asset and as a portrait of you as a professional who someone would want to possibly hire for a newly available job.
How to brand your profile

Custom URL: Your LinkedIn URL should appear as “http://linkedin.com/in/yourfullname.” If it doesn’t, you’re missing a vital opportunity to have your profile rank higher in GoogleGoogle and to make it easier for people to find you. To do this, go to your profile and click “edit” and then next to where it says “public profile,” click “edit” again. At the top, you’ll want to click “edit” one more time next to “your public profile URL,” and then type in your full name, without spacing, and click “set address.” If the unique URL is taken, then try using a period between your first and last name or use your middle initial.
Headline: Your headline will automatically be displayed as the last job you’ve had, unless you change it manually. I recommend that you brand yourself for the job you want, not the one you have! This means that you should revise your headline so instead of “Marketing Specialist for Toyota,” it could be “Internet Marketing Expert for Fortune 500 Companies.” This way, you’re positioning yourself for a future potential job, while leaving your current job within your LinkedIn profile.
Summary: Your summary should include a brief paragraph summarizing your work experience, especially work experience that is relevant for the job you want. Feel free to spice this section up with your unique abilities and differentiators, such as industry awards and honors. In the second paragraph, you should define your career aspirations.
Experience: Don’t just list the past few jobs you’ve had. I recommend that you put every single job you’ve had that is still related to either your current position or the job you are searching for. The easiest way to complete this section is to copy and paste the bullets from your traditional resume.
Keywords: You should flood your entire LinkedIn profile with keywords because recruiters and other individuals will be using LinkedIn as a talent search engine. By selecting a few keywords that are also found in your headline, and sprinkling them throughout your profile, you will rank higher for those terms when someone conducts a LinkedIn “people search.” If you show up first or second, then you may get the opportunity over everyone else.

Applications: If you have a blog, then you should definitely use either the “WordPressWordPress” or “Blog Link” (TypepadTypePad.com) applications. With this integration, you’re able to show people your thoughts, feelings and emotions on top of a more traditional resume format. List only your past two or three blog posts so you don’t overwhelm the reader. Another application that you may want to try is the “Slideshare Presentations” application to showcase how you compile information, your formatting and creative skills to employers who may glance at it. Finally, the “Box.net Files” application can be leveraged to allow employers to download your portfolio of work.
Websites: LinkedIn gives you the ability to list up to three website links. I would recommend that you select your blog, any web pages you own, your company and possibly your Twitter profile link. Instead of leaving each title (for each link) as “My Website,” you should change them to the actual title of each of your links, so that the link can be associated with the URL. This will help optimize your profile and drive Google PageRank to your other web properties.
Recommendations: Many people argue if LinkedIn recommendations are legitimate, especially because they typically come from your trusted network of friends and colleagues. The truth is that they are very significant because when a recruiter searches for talent, they will view and identify profiles that have the “thumbs up” graphic next to them. If you don’t have a “thumbs up” graphic, that means that you haven’t been recommended and if you do and you’ve been recommended several times, there will be a number next to it. If two candidates for the same job had the same background and skills, yet one had twenty recommendations, who would you choose? Exactly! Recommendations can come from colleagues, teachers, managers and even celebrities.

2. Develop your network
Now that you have a compelling and immaculate profile, it’s time to start developing your network. A LinkedIn network is all about your professional network graph. That means that your first, second and third degree contacts are visible and can help you with career opportunities. The more first degree contacts you have, the more second and third you will gain, which is why I recommend that you accept everyone as a contact. You never know when someone can help you!
How to develop your network

Import your contacts: If you’re brand new to LinkedIn or you want to start building your network, without having to search for people, you should use the import function. LinkedIn allows you to important contacts from Windows Live, Hotmail, GmailGmail, Yahoo! and AOL. You can also search through your college or workplace and add people you’ve worked with or have gone to school with.
Be open and available: A huge part of LinkedIn is its messaging system and by being available and open to accepting contact requests and continuing conversations, it will help you build relationships.
Leave your email address: People cannot add you to their network without your email address, so you should either leave your email address at the end of the summary area or put it in the contact field and label it public.
Promote your URL: Take your distinct URL and put it in your email signature, on your traditional resume, on your blog (with an optional icon graphic), your website, your presentations, and possibly on your business card.
Update your status: Don’t worry, you don’t have to update “yet another” status bar with a message. Try using Ping.fmPing.Fm or hellotxt.com to push your status to all of your social networks at once. Make sure that your LinkedIn status message is extremely professional because the audience is more career minded people and hiring managers.

3. Position yourself as a leader
Now that you have a remarkable profile and you’ve developed a sizable network, it’s time for you to become a leader on LinkedIn. This professional network allows you to do a few key things that will help you gain followers, attention and, possibly, a new job.
How to position yourself as a leader

Start a group: Groups are extremely powerful assets for your brand. Instead of starting a group based around your company, if you have one, do it around the topic you want to “own.” Decide whether you want to localize it (Group Name, Boston) or make it international, allowing anyone to join. By starting a group on LinkedIn, you’re automatically portraying yourself as a leader. You should invite your current contacts to your group, especially after analyzing their profiles to see if they would be interested. You should also promote the group on Facebook, Twitter and your blog to gain an initial base of members. After a few months of delivering news content, helpful articles and seeding it with discussions, you will see (just like any other community) that it will grow based on member activity. Another important strategy is to syndicate your blog through LinkedIn; you’d be surprised how much traffic you can get from it. I still am!
Start an event: LinkedIn events are strictly for professional interests or for conferences. By starting your own networking event, you can easily promote it to your current LinkedIn audience, as well as your second and third degree contacts. It’s a great way to become a known connector and leader in your niche.

