Avoid Black Swan Events - Manage Your Bogus Beds

Events that create unexpected, undesired results can sometimes be called Black Swans.

The Black Swan Event concept was created by Nassim Taleb, an NYU professor. Based on Taleb's criteria the Black Swan event is a surprise to the observer, has a major impact and was considered foreseeable when reviewing data that was not considered relevant at the time, but later found to be obvious. (Taleb notes that this is usually a bias by the observers in hindsight to instill control into chaos.) He uses the analogy that butchering a turkey is a surprise to the turkey, not the butcher.

Launching a high risk strategy based on events with a low likelihood of occurring is a way to create a Black Swan. Risk in the minds of the strategists may be low; however, for many stakeholders the strategy injects chaos. Belief in the robustness of a strategy that is not robust will have consequences far beyond the expectations of the strategist.

An often underappreciated element of strategy is the process of gathering insight up from the field. By presenting the strategy as a straw man, even before a pilot program, the stakeholders most impacted by these changes can offer insights. Naturally change is resisted, but it is risky to not invite insight from stakeholders.

A common example of a potential Black Swan initiative is the change in customer/sales systems. The general concept is often to smooth out internal processes around sales operations and to possibly improve efficiencies. Problems arise when sales processes are not understood that sales and that many tasks in completing a sale cannot be standardized. Selling books is fine for a standardized process, selling a construction project isn't.

A rigid resource planning system not flexible enough to manage customer needs, special projects or risk sharing projects could potentially destroy the relationship. The same issues could be damaging to vendors and suppliers. How a strategy impacts sustainable business must be understood and costs and benefits evaluated.

Insight from Sales, Operations, Customer Service, AP/AR, warehousing, inventory management and other areas along the value chain could avoid a Black Swan Event. Single points of failure can be identified and the process made more robust as assumptions are eliminated. A review of margins by salesperson and then a look at their processes may offer better insight to where efficiencies can be discovered.

A large hospital chain took advantage of ground up insight to re-tool their strategy process. When working on a disaster plan at a hospital chain a disconnection between corporate management and nursing operations was discovered. As the insights from each level of management were gathered a startling vulnerability appeared. All the nurses and support staff were well aware of the "bogus bed" challenge, but corporate, non-nursing management was oblivious to the daily challenges of managing bogus beds. Bogus beds referred to the warehousing system for patients. A central computer program was used to track patient location from the entry into the hospital to dismissal.

Patients could be moved several times in a day and sometimes several times in an hour. Nurses were assigned patients but often there were handoffs. Updating the patient's location was a paramount task.

In the event of a disruption to the database or the communications systems, the nurses unanimously stated there would be a potential for disaster. They were clear that in this event an inventory of patients, some not conscious, some unable to respond reliably, many residing in a hallway or other staging area, would not be feasible. There had to be a system that was uninterruptable.

When this situation was presented to a corporate manager, they objected to the term "bogus" as "surfer" language and dismissed the issue initially. The tide turned and the case for bogus bed planning was embraced.

A high level project was initiated to provide new best practices and emergency training. Robustness was built into the system and managers became more aware of this critical element of patient management.

New questions were built in to the planning process. The starting point now includes simple questions such as how patient care will be impacted by this initiative. A system wide initiative was implemented in the dozens of hospitals managed by this firm.

The lesson learned was to map future strategies against critical tasks.

In some firms this approach has become a significant element in the pursuit of competitive advantage.

By focusing attention customer centric issues, senior management learns which key productivity indicators will have the greatest impact on their business. Larry Bossidy, ex-CEO of Honeywell International in his fine book Execution offers several key questions to ask when building a strategic plan:

"What is the assessment of the external environment?

How well do you understand the existing customers and markets?

What is the best way to grow the business profitably and what are the obstacles to growth?

Who is the competition?

Can the business execute the strategy?

Are the long-term and short-term balanced?

What are the important milestones for executing the plan?

What are the critical issues facing the business?

How will the business make money on a sustainable basis?"

