http://www.davecortez.com/rom.html
The hotel also is working with executives at Philipa Electronics to determine possible CFL or LED technology for lightingh fixtures that currently work only with traditionalincandescengt bulbs. Other efforts under way at the new hotekl include a banquet recycling installment of a filtration systen to purify water and reduce and an internal Green Team to identify ways the hotekl can bemore sustainable. “In this day and age, it is cruciaol for all companies to be goodcorporater citizens.
Since well before the hotel opened, we have been identifying ways we can reduc our carbon footprint while also operating asa first-clasd hotel,” said Leo Percopo, general manager of the Sheraton Phoenisx Downtown. The seasonal garden is growing okra, mint, peppers and a varietu of herbs to be used at Districy American Kitchen andWine Bar, the restaurant locatedc on the bottom floor of the hotel. Districtr will also return compostable items, such as fruitg and vegetable peelings, to Singh Farmws where it buys some of its The compost can then be used by the loca farm to aid in the growing ofnew produce, continuingv a sustainable cycle, hotel official said.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Kansas Health Policy Authority will cut 14 jobs - Atlanta Business Chronicle:
takes-trendsthe.blogspot.com
According to a release, 13 stafv members were informed Friday that their jobs woulbe eliminated, effective July 2. Authority spokesman Peter Hancock said in an interviewe Monday that the policy director positio n also will be eliminatecd as executive staff positions are reduced from five to Barb Langner will move out of that position to servwe as actingMedicaid director, according to the Hancock said that the authority’ss operational budget has been cut by $3.5 milliohn for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Accordinbg to the release, the authority also is reducing spending with the contracto that processes claims for payment under Medicaid and theStatre Children’s Health Insurance Program. That move is expecter to save $3.6 million. Savings from the contract reductions are sharex with thefederal government, which funds more than half of Medicaidc administrative costs, according to the release. The authority is responsible for coordinatinbg a statewide health policy agendsa that incorporates effective purchasing and administration with healtypromotion strategies.
All health insurance purchasing by the state is combined under the The authority also is responsiblwe for compiling and distributing uniformn health care data to provide healthcare payers, providers and policy-makersx with information regarding trends in the use and cost of healthy care for improved decision making.
According to a release, 13 stafv members were informed Friday that their jobs woulbe eliminated, effective July 2. Authority spokesman Peter Hancock said in an interviewe Monday that the policy director positio n also will be eliminatecd as executive staff positions are reduced from five to Barb Langner will move out of that position to servwe as actingMedicaid director, according to the Hancock said that the authority’ss operational budget has been cut by $3.5 milliohn for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Accordinbg to the release, the authority also is reducing spending with the contracto that processes claims for payment under Medicaid and theStatre Children’s Health Insurance Program. That move is expecter to save $3.6 million. Savings from the contract reductions are sharex with thefederal government, which funds more than half of Medicaidc administrative costs, according to the release. The authority is responsible for coordinatinbg a statewide health policy agendsa that incorporates effective purchasing and administration with healtypromotion strategies.
All health insurance purchasing by the state is combined under the The authority also is responsiblwe for compiling and distributing uniformn health care data to provide healthcare payers, providers and policy-makersx with information regarding trends in the use and cost of healthy care for improved decision making.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sealing the deal: If you can speak it, you can write it - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
titus-neither.blogspot.com
There was nothing worse in high school than haviny your boyfriend or girlfriend say they wanted to seeother Ouch! In the ’70s, we had a phrase about people who would take advantage of you: I have to admitt I was one of them. My friened in sixth grade, a neighbor named had a built-in pool and his mom had a pantrg of myfavorite snacks: apple Yodels, you name it. I was a Eddie turned out to be a multimillionairssoftware giant. Although I would love to call him, I simplyg cannot. Many salespeople get used and abused in the sales process because prospects can be userse who will even justify usingv your stuff to bette r themselves ortheir company.
