Thursday, March 31, 2011

Business Management Software For Brand Promotion

Just take a look on what is brand management and what is brand management software. Brands are created to satisfy certain target market customers. Those with similar needs and wants. The process of creating business management software and managing them for long term success is called branding. Brand management is a process of used in marketing, this means that the brands of the company have to be managed so as to create a encouraging image about the brand management software and the company in the minds of the customers. Seek the help of reputation business management software professionals for enhancing your brand reputation online. What if you had a complete platform of small business management software tools that provided you with a powerful web based system that would improve your work flow and business management software? Quite a number of brand management software are there which are in success and are capable.Consider some methods which you need then these methods marketing information you can get. Enterprise performance brand management software also includes a work flow layer. The work flow layer is mandatory for managing the complex interactions of individuals engaged in sustainability activities. Sending files via email can spoil a nice day. According to experts many if not most meta files are too large to make it through email channels. And another thing that makes this brand management application convenient is the fact that it will be very easy for the software to deploy the tasks once the auditing proposal has been approved. Extra software can be utilized to control brand management and develop subject material. Whether you are calculating a solitary position with under 20 monitors or a multi-site network with thousands of screens it is worthwhile knowing how the brand management software elements work collectively.Brand management increases the overall productivity of the company with efficient management of information. Websites can help build brands, maintain connections with customers and vendors and get feedback. Brand management has become an essential part of modern brand management because nobody nowadays can afford to lose business for the sake of miss coordination. Regarding this brand management software new version the main focus has been on creating capacity for producing records video and audio using the latest formats .Aprimo works hard to help you protect your management. The company monitors your online reputation, investigates your Business and they work following a strategy and ensure protection of your online brand.

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Climate expert, Nobel laureate to present Condon Lecture

By: Nancy Raskauskas | Posted on | October 22, 2010 | Comments Off

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CORVALLIS– Steve Squyres, a planetary scientist, geologist, and principal investigator of the Mars Exploration Rover Project, will present the 2010 Thomas Condon Lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Oregon State University.

The lecture is free and open to the public, and is designed for a non-specialist audience. It is titled “Roving Mars: Spirit, Opportunity, and the Exploration of the Red Planet.”

The presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. in Austin Auditorium of LaSells Stewart Center on the OSU campus. The Condon Lecture, named after a pioneer of Oregon geology, helps to interpret significant scientific research for non-scientists.

Squyres is the Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. For the last decade, he has directed the scientific program conducted by the two unmanned planetary robotic vehicles named “Spirit” and “Opportunity.”

These rovers were landed on Mars in 2003 and have sent to Earth images and other scientific data that have fundamentally changed our understanding of Mars. Squyres is best known for his research on the history and distribution of water on the red planet, as well as on Europa, a satellite of Jupiter.

Squyres will also give a more technical presentation on the topic in the George Moore Lecture. That event will be Thursday, Nov. 11, at 4 p.m. in Gilfillan Auditorium, sponsored by the OSU Department of Geosciences.

– David Stauth, Oregon State University

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

On Deck Tuesday: Producer Prices, Wal-Mart, Home Depot

On Deck Tuesday: Producer Prices, Wal-Mart, Home Depot - MarketBeat - WSJ

Economics:

  • 8:30 a.m. — The headline producer price index data is expected to rise 0.9% ?for October. The core number is expected to rise a more modest 0.2%.

Earnings:

  • Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
  • Home Depot
  • Wal-Mart Stores

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Engineering students plan ‘Pumpkin Chunkin’ event

By: Nancy Raskauskas | Posted on | November 1, 2010 | Comments Off

CORVALLIS — The student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical? Engineers at Oregon State University will again hold a “Pumpkin Chunkin” event on Friday, Nov. 12, near the OSU campus.
The event, in which students build devices designed to throw pumpkins, is free and open to the public. It will be in the lower campus park near 11th Street and Monroe Avenue. Registration begins at 2 p.m., with a $5 team fee for the groups participating, and first throws will start at 2:30 p.m. Themed entries are highly encouraged.
Devices must meet certain specifications, and the competition allows students to display some of the techniques and skills they are learning in their engineering programs. Prizes will be given for design, performance and safety, as teams compete to hit a target 50 yards away. Competitors get five consecutive shots and must supply their own pumpkins.
For more information, visit the OSU ASME web site, at http://groups.engr.oregonstate.edu/asme.

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Monday, March 28, 2011

Investors Unsure When Ireland’s Crisis Will Peak

Investors are betting that Ireland’s debt crisis is about to climax, but nobody seems to know what that climax is going to be.

Ireland’s government bonds soared on Friday as expectations grew that the small European country might give in to pressure from the European Central Bank and some national governments to take emergency aid to prevent its problems from infecting other euro members like Portugal and Spain. On Monday, the “Ireland-is-getting-a-bailout” rally continued, with financial stocks leaping higher and the cost to insure Irish bank bonds – even risky “subordinated’ bonds – dropping massively.

A day later, the rally has halted. The yield on Ireland’s 10-year government bond, which moves inversely to its price, is 8.13% compared with 8.10% on Monday. Ireland’s two-year bond yield, meanwhile, is 6%, a tad higher than Monday’s 5.93%. The cost to insure Ireland’s government bonds against default using derivatives called credit-default swaps is also higher: As of 11:45 a.m. in London, it costs $515,000 a year to insure $10 million of Irish government debt for five years compared with $504,000 on Monday, according to data provider Markit.

Europe’s broader financial markets are also in a holding position, waiting for news from a key meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Brussels Tuesday evening. Ireland’s banking problems, and possibly some sort of banking-related European rescue, will be discussed. (There’s also a meeting of European Union finance ministers on Wednesday.) The euro is trading at $1.3590, a little higher than its $1.3585 level on Monday, but it’s flat against the Japanese yen, British pound and Swiss franc. Spain and Greece sold Treasury bills Tuesday without a fuss, though they paid steeply higher interest rates to borrow.

Irish government ministers continue to claim that the country has not requested a European Union or International Monetary Fund bailout. However, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s latest comments do highlight the fact that Irish officials have been talking on some level with European officials about the latest euro-zone turbulence and what can be done about it. According to Chris Turner, an analyst at Dutch bank ING, the market is expecting (read: hoping for) a €60 billion to €80 billion bailout effort. Irish media reports and some analysts say Irish finance officials may be trying to find some way to get the E.U. to effectively re-bail out Irish banks, which are the source of the country’s debt crisis. While Ireland’s government has enough cash to make it through to the middle of next year, its banks are surviving only because of the generosity of the European Central Bank, along with Ireland’s own central bank. The problem is that the E.U.’s emergency-rescue fund, designed amid Greece’s debt crisis earlier this year, funnels cash to governments, not national banks. Irish officials, meanwhile, may be open to some aid, but are desperate to avoid any semblance of a sovereign default.

Markets, which don’t know what to think, are largely staying put. Sure, the euro-zone’s latest woes are weighing on the euro. That’s why it’s down from nearly $1.43 a few weeks ago. But the currency’s decline could equally be about dollar-buying, rather than euro-selling. Interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds have recently jumped higher after falling in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion money-printing revival. Rising rates make U.S. dollar-denominated fixed-income investments more attractive.

