Starting in the 1990s, technology education college has been growing exponentially and will keep growing with the development of new software, new computers, and new ways to display skills on the Internet. This is great for the person that can spend hours in front of the computer and love what they are doing while sitting there.

These opportunities can be found in a variety of colleges: Public, Private, Online, and through experience degrees. It is important to choose a technology education college that fits the personal life and personality. For instance, if a person does not have a record of getting to meetings or work on time, traditional classes may not be the right choice. If a person is more of a loner or need to study during strange hours, an online university may be a good option. Technology education is a great field to get into because it is constantly expanding and changing. There will be many jobs for people with technology education for many years.

Having said all that, it is also a good idea to 'accent' this type of schooling with either some classes or a minor not related to the core subject. Doing so will enhance the choices of jobs and make a student a more employable person. Technology education college prepares a person to fix computers, develop software, create web pages, and write layman manuals for complex systems. Skills that will be developed through this are excellent research skills, excellent communication with other people, organizational skills, and the ability to produce products based on training. There are many types of jobs that require these skills.

Choosing this course of study can be tough. Technology education colleges are not all the same and certainly don't offer the same types of degrees or the same quality. Look for a college that, first, has the program a student is wishing to study and, second, has solid success records of graduates. A student will want to make sure that any college applied to has students that could email or call to get a good reference of the technology education college. Pray hard, study hard, and stay focused on studies. With first focus on God anything is possible. Without God nothing is possible. He will bless any dream if a person is willing to listen to His advice. Patience, faith, and endurance while going through school are crucial to success.

by: Chris Anderson

Public companies have 90 days from the end of their fiscal year to comply. For those with market capitalization of $75 million or more, this clock starts on Nov. 15, 2004; while all others with less than $75 million market capitalization begin July 15, 2005.

Fast Relief for Sarbanes Oxley Section 404 Compliance

Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires management to confirm the effectiveness of their IT and financial controls in an "internal control report", which is contained within the annual report (10-K) issued to the public. But what exactly is an internal control report, and why is it important to you?

The Section 404 Internal Control Report

First, the internal control report must affirm management?s responsibility for controls and procedure, and second, it must contain an assessment of the effectiveness of the internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. Although both of these issues might at first appear difficult to solve, they are actually not as hard as you would think.

Management?s Responsibility for Controls and Procedures

Affirming management?s responsibility for controls and procedures means more than to simply say management believes in or trusts their system. The affirmation will also need to include a program for a code of ethics for senior financial officers. The program must include prompt disclosures of any changes to your ethics program. So how do you do this?

Business Ethics and Compliance Program

You can easily implement a business ethics program using a step-by-step guide for developing your firm?s business ethics and compliance program. This manual will save you time researching, writing and editing your program. It provides sample policies, surveys, forms and training session outlines that are fully editable using MS Word. And it is also fully endorsed by The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) as a tool to maintain a culture of integrity.

Internal Controls

Your internal control report must also contain an assessment of the effectiveness of your internal controls and procedures for financial reporting. In practical terms, control is equivalent to predictability. Everyday management creates forecasts and budgets to predict the future. And the further into the future you can accurately predict, then the more control you have.

Achieve More Control Over Your Forecasts And Budgets

A training class for creating well defined processes shows you how to attain more control. Real world exercises and examples explain how to increase management effectiveness, achieve process control, communicate clear procedures, and verify if your processes are working. So what about procedures?

Procedures Effectiveness

For dealing with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, you can look at products like the Management CFO Value Series that includes Accounting, Human Resources, as well as policies, procedures and forms for other departments. Such procedures will save you time researching best practices, creating a standard format, and thinking of clear and concise paragraphs to write.

Easier Section 404 Compliance

Your internal control report is the key to your Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance. You should also look at a business ethics and compliance program, attend a training class for creating well-defined processes to learn more about management effectiveness, and use a CFO Management Value Series to speed the development of your procedures. You want to achieve fast, easy, and effective relief for your Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance.

Having a Christian homebased business can be worthwhile for the entrepreneur with a desire to make money from the convenience of home. This is a great opportunity for someone with a passion to have a business, where Christianity is represented through products or services. Individuals can also spread the love and message of Jesus Christ through selling apparel that represents Christ-honoring messages. Having a Christian organization can help ensure the products an individual sells are reputable and worthy of purchase.

Home based businesses can encompass a variety of products. Many different styles of clothing can be represented and marketed through a Christian homebased business. The difference with these shirts is that they are created to express a Christian message. The Christian t-shirts being sold can have music groups on the front of them and can cater to people who are interested in that particular group. Having these t-shirts can help promote the sale of that group and/or style of music as well.