From these strategic questions, tactical questions can be asked to support the higher level answers. For example, to understand whether the business can execute the strategy, it may be necessary to look at the customer service functions. Are there system cross flows that could be interrupted by this strategy, say a web-based system that can't access the internal inventory system, or denies credit when the limit has not been reached or won't print labels on the existing printers. In isolation a project may have a lot of perceived benefits, but a Black Swan is hatching as numerous subsystems not integrated with this project cripple the customer service levels.

So the long-term needs must wait as the systems are upgraded in the short run to accommodate the initiative. Milestones have to reflect this reality. Capital must be planned with an eye on competitor's moves. Will the initiative be embraced by key customers and your Sales Department? Will they be patient while the bugs are worked out or will another strategy such as outsourcing some functions be needed in the short run to keep pace with the environment while in the background the core business is re-tooling?

Managers can work through the issues provided they are aware of the swan eggs. Asking the right questions is a critical success factor. As Taleb says "Don't be the turkey."

When a management team understands its bogus beds it can avoid Black Swans.

Organize a Rocking Nightlife Event - Have a Robust Online Registration and Ticketing System

Online solutions feature robust registration and ticketing options for organizing a grooving nightlife event. While arranging a live music, dance, or a comedy show, we generally have to take up a lot of responsibilities that include renting staff, putting things together before the party night, and so on.

We must make sure all the arrangements are in place. You must rent a nightclub well in advance, for it's a holiday time, with Christmas and New Year approaching fast. You must also look into simplifying the registration process, for no one likes a lengthy procedure to enter your nightlife event. Then, why waste time on the manual registration process and bore your visitors when you can easily switch over to a far simple and easily managed online registration system?

Offer Your Guests an Easy-to-use Sign-up Process

Your guests will be very happy to find an easy-to-use registering process. No one likes to stand in a long line, waiting to get tickets to your nightlife party. Streamline your registration system by creating a page online. Your friends will simply log in to the page and start signing up for the party. You can choose your own format of the sign-up page, and likewise add barcodes to attract more visitors to your rocking night.

Hassle-free Collection of Tickets

You can easily collect your party tickets once you complete event registration. The online ticketing interface allows your registrants to pay online and book their tickets in minutes. The flexible party ticketing option lets you manage your multiple events in a hassle-free manner. Through this web-based ticketing portal, you can manage your ticket pricing and offer special discounts for the entire set or for individual seats.

Instant Connection with Your Customers

The online event management solution provides you a communication tool that includes emailing option, reminders, and invitation facilities. You can use all or any one of them to instantly communicate with your customers, residing nearby or far across the globe. Send lovely emails to your friends stating the date, time, and venue of the nightlife function. Send your friends a reminder mail to ensure they turn up on the day of the program!

Promote Your Events to a Larger Audience

In case you have planned for a paid event, you should find out appropriate ways to promote it to increase your attendee rate. Maximize revenues by publishing your occasion details on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Create a page on Facebook posting images of your past events, uploading your event videos, and those of live conversations and reaction with the audience after attending the occasion.

How Can an Event Management Company Help?

Organising a party or other type of function takes much work, time and dedication to the task. With guest lists, catering arrangements and types of menu, or designing the d矇cor and styling of the venue, there are a million and one details that need to be coordinated and scheduled.

Who Hires Event Management Companies
Companies or organisations may need help in putting together conferences or learning events for employees or business partners, or to oversee the arrangements for product launches or trade congresses. Event managers will often also undertake tasks such as brand building or marketing.

Private individuals often employ management companies to take care of organising complex events such as weddings or simple events like a local birthday party. Depending on the company, events as small as ten people or as large as thousands, or even millions in a prestigious event held in the media's eye, can be contracted out to experienced management companies.

Tasks Undertaken
Menu planning, venue or marquee booking and erecting, and the hiring of live entertainment is all part of the service. The management company will meet with the client to discuss exact requirements and will tailor hospitality packages within a given budget range.

For large or corporate events the management company will also oversee such things as cash flow control and the procurement of specific or specialised items or equipment. In the case of community events, festivals or concerts where crowd control may be an issue, the company can also undertake the management and efficiency of the movement of people.

