Counter Assertion

The friendship that develops among volunteers can tie their community together more closely, and naturally it will help their local needy. However, organizing this kind of event is often tricky, and before you know it you don’t have half as long at your disposal to actually do some good. Keep in mind that volunteering is more fun with your colleagues pitching in by your side!

The obvious step is for companies to look to the example of firms like Adaptive Marketing LLC. In addition to programs like Passport to Fun (MVQ*PASSPRT2FUN) intended to benefit consumers, Adaptive Marketing organizes local volunteer activity to give its employees the time to help the local community.

Such initiatives used to be rare, minor activities - but nowadays that can be seen as just the beginning. The employees of Adaptive Marketing are regularly provided with opportunities to participate in community initiatives with more and less effort required. With the information - date, location, time, details of event, et cetera - prominently posted it became very simple for staff members to set aside the time they’d volunteer and what initiative they’d join. It’s essential to let volunteers choose activities that fit their outlook. At Adaptive Marketing, the company behind Passport to Fun (MVQ*PASSPRT2FUN), staff members are presented with the chance to choose from a diverse list of activities in their local area. You’ll find so much to be done; getting involved in the education and entertainment of children, lending a hand to environmental programs, or supporting local artists to list just a few that have already been tried. The result is that Adaptive Marketing volunteers have opportunities to explore useful avenues in volunteer work and relish their time volunteering. A regular addition to their schedule or a big one-off event - these are the usual ways for a business to organize volunteer initiatives like these, perhaps at a local school or the homeless shelter in town. There will probably be people who claim they don’t have the time, but even they may be able to arrange a Saturday morning spent litter picking in the park or the public library’s sale of used books. We’re sure you’ve heard a number of tales of organizations supporting the citizens of their home town. Goodwill is generated by the volunteer participation of Adaptive Marketing’s staff through these company-sponsored programs. The real bonus is, the benefits of helping others include a sense of generosity and accomplishment - a positive feeling that can enrich the entire firm. Creating the opportunity to help employees become volunteers rewards everyone involved.

Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co (KKR) was founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts in 1976 with some assistance from the First Chicago Corporation. Recently they have set up an exceptional enterprise which centers not merely on maximized profit margins, but likewise on the environmental impact of the companies they invest in.

When Henry Kravis from KKR and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) merged in 2008 environmental issues went mainstream. Their company mission is to encourage firms to oppose environmental threats such as toxic waste as well as any unrestrained consumption of water resources. Eco-efficiency (a phrase originally pitched by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development) makes up their mission’s framework, using ecologically sustainable techniques such as increasing the durability of products, using clean energy and recycling programs. Even though the program was a colossal success, managment simply did not understand how significant the effects actually were until Ken Mehlman, the man in charge of the program, studied the first year’s figures. Only at that point did Ken Mehlman observe that eco-efficiency was not only reducing their ecological impact, but in addition it was saving business concerns a great deal of money. Virtually all of the commercial concerns held by KKR and Ken Mehlman now are involved in the Green Portfolio Project. When you look at the fact that the group is valued at $86 billion, you can imagine what an enormous achievement this actually was.

The Green Portfolio project has evolved far beyond its original purpose and currently includes new enterprises. For instance, KKR linked up with the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps Program an organization which teaches interns taking a Master’s in Business Administration how to introduce cost effective, earth friendly practices. In addition, Ken Mehlman has been in close collaboration with KKR to formulate metrics which business organizations can employ to quantify various resources. With this information available, companies may easily assess their everyday operations and find out exactly how they can solve any problems while at the same time allowing staff to view their ecological impact. The business world has been revolutionized by the efforts of Henry Kravis, the KKC, and the Environmental Defense Fund. Their visionary developments have set a high standard for companies in every industry and proved to the world that making profits need not entail the hefty price of negatively impacting our planet.

This is the success story of Steve Schwarzman. Last year Steve placed number 53 on Forbes’ list of America’s richest individuals, however it’s his incredible generosity to society and his spectacular business achivements that show him to be such a magnetic man. The Blackstone Group co-founder is a great role model and further proof that commitment and hard work are essential in achieving success.