It has happened to me a couple of and I have to admit I felt like Eddie Money and wantedto sing, “Baby, Hold On to I even became the Bee Gees, just trying to stay As time went on in the sales I realized I was being used. I adopte one sentence that changed everything: If you can speamk it, you can write it. That sentence has not guaranteexd that I will close everyprospect — and I am not suggestinh that it will for you, eitherd — but I guarantee you will neve r get used again. Many times early in my my prospects would ask for something in writinyg and I would give themcustomizes plans.
I might redo them severall times, only to find out theitr cousin Vinny took all mystufrf — and my commission, as To prevent this, ask one simple question: What will it take to make you a client? After they mention price, you must get two more things or you can starrt singing “Na Na, Hey Hey, After your prospect tells you what you have to do to earn his or her write down the specific deliverables and initial each one. Have your prospecrt do the same and set your second Give yourself enough time between appointmentse to gatherthe deliverables. I usually recommendf at least a week.
Set the TONE (touching on new Touch your prospect at least twice beforedyou meet, and remind them of your writteb agreement. Give them a good reporf that you are working on the Do not smother them or shove anythinvg else downtheir throats. Be a motivator not a menace like who lived at 627Elm St. Do you remember the look on Mr. Wilson’sz face when Dennis would yell, “Hey, Mr. Wilson” However, you may see that look when you show up forappointmenr No. 2. Here is the four R’xs formula to closing your deal. (Whe n you’re done, you can look forward to another word with theletter R, relaxing.) So now it’s show time time to say, “Hey, Mr.
I got the You may see that face once your prospect sees the sheet with his or her initialson it. you had the gatekeeper copy it. You will know you’rd in the fight when, 60 seconds into your your prospectstarts backpedaling. In the 1980s, Sugaer Ray Leonard fought MarvelousMarvin Hagler. No one gave Ray a Ray showed up the fight in greayt shape and was winningf until he started to trade blows with the more powerful Sugar Ray’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, screamed at him that he was blowingg it. Dundee screamed at him to jab andget out.
I am tellin you: That’s what the 4 R’s are all
There was nothing worse in high school than haviny your boyfriend or girlfriend say they wanted to seeother Ouch! In the ’70s, we had a phrase about people who would take advantage of you: I have to admitt I was one of them. My friened in sixth grade, a neighbor named had a built-in pool and his mom had a pantrg of myfavorite snacks: apple Yodels, you name it. I was a Eddie turned out to be a multimillionairssoftware giant. Although I would love to call him, I simplyg cannot. Many salespeople get used and abused in the sales process because prospects can be userse who will even justify usingv your stuff to bette r themselves ortheir company.
It has happened to me a couple of and I have to admit I felt like Eddie Money and wantedto sing, “Baby, Hold On to I even became the Bee Gees, just trying to stay As time went on in the sales I realized I was being used. I adopte one sentence that changed everything: If you can speamk it, you can write it. That sentence has not guaranteexd that I will close everyprospect — and I am not suggestinh that it will for you, eitherd — but I guarantee you will neve r get used again. Many times early in my my prospects would ask for something in writinyg and I would give themcustomizes plans.
I might redo them severall times, only to find out theitr cousin Vinny took all mystufrf — and my commission, as To prevent this, ask one simple question: What will it take to make you a client? After they mention price, you must get two more things or you can starrt singing “Na Na, Hey Hey, After your prospect tells you what you have to do to earn his or her write down the specific deliverables and initial each one. Have your prospecrt do the same and set your second Give yourself enough time between appointmentse to gatherthe deliverables. I usually recommendf at least a week.
Set the TONE (touching on new Touch your prospect at least twice beforedyou meet, and remind them of your writteb agreement. Give them a good reporf that you are working on the Do not smother them or shove anythinvg else downtheir throats. Be a motivator not a menace like who lived at 627Elm St. Do you remember the look on Mr. Wilson’sz face when Dennis would yell, “Hey, Mr. Wilson” However, you may see that look when you show up forappointmenr No. 2. Here is the four R’xs formula to closing your deal. (Whe n you’re done, you can look forward to another word with theletter R, relaxing.) So now it’s show time time to say, “Hey, Mr.