Ask and answer questions: If someone in your network asks a question pertaining to an area that you have knowledge in, you should answer it. By participating in these types of discussions, whether you’re asking or answering them, you are perceived as a valuable contributor to your network and someone to go to if people need help.

4. Leverage LinkedIn as part of your unified brand strategy
When it comes to your personal brand, LinkedIn is only one piece of the puzzle. You’ll want to supplement LinkedIn with profiles on Facebook and Twitter, in addition to your own blog or website and profiles on industry specific social networks. Your LinkedIn profile should be consistent with your online presence, which means you should be using the same avatar, your full name and your personal branding statement. As you grow your brand over time, make sure that your LinkedIn profile is updated with your latest job information and experience. If you’re looking for a job right now, toss away your traditional resume, click on “PDF” on your LinkedIn profile and print it out for your interview. This, in effect, displays more of who you are in a different format than recruiters are used to, so you stand out.
Decide how much time you want to invest in LinkedIn, as opposed to your other online assets. LinkedIn requires less upkeep, but to leverage it to the best of your ability, you will have to put your time in. By building your personal brand on LinkedIn, you’ll be where people are searching and you’ll have access to those who can help build your brand now and in the future.

Free Collaboration Tool

If your interested, please contact me on my website at http://profmanzano.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

I have current students that have signed up through this web site, and we currently use it for class documents and resources. So if you would like to inquire about this tool, contact me via the web site provided above.

Regards,
Shaun Manzano

Escalationcreations - A Recommended Company

Quoted from http://www.escalationcreations.com/index.html:

Website design, networking, and Taking your computers to the next level in development and repair. - Escalation Creations

A private technology company of Hampton Roads, VA

For All Your Computer Needs choose Escalation Creations!

From small personal computers to just checking your email and surfing the web. Home Networking, Small Office Networking, Regional Networking needs. We have supplied computer services since 1978 to mission critical industrial systems.We now bring our expertise to your doorstep.Our computer technicians can provide on-site computer repairs, additions, network configurations, and general preventative service.Our staff will come to you!No job is too small or too large!

We at Escalations Creations would be happy to consult with you on your networking needs. Whether it be repairing, designing, installation, or just our thoughts on your existing network. You can contact us and we will be happy to talk with you.

From Designing a brand new website to just fixing up an existing one. With our staff we can do the job. From Professional business sites to the hip-hop flashy site. With our expertise and graphic design artist there is no job too small or too large.

Feel free to call us at (757)681-1633, (757) 735-6619 or email the Escalation Creations Team

Calling all Vetrinarians and Vetrinary Assistants

This is the largest growing field within the US. As the demands for animal rights grow and the love that americans share for pets with their families. I am in need of some contacts within the Vetrinary field. If you are a Vetrinary Assistant or a Vetrinarian please contact me. I have several candidates who are passionate about the field and would like to learn more about the industry.

Here is some occupational outlooks for this industry:
http://careerplanning.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=careerplanning&cdn=careers&tm=85&gps=120_786_1259_596&f=00&su=p554.12.336.ip_&tt=11&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.bls.gov/oco/oco20055.htm

Please post a comment if you know anyone who would be willing to dicuss this industry.
Thank you for you time.

Regards,
Shaun Manzano

Putting New Thought to Existing Foundations and Succeeding in any Economic Condition!

I recently read an article, “In Finance, Recent Signs of Hiring” written by Sarah E. Needleman or WSJ.com. This article has inspired me to write my article. Enjoy!

A world of uncertainty is a world of business and community relationships lacking trust. A partnership must be built, redefined/structured, and re-thinking. Going back to the drawing is the commonality of hope, frustration, greed, etc. We all need to work together to fill our differences and not fall short of what we thought was the right thing to do. Instead commit to just knowing what your doing is the right thing.

I’m talking about commitment, passion, relationships; all common denominators requiring a quantitative amount of time. Anything worth having is worth working for. As individuals we have to make a sacrifice, to take charge in our opportunistic world; find services that people need and fulfill those requirements by providing good common quality, and respect to the unexpected and necessary changes that will be needed to improve the services or products we offer.

You see, the times haven’t changed the way business should conducted. But was has changed is the people has perceived the way business should be conducted. Moving forward, yes we are in a new world of technology, but it doesn’t take or should not take away from the communication aspect of customer loyalty, down right good customer service.

We have nothing but time…. Take time to know your customers and the customers will take time to know you.

Re think, reshape, and mold your self for success today, tomorrow and the near future. Make your self apart of the solution. Even with the economic climate, you can still be a thriving member of society its all a perception; Succeeding. Well just remember to give back, in other words pay it forward. Work hard and you will see the results.

Regards,
Shaun Manzano

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124511318124517281.html#mod=article-outset-box

Putting Passion Back Into Corporate Training

I found an interesting article written by Sunder Ramachandran. The title of the article is, "Do you have what it takes to be a Corporate Trainer?"

I would like to highlight an important aspect that I feel is necessary for a success factor in this type of field. The point about Training vs. Teaching!

