Category: Business

Understanding the Truth Behind the "Coffee House Letter" by Mike Dillard

Most people wanting to start and run a successful MLM or network marketing business today need to be aware of what the message being delivered in the letter is and the relevance and importance of the message is to individuals wanting to succeed in the MLM or network marketing sales arena. Even current network marketers, struggling to build a MLM business really need to read Mike Dillards “The Coffee House Letter.” The letter details what is happening in the network marketing and MLM arena and explains why networkers are throwing in the towel on downline and matrix building and changing focus to a more recent trend towards utilizing a relatively new concept called G.P.T.

Network marketers primary goal in starting or joining a network marketing, or MLM business is to succeed at developing a business that will be profitable and create a cash flow that will replace their income from a job and live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. That almost never happens. Almost 97% of those that start a MLM business fail to make any money at all, and only 1% out of the remaining 3% achieve that goal. The “Coffee House Letter” lists the details that have made achieving this one percent group even more difficult than ever before. The industry is changing rapidly and the “letter” is written to worn anyone wanting to take the risk and to step into this arena to become aware of some very unsettling insights that need to be known if someone is actually planning to attempt to make more than $10,000 a month from home in 2010 and in the future years to come.

The promises of old-school thinking that MLM companies started in the 1960’s, 1970’s 1980’s and even in the 1990’s taught for more than 40 years are all but “dead and “life-long” residual income are pretty much non-existent for the average person. Even newer companies in the last ten years ( most recent past) have come and gone because their business platforms and compensation models were antiquated and based on older companies models that have proven to be a failure with the advent of the internet and social media communication today.

As Mike Dillard puts it in his letter, ” trying to build a downline in the internet age is like trying to fill a leaking bucket. You can get ahead of the curve for a while if you have the time, money, and energy, but it’s only a matter of time before it will drain dry.”

This is profound because most people in MLM are constantly scrambling to find new lead sources, prospect these leads, entice them to be recruited and then signed up in the business, then retain new members by training, motivating, training some more, and eventually losing this valuable resource, for whatever reason, having to repeat the process over and over. This is what he means by costing you time, money and energy! And if you think this isn’t happening, think again. Just answer any email on any given day, and ask, ” How many people are you signing up, and how long are the ones you do sign up… actually stay?”

To gain the knowledge that you will need to succeed in any MLM or network marketing company you are going to want to read “The Coffee House Letter” in its entirety. Like any good book, article, essay, or manuscript, you will need to sink your teeth into it, digest it a bit at a time, and see how it applies to your life goals, if you are thinking about joining a network marketing company, a MLM company, an affiliate marketing business or just simply want to understand what is really changed in the past 10 years with the advent of the internet. I believe that you will become enlightened, then shocked to find out this information and probably be very thankful that you had a chance to educate yourself further. This simple step will probably save you a ton of additional time, money, or energy that you may have spent unknowingly causing you to come up short in your efforts. You may just save yourself from the same experiences, the same challenges, and the same frustrations that tens of thousands of unknowingly, uneducated, network marketers around the world are having as well.

Encouraging Email Etiquette – Do’s and Don’ts

Since email communications are very popular, people need more tips to know how to best utilize the tool. I’ve taught people to use email applications and included basic etiquette only as a side bar on specific topics. However, I am now seeing so many poorly developed emails being sent as business communications. I now realize email etiquette is becoming more important as the use of this tool increases. As a fellow professional sending email, I feel the need to encourage better etiquette.

Everyone needs to remember email etiquette is part of business communications and there is a need to follow proper procedures for professional conduct in them as well Bad communications reflect on everyone’s professionalism. Here is a baker’s dozen list of email do’s and don’ts to improve communication etiquette knowledge.

1. Do get to the point. Be concise. No one wants to read a long email. If you’ve got a lot to say, send a memo, letter, or provide details in an attachments or web link using full URL.

2. Don’t keep people waiting for a response. Answer as soon as possible. A good time management rule to use for standard response is within 24 hours.

3. Do answer all their questions. The questions that were asked in an email sent to you and ones that your email may prompt from recipient.

4. Do not use all capitals or lowercase. CAPS give the impression of shouting and all lowercase is hard to follow plus you may appear illiterate.

5. Do make your subject line meaningful but short. The subject line often lets the viewer know if the email needs attention now or can wait until later. Readers using a phone or PDA to review email may lose valuable screen space to long subject lines.

6. Don’t use “reply to all” unless everyone really needs to see the response. To remedy this, change your email default setting so this is not selected, having to select all when needed requires an extra thinking step before sending

7. Do use the “CC” courtesy copy option sparingly. Make sure only the people that care about the message contents or attachments have to review the email.

8. Do not forward chain letters or pass on viruses. These items not only bog down mail servers but sometimes stop work production!

9. Do use spell checker and verify proper grammar and punctuation. This is just smart for any business communication. Remember also acronyms or instant messaging shorthand in email is not as clear since everyone who sees the email may not understand what is meant.

10. Don’t use email to discuss confidential information. Email is not as private as many think. You never know who can get to the computers and servers the email might pass through or how long it will be kept on them.

11. Do be careful using HTML and attachments. Not everyone wants these things. Also HTML may not be readable by some email tools. Some email servers will block HTML, large attachments, or certain file type attachments automatically anyway.

12. Do not forget to include a signature line with name, title, company and a phone number. Just because you have someone’s name and email address does not mean they remember who you are. The phone number is for them to quickly respond or ask questions if needed.

13. Always, do review your email before sending it. It is not safe to assume spell-checker caught everything; verify your message is clear and your tone is professional.

I hope you have found the thirteen do’s and don’ts helpful to improve email etiquette. Remember to use the email communication tool professionally and with care. Basic email etiquette is more important as the use of this easy communication tool increases. Just because the tool is fast, does not mean it should not be used properly. Always keep in mind that badly developed emails reflect on personal and company professionalism.

Teaching English for Communicative Performance and Business Communication

It is a challenge to us English teachers to manage with our own widely differing linguistic competence the large classes of mixed ability students. Non-availability or high cost of books and instructional material are the challenges just as tests and exams seem to have become the only goal in themselves. In addition, lack of students'(and even teachers’) motivation, administrative apathy, inaccessibility to electronic media, journals and books, balance between the use of mother tongue and English to ensure acquisition of communication skills, or perhaps, a better teaching-learning situation in the mother tongue and other languages, and dissemination of best English Language Teaching (ELT) practices internationally, with an e-culture interface are the new problems teachers have to cope with.

As teachers we need to work on our own affirmative action programmes, despite constraints of our situation. In order to do something new, we may have to give up the old. As John Swales says, “We may need to recycle not only our projects and our programmes but also ourselves.” In fact a practical teacher should be able to operate within, what may be called, “here and now” state of affairs. It is with some sort of inbuilt flexibility and utilitarian purpose that one can practice ELT in the days ahead.

NEGOTIATING DIFFERENCES

With sensitivity for the language (to me, language use is more a matter of pleasure and beauty than of rules and structure), I would like to assert that the yardsticks of the British or American native speakers, or their standards as reflected in GRE, TOEFL or IELTS etc, or their kind of tongue twisting, are simply damaging to the interests of non-native speakers. We have to develop our own standards, instead of teaching to sound like Londoners or North Americans. Pronunciation must be intelligible and not detract from the understanding of a message. But for this nobody needs to speak the so called standardized English (that makes inter- and intra-national communication difficult). David Crystal too appreciates this reality and favours ‘local taste’ of English in India and elsewhere. The problems of teaching, say spoken English, relate to lack of intercultural communicative competence.

Many of the misunderstandings that occur in multicultural or multinational workplace are traceable to inter-group differences in how language is used in interpersonal communication rather than to lack of fluency in English. In fact native speakers need as much help as non-natives when using English to interact internationally and inter-culturally. It is understanding the how of negotiation, mediation, or interaction. We need to teach with positive attitude to intercultural communication, negotiating linguistic and cultural differences. The focus has to be on developing cultural and intercultural competence, tolerance (the spread and development of various Englishes is an instance of grammatical and lexical tolerance), and mutual understanding. Rules of language use are culturally determined. I doubt all those who talk about spoken English, or communication skills, care to teach or develop intercultural communicative abilities. This presupposes a good grasp of one’s own culture or way of communication, or the language etiquette, gestures and postures, space, silence, cultural influences, verbal style etc.

Understanding and awareness of non-verbal behavior, cues and information is an integral part of interpersonal communication in many real-life situations, including business and commerce. Though research is needed to understand the role of visual support in our situations, it does seem relevant in making students aware of the context, discourse, paralinguistic features and culture. This can be advantageous in teaching soft skills which are basically life skills, or abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour, so necessary for successful living.