I got the You may see that face once your prospect sees the sheet with his or her initialson it. you had the gatekeeper copy it. You will know you’rd in the fight when, 60 seconds into your your prospectstarts backpedaling. In the 1980s, Sugaer Ray Leonard fought MarvelousMarvin Hagler. No one gave Ray a Ray showed up the fight in greayt shape and was winningf until he started to trade blows with the more powerful Sugar Ray’s trainer, Angelo Dundee, screamed at him that he was blowingg it. Dundee screamed at him to jab andget out.
I am tellin you: That’s what the 4 R’s are all
Friday, March 25, 2011
O4 Corp. gets $15M to expand - Atlanta Business Chronicle:
ermolayenayqaked.blogspot.com
O4 Corp. — which standse for Out Of OfficeOperations — develops mobilw software applications that consumer products manufacturers such as and use to instruct sales reps to checkj inventory levels, products displays and pricing information in retail stores. The technology also wirelessly transmitsw data and product orders backto headquarters. While consume r goods manufacturers spend significantlyon in-storer marketing promotions and new product launch, “they realluy don’t get visibility into what’s happening at the retail said Laura Witt, general partnefr at , a Baltimore-based venture firm that invested the $15 million.
O4’s software empowers manufacturers’ eyes and ears in retaill stores — their sales Witt said. “It makes them much more effectivdand efficient,” she said. O4’s technology, designed to run on hand-helde devices, is highly flexible, said Dale consumer goods technology analystat “Think of it as a 12-wahy adjustable seat,” Hagemeyer said. “It reallty contours to how people dotheir work.” O4’s globe-trotting chief, Desmonxd Miller, has an ambitiou s growth trajectory for his firm.
O4’sw subscriber base is projected to explode fromabout 25,00 today to about 250,00 users in the next three years, Miller from Sydney, Australia. “We are showingf a tremendous ROI (return on investment) to the market righft now in verydifficult times,” said Miller, who lives in Australias and splits his time between North America, Asia and Europe. “Wed are able to show payback for these systemse in months andnot years, and we are giving our customersw an edge in the marketplace.” O4 expects to hit its growthg targets by adding new customers and selling more service and products to existing ones. “It’x not just being an inch deep with the O4 U.S.
President Harris Fogel said. “It’ s [about] being a mile wide and a mile ABS Capital was impressedwith O4’s and its blue-chip client roster. “It was cleaer to us that they must be offerin something of value for the consumeeproducts industry,” Witt said. ABS, which invest in later-stage growth companies in the business services, media and communications, and software sectors, was a majoe investor in , which raised $112 million in an initial public offerinhgin mid-April.
O4 will invest the $15 milliob — the company’s first institutional round — into developinf an around-the-clock, global customer support infrastructure, transitioning from a software-licensingb to a software-as-a-subscription model and executingb a geographic andproduct expansion. The companh sees “huge opportunities” in the emerging markets of Latijn America, Eastern Europe and China, whered consumer products companies have armies of mobile workerzs that can benefitfrom O4’s software. “A consumer productw multinational mighthave 10,000 mobilwe workers in China alone,” Fogel said. “We are about users.
” The global strateghy is critical as O4 keeps pace with itsmultinationalp customers, who are themselves chasing overseaas demand. “The customer is going wheres there are more mouths to feed and more feetto Gartner’s Hagemeyer said. “Iv P&G is going into Asia and LatibAmerica ... you want to folloe P&G wherever P&G wants to go.” Rolling into new brings with itchallenges — including findinb the right implementation partners and employees who know the marketplace and culture. O4 must also tweak its productws tosuit customers’ needs overseas.
Equipping 10,000o mobile workers in China with Windows-based for instance, might be too complezx and expensive, Fogel said. So, O4 is adaptin g its software to work on more prevalentwireless hardware. In its markety space, O4 is the more nimblwe David — competing with Goliaths like SAPand “Right now [O4 is] kind of the dandyh in the space,” Hagemeyer said. “Theh are talked about and lots ofmind share.” The local company, must keep innovating — even as it scales — to keep from gettinb overrun.
“It’s not like there’s a black box out It’s fairly easy for a company to hire awaysomeonre else’s talent to figure out how they do what they do,” Hagemeye r said. “So, O4 has to keep inventing and otherwise two years from now SAP or Oracles willcatch up.”