Teaching - present information via classroom lecture or power point presentation.

Training - Motivate, involve, restructure or simple stated from the article, "provides people with the tools and skills they need either to change their behavior."

As most trainers in the industry work with other working adults already in the field they would have to "deal with mature adult audiences who have their own experiences and perceptions." This right here really draws the line between teaching and training, training employees to develop new ways to do things.

Creating new habits or changing is always easier said than done in most respects.

Another highlight that I see which really identifies if an individual is ready to become a trainer is these very conditioned words presented in the article and they are. "Skills required for a career in training:
Trainers need to possess a natural ease in dealing with people, an ability to present themselves with confidence, speak before a large audience with conviction, a mature thought process to create training material relevant to their audience, spontaneity to respond to difficult situations with ease, a good sense of humor, loads of enthusiasm and most importantly a passion for the subject matter that is being presented."

Speaking from my own experiences, as I’ve been in the teaching/training environment for the past year, thank JIU… But back on topic… I would say that it definitely take a lot of self motivation, commitment, flexibility and down right passion to drive and influence other individual to adopt or even to accept the need for change. In the beginning, when I am in training mode, for my class I break even one down to the point that they know that they have different weaknesses; which every individual does, and I ask them to share with the class.. The all know that they are there to work on what ever weakness they have, all in efforts to better them selves. I definitely have seen an impact on my influences and management of the change process for these young adults, other mature adults who have been out of school for 20-25 years. I tried to keep it short…. Let me know what you think.

Best regards,
Shaun Manzano

Reference:
Sunder Ramachandran (2007), Do you have what it takes to be a Corporate Trainer?, retrieved from web site,
http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/sep/28corp.htm

Why become a Certified Corporate Trainer?

Why become a Certified Corporate Trainer?

Every industry needs training! The opportunity goes beyond the class rooms of the college and universities and brings the instructor to the business site. You will become an independent contractor for training. You’ll also have the ability to travel to other customer sites, both nationally and internationally to gain a wide range of experience in different locations.

More Opportunities…..
Expand your training opportunities and become certified in Microsoft Tools including Office! It’s all about increasing bottom line, and a more productive & efficient a companies resources are the cheaper their business will run.

What is the difference between JIU’s education certificates or M.Ed degrees? What is the current industry perspective of these certification?

Also, If I obtain my M.Ed in Corporate Training and Knowledge Management would I need to have a certification in either the: Certified Instructor or Certified Corporate Trainer?

Reference:
http://getahead.rediff.com/report/2009/jun/09/become-a-certified-corporate-trainer.htm
http://www.jiu.edu/schools/education/certificates/

I’ll be looking forward to your responses!

Regards,
Shaun Manzano

Job Search/Marketing Strategy

This is another neat way to make the associated networks work together, to produce a large collaborative job research tool; results will allow you to network with others through "LinkedIn", search local Salary rates, and position your self neatly right in the front seat of the job recruiter/head hunter.

To make great use of your efforts, create an account for:
*Simple hired: http://www.simplyhired.com/
*LinkedIN: http://www.linkedin.com/
*InDeed: http://www.indeed.com/

Trust me they will all work together......

Regards,
Shaun

Surviving in Today’s Workforce and in Society

Surviving in Today’s Workforce and in Society

Surviving the Business world in a the past meant hard work, long hours, long term commitment and certainty for a job and steady income was in return. This is the tone that past generations have taken, and now with the explosion of the information/tech world over the past decade and a half, this is no longer the vision. Change is the key element in a society where information is constantly updating, a socialistic society that is constantly being updated with finger touch information. When does the information stop incoming, and when do we set aside time to spend quality time with friends and family.

Today, within the workforce, it is common to see people work more than one job; time is taken for grated most often, even with improved technology to send information/communication – time is not enough. What happened to the days where a letter was written by hand, a trip was made to the post office, sent to the receiver etc. The time was there, the jobs were available and less people worked more than one job. Are we just poor time managers? Do we suck and managing the technology that is provided to us? What is going on?

I just think that people are fascinated with information, just like they are with that first cup of coffee in the morning or that favorite dessert. It’s the new style, trend way of production; for those who lack it are left in the dust. I am afraid that most people may forget about the mail shipping age and become a so auto pilot that they forget to wake up a smell the flowers around them.

Here are some survival tips, what to expect in surviving in our workforce society today and tomorrow.

1. Own a Laptop or a computer
What to look for in a computer - http://www.easycomputertips.com/article-buyingapc.html

2. Familiarize yourself with the computer
Do not take computer training classes!
-> http://dragon.ep.usm.edu/~it365/module/Basics/Basics.htm
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part1.pdf
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part2.pdf
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part3.pdf
-> http://www.jamani.nl/static/Part4.pdf

3. Market your self on the internet
Do you have a Current Resume?

Resume software and Sources:
-> http://jobsearch.about.com/od/sampleresumes/a/sampleresume2.htm

Some sites help you auto fill the information for resume.
-> http://www.alec.co.uk/

4. Create an account in LinkedIn, Monster Jobs, USA Jobs
Monster Jobs – offers free advices on resumes and career etc.
-> http://www.linkedin.com/
-> http://www.monsterjobs.com/
-> http://www.usajobs.com/

5. Create email account
One that will only be used for job & marketing yourselft Ex. "Gmail, Yahoo, MSN etc.”

6. Strategic Job Searching
View local news paper, Career connection groups like: snag a job

New Paper Resource
-> http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/
-> http://www.actualidad.com/
Snag a Job and related
-> http://www.snagajob.com/
-> http://www.jobfox.com/
-> http://www.job.com/
-> http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/
-> http://www.911hotjobs.com/
-> http://www.studentjobs.gov/
-> http://www.internjobs.com/
-> http://www.retirementjobs.com/
-> http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites
And many more…………..