If one has to work abroad and use English with others there, one has to be sensitive to the culturally governed ways of speaking or talking to each other. The speech community’s (the language culture of the group of people) ways of communication cannot be taken for granted, when one seeks to learn or teach spoken English. People fail or suffer discomfort or embarrassment in negotiations in business or political affairs, or achievement of personal goals due to incompetence in persuasion, negotiation, mediation, or interaction. It is their performance, their intercultural interactional competence which matters; it lies in managing social interaction, and not just communication, in the narrow sense of the word, or use of right grammatical form, syntax, vocabulary, or even certain polite phrases. The goal is to enable one to express what one wishes to convey and make the impression that one wishes to make, using language with a sense of interaction and mutuality.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

In the context of Business Communication, it is not without a sense of social business for creating value and better business outcome. One needs to demonstrate social insights, too, in the use of, say, (social) networking sites, smart phones, mobile, tablet PCs, voice mail, electronic mail, and other e-business instruments such as computer network, teleconferencing and video conferencing that are being integrated to enterprise design. This means one needs to be able to share information, discover expertise, capitalize on relationship, and be collaborative in creatively solving business challenges. One needs to demonstrate leadership and management traits, innovation, and decision-making; one needs to be able to identify oneself with the shared values and beliefs of the organization one is associated with; and more importantly, one needs to demonstrate intercultural and interactive abilities with sensitivity for change and adaptation, if one is working in a foreign country or in a multinational company.

In short, one’s personal communication, both oral or written, needs to be in tune with the communication philosophy — goals and values, aspirations and pledges, beliefs and policies– of the organization one is working for, just as one should be able to blend with the host culture.

When I mention intercultural interaction, I point to the need for adapting to differences in life style, language, business philosophy as well as problems with finances, government, cultural shock, housing, food, gender, family etc. Although many of the people sent on foreign assignment know their (foreign) market, they are often unable to accept another culture on that culture’s terms even for short periods. Sensitivity for intercultural business environment, or being aware of each culture’s symbols, how they are the same, and how they are different, is important.

COMMUNICATIVE PERFORMANCE

The staff development programme of this kind provides us with an opportunity to revisit the issues related to ‘communicative’ teaching, in general, and business communication, in particular. If communication is the aim of English (or any other language) teaching and ‘communicative’ syllabuses fail to develop what Dell Hymes called ‘communicative competence’ and Noam Chomsky mentioned as communicative performance, we need to reflect on our classroom practices, research and materials production from time to time. Chomsky’s focus was on the sentence-level grammatical competence of an ideal speaker-listener of a language, and Hymes, as a sociolinguist, was concerned with real speaker-listeners who interpret, express, and negotiate meaning in many different social settings; he brought into focus the view of language as a social phenomenon and reflected on its use as units of discourse. Socializing competence and performance, Dell Hymes also mentioned ‘appropriateness’, that is, “when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about and with whom, when, where, in what manner.” This concept of “appropriate use” as ‘communicative competence’ was accepted by Chomsky and called “pragmatic competence” (i.e. rules of use). Thus, Dell Hymes ‘communicative’ is Chomsky’s ‘pragmatic’ and includes knowledge of sociolinguistic rules, or the appropriateness of an utterance, in addition to knowledge of grammar rules. The term has come to negotiate meaning, to successfully combine a knowledge of linguistic and sociolinguistic rules in communicative interaction, both oral and written.

Michael Canale and Merril Swain in various papers on communicative competence have referred to “appropriacy” in terms of ‘sociolinguistic competence’. In fact, they offer another term “strategic competence”, that is, the ability to use communication strategies like approximation (or paraphrase strategy, using, for example, ‘pipe’ for waterpipe or ‘flower’ for leaf to come close to the intended meanings), word-coinage, circumlocution (i.e. describing objects or ideas using “It looks like…”, “It’s made of…” etc when one temporarily forgets an exact word), borrowing including literal translation and language mix, appeal for assistance, ie. asking for information appropriately using “Excuse me,” “Could you…?” “What’s the word for…?” “I didn’t know how to say it,” etc). mime and all that. Their strategic competence(Canale and Swain) refers to the ability to enhance or repair conversations and means the same as Chomsky’s ‘pragmatic competence’ or Fluency. Brumfit and others too have used the term ‘pragmatic’ in the sense of fluency.

Thus, communicative competence consists of LINGUISTIC competence (ACCURACY), PRAGMATIC competence (FLUENCY), and SOCIOLINGUISTIC

competence (APPROPRIACY).

The Linguistic competence or Accuracy in communication is much broader than mere grammatical competence; it includes the linguistic domains of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as well as the linguistic skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, spelling, discourse (particularly interconnections and interdependence of the sentences and paragraphs), and the ability to contrast with the mother tongue.

The pragmatic competence or Fluency in communication relates to ease and speed of expression, i.e. how to keep talking, how not to remain silent because one doesn’t know the word (the skill of paraphrasing), and other strategies of learning, including how to listen to oneself and so be able to self-correct and self-edit at once; that is, the ability to monitor immediately.

The sociolinguistic competence or Appropriacy includes varieties of text types (stories, dialogues, non-fiction passages etc) and functions of the language, different levels/degrees of formality or informality, or appropriacy and use of language in authentic situations.

I doubt if we follow such a communicative curriculum with understanding of communicative competence in terms of linguistic ability, pragmatic ability and sociolinguistic ability. But its adoption should help students become independent learners; it should equip them with linguistic forms, means, and strategies that would help them overcome communication difficulties both inside and outside the classroom. From this perspective, communicative competence should be thought of as communicative performance just as a communicative syllabus should be essentially performance-based, that is, increasing the learner’s proficiency.

To quote Brendan Carroll: “The use of a language is the objective, and the mastery of the formal patterns, or usage, of the language is a means to achieve this objective. The ultimate criterion of language mastery is therefore the learner’s effectiveness in communication for the settings he finds himself in.”

POOR COMMUNICATIVE PERFORMANCE

Work-related skills such as team work, cultural awareness, leadership, communication and I.T. skills are as vital as academic achievement for Business/Management students. It would be poor communicative performance if, for example, someone makes a multimedia presentation without knowing how to use the equipment and experiences technical difficulties, or “tries to liven up a dull topic merely by adding flashy graphics rather than by improving the content of the presentation. People who attend meetings unprepared waste others’ time. People with poor listening skills frustrate those who have to repeat information for them. Those who make inappropriate grammatical or vocabulary choices embarrass themselves and those around them. Incompetent communicators hurt the organization they represent. This has especially been the case with hastily sent emails composed in a moment of anger.”

POSITIVE ATTITUDE NEEDED

Academic or professional communication skills, both written and oral, have to be imparted in such a way that students in their contexts are able to identify their own language learning needs and to set their own language learning goals. At college and university level, teachers may act as facilitators, just as they would need to teach with positive attitude for inter- and intra-cultural communication, the skills of negotiating linguistic and cultural differences.

It is with this sensibility for English language and its teaching in various contexts that I speak to you. Yet, as I say all this, I keep in mind the ground reality: that is, poor literacy skills, fluency, and even comprehension; poor communicative ability, with limited experiences in writing, speaking and listening unless, of course, teaching of English as a Second, or additional language improves from school level and need for a supportive classroom climate and positive student attitudes towards learning at post secondary level is recognized. Also, both teachers and students need to be aware of what to do, how to do it, and when and why to do it, as part of practicing self-regulation strategies.

The English Language Teaching community as also the other stake holders in the country should, therefore, revise and reformulate appropriate strategies and policies, with tolerance and multilingualism at the core, to remain relevant in the coming decades. The objective of looking back is to move forward with a reasoned perspective for taking measures to develop communication abilities and higher discourse competence, with a broadened inter- and cross-disciplinary bases, for learning to understand (rather than memorize) and apply in one’s own contexts.

COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

The digression apart, let me now come back to teaching communication in business. In terms of ESP, we should be aware of the ‘specific purposes’ of what we do in the classroom, just as we should do it in terms of students’ specific needs. For example, if we teach written communication, we teach it in the specific context of Business, maybe, where applicable, in terms of ‘rhetorical functions’, with a sense of logical organization of knowledge or information, as noticed in actual use. Students need to be exposed to range of authentic report material from business, commerce, finance, administration, marketing, production, personnel etc. They need to understand the logical steps in writing a report, from ‘collecting the information’ through to ‘summarizing’ and ‘appendix’. In short, they need to be presented with task-oriented activities that are both challenging and authentic in the field of business: they need to be forced to read and think about the content of the report; they need to be made to think about the structure and organization of the report; they need to think about the language used to express the content; and they have to be made to apply this knowledge to the skill of writing a report. The variety of writing exercises may include paragraph writing, expansion of notes, completion of paragraphs, sequencing of sentences into paragraph, and using the right punctuation marks, connectives, sub-headings, presentation of non-verbal information or transfer of information from text to diagram (graph, chart, table, outline etc); linking findings, conclusions and recommendations, extracting main points for making descriptive and evaluative summaries etc. We teach all this in terms of what the students already know and what they need to know. They unlearn, learn, and re-learn, both formal and informal expressions, within the conventions of the discipline they belong to.

As I already said, their career success depends on good writing and speaking skills, along with proper etiquette and listening skills and understanding skills. Skills that need particular attention are informational and analytical report writing, proposal writing, memo writing, letter writing, oral presentation, and a sense of grammar, punctuation, word, sentence and paragraph.

The methodology should encourage students to learn from each other via activities both of a productive kind and of a receptive nature. We may exploit developments in the case study approach, use role plays and simulations that place the students in realistic and stimulating situations to create spontaneous personal interaction and creative use of the language in a business context.

A mix of the task based approach, group work, and simulations should help the future business people develop the skills for meeting and negotiating as also for the necessary mastery of English for functioning autonomously in the field. The challenge is not to teach a descriptive course on discourse, but to provide for a pragmatic and custom-tailored input, ready for processing by the learners in an authentic learning environment.

In other words, in stead of mere ‘business communication’, the emphasis has to be on, what I already mentioned, ‘interaction in business context’. It is not merely the language of business, but also the cultural conventions of meetings and negotiations in an intercultural setting that one has to be aware of, and learn. As far as teaching is concerned, it is rather helping students with learning how to learn, how to create the learning opportunities for themselves, and understanding the ways in which language and business strategies interact. If we follow a learner-centred approach, a three-step procedure could be: first, to illustrate (=a good model), then, to induce (=induction for effective learning by the learner), and finally, to interact (=the outcome).

I would like to quote Christopher Brumfit from his opening speech to SPEAQ Convention in Quebec City (in June 1982): “…Being communicative is as much or more a matter of methodology as of syllabus or materials, and methodology is something that teachers are uniquely qualified to contribute to. We should therefore be willing to use our expertise, to innovate, to improve, to inform each other, and to criticize.” What we are doing here, friends, is just to make a beginning, the beginning of a process of communicating, of understanding, that we can start but cannot finish.

ECLECTIC APPROACH

I am aware that there is no universal teaching method or ideal teaching material suited to many contexts of language teaching. Whatever didactic techniques one knows without excluding the behaviouristic drills, and practice and use of mother tongue, where appropriate, are all valid at different points in the teaching process. I stand for an eclectic approach as different methods for different students have always worked and there has not been one best method any time. With our freedom to choose and adopt any notion that serves our teaching ends, with a reasonable degree of historical sense, flexibility and adaptability that allows us to select among a variety of approaches, methods and techniques, we can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. I see teaching communicatively essentially consisting of an eclectic methodology which incorporates what is valuable in any system or method of teaching and refuses to recognize bad teaching or defective learning. In any educational setting, sensitive and sensible application and continuing evaluation of the chosen practices should be inbuilt.

English has been practised in a social, economic, political, educational and philosophical “hot-house”, to use Peter Strevens’ expression, and the hot-house in India differs in quality from state to state. It is necessary to create an enabling environment – managerial, administrative, institutional, academic, and curricular-to promote not only quality education and effective learning with exposure to lots of natural, meaningful and understandable language, but also genuine communication. This means learners should read and listen to live language; they should speak and write it in ways that can be understood by educated speakers everywhere. Moreover, they should eventually be able to produce and comprehend culturally appropriate natural discourse.

SUMMING UP

To sum up, we as teachers need to recognize the changes that have shaken all human conditions with new technology, new social structures, new values, new human relations, new functions. As Young Yun Kim notes: “The complexity, diversity, and rapid pace of change makes us ‘strangers’ in our own society.” The challenge is, to understand the “sameness in differences” for international/intercultural exchanges, or learning business negotiations and written communication. Language teaching alone may not develop communicative abilities in business English unless we realize that learning the language implies learning the culture also-one’s own culture and other’s culture. It is language and culture teaching together and sharing the “us” and “them” differences to reflect on one’s own culture from the viewpoint of an outsider, and thus, become less ethnocentric and more tolerant of the values of the foreign people and their ways.

The ESP of business communication seems highly culturally biased and value based, even as Western ethno-centricism, including the North American, may not be the answer to our communicative difficulties. But we have to be OPEN to all local peculiarities to communication and interaction. If we view English as the lingua franca for business negotiations, we should also not forget that it is NOT the mother tongue of any or most of the negotiators. To that extent, the English used is commonly a variety in which the mother tongue interferes not only phonetically and phonologically, but also in the cultural norms and attitudes expressed by the speakers. To quote Susanne Neimeir, “Their non-verbal behavior, for example, does not automatically switch to an ‘Englishized’ non-verbal behavior but normally stays rooted in their home culture. Thus, even when they think the negotiation partner should have understood (verbal and non-verbal) signs they are using, misunderstandings still occur because signs may be differently encoded-and decoded-on the other’s cultures or may not be noticed to be signs at all.”

Therefore, we need to sensitize students to cultural richness and cultural diversity for developing mutual understanding and using individual and group knowledge constructively, and not stereotypically, in learning skills of business communication, both oral and written. It also seems imperative to integrate discourse analysis, decision-making and generic patterns of meetings and effective conversation and the role of cultural influences for success in actual business situations. In fact, it is significant to provide professional students with opportunities to experience what it means to communicate and to do business with different people who obviously are alike in several basic ways.

In today’s globalized business context, while teachers of business English have to be aware of various analytical and practical approaches to business communication, especially as intercultural understanding and strategies of flexibility, adaptability and tolerance are some of the keys to make the best of economic opportunities, students of Business communication have to learn to find their own strategies, or use of structural and stylistic devices for successful business interaction. Their verbal communication in the ‘ESL’ context, to my mind, would be largely ‘EIL’ to be able to work together, using English as the common language.

I hope at the end of the programme, having shared with each other what some of you have done and how, we will emerge more enlightened and aware about what more we need to do to succeed in the days ahead. Mutual interaction should help us envision a possible policy framework required to support teaching for economically valuable language skills at tertiary and/or professional level.

(Text of the author’s Special lecture delivered at the AICTE SPONSORED STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME ON ‘EMERGING TRENDS IN BUSINESS ENGLISH AND THE METHODS OF TEACHING’ at National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur, Odisha on 23 March 2012.)

Copyright:

–PROFESSOR (DR) R.K.SINGH

Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences

Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 826004 India

Exposing the Top 5 Myths About VoIP Service Providers

It’s stunning to think about the changes we’ve experienced with communication methods in such a short time. What used to take months with a stamped letter now takes seconds with the click of a mouse or tap of a finger. Unfortunately, as with most things people come into contact with, there are bound to be some critics.

Despite VoIP having proven time and time again that it offers clear benefits in regards to business communications, VoIP service providers have garnered a bad reputation that has kept businesses from experiencing its vast benefits. Some would say this is due to fear of the unknown or a simple misunderstanding of the technology itself.

It’s time to turn this fear of the unknown into growth! That’s why we’re here to dispel the 5 common myths about VoIP.

  • Small Businesses Can’t Benefit

This is an unfortunate myth because its stopping so many small business owners from pursuing a resource that can ultimately save them time and money. We’re not talking a few pennies every month, either; some businesses see 30%-60% savings in annual cost! Although large enterprises have successfully managed to rely on VoIP service providers, small businesses would actually benefit the most! When you’re running with a tight budget and scarce resources, consider VoIP service providers who can offer valuable business communication tools such as auto attendant, call logging, customized caller menus, and more.

  • Unreliability

You wouldn’t run a business without internet connection, would you? Of course not. How would you receive emails, research competitors, and keep in touch with colleagues across the pond? Many VoIP deniers oppose the technology because it is seen as an unreliable resource when in reality, it’s just as reliable as your internet connection. In fact, if you already have an internet connection established in your business right now, then you’re just about ready to start using VoIP. As for dropped calls, call continuity is there to ensure you never miss an opportunity.