Not only can t-shirts promote music, but they can also promote movies as well. If there are well-known Christian movies or sayings, an organization can sell t-shirts that display those messages. The Christian homebased business can invest in logos that show parts or scenes from the movie and have them embedded on the t-shirts, too. When people wear the shirts, this can be the way they share their faith. Others might comment on the shirt they are wearing and ask questions, allowing the wearer the opportunity to share the Gospel. Retailers tend to invest in Christian t-shirts for this very reason. They want to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ go forth and be displayed in many different ways. If that means promoting Bible verses on Christian clothing, than more power to the retailers in sharing the message of Christ. Moreover, more people are exposed to the love that Jesus has for them.

Another way an organization makes t-shirts a great witnessing tool is because of the crowds that they cater to. The styles that the shirts are designed for have an impact on different crowds that can hear the Gospel of Christ in a way that pertains to them. It is important to remember that the designs and logos of the clothing that is being sold will target specific groups that will wear and determine the popularity mark for a Christian homebased business. "And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

by: Stephan Szugat

A business is only able to grow as fast as the internal organisation is able to process higher volumes of sales. But how to get an optimal internal organisation? Well, you will need to adapt your internal organisation over and over again. It?s a never ending story. However, a Company/Employee Handbook could assist you to achieve the best internal business organisation.

This brings up the question, What has to be included in a Company/Employee Handbook? Everything what has influence to your business operation. First of all, it has to be outlined which areas the Company/Employee Handbook will cover. As it has to do with internal operation, here is a list of items you should include:

- Company Background Information (Name-Development, Foundation date and place, History-Milestones, Vision)
- Owner and/or Manager Bios/Profiles
- Listing of Officers and Board of Directors
- Employment Roles (Job Roles, Job Descriptions)
- Description of the main products and services (just use your marketing material)
- FAQ (about internal subjects only)
- Company timeline (What, when, where)
- Office procedures (Workflow-Information, Working Procedures)
- List of persons to know (Bank Contact, Tax Advisor, Laywer, Main Suppliers, etc.)
- Overview of agreements (Rental, Leasing, etc.)
- Internal Policies (Dress code, Phone usage and answering, Voice Mail Procedure, Parking,
Business Cards, Drug Policy, etc.).

The above list shows which information should be included. The following list shows which departments should be included:

- Distribution
- Inventory/Warehouse
- Marketing (How Follow-up?s are handled, Lead-Generation, etc.)
- Customer Support
- Research and Development
- Accounting
- Human Resources
- Purchase/Procurement.

The above two lists just show, how complex it could be to setup a Company/Employee Handbook. But it don?t have to be complex, just start partial. Only include the information which are already available and use the help of your employees. The benefits of having a Company Handbook are numerous, your employees will save time, it will be easier to improve procedures, because the procedures will be broken down into small sections of the whole precodures. Everything is clearly described, so nobody needs to ask over and over again. In case of holiday or illness of an employee, others could jump into the job, because they could be trained faster.

As employer, you could hire employees with lower education. And your employees will love it, because they know where to look, when they have questions and they could improve their working environment as well. But the most advantage for the owner is, that the organisation will be able to work properly, when the business grows and when the owner might sell the business one day, it might get sold easier, because of the proper organisation.

When installing a Company Handbook, you will find procedures you could automate. Automating the operation as much as possible will also be a big benefit, because employees and employer are able to focus their workforce on more important topics, such as improving the sales volume. Furthermore automatization will reduce to cost of operation as well.

A Company/Employee Handbook is a bit like a Business Plan, but far more detailed, because it will contain information on every internal procedure. Only the financial part of the business plan will not be included, but if you like you might include some financial information you like to share with your employees. As you describe your procedures just do it as a numeration or listing. The description don?t have to be very well formed, it?s just important that everyone who will read it, is able to understand what has to be done.

Remember, a Company Handbook is a living system, if you and your employees are not updating it regularly, it will be death one day, because it will only contain old stuff. So keep all people within your business engaged in improving the Company Handbook, because it will improve your business internal organisation as well. While starting to write the content of your Company Handbook, concentrate on job roles at first, afterwards write down job descriptions, in case a job role has been given to employees twice (Accounting Staff, etc.). Job Roles need to include the duties and the responsebilities of the described job.

Job Roles, Job Descriptions and Workflow-Descriptions of sepcial procedures don?t have to be the same, but take care that the information is consistent, that means that it is written in a stream. This way the entire Company Handbook will be of benefit for everyone. When rereading something on your Company Handbook and you still have questions, than the entry is not finished.