6. Set up MOCK interviews
This will help you prepare for the big interview
-> http://www.appleone.com/
-> http://www.headhuntersdirectory.com/

Suggested readings
What Color is your Parachute?
-> http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/index.php

Job Interview Questions and Answers:
-> http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest.htm

10 Killer Job Interview questions and Answers :
-> http://www.bspcn.com/2007/08/24/10-killer-job-interview-questions-and-answers/

Why are resumes rejected for and more?
-> http://www.alec.co.uk/resume_writing/resumes_rejected.htm

Truth about working from Home
-> http://nationalemploymentnews.com/employment.php?arid=job-nterview&gclid=CKX3sZbv4poCFQOuFQod6jl2CA

****Finally****
All else fails get a job online:
Online jobs with Google Money Master
-> Step 1: Get Google Money Master
-> Step 2: Also Get My Internet Payday (This is key. Must do both!)
-> Step 3: Post Links given to you by Google
-> Step 4: Deposit the check Google sends you!


Future Topics:

Choosing the right Career for me?
When is the right time to switch careers?

Investing an Approach For Today and Tomorrow

Risk, Return, and Portfolio Diversification

This is just a short lesson the will guide you in the right direction if you wanted to invest money. Investing is deliberate approach that can be put to a person advantage if all the information were made available, so that decision could be made in advance to take stake on opportunity in sight.

The first step in investing your hard earned money is to identify the types of first if investing is right for you, and then know where to invest. After you have identified where you would like to invest, a solid approach would be to analyze the risks involved in each decision and how to minimize the risks or even how to sustain your investment activities.

Is investing the right step for me?

This is a question that has to be answered in a leveled manner. If investment is done deliberate matter, meaning that you have written and committed to rules that you will stick by “no matter the situation”, then I say investing is for you. Investing is a balance between fear and greed. The market flocks with an affect that is driven my media, communications and abundance of both useful and non useful. The choice that you as an individual have to make, is
where, how, when and why.

1. Where do I want to be when I retire?
2. How much money to I want to live off of
3. When do want to retire?
4. Why do I want to have all the previous three inquiries?
   

The right time to invest

Since your have committed to invest in a deliberate matter you will have to know what you are getting into. Investing money involves risks on the return on investment, and time is the evil partnering factor for the risk. Yes, timing is everything. Did you ever hear about the time value of money? When a person works, the are compensated for their time right? What are the risks associated to the individual not receiving the money that they worked for at a job? Ok, this is the mind set that you will need to have when you are approaching investing? How will your money work for you, you earned it now put it to work for you; do no bury it in the back yard.

So what are the risks in investing? There are two main kinds of risks, those that are systematic and those that are unsystematic. Some risks can be minimized based on trends that are available in the market while others are just doomed and cannot be fixed no matter which approach is taken. Unsystematic (separated to specific industries) risks can be minimized with increased investments, that may be either within a similar or different market; this risk is minimized as increasing number of investments are made. How ever systematic risk cannot be avoided no matter how many investments are made. Example of systematic risks is when a country has a recession or funds wars.

Currently the market is incubated with systematic risks, experts suggest that within the US and around the globe that the system is in a recession. What does that mean, stability is non existent and risks are increased or not controllable. A good resource to use any time to research system conditions is by going to the Economic Indicators Calendar, which provides the date and time of key economic data releases. If you are within the US or investing in the US you may also want to consider US Census Bureau. Use as many resources as you can to develop an idea of the current systematic conditions, before you decided to invest.

Where to Invest?

The big question where to invest? This is where more research comes into play. A first stop could be to view all the different types of Retirement Plan Terms, for starters. If you want to invest in the stock market, I suggest trying out the Stock Market Game or even paying a visit to the official Wall Street web site.

Portfolio Diversification

After you have identified where you would like to invest, a solid approach would be to analyze the risks involved in each decision and how to minimize the risks or even how to sustain your investment activities. Improving diversification of your investment:

1. Choose different investment tools (stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and cash)
2. Mix strategies with the different types of securities: Mutual Fund Investment - growth funds, balanced funds, index funds, small cap, and large cap funds.
3. Further Mix the securities into different locations (local vs. globe & different industry spread)
   

Why is all this important? – Retirement, not working to live or living to work. Its all about a smarter approach to life, like saving for a rainy day.

Suggested Research Resources

Making the 'Right' Investing Decisions in 2009 — and Beyond – Available online
Determining where you are and where you want to be - Available online

MBA Completion

All,

As I make my final approaches toward degree completion (28 June 2009), another milestone in my career has been set; I have finally opened up new doors that Ive dreamed about in the past. Now that I am here, I seek a revamped vision, a re written story that I havent explored or experience in the past. I look forward to what the future may bring my way, the many challenges and successes or failures that will come along with it. I a ready to plan and go.