  • Call Quality Suffers

This may have been true in the earlier PBX days, but just as businesses themselves evolve and improve over time, VoIP has seen significant improvements since its inception. With a wider range of frequencies for voice data to travel through, congestion is less frequent and adding high-speed internet connection will only make the call quality better.

  • Higher Cost

Gone are the days when you needed to spend a fortune just to add another line of service or expand across locations. These days, VoIP service providers have made it easy to expand your team and business locations without compromising your budget. Most VoIP service providers offer different tiers for the type of services your business currently needs, which saves you money by providing you with the absolute necessary and none of the excess. VoIP is truly a more cost effective telephony method; maybe that’s why millions of businesses are already relying on VoIP service providers for their communication strategy.

  • Installation and Maintenance are a Headache

When you think about a business phone system, you may be picturing a server that needs to be stored in a closet and maintained by a highly-trained (and pricey) IT staff. Thankfully, clunky equipment is no longer needed when implementing a VoIP phone service. Most VoIP service providers offer remote provisioning with their hardware for fast and easy set up. If you decide to purchase phones along with service, all you have to do is connect the phones to the correct ports and watch your phone initialize. In under 10 minutes, you can be up and running with your new office phone; no cabling or heavy equipment needed. As for maintenance, most VoIP service providers have their own IT staff who are responsible for handling software updates.

Renewing Your Trust in VoIP Providers

It can be scary to take the first step towards something you previously thought was bad for business; but if you know someone who is currently using VoIP, ask them about their experiences. What did they like? How did it help their business? If possible, start on a trial period and see for yourself if VoIP is really living up to its hype. Once you’re familiar with the many ways VoIP providers can make a positive impact on your business, you’ll be wondering why didn’t make the switch sooner.

So what should you do when you decide that VoIP is right for your business?

Choosing Between Business VoIP Providers

We’ve established that business VoIP providers bring benefits to businesses of all sizes. If you’re a small business looking to save on costs and time, there is a practical communication technology waiting to be discovered.

Tips to Enhance Communication Skills

Effective Communication Tips: –

For any effective communication following factors must be considered: –

• It is important to make worthwhile contribution to the conversation so have clear purpose and objective of the conversation.

• Develop effective non verbal communication skills. Right smile, eye contact, posture, handshakes do create a positive impact.

• Make appropriate gestures with hands and face.

• While speaking and listening making an appropriate eye contact and looking into the eyes of the person with whom we are conversing can create a significant impact and make the interaction more successful as it coveys interest and courage.

• Being confident is vital.

• Try to break down barriers that exist in the communication process.

• Be clear and concise.

• Be firm about your opinions, views, ideas and suggestions so that it can be confidently conveyed.

• Ensure that your words, gestures, facial expressions and tone match with each.

• Analyse the audience before communication.

• Conveying right message to right person is important because what is critical or worthwhile to one individual may not be to another.

• Develop effective probing skills by asking the right questions.

• Take initiative yourself. Don’t wait for suppliers, customers, buyers etc to call you. Instead call them, take the initiative to start the conversation. It helps to build healthy two way effective communication between both the parties.

• Try to highlight critical points.

• Learn the art of dealing with difficult conversations.

• Ensure that you give and receive appropriate feedback.

• If the message is too lengthy, dis-organised or contains errors it can often be misunderstood, confusing and misinterpreted.

• Practicing good communication skill everyday is important as “Practice makes man perfect.”

In addition to the above attributes a good communicator also focuses on the following factors to enhance his/ her communication skills: –

1. Interpersonal Skills: –

• Such skills are used when engaged in face-to-face conversation with one or more persons. For effective Interpersonal skills not only verbal communication and effective speaking is vital but also our voice, on-verbal signals, gestures, facial expressions, body language, our appearance and active listening skills are significant.

• The advantage of having good Interpersonal skills is that it enables us to contribute effectively in groups and teams and become a ‘team player’.

• It builds a strong relationship with other members of the group and leads to better communication and building better rapport with others.

• Good Interpersonal skills also help to enhance our problem solving and decision making ability.

2. Presentation skills:

o Although we may use this skill infrequently, but for any management student who intends to become future business leader effective Presentation Skill is critical.

o There will be times in your life, when you need to present information to your customers, employees, buyers, trade unions, sellers, government employees, suppliers, agents or even overall community at large.

o They can either be individual or group of people in a formal or informal setting.

o Effective Presentation Skills requires good planning, preparation and practice.

3. Writing skills:

§ For any manager communication skills are not only limited to face-to-face direct verbal/ non verbal interactions with others but also good Written Communication.

§ It involves the ability to write clearly, concisely and effectively.

§ It involves avoiding grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, knowledge of formal and informal writing styles/ techniques, knowing the importance of structure in any business letter or report.

4. Personal Skills: –

ï It emphasis on improving self-esteem, building self confidence, developing positive attitude, knowing anger management and stress management techniques which helps in maintain a healthy body and mind and develop positive feelings about ourselves and helps to enhance our communication skills.

ï Good Personal Skills also helps an individual to deal with difficult situations like dealing with aggression and communicating in difficult situations.

All About ASAP, FYI and FYA

ONE day, a colleague turned to me and asked, “What’s FYI?”

“For your information.”

“What’s FYA?”

“For your action.”

“What’s WRT?“

“With reference to…”

Before the conversation dragged on any further, I quickly looked up a website on acronyms used in business communications and sent it to him via e-mail.

This conversation made me realise that the full meaning of many acronyms and abbreviations may not be immediately apparent for many people – students or working adults alike.

For starters, an acronym is a word created from combining the initial letters of each word. For example, For your action.

An abbreviation is a word shortened from its original form. For example, “Attn.” is an abbreviation of the word “attention” to convey the meaning “for the attention of”.

In general, a full stop is used for abbreviations where the last letter of the word and the abbreviation are not the same. For example, “Co.” (Company) needs a full stop but “Ltd” (Limited) does not. Acronyms do not need punctuation marks.

Below are some frequently used short forms in business communication like e-mails, faxes and letters:

a.k.a. – also known as

On Monday morning, Kay El, a.k.a. The Boss, walked in happily and greeted her assistant, Pee Jay.

approx. – approximately

Checking her e-mail, Pee Jay read, “Today is the boss’s birthday. Can everyone please slip off quietly to the cafeteria in approx. 15 minutes?”

ASAP – as soon as possible

Pee Jay opened up her daily planner and scribbled ASAP next to some of the urgent items on her to-do list.

Attn. – for the attention of

Leafing through the stack of mail to be sent out, Pee Jay asked her boss, “To whom should I address the cheque for the annual report?”

Her boss replied, “Just write ‘Attn: Ms. Christine Jalleh’. She’ll know what to do with it.”

Bcc. – blind carbon copy or blind copy to. In this case, the carbon copy is sent to an e-mail recipient whose e-mail address is not visible to the cc or other bcc recipients.

“By the way, I think it’s better if you bcc me in your e-mail to Brown. We wouldn’t want him thinking that I’m supervising you for this project.”

Cc. – carbon copy, or copy to

“But I would like to be cc-ed on the e-mail to Mr Green as I have not yet introduced the both of you to each other.”

c/o – in care of, used when sending a document to A who will receive it on B’s behalf because B is away from the office.

“Boss, I think Christine is back in China this week. Would it be all right if I sent the cheque in care of her assistant? I’ll still write her name on top with c/o Ah Sis Tern below.”

COD – cash on delivery, where a person makes payment for an item purchase after it has been delivered.

“I’m also sending out the cheque for the set of Business English reference books we bought COD on eBay.”

e.g. – exempli gratia (for example)

Pee Jay replied to the e-mail, “Hi everyone. Please remember that the boss doesn’t like surprises, e.g. everyone shouting ‘Surprise!’ in the cafeteria.”

et al. – et alii (and others). Usually used to list co-authors after the lead author in a bibliography, this form is now popularly used to address the other people other than the recipient in e-mails.

She received a new e-mail, which read, “Dear Pee Jay et al., I was reminded that the boss does NOT like surprises …”

etc. – et cetera (and so on OR and so forth)

This means that we will not be able to collectively surprise her by springing out of the cafeteria doors as we had planned, etc.

exc. – except

“Can everyone, exc. Pee Jay, be at the cafeteria in 5 minutes? We need to figure out a surprise without the surprise element. Thanks!”

FYI – for your information

Her boss’s voice brought the young assistant back to the present, “Pee Jay, I’m forwarding you all these e-mails FYI, okay?”

