Like friendship or marriage, a business relationship will continue to change and evolve, and it is imperative that it lasts a long time in order to gain more profit and become mutually beneficial. For this to become a reality there must first be collaboration and communication. In channel management, a great way to practice this is through the use of partner portals. There are certain pointers and practices that can help guide a company to effectively deal with partners through partner portals and they include the following:

•    Knowledge – Channel members must be familiar with what they’re selling. They must also be updated with the latest trends and technologies, especially since products will constantly change and evolve to accommodate the latest trends.
•    Connection – Although it is not a requirement, loyalty in a channel is especially beneficial to the parent company. Just like any relationship, the partnership between a company and its partners must be based on trust and respect.  A connection must be established in order to successfully promote products and services. If the seller believes in the product, then sales will come much easier.
•    Access – It is important that members are given access to marketing programs or campaigns to promote synchronous operations.
•    Business Plan – This is an important tool because it outlines a company’s future and growth which is dependent on partners. This implies that these allies must be included in the business plan in order to have a clearer picture of what’s in store.
•    Channel Programs – Partners need Market Development Funds or MDF and Deal Registrations to help them with selling products.

In the past, PRM was considered to be more of a liability instead of an advantage. This is because it was almost impossible to communicate and collaborate with partners who can be located in any place in the world. Imagine the difficulty of having to interact with members through phone calls, email messages, and other technologically obsolete methods. It was equally as infuriating for managers to overlook the performance of the whole channel considering that he or she has to organize and analyze excel worksheets manually.

Nowadays, thanks to the vast improvement in internet speed and computer technology, and applications, web-based partner portals were created. PRM is now more easily executed which is a huge advantage to countless of organizations across the globe. A portal can be viewed as a channel’s “common room” where every member can go to in order to interact with others, update themselves on the latest news and trends, and seek help and support from their parent company. Geographic location is no longer an issue as communication becomes easier, faster and more efficient. Partners can access important resources, programs and other vital information in order to perform at their utmost best.

Efficiency and productivity are never excluded from the equation of a successful business. If a company lacks in either one, then it is highly likely that there would be no growth, and unfortunately, would lead to an inevitable end. Since the necessary technology and resources are easily within reach for the different channel-dependent companies, there is no reason for them to not establish their own web-based partner portal. They should consider the countless of opportunities that can be made available to them if they execute the PRM strategy correctly.

Ever since my cousin introduced this type of accommodation to me, I became utterly hooked. The concept greatly piqued my interest. A Barbados Apartment Hotel is comparable to the trendier, more luxurious hotels scattered on the different coasts of the island in such a way that it offers comfort, style, and a guaranteed memorable Bajan vacation experience that is too good to not blog about.

And so, for the past five years, I’ve gone back to Barbados to gather a personal census of and stay in each and every Barbados Apartment Hotel in existence. My goal is to find the greatest one before I die.

My latest ‘conquest’ is the Worthing Court Apartment Hotel. It is situated neatly across the south coast of the island and is conveniently located just fifteen minutes away from the airport. Its location gives customers awesome access to the island’s nightlife, entertainment, fine dining, shopping, water sports—the list goes on and on.

The rooms are clean (because of their daily maid service) and attractive, each of which boasts of providing you with all the comforts your home can provide. Like most apartment hotels, each room features its own kitchenette to help the thriftier customers out if they want to save on restaurant expenses. There are three kinds of rooms to choose from: the standard, superior, and one-bedroom suites. I think no matter which one you choose, though, you’re assured of a superior restful experience!

The establishment has its own quaint restaurant which serves tasty and satisfying meals. If I remember accurately, the prices weren’t too steep, so it was no sacrifice to eat there. Sometimes you get that lazy streak when you don’t want to cook yourself, you know. It’s a vacation after all!

My verdict is that this apartment hotel is worth your money. I don’t think it beats the other places that I’ve stayed at, but it definitely is pleasant and comfortable enough to go back to every year. I give this establishment my stamp of approval.

Facts about loans

For those who want to know Noynoy Aquino, read on. Remember that voting for a president is one of the biggest responsibilities that we are given in this life. And we all have to do our part in order to keep the future of our company as bright as possible. Here are some interesting facts about Noynoy Aquino that you might not know about.

Noynoy Aquino was born Benigno Simeon Cojuango Aquino III on the eight of February 1960. He is currently a senator but is dropping his place in order to run for President for the election next year as part of the Liberal party.