I have uploaded a portfolio of work that I completed during my academic journey with JIU's MBA program. This is available under my links or by click here: http://jonesinternational.confidentialresume.com/Shaun_Manzano/portfolio.php
Feel free to browse around it, and let me know what you think. I am looking forward to your comments or inquiries.

Regards,
Shaun

CEO Pay/Salary Cap or Not?

I’ve reviewed an article similar to the topic that is being brought up in your posts. I do not think the right approach in viewing CEO pay is from an ethical standpoint, but instead from a perceived value approach. What is the magic number or what is the price tag to keep that one distinguished member of the team? Within the corporate world, CEO is visionary and the financial performance – company stock – net worth etc are the metrics of this individual’s report card. For a CEO of a sports team, wins and losses are the kicker for the success of individual CEO’s as they hire the right management team to develop that brilliant winning team lead by the coach and their players. The Value is sometimes easier to see in that realm. But why is it in the corporate world, that vision isn’t so clear? That’s because the team has many challenges to seek, which they aren’t concentrated around a game with rules and conditions semi predicted to which a team can prepare itself for. So we ask ourselves what are the contributors to the success or the perceived value for a given corporate performance. This all revolves around competition, economic conditions, market valuations (stock in general), corporate culture & leadership, productivity of the corporation etc. So if there was a way to just categorize a corporation’s performance as a win or a loss, then a clear cut valuation method could be placed on putting a price tag on a CEO’s pay.
"There is no particular right number. That's what's difficult for people who criticize executive pay (S. Polczer & C. Herald, 2009).”
Enjoy the article.

Regards,
Shaun


Reference:
S. Polczer & C. Herald (March 25, 2009), The Art Of Matching Pay To Performance; Petro-Canada chief earns more despite lethargic stock, retrieved on 25 April 2009, from web site http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/Suncor+trails+rival+income/1425557/story.html

Strategy plan or luck?

A strategic plan, what is it and what are the current results of having one?

The Fortune 500's biggest winners, article “Even as the economy crumbled, these 20 firms managed to make big money.”
Was it due to a strategy plan or luck?

“Exxon posted its fourth-straight year of record profits, enduring wild swings in oil prices and a worldwide drop in demand in 2008. Falling oil prices in the latter half of 2008 hurt its oil production arm (CNN Money.com , 2009).”

Did the company plan for this intriguing forecast that the world of economics brought for them? For a change, they did in a way, for the other part no. This was due to the simple fact that crude oil was made cheaper for the production of gasoline and oil (CNN Money.com, 2009). A company that is worth 26.1 billion has to have some kind of strategy and luck combined in this case as the economy effects us all. If the strategy wasn’t in place the economy alone would have took the company for what it was worth along time ago.

I have produced some pointers from the industry and within the text for strategy plans.

Where are we now – organizational assessment.
Financial Stability
Technology application
Competitive positioning

Strengths and weaknesses – Opportunities and Threats (SWOT Analysis)
What improvements do we forecast that we will need to implement
Competitive goals – alignment
Upgrades to current equipment

Financial forecast
What monies do we project to support strategic alignment of future improvement, upgrades and competitive alignment?
10 year plan for financial support

Future Checklist
As conditions continue in the market, predict future requirements for new competitive advantages and further future growth.


Reference:

CNN Money.com (2009) Even as the economy crumbled, these 20 firms managed to make big money, retrieved on 24 April, 2009, from web site: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/fortune/0904/gallery.f500_mostprofitable.fortune/index.html

U.S Debt Turns into Our Debt

U.S Debt Turns into Our Debt

One of the reasons why the U.S. in a financial crisis is due to the extreme growth in the real estate market tied to the flawed lending practices to increase non traditional ability to pay level of standards purchasing power.

How many times in the last two decades has the U.S. been in a recession?

How world crisis has the U.S. been involved in during that period? (Persian Gulf, Iraq etc.)

Where has the attention been on the whole time? Was it on other countries or ours?

While this occurred, the rich became richer, and many people have been taken advantage of. Those that can pay cash for a home are not subject to these claims of being taken advantage of. Who does this affect? Well we are all in use of the financial system that has been built over the years made possible through the Federal Reserve System.

So how do we pay for homes? We use this vehicle called a mortgage, for those who do not know this; it’s another term for a loan, which involves the lenders insight in the borrower’s ability to pay. The financial industry manage their accounts receivable (your ability to pay them back) through their general set standards.

Here are the categories:
Character – the borrower’s history of paying bills – credit report
Capacity – The borrower’s quantity of money borrowed and repaid – credit report
Capital – debt to income ratio, how much debt (open credit cards, car notes, all debt) compared to incoming salary.
Collateral – what do you have in value (stocks, other homes paid off, retirement accounts or liquid assets?)
Conditions – this is the part that is currently based on the industry trends or economy situations, 1st time buyer loans etc.

One of the traits that helped excel the mortgage loan increases were the subprime loans which made the loans available to those that lacked Character. This was definitely an adjustment in the backs “conditions” that are apparently not so favorable today. When the general standards of credit are not met more loan defaults occur, causing the industry to have substantial amounts of defaulted loans. Another twist to this, there was a lot of dishonest financial institutions that took advantage of the system to gain financial profits. Who is paying for those profits today? Who is stuck with the bad credit ratings?