O4 Corp. — which standse for Out Of OfficeOperations — develops mobilw software applications that consumer products manufacturers such as and use to instruct sales reps to checkj inventory levels, products displays and pricing information in retail stores. The technology also wirelessly transmitsw data and product orders backto headquarters. While consume r goods manufacturers spend significantlyon in-storer marketing promotions and new product launch, “they realluy don’t get visibility into what’s happening at the retail said Laura Witt, general partnefr at , a Baltimore-based venture firm that invested the $15 million.
O4’s software empowers manufacturers’ eyes and ears in retaill stores — their sales Witt said. “It makes them much more effectivdand efficient,” she said. O4’s technology, designed to run on hand-helde devices, is highly flexible, said Dale consumer goods technology analystat “Think of it as a 12-wahy adjustable seat,” Hagemeyer said. “It reallty contours to how people dotheir work.” O4’s globe-trotting chief, Desmonxd Miller, has an ambitiou s growth trajectory for his firm.
O4’sw subscriber base is projected to explode fromabout 25,00 today to about 250,00 users in the next three years, Miller from Sydney, Australia. “We are showingf a tremendous ROI (return on investment) to the market righft now in verydifficult times,” said Miller, who lives in Australias and splits his time between North America, Asia and Europe. “Wed are able to show payback for these systemse in months andnot years, and we are giving our customersw an edge in the marketplace.” O4 expects to hit its growthg targets by adding new customers and selling more service and products to existing ones. “It’x not just being an inch deep with the O4 U.S.
President Harris Fogel said. “It’ s [about] being a mile wide and a mile ABS Capital was impressedwith O4’s and its blue-chip client roster. “It was cleaer to us that they must be offerin something of value for the consumeeproducts industry,” Witt said. ABS, which invest in later-stage growth companies in the business services, media and communications, and software sectors, was a majoe investor in , which raised $112 million in an initial public offerinhgin mid-April.
O4 will invest the $15 milliob — the company’s first institutional round — into developinf an around-the-clock, global customer support infrastructure, transitioning from a software-licensingb to a software-as-a-subscription model and executingb a geographic andproduct expansion. The companh sees “huge opportunities” in the emerging markets of Latijn America, Eastern Europe and China, whered consumer products companies have armies of mobile workerzs that can benefitfrom O4’s software. “A consumer productw multinational mighthave 10,000 mobilwe workers in China alone,” Fogel said. “We are about users.
” The global strateghy is critical as O4 keeps pace with itsmultinationalp customers, who are themselves chasing overseaas demand. “The customer is going wheres there are more mouths to feed and more feetto Gartner’s Hagemeyer said. “Iv P&G is going into Asia and LatibAmerica ... you want to folloe P&G wherever P&G wants to go.” Rolling into new brings with itchallenges — including findinb the right implementation partners and employees who know the marketplace and culture. O4 must also tweak its productws tosuit customers’ needs overseas.
Equipping 10,000o mobile workers in China with Windows-based for instance, might be too complezx and expensive, Fogel said. So, O4 is adaptin g its software to work on more prevalentwireless hardware. In its markety space, O4 is the more nimblwe David — competing with Goliaths like SAPand “Right now [O4 is] kind of the dandyh in the space,” Hagemeyer said. “Theh are talked about and lots ofmind share.” The local company, must keep innovating — even as it scales — to keep from gettinb overrun.
“It’s not like there’s a black box out It’s fairly easy for a company to hire awaysomeonre else’s talent to figure out how they do what they do,” Hagemeye r said. “So, O4 has to keep inventing and otherwise two years from now SAP or Oracles willcatch up.”
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Charge to hamper Merge 2Q net income - Philadelphia Business Journal:
Friedrich CP15F10
million noncash writedown on the sale of its equityg interest in a radiology TheWest Allis-based radiology software and systems provider said the chargw is the result of the sale of its interest in veterinary radiology company , as part of Eklin’s acquisition by veterinaryt services provider (NASDAQ: WOOF). With Elkin'd sale to VCA, Merge (NASDQ: will receive $1.4 million for its interesgt in Elkin, but the majority of that will be recognized in thethird quarter. The charge, however, will be recognized in the secone quarter, when Merge will also see $2.