Steve Schwarzman and Peter Peterson established the private-equity and financial advisory company Blackstone Group in the 1980’s. The group has gone from strength to strength and is now a world leader in the M & A field. Having called the Philadelphia suburban area home for much of his young life, Steve Schwarzman attended high school in the School District of Abington. Subsequent to graduation from high school he opted for undergraduate study at Yale University. He then opted for a master’s degree at the influential Harvard Business school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After finishing his post-graduate degree, Steve commenced his career in investment banking. By the age of 31, he had already been appointed one of their managing directors. Stephen A. Schwarzman served as an adjunct professor at the exalted Yale School of Business Management as well as donating to many charities, education, and the arts. He is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in New York, New York. Furthermore, he proudly announced in Spring of 2008 that he was presenting $100 million to the New York Public Library to help in funding their expansion. Steve also serves on the board of trustees. Steve Schwarzman is nowadays setting the standard for successful Americans — Times Magazine recently listed him as one of the one hundred most influential individuals on the planet. His meteoric rise to power in the business and financial communities is certainly astounding, and coupled with his willingness to support his community as exemplified by his lavish donations to the liberal arts and education encourages people who see him as an inspiration. So America awaits Steve’s next move. To summarize, Steve has made a tremendous difference to both the business and financial communities and to the world generally.

Today, efficient philanthopy is definitely as critical as ever. You have in all probability encountered Mr. Naveen Jain’s name the CEO and co-founder of Intelius, Inc. the market leaders in background checks, identity theft protection and public records services. In addition to making the Forbes 400 Richest in America list 2000, this maverick entrepreneur has won a number of reputable awards, notably the Albert Einstein Technology Medal, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, and the WSA Industry Achievement Award, to list but a few. Nevertheless it doesn’t finish off here. Because Mr. Jain and his family are by the same token as zealous about philanthropy and will seek to give succor whenever possible. The young of today are truly humanity’s #1 aspiration or the future. This entrepreneur views - and treats - children as a pivotal focus of his philanthropic projects, and he uses any opportunity available to aid them. This obviously, is why he is always thoroughly leveraging every chance available to him to lend a helping hand if it seems at all feasible. So, Naveen Jain, his relatives and the employees at Intelius apply their time and efforts to charities e.g. the University of Washington, the Overlake Service League, and United Way. As one would expect, they hand out magnanimous material support but more importantly they devote their time and attention to those youth who need it the most. Moreover he helps support the Children’s Hospital hoping to meliorate child health.

Seeing that Naveen Jain is a former student of the Indian Institute of Technology and XLRI Jamshedpur, it’s hardly astonishing that professional training also constitutes a key pivot point in his philanthropic activities. This also includes campaigns and charitable organizations that run the gamut from neighborhood programs to the global. In doing this Intelius and its CEO are supporting support agencies and charities,like, for example TreeHouse, the Children’s Hospital and the Vedic Cultural Center.

Getting sustenance to the underdogs of the world is another critical objective for Jain and those around him and to him, it makes not one jot of difference. While Naveen is quite mindful that the aspiration to feed every starving person in the world can seem to be an insurmountable task, he is also cognizant that the unattainable can indeed be quite achievable if only everybody applies themselves towards a unified end. If this business leader should have his way, there will be a unquestionable end to destitution and malnourishment everywhere one day.

Many people might feel that being the head of a wildly flourishing market leading enterprise as well as being an out-and-out family man would give him no free scope for altruism and helping his fellow men. However Naveen Jain ensures that every one of his benevolent projects obtains all the support he can plausibly ramp up. This entrepreneurial man is definitely a lot more than any obsessed (though admittedly eminently successful) leader of industry. He is (even more importantly) also an exceptional personality and an authentic benefactor of his community.

There is a story we all preferred to listen to as children, and that was the one about how my brave Dad got his face filled with scars. I will recite to you the storey at the conclusion of this tribute, a tribute to the greatest dad a little girl could ever have. His dying at the early age of fifty four came up as a shock specially when his appointment for the hospital was to get a plaster cast removed only to bring him dead in the waiting room.

Although our separation was sudden, the fondest of memories still held a solid presence in my head for 26 years. If I could turn back time, I would apologize for the times I took him for granted. Unfortunately, it’s overly late and I would have to take this weight throughout my lifetime. But knowing the man he was, I’m sure he will forgive me.

They say the good pass away young and that is what has aided to alleviate the gall I experienced towards the man up above for taking dad so soon.People interpret the word “special” in a lot of ways. So what do I see in my father that makes him to a greater extent special than the others?

Dad functioned in the military for thirty-four years along side an army of Fathers Day Gifts. He was assigned in Hong Kong when this storey happened. The warning signal triggered into motion the evacuation of families living outside the camp to seek refuge in the camp at once.