To see where your state is in this cloud of financial woe visit: http://www.newyorkfed.org/mortgagemaps/

Forward thoughts!
Plan, Plan, and Plan some more!
Debt for school vs. debt to have to buy fun.
Plan for the debt, when you will repay.
Determine how much risk you are taking to meet the conditions that you have planned for.
Plan for additional risk, determine worst case scenario and develop a plan that will provide you support through the situation
Remember no plan is full proof that why it is called a plan.

If you would like to add to this post, please submit your comments or suggestion for new topics.

Regards,
Shaun Manzano

Entry Modes into Foreign Markets

I am currently taking a class title "Transnational Marketing", this weeks topic was entry modes into foreign markets. I would like to share the case report from this weeks work on - Disney Hong Kong. Enjoy


Case Analysis – Hong Kong Disneyland
JONES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Transnational Marketing
MBA521
Prof. Sabine Amend
February 13, 2009

Abstract
This paper analyzes marketing entry modes into foreign countries. The case that was used to compare marketing entry modes was the Hong Kong Disneyland case. This case reveals evidence of Global strategies implemented by Walt Disney and their entry to other areas such as Paris and Tokyo; include in the case is detailed information about past entrant experiences. The case also reviews market entry modes and learned mistakes (losing large sums of revenue) by not seeking alternate routes. The purpose of the case report is to research marketing entry modes especially those in a global environment. Global marketing strategist considers the geographical scale, cultural differences, language, and overall perspective needs; more particular decision criterion should focus specifically on the country, type of industry, the company and the product or services. The country specific criterion analyzes country specific exchange rates, regulations, policies, culture, customs and curtsies. The other criteria (industry, the company and the product or services) will be considered and compared to the specifics of the country entering. The Mode of entry is a specific strategy that is related to major decision or an approach that a company will take to enter into a market. These choices are critical, because it effects future decision that the company will make; the financial performance relies on this decision. Resource commitment is the main distinction of the different types of entry modes: Licensing, Partnership or Joint Venture, Exporting; and Direct Investment. In today’s growing diverse society it only makes since to take the global approach to marketing when determining strategies to gain market entrance.

Introduction
The case study of Hong Kong Disneyland introduces a company (Walt Disney) who has a very different approach in its global strategy as it takes lead in their global entertainment market share to a whole new level of strategy. Walt Disney has a phenomenal amount of support through its wide spread investments and operations (marketing platforms): amusement parks/resorts, real-estate, TV and radio stations just to name a few. Walt Disney used these different marketing platforms to establish contact with different market segments capturing all ages both children and adult. This is just one of the many reasons why they are so successful today. This case introduces strategies that Walt Disney took to gain entry into different markets specifically entrant to: Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris. This case also describes the many challenges that were faced by the company and the uniqueness’s of each towards each entry area. Aside from the entry barriers or the differences between the markets “culture, economic situations” Walt Disney brought new opportunities (employment, market opportunities for local economy, new tourists) to the countries that they conducted business with. Walt Disney has a very strong product offering (branding), quality culture climate, and provided part-time and full time jobs to the local economy. The return on investment (ROI) was one of the main factors that differentiate between the presented strategies in the case. When reviewing the information included in this report will provide evidence of the different strategies used to present a case illustrating the preferred methods of entry. Other key ingredients (those that may not have been captured) will be presented to determine if alternative entry modes were feasible or in existent, exhibited under recommendations.

Situational Analysis
Previous Approaches – Analyzing previous entry attempts
Walt Disney presented evidence that they would have gained more revenue if they chose different entry modes to each of the markets they entered. Once they entered into the country, the agreements were already drafted and the wheels were already spinning, backing out or re-strategizing wasn’t a cost effective option. The markets that they entered were Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris. Each location presents a new scenario of barriers to entry, highlighted under tariffs, economy situations, and other additional costs measured against fore casted outcomes. The modes of entry that were identified in the case were: licensing agreement “Tokyo”, partnership agreement “Paris” and proposed Joint Venture “Hong Kong”. The purposes of theses entry modes is to share costs and to gain by both parties the benefits of the existence of a world class entertainment. Worse case scenario would be for Walt Disney to put up all cost up front, and obtain 100% of the royalties/revenue afterwards. The risk of doing this option is 100% loss, compared to the other methods where a shared loss is incurred. Tokyo and Paris will be used as a comparison baseline in determining if Hong Kong’s predicaments are an affordable entry mode.

(1980) Tokyo – Licensing agreement
In this situation Walt Disney didn’t realize their full potential of their earnings, did so only to reduce the potential risks associated to the costs of the project. The route by Licensing agreement which left Disney with no ownership in the deal equaling to minimal returns in profit, only royalties and other returns. Disney acted as a franchiser of the company that was built in Tokyo, and only received a small fraction of the returns. Resources were invested, by way of time spent on developing the park itself. As stated in the case the total construction cost estimated around 250 Million USD, the royalties that Disney gained was 40 Million USD accumulated from categories: Food/Merchandise, Admission and Corporate Sponsorship.

Chart 1 - Removed

The Initial investments for the licensing agreement was 2.5 Million USD, within the first years Disney received royalties in the amount of 40 Million USD accounting for a ROI of 1600%. If Disney went without the agreement, potentially 560 Million USD would have been projected as the revenues and the initial cost for the construction were 250 Million USD; the ROI in this case would have been 224%, compared to 1600% with agreement. But over the course of time, each investment would present consistent increases in the revenues received; the case presents $125million USD for the gross revenues in 1999, which would have been $1,750 billion USD potentially using the data above in chart 1. Wither view as potential ROI or Dollars received in revenue, the risk of investment was minimal, without the agreement. Barriers to entry described in the case were the cost of construction cost of 250 million USD, limited data compared to what is offered for Paris and Hong Kong.