And even the recent drop in Ireland’s credit-insurance costs should be viewed with some skepticism. Gavan Nolan, analyst at data provider Markit, noted on Monday that the drop was largely due to “short-covering.” In other words, investors with bearish bets against Ireland have been extracting profits by closing out their trades, which effectively involves selling insurance to other parties, lowering its price. That is different from positively betting that Ireland’s creditworthiness has improved.

Investors are betting that Ireland’s debt crisis is about to climax, but nobody seems to know what that climax is going to be.

Ireland’s government bonds soared on Friday as expectations grew that the small European country might give in to pressure from the European Central Bank and some national governments to take emergency aid to prevent its problems from infecting other euro members like Portugal and Spain. On Monday, the “Ireland-is-getting-a-bailout” rally continued, with financial stocks leaping higher and the cost to insure Irish bank bonds – even risky “subordinated’ bonds – dropping massively.

A day later, the rally has halted. The yield on Ireland’s 10-year government bond, which moves inversely to its price, is 8.13% compared with 8.10% on Tuesday. Ireland’s two-year bond yield, meanwhile, is 6%, a tad higher than Monday’s 5.93%. The cost to insure Ireland’s government bonds against default using derivatives called credit-default swaps is also higher: As of 11:45 a.m. in London, it costs $515,000 a year to insure $10 million of Irish government debt for five years compared with $504,000 on Monday, according to data provider Markit.

Europe’s broader financial markets are also in a holding position, waiting for news from a key meeting of euro-area finance ministers in Brussels Tuesday evening. Ireland’s banking problems, and possibly some sort of banking-related European rescue, will be discussed. (There’s also a meeting of European Union finance ministers on Wednesday.) The euro is trading at $1.3590, a little higher than its $1.3585 level on Monday, but it’s flat against the Japanese yen, British pound and Swiss franc. Spain and Greece sold Treasury bills Tuesday without a fuss, though they paid steeply higher interest rates to borrow.

Irish government ministers continue to claim that the country has not requested a European Union or International Monetary Fund bailout. However, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen’s latest comments do highlight the fact that Irish officials have been talking on some level with European officials about the latest euro-zone turbulence and what can be done about it. According to Chris Turner, an analyst at Dutch bank ING, the market is expecting (read: hoping for) a EUR60 billion to EUR80 billion bailout effort. Irish media reports and some analysts say Irish finance officials may be trying to find some way to get the E.U. to effectively re-bail out Irish banks, which are the source of the country’s debt crisis. While Ireland’s government has enough cash to make through to the middle of next year, its banks are surviving only because of the generosity of the European Central Bank, along with Ireland’s own central bank. The problem is that the E.U.’s emergency-rescue fund, designed amid Greece’s debt crisis earlier this year, funnels cash to governments, not national banks. Irish officials, meanwhile, may be open to some aid, but are desperate to avoid any semblance of a sovereign default.

Markets, which don’t know what to think, are largely staying put. Sure, the euro-zone’s latest woes are weighing on the euro. That’s why it’s down from nearly $1.43 a few weeks ago. But the currency’s decline could equally be about dollar-buying, rather than euro-selling. Interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds have recently jumped higher after falling in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s $600 billion money-printing revival. Rising rates make U.S. dollar-denominated fixed-income investments more attractive.

And even the recent drop in Ireland’s credit-insurance costs should be viewed with some skepticism. Gavan Nolan, analyst at data provider Markit, noted on Monday that the drop was largely due to “short-covering.” In other words, investors with bearish bets against Ireland have been extracting profits by closing out their trades, which effectively involves selling insurance to other parties, lowering its price. That is different from positively betting that Ireland’s creditworthiness has improved.

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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Underdog Wins Hyundai Empire Battle

SEOUL — A takeover battle and family feud involving South Korea’s Hyundai empire ended Tuesday with the underdog bidder chosen as the winner, in a decision that ends its rival’s effort to bring back together the conglomerate that was split apart a decade ago.

Creditors of Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. , South Korea’s largest construction company, chose Hyundai Group over Hyundai Motor Group to buy a 35% controlling stake, valued at around $2.6 billion.

Terms weren’t disclosed, but people close to the deal said Group offered just over $5 billion for E&C, topping Motor’s offer of just over $4 billion. …

If the deal goes through, it will likely make permanent the breakup of the Hyundai empire that happened in the 1990s and underscore that South Korea’s conglomerate era - in which huge collections of companies could be controlled by families with minority shareholdings - is nearing an end.

“Investors are worried that Hyundai Group, short of capital for the bid, will not be helpful for the builder’s future growth,” said Cho Yoon-ho at Daishin Securities.

The Hyundai Group affiliates’ shares were down sharply on the news. Hyundai Merchant Marine plunged 15%, while Hyundai Elevator was down 13.4%. Hyundai Engineering was off 15%. ?But Hyundai Motor was up 4.3% at 184,000 won.

Hyundai Motor Group’s consortium partner Kia Motors was off 1.9% at 48,850 won, while Hyundai Mobis was off 1.4% at 279,500 won, in line with Kospi’s 1.15 loss.

Hyundai Motor, with holdings that include the Hyundai and Kia auto makers, parts vendors, logistics firms, a steel company and a shipping line. Motor is led by Chung Mong-koo, the second son of founder Chung Ju-yung.

Hyundai Group is a collection of unrelated businesses in shipping, securities, elevator manufacturing and investments related to North Korea. Group is led by Hyun Jeong-eun, wife of the late Chung Mong-hun, the fifth son of Chung Ju-yung.

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Saturday, March 26, 2011

With No Salary Cap, Parity Is Alive And Well In NFL

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Parity lives.? According to Elias Sports Bureau, this season marks the first since 1959 – I think Brett Favre was a rookie then :) – that every NFL team has lost at least two of its first eight games.

Halfway through this 2010 NFL season, the NFL talks the talk and walks the walk of the mantra of all professional sports leagues — competitive balance. There are no “super teams” and it appears that every fan base outside of Buffalo, Dallas and Carolina can retain some hope to be playing in January when the playoffs begin.

Baseball’s bragging about balance

With Major League Baseball’s World Series just ending between two teams not familiar to any recent championship game – the Giants and Rangers – Commissioner Bud Selig was crowing.? The fact that these middle-market teams triumphed over the Phillies and Yankees showed that MLB’s cherished “competitive balance” was alive and thriving.

Selig, the former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors — took special delight in this year’s postseason as the Rangers, possessing the fourth-smallest payroll in MLB ($55 million), dethroned the Yankees and their excessive payroll. To Selig, a World Series is a good one without the Yankees, the symbol of disproportionate spending in baseball.

Uncapped parity?

Ironically, the 2010 NFL and MLB have something in common: the lack of a Salary Cap.? Baseball has never had a Cap and the NFL is in this unique year prior to the expiration of the CBA where the league is uncapped.? In theory, the lack of a Cap should make the league less competitive, with large-market and large-revenue teams able to buy up talent without restriction on payroll.? The Salary Cap is a key measures in league collective bargaining agreements designed to promote parity by placing all teams on a level playing field by restricting team payrolls to a comparable amount for all.

And guess what?? With the Cap in place in 2009, there was much discussion about the lack of parity and a league of good and bad teams.? Now, with no Cap in the NFL this year, we have this once-in-a-generation parity.