Eight of us were compacted into the rear of a 3 ton army wagon with pillows for protection and ordered to keep our heads down of which we obeyed - the Chinese riot mobs were appearing up from the trenches that lined the road back to the camp fully equipped with all kinds of killing tools - twenty one rocks gone into the wagon on the journey back to camp.

The convoy of trucks that followed behind and stopped - now became burning wrecks.If a bombardment of boulders were hurtled into the back of the wagon - just what kind of state was the front of that vehicle in and that of the driver. There were no medallions of bravery granted to the driver when acknowledgement was carried by the army superiors for his act of gallantry. The reason why was because he should not have been driving at the time, so all the pats on the back went to the wrong man sitting up front.

Until now, I still wonder if we could have lasted that day were it not for the drivers who disobeyed the rules in order to save us.

The outcome of that fearful day was a truck with no windshield a driver with no face and eight living persons that lived to tell the tale - so now you have the conclusion to my story why those millions of scratches and marks, scarred us for life with special memories of dear old dad.

An intranet is basically a private web based network. It uses all of the technology of the internet but is safe and protected behind a firewall that keeps unauthorized personnel out. Companies have been using them for years as a method of streamlining their internal communications.

Because a web browser can run on any type of computer, the need to maintain multiple paper copies of documents that are constantly changing can be eliminated. Documents like training manuals, internal phone books, procedure manuals, benefits information, employee handbooks, requisition forms, etc. can be maintained as electronic documents and updated at almost no cost. The savings in paper and other material costs can be significant

But the most powerful aspect of an intranet is its ability to display information in the same format to every computer being used. That allows all of the different software and databases a company uses to be available to all employees without any special equipment or software being installed on their systems.

This universal availability of information is sparking an era of collaboration unlike anything ever seen before. The departmental barriers that exist in many companies are slowing breaking down because now colleagues can share information readily using the company intranet.

Options for implementing an intranet

There are a variety of options for setting up an intranet. They include building your own intranet technology, purchasing and installing third-party software, or purchasing access through an extranet ASP. Here is a quick summary of the advantages and disadvantages of each approach:

1. Building it yourself
Advantages: Complete control of user interface design; ability to customize level of functionality; integration into internal systems, and direct access to user activity.

Disadvantages: High up-front development cost; requires staff expertise in the development of extranets, commitment of internal staff for 6 months to a year for planning, execution, review and implementation; and an ongoing commitment of internal staff for internal and client support, hosting, maintenance and upgrades.

2. Purchasing/installing third-party software
Advantages: Proven track-record of packaged solution; ability to choose functions and to
customize user interface, more rapid implementation compared to building it yourself.

Disadvantages: High up-front purchase cost; commitment of internal staff for customization and implementation; on-going commitment of internal staff for internal and client support, hosting, maintenance and upgrades; and extensive internal and client training

3. Using a Service Provider (ASP)
Advantages: Proven track-record of the application; low cost of entry and predictable cost over time; virtually immediate implementation; no commitment of internal staff for internal support, hosting, or maintenance; and upgrades at no cost by extranet experts, and savings on internal server use.

Disadvantages: Less freedom in user interface design, and fixed functionality.

In the final analysis…
The approach you choose depends on how you work, the technical and financial resources at your disposal, and how rapidly you need to move forward.

Rick Mosenkis is CEO of Trichys, providers of WorkZone extranet and intranet solutions for online
document sharing.

During my visits to various countries the world over, I have been lucky enough to be invited by my friends to join in their tea time sessions. You can call it a party or a way to relax but those evening sessions had a grand arrangement with tea served in porcelain tea-pots, cups and saucers in glass, with assorted cakes, pastries, biscuits or sandwiches to accompany them. Most of those times it was clear that the drinks played an important role in the event, in some cases the number of tea varieties presented was huge.

This brings down to my notice a very important aspect of tea drinking tradition. The tea accessories play a vital role in tea drinking. If tea is popular for its aroma and flavor, the accessories play an equally important role in making tea a drink of the elite. As we know that after tea leaves are processed and sold in the market, consumers buy the tea and store them in their houses. Tea storage should be done in specially designed canister that is air-proof and keep the tea fresh. The various tea accessories that are available are tea pots, cups, saucers, tea infusers, brewers and strainers, tea spoons, sugars, milk, storage containers, iced tea pitchers and the tea bags.