(1992) Paris – Partnership Agreement
This method increased revenue for Walt Disney, but they still weren’t receiving their full earning potential. What were the differences between this method and the agreement? The agreement method led Walt Disney, to have smallest risk possible, potentially none. The partnership agreement presents some risks, but allows the area to join resources that are more valuable in a joint effort than when kept separate. With out the partnership, during the time that Disney ventured Paris, the project would be feasible or possible. In this case, the project was initially evaluated to be worth a total of $1 billion USD, grew to 5 billion or more USD. The timing of the entry was the key, and during this time this country was going through a recession. As much shared cost as possible seemed to be the strategy that Disney was approaching with the partnership, a long term investment approach; the risk of the investment grew since projected cash inflows were based off of potential customer spending money at the theme parks (spending was lowered during the recession). The partnership afforded the Walt Disney the opportunity the reduce the potential losses that may have incurred if the company solely entered into the country; the case explains the many risks that the project posed: Multiple Design changes (construction), Tourist traveling reduced; banking interest rates increasing, and increased debt in US. If the economic condition was restored, Walt Disney in Paris would have been more successful. The JV allowed Walt Disney the opportunity to free up some resources, otherwise the operations during that time period would have sunk.

(1998) Hong Kong – Joint Venture (JV) or which is more strategic?
Hong Kong Govt. and Walt Disney move was a political and cultural adventure. Like the previous entry to Paris, economic times where in the US feared Y2K and in china unemployment rates were increasing. Hong Kong was in a position that they needed an attraction to increase visitors “tourists”. Walt Disney wanted to manage the venture instead have just providing the resources, but they also wanted to minimize their risks. The original suggested strategy (JV) was for Walt Disney to enter the Hong Kong market via Joint Venture, assessing specific requirements from a long laundry list (royalties, Management fee’s). Uncertainty of the investment brought attention to the returns that Walt Disney would expect if the country would respond to the economic enhancement (adding new technology or Businesses) to increase their production possibilities. The length of time that it will take the country to respond will directly result in the ability for Walt Disney to redistribute the resources across reoccurring debts and maintenance. Tourists were also a consideration for this area, since there travels to this are have reduced more resulting from the removal of the British colonial. What are the options invest or chose a different country to invest within Asia! What were the lessons learned from previous entry opportunities:
1. Timing is everything – balance entrance with economic offsets
2. No risk equals low revenue returns
3. Be careful what you agree to
4. Minimized the design changes to reduce construction costs

Identification and Evaluation
Initial analysis of Hong Kong Entry
Country Specific:

Local Economy
-Loss of Jobs 6% Unemployment
-Removal of British Colonial – decrease in tourist activity
-Foreign exchanges – reduction of revenue going into the country - Hong Kong Government

Agreed to conditions of JV:
-Royalties 5%
-Base (2% Gross revenues) and Variable (2-8% EBITDA) Management fees
---Refused free land to US
---Expressed demand for paying taxes on profits
---Intense negotiations

Competition
-Ocean Park.
---Attracts 35,000 people a day

Culture - Not reviewed in case

Politics
-Govt. needs away for bringing back the visitor to the country, but yet are no working with Walt Disney, to make the venture profitable.

Barriers to Entry:
-Construction - Project split into two phases – two theme parks and sets of hotel resorts
---Phase I
Infrastructure Costs
-HK$13.6 billion
-Land Premium’s - HK$4 billion
---Phase II
Expansion - project 2014

Company – Walt Disney
-Limitation on demands for agreement
-Free land
-Tax immunity

Product or services
-Fraud duplications of merchandise – negative impact on sales
-Distribution methods for services
-Disney films – Beijing Govt. involvement “quite censorship”.

Cost analysis
-Debs of the projected were dependant upon multiple levels of fall out monies:
-Tourists – increased visitation – estimated projections suggest requirements for high tourists activity
-Locals – their spending habits
-Would the agreement pay the dividends

Pros and Cons
This venture presents main barriers, not seen in other entry modes of licensing agreement nor the partnership. One of the main ideas was for Walt Disney to manage the investment, as opposed to the other adventures where they were just resources invested. The Hong Kong venture presents similar evidence of a partnership agreement with the exception of the management fees obtained. Hong Kong was set up for tourist attraction from the past, reasoning behind settling Disney to the deserted area in hopes of spiking traffic once again. Specific Pros and cons can be listed for this entry:

Pros:
--Ability for Walt Disney to turn a profit
--Close management will translate into Quality Production and services $$$$$
-- Resources from other parks will support initial phases of the entry and sustain for 2yrs when area can support its self.
--Economic conditions locally will increase – more money will meet projections set by Walt Disney
--Tourist traffic familiarity of the area and the production of Walt Disney – create a new reasoning for visiting the area once again.
--Capture market “35,000 visitors daily” of competitors customers – Revenue

Cons:
--Initial costs for construction and land premiums (reoccurring) are high.
--Cost figures are high – resulting in a potential non profitable situations
--Other theme parks may lose money, and would not support park development
--Govt. may not support venture when unprofitable situations arise
--Govt. already doesn’t see potential real-estate value – will not grant free land or make agreement with Walt Disney make investment more attractable
--reduction of revenue going into the country due to loss of foreign travelers
--locals have to apply for visa for entry into park – limitation in revenue