Last but not least, your Company/Employee Handbook should be available everytime. To do this, think about an Internet or Intranet Solution, depending on the size of your business. Keep it simple and slim, and you will have many benefits from it. Good Luck.

A home business opportunity can be the perfect answer for someone looking to generate income, while being able to maintain control of their time and availability for their family. This kind of self-employment can allow great flexibility, both in their products and services, as well as in how it's run day-to-day. However, before diving into a home business opportunity, however, one should consider if the concept of working from home will fit their personality and lifestyle.

Home businesses are a rapidly expanding industry. With the Internet, more opportunities are available than ever before. Also, conducting business out of one's house has become more convenient because of all the potential clients and customers that be reached using a computer. Home businesses do have a dark side, however, because some companies are not legitimate, but are alluring nonetheless. People should do their research before investing time, effort and money into any potential idea. Furthermore, self-employment is not for everyone. Those desiring an independent line of work need to take inventory of themselves and determine if the personality and circumstances will support working independently. Otherwise, the very thing the person hoped would bring greater financial freedom without being tied to an office or a boss, may be the very thing that causes the greatest stress in life and the lives of the family.

There are advantages and disadvantages to home business opportunities. Some advantages include that being one's own boss, having flexible hours, not having to commute and getting certain tax advantages. On the other hand, some disadvantages may include having to make all the decisions and keeping work time separate from family time. Furthermore, there are other factors to consider before pursuing a home business opportunity: Is there space for an office; Is there space to maintain business inventory if it's required; and Are you self-disciplined enough to schedule your time effectively.

Working from one's house can spur a lucrative career for the right person. However, not everyone who has a hobby they love can transform that hobby into a viable money maker. Instead, leading a home-based office requires the mindset of an entrepreneur. In addition, enthusiasm does not equal determination. In order to develop a home business opportunity into a thriving business, you must have determination. Home businesses, like any other, require effort and time. They can be a blessing for those with the drive, determination and mindset needed, but also can be a drain for those who are not prepared to meet the additional demands on their time. Finally, go into any home business opportunities with eyes open and with wise counsel: "Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14). Don't fall for a get-rich-quick scheme, but seek out a legitimate career path that you can feel good about.

by: Neil Best

To get approval for your small business loan application, you must be able to meet the lending criteria set down. Some organisations are more risk averse than others, and will therefore have more stringent criteria.

To vastly increase your chances of a successful funding application, you will need to present the following information:

1. The reason for the loan. The lender will be looking for something that fits within the normal range and expertise of your business. The amount may cover a number of items, so you will need to cover each.

2. The amount required, and the repayment term of the small business loan you want. (e.g. $10,000 term 5 years, payable quarterly).

3. Details of how you will repay the amount borrowed. For example, ?From the increase in profits of reduced running costs of the Whizzbang Go4It?

4. Details of security you will be able to offer to the lender. This will act as reassurance for the lender. If you?re not prepared to put up some aspect of security, then why should they?

5. You will need to include your business plan which will serve to answer essential questions relating to management capabilities, information about the market you operate in. What kind of business you are in etc.

6. 3 Years financial statements. You will need to present quality financial information from your accounting software, preferably signed off by your accountant or tax advisor.

7. Latest Set of Management accounts. Again produced from your accounting software.

8. Accounts receivables (debtors) and payables (creditors) ageing reports.

9. Principals financial statements. ? Particularly required if some form of security is necessary.

If you are a new company, the emphasis is going to be on your business plan , and the security (also called collateral) you or your business can provide against the loan.

You must take the time to practice presenting your case to the bank or lender to iron out any glitches. Practice on your colleagues and family (you never know, they might be so impressed, they'll invest or lend!). It may help to role play the lender and come up with as many pointy questions as possible. The more time you take the better your chances will be. (But remember, don?t fall into the analysis paralysis trap!)

Good luck!

Degrees in information technology are becoming extremely popular and are being offered in most colleges and universities on an associate, bachelor, or master's degree level. They enable a student to perform the necessary functions to work with a variety of computer hardware and software. In this age, the demand for these professionals is growing. It is estimated that 9 out of 10 households own a personal computer and 9.8 out of every ten businesses use this type of expertise in some aspect of their operation. Most everything in our society is filtered through systems in order to achieve maximum accuracy and efficiency.

