Monday, August 31, 2009

Patronage Dividend:

A wholesaler's refund to a member retailer to distribute profits is called Patronage dividend. It is determined by totaling purchases for a given time period or of specified items.

Grouping/Ungrouping Sheets:

Grouping sheets has the following advantages:

• Allows setting the print options for a number of sheets at once.
• Allows changing an item from the View tab in the Options dialog box (Tools menu).
• Allows applying formats to many sheets.
• Allows unhiding of rows and/or columns simultaneously.
• Allows typing/inserting text or formulas for the same cell address in all grouped sheets.

To group all sheets in the workbook:

Select the first sheet in the workbook, hold the Shift key and click the last sheet tab in the workbook.
OR
From a sheet tab shortcut menu, select Select All Sheets.

To group continuous sheets:

Hold the Shift key and click a different sheet tab.

To group non-continuous sheets:

Hold the Ctrl key, click a different sheet tab and add it to the group.

To ungroup sheets:

Hold the Shift key and click the active sheet tab.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

How to avoid Pictures Turning into Big Red ‘X’:

This is a serious problem that many people are running into. It is due to a file size bug; when PowerPoint doesn't have enough memory to deal with the size of your file, the graphics get forever replaced with big red X images. If you can insert the pictures directly from PowerPoint (using Insert/Picture) as opposed to using copy/paste, the file size sometimes turns out to be much smaller (some applications create links and other exciting remnants when doing a paste operation). When saving and reopening these files, people find fewer problems. As for opening files which already have red crosses, Microsoft suggests closing the file WITHOUT saving (as saving would also save the red crosses), close all other programs to free up as much memory as possible, restart your computer, and finally reopen your file. This has been tested and it seems to work; problem is that almost everybody closes the file and saves it. In this case, you must manually reinsert the picture from its original source.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Jump to Top or Bottom of a View:

Rather than hitting page up or page down multiple times, or using the vertical scroll bar on the side of the view, if you want to move to the top (first document) or bottom (last document) of a view, just press CTRL+HOME or CTRL+END.

This is extremely useful in views sorted either alphabetically or by date.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Diagnostic journey and remedial journey:

A two-phase investigation used by teams to solve chronic quality problems. In the first phase, the diagnostic journey, the team journeys from the symptom of a chronic problem to its cause. In the second phase, the remedial journey, the team journeys from the cause to its remedy.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Change Gridline color:

The gridlines help you track information on the screen easier and to locate cells quickly. Normally the gridlines are shown in black, but you may want to make them some other stylish color. If you want to change the gridline color, follow these steps:
1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. You will see the Options dialog box.
2. Click on the View tab.
3. Use the Color drop-down palette to select a color for your gridlines.
4. Make sure the Gridlines check box is selected.
5. Click on OK.
You can specify different gridline colors for each worksheet in a workbook.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

How Google gets its revenue:

Unlike some Internet companies, Google has multiple ways of generating revenue beyond private investment or selling shares of its stock. Google uses three methods to partner with merchants and advertisers: Google Checkout, Google AdWords and Google AdSense.
Google Checkout is a service designed to make online purchases easier for both the consumer and the retailer. On the consumer end, users create a free Google Checkout account. Part of the account creation process includes entering a credit or debit card number, which Google stores in a secure database. When the user visits a retailer that subscribes to Google Checkout, he or she can click on the checkout option and Google facilitates the transaction. This means that the user doesn't have to enter a card number every time he or she makes a purchase.
Retailers can set up Google Checkout accounts for free, but as of August 2008, Google charges a 2 percent plus 20-cent fee per transaction. For example, if a customer buys a $10 item from a merchant, Google will charge that merchant 40 cents for that transaction.
Another way Google generates revenue is through a pair of Web advertising services called AdWords and AdSense. With AdWords, advertisers can submit ads to Google that include a list of keywords relating to the product, service or business. When a Google user searches the Web using one or more of those keywords, the ad appears on the SERP in a sidebar. The advertiser pays Google every time a user clicks on the ad.
AdSense is similar, except that instead of displaying ads on a Google SERP, a webmaster can choose to integrate ads into his or her own site. Google's spiders crawl the site and analyze the content. Then, Google selects ads that contain keywords relevant to the webmaster's site. The webmaster can customize the location and color of the sidebar containing the ads. Every time someone clicks on an ad on the webmaster's site, the webmaster receives a portion of the ad revenue (Google gets the rest).
With both AdWords and AdSense, Google's strategy is to provide targeted advertising to users. Google believes that by providing advertising relevant to the information for which the user is already searching, the chances of someone following the ad are greatly increased.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Pricing Strategy:

