Gantt Chart

Gantt chart

A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts also show the dependency (i.e, precedence network) relationships between activities. Gantt charts can be used to show current schedule status using percent-complete shadings and a vertical "TODAY" line as shown here.

Although now regarded as a common charting technique, Gantt charts were considered revolutionary when they were introduced. In recognition of Henry Gantt's contributions, the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal is awarded for distinguished achievement in management and in community service. This chart is used also in Information Technology to represent data that has been collected.

From: wikipedia

WBS

A work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management and systems engineering, is a tool used to define and group a project's discrete work elements (or tasks) in a way that helps organize and define the total work scope of the project

PERT

A PERT chart is a project management tool used to schedule, organize, and coordinate tasks within a project. PERT stands for Program Evaluation Review Technique, a methodology developed by the U.S. Navy in the 1950s to manage the Polaris submarine missile program. A similar methodology, the Critical Path Method (CPM) was developed for project management in the private sector at about the same time.

CPM

CPM is frequently used in advertising to represent cost per thousand (where M is the roman numeral of 1000). When used in online advertising it relates to the cost per thousand page impressions. CPM is usually referred to the number of clicks registered in a website by the readers. Google calculates ad revenue for websites based on CPM.

An S-curve is defined as:

"A display of cumulative costs, labor hours or other quantities plotted against time. The name derives from the S-like shape of the curve, flatter at the beginning and end and steeper in the middle, which is typical of most projects. The beginning represents a slow, deliberate but accelerating start, while the end represents a deceleration as the work runs out.

From: wikipedia

Ms. FAIRUZA CRIANA DEGRAS CASAÑADA.

Mr. and Mrs. Anna Shiela Casañada are the reason to have a beautiful and talented daughter. She is 5 years old and was born on June 1, 2004 at Lucena City. This glamorous young lady loves to sing, dance, and play guitar and also taking picture as past time. Anyway she preferred to eat chocolate, cookies, pasta and fried chicken. She wants to become a famous and top artist in our country someday.

Advantages of Managing a Virtual Company in Terms of

COST
The cost savings and ease-of-use are compelling arguments for virtual events and for virtual online components to physical events. "Physical events are becoming much more tightly coupled with virtual events," Already, these virtual trade shows and conventions are morphing into business communities are using them for ongoing networking

When analyzing the costs of something make sure that you are looking at a wide enough perspective in your organization. Sometimes things that seem locally inexpensive are globally quite expensive.Plan your work and make a goal to have advantages in managing Virtual Company that's one of the greatest advantages.

TIME and FOCUS
When you're a start up your business you should consider the time and focus to the people you work with are some of your most valuable assets. Your team motivates you when you're down, shares their experiences when you need new strategies and partners with you when you're looking to open new markets.

Your challenge is to motivate and inspire all your workers, many of whom may not be full-time employees. You also need independent contractors and consultants to meet your clients' expectations. Your success depends on how well you focus their attention on your requirements and leverage their limited time and resources to benefit your business.

People invest more in their work when they believe that their contributions are valued and they share in the reward of a job well done. It's vital that your team members feel as though their opinions matter and they have a stake in your company's success. Keep them motivated by discovering what's truly important to them

EFFECTIVITY
First, hire the right people. This is true in any company, but even more so in the virtual one. Deb Beck of Studio 18 Group says that successful virtual employees are "self-starters and self-disciplined--it's definitely lonely working in a vacuum, and they need to be able to deal with this." Katz echoes Beck, saying that effective virtual employees, "need to connect with other outside communities," not just the virtual work environment they're in.

The virtual leader needs to have the utmost trust in new hires. The leader will not physically see or interact with employees as easily as in a traditional company. Therefore, business owners in these settings must have an extremely high level of confidence in their employees. Employees need to be exceedingly self-reliant and committed to the task and the organization; self-motivated to work independently and without much supervision; and dedicated to the success of their work. Productivity, self-efficiency and autonomy are essential.

Even though virtual employees need to be self-reliant and self-directed,the effective virtual entrepreneur needs to set realistic benchmarks and check-in times. To be able to manage someone from a remote location you must have some type of criteria to measure progress and success; e.g., total contacts made or total widgets produced. Some leaders reserve a particular time of the day or week for call-ins or staff meetings, using GoToMeeting or video-conferencing products.