Not every client needs total event management. Companies are willing to take over the organisation of just a part of the event, for instance the catering or the booking of entertainment. Initial discussions will cover what areas of the event are best professionally organised and which the event holders can manage themselves. Many times the division of labour is governed by expense and the relative expertise of the client.

Type of Events Managed
Events generally fall into one of four categories: organisational, personal, leisure or cultural, with each having particular needs with regards to organisation and objective.

Any time a group of people gather in celebration, for a conference or community occasion the event needs to be managed effectively if it's to be successful. From festivals and fetes to birthday discos or elaborate weddings, event managing companies exist to take the strain out of organising and leave you free to enjoy the party.

Event Management Service: Appoint Judiciously

Your boss has assigned you the task of selecting the best event management company for organizing the annual conference of the company, which will be followed by a grand dinner? You are a young entrepreneur, who wants to congratulate your stuff on their success and so you want to throw a lavish party? As it is not possible for you to organize the party, you have decided to take the assistance of the professional services. Nowadays many people do not want to take the responsibilities of planning and organizing the parties all by themselves and seek the assistance of the professionals. There is nothing wrong in it.

If you want to appoint an agency for organizing the conference or a dinner party or any other corporate event, you need to take care of a few important factors. One of the most important factors that you need to take care is the reputation of the service in this field. When you want to get the best assistance and want to impress your guests, you should take the assistance of a group that has positive reputation in this field. If a group does not have positive reputation in this field, they will not be able to provide you with the best assistance.

When you are considering assistance of a management group or agency, you should also collect necessary information about their staff members. All the groups do not appoint trained and experienced professionals for their work. Therefore, you should ensure that the service you have selected have appointed experienced members for serving their clients.

To serve your guests in the best manner and to make the episode successful, you should always take the assistance of the event management U.K companies that assures professionalism. As you are planning for a conference, a corporate dinner or any other corporate programs, it will be better for you to take their assistance, from one that works professionally. Your entire effort for organizing the event will be lost if the staffs of the event management companies do not maintain complete professionalism during the occasion. So, you should always give importance to the professionalism of the staffs.

It is obvious that the professional service which will take the responsibility of organizing the entire affair will charge money for their work. The rates of these services depend on their reputation as well as their expertise in this field. To avail the best services, you should never make compromises on the quality of their work for the money that they will charge. However, to save your money and to get the best value of your money, you can take quotations from some of the services. Compare the quotes of a few different services and appoint the one which offers best service at an affordable price.

Red Carpet System - Best in Event Management

In the last few years, as it has been observed, the event management companies are growing very fast. The reason being more and more people and companies are willing to manage their functions professionally than by themselves. The event management companies, through their effort of well organised event can promote a product or identity very well to the media and the corporate worlds. Emmy, Oscar, Grammy etc. award functions are so well managed because they are managed professionally by these companies.

Earlier only corporate houses and companies could afford to use these companies but the companies now are offering services for personal occasions like birthday parties or wedding anniversary celebrations. Also, unlike before, not only under-the roof services are being offered but also open terrace and under-the-sky parties and gatherings are managed by these companies as well. The budget isn't a constraint as companies are now offering service at a very reasonable and competitive rate.

These parties are generally organised to make a lasting mark. Anyone attending these parties should be amazed at the things you have arranged. It may be the exotic food for the guests or the fine interior decoration. This party, if launched for the inauguration of a business can cause immense word-of-mouth popularity for the product or business launched. The media cover these parties almost invariably and thus you can hog your part of limelight easily. Often the arrangers offer photography services. Be sure to opt for it as these photographers, although come at a premium price, are world class and can really take photos which will create lasting memories in the mind of the viewer.

Until recently these options were available in the big cities only. However, as every other business, this business also has flourished in the smaller cities and semi urban places. So, even if you are not from a big metro city, you still can afford yourself this luxury for any grand occasion. Many resorts in remote areas have arrangement with these companies so if you are planning a party in a remote yet scenic place, you can have all the services, offered in any urban area.