2 million in non-recurring revenud as a result of a new reseller agreemengt the company reached with Elkin inJune that's being reassigned to VCA. Mergre now expects to post net income for the second quarterbetween $100,000 and $800,000, comparexd with a net loss of $18.2 million a year ago. The companuy posted net income for the first quarter of 2009of $2.8 Excluding the noncash operating income is expected to be $3.7 million to $4.4 compared with a net loss of $18.3 million a year ago. Revenuse is now projected to be in the rangeof $15 million to $15.5 million, comparerd with $13.3 million a year ago.
million noncash writedown on the sale of its equityg interest in a radiology TheWest Allis-based radiology software and systems provider said the chargw is the result of the sale of its interest in veterinary radiology company , as part of Eklin’s acquisition by veterinaryt services provider (NASDAQ: WOOF). With Elkin'd sale to VCA, Merge (NASDQ: will receive $1.4 million for its interesgt in Elkin, but the majority of that will be recognized in thethird quarter. The charge, however, will be recognized in the secone quarter, when Merge will also see $2.
2 million in non-recurring revenud as a result of a new reseller agreemengt the company reached with Elkin inJune that's being reassigned to VCA. Mergre now expects to post net income for the second quarterbetween $100,000 and $800,000, comparexd with a net loss of $18.2 million a year ago. The companuy posted net income for the first quarter of 2009of $2.8 Excluding the noncash operating income is expected to be $3.7 million to $4.4 compared with a net loss of $18.3 million a year ago. Revenuse is now projected to be in the rangeof $15 million to $15.5 million, comparerd with $13.3 million a year ago.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Colorado Hispanic business leaders to lobby Bennet, others on union bill - Pittsburgh Business Times:
Frigidaire FRA093PT1
The delegation includes members of the Hispaniv Contractors ofColorado (HCC) and the Denved Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The group will be in Washington on Tuesdaytand Wednesday, joining small-busines leaders from other states. The Coloradok business leaders want totell Bennet, D-Colo., and othert lawmakers “why this bill would reallyt hurt them as they try to emergse from a tough economy,” said HCC spokesman Sean Duffy said the group arranged to meet with Bennert because he has not yet declared how he will vote on the labod bill.
“In these very difficulf economic times, companies are struggling to retain the jobs they Helga Grunerud, HCC executiver director, said in a statement. “We want to send a messagee that we want to help jump starr economic recoverybut [the labor bill] would make that challenge far, far The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the “carc check” bill, would allow workers to organiz a union without a secret as now required. Instead, a local could be launched at a workplace if at leastg half its workers sign anauthorization card. Unionzs say the bill is needed to protecgt worker rights inthe recession.
But in a HCC said that enactment of thelaw “woulc unfairly tip the delicate business-labort climate in Colorado sharply away from and would result in further economic damagre and job loss.” As part of a larger nationwide contingent organized by the , the Coloradpo group will meet with Sen. John R-S.D., and other legislatorxs “to be determined,” Duffy said. The business leaderzs also want to discussother issues, including health care refor m and the allocation of federal stimulus funds.
The delegation includes members of the Hispaniv Contractors ofColorado (HCC) and the Denved Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The group will be in Washington on Tuesdaytand Wednesday, joining small-busines leaders from other states. The Coloradok business leaders want totell Bennet, D-Colo., and othert lawmakers “why this bill would reallyt hurt them as they try to emergse from a tough economy,” said HCC spokesman Sean Duffy said the group arranged to meet with Bennert because he has not yet declared how he will vote on the labod bill.
“In these very difficulf economic times, companies are struggling to retain the jobs they Helga Grunerud, HCC executiver director, said in a statement. “We want to send a messagee that we want to help jump starr economic recoverybut [the labor bill] would make that challenge far, far The Employee Free Choice Act, also known as the “carc check” bill, would allow workers to organiz a union without a secret as now required. Instead, a local could be launched at a workplace if at leastg half its workers sign anauthorization card. Unionzs say the bill is needed to protecgt worker rights inthe recession.
