If you are a marketing student and would like to be involved in a focus group experience while helping Asian Aid, then take this opportunity to attend a focus group. The details are all in the link below.
Asian Aid - Focus Group Brief - 2014
Taking a day away from their offices, the finance teams from the SDA Church in Greater Sydney and their Aged Care
services were hosted by the Avondale Business School (ABS) for a professional development day on Thursday July 24..
Rather than focusing on the technical aspects of their jobs, CFO Eva Ing wanted the day to be a fun day, focusing on their customers and clients, which ABS happily agreed to.
Bruna Tawake, a sessional lecturer for ABS, and Consultant at BT Public Relations spent the morning with the teams engaging them in lively workshops that got them thinking about the various customers and clients they encounter.
The afternoon comprised a workshop conducted by Peter Williams and Warrick Long, both full time members of ABS, which looked at employee happiness and maintaining a happy workplace.
Feedback from the teams indicated they thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and not only took away some new directions and strategies, but great memories of a fun day in a beautiful location with spectacular catering!
Eva summed up their experience as being well looked after, an enjoyable experience, they will be back!
Thank you Greater Sydney SDA, you are welcome back any time.
Marketing/Graphic Design Internship Opportunity
Restore One International Development
Did you know the creative work for an NGO looks great on your resume, and allows you to develop your skills while making a massive difference to the lives of others?
Restore One is a Cooranbong-based charity that runs development projects in Cambodia and Burma. We are dedicated to breaking poverty one community at a time, through initiatives in:
The Restore One team has an exciting internship opportunity available for a talented marketing/graphic design student.
You will have the flexibility to work from your home (or dorm), with regular support from the Restore One team.
You will play an essential role in our innovative projects and campaigns, promoting them through a variety of channels, from social media marketing, to designing print flyers, to answering phone enquiries.
You will be required to -
Create web banner ads, visual quotes and infographics
Develop additional brand logos
Update documents to be visually appealing to the general public
Maintain the Restore One Facebook page
Create a process for collecting and storing photos
Produce and edit some promotional videos
Answer enquiries from donors and potential donors via phone and/or email.
Don't miss this rare opportunity to gain experience, build a unique portfolio and make a difference!
We are currently looking for an intern for the next 6 months, but will also consider vacancies for next year
Email your CV to [email protected]
For further information about this position, please contact Tanya Lawrence 0417224496 or check out our website www.restoreone.org.au
I used to be passionate about meetings. Obsessive almost. I loved them and enjoyed being a part of them – especially when they were well-run and productive. Unfortunately for most of my professional life those meetings were the exception rather than the rule.
Very naively I assumed my recent transition from hyperactive Company Secretary to mild-mannered academic would result in a significant reduction in meeting attendance. After all I was going from being responsible for organising numerous meetings and membership of a dozen or so others to instead alternating between classroom and office as I either taught or researched. Little did I understand how much academia thrives on meetings and I seem destined to be forever running late for meetings as I fit teaching and research around ever more meetings,
However, I recently came across an excellent little article by Nicole Fallon in Business News Daily (Read it here>>) on how to make meetings more interesting and engaging for the attendees. Funnily enough it draws on lessons from the classroom, where, as I have painfully learnt, students will very quickly disengage from what they perceive as uninteresting and boring. Fallon draws on the ideas of Mike Broderick, CEO of Turning Technologies.
So what is it that we can learn from the classroom that can help our meetings?
In your next round of meetings that you are responsible for, try something new and see if any of the above strategies can improve what is happening in your meetings.
The Avondale Business School can help you ensure your meetings are highly productive – find out how by contacting Warrick Long at the Avondale Business School.
P: 02 4980 2168
Are we paying too much for our employees’ wages?
When Nobel Prize winning Economists speak, how willing are we to listen? James Mirlees has recently suggested that without wage cuts “from the board room to the factory floor”, Australia’s unemployment rate will steadily rise. Announcements in the past two weeks show that Australia’s wages are growing at only 2.6%, a rate smaller than the inflation rate and some of the slowest wages growth seen in over 20 years. This combined with speculation of interest rate rises before the end of the year is likely to have a big impact on living standards, and could have “material effect on Australia’s housing bubble and household debt levels”. Perhaps it is time to begin proactively considering the possibilities of what this could mean for both individuals and business in the future.
- Peter Williams -
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-30/nobel-winner-warns-australian-wages-will-fall-or/5488374
Aussies and Kiwis have traditionally been known as happy-go-lucky people. Is this still the case? According to a Gallup poll the people from down under are not ranked in the top 15 countries for positive experiences.
Surprising to many is that eight out of the top ten ranked countries are all from Latin America. New Zealand ranked 17 and Australia 18. “Privileged” countries like the USA (24th) and the UK (54th) ranked even lower.
Much discussion has surrounded these results, trying to ascertain why it is so many countries form the one region rated so high. So far it seems the cultural factors of strong communities and time with families has the most support. Whilst the financial positions of people were a factor, it was not a huge one.
Overall the survey found that most people throughout the world were upbeat.
The top and bottom ten ranked countries were:
| Top 10 | Bottom 10 | |
| Paraguay | Ngaorno-Karabakh Region | |
| Panama | Azerbaijan | |
| Guatemala | Yemen | |
| Nicaragua | Belarus | |
| Ecuador | Nepal | |
| Costa Rica | Serbia | |
| Colombia | Bosnia and Herzegovina | |
| Denmark | Lithuania | |
| Honduras | Chad | |
| Venezuela | Syria |
So what are the implications for your business? On one level there is the fact that happier employees are more productive, which contributes to the bottom line of your company. Seek to create community within your employees and foster their positive experience.