Bang for the buck

Increasing player payroll appears to have limited correlation to team success.? In this year of parity so far, there is little to take away in terms of hard line rules to guide us, but let’s take a look:

Of the low-spending teams, some are doing well (Buccaneers, Chiefs, Titans), some middling (Jaguars, Chargers) and some poorly (Bills, Panthers, Broncos).? Many of these teams have used the uncapped year to take advantage of the lack of a floor for spending, using 2010 as a year to bring debt under control and gird for the next system, whenever that may be.? A few of these teams are spending as little as $85 million when the previous Cap floor was $109 million.

Of the higher-spending teams, some are doing well (Raiders), some middling (Bears, Vikings, Redskins, Dolphins) and some poorly (Cowboys, 49ers).

Formula for success

Success in the NFL is obviously a multi-pronged strategy, but there does appear to be an operational philosophy that endures.? Drafting well, developing young players, and having a deep and talented infrastructure coming through the pipeline are the most proven plan for sustained success.

Selected and targeted free agent or trade acquisitions can be sprinkled in, but scattershot free agency usually involves the targeting overpriced assets not pursued by their incumbent teams for a reason.

My sense is that the much-discussed parity in the NFL today will fade into a discussion of a handful of teams well-positioned for a playoff run. Parity lives, but only a little while longer.

Follow me on Twitter at adbrandt.

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Friday, March 25, 2011

Why Experts Failed To Predict Cowboy’s Failures And Why Phillips Had To Go

Coach Phillips

Image by jason.s via Flickr

When I heard Wade Phillips was fired from the Dallas Cowboys, I did what all sports fans do – run to business appraisal principles to explain what just happened. Two terms jumped immediately to mind. If both terms were part of the pre-season predictions the so-called experts would have tempered their high expectations that the Cowboys were likely to go deep in the playoffs and perhaps be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium. ?Both business valuation terms, if included in their analysis would have lowered expectations. That is important because I have lived long enough to disappoint often, and can testify that disappointment is often a function of unrealistic expectations. With lower expectations, the bubble would not have been so large, and the burst would not have drowned the players and fans so irrepressibly and fatally. And perhaps the weight of those lofty expectations may not have crushed the Wade Phillips career so abruptly.

Term one: Entity Synergy. It has been defined by businessdictionary.com as when two or more entities work in concert “in a particularly fruitful way” that produces an effect greater the sum of their individual effects, i.e. “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The example provided is when two or more employees excel when working together but who, when working alone are ordinary.

The Cowboys have great talent at many positions. So much so, the experts said, “End of story, talent wins out – see you in the Super Bowl.” ?They have not one but two All-Pro cornerbacks from last year, Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman. They have not one, but two All-Pro receivers in Miles Austin and Roy Williams, not to mention the super-talented Dez Bryant waiting on deck. Then there is Marion Barber to run the little pigskin, and All-Pro Leonard David to open holes for him to run through with the little piggy. And to keep the opposition from scoring there is linebacker DeMarcus Ware. But he may not have to tackle anybody because All-Pro Jay Ratliff is on the defensive line.

But if something was amiss amongst the players as a whole, or between the players and the coaching staff, or with ownership, they may well get it backwards. Instead of ordinary players becoming excellent through synergistic magic, they were excellent individuals that became ordinary. Based on their current 1-7 record, they are less than ordinary. The ability to “work in concert” for qualitative business synergy is the same harmony needed for a successful football team. The good quarterback can be ordinary without an effective offensive line. Without holes to run through, the running back becomes the run-down back, and the receiver gets no passes if the QB is sacked. They need that well-oiled oneness and hugability that does not come from just an assemblage of plant and equipment – or in this case individual player assets. ?The great predictions of the excellent Dallas defense failed to incorporate whatever lost faith that caused the implosion over the most recent games where they gave up over 30 points a game. Perhaps at some level they gave up before the points were actually scored.

The other business valuation term is “going concern value”. It refers to a type of value – the operational value of the entire enterprise. This incorporates the tangible assets (e.g. land, improvements, and fixtures) and intangible assets. In both cases what really makes the entity valuable and successful is the very special way the intangibles and tangible assets come together to generate a present value of future net income.

Simply put, the Cowboys did not have those intangibles coming into the season, and appear to have less of them now. The experts would have been wise not to myopically look at whether the “assets” are individually impressive. Yes, the aforementioned list of 2010 All Pros arguably presents more individually valuable assets than any other team in the NFL. But as corny as it sounds, the team is not as successful if the intangibles are not there. This may be the biggest unrecorded asset collapse since the Wall Street mortgage crisis. The lesson I hope to remember in making sense of this is that the way the players, coaches, and owners come together still has to be “special”.

We hear players from great teams say all the time, “we believe in each other”, “we’ve got each other’s back”, “if he needs to go the bathroom, I’ll hold his… locker open.” And because the experts have heard it before they discount it. Perhaps that is because they either never played at that level or never felt the power of that synergy and operation as a going concern. But most truth has simplicity and longevity. The axiom that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts is exactly what the Cowboys needed to succeed, no matter how many All-Pro caliber individual players are in the locker room. They need to hold it open for each other on and off the field to have a going concern value that generates future wins.

It is not the same as just adding up all the telephones, plant and equipment. It is not just lining up All-pro talent. This is not fantasy football. Until we see that beyond talent, there is synergy, we should be careful about glorious predictions. Before this past Sunday’s Farbonoics, the Vikings were a Super Bowl prediction that was also about to be buried in embarrassment for much the same lack of those fruitful intangible attributes.

But Wade still had to go, don’t you think? Some of us will blame the players, or the owner. But Wade had the ultimate responsibility to generate wins. And for an owner to remain confident there are wins in the future, you don’t want to see the inability to even compete with a team of substantially similar talent in Green Bay. No confidence oozes from a 45-7 loss, coming on the heels of a 35-17 lose to a team, Jacksonville, which is struggling to stay 500. Traditional wisdom is you don’t make a mid-season head coaching change unless things are really, really, bad, as in “can’t get much worse” bad. That would seem to be the case. But before the experts claim next season’s Super Bowl contestants before the season starts, I hope they remember to value the synergy and going concern value of the enterprise.

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Thursday, March 24, 2011

Why Experts Failed To Predict Cowboy’s Failures And Why Phillips Had To Go

Coach Phillips

Image by jason.s via Flickr

When I heard Wade Phillips was fired from the Dallas Cowboys, I did what all sports fans do – run to business appraisal principles to explain what just happened. Two terms jumped immediately to mind. If both terms were part of the pre-season predictions the so-called experts would have tempered their high expectations that the Cowboys were likely to go deep in the playoffs and perhaps be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium. ?Both business valuation terms, if included in their analysis would have lowered expectations. That is important because I have lived long enough to disappoint often, and can testify that disappointment is often a function of unrealistic expectations. With lower expectations, the bubble would not have been so large, and the burst would not have drowned the players and fans so irrepressibly and fatally. And perhaps the weight of those lofty expectations may not have crushed the Wade Phillips career so abruptly.

Term one: Entity Synergy. It has been defined by businessdictionary.com as when two or more entities work in concert “in a particularly fruitful way” that produces an effect greater the sum of their individual effects, i.e. “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The example provided is when two or more employees excel when working together but who, when working alone are ordinary.

