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Business Performance Measurement

By Boris Nenide

Business Performance Measurement is concerned with measuring performance relative to some benchmark, be it a competitor’s performance or a preset target. A typical performance measurement helps businesses in periodically setting goals and then providing feedback to managers on progress towards these goals. The time span for these goals is normally a year or less for short-term goals and may extend up to several years for long-term goals. Hence, specifically, business performance measurements are formal, information-based routines and procedures managers use to maintain or alter procedures and practices in organizational activities.

The primary reasons that may be attributed to this exercise of Business Performance Measurement are to synergize profit and growth, and, consequently, decide upon extents of control to be exercised for favorable and justified outcomes. This will also enable you in measuring and redefining your short-term and long-term goals by offsetting them against opportunities and capabilities as you move along. These strategic goals and plans then peter down to operations, human resources and other day-to-day management practices. As an ongoing exercise, it will ensure monitoring and control to drive growth and improvement.

Obviously, to achieve this, a business has to spell out the parameters and subsequently, the scores or ratings to gauge performance vis-à-vis these parameters. The outcomes of such collated data will be very strong indicators of the business health of your enterprise. And this, will, no doubt, reflect on the performance of the top management which mainly drives such business activities. As an entrepreneur, you can then have a holistic view of your business. Such data-based information will empower you with indices with which you can fast-forward your business towards betterment and growth. But do make sure the data are honest and dependable. Check out the IT support practices and tools which collate this data and generate reports as it can make or break your strategic decisions. And always remember that efficiency and effectiveness are central to your business performance measurement, the challenge being to strike the right balance between them.

You can now review performance at all levels, identify improvement areas, set new benchmarks for improvement and then again review the impact of these actions. And, not to forget, reward excellent performance to sustain motivation which always runs the risk of falling by the wayside if ignored. This is what shouldering responsibility is all about, after all.

As an entrepreneur, you must be aware that these parameters of business are being continually researched upon and these indicators have evolved over the years to suit the needs of the present times and different natures of businesses and industries. And even within a business entity, there are various indicators for different aspects of business, including the financial perspective, the manufacturing/operations perspective, the customer perspective, etc. For small enterprises, the financial perspective by itself is crucial. A balanced business scorecard will help you to study and gauge the financial framework of your organization.

FINTEL can be helpful in the process of gauging and managing business performance by providing tools and data designed just for that purpose, including reliable and insightful industry comparisons and trends.

The iconic Brazilian soccer player of the 1960s and 1970s, Edson Pele, was once caught smoking by his father when he was a child. His father advised, “ Listen, if you want to play sport, you have to be in good health”.

This applies to your businesses’ health too. Check out what you need to smoke out! Go, get the barometer.

Boris Nenide has been with the company since its founding and currently serves as its Chief Operating Officer. FINTEL is a leading provider of data services and business intelligence solutions that help our clients to make better decisions based on the largest and most reliable financial benchmarking database of privately held companies. We support your decision making processes with timely, relevant, easy to retrieve and readily presentable
financial information and benchmarks. We have a passion for supplying dependable business intelligence and expert advice that make our customers more successful.

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Working Capital Management – a critical aspect of business operations

By Boris Nenide

Quite often, we see that new dreams and new businesses do not sustain beyond the take-off stage due to a small error in management. For instance, a miscalculation of the operating expenses that in business parlance is called ‘Working Capital’ can be catastrophic.
In some cases, an entrepreneur might have done a reasonably good assessment of the operational expenses but may have simply failed to incorporate the debt payment as a key component of working capital. Or maybe, a crisis situation was not provided for by way of contingency funds. One false step, and it triggers a chain of events that lead to a situation like a boulder hurtling down a hill wherein one has no choice but to wait for the boulder to damage everything on its way down and then come to a standstill. And, of course, it is too late by then.

The short-term decisions of a company can be grouped under the heading ‘Working Capital Management’. This deals with the short-term balance of current assets and current liabilities, the focus being on management of cash, inventories, and short-term borrowing and lending.

By definition, Working Capital is simply the excess of current assets over the current liabilities. Short-term assets denote the cash and all such assets that can be converted to cash within a year like marketable securities, accounts receivables, short-term notes receivables, inventory and pre-paid expenses. The short-term liabilities comprise cash expenses within a year like accounts payable, short-term debts such as credit lines, short-term components of long-term debts, accrued expenses.

All small and mid-sized companies consider Working Capital management as the most important management activity because of the significant financial impact it has on the overall organization’s health, not just the financial health. The availability of liquid cash or the ability to generate liquid cash at short-notice through current assets can go a long way in sustaining smooth operations of your business. It is critical to business, and hence, the optimal utilization and constant effort at improvement of Working Capital management are of utmost importance. Else, it hits at the very core of such businesses.