There are many companies in every part of the world, especially in the big cities, offering services for these red carpet events. You can afford any of those services for the next occasion you want to celebrate. However, one should consider the budget, the speciality of the organisation, past track records and feedback of past customers before giving the charge of arrangement to any company.

Event Management Business: Skills Required to Startup

Daydreaming about starting an event management business? Maybe you have already worked in the events industry and think about working for yourself. Or perhaps your organized meetings in the past and feel it your life's passion. Both are good reasons for acquiring the profession.

Starting an event management business is similar to starting a relationship - it's required to possess appropriate skills and follow some important steps to achieve success.

Gain Event Management Skills and Experience

Scoring a success is based on event manager solid grasp, steady skills and experience:

• Verbal and written communications


• Organization and time management


• Negotiation and budget management


• Marketing, public relations and more

Determine Your Event Management Market

Let's say you've been working in the event industry for many years, know all ins and outs and eager to coordinate all kinds of events, from weddings to festivals.

Stop. This is a common mistake many event managers do. First of all, people have different energy levels and different capabilities. And, one can't be a master of all trades. Recognize that there are distinctive differences between corporate, association, nonprofit and social events. Determine your market accordingly. It's much easier to concentrate on a certain domain and become a professional.

Develop a Business Plan

Someone once said, "If you fail to plan, you should plan to fail". Like everything else, starting an event management business requires a business plan. There are a couple of resources that can help you. For example, U.S. Small Business Administration publishes materials about writing business plans. You can find more with Google!

Obtain Business Insurance

Business insurance is mandatory. Event management business should secure general liability and other forms of insurance to protect the business owner's interests.

Several forms of insurance exist. Speak to an insurance adviser to learn the requirements.

Develop Network of Suppliers and Staffing Resources

Event managers usually work with a wide range of suppliers - communications consultant, stationery designer, promotional products distributor, party rental supplier, caterer, florist, photographer and more. You will also need the staffing resources for sales, marketing, accounting and administrative functions. It'll be necessary to establish an infrastructure that will support your events from all sides.

Establish Your Fee Structure

You should be conscious of the various ways to cover expenses and make a reasonable profit. Most event planners' charge is based on the following:

• Flat fee


• Hourly rate


• Percentage of expenses


• Percentage of expenses plus hourly rate


• Commissionable rate

Business Development and Marketing

With a prepared business plan, established fee structure and determined event manager market it's time to begin working with marketing materials. Choose the right name for your business; create business cards, stationary, proposals, client agreements and a web-site.

Launching a web-site is an easy step with a turnkey solution like PG Events. Get more details at eventsoft.pro/overview.php

Top Seven Fundraising Events for Middle Schools

Schools of all grades need money for various educational activities and developments. The requirements range from buying text books to taking students out on a learning trip and so on. Schools can organize online fundraisers for collecting dues and donations from people and organizations. The system offers easy online registration and provides secure payment management solutions; it also creates a private community for members.

Middle schools generally arrange fundraisers of two kinds - Event Based and Product Based - depending on the type of stuff they promote.

Event-based Fundraising Ideas

Lip Sync Fundraiser: For a lip sync fundraiser, you need some rocking music, an auditorium to use, and fun-loving people as participants. It can be really exciting watching students and other people imitate the vocals of popular music instantly. You do not require any real talent to participate in this type of fundraisers. The event organizers can introduce categories, such as solo performers, group performers, and so on and likewise provide awards for each category.

Bingo

Bingo is another great fundraising idea for middle schools. All you need to do is to buy some bingo cards or make them at home and start playing the game. A caller needs to be there to see the game is played fairly and declare a winner at the end of every game. Prizes can be tickets that can be redeemed by a person after winning a game. Serving complimentary food and drinks to bingo players will be an icing on the cake.

Karaoke Night

Students can hold a Karaoke Night, with some rocking music and songs to cheer the audience. You need to hire a karaoke machine and try to make the karaoke area look like a coffee shop or bar. Schools can charge an entry fee and give special discounts to people willing to sing.