However, there is a higher level aspect to this, and that involves being a business that seeks to add value to the community because it is the right thing to do. Ask how your business can model a positive community experience. And foremost – model it in your own life. Be positive and make the world a better place.
If you would further information on how Avondale Business School can help your organisation, contact Warrick Long
P: 02 4980 2168
One of the major factors for success is positive habits. That was easy to say – the hard work is in the doing. Often what separates the excellent from the average are a series of habits that allow a person to automatically choose positive actions and productive behaviours. The ‘automaticity’ of positive habits means that we default to productive behaviours.
A recent article in FastCompany provides some tips for developing habits to help you become super productive.
Three of the main points are:
Take the challenge and pick one new behaviour or practice you know will boost your productivity, and commit to making it a habit. Then, why stop at one?
The Avondale Business School can help you become more productive, – find out how by contacting Warrick Long at the Avondale Business School.
P: 02 4980 2168
Behind the scenes of the Young Business Leaders list
So what really impressed the judges?
The common thread of the young business leaders evaluated is clearly success – all are certainly high achievers in their various fields and this did not escape notice by any means.
But the panel looked deeper and some themes emerged. It was these qualities that seemed to evoke admiration and a sense of connection that lifted the profiles beyond the page:
Passion
Going to work – whether for themselves or as part of a larger organisation – is certainly not a chore for the 20 chosen. I got the same impression from the judges, who see an event like this as an extension of their leadership roles within their own organisations.
Values
No question that our 20 chosen demonstrated a clear set of guiding principles. In many cases, that includes giving back – within their major employment roles working for not-for-profit organisations or outside of their day jobs.
All 20 seem future oriented and take an international perspective, thinking ahead as they forge ahead, with a strong emphasis on social responsibility. People “doing the right things and not because it looks good”.
Commercial acumen
While risk-taking is a part of life and a part of business, the gambles here are very calculated. There’s a strong view of building businesses that are sustainable, using their education and applying sound business practices to new ideas.
Self-belief
Whether the panel fully identified with this I'm not sure, but the confidence of these young leaders was evident: Confidence to start new things, to pursue good ideas, to work without geographic constraints. This is often apparent in their natural belief in collaboration and supporting other entrepreneurs. Yet many are treading their own path, not competing directly but finding a way to add value and build success in their own ways.
I took away some great leadership insights from those successful enough themselves to be invited as our panellists. And while they spoke of this younger generation as a new breed and in some ways a world apart, there were plenty of similar attributes on show by the judges.
So the discussion ended and the photo shoot completed, the panel went back to their days, hopefully just a little inspired by the discussion and the young business leaders of 2014.
http://www.itbdigital.com/people/2014/05/20/behind-the-scenes-of-the-young-business-leaders-list/
- Sharelle Simmons -
Welcome to a special edition blog from Avondale Business School giving you a 30 second summary of the 2014/15 Australian Federal Budget.
How it Affects Your:
1. Income
Action Step: Assess how vulnerable your income stream is and plan accordingly.
2. Expenditure:
Action Step: Review your expenditure budget in light of increases and review all discretionary expenditure.
3. Human Resources:
Action Steps:
Other Measures still under consideration and discussion include the taxation of charities business income. This is a wait and watch item.
Industry Specific:
Aged Care:
A number of funding programs have been reduced or removed. As more details emerge providers should be in contact with their industry representatives for the finer details.
Schools:
The government has not proceeded with the full implementation of the Gonski review recommendations. The details and implications of this are being reviewed by education associations and schools should maintain contact with them for the full details.
Useful Links:
More details will emerge over time on the budget as the fine details come to light. It would be well to remember that ‘The Devil is in the Detail’
The Avondale Business School can advise your organisation on being effective in these areas – find out how by contacting Warrick Long at the Avondale Business School.
P: 02 4980 2168
Selling Drugs!
There are elements of an American lifestyle that can be quite striking at times, including how organisations go about marketing their products. In order to maintain a vibrant, ongoing sales environment companies need to be sure that their product is kept in the eye of the consumer. There are however some such strategies that leave me puzzled and maybe even more than a little alarmed.
In particular I refer to the aggressive marketing of various drugs that are clearly only available on the presentation of a medical doctor's prescription. In the space of a fairly short space of time on a standard TV program I have seen adverts for a range of drugs: BREO for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Symbicort for asthma and other pulmonary conditions, Humira for rhuematoid arthritis, ACZONE for acne, Eliquis for arterial fib, even BOTOX for migraine headaches.
Each advert is divided into two parts. The first part advises the viewer of a set of conditions where this drug might be helpful - typically fairly briefly. The second part is a condensation of the fine print that often comes in the actual drug when purchased over the counter - a detailed warning of all the possible adverse side effects. Why anyone would want to take the drug after hearing all the bad things that might happen to the user is a puzzle in itself.
The advert narrator does advise the viewer to consult with their medical practitioner, and yes, I can confirm that having talked to one of the local family practice doctors that there are indeed patients who arrive for a consultation asking for a particular drug that they have seen advertised on the TV.
The power of effective marketing.
- Dr Keith Howson