FYA – for your action

“Note that some of these e-mails are FYA …”

i.e. – id est (that is)

After acknowledging her supervisor, Pee Jay decided to help her colleagues out and typed, “She’s in a good mood today, i.e. we won a new account and completed a major project.”

K – thousand, e.g. 450K = 450,000

“Just to give you an idea of her mood, it’s a 450K retainer for the first quarter …”

PA – personal assistant

The immediate reply to Pee Jay’s e-mail read, “Thanks for the info, Pee Jay – you’re the best PA!”

p.a. – per annum (per year)

Pee Jay smiled and responded, “Haha, there is a reason why I’m paid RM65K p.a.”

p.p. – per pro (used when signing a document on someone’s behalf)

Looking back at her paperwork, Pee Jay signed some invoices on her boss’s behalf, inserting p.p. just before her signature.

Pto. – please turn over, used at the end of a page to indicate that there is a continuity to the text.

“By the way, please remember to type Pto. on the first page of the proposal you’re sending. The last time we sent it to him, he forgot to read the subsequent pages,” chimed in Kay El.

viz. – videlicet, namely

She got up and left a note on Pee Jay’s work station before leaving. Scribbled on it was, “Can I pass you my slice of birthday cake after I cut it? I really don’t need a lot of carbo, viz. refined flour, at my age.” The note ended with a wink.

Readers can go to http://www.acronymfinder.com/ to search for the meanings of over 4 million acronyms and abbreviations. This online dictionary also allows users to filter their search according to categories like information technology (IT), military and government, business and finance, science and medicine, organisations and schools, and slang and pop culture.

Business Communication Writing Skills Benefit From Originality and Media Based Marketing Training

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.”

~anonymous high school essay

Greetings. Thank you for indulging me in yet another example of analogies collected by high school English teachers. I do so because the language we all share is a treasure chest of words that in the odd combination can make us smile, chuckle, even laugh out loud. And, like Larry the Cat — whose house we share and whose antics are just plain goofy — the best humor is unintentional humor.

Anyway, the gaffe above resulted from a sincere, albeit immature, effort to be original and evocative. Good for him or her, I say. At least the brain has been engaged. But what about the way us adults fall into shallow “copycatism” when we communicate in a professional setting? And how does that reflect on you and your business communications when you mindlessly insert those phrases in your website text or emails? Do you really want to sound like a faceless, unimaginative bureaucrat when it comes to writing skills?

Herewith some inaugural entries in my Language Hall of Shame:

o Negatively impact, as in “Our failure to fabricate even one paper clip that actually holds two sheets of paper together is negatively impacting our sales performance.” First of all, “impact” became a verb only about 30 years ago, even though the verbs “affect” or “influence” did the job quite nicely. But now that it’s here, why compound the damage by adding an awkward adverb (fellow Mainer Stephen King said in his book on writing, “The adverb is not your friend.”)? Why not rely instead on unambiguous, active, space-saving standbys such as “harm” or “hurt?”

o Core competencies, as in “Our core competencies include a flexible attitude about quality control and a collective tendency to stretch the lunch hour beyond normal parameters because we adhere to the principle of saving personal energy.” Does anyone realize that by using the adjective “core” to define “competencies,” you’re implying that you have other “competencies” that might not be so “core?” And that a careful reader could deduce that those other competencies might actually be subpar, or least rather pedestrian? Here’s a solution, in plain English: “What we do best is…” or “Our reputation rests on the way we…” or “We are known for…”

I bring this up because I don’t doubt that your readers are critical thinkers (at least that’s what I tell my writing seminar students to expect), which means they will view phrases like “core competencies” as lazy, unproductive thinking.

o Skill sets, as in “Our employees can bring the most unique set of skill sets to finding a solution to your problem, which is why we consider ourselves a high-end firm that can justify overcharging you for our services.” First of all, you can’t be “most unique” because “unique” means one of a kind. I used to think that foolishness was restricted to the sports broadcast booth, but now I’m seeing it on websites, which was probably inevitable.

Anyway, I ask you: What’s wrong with just using “skills?” How can adding “sets” possibly add anything beyond the useless appendage of another four-letter word? If you use “skills sets,” ask yourself: “Why? What have I gained beyond the obvious tendency to imitate others unthinkingly?”

The News Media…Not Always Nosy Busybodies

“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once.”

— Cyril Connolly, English writer

Learning to deal with the press constructively need not be limited to traditional definitions of news. Some realistic role-playing in a media training setting can, in fact, help you frame and sharpen your message for commercial purposes. That’s where I can be of assistance. As a former newspaper and magazine reporter, I like to know how things work and what sets them apart. Then I try to pass on what I’ve learned in succinct prose, as Connolly noted.

Let me describe the sort of training I do. A couple years ago, a clever nurse in Maine came up with a blend of four aromatic oils that she said eased the nausea of first-trimester pregnancy, chemotherapy and motion sickness. To help with marketing, I put her through questions a reporter for the business section of a newspaper or magazine might ask. Then I wrote an article about her “aromatherapy,” which we discussed in detail for lessons learned.

The result? She and her marketing and investment associates came out of the exercise with a much clearer view of how the public would perceive their unusual product. The questions I asked were born of healthy skepticism, and she said she planned to adjust her pitch accordingly.

A Simple System to Create All Your Products

Let’s take it to the next level, let’s say you’ve done an ask campaign, and now you have 125 different challenges, questions, or problems people have sent to you. These are all challenges in your niche.

Next you write your 50 page manual and it answers everybody’s questions.

You could do 1 page per question. Let’s say that there’s a lot of overlap, and out of 125 questions you end up with 30 questions net. Now you have a 30 page manual that just blows away everybody else in your niche.

But, what you also have now, is you have the blueprint outline for a class series. If you were to just talk for 10 minutes on each of the 30 topics, you would have 300 minutes of audio, which is 5 hours of audio training.

You could then take those 30 points, make those the 30 bullet points in your sales letter.

You could write a few stories about 2 or 3 of the bullet points. You would have your stories in your sales letter done.

I find opening a sales letter with questions for the niche is really effective, and using this method you could use the same questions you got from your ask page. Look at the 125 answers you got and find the ones that had the most overlap. Just repeat those back at the beginning of your sales letter:

“Do you struggle with X, Y, Z?” “Do you struggle with A, B, C?”

They’ve already told you what they struggle with, so you just tell it back to them in the form of questions. And then you say, “Hey, I understand! In fact, I asked 25 people if they struggle with these particular things, and these are some of the things they told me they struggle with.”

Then you make a big list of all the things people are struggling with.

“So, here’s what I decided to do. I decided to create an all inclusive audio training program that will teach you everything you need to know about all of those things. And, it’s 5 hours long, it’s 5 60 minute audio training sessions, where I teach on all these things.”

Then you list 30 bullet points, and you embellish a little bit if you want to. You probably like formatting with little check marks, and bullets, and highlighting and all that stuff people do that makes them feel like it might sell a little bit more.

Then at the end you say, “Hey, if you want all this training, here’s what it’s worth. Here’s the price, and go ahead and click the payment button.”

Notice we’ve done all of this from the single ask page. We’ve gotten all of the information we need to write our giveaway manual, to create our 5 hour training program, and to write our sales letter.

Now, here’s one more thing, there’s even one more thing you can do with this now. You could take those 30 questions and a training session every week for 30 weeks, and have a 30 week group coaching program. Where, every week for 30 weeks, you do an intense training on one of those question, and open the call for questions and answers. Now you have a 30 week coaching program. Or combine a few questions a week to build a class series – whatever you want to do.

You’re answering genuine problems here. As you teach on these topics, you’ll get even more questions. You can keep teaching on these new questions every week, and you have an ongoing, lifetime, monthly coaching program, and you’ve done it all from a single ask page.

Build your business on solving problems – it’s an incredible foundation.

Challenges Facing The Library At West Africa Theological Seminary, Affiliate Of University Of Nigeri

INTRODUCTION

The library has become “a place entrusted with the acquisition, organization, preservation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information in whatever format it might appear” (Olanlokun and Salisu 1993, ix). West Africa Theological Seminary Library is at the crossroad. The traditional library practices and modern technological advances must be developed and embraced if it is to be relevant in this information age. It is a very high price which must be paid otherwise the library will eventually become like the legendary character who slept for twenty years at Gasgill Mountain in Gulliver’s Travels and eventually woke up to find the world completely changed.