Raffle Fundraiser

It involves an exciting game of gambling and winning gifts with little expense (buying tickets).

Product-based Fundraising Ideas

Aromatic Candles

Selling aromatic candles is a simple, yet innovative way of collecting funds for your school. Avia Candles is a company that offers a variety of long-lasting, scented candles for school and church fundraising.

Selling Pizzas

Almost all kids and adults love to have pizzas of various kinds - chicken, bacon, or cheese. To collect a lump sum amount for your school activities, you can open a counter and start selling pizzas of different sizes.

Spaghetti Dinners

Organizing spaghetti dinners is a cost-effective way of raising funds for your middle school. Decide on the number of invitees and sell tickets accordingly. Cook hot, spicy pastas and treat your guests.

How to Achieve a Diploma in Event Management

In the present day, organising and planning functions, celebrations and other events appears to be a burden for many people. This has led to the emergence of event planners and organisers who do all the organising work on your behalf. Having someone else do the work allows you to enjoy your event and to participate with the guests you have invited. With the need for such organising increasing day by day, Event Management courses are becoming popular and have become a lucrative career option for many. A Diploma in Event Management, is a course that will help to provide you with many opportunities.

Many institutes and academic establishments are offering these types of diploma courses. Many in the corporate world, consider these courses to be extremely important and view them as a strategic marketing tool. This diploma provides you with the up-to-date modern techniques for organising events and other occasions. You can also learn to create your own events and functions, explore the resources, increase and improve contacts and publicise yourself. The profession is filled with fun and many challenges involving the organisation of certain unique events as well. You can have a bright and successful career if you move forward with right training and dedication.

Event Management is a broad concept in itself and includes varied functions, ranging from attracting clients to marketing, organising, technical nuances, publicity hype, providing the utmost comfort levels to the clients and their guests, the professional touch in your approach combined with exquisite arrangements.

Eligibility:

Anyone who has passed the HSC can apply to enroll for the diploma for the diploma in event management course. The candidate opting for this course must be passionate, ambitious, outspoken with good communication skills, marketing skills and must also have the drive to further hone their skills regularly, for a flourishing career.

A formal education combined with the practical experience gained in this field, will help in reaching greater heights. It will help in achieving certain key attributes that one should have. They are experience in vendor services, marketing skills, time management and so on. Candidates entering this arena have to improve their skills and gain experience by doing ample projects and internships.

A minimum qualification is required for organising non-professional events like weddings, stage shows, parties and so on. An event professional can also organise non-corporate events like meetings, conferences, exhibitions, incentives and so on.

There are both professional and non-professional opportunities for the event management candidates. A good network, dedication, hard work and good communication skills can pave the way for the various and exciting opportunities ahead.

Once you have decided that this is the career for you, you may wish to consider conducting an online course, or you could attend a university or training center that offers the courses you are looking for. There will be fees associated with both, although the advantage of online learning is that is can be conducted during your own time and this will allow you to continue to earn money in another job whilst you are studying for your new career.

Benefits of Selling Tickets Online

You do not have to wait in long queues anymore to buy tickets of your favorite concerts or events. The Internet has made it a lot easier to buy and sell tickets from the comfort of your home or office. Many event companies have chosen the online ticketing system over its manual counterpart.

The major benefit of using the web-based ticketing system is that it can be purchased anytime and from anywhere. The event organizers can sell tickets 24x7 through this new web-based ticketing system. Some of these systems are Cloud based. Hence, you do not need to download any additional software or hardware to use this solution. Online ticketing solution can also be set up easily and in no time.

No HTML programming is required for using these ticketing services. You can use the built-in HTML editor and pre-packaged color themes and template options. This helps to save time and create a professional look and feel of your ticket-selling page.

The Cloud-based event management solution also offers safe and secure payment procedure. Funds transfer is securely authenticated and verified through Verisign, providing the highest level of security. In addition, many online event management companies offer GeoTrust and Trustwave getaways to provide third-party audits. It ensures extreme security for organizations accepting credit card payments online. Almost all event organizers conduct online transactions through a PCI-compliant credit card processor.