This specialty is defined as matters concerned with advancing computer science and technology with the design, development, installation, and implementation of information systems and applications. This means that people with degrees in information technology are highly sought after in order to achieve the goal of computer science advancement. With the science field growing and changing at an extremely rapid rate, it is important that schools stay current in their academic curriculum. It is also important that these graduates continually update their own skills and abilities by taking advantage of continuing education workshops, seminars and classes offered by employers, or local colleges and community centers.

When deciding on the specific area to pursue, students must consider their own skills and abilities and the idea of enhancing them with the computer as a tool. Students who enjoy aesthetics may want to enter into the field of graphics and multimedia by pursuing degrees in information technology. Zephaniah 3:8 says "therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy."

This field includes graphic arts, web based design, animation, end user support and a host of other visual components. Those interested in pursuing degrees in information technology by way of networks may focus their studies on obtaining industry certification standards through Microsoft or Cisco. The networking category also includes network administration, network design, and network security. This type of education can help student's speed up innovation and manage change by familiarizing themselves in the area of project management. Those that are primarily interested in internet based applications can learn to create high quality professional web based applications by preparing to become a web designer, a webmaster, a web developer or an information systems analyst. The opportunities and areas in these fields offer a multitude of career outlets for someone interested in obtaining a high level of computer science expertise.

An international business degree is designed to give the student the tools necessary to work in today's global marketplace. This training will provide a cultural awareness and teach the individual to appreciate multinational diversity. International business degrees put an emphasis on global competition and techniques. The student will learn about other societies and how their business practices differ from those of the United States. Foreign language is a major component of this program of study. Foreign laws are also covered as this is a major component of building and maintaining credibility in the global community. The individual will have to earn the respect of others as global commerce is a high-profile career field. Training in this field is a requirement if the student wants to excel in this multicultural profession.

Many different institutions offer programs of study in global commerce. The interested individual can physically attend class, take classes online or even consider distance learning. There are many accredited international business degree options available. It is possible to choose to study abroad and gain hands-on experience through internships and co-op programs. Pursuing international business degrees that offer the greatest opportunities to gain as much knowledge about how global markets operate is vital. The curriculum will prepare the student to capitalize on opportunities and surmount obstacles. Highly energetic and enterprising individuals can go far with an education in global commerce. A degree in this area will allow the student to choose from many career concentrations such as global management.

With today's rapid expansion into the global marketplace, employers are eager to hire graduates with education in this field. International business degrees train students to function in a borderless economy. People now live in a shrinking world so it is important to understand foreign business processes as well culture. As individuals are taught to solve problems that cross cultural boundaries they will learn the intricacies of negotiation and sales. Students will embark upon a journey to rethink traditional assumptions. The mental flexibility will be challenged as business practices are viewed from a different perspective, studying how other countries conduct commerce. An international business degree will allow anyone to gain practical insights into how the world exchanges goods and services. Learning real world relevancy will offer the competitive edge as the student seeks employment. Skills learned through a degree program will be greatly sought after, especially if the individual masters several languages and can communicate effectively with others. International business degrees offer a wonderful opportunity for individuals wanting to travel. There is also a great opportunity to witness to the world about the love and salvation of Jesus Christ. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). Along with working and making money, the individual can win souls for the Lord.

by: Jeff Altman
Is every job description you read the same? No.

Is every job you submit your resume to the same? Of course they aren?t.

If all these job descriptions are different, why do you submit the same resume?

Every day, people send the same generic resume out as though each position was identical and each employer was attempting to hire identical skills and attributes. Too often, the results they receive are like the broken watch that is right twice a day?hit or miss success.

They list their name, address, phone numbers and email address, list an objective, education, and chronology of experience with dates of employment. The resume includes some successes or accomplishments. This is their resume.

In the days prior to computers when changing a resume required you to re-type different versions, this made sense. Today, when computers allow you to customize, spell and grammar check documents so easily, you are missing out on opportunities and costing yourself money by being lazy and not tailoring your resume for each opportunity you are interested in.

Here are several steps that you can do to improve your resume and get better results.

1. Each employer will be interested in different attributes of your experience. They often indicate it by the items they describe in their job ad. Emphasize the experiences that you have that relate to the skills being sought and the functions you will perform in the job they will ask you to perform. If you are applying for a staff position, emphasize your staff experience and minimize your management experience. If you are being hired to be a leader, write about your recent leadership.
2. Employers are more interested in recent work, rather than work you did many years ago. Use more space in your resume to highlight recent experience, rather than things you did before George W. Bush became President.
3. Like setting a goal where you make them specific, measurable, achievable within a specific period of time, describe your successes or achievements concretely. Reducing costs is a nice start but it is more powerful to describe something as reducing operational costs globally by 2%. Increased departmental sales by 27% resulting in . . . You get the idea. Use action verbs wherever possible (For more on this, read my article, Preparing an Effective Resume? on www.newyorkmetrotechnologyjobs.com).
4. Ask someone you trust to critique what you?ve written. Too often, people believe that they can do everything by themselves without asking for help. Ask a friend in your industry to critique what you?ve written to insure you?re on target and aren?t missing the mark.