(2009) Hong Kong Disneyland Project
Hong Kong Disney is still in the first phase of development, with no future plans for expanding to the second phase until late 2014. The park has been successful with the joint ventures, opening September 2005, nearly meeting anticipated attendances of 5.6 million visitors short .6 million visitors; follow on years 2 and 3 resulted in: Year 2( 2006-2007 4 million visitors) and Year 3 (2007- 2008 4.5 million visitors) (Hong Kong, 2009). “The venture showed promising increases relevant towards an expansion into phase II, which is already mapped out according a web site previously visited “Disneyandmore”. Rumors say the Disney will invest HK$4 billion in the expansion investment, which is expected to be released sometime next year to the Hong Kong Govt. (Disneyandmore, 2009).” More add-ons continue with the projections of increased visitor in year 4, despite world economic down turn. Disney will continue to see success and 2014 will be here before they know it.

Recommendation
Disney was on target, with their financial projects for the first year of the joint venture with Hong Kong Govt. Currently Disney has to have approval, before phase II expansion can begin, another 5yrs. Limitations exist in Disney’s ability to make financial moves, such as starting new constructions or expanding. I don’t think that Disney could afford to start the adventure as soon as they did, and to be ready in 2005, without the agreement with Hong Kong Govt. Having the JV was a good judgment call by Disney. I wish that they built in a little more flexibility into their plans so that they could achieve higher growths obtained from market influxes.
Recommend as follows:

Reduce Political Barrier
- Draft an agreement the will bring revenues to Govt. Hong Kong – exchange for increase equity shares from current (43%) to 49% or 50%.
Estimate number of jobs bringing to local economy
Estimate number of HK$ that the investment will attribute Notes: This will be a plan that will be presented for economy enrichment
Since Disney is basically putting Hong Kong back on the map, a lot of leniency should be given to Disney despite political differences.

Suggest the Disney Lease the Land for X number of years for a set price, example:
-HK$24 billion for 10 Yrs. – at this point the land will be up for renegotiation.
Notes: one of the barriers was the ROI, for the phase I, which would be reduced if Disney were given the land.

Settle for Increased royalties, as opposed to capturing management fees.
-Raise from 5% to 20% - after all it is Disney’s product, all Hong Kong is used for is the scenery and the location.
Notes: This will increase the earning projections per share by 4 times the amount projected, capturing the largest revenue groups: Merchandise, admission, invested monies for new creations etc.

Alternative Entry Mode
This will be a plan that will be presented for economy enrichment. The JV was an attractive method to achieve the challenges set forth by economic restraints, which wouldn’t be possible at a high growth rate which developed a new market opportunity for the entertainment industry.
Choosing a different location would have been my strategy. One of the limitations that Hong Kong presented was visa’s that were required to gain entrances even from those who were locals. This problem didn’t exist in the three other researched possibility location of: Shanghai, Zhuhai, and Singapore. I would have chosen Singapore, who really wanted to gain entry into the Chinese market. Even though this option was frowned upon in the case, I would have research the possibilities of leveraging Singapore’s interests in the china market to meet Disney’s objectives.

Summary
Walt Disney expanded operations overseas with strategies of modes of entry into the country of entry. Various outcomes were viewed as a result of the entry modes of: licensing, partnership and Joint venture. The situations increased for Disney during each situation of entry due to the changes that Disney made in the selection of entry mode. Benefits were viewed and local country conditions were explained so that insights could be determined of best or better alternatives. The case report illustrated evaluations and recommendations of Disney’s current theme park expansions in Hong Kong. A lot can be learned from the various choices that Disney made, which were made during economic conditions weren’t favorable in most situations presents. Today the company, as illustrated in the case report is looking to expand, this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for the strategic analysis that Disney conducted prior to entry. From the presented data in this case report, on entry modes strategies can be developed to help future companies looking to expand in an international venture; recalling information on decision criterion that focuses on the country, type of industry, the company and the product or services to develop detailed outline analysis of the situation.




References:

Disneyandmore (2009, January 26). Disney and more. Retrieved February 14, 2009, from Hong Kong Disneyland : Coaster to the Rescue ! Web site: http://disneyandmore.blogspot.com/2009/01/hong-kong-disneyland-coaster-to-rescue.html

Johansson, J.K. (2006). Global marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Ho, M., Chan, S. H., & Wang, K. (2000). Hong Kong Disneyland (A): The Walt Disney perspective. Harvard Business Review, 1-22.
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. (2009, January 11). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved, February 13, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hong_Kong_Disneyland_Resort&oldid=263455272

The Digital Blur

http://thedigitalblur.com/

Business Strategies in an Economic Turndown Economy

Uncertainty is a large sum of what the current market is following today, also referred to as the "network effect". A trend where nobody knows whats going to happen, but follows the news and the rest will flock towards the advice.

Most companies in business today strive for a sound business portfolio, but do not plan for situations where the market is slowly moving to spend or release resources.

How does a business posture it self in this type of market?
Does a company reposition its strategy in market that is saturated with uncertainty?

Answers to the questions will be posted within the week. I will be looking forward to your thoughts on this post.

Regards,
Shaun Manzano