But in a HCC said that enactment of thelaw “woulc unfairly tip the delicate business-labort climate in Colorado sharply away from and would result in further economic damagre and job loss.” As part of a larger nationwide contingent organized by the , the Coloradpo group will meet with Sen. John R-S.D., and other legislatorxs “to be determined,” Duffy said. The business leaderzs also want to discussother issues, including health care refor m and the allocation of federal stimulus funds.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Report: RevPAR declines slowing for hotels - Boston Business Journal:
Air Purifiers Seattle
RevPAR will reach its cyclical low point in the thirdr quarterof 2009, closing the escalatingy trend of declines in RevPAR that begann in the third quarter of 2008, according to . "Thd good news is that the bottom of the current cycled forthe U.S. hotel industry is soon to said R. Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality in anews release. “The bad news is that 2009 will be the weakesyt year on record for the domesticlodging industry, and 2010 is goinyg to be disappointing as well. If you are wondering when we'lol start to see actual growthin RevPAR, then you'llk have to wait until 2011.
However, if you want to know when the operatingt environment is going to get a littlless painful, that's happening righf now." Lodging forecasts presented in the June 2009 editionn of Hotel Horizons are based on Smitbh Travel Research hotel performance data through March 2009 and Moody'sd Economy.com's May 2009 economic forecasf for the nation. Given the correlation betweenm employment andlodging demand, the new expectation is for RevPA to decline 17.5 percent in 2009, followed by another 3.5 percent decline in 2010. Year-over-yearr quarterly declines in the demandfor U.S.
lodging accommodations startecd in the first quarter of 2008 and peaked at negatived 8 percent in the first quarterof 2009. The June 2009 edition of Hotel Horizons forecasts demand to declined each of the remaining quartersof 2009, but at a diminishin pace. The projected quarterly declines in demandc for the remainder of 2009 averagwejust 4.7 percent. Beyoncd 2009, the forecast calls for average annuakl increases in demandof 3.2 percent for the next four well above the 1.9 percent long-term But given the forecast 17.5 percent decline in RevPAR for all of PKF-HR is projecting total hotel revenues to decrease 16 percent for the year.
In 2011 and PKF-HR forecasts that RevPAR will increase on an average annual basiszof 9.2 percent, while profitsw will rise at a 17.8 percent
RevPAR will reach its cyclical low point in the thirdr quarterof 2009, closing the escalatingy trend of declines in RevPAR that begann in the third quarter of 2008, according to . "Thd good news is that the bottom of the current cycled forthe U.S. hotel industry is soon to said R. Mark Woodworth, president of PKF Hospitality in anews release. “The bad news is that 2009 will be the weakesyt year on record for the domesticlodging industry, and 2010 is goinyg to be disappointing as well. If you are wondering when we'lol start to see actual growthin RevPAR, then you'llk have to wait until 2011.
However, if you want to know when the operatingt environment is going to get a littlless painful, that's happening righf now." Lodging forecasts presented in the June 2009 editionn of Hotel Horizons are based on Smitbh Travel Research hotel performance data through March 2009 and Moody'sd Economy.com's May 2009 economic forecasf for the nation. Given the correlation betweenm employment andlodging demand, the new expectation is for RevPA to decline 17.5 percent in 2009, followed by another 3.5 percent decline in 2010. Year-over-yearr quarterly declines in the demandfor U.S.
lodging accommodations startecd in the first quarter of 2008 and peaked at negatived 8 percent in the first quarterof 2009. The June 2009 edition of Hotel Horizons forecasts demand to declined each of the remaining quartersof 2009, but at a diminishin pace. The projected quarterly declines in demandc for the remainder of 2009 averagwejust 4.7 percent. Beyoncd 2009, the forecast calls for average annuakl increases in demandof 3.2 percent for the next four well above the 1.9 percent long-term But given the forecast 17.5 percent decline in RevPAR for all of PKF-HR is projecting total hotel revenues to decrease 16 percent for the year.
In 2011 and PKF-HR forecasts that RevPAR will increase on an average annual basiszof 9.2 percent, while profitsw will rise at a 17.8 percent
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