BRIEF HISTORY OF WEST AFRICA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

The history of the above seminary could be realistically traced to the historic visitation by two American missionaries (Rev. Dr. and Rev. Mrs. Gary Maxey) who led a group of Nigerian and expatriate Christians to Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria in April 1989. (The Maxeys had initially worked creditably in religious education in Port Harcourt for seven years). The establishment of the seminary in 1989 was a practical demonstration of the need to actively participate in the training of pastors, evangelists, missionaries and teachers not only in Nigeria but also in other parts of the continent and the west. Presently, the seminary is the largest non-denominational evangelical holiness seminary in Nigeria that has attracted students from a broad spectrum of Nigerian Christian denominations, (and) ethnic groups. During a recently completed semester, WATS has students from thirty of Nigeria’s states, from over forty language groups, from (several) other African countries, and from well over eighty different church groups (West Africa Theological Seminary Prospectus 2004, 5).

The name of the seminary was changed from Wesley International Theological Seminary to West Africa Theological Seminary on 1 June 2001, the same year it relocated to 35/37 MM International Airport Road, Lagos, Nigeria. The institution is affiliated to the University of Nsukka, Nigeria and presently offers several programs of study including : Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, Bachelor of Arts in Theology, Diploma in Theology, Certificate in Computer Studies, Diploma in Computer Studies, M.A. in Biblical Studies, Master of Divinity, M.A. in Christian Leadership and M.A. in Intercultural Studies. The seminary started publishing the West Africa Theological Seminary Journal in 2002.

One of the immediate plans of the seminary is to automate its library collection. A crucial aspect is to identify software that will be able to meet the needs of the seminary. In selecting software, the seminary must think in terms of networking and bear in mind that automation programmes normally require annual support fees.

WEST AFRICA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LIBRARY

It is a truism that “the library is the nerve center of educational institutions” (Olanlokun and Salisu 1993, vii) and West Africa Theological Seminary Library is no exception. This library uses the second edition of the Anglo American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2) and the twentieth edition of Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC 20). The card catalog is divided, “a file of authors and titles kept in a single alphabetical order and a file of subject cards in alphabetical order” (Newhall 1970, 38) and the filing system is letter by letter, a system in which “entries are filed without considering the spaces between words” (Nwosu 2000, 61). There is a book catalog, which contains the projects (undergraduate and graduate) submitted by students of the seminary and some members of staff who studied in other institutions.

In 2003 the library benefited from a subscription paid by Asbury Theological Seminary to use the ATLA (American Theological Library Association) Database on CD Rom. This is a comprehensive tool designed to support religious education and faculty research. The library serves students, academic and administrative staff of the seminary and external users (academic staff and students from other theological institutions).

Other relevant information include:

OPENING HOURS:

A. During term: Mondays to Saturdays: 9:00 a.m. ? 10:30 p.m.

B. Holiday: Mondays to Fridays: 9:00 a.m. ? 9:00 p.m.

NO OF BOOKS: 36,500

NO OF journal titles: 98

NO. OF VIDEO AND AUDIO CASSETTES: 114

PHOTOCOPYING MACHINE: 1

THE BOOK CATALOG: Projects (both card and book catalog)

NO. OF REFERENCE MATERIALS: 1,722

LIBRARY STAFF

With the exclusion of the presenter, WATS library is presently manned by seventeen members of staff, nine of whom are student workers. These student workers mostly work in the evenings, manning the security and circulation desks (although no external borrowing is done during this period). In addition, they clean they library.

CHALLENGES

1. Training and recruiting professional librarians

Nine out of the seventeen members of staff are student workers who use this opportunity to raise a significant portion of their fees and, in some cases, some extra funds to maintain themselves as they pursue their theological studies. The presenter is unaware of any who has expressed interest in the library profession. Services rendered cannot be classed as professional. Unfortunately, only two of the regular members of staff have completed some form of library training at the senior supporting level. The implication is that the library is seriously in need of professional librarians otherwise it would continue to run sub-standard services. An irksome dimension is that in most cases, junior members of staff who are in the majority “are allowed to do professional duties in the absence of the right cadre who should do them” (Nwosu 2000, 103).

The card catalog for instance will be used to demonstrate the effect the paucity or lack of professional librarians is having on the library collection.

The most common form of library catalog in West Africa is the card catalog and “there is need for (one) to know the design of the system to be able to use it effectively” (Nwosu 2000, 57). A challenge for the library is to maintain a consistent filing rule. Although WATS library operates the system known as the “letter-by-letter” or “all-through” method, there are evidences of the other method, that is the “word-by-word” or “nothing before something”. The former is the common approach to alphabetization, where B must always come before C. In the latter, the space between words is taken into account since the focus is on each word. When it gets to the turn of the word in the alphabetic sequence, all its associates are considered along.

Marrying the two methods of filing or alphabetization may cost one the information that is needed.

Another problem is misapplication of the filing rules. The American Library Association Code (Rule 6) stipulates that “abbreviated words should be filed as if they were spelled out in full, with one exception, that is, the abbreviation Mrs. St. is therefore filed as if it were spelled Saint, and Mc… as Mac” (Harrison and Beenham 1985, 82). The above rule is unfortunately misapplied in WATS library. If the rule is not taken into consideration, the word scan will be filed before St. when it should be the other way round. In the same manner, the Dr. (doctor) will also be filed before down and not the other way round.

A third issue in filing (Rule 5) states that initials should be filed before words. (However, acronyms are treated as words, for example UNICEF, UNESCO, ECOWAS etc.) There are instances in the WATS catalog that this rule is not taken into consideration. A word like Aaron erroneously comes before A.G.M and A.L.A.

It is frightening that there is no clear room for upward mobility of library staff. In the absence of a professional scheme of service or promotion guidelines, members of staff have worked in one position since they received their appointment letters.

2. Computerizing the library

Some libraries in Nigeria have automated their services. Examples include the Institute of Tropical Agriculture Library at Ibadan and the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Library, Oshodi, Lagos. Others, including WATS Library, are on the verge of putting their automation plan into action.

Automation can benefit the Acquisition, Cataloging and Serial Departments in the following ways :

Acquisition : Automation can help in fund control as well as in generation and dissemination of reports. List of items, including the accession list can also be printed.

3. Acquisition

Acquisition is generally defined as “the process of obtaining books and other documents for a library, documentation center or archive” (Prytherch 1986, 61). Incontrovertibly, it is “one of the most important functions of any library system” (Ali 1989, 66). Some means of acquisition of library materials include purchase, donation, exchange, Legal Deposit Legislation and membership of professional organizations. In most libraries in West Africa, it is observed that

acquisition rates are grossly inadequate to support both teaching and research even if judged by minimal standards accepted in developed countries. Attempts to alleviate the situation with various forms of aid though intrinsically meritorious offer little hope for long term improvement (Allen 1993, 232).

Donated materials extensively stock West Africa Theological Seminary Library. Since beggars are not choosers, there is a significant proportion of dated publications. There are many reading materials which are not even relevant to the general curriculum of the seminary. Weeding ‘unwanted’ stock is a big problem to the library since there are no suitable replacements.

An often-overlooked means of acquisition is membership of professional associations. If the library continues to distance itself from the professional register of library institutions, it will not be aware of current trends in the professional which will negatively reflect on the type and quality of services rendered.

4. Internet connectivity

The WATS administration released a letter on 2nd January 2005 announcing a significant reduction (about 75%) of the internet service provided on campus. This was attributed to the reduction in the bandwidth which made it impossible to support all the former work stations. A technological blow was dealt on the library cyber café since it fell prey to this decision. Students were advised to use the cyber café on the ground floor. The seminary administration must support the library in its embryonic stage to judiciously embrace the new technology. On the other hand, the theological librarians have a very crucial role “to ensure that the resulting use of computers and telecommunication and any other appropriate technology contributes in cost effective ways to the needs of scholarship and research since (they) have the expertise in acquiring materials in a variety of formats and make them accessible for a variety of purposes” (Simpson 1984, 38).

5. Online resources

An online resource that was used at West Africa Theological Seminary (and which is highly recommended for other theological libraries in Africa) is the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) Religion Index, useful for accessing articles, reviews, essays, dissertations and monographs. The use of databases, which overlap subject fields, that is, interdisciplinary database searching, is an often over-looked aspect of online searching.Users of West Africa Theological Seminary Library do not have access to an incredible amount of online resources because it is not subscribing to use these materials. An example of a very important online resource is the Online Computer Library Centre (OCLC). This center, a bibliographic utility based in Dublin, Ohio is a global electronic information co-operative serving about 39,517 libraries in seventy-six countries. It runs an Online Union Catalog. There are approximately twenty eight million cataloguing records and the database (using MARC tapes and other online input data for users) provides reference services and interlibrary loan, qualifying it probably as the world’s most comprehensive database of bibliographic information that produces the First Search System through which a library can subscribe to thousands of academic and professional titles from about seventy publishers available electronically.