When you go to a restaurant and order a meal, you have the expectation that it will be prepared in a way that will please you and be presented on the plate beautifully. Writing a great resume requires that you be the chef and prepare a meal that is both visually appealing and tastes great too!

by: Stephan Szugat

mmaterial Values in Business Management

Maybe you have already heard that in some ways immaterial values are important for business management. But you might not found how to bring them into your management processes or into your reporting packages. However, first of all we should be clear, what immaterial values are? Well, this includes the balance sheet information about intangible assets, but is going far behind it.
As we all know, decisions are mostly based on feelings or emotions, than on logical judgement. A feeling is an energy. Energy is not material, it is immaterial. The overall emotions or motivation of employees in a business is a immaterial value, it could have positive and negative impact on the business development. Does sound very esoterical for you? Might be, but today we know that our emotions drive a lot of our life.
Not only the feelings of the emplyoees have an impact on the business development, also the feelings of potenial customers have it. These customer feelings could be measured as customer satisfaction, as how customers see the company or it?s products and services and so on. There is more energy, which is immaterial, included in our business life as we are aware of.
Until today we might know about these energies or have read that businesses have to be more aware of them. But to find Solutions which are able to measure these energies are not very common and hard to find. Business Management still uses hard figures such as ratios based on financial values and just forgets that there has been more than only the numbers from the accounting and the money in the pocket.
If you only look to the accounting figures of a business, you only look to this company as if you were looking at an iceberg. You only see a fraction of the iceberg, only what is above the surface. Everything below the surface is out of your view. While the iceberg is melting away, it still brings up new parts of it self. But you only see this new parts, when the iceberg is melting. It?s just the same with the accounting figures as soon as you see them they are gone. That means they are old, it?s nice to knew them, but they relate to business already accomplished.
The accounting figures are just like to iceberg when it comes above the surface while it is melting away. Now, wouldn?t it be great to see the whole iceberg, even if a big part is below the surface? Yes, it would be great. The immaterial values of your business are just below surface. If you bring them up, you could see the whole picture of your business.
Running a business only focusing on profit could lead to running into a collapse. It might take time, but soon customers and employees will find out that just the profit counts to a specific company. Well, it?s correct, no business could survive without profit, but first of all every business has to make profit on immaterial items, such as image, motivation of employees and customers faith.
One day from these immaterial profits the financial profit arises. That?s the theory. Propably you already read about this, but have you found a way to measure immaterial values of your business? It?s not that difficult, but it needs some thoughts. First of all it is important to make a list of immaterial values which have the most impact on the business development. When this has been finished, methods to measure and valuate the immaterial values have to be found.
And at last, the values for all the selected immaterial items have to be analysed regularly. Setting up such a Reporting System for immaterial values could be a long lasting task. You might try to do it with a spreadsheet program or with a database, but either way will take it?s time. Using ready made Standard Software might be another option, but there are not much choices. In case you use the Balance Scorecard, you might think having all the data mentioned above and you might think having a good solution for analysation.
The Balance Scorecard has it?s advantages, but for a short, fast and regular analysis of immaterial values it is far to complex and much to slow. There is just the need to measure, store and analyse some data. About 30 items will be enough to have an overview of immaterial values and some material values as well. Most of the necessary data are usually already stored in every business. They only need to be concentrated into one table and have to be analysed.
Are immaterial values important for every business? Yes. This includes big businesses as well as the one-man-business, retail stores, mechanics, freelancer and so on. You may find more information on immaterial values in business management, when searching for Early-Warning-System, Early-Recognition-Sytems and something similar. You are able to find one or the other immaterial value included in Management Methods, Ratio Systems and Financial Analysis. But still, most Reports and Measurement System are based on financial data.
A Solution which every business, no matter of size, could use, is the abenetis ERS (Early-Recognition-System). It is called Early-Recognition-System, because with the used immaterial values every business could be aware of tendencies in it?s business development soon. At the moment the abenetis ERS is available only as Online-Service, but could soon be delivered as Intranet-Version, too. More details are available at our ERS-Subscription Page.