Course Corrections

The world economy may well be headed for the "Mother of all course corrections." Economists use the term "course correction" to talk about things like the overall direction of the economy, changes in economic policy, changes in the specific plans of a major corporation, or a group of businesses forming a segment of the economy. Think of a corporation deciding to focus its marketing on the aging 'baby boomers' as a course correction. A nation trying to create a more favorable balance of trade by reducing or increasing tariffs would be a policy course correction. These are conscious decisions aimed at affecting some part of the economy or market.

The term, "course correction" is rarely used regarding consumers. You will hear reports of consumer spending, consumer confidence or consumer preferences, but not "consumer course correction." The implication is that while consumers might respond to economic conditions by either spending or saving more, consumers are not thought of in terms have having any kind of unified consciousness like a corporation. Their decisions are seen as a reaction to something, rather than a planned and coordinated response to direct a change in the economy. According to standard economics, if credit is tight, the consumer spends less and if credit is loose, the consumer racks up their credit card balances. The consumer is seen as sheep who are led by their collective noses by mass advertising and they will buy just about anything if the marketing is done right.

Historically, this has been true. Consumers have jumped at the latest fads, fashions and gadgets in a system designed for perpetual consumption. Credit has flowed freely and the consumer has almost enjoyed its courtship with corporations. Awards for best commercials attest to this marriage and ads for new products and 'sales' are read religiously. The shopping frenzy around holidays is an embarrassment. The consumer is the follower that has been led by the nose by big corporations.

We are all familiar with the status of the current economy. The sub-prime mortgage crisis is playing havoc with businesses and consumers. Oil prices have and will continue to climb robbing precious dollars from the already precarious economy. Food prices are rising and banks and lending institutions are scrambling for survival. The Dow, which is really based on only 30 companies, is trying desperately to stabilize. All in all, not a pretty picture as consumer confidence wanes and retail sales decline. Keep one thing in mind, all of this economic uproar is because you, the consumer, are not buying as much as 'they' want you to. Our economy is based upon buy, break and throw away and buy again. It is here that a "consumer course correction" may occur.

Could this be the end of the Age of Consumption? Is it possible that the light at the end of this economic tunnel is that the consumer will finally 'decide' what it wants rather than being 'told' what it wants? As prices for the basic, food, clothing and shelter continue to skyrocket, reckless consumption will have to come to an end. This is a positive event. The planet is hurting. We are raping it of its resources, destroying the natural balance and web of life and altering its climate. In the wake of growing natural disasters, the time of reckless use of resources to feed an insatiable business appetite must come to an end. Remember, the bottom line of business is to get you to consume for the sake of consumption. It has nothing to do with socially conscious or 'green' buying. However, the consumer will soon find itself in a position to dictate what it wants for products. Consumers will have to make choices between disposable garbage and products of true and lasting value. The consumer can demand quality and chemical free food. The consumer can demand high mpg, non-polluting vehicles. The consumer can demand the elimination of poisonous plastic food containers. The consumer can demand products that last and that are made according to high safety standards. The consumer can demand a rapid change to alternative, clean and renewable energy resources.

How does the consumer cause a course correction? It merely spends it money on those items that meet socially responsible goals. The consumer can only buy those products packaged in glass. They can buy the higher, albeit foreign, mileage cars. They can stop wasting money on poor quality fast foods. It can stop taking their children to worthy events and activities and save gas. After a while, pressure will build for change.

They can stop attending social functions and meeting and hearings. By using their spending and their time in a socially conscious way, the consumer can take control of the economy.

All of this may sound like wishful thinking. But as the dollar is reduced in value and as travel becomes too costly, decisions will have to be made. The economy will never again be 'business as usual.' The consumer cannot afford it and the planet cannot afford it. Does this mean suffering and sacrifice? No, it means that the consumer will soon be in a position to do what politicians and businesses have been unwilling to do, to create a sane and rational world where humanity and nature live in harmony and balance.

Mr. Harris was born in Massachusetts. He attended The American University in Washington, D.C. and received his degree in Political Science. His graduate work was done at the University of Northern Colorado and Howard University. He spent several years working for local and regional and state government agencies. He worked on a White House Task Force and served as Rural Policy Coordinator at the FRCouncil of New England.

Preparing for the Hurricane Season

Why Start Now?
Hurricane season doesn't begin until June 1st. Why? Because if you don't begin soon, you won't be ready for an approaching storm. We're all somewhat guilty of procrastination. Get over it! Your family's safety is important. Do something now.

Wind Borne Debris
What you need to do now, while the temperature isn't too high, is prepare your property (landscaping and yard). Your main concern is wind borne debris. What is that? Well it's basically everything that can be blown around by strong winds of a tropical storm or hurricane. It starts out as things like garbage cans, lawn furniture, etc. If the winds begin to pick up, then you will find palm fronds and other smaller tree limbs, along with the other items mixed in. These items could cause minor damage to your home.

During hurricane force winds, backyard sheds and wood or vinyl fencing begin to tear apart, Shingles along the upper edge begin to fly off rooftops. Things begin to get nasty. Major damage will be the result of these things striking your home. Winds from a hurricane making a direct hit on an area can cause these projectiles to become deadly. What you want to do is to eliminate, or at least reduce the chances of things in your yard becoming this potentially destructive debris.