6. Functional photocopier

Although the library has a photocopier, the machine is frequently out of order. This second hand machine needs to be replaced to enable the library to realistically benefit from its services. The seminary administration even took a decision recently to hand over photocopying services to a student who is presently running a better business.

7. Audio visual collection

Audio visuals are non-paper based information carriers. They have been introduced into the library through advances in technology. They are called audio-visuals because they require auditory and visual appreciation. One of their chief advantages is storing a large amount of information in a small space. Audio visuals include audio tapes, microforms, filmstrips, charts, slides, video tapes, television etc. Some of these appeal only to the sense of hearing (audios), some only to the sight (visuals) and others to both the auditory and visual senses (audio visuals). Although WATS library has received quite a few audio visual materials, there is need to purchase the necessary supporting equipments to make the audio visual collection a reality.

The seminary has been receiving several research tools in the form of CD ROMS for a considerable period. The library is yet to make these available to users by installing them in a functional computer.

8. Bindery

It is true that “once any item is selected for the collection, the library promises to preserve it” (Goodrum and Dalrymple 1985, 65). The absence of a bindery collection within the library is adversely affecting the physical condition of books. It must be borne in mind that since a significant portion of library materials are donated, many are received in a very poor physical condition.

The bindery could also be very instrumental in binding back issues of newspapers and journals to facilitate a relatively easier storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.

9. User instruction

A major weakness of library practice is the failure to instruct users in the use of the library to the best advantage. From experience, “surveys have shown that public use of such tools as catalogues are minimal, largely because they have never been shown how they operate” (Jackaman 1989, 3). Many students in WATS go through the seminary without a reasonable grasp of basic library principles. This means that the one hour orientation conducted at the start of every semester is insufficient.

10. Serial collection

Various journals subscribed to by the library are selected, ordered and received, processed and shelved by this collection. It is constantly checked to determine if there are any missing issues already due but have not been received in order to make such claims. This section also stocks newspaper. The relevance of such an invaluable collection in the library cannot be overemphasized. It is unfortunate that WATS library is not subscribing to journals and this explains why there are many distinct gaps in periodical literature. The library is at the mercy of donors who normally send journals at random.

Newspapers are directly purchased by the WATS administration and these are subsequently sent to the library in most cases not on the day of purchase. This defeats the purpose of newspapers since they come late to the library. Providing recent information must be the primary concern for the library or information worker. Consequently, “currency should therefore be a requirement and not an option” (Wilson 1993, 636).

11. Heat in the library

The present heat in the library is detrimental to the books since humidity is a threat to their survival. If not sprayed periodically, fungi easily develop within the pages and damage the writing. Many researchers are unable to stay for a considerable period simply because of the discomfort caused by a very hot environment.

12. Internet searching

When the library cyber café was functioning, user statistics of users indicated that ninety percent of those who used the Internet did so to send mails and chat with friends. The remaining ten percent use it to conduct research and perform other functions. The insignificant percentage that uses it for research purposes heavily rely on Google. A student and a library staff opined that they adopt the ‘google only’ approach because they are not aware of any other cite.

It is observed that “most users locate (information) through subscription-free search engines such as Google” (Harding 2004). This over-reliance is a serious limitation. The effectiveness of Google is assessed thus:

A recent search on Google of ‘Ancient Near East’ resulted in over 150,000 results. While many of these are probably excellent sites, many more are probably not. The ETANA site, interestingly, does not appear in the first one hundred listings. Thus, the researcher who would benefit from access to ETANA but who does not know of its existence will likely not stumble across it using Google (Limpitlaw 2003, p.5).

It is rather unfortunate that even lecturers are incredibly proliferating reliance upon one web site (Google). The issue is that “if faculty researchers themselves are relying almost exclusively upon Google, however, how many of them are likely to encourage students to expand their searches beyond Google, to at least explore the resources and materials their libraries maintain?” (Norlin 2004, 56). The library staff must be very instrumental in directing users to many other relevant sites and free online libraries, for instance Africa Digital Library in South Africa. Continuing education for the library staff must be encouraged to enable them to be abreast of technological changes. It is opined that “a successful training program is also dependent on the commitment that top management shows for the training process” (Martey 2002, 14). An incontrovertible reality is that “librarians need to know how to access and filter what is on the web” (Rosenberg 1997, 15). Among several suggestions to shake the evident frost off the African church in its theological mission, Tienou (1990) proffers the improvement of theological libraries, and (by implication), the theological librarians who intersperse between the information and the user. The training of library staff and information professionals is very crucial in coping with the astronomically fast development that is evident in the information age. It is rather unfortunate that the theological librarians have not generally accompanied the introduction of Internet service at West Africa Theological Seminary Library with a thorough training on its use.

Indubitably, unless … librarians receive this staff training, there is a danger that the potential of this technology for sourcing and repackaging for information transfer will remain insufficiently exploited and that it will not become integrated with more traditional print-based library services” (Asamoah 2003, 17).

13. Funding

It is incontrovertible that “every good collection is an expression of adequate and sound financial backing, and no collection development can achieve this objective if it is financially handicapped” (Alemna 1994, 47). In their commentary on the challenge in the field of librarianship, it is observed that “library funding will probably be the issue which consumes the energy of library managers to the end of this century (and the next)” (Moore and Shander 1993, 19). WATS library must be realistically budgeted for if it is to continue to be the academic nerve center of the seminary.

THE WAY FORWARD

Like Ato Yawson in Ama Ata Aidoo’s The Dilemma of a Ghost, the question is, shall WATS library go to Cape Coast (representing the traditional) or Elmina (representing the modern’)? In the field of librarianship, a realistic response lies “in preserving traditional services and embracing the technological advances” (Harding 2002, 9).

The following are proffered for consideration to assist WATS library to face the inescapable challenges:

1. Professionally trained staff

The library profession is in crises. It is observed that “the need to find and retain quality leadership for libraries is a core issue for the future” (Hisle 2002, 211). Library staff at WATS must be professionally trained. Acquisition of relevant library qualifications cannot be overemphasized. Relevant training must include use of software applications. The modern theological librarian is standing on a crossroad and must maintain a very useful balance between traditional and modern research techniques to be relevant in this information age. Substandard services will continue to be provided if staff are employed just because they are Christians with little emphasis on professional training. Theological librarians need the kind of training conducted by ACTEA (Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa) East Africa Library Staff Training Institute in Daystar University in Kenya in July 2004. Untrained librarians need courses in cataloguing and classification, management of the library and answering reference questions. Furthermore, they must receive training in searching the internet, using Boolean operators to consult full-text journals, accessing reference materials on CD Roms, using MARC, and compiling lists of important websites and reference CDs.

Seminary, library, training, recruiting, librarians,

2. Scheme of service

In order not to make a continued mockery of the library profession, it is recommended that the professional guidelines for the appointment and promotion of library staff at all levels be drafted and implemented. The seminary administration could compare the scheme of service of several institutions in Nigeria and the sub-region as a guide to reasonably maintain the standard.

Positions which should be taken into consideration within the various categories include:

a. Junior staff

i. Messenger/cleaner

ii. Library attendant III

iii. Library attendant II

iv. Library attendant I

v. Library assistant I

vi. Library assistant II

vii. Library assistant III

b. Senior supporting staff

i. Trainee Librarian/Senior Library Assistant II / Admin. Assistant II

ii. Senior Library Assistant I / Admin.

c. Senior staff

i. Library Officer

ii. Librarian II

iii. Librarian I

iv. Senior Librarian

v. Deputy Librarian

vi. Head Librarian

The criteria for scoring senior library staff should be taken into consideration. Some of these areas include :

Academic and professional qualifications

Professional/working experience

Professional activities

Research and publications

Administrative experience

3. Revamping of internet services in the library

The library cyber café must be resurrected if the library is to be relevant in this technological age. The library staff should receive training that will enable them to creditably handle databases in their library.

4. User instruction

The library should be more proactive in user education strategies. More current awareness or selective dissemination of information should be done to attract students and staff. A course on the use of the library could be introduced as a compulsory subject for all categories of students. It is evident even in West Africa Theological Seminary that “librarians can no longer assume the same level of interest in and support for the library from a faculty that increasingly rely upon their own search strategies and abilities in an electronic world they can access from their offices” (Norlin 2004, 56). Theological librarians need to be carefully attuned to the concerns of the students and faculty. If librarians at WATS discharge professionalism in identifying the problem of the researcher, searching for specific pieces of information efficiently and expeditiously and transmits the result of the search by any convenient means to both faculty and student users (telephone, email, personal call, short letter to mention a few), the interest in the library as information intermediary would gradually be revamped.