The Cowboys have great talent at many positions. So much so, the experts said, “End of story, talent wins out – see you in the Super Bowl.” ?They have not one but two All-Pro cornerbacks from last year, Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman. They have not one, but two All-Pro receivers in Miles Austin and Roy Williams, not to mention the super-talented Dez Bryant waiting on deck. Then there is Marion Barber to run the little pigskin, and All-Pro Leonard David to open holes for him to run through with the little piggy. And to keep the opposition from scoring there is linebacker DeMarcus Ware. But he may not have to tackle anybody because All-Pro Jay Ratliff is on the defensive line.

But if something was amiss amongst the players as a whole, or between the players and the coaching staff, or with ownership, they may well get it backwards. Instead of ordinary players becoming excellent through synergistic magic, they were excellent individuals that became ordinary. Based on their current 1-7 record, they are less than ordinary. The ability to “work in concert” for qualitative business synergy is the same harmony needed for a successful football team. The good quarterback can be ordinary without an effective offensive line. Without holes to run through, the running back becomes the run-down back, and the receiver gets no passes if the QB is sacked. They need that well-oiled oneness and hugability that does not come from just an assemblage of plant and equipment – or in this case individual player assets. ?The great predictions of the excellent Dallas defense failed to incorporate whatever lost faith that caused the implosion over the most recent games where they gave up over 30 points a game. Perhaps at some level they gave up before the points were actually scored.

The other business valuation term is “going concern value”. It refers to a type of value – the operational value of the entire enterprise. This incorporates the tangible assets (e.g. land, improvements, and fixtures) and intangible assets. In both cases what really makes the entity valuable and successful is the very special way the intangibles and tangible assets come together to generate a present value of future net income.

Simply put, the Cowboys did not have those intangibles coming into the season, and appear to have less of them now. The experts would have been wise not to myopically look at whether the “assets” are individually impressive. Yes, the aforementioned list of 2010 All Pros arguably presents more individually valuable assets than any other team in the NFL. But as corny as it sounds, the team is not as successful if the intangibles are not there. This may be the biggest unrecorded asset collapse since the Wall Street mortgage crisis. The lesson I hope to remember in making sense of this is that the way the players, coaches, and owners come together still has to be “special”.

We hear players from great teams say all the time, “we believe in each other”, “we’ve got each other’s back”, “if he needs to go the bathroom, I’ll hold his… locker open.” And because the experts have heard it before they discount it. Perhaps that is because they either never played at that level or never felt the power of that synergy and operation as a going concern. But most truth has simplicity and longevity. The axiom that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts is exactly what the Cowboys needed to succeed, no matter how many All-Pro caliber individual players are in the locker room. They need to hold it open for each other on and off the field to have a going concern value that generates future wins.

It is not the same as just adding up all the telephones, plant and equipment. It is not just lining up All-pro talent. This is not fantasy football. Until we see that beyond talent, there is synergy, we should be careful about glorious predictions. Before this past Sunday’s Farbonoics, the Vikings were a Super Bowl prediction that was also about to be buried in embarrassment for much the same lack of those fruitful intangible attributes.

But Wade still had to go, don’t you think? Some of us will blame the players, or the owner. But Wade had the ultimate responsibility to generate wins. And for an owner to remain confident there are wins in the future, you don’t want to see the inability to even compete with a team of substantially similar talent in Green Bay. No confidence oozes from a 45-7 loss, coming on the heels of a 35-17 lose to a team, Jacksonville, which is struggling to stay 500. Traditional wisdom is you don’t make a mid-season head coaching change unless things are really, really, bad, as in “can’t get much worse” bad. That would seem to be the case. But before the experts claim next season’s Super Bowl contestants before the season starts, I hope they remember to value the synergy and going concern value of the enterprise.

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NHL All-Star Game: Where Fantasy Hockey Meets Real Hockey

Sidney_Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, USA

Player/Fantasy GM Sidney Crosby? (Image via Wikipedia)

With the annual New Year’s Day Winter Classic, the NHL aims to “take the game back to it’s roots.”? Hockey played outside in the middle of winter, just as it always was growing up for many players.? The event has been a television ratings bonanza for commissioner Gary Bettman and the league, and the 2011 edition between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals should be one of the most-watched NHL games in history.

The Winter Classic success left the NHL wondering what to do with their dud of an All-Star Game that typically comes and goes with little fanfare and drew a paltry 0.8 overnight rating in 2009.? Solution: Take the game back to its roots.

Leading up to the January 30 All-Star Game in Raleigh, NC, players will now draft their peers to participate in a glorified ‘pond hockey’ game.? The NHL-NHLPA press release explains more:

* From a group of 100 players on the ballot, fans will vote for their top six All-Stars by position without regard to the Conference in which the player plays. Fans will also have the ability to write-in a player of their choice.

* The three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie receiving the most votes will be named NHL All-Stars.

* As with previous All-Star games, the remaining 36 All-Stars will be named by the NHL Hockey Operations Dept. for a total of 42 All-Star players (3 goalies, 6 defensemen and 12 forwards per team).

* After the 42 NHL All-Stars have been selected, two captains will be chosen per team by the players.

* On Friday, January 28, 2011, a fantasy draft event will be held in Raleigh with all 54 NHL players (42 All-Stars and 12 rookies) during which the captains will draft the remaining members of their respective teams.

* First selection in the draft will be determined by coin flip and selections will continue on an alternating basis.

* Each team will be required to select three goalies, six defensemen and 23 forwards in any order they choose.

The NFL and MLB have tinkered with all-star game dynamics in recent years in an attempt to create more buzz, but the NHL is the first to embrace the enormous popularity of fantasy sports by having captains select their own squads.

A live televised draft will attract the casual fan (just like the Winter Classic) and has the potential to be a wildly entertaining event that will create dozens of storylines and subplots around the game itself.

Will captains select teammates and countrymen while avoiding their bitter rivals?? Will they draft goaltenders early to give their team the best chance at winning?? How will the draft-day snubs feel and react?

“It would be fun, but there could be a little bit of pressure,” Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby said of his potential role as team captain.? “Guys, I’m sure, would all want to be picked, but you’d have a pretty good pool to pick from.”

Whether the format sticks long-term is almost irrelevant.? With the NHL’s current television deal expiring in the offseason, Bettman needs to play every card in his hand to boost ratings – short of hand-picking the Stanley Cup finalists himself.

“The goal of the All-Star format change was designed to make the game more fun for everyone involved,” said Brendan Shanahan, Vice President of hockey and NHL business development.? “By giving the players more input on team selection, as well as skills competition matchups, we feel the 2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft will inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events surrounding All-Star weekend.

Unfortunately, the NHL and players association are actively trying to remove one common element of any pond hockey or playground pickup game.? Says Craig Custance of the Sporting News: “League and NHLPA still considering ways to make sure there’s not a last guy standing during [All-Star Game] selection. Maybe group picks at end.”

Is it really possible to hurt the feelings of an all-star?

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Why Experts Failed To Predict Cowboy’s Failures And Why Phillips Had To Go

Coach Phillips

Image by jason.s via Flickr

When I heard Wade Phillips was fired from the Dallas Cowboys, I did what all sports fans do – run to business appraisal principles to explain what just happened. Two terms jumped immediately to mind. If both terms were part of the pre-season predictions the so-called experts would have tempered their high expectations that the Cowboys were likely to go deep in the playoffs and perhaps be the first team to play the Super Bowl in their home stadium. ?Both business valuation terms, if included in their analysis would have lowered expectations. That is important because I have lived long enough to disappoint often, and can testify that disappointment is often a function of unrealistic expectations. With lower expectations, the bubble would not have been so large, and the burst would not have drowned the players and fans so irrepressibly and fatally. And perhaps the weight of those lofty expectations may not have crushed the Wade Phillips career so abruptly.