So, what should be considered as adequate Working Capital for a company in a specific industry and, of a specific size? What are the key components of working capital? How should the working Capital for your specific business be financed? What are the various methods required to manage the working capital? For example, excess of cash is also a sign of operating inefficiency. Perhaps, this surplus cash could be better utilized towards growth. An analysis of the cash conversion cycle is a good indicator of this. And yes, one cannot forget to consider external factors like legal requirements, business environment, and internal factors like the organizational structure and internal information communication system, that can impact working capital management.

What has been discussed here is just a basic introduction to the topic. A real-life scenario will have many more complex components and aspects to it. FINTEL is a leading provider of industry data and financial management tools, including it proprietary concept of Net Balance Position developed by the company’s co-founder, Dr. Robert W. Pricer. Empirical testing has shown that this is by far a more effective tool than the traditional liquidity ratios to map a company’s liquidity situation.

Just like an agile sportsperson has to sustain his competitive edge with regular exercises, the wheels of business can keep churning only if they are well greased all the time with excellent Working Capital management.

Here’s wishing you Happy Working of your Capital!

Boris Nenide has been with the company since its founding and currently serves as its Chief Operating Officer. FINTEL is a leading provider of data services and business intelligence solutions that help our clients to make better decisions based on the largest and most reliable financial benchmarking database of privately held companies. We support your decision making processes with timely, relevant, easy to retrieve and readily presentable
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Global Clean Energy Inc. has advanced on plans to build a waste-to-energy pilot plant for the city of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield in Quebec.

Houston-based Global Clean (OTCBB: GCEI) said the project , currently in the second of three phases, will cost an estimated $10 to $15 million. Its aim is to reduce Salaberry-de-Valleyfield’s landfill waste by 50 percent.

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New Twitter rules allow advertising

Twitter on Thursday changed its user rules to allow advertising, taking a small step toward making money from its popular microblogging service.

Co-founder Biz Stone had said he was wary of alienating users with ads, but now Twitter has changed its terms of service to allow them.

“We leave the door open for advertising. We’d like to keep our options open, as we’ve said before,” Stone wrote on Twitter’s official blog.

Another change in the rules appears aimed at avoiding a controversy that Facebook stepped into earlier this year when it claimed ownership of its users’ data, and then quickly reversed that policy.

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The search giant hopes to make “search more personal” by displaying relevant web-content from friends and online contacts.

Until now the initiative has been only been available through the company’s Labs site, but Google announced that it would now be available via Google.com and was being rolled out to English users in beta.

“If one of my friends has written a blog where he talks about a great baby shop he found…, this might appear in my social results,” read Google’s announcement. “I could probably find other reviews, but my friend’s blog is more relevant because I know and trust the author.

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The U.S. economy grew more than expected in the last three months of 2009, growing at a better than expected annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the U.S. government reported today.

Revisions of today’s “advance estimate” are due in February and March as more complete data become available, the U.S. Commerce Department noted.

Initial third quarter estimates of 3.5 percent growth released last October also beat expectations. They were revised downward to 2.2 percent in the subsequent months.

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- Growth of finished and unfinished products being stored in warehouses across the country, known as private inventory investment
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Program Schedule, Jan 29th

Need quality business advice and tips? KBZNZ gives you what you need. Check out our radio programming for stock market updates and tips to get you on your way to financial freedom. Need management advice, growth strategies, or success tips we offer the programming to assist you in building your business. Energy solutions on your mind? Today’s broadcast offers solutions for our future.

KBZNZ has many solutions to meet your needs; including expert business tips and advice videos on social media, marketing, and management. You’ll also find national and international business news or finance and investment news updated by the minute. Don’t miss our business articles from newspapers around the nation and our growing list of content providers.

Do you write articles on business topics? Contact us to add your content to our growing list of providers at info@kbznz.com.

Today’s Radio Schedule:

0900/2100 – Winning On Wall Street -Tune into Marc Mandel, the Wizard, every Monday through Friday. MARKET RALLIES ON GDP NUMBER (Excerpts from the WOWS Membership’s Daily Market Commentary)

The market is rallying in early trading as the GDP number came in much better than expected. Also, the confirmation Of Ben Bernanke as Fed Chairman is a net positive for stocks. I don’t expect this rally to hold for more than a day or two. The market…

1000/2200 – Sparks to Flame – David Lee is President / CEO of BioSolar; Arnold Klann is the Chairman / President / CEO of BlueFire Ethanol and Arkenol; and Mike Hess the CEO of Mariah Power speak to host Sheryl Parks.

1100/2300 – Money Talks – This week Jerry interviews Orange County California Treasurer Chriss Street. Orange County had the largest municipal bankruptcy ever back in 1994. Mr. Street sends a dire warning about California and 20 other states possible outcomes due to the poor economic conditions and shortfalls in revenue. This is a must hear for those investing in municipal bonds. Jerry also follows up on last week’s warning about the markets, and outlines the conditions under which he would recommend “shorting” the stock market. If you are an investor, whether in a 401k, 403b, retirement plan or otherwise, tune into Money Talks with Jerry Slusiewicz today for an informed update about the market.