The library of West Africa Theological Seminary should spend several weeks offering “faculty only” and “students only” training sessions on the use of American Theological Library Association database (after paying the current subscription). An incontrovertible fact is that “unless theological librarians consciously view the faculty (and students) as the primary target for (their) activities, (they) would become irrelevant to…students, faculty, administrators and institutions” (Norlin 2004, 55).

5. The role of the seminary administration

Management at WATS must recognize that the library is not an optional extra and that the impending doctoral programme in the seminary will only become a reality when the library attains a particular professional standard. Seminary authorities must support its progress by developing existing collections (for instance, subscribing to scholarly journals for the serials collection) and by assisting in the setting up of a vibrant Digital Library Collection which should be manned by a professional librarian. Providing server upgrades and disk storage space must be seriously considered. There should be regular in-service training to assist library staff gain relevant skills in information technology.

The issue of funding cannot be overemphasized. The WATS Library can only be relevant in this information age if the seminary administration would recognize “the centrality of its academic nerve centre (the library) and ensure the sustainability of the library programmes and services” (Harding 2002, 9). Introduction of user charges, more fund raising activities in the library (such as book sales), increase in the support from donor agencies could yield an increase in income needed to purchase and maintain necessary equipment.

When the library is adequately funded, it will be in a position to subscribe to relevant journal titles, purchase standard theological texts, build a vibrant audio visual collection, provide air conditioning facilities to control the heat, replace the photocopier and provide other necessary services as and when necessary.

Professionally trained staff, scheme of service, revamping of internet services in the Computerize, cataloging, acquisition, internet, user instruction, audio visual, serial, bindery, funding, scheme of service,

6. Membership of professional organizations

WATS library should enroll as an institutional member of professional library associations such as Nigeria Theological Library Association, Christian Librarians’ Association for Africa, American Theological Library Association and Christian Librarians’ Fellowship. (The presenter is a member of all but the former). It was through the American Theological Library Association that the author was informed that the twenty second edition of the Dewey Decimal Library (DDC) classification has been published. (WATS is using the twentieth edition). The DDC numbers include all headings newly mapped to the 200 Religion Schedule, as well as others considered to be of interest to theological libraries.

Below is an illustration:

Subject heading Call number

All Souls’ Day in art 704.9493943

Islamic modernism 297.09

Nymphs (Greek deities) in art 704.9489221

Open-air preaching 206.1, 251

Social capital (Sociology) ? Religious aspects 201.7

Venus (Roman deity ) in art 704.9489221

(Osmanski 2003, 2-1)

7. Computerization

CONCLUSION

It is indubitable that the role of the library as information intermediary would never change. However, the means to fulfill this invaluable role keeps changing and the library must adapt to maintain its relevance. WATS library is a unit of a self-supporting institution with several challenges. Traditional library practices must be fully developed and the best of modern technology must be embraced. This high price must be paid as the library journeys to ‘Cape Coast’. The seminary librarians have a major challenge to move from being mere keepers of the book to guides through a universe of knowledge, thereby playing an invaluable role as information intermediary (Kargbo 2002). Since the mission of the library to facilitate the free flow of information endures even in the midst of technological changes, the librarians in all types of libraries, including WATS, “must find a very useful balance between the conventional/traditional library functions and the methods of the new challenges in order to maintain their leadership role in (the) information age” (Harding 2002, 10). Librarians in West Africa Theological Seminary could only be relevant in this age if they gear up to possess the necessary skills to enable users to creditably use materials for reading, study and consultation in whatever format they might appear. This cannot be realized without the invaluable support of the seminary administration. With this realization, “the students will be taught the art of electronic information retrieval, which they can use to write their project work and thesis” (Asamoah 2003, 17).

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Is the Letter of Intent a Worthless Document?

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is a common way to express your intentions to purchase a property without having to write a formal, legal binding contract. The Letter of Intent is presented to a seller in the very preliminary stages of a project. The intentions of a buyer are spelled out clearly and simply so the seller knows exactly how the buyer wants to purchase the property, and under what terms. Essentially a Letter of Intent is to open a dialogue and create a framework for that dialogue between buyers and sellers.

Definition of a Letter of Intent

“A Letter of Intent is basically a written statement expressing the sender’s intention, should certain circumstances arise, to take or forgo some action, like entering into a future agreement with the recipient, or, more generally, carrying out business activities mentioned in the Letter of Intent.”

I often submit a LOI right after I have found a building, quickly analyzed the operating numbers and recognized that a deal could be created. This whole process might be as a short of a time as 30 minutes. I want the seller to recognize me as having a serious interest in the building and not just a ‘tire-kicker”. The sooner he knows he potentially has a viable sale of his property, the sooner he may stop fielding calls and inquiries from others. In other words, his attention will be focused on the dialogue with me.

The letter of intent in the offer process

This Letter of Intent is not a traditional letter. You do not write it and forget it. It is a living document that should be updated and added to on a regular basis throughout the offer process. In the offer and purchase process, the letter of intent tells the property seller that you are interested not only in submitting a proposal to purchase, but in response also receiving all LOI updates and modifications. The LOI is an agreement to agree in the future. Once the Investor and the seller have come to the meeting of the minds via the LOI, a formal Purchase Contract would be written.

If the letter of intent is accepted, then the due diligence period will begin. It will continue until the time agreed upon by both parties in which, at the end of the term, a binding contract is constructed. Terms may change during this time if certain aspects of a property, previously not disclosed, are discovered. For example, there may be soil contamination in which the buyer will not want to purchase the property and will safely option out of the non-binding contract. Or, perhaps the property is in a lot worse condition than originally thought, causing the buyer to negotiate a decreased purchase price.

If not binding is the letter of intent is a worthless document?

A letter of intent is not an offer or a contract. It doesn’t commit you or the seller to the project. In other words, it cannot be enforced. Often in the LOI there is often times, at the bottom or, in the body a paragraph stating and reinforcing the non-binding character of the LOI.

This should be a basic understanding of the nature of the LOI. This language is

usually just re-enforcement inserted to let all who may read that it is not a binding document, nor an agreement to agree in the future, unless specifically written.

The Specific details of due diligence, cash flow and the buyers’ needs, how those terms will be carried out with sellers. In most of the initial presentations, the accommodation of the seller’s financial needs is what is addressed. As a result the focus becomes more about the seller’s than the buyer’s needs.

For this reason, the dialogue is broken off, and the proposed purchase falls by the way side.

When the needs of the buyer and seller are addressed up front, it helps insure a movement to contract. s are spelled out in the . Buyers are often disappointed when their deals die at the LOI stage, with emotion aside, the understanding of the nature of the LOI, it is only a tool to open dialogue to see if an acceptable deal can be created. This allows the buyer to focus on the next viable deal. So in the regard the LOI is a very worthwhile document.

Writing the Letter of Intent

Use a formal letterhead and do not handwrite the letter of intent. A letter of intent must have five basic elements in its content:

1. The Seller’s or the Seller’s Agent’s name

2. The buyer’s name

3. The property address and description

4. Your offer details, which includes:

a. Purchase price

b. Down payment

c. Financing

d. Terms

e. Due diligence conditions

5. Time frame.

The body of the LOI would address the following items;

Terms: We should spell out the offering price, and the specific terms and contingencies of the financing, the down payment, where and what kind of financing to be obtained.

Conditions: We will often use this portion of the LOI to request documentation regarding the performance of the property, such as financials or other items that may aid us in our Due Diligence.

Due diligence time: specific time frame for consummation-typically about 90 to 120 days-or a so-called “drop dead” date by which the deal must be finished and the Buyer should have its due diligence completed, financing in place and ready to close escrow.

Closing Date: The specific date by which you can complete all of the due diligence and arrange for funding and any other clauses or provisions. When a formal contract will be written up if the LOI is approved if elected, a clause that makes the LOI non-binding. State to the seller that you are, interested in being kept informed about any modification related to this property, i.e. the LOI document itself, essentially an invitation for response.

Conclusion: Your signature and a place for the seller’s signature: close the letter formally with “sincerely” or a similar polite expression. Sign your name and title. Be sure to provide correct, complete contact and reference information for future correspondence. Remember to consult your lawyer, Tax advisor and other counsel for further information before entering into the formal contract.

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