There are numerous price strategies used by businesses to take advantage of customer pricing psychology. Three of the more common are listed below.
Multiple Unit Pricing
Simply put, this is a strategy where the customer perceives quantity buying as involving greater savings. An example is an item that normally sells for 49 cents. Multiple pricing would change this situation to a two for 89 cents or perhaps three for $1.39 price. In general, multiple unit pricing is usually effective in increasing immediate sales. However, this pricing technique may not increase the rate of consumption of the product. People will buy extra units of the product and use them as needed.
Several factors ought to be considered when using multiple unit pricing. First, the multiple-unit price has to be easy to understand. Eight for 79 cents is usually less effective than simple multiples of two for 19 cents. Second, the bargain concept of multiple pricing is not usually effective over the $10 range. It is, however, very effective for items within the $1 range.
Odd Number Pricing
Odd number pricing refers to setting a price just below the psychological breaks in the dollar, such as a price is set at 49 cents or 99 cents rather than 50 cents or $1. Prices may be set at 19 cents or 49 cents or $19.95. This gives the psychological impression to the customer that the price is not 20 cents or 50 cents or $20, but less. Odd number pricing is often avoided in prestige stores or with higher priced items. An expensive dress could be priced at $150, not $149.95.
Prestige Pricing
Prestige pricing refers to high markups and/or pricing above the market. Many consumers are willing to pay more for a product or service because it is felt the product or service is of higher quality or possesses brand or manufacturer prestige. Usually above-market pricing can be done only when the product is unique or distinctive, or when the seller or manufacturer has acquired prestige in the field.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Nudging Objects:

You can use the arrow keys to move objects very small distances. This is a big win for those laptop users who no longer have mice. Select the object, and then use your arrow keys. Each press of the key will move the object on "grid unit" (1/12th of an inch, don't ask why); if you hold down the Ctrl key while nudging, or if you have the grid turned off, you can move the objects one pixel at a time.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Cellular Manufacturing:

An arrangement of people, machines, materials and equipment in which the processing steps are placed next to each other in sequential order and through which parts are processed in a continuous flow is called Cell. The most common cell layout is a U shape.

Arranging machines in the correct process sequence, with operators remaining within the cell and materials presented to them from outside are called Cellular Manufacturing.

Spyware

Spyware is software that resides on a computer and sends information to its creator. That information may include surfing habits, system details or, in its most dangerous form, passwords and login information for critical applications such as online banking. Many spyware programs are more annoying than dangerous, serving up pop-up ads or gathering e-mail addresses for use in spam campaigns. Even those programs, however, can cost you valuable time and computing resources.
In addition to spyware, there are other kinds of invasive programs that can make your computing life miserable, so it's worth it to take a moment to define a few terms:
Malware: Short for malicious software, malware is a catch-all phrase used to define any program that runs on a computer without the user's knowledge and performs predetermined functions that cause harm. In that sense, spyware can also be malware.
Adware: Similar to spyware and malware, in that it resides on a computer without the user's knowledge, adware specifically refers to programs that display pop-up advertisements. The subject matter of the ads is often based on surfing habits, but may also be tied to a specific advertiser.
Virus: As the name implies, a virus is a program that is designed to spread itself among files on a single computer or computers on a network -- usually the Internet. Often, crackers (hackers with malicious intent) create these programs just to see how far they will spread. Unfortunately, even a supposedly harmless virus can have a serious effect on processing and network operations.
Worm: Similar to a virus, a worm spreads itself around a network. Worms, however, do so by making copies of themselves as they spread. They also may be capable of changing their profile to avoid detection.
Trojan: Like the infamous horse of Greek mythology, the computer version takes on the appearance of something benign, such as an update or add-on to an actual program. Once on your computer, it may perform harmful functions such as erasing your hard disk or deleting all your image files. Like spyware, a Trojan may also gather information and send it to the developer.
Cookie: While cookies aren't really malware, they can be used in similar ways. Cookies are small data files used by Web sites to store information on your computer. For example, a shopping site may want to identify items you've looked at, but not purchased, or store data on current purchases until you head for the checkout. A less scrupulous site, however, may decide to look through your cookies for personal information, such as recent sites you have visited.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Finding and Replacing Error Values:

Sometimes we often have huge worksheets with hundreds of rows of calculated values. Inevitably there will be scattered cells with the #N/A error that we would like to all be 0 (or some other value) so that we can use the cells in other formulas. Removing these values from the calculation is usually impossible, and it's very tedious to remove them by hand. It would be easy if there is any way to do the equivalent of a "find and replace" on those error values.
Simply follow these steps:
1. Press F5. Excel displays the Go To dialog box.
2. Click Special. Excel displays the Go To Special dialog box.
3. Make sure the Formulas radio button is selected.
4. The only check box that should be selected under Formulas is Errors.
5. Click OK. Excel selects all cells where the formula returned an error value.
6. Type 0 or whatever value you want.
7. Press Ctrl+Enter.
Note that this approach results in any error values being replaced, not just those with the #N/A error.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Perseids:

The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift-Tuttle. The Perseids are so called because the point they appear to come from, called the radiant, lies in the constellation Perseus. Meteor showers occur when Earth moves through a meteor stream. The stream in this case is called the Perseid cloud and it stretches along the orbit of the Comet Swift-Tuttle. The cloud consists of particles ejected by the comet as it passed by the Sun. Most of the dust in the cloud today is approximately a thousand years old. However, there is also a relatively young filament of dust in the stream that was pulled off the comet in 1862. The rate of meteors originating from this filament is much higher than for the older part of the stream.
The Perseid meteor shower has been observed for about 2000 years, with the first known information on this meteor shower coming from the Far East. In early medieval Europe, the Perseids came to be known as the "tears of St. Lawrence."
The shower is visible from mid-July each year, with the greatest activity between August 8 and 14, peaking about August 12. During the peak, the rate of meteors reaches 60 or more per hour. They can be seen all across the sky, but because of the path of Swift-Tuttle's orbit, Perseids are primarily visible in the northern hemisphere.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Stylish Paragraph:

Paragraph Styles allows defining a group of settings for font typeface, size, color, line spacing, bullets, etc, and we can then apply all of those settings at once to the paragraphs selected.

The first thing we need to do is create the new style(s) that we want to use. Begin by typing out a few sentences and then apply the formatting choices (font, spacing, color, etc) that we want to use in the future. Once we have things looking the way we want, select the text and press ALT+ENTER to bring up the Text Properties Box.

Click on the last tab, and click Create Style, then enter the name to use.





Now any time we want to apply the new style we can do so from either
a) The menu "Text - Apply Style",
b) The Styles tab of the Properties Box (shown above), or
c) By pressing F11 to cycle through the available styles.



This will be very helpful to apply our style after we copy and paste information from the web into Notes documents or from other mails.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Blackle:

Instead of Google we can use www.blackle.com. It’s powered by Google.
Blackle is a search engine like Google.
Blackle saves energy because the screen is predominantly black.
There is value in the concept because even if the energy savings are small, they all add up. Every time we load our web browser reminds us that we need to keep taking small steps to save energy.