Term one: Entity Synergy. It has been defined by businessdictionary.com as when two or more entities work in concert “in a particularly fruitful way” that produces an effect greater the sum of their individual effects, i.e. “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The example provided is when two or more employees excel when working together but who, when working alone are ordinary.

The Cowboys have great talent at many positions. So much so, the experts said, “End of story, talent wins out – see you in the Super Bowl.” ?They have not one but two All-Pro cornerbacks from last year, Mike Jenkins and Terence Newman. They have not one, but two All-Pro receivers in Miles Austin and Roy Williams, not to mention the super-talented Dez Bryant waiting on deck. Then there is Marion Barber to run the little pigskin, and All-Pro Leonard David to open holes for him to run through with the little piggy. And to keep the opposition from scoring there is linebacker DeMarcus Ware. But he may not have to tackle anybody because All-Pro Jay Ratliff is on the defensive line.

But if something was amiss amongst the players as a whole, or between the players and the coaching staff, or with ownership, they may well get it backwards. Instead of ordinary players becoming excellent through synergistic magic, they were excellent individuals that became ordinary. Based on their current 1-7 record, they are less than ordinary. The ability to “work in concert” for qualitative business synergy is the same harmony needed for a successful football team. The good quarterback can be ordinary without an effective offensive line. Without holes to run through, the running back becomes the run-down back, and the receiver gets no passes if the QB is sacked. They need that well-oiled oneness and hugability that does not come from just an assemblage of plant and equipment – or in this case individual player assets. ?The great predictions of the excellent Dallas defense failed to incorporate whatever lost faith that caused the implosion over the most recent games where they gave up over 30 points a game. Perhaps at some level they gave up before the points were actually scored.

The other business valuation term is “going concern value”. It refers to a type of value – the operational value of the entire enterprise. This incorporates the tangible assets (e.g. land, improvements, and fixtures) and intangible assets. In both cases what really makes the entity valuable and successful is the very special way the intangibles and tangible assets come together to generate a present value of future net income.

Simply put, the Cowboys did not have those intangibles coming into the season, and appear to have less of them now. The experts would have been wise not to myopically look at whether the “assets” are individually impressive. Yes, the aforementioned list of 2010 All Pros arguably presents more individually valuable assets than any other team in the NFL. But as corny as it sounds, the team is not as successful if the intangibles are not there. This may be the biggest unrecorded asset collapse since the Wall Street mortgage crisis. The lesson I hope to remember in making sense of this is that the way the players, coaches, and owners come together still has to be “special”.

We hear players from great teams say all the time, “we believe in each other”, “we’ve got each other’s back”, “if he needs to go the bathroom, I’ll hold his… locker open.” And because the experts have heard it before they discount it. Perhaps that is because they either never played at that level or never felt the power of that synergy and operation as a going concern. But most truth has simplicity and longevity. The axiom that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts is exactly what the Cowboys needed to succeed, no matter how many All-Pro caliber individual players are in the locker room. They need to hold it open for each other on and off the field to have a going concern value that generates future wins.

It is not the same as just adding up all the telephones, plant and equipment. It is not just lining up All-pro talent. This is not fantasy football. Until we see that beyond talent, there is synergy, we should be careful about glorious predictions. Before this past Sunday’s Farbonoics, the Vikings were a Super Bowl prediction that was also about to be buried in embarrassment for much the same lack of those fruitful intangible attributes.

But Wade still had to go, don’t you think? Some of us will blame the players, or the owner. But Wade had the ultimate responsibility to generate wins. And for an owner to remain confident there are wins in the future, you don’t want to see the inability to even compete with a team of substantially similar talent in Green Bay. No confidence oozes from a 45-7 loss, coming on the heels of a 35-17 lose to a team, Jacksonville, which is struggling to stay 500. Traditional wisdom is you don’t make a mid-season head coaching change unless things are really, really, bad, as in “can’t get much worse” bad. That would seem to be the case. But before the experts claim next season’s Super Bowl contestants before the season starts, I hope they remember to value the synergy and going concern value of the enterprise.

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The Coaching Carousel

Sports Business

Nov. 10 2010 - 3:02 pm | 147 views | 0 recommendations |
GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Wade Ph...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

My favorite part of the football season is now, when coaches get hired and fired.? These decisions are far more meaningful and far reaching than?even the decision about?who plays quarterback because the game of football like modern business is all about leadership, vision and being ahead of your competitors.? Add in that sports actually try to prevent the creation of dynasties?through a variety of rules like drafts or salary caps and you can easily understand that leadership skill and organizational design are critical to success in sports because market and technological advantages are blunted by rule.? Even a?bad CEO probably can help but?keep McDonalds on top in its category because the company already has such?built strengths but in sports every year, every team starts even.?

So that is why as a professor of sports business and a lawyer looking at sports contracts, I see so much to interest me during the hiring and firing season which began with the firing of head coach Wade Phillips by the Dallas Cowboys and?got a second casualty when Colorado fired Dan Hawkins. By the time we are done 20 NFL and major college coaches will have moved on and their replacements will be selected.? What always shocks me is how little organizational thought and evaluation goes into these decisions which can have economic consequence in the tens of millions of dollars and even greater organizational impact. Yet the decision to fire a coach is usually an emotional one and the decision to hire a new one is also more often than not an emotional one?born from?by a desire to win the press conference announcing that hire.

Over the next two months, I will share my fascination?about who gets hired, where they get hired, how much it costs and most importantly whether they will succeed or fail, with readers here at Forbes Sports Money.??As the legendary 49ers head coach Bill Walsh said, we aren’t competing with all the teams, we are competing with the eight or nine teams that get it,? and the same is true in the college ranks.? Much will be lost and gained in the decision made in the next two months.? But this year could be very different, with the real threat of an NFL lockout looming, you may see two very clear trends emerge.? The first is NFL teams who fire a head coach may not immediately replace that coach with a big name and may use interim or stop-gap coaches who are willing to work cheap or accept a lockout clause, because owners won’t want to carry salaries during a work stoppage.? Rather than using coaching and scout resources to gain an advantage in scouting or?strategic development?during a work stoppage?many owners have already inserted lockout clause which allows for an immediate reduction in pay and even?termination in the event of a prolonged work stoppage.? It will save money but at what cost.? The second major trend may be a stampede to college football by NFL coaches including coordinators and position coaches to avoid a work stoppage and corresponding pay interruption.

In any case, hang on as it figures to be a bumpy ride until the music stops for coaches and fans alike.


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Monday, March 21, 2011

NHL All-Star Game: Where Fantasy Hockey Meets Real Hockey

Sidney_Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, USA

Player/Fantasy GM Sidney Crosby? (Image via Wikipedia)

With the annual New Year’s Day Winter Classic, the NHL aims to “take the game back to it’s roots.”? Hockey played outside in the middle of winter, just as it always was growing up for many players.? The event has been a television ratings bonanza for commissioner Gary Bettman and the league, and the 2011 edition between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals should be one of the most-watched NHL games in history.

The Winter Classic success left the NHL wondering what to do with their dud of an All-Star Game that typically comes and goes with little fanfare and drew a paltry 0.8 overnight rating in 2009.? Solution: Take the game back to its roots.