Here are some among other interesting facts about him. He is a proud product of Ateneo University. During a coup d’etat that was staged by rebels way back in Cory Aquino’s term of presidency, there was an incident that led to the serious wounding of Noynoy. During the year 1998, Noynoy Aquino sat in the House of Representatives of Tarlac as elected in that year’s congress. Then last 2007, he became a Philippine Senator.

Of course, as a result of his bid for presidency, a deluge of criticism has been thrown his way. A lot of people, for example, say that he does not really deserve to even run for president because he has not enough accomplishments to show for. Neither is he vocal enough for his presence to be actually felt anywhere. It seems that he takes after his mother who was also soft spoken. And it seems that it is his sister Kris Aquino who inherited their father’s blatant honesty.

In all those eleven years that Noynoy has been in the government seat, his main detractors note that there seems to be no major contribution to the legislative body from him. There seems to be not enough political will in Noynoy as well. After his mother’s well televised burial which the whole nation mourned, he was then approached by the party to head them as a presidential candidate. It does not really seem, even in just looking at Noynoy smiling shy demeanor, that he deserves to be president nor even really has enough political will to be president. Is he seems to just be riding the fame of his mother and father, something that is in very bad taste.

But of course, none of these are true. It is a fact that Noynoy Aquino just needs to get the chance to be president and his parents legacy shall be continued especially since a son will never be able to stain such a high legacy.

Elearning tools for academic education can really be helpful but I find that relying on them too much could be dangerous. What I am referring to are those software or web based modules. I am a teacher and so I recognize the importance teaching face to face versus simply relying on elearning. This is perhaps, especially true depending on the age of the learner as well as his or her thinking level and capabilities.

There are some people who can really learn a lot from elearning. You see elearning tools are just like learning manuals or textbooks only a lot more interactive. Therefore, it can really be so very useful. However, if one relies solely on these things, then there can be a lot of things missed. Some students are able to learn from a textbook. Some teachers are lazy enough to actually just tell the class to read the textbook. Their job just falls down to filling in a few things that are missing from the text or checking the student’s knowledge by creating a quiz or by recitation. But a true teacher will discuss the subject with so much gusto and will look into the students to see how they are doing. The students themselves will also be able to ask question in the middle of the lecture and may be able to contribute a few things as well. That is the model of learning we are all accustomed to.

So as a teacher, the best thing is to treat academic elearning tools as a convenience and not an absolute substitute. At the least, it can be given to students who are driven and who will fill in the gaps on their own through other sources. At best, it should be treated like textbook courses and a human teacher must still be present somewhere to monitor and to guide.

Our company was one of the first of those who first ventured into the call center industry. At first we set up one of the first call centers in India way back in 1997. Indian call centers were very busy. I did however never get used to the bad smell. It was everywhere, the body odor was overpowering. And the streets also smelled because they had a lot of cows and animals using the streets. Then our company noticed a change in the scene. Several large companies were closing down their Indian operations and were moving to the Philippines. Then all major companies started moving half or more than half of their operations to the Philippines for some reason.

This exodus was followed by our company. We then set up our own contact center operations in the newest fastest growing Asian call center location in the business. The Philippines was a very good choice. For one thing, the horrible body odor-like smell that permeated the whole of India including its cuisine was gone. In fact it’s quite the opposite. Filipinos it seems love to take baths. They take two baths a day in fact. And everyone was very courteous and friendly as opposed to India where you can’t walk in the streets without getting pissed of at some rude passerby giving you the look. It is a cultural thing. Filipinos are known internationally for their warmth and hospitality. I definitely prefer setting up shop there. Eventually we erected two buildings in a couple of the business parks in Manila.

The best part in having a contact center in the Philippines is that the agents were all so easy to train. They teach English there from kindergarten to college. No Filipino graduates without having an intimate knowledge of the English language. This is the edge of the country. Also, they have such a close cultural affinity with the U.S.

First of all, what one should be aware of is that corporations by law is treated as an actual person with just the same rights (right to ownership etc). But as a corporation, it is significantly different from us individual people. For one thing, the corporation has no real concept of morality. It is basically soulless. Now the people that make up the decision making body of the corporation may not all be greedy bad guys, but the way the corporation is structured inevitably promotes such selfish gain. Think about it, the corporation is actually BY LAW required to keep its own interests above all others. What it does not see is how many other people its actions affect. But the corporation just chunks this up to acceptable losses as long as the corporation’s well being is taken cared of.

Right now, our economy is suffering because of corporate greed. Yes, we could also blame the government of Bush for not being able to foresee this and provide enough regulation, but in the end, the main culprit is still corporate greed and it was in cahoots with everyone, the stock market the media, the government, and the consumers. Loan modification would not have been necessary if the banks were not so greedy as to provide loans to anyone.