Communication needs to be sufficient, frequent and intense enough to satisfy both the employer and the employee. Many set interim deadlines for projects so there are no surprises or gaps. Some, like Boston Software Systems, Inc., organize regional or national retreats once or twice a year. The purpose of these get-togethers is varied: opportunities for social interaction with employees who may never have met or who need to get to know each other; management and productivity purposes to discuss and improve processes, policies and procedures; information sharing; and creating a sense of unity, team building and esprit de corps

Courtery of entrepreneur.com

If your are tasked to manage a virtual company, how will you handle the following;

HIRING
When you are considering the possibility of hiring you should identify your critical needs and what you expect from them. What are the skills that you need? What experience and even more importantly, what qualities are you looking for? While the needs for every business owner will vary, here are a few things to consider when hiring in virtual company.
Experience
This should be one of the main considerations when looking at a potential candidate. You need to determine how much experience he or she has working from home. It is imperative that you insist on and check references. Be sure that the experience listed matches what you are seeking. A candidate may have substantial experience in word processing but if you’re looking for assistance in bookkeeping, then you probably need to consider someone else.
Integrity
This trait is particularly important if your Assistant will be dealing with confidential information. Again, reference checks are invaluable and a background check should be considered when client confidentiality is important.
Professionalism
While this is always important in the business world, it’s probably even more so when you are relying on someone you may never personally meet. If your will be dealing with clients via the phone or email, it is imperative that they are able to conduct themselves in a professional manner. How do they conduct themselves on the phone? Do they have a pleasant speaking voice and use proper grammar? A thorough interview as well as a writing assessment can help you make this determination.
Technical Skills
A they needs to have all of the software, hardware and technical abilities that are required for the task at hand. Do not assume that just because the candidate applied for the position that he or she has all of the necessary equipment to do the job effectively.
Initiative
it’s a good idea to see how assertive he or she will be. Is the candidate a self-starter? Do they think “outside the box” or are they timid and need a lot of guidance? You will want to ask how they handle obstacles or difficulties in completing a task and how they manage their time when working from home.
A lot of characteristics make up an excellent and trying to find the candidate that is just right for your business can be a tricky one.

CULTURE

Culture is not a big deal in virtual company, because everybody is dependent on each member meeting their objectives. Success or failure is shared by the whole team, so it incentivises the team to work together towards the same objective and with one insurance policy.

COMMUNICATION
Communication is defined as a process by which we assign and convey meaning in an attempt to create shared understanding. This process requires a vast repertoire of skills in intrapersonal and interpersonal processing, listening, observing, speaking, questioning, analyzing, and evaluating. Use of these processes is developmental and transfers to all areas of life: home, school, community, work, and beyond. It is through communication that collaboration and cooperation occur.

If there is one unifying theme that crosses all disciplines, it is communication. Communication is our window to basic literacy and academic excellence. Reaching levels of excellence and accuracy of expression mandate mastery of formal English. These are the capabilities that cultivate the potential in each student and the possibilities for our future.

Chat Etiquette

courtery of gmtristan.com/chat-etiquette
January 16, 2008 · Filed Under General, Musings, Online, Gaming

Chat etiquette is not limited to just online games. I mean, it’s universal. Aside from in-game chat, there are IMs, private and public chat rooms, etc. In this day and age, chat is now a valid medium of communication. You use it everyday.

If you want to be respected, you have to respect everyone you chat with. It (respect) is not bought, it is earned. This is especially true in chat since the written word carries “no tone”.

Allow me to share with you some few pointers and tips on chat etiquette.

More after the jump, amigo!

GM T’s CHAT ETIQUETTE TIPS AND NOTES

* No Tone - like I said, chat has “no tone” (not unless you’re using voice, of course). You have to be careful with the manner in which you use your words. Pay attention to how you construct your sentence and be wary of your punctuation.
* Don’t shout - ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING. Got that? Don’t do it. It’s impolite.
* Always be polite - Don’t be an @$$! Remember to say “thank you” and “Please”. That goes a long way.
* Don’t be sarcastic - never comment just for the sake of commenting. Respect each others’ opinion. If you have to explain something, do so in a polite and professional way.
* Think before you hit enter - put yourself in the shoes of the one who will receive it. If you wouldn’t want to read such trash. Don’t send it.
* If they don’t want to chat, don’t force them - players (and of course, people) do things differently and on separate times. I mean, they MAY be busy. So if they don’t answer. Don’t force the issue. They may be AFK (Away From Keyboard) for all we know.