Leading up to the January 30 All-Star Game in Raleigh, NC, players will now draft their peers to participate in a glorified ‘pond hockey’ game.? The NHL-NHLPA press release explains more:

* From a group of 100 players on the ballot, fans will vote for their top six All-Stars by position without regard to the Conference in which the player plays. Fans will also have the ability to write-in a player of their choice.

* The three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie receiving the most votes will be named NHL All-Stars.

* As with previous All-Star games, the remaining 36 All-Stars will be named by the NHL Hockey Operations Dept. for a total of 42 All-Star players (3 goalies, 6 defensemen and 12 forwards per team).

* After the 42 NHL All-Stars have been selected, two captains will be chosen per team by the players.

* On Friday, January 28, 2011, a fantasy draft event will be held in Raleigh with all 54 NHL players (42 All-Stars and 12 rookies) during which the captains will draft the remaining members of their respective teams.

* First selection in the draft will be determined by coin flip and selections will continue on an alternating basis.

* Each team will be required to select three goalies, six defensemen and 23 forwards in any order they choose.

The NFL and MLB have tinkered with all-star game dynamics in recent years in an attempt to create more buzz, but the NHL is the first to embrace the enormous popularity of fantasy sports by having captains select their own squads.

A live televised draft will attract the casual fan (just like the Winter Classic) and has the potential to be a wildly entertaining event that will create dozens of storylines and subplots around the game itself.

Will captains select teammates and countrymen while avoiding their bitter rivals?? Will they draft goaltenders early to give their team the best chance at winning?? How will the draft-day snubs feel and react?

“It would be fun, but there could be a little bit of pressure,” Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby said of his potential role as team captain.? “Guys, I’m sure, would all want to be picked, but you’d have a pretty good pool to pick from.”

Whether the format sticks long-term is almost irrelevant.? With the NHL’s current television deal expiring in the offseason, Bettman needs to play every card in his hand to boost ratings – short of hand-picking the Stanley Cup finalists himself.

“The goal of the All-Star format change was designed to make the game more fun for everyone involved,” said Brendan Shanahan, Vice President of hockey and NHL business development.? “By giving the players more input on team selection, as well as skills competition matchups, we feel the 2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft will inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events surrounding All-Star weekend.

Unfortunately, the NHL and players association are actively trying to remove one common element of any pond hockey or playground pickup game.? Says Craig Custance of the Sporting News: “League and NHLPA still considering ways to make sure there’s not a last guy standing during [All-Star Game] selection. Maybe group picks at end.”

Is it really possible to hurt the feelings of an all-star?

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.


View the original article here

Sunday, March 20, 2011

With No Salary Cap, Parity Is Alive And Well In NFL

this

Image via Wikipedia

Parity lives.? According to Elias Sports Bureau, this season marks the first since 1959 – I think Brett Favre was a rookie then :) – that every NFL team has lost at least two of its first eight games.

Halfway through this 2010 NFL season, the NFL talks the talk and walks the walk of the mantra of all professional sports leagues — competitive balance. There are no “super teams” and it appears that every fan base outside of Buffalo, Dallas and Carolina can retain some hope to be playing in January when the playoffs begin.

Baseball’s bragging about balance

With Major League Baseball’s World Series just ending between two teams not familiar to any recent championship game – the Giants and Rangers – Commissioner Bud Selig was crowing.? The fact that these middle-market teams triumphed over the Phillies and Yankees showed that MLB’s cherished “competitive balance” was alive and thriving.

Selig, the former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors — took special delight in this year’s postseason as the Rangers, possessing the fourth-smallest payroll in MLB ($55 million), dethroned the Yankees and their excessive payroll. To Selig, a World Series is a good one without the Yankees, the symbol of disproportionate spending in baseball.

Uncapped parity?

Ironically, the 2010 NFL and MLB have something in common: the lack of a Salary Cap.? Baseball has never had a Cap and the NFL is in this unique year prior to the expiration of the CBA where the league is uncapped.? In theory, the lack of a Cap should make the league less competitive, with large-market and large-revenue teams able to buy up talent without restriction on payroll.? The Salary Cap is a key measures in league collective bargaining agreements designed to promote parity by placing all teams on a level playing field by restricting team payrolls to a comparable amount for all.

And guess what?? With the Cap in place in 2009, there was much discussion about the lack of parity and a league of good and bad teams.? Now, with no Cap in the NFL this year, we have this once-in-a-generation parity.

Bang for the buck

Increasing player payroll appears to have limited correlation to team success.? In this year of parity so far, there is little to take away in terms of hard line rules to guide us, but let’s take a look:

Of the low-spending teams, some are doing well (Buccaneers, Chiefs, Titans), some middling (Jaguars, Chargers) and some poorly (Bills, Panthers, Broncos).? Many of these teams have used the uncapped year to take advantage of the lack of a floor for spending, using 2010 as a year to bring debt under control and gird for the next system, whenever that may be.? A few of these teams are spending as little as $85 million when the previous Cap floor was $109 million.

Of the higher-spending teams, some are doing well (Raiders), some middling (Bears, Vikings, Redskins, Dolphins) and some poorly (Cowboys, 49ers).

Formula for success

Success in the NFL is obviously a multi-pronged strategy, but there does appear to be an operational philosophy that endures.? Drafting well, developing young players, and having a deep and talented infrastructure coming through the pipeline are the most proven plan for sustained success.

Selected and targeted free agent or trade acquisitions can be sprinkled in, but scattershot free agency usually involves the targeting overpriced assets not pursued by their incumbent teams for a reason.

My sense is that the much-discussed parity in the NFL today will fade into a discussion of a handful of teams well-positioned for a playoff run. Parity lives, but only a little while longer.

Follow me on Twitter at adbrandt.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
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View the original article here

Saturday, March 19, 2011

NHL All-Star Game: Where Fantasy Hockey Meets Real Hockey

Sidney_Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, USA

Player/Fantasy GM Sidney Crosby? (Image via Wikipedia)

With the annual New Year’s Day Winter Classic, the NHL aims to “take the game back to it’s roots.”? Hockey played outside in the middle of winter, just as it always was growing up for many players.? The event has been a television ratings bonanza for commissioner Gary Bettman and the league, and the 2011 edition between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals should be one of the most-watched NHL games in history.

The Winter Classic success left the NHL wondering what to do with their dud of an All-Star Game that typically comes and goes with little fanfare and drew a paltry 0.8 overnight rating in 2009.? Solution: Take the game back to its roots.

Leading up to the January 30 All-Star Game in Raleigh, NC, players will now draft their peers to participate in a glorified ‘pond hockey’ game.? The NHL-NHLPA press release explains more:

* From a group of 100 players on the ballot, fans will vote for their top six All-Stars by position without regard to the Conference in which the player plays. Fans will also have the ability to write-in a player of their choice.

* The three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie receiving the most votes will be named NHL All-Stars.

* As with previous All-Star games, the remaining 36 All-Stars will be named by the NHL Hockey Operations Dept. for a total of 42 All-Star players (3 goalies, 6 defensemen and 12 forwards per team).

* After the 42 NHL All-Stars have been selected, two captains will be chosen per team by the players.