Yard Work
Start by addressing any trees, especially those located near your house. Begin by pruning, thinning out the canopy. This will allow the wind to blow through the tree easier instead of the tree acting as a sail. Strong winds along with saturated ground around the tree could cause it to topple over. This could cause significant damage to your home or any vehicles parked near the tree. Also, remove any dead or diseased limbs. You may consider completely removing older, weaker trees. Many of these older specimens appear fine, but many are rotting from the inside out. If you're not sure contact a local arborist to determine if removing them is your best option.

An excellent guide to landscaping in hurricane prone areas is a book titled Stormscaping, by Pamela Crawford. It is packed with information on how to select and care for landscaping in Florida as well as other southern states which are subject to dealing with the threat of hurricanes.

Next, is to inspect any fences surrounding your property: fence sections and fence posts. Check all attachments, adding any nails or screws (I prefer screws) to secure things better. Fence post should be set in concrete, otherwise the entire post could be sucked right our of the ground by a strong gust of wind.

Get Everyone Involved
No one wants to be working outside alone. Get the rest of the family involved, and make it a group effort. Your children need to know that being prepared for hurricane season is important to the entire family. It is also a lesson of responsibility we all need to learn. The younger ones can help pick up small branches and leaves, while the older ones can lend their muscles to the cause. It's not necessary to remove everything that could become blown away from the yard at this time. Leave the kid's toys out for now. Just remind them that if a storm approaches it will be their job to gather and bring them in before the weather turns bad.

Next Time . . . Windows and Doors
Take a breather for now. The next challenge is preparing your home for that wind borne debris.

Remember, "Just Say No to Hurricanes"

Corporate News And Events Strategies

In my last job, corporate events were nothing that anyone looked forward to. Basically, the boss would take us all out for drinks and dinner, which was pleasant. Pleasant, that is, until he got filthy drunk. Then he would proceed to make a fool out of himself, insult people, and in general make a scene. The first time this happened it was pretty funny, until we got in to work the next day. Because of the fact that the corporate event was an embarrassment for the boss, he took it out on the rest of us for weeks! It may seem strange, but for the next month he was unbearable. Rather than just admitting that he was wrong and that he made a fool of himself, he used that corporate business event as an excuse to be extremely difficult to deal with for the next month.

That is why, when I was put in charge of organizing a company sponsored event, I took it as an opportunity to do things better than how my last boss had done them. I knew that I could set up the perfect corporate events, but I wanted to make sure that I designed an outing that catered to a wide variety of tastes. I started a poll, asking my various coworkers, higher ups, and lower downs, what corporate event would appeal to them most. I got a wider variety of suggestions for various corporate events. Some people thought it would be nice to take a scenic corporate cruise on the bay around sunset. Other people wanted to all go out to a concert together. I even had one guy who said that we should all go play laser tag or paintball! With all of these suggestions, it was hard to make up my mind and select the perfect event, but I think I managed.

You see, I wasn't planning for one of those corporate events that is all meetings, but my boss talked to me and said that he did want to have an opportunity to talk business. With that in mind, I opted for the cruise. It would give us plenty of time to discuss corporate matters as we had rented out the whole boat for ourselves, But it would also let us loosen up and enjoy each other's company. All in all, it seemed like the perfect compromise, combining a dinner party and a chance to get away from it all.

Article On Online Shopping

Are you amazed to read Online shopping as the biggest beneficiary? This is really true and has been credited to several factors including:

Ø Emergence of new market players

Ø Growing competition

Ø Fall in the prices

Ø Favorable government policies

Ø Strict online shopping rules and regulations

Ø Safe and secure payment gateways

All modern day business and entrepreneurs want to get the best results for their line of products and services. Moreover, the modern day customer can only be satisfied with high quality innovative products & services and that too at affordable prices. You may be thinking what are the links between online shopping and all these factors? Let us look at some of the benefits to understand these links.

Online shopping eliminates the middlemen and thus the customer get the products and services of his choice at an affordable price. In addition to that, the platform provided by online shopping to the buyers and sellers hold immense value. The sellers can easily get a market and create demand for the products and services with the help of advertisements on the World Wide Web. This means better promotion of products and services as well as enhanced sales and eventually a rise in the overall business performance. The buyers can have an easy access to the products and services with safe and secured payment transactions and the comfort of shopping from the vicinity of their homes.

Several world economies such as the United States, United Kingdom and Japan have been enjoying the comforts of online shopping since the last few decades. India has been a new entrant to the world of online shopping but has gradually strengthened its visibility on the World Wide Web in just a few years. The earlier reluctant customers are now relishing online shopping like never-before. With the positively reformed Cyber laws and regulations coupled with the mass awareness along with a rise in the number of online shopping stores in India, the Indian economy is bound to be one of the biggest names in the world of online shopping in just a matter of few years. This is also evident from the fact that these shopping stores in India have been able to get a positive response from the modern day customer within no time.

It can be easily concluded that these online stores will change the horizons of the world market in the future years, and will exceed the expectations of all.