I would like to encourage you to set Blackle as your home page. This way, every time you load your Internet browser you will save a little bit of energy. It’s an energy saving initiative.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Preview Slide Show Effects:

While editing a presentation, hold down the CTRL key while clicking the slide show view button; this will open a tiny preview window showing that slide in slide show mode.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

How Negotiation works:

Open the newspaper and you'll find the latest conflict among world leaders, celebrity divorce or local labor union dispute. You may also hear a shout from the other side of the breakfast table that tells you it's not your turn to read the paper, but rather to take the dog for a walk. Conflict seems to be everywhere. It's one thing that's been with us throughout history. So, how do we get anything done without resorting to violence?
Whether it has to do with buying a car, divvying up errands or spreading world peace, negotiation is usually the best way to accomplish anything fairly. In general, negotiation is the process of resolving a dispute or settling a business deal.
The principled negotiation has four components:
Separate the people from the problem: Try to account for others' emotions and cool your own. Communicate honestly and show that you actively and attentively listen to the other side.
Focus on interests, not positions: Although the outright demands (positions) of either side might prove incompatible at first, getting to the root of the demands (the underlying interests that motivated them) allows the parties to rethink and adjust demands to make them compatible.
Invent options for mutual gain: This part involves using the integrative approach of enlarging the pie we discussed on the previous page. Inventing new ideas could necessitate brainstorming and thinking of as many options as possible -- both ones you can offer the other side or the other side can offer you. Afterward, decide which ideas sound best to bring to the negotiating table.
Insist on using objective criteria: As a preventative method of keeping emotions at bay, try whenever possible to use objective criteria. Beforehand, make sure the parties agree on what is "objective," be it legal precedent or scientific studies.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Autonomation:

A form of automation in which machinery automatically inspects each item after producing it and ceases production and notifies humans if a defect is detected.. Toyota expanded the meaning of jidohka to include the responsibility of all workers to function similarly—to check every item produced and, if a defect is detected, make no more until the cause of the defect has been identified and corrected.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Delete Empty rows between data:

1. Select all columns containing data.
2. Click the Sort icon (either Ascending or Descending).

Alternatively, we can use auto filter and delete the rows if we don’t want to sort.

Monday, August 3, 2009

In Pack, On-Pack and Near-Pack Premium:

In-pack, on-pack, and near-pack premium promotions are potent marketing tools. Though they require front-end work and attention to detail, they're a sure way to create consumer enthusiasm for the brand. In-pack, on-pack, and near-pack premium promotions offer the consumer a compelling reason to pick a brand. Summed up in four words, they're value-added instant gratification.

In-pack—a premium item enclosed in a products packaging; a variation of this is the container pack, where a receptacle (the premium) holds or displays the brand.
On-pack—a premium attached to, or made part of, the exterior of a product's packaging.
Near-pack—a premium offered free or for a discounted price with the retail purchase of another product, positioned near (but not touching) the product at point-of-sale (POS).

Out of Office Exceptions:

When you enable OOO (Tools - Out of Office)



You are presented with the dialog box below. Click on the 4th tab, label Exceptions, and you will see several options.



The first is "Do not automatically reply to mail from internet addresses". This is a great option if you simply want to turn off all external notifications telling people that you are away. Don't worry, the people in your company will still be notified.

The second choice is "Do not automatically reply to mail from these people or groups". This provides a great way to eliminate sending responses to any of the mailing lists you belong to, or any other type of email that does not accept replies. For example, if you subscribe to daily newsletters, you don't want to be sending responses to these.

The third option, "Do not automatically reply to mail which is addressed to these groups", is similar to the option above. This is very useful if you belong to something like Yahoo or Google groups, or any type of listserv mailing list. Enter the name of the group email, and OOO will not send notifications.

The final option "Do not automatically reply if the subject contains these phrases" allows you to define at a very granular level which emails to not respond to.

When you are done, click Enable.

I hope this helps you get a little more out of the Out of Office Agent.