* On Friday, January 28, 2011, a fantasy draft event will be held in Raleigh with all 54 NHL players (42 All-Stars and 12 rookies) during which the captains will draft the remaining members of their respective teams.

* First selection in the draft will be determined by coin flip and selections will continue on an alternating basis.

* Each team will be required to select three goalies, six defensemen and 23 forwards in any order they choose.

The NFL and MLB have tinkered with all-star game dynamics in recent years in an attempt to create more buzz, but the NHL is the first to embrace the enormous popularity of fantasy sports by having captains select their own squads.

A live televised draft will attract the casual fan (just like the Winter Classic) and has the potential to be a wildly entertaining event that will create dozens of storylines and subplots around the game itself.

Will captains select teammates and countrymen while avoiding their bitter rivals?? Will they draft goaltenders early to give their team the best chance at winning?? How will the draft-day snubs feel and react?

“It would be fun, but there could be a little bit of pressure,” Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby said of his potential role as team captain.? “Guys, I’m sure, would all want to be picked, but you’d have a pretty good pool to pick from.”

Whether the format sticks long-term is almost irrelevant.? With the NHL’s current television deal expiring in the offseason, Bettman needs to play every card in his hand to boost ratings – short of hand-picking the Stanley Cup finalists himself.

“The goal of the All-Star format change was designed to make the game more fun for everyone involved,” said Brendan Shanahan, Vice President of hockey and NHL business development.? “By giving the players more input on team selection, as well as skills competition matchups, we feel the 2011 NHL All-Star Fantasy Draft will inject more excitement and intrigue into all the events surrounding All-Star weekend.

Unfortunately, the NHL and players association are actively trying to remove one common element of any pond hockey or playground pickup game.? Says Craig Custance of the Sporting News: “League and NHLPA still considering ways to make sure there’s not a last guy standing during [All-Star Game] selection. Maybe group picks at end.”

Is it really possible to hurt the feelings of an all-star?

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.


View the original article here

Friday, March 18, 2011

With No Salary Cap, Parity Is Alive And Well In NFL

this

Image via Wikipedia

Parity lives.? According to Elias Sports Bureau, this season marks the first since 1959 – I think Brett Favre was a rookie then :) – that every NFL team has lost at least two of its first eight games.

Halfway through this 2010 NFL season, the NFL talks the talk and walks the walk of the mantra of all professional sports leagues — competitive balance. There are no “super teams” and it appears that every fan base outside of Buffalo, Dallas and Carolina can retain some hope to be playing in January when the playoffs begin.

Baseball’s bragging about balance

With Major League Baseball’s World Series just ending between two teams not familiar to any recent championship game – the Giants and Rangers – Commissioner Bud Selig was crowing.? The fact that these middle-market teams triumphed over the Phillies and Yankees showed that MLB’s cherished “competitive balance” was alive and thriving.

Selig, the former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and member of the Green Bay Packers Board of Directors — took special delight in this year’s postseason as the Rangers, possessing the fourth-smallest payroll in MLB ($55 million), dethroned the Yankees and their excessive payroll. To Selig, a World Series is a good one without the Yankees, the symbol of disproportionate spending in baseball.

Uncapped parity?

Ironically, the 2010 NFL and MLB have something in common: the lack of a Salary Cap.? Baseball has never had a Cap and the NFL is in this unique year prior to the expiration of the CBA where the league is uncapped.? In theory, the lack of a Cap should make the league less competitive, with large-market and large-revenue teams able to buy up talent without restriction on payroll.? The Salary Cap is a key measures in league collective bargaining agreements designed to promote parity by placing all teams on a level playing field by restricting team payrolls to a comparable amount for all.

And guess what?? With the Cap in place in 2009, there was much discussion about the lack of parity and a league of good and bad teams.? Now, with no Cap in the NFL this year, we have this once-in-a-generation parity.

Bang for the buck

Increasing player payroll appears to have limited correlation to team success.? In this year of parity so far, there is little to take away in terms of hard line rules to guide us, but let’s take a look:

Of the low-spending teams, some are doing well (Buccaneers, Chiefs, Titans), some middling (Jaguars, Chargers) and some poorly (Bills, Panthers, Broncos).? Many of these teams have used the uncapped year to take advantage of the lack of a floor for spending, using 2010 as a year to bring debt under control and gird for the next system, whenever that may be.? A few of these teams are spending as little as $85 million when the previous Cap floor was $109 million.

Of the higher-spending teams, some are doing well (Raiders), some middling (Bears, Vikings, Redskins, Dolphins) and some poorly (Cowboys, 49ers).

Formula for success

Success in the NFL is obviously a multi-pronged strategy, but there does appear to be an operational philosophy that endures.? Drafting well, developing young players, and having a deep and talented infrastructure coming through the pipeline are the most proven plan for sustained success.

Selected and targeted free agent or trade acquisitions can be sprinkled in, but scattershot free agency usually involves the targeting overpriced assets not pursued by their incumbent teams for a reason.

My sense is that the much-discussed parity in the NFL today will fade into a discussion of a handful of teams well-positioned for a playoff run. Parity lives, but only a little while longer.

Follow me on Twitter at adbrandt.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: Beyond Hiroshima - The Non-Reporting of Falluja's Cancer Catastrophe.


View the original article here

The Coaching Carousel

Sports Business

Nov. 10 2010 - 3:02 pm | 147 views | 0 recommendations |
GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Wade Ph...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

My favorite part of the football season is now, when coaches get hired and fired.? These decisions are far more meaningful and far reaching than?even the decision about?who plays quarterback because the game of football like modern business is all about leadership, vision and being ahead of your competitors.? Add in that sports actually try to prevent the creation of dynasties?through a variety of rules like drafts or salary caps and you can easily understand that leadership skill and organizational design are critical to success in sports because market and technological advantages are blunted by rule.? Even a?bad CEO probably can help but?keep McDonalds on top in its category because the company already has such?built strengths but in sports every year, every team starts even.?

So that is why as a professor of sports business and a lawyer looking at sports contracts, I see so much to interest me during the hiring and firing season which began with the firing of head coach Wade Phillips by the Dallas Cowboys and?got a second casualty when Colorado fired Dan Hawkins. By the time we are done 20 NFL and major college coaches will have moved on and their replacements will be selected.? What always shocks me is how little organizational thought and evaluation goes into these decisions which can have economic consequence in the tens of millions of dollars and even greater organizational impact. Yet the decision to fire a coach is usually an emotional one and the decision to hire a new one is also more often than not an emotional one?born from?by a desire to win the press conference announcing that hire.

Over the next two months, I will share my fascination?about who gets hired, where they get hired, how much it costs and most importantly whether they will succeed or fail, with readers here at Forbes Sports Money.??As the legendary 49ers head coach Bill Walsh said, we aren’t competing with all the teams, we are competing with the eight or nine teams that get it,? and the same is true in the college ranks.? Much will be lost and gained in the decision made in the next two months.? But this year could be very different, with the real threat of an NFL lockout looming, you may see two very clear trends emerge.? The first is NFL teams who fire a head coach may not immediately replace that coach with a big name and may use interim or stop-gap coaches who are willing to work cheap or accept a lockout clause, because owners won’t want to carry salaries during a work stoppage.? Rather than using coaching and scout resources to gain an advantage in scouting or?strategic development?during a work stoppage?many owners have already inserted lockout clause which allows for an immediate reduction in pay and even?termination in the event of a prolonged work stoppage.? It will save money but at what cost.? The second major trend may be a stampede to college football by NFL coaches including coordinators and position coaches to avoid a work stoppage and corresponding pay interruption.