There is much training needed for agents in an Asian call center. A quick look at the Philippine call center training program will give one a good overview as to how this works.

Training the Agents for Language
This is not always given by many Asian call centers but it is sometimes employed. These just usually contain overviews on the general grammatical errors that most people make. It is simply a refresher on the language in order to reorient the agents on the language. Of course more often than not this is no longer done because those with bad grammar are already filtered out in the screening process of call center agents.

Training the Agents for Speech
This comprises around 30 to 25 percent of the agent’s training time. Agents are trained to speak fluently and confidently. At first, one is given tongue twisters in order to loosen up the tongue. Then one is trained to get a neutral or U.S. American English accent. This is very important because it will help customers be more confident to communicate with the person they are talking to. It will also be a very big factor in the communication process. Bad thick accent is of course a problem because most times, the agent will not be understood properly.

Training the Agents for Service
This comprises the rest of the training period. Depending on the account, this part of the training may be very difficult or it may be very hard. Everything about the account is explained in detail. All the knowledge that the agent needs to know is made to be memorized. They are after all the people that will have to answer questions and queries by the baffled clueless customers that call them so they really need to know everything by heart.

Agents in training do not automatically get accepted into the company. While training, agents are given compensation in the form of allowance. Now the trainer will grade the agents and weed out the weak ones or the one’s that simply cannot learn.

I encourage everyone out there to join in the Gawad Kalinga GK Expo 09. It is “themed” Anong Taya Mo Para Sa Bayan? And it will have a special tribute to our former president Corazon Aquino.

I suppose by now Cory Aquino might have resigned to the idea that she is not fated for an ordinary existence. Even if she always says that she, as opposed to Ninoy, does not like the thrill ride of noisy politics, she has become a significantly political person.
Cory’s marriage the already politically strong young Ninoy changed the way her life would go forever. In some twist of fate, the more Mrs. Corazon Aquino tries to leave or renounce the political seat and position that is called on her to fill the more she gets entangled into this very same political network. The death of her husband, the hole that he left behind, this call to duty, became a gaping vacuum that is inevitably sucking her life.

That is how things came to be. She was forced towards this responsibility. This political life she never wanted. That was her legacy of courage. Fueled by the anger from the assassination of her husband, and backed by the anger of the Filipino people themselves, Ms. Cory Aquino decided to be a leader. She decided to be the beacon of the revolution. And this is the same revolution that Gawad Kalinga is which is why she will be given tribute to in this coming Gk Expo 09.

And it was a very peculiar revolution indeed. The news from our country was being broadcasted all over the world. The intense political drama between the powerful and dictator that plunged the country into martial law, Ferdinand Marcos, and the opposing voice that alone stood up and dared speak against the president, Senator Ninoy Aquino made for some dramatic news material with the high stakes all the human interest that jazzed it up. Then the senator was assassinated and finally the anger of the people grew to a fever pitch that they were no longer afraid of the dictator and his cronies that picked up people in the streets and salvaged them for little reason.

We shall never let our country be this way again. In the legacy of the Edsa revolution, we as a country must unite to uplift our fellow men. Join the GK expo 09 on October 10, 2009, 12:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

A few months ago in the GK Boston summit, they announced various glorious projects such as GK 1MB. But one of the most glaringly audacious announcements is the new vision of GK to effectively eradicate poverty from the face of the Philippines forever.

To my ears, this sounds so audacious. But when you think about it, this is exactly what we Filipinos need. We need a bold vision, no matter how hard the goal may seem. As the saying goes, aim for the sky, at least if you fall short, you fall on the roof. Even if the goal is not reached, at least there will be a way paved for real change in the future and at least there will be millions of homeless Filipinos helped in the process.

And Tony Meloto is right in asserting that what we need are heroes. And there is a good connection between the lack of heroes and the bad living conditions that the massive population of homeless people is made to endure. The bad living conditions and forced subsistence all shape them to be predatory and basically desperate. Its all dog eat dog. This is what GK Philippines will change. It will provide a decent community which will hopefully produce decent citizens. Imagine how you as a person would be changed to if one’s childhood is spent in Philippine slums.

If these communities are permitted to take root, develop and bud into self sustaining towns, then imagine the possibilities. All I know is that I hope new industries get attracted to the available labor in these sites so that there will be livelihood and development for a more self sustaining future. GK Philippines might just be the answer we are all looking for.