1200/2400 – Business Genies – Tom Burmeister, president of ProfitMiners, Inc. is the featured guest on Business Genies. Burmeister brings to Business Genies’ audience more than 30 years experience as an entrepreneur and consultant. With his unique perspective and practical, hands-on approach, Burmeister has helped companies from small, closely held businesses to Fortune 500 multi-nationals increase their competitiveness and profitability. He has successfully managed a broad variety of engagements including business start-ups, marketing, capitalization, lean transitions and process improvement, supply chain initiatives, quality systems, turn-around and workout situations, facility expansions and relocations and new product introductions.

1200/2400 – BOSS Business Brief – 52 Homes, 52 Weeks

Join Toby Mathis, a lawyer, entrepreneur, and avid investor and Steve Pellegrino (aka “The Spin Doc”), a lobbyist and media consultant as well as their guests from throughout the business community for the next hour. Learn how to structure your business, slash taxes, keep from getting ripped off, and other things you wish someone had told you ten years ago with the BOSS Business Brief.

1230/2430 – Your World Your Way – Michelle LaBrosse discusses how to set up the project agreement as the first stage of project management. The Cheetah Radio Website Project Agreement template and Michelle’s book Cheetah Project Management are both used as a source of reference for the radio show. The project agreement outlines a shared vision, details on how a project is to be accomplished, and exactly what the purpose of the project is going to be in order to reduce conflict when working with others to accomplish a project. Scope, communication, risk tolerance, constraints, and team roles are discussed in depth. The guest speaker for this show, Barb, has been using the project agreement template for six years and shares her experience as a project manager.

1300/0100 – Music Business Radio – Marian Leighton Levy and Ken Irwin, two of the founders of Rounder Records will be our guests this week. Rounder Records was founded in 1970 and is now the third largest independent record label in the United States with over 4000 releases. With countless Grammy Awards and nominations, Rounder has found a place in American music history. Artists on Rounder include Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Ralph Stanley, Wilson Pickett, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Buckwheat Zydeco, Woody Guthrie, Irma Thomas, Steve Martin, JJ Cale, Nanci Griffith, Bela Fleck, Riders in the Sky, Rush, The Tragically Hip, Godsmack, and Duran Duran, among others. Marian and Ken will talk how with just a passion for good music they started selling records our of their van at music festivals, how Rounder has developed into what it is today, signing acts, record distribution, and how their passion is still strong after 40 years.

Questions or Comments – contact us at info@kbznz.com.

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Obama’s small business proposals get mixed reviews

By Kent Hoover Contributing Writer

Small businesses played a prominent role in President Obama’s State of the Union speech, but some business groups doubt that his proposals would lead many small firms to hire more workers.

Obama said jobs “must be our No. 1 focus in 2010.”

“We should start where most new jobs do — in small businesses, companies that begin when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream, or a worker decides it’s time to become her own boss,” Obama said.

To help small businesses grow, he proposed:

• Using $30 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program money to provide cheap capital to community banks for use in making loans to small businesses.

• Eliminating capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses, an idea Obama proposed during the presidential campaign.

• Continuing tax incentives that allow small businesses to immediately write off much of the cost of investments in new equipment instead of having to depreciate it over time.

• Creating a tax credit for small businesses that hire new workers or raise the wages of existing workers.

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Calpine to provide wind power to L.A. water department

Calpine Corp. has agreed to provide the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power with wind integration services.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

As per the short-term deal, Houston-based Calpine (NYSE: CPN) will provide up to 270 megawatts of firm power.

The company will utilize its natural gas-fired facility, Hermiston Power Project, located in Hermiston, Ore., as well as its contracted transmission resources in the Northwest to integrate the energy output it will purchase from the Windy Point Wind Farm in Klickitat County, Wash….Read full story

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New York Times adds 1,000 Bay Area subscribers after launching new section

By Chris Rauber

The New York Times has nabbed an extra 1,000 Bay Area subscribers after launching its San Francisco Bay Area section last fall, according to a report late Wednesday by “FeedBlitz,” an electronic newsletter published by the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club.

The Times, which previously had 40,080 daily subscribers in the region and 57,514 on Sunday, picked up 1,000 more after introducing its Bay Area section in mid-November, FeedBlitz reported late Wednesday, crediting the information to Jim Schachter, the Times’ editor of digital initiatives. The newsletter said he told a group of local “journos” about the circulation boost.

Schachter “also spoke about the concern raised on blogs that the NYT is looking to turn Berkeley j-school students into unpaid reporters. He said the NYT’s deal will be with the Bay Area News Project (the nonprofit funded by Wells Fargo heir F. Warren Hellman), and the project will decide how contributors are paid,” FeedBlitz reported.

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