In any case, hang on as it figures to be a bumpy ride until the music stops for coaches and fans alike.


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Log in with your Forbes account

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View the original article here

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Coaching Carousel

Sports Business

Nov. 10 2010 - 3:02 pm | 147 views | 0 recommendations |
GLENDALE, AZ - OCTOBER 12: Head coach Wade Ph...

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

My favorite part of the football season is now, when coaches get hired and fired.? These decisions are far more meaningful and far reaching than?even the decision about?who plays quarterback because the game of football like modern business is all about leadership, vision and being ahead of your competitors.? Add in that sports actually try to prevent the creation of dynasties?through a variety of rules like drafts or salary caps and you can easily understand that leadership skill and organizational design are critical to success in sports because market and technological advantages are blunted by rule.? Even a?bad CEO probably can help but?keep McDonalds on top in its category because the company already has such?built strengths but in sports every year, every team starts even.?

So that is why as a professor of sports business and a lawyer looking at sports contracts, I see so much to interest me during the hiring and firing season which began with the firing of head coach Wade Phillips by the Dallas Cowboys and?got a second casualty when Colorado fired Dan Hawkins. By the time we are done 20 NFL and major college coaches will have moved on and their replacements will be selected.? What always shocks me is how little organizational thought and evaluation goes into these decisions which can have economic consequence in the tens of millions of dollars and even greater organizational impact. Yet the decision to fire a coach is usually an emotional one and the decision to hire a new one is also more often than not an emotional one?born from?by a desire to win the press conference announcing that hire.

Over the next two months, I will share my fascination?about who gets hired, where they get hired, how much it costs and most importantly whether they will succeed or fail, with readers here at Forbes Sports Money.??As the legendary 49ers head coach Bill Walsh said, we aren’t competing with all the teams, we are competing with the eight or nine teams that get it,? and the same is true in the college ranks.? Much will be lost and gained in the decision made in the next two months.? But this year could be very different, with the real threat of an NFL lockout looming, you may see two very clear trends emerge.? The first is NFL teams who fire a head coach may not immediately replace that coach with a big name and may use interim or stop-gap coaches who are willing to work cheap or accept a lockout clause, because owners won’t want to carry salaries during a work stoppage.? Rather than using coaching and scout resources to gain an advantage in scouting or?strategic development?during a work stoppage?many owners have already inserted lockout clause which allows for an immediate reduction in pay and even?termination in the event of a prolonged work stoppage.? It will save money but at what cost.? The second major trend may be a stampede to college football by NFL coaches including coordinators and position coaches to avoid a work stoppage and corresponding pay interruption.

In any case, hang on as it figures to be a bumpy ride until the music stops for coaches and fans alike.


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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Singapore Sole Proprietor: Registration For Sole Proprietorship

Sole Proprietorship is the simplest form of business structure in Singapore. Singapore citizens or permanent residents; holders of Employment Pass, EntrePass or Dependants Pass may register a Sole Proprietorship. Foreigner individuals and companies may also register Sole Proprietorship but must appoint a Singapore resident manager. Unlike a private limited liability company, a sole proprietorship does not provide limited liability protection and your personal assets are not protected from business risks.

Singapore Sole Proprietor is the one who takes full control, administration and responsibility for a sole proprietorship business. Before we proceed with the basic registration information, let us have a quick look of sole proprietorships advantages.
No annual returns filing required of a Sole Proprietorship as income is taxed at personal income tax rate.
Very few compliance requirements and written documentation
The business itself is flexible.

Any decisions and changes can be made easily as there is only one person to make the relevant choices.
All the profits generated by the business will belong to the Sole Proprietor.
Sole Proprietor owns his business and so are able to sell or transfer it as he wishes.

Below is the basic guide on business registration if you wish to be one of Singapore Sole Proprietors.

Basic Requirements for Singapore Residents:
Any Singapore-registered company or a natural person of at least 18 years of age
Bankrupts who are not discharged and persons disqualified under specific clauses are not eligible to register
Singapore citizens or PRs must ensure there are sufficient funds in their Medisave accounts before proceeding with the registration

Basic Requirements for Foreign Individuals and Companies
All foreign individuals and companies can register for Sole Proprietorship as long as they appoint a Singapore manager
The appointed manager must be a natural person of at least 21 years of age, and either a Singapore Citizen, Permanent Resident, EP, EntrePass, or Dependent Pass holder

In order to register a sole proprietorship business in Singapore, the following documents/information are required:
Description of principal activities
Proposed business name
Local business address for the proposed business
Copy of Singapore ID for the owner
Local residential address of Sole Proprietor
Declaration of compliance and Statement of Non-Disqualification

To ensure a speedy name approval during registration, ensure that your choice of name is not identical or similar to the names of any existing local company or business.

Your choice of name must not be obscene or vulgar, already reserved, and infringe on any trademarks or copyright.

Rikvin can help you register Sole Proprietorship with ACRA within one hour provided all required documents are in place. Once approved, ACRA sends out a confirmation of registration via email. The registration is valid for one year and subject to an annual renewal.

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Become A Ninja: 3 Options For Ninja Training

The legendary image of the ninja is not just one born of movies and popular culture. In Japanese history, the ninja waged a stealth war against oppression and abuses by the ruling class. Today, learning ninjitsu self-defense techniques and ninja weapons is done for health, hobby, and self-protection. Ninja training, however, is not as easy to find as other martial arts. This could be due to the specialized nature of the art. Basically, not all that many people know this legendary martial art, which means it, may seem a little tough to learn it.

But, this does not mean you will be unable to learn the art and learn it effective. Here are three options for ninja weapons and self-defense training:

Find a qualified instructor within a reasonable driving distance. The term reasonable will be up to you. If the closest instructor is a two-hour drive away, you will need to make the commitment to travel such a distance.

Even if you only train at the school one day a week, then do so! One lesson is more than enough to develop an insight into the art. Private lessons would be better but group sessions can prove highly effective as well. The key is you will need to practice what you learn during the time period in between lessons. Just be sure to be consistent with your weekly training session and practice times outside of class.

Purchase excellent books and DVDs that provide solid instruction on the subject of ninja weapons and self-defense training. Books or DVDs that offer much needed insight into how to effective train in the art can provide the perfect supplementary information needed to expand your awareness and skills in the art. Over the past two decades, some excellent material has been published and produced on the subject of ninja weapons and training.

Acquiring these excellent resource materials could prove to be the wisest move to make when seeking to learn the art outside of class times.

Start a small training group with dedicated people. You cannot always solo train. You will need to work out with others. Organizing and running such a training session could prove to be a great help in terms of expanding you awareness and skill in the art. Even if you do not have access to the aforementioned group class or formal instruction, you could employ proper practice group to expand your ability lean the art and ninja weapons. There may, in fact, be formal distance learning programs that you can enroll in which could provide the guidance for the actual training sessions. Again, consistency is the key here are that will prove to be a must when you want to learn the basics of ninja training.

These three options for learning ninja weapons and self-defense can prove to be more than sufficient for those hoping to get the most out of the learning process. Ultimately, success with learning this art will be reliant upon your commitment and desire to follow through with your training and be consistent. Follow this advice and you will reap the great rewards!

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