Most of the online event management solutions facilitate hard copies of tickets. You can take the printouts of tickets with your logo and have all of your event information on them. These tickets can then be mailed to all your attendees. However, you can also enable the options to help the potential attendees print out the tickets with the bar-coded confirmation at home. The online ticketing options are a great way to simplify the check-in process on your event day. It works toward making your event registration run smoothly and easily.

The online ticketing system also enables:

Generation of Sales Report: Along with selling tickets online, you can also track ticket sales easily and instantly. Some online event management services also send email alert on every attendee registration and ticket purchase.

Customize Your Event Tickets: You can customize your event tickets into various categories as per their price, attendee types, and so on.

Offline Payment Facility: Acceptance of offline payments is also possible through checks, POs, and door collection.

The online event and class/training administrative services also provide easy and quick set up and customization of registration pages. It also enables tracking of every event registration page, VIP sales, special discounts, as well as RSVPs.

Online Payment Solution: Leading to a Cashless World!

Today's society is slowly progressing towards a cashless economy! People prefer to use their plastic instead of hard cash. Indeed, using credit cards is a lot easier than carrying cash around. One card is all that you need to fit in your wallet whereas in case of cash you need to carry a bulk amount since you don't know how much you may require at one go. While speaking to a corporate honcho who lives next door, I realized the significance of online payment and its growing importance for the business world. They have started using different online payment solutions and phasing out the acceptance of cash from the customers. You need to hire people in order to man the cash counters while in case of online money transfer the process is quick, simple and hassle-free.

Online payment transfer is much safer option too. Credit cards are issued by a bank after a lengthy verification process. While paying with your credit card, you should mandatorily double check all payment related information before final confirmation. Also, you MUST check credit card and bank statements carefully after every payment to ensure the correct amount has been debited, and also that no fraud has taken place during the particular transaction phase. Majority of the people also use standard payment gateways (PayPal, Authorize.net, etc.) to transfer funds to the seller. Event organizers too are relying heavily on such online payment processing and management solutions to efficiently handle event registration fees and/or ticket sales.

Online payment solutions come with some major advantages such as:

PCI Compliance

It means you can safely use such a solution for financial transactions of any kind. PCI which stands for Payment Card Industry has enlisted a few goals that all credit card issuing and dealing banks need to follow. Some of the goals include maintaining a secure network, protecting the card holder's data, and regularly monitoring each and every transaction that takes place using credit cards.

SSL 128-bit Data Encryption

Majority of online payment management software adhere to the SSL 128-bit data encryption policy to protect information that passes through the system. Thus, the online payment solution lets you process all types of credit/debit card payments and payments made via popular gateways securely, preventing any chances of fraud.

Tension-free Money Handling

Businesses of all kinds, event management companies plus class organizers find an online payment solution very user-friendly. It is because they don't have to bother about individually collecting money from the customers, attendees or students. The online system successfully transfers money from the buyer's to the seller's bank account in minutes with least human interference.

Important Things to Consider While Catering Corporate Events

One of the most important aspects of running a successful business is the planning and execution of corporate events. The planning of a corporate event is vital to its success and as more executives and/or their personal assistants are far too busy to be worrying about the details involved, it is best to put the whole event in the hands of a professional corporate catering company. Do your homework here, ask around for a catering firm with extensive experience and a fantastic reputation and you won't go wrong. A really good corporate catering business will give you several options, according to what kind of corporate event is being planned and from there you can leave all the details in the hands of your chosen catering company.

Obviously, they will want to know the number of people who will be attending, the demographics of those people, i.e. professional, entertainment industry etc. which will then decide what type of food would be suitable. You may want something very formal for a banking business meeting and more casual food for people from the entertainment industry. You want an exceptional standard of food to make the right statement about your company. You may select from their standard menus or they may design an entirely new menu selected especially for the occasion.

You may not wish to hold your corporate event in your boardroom or offices and a really good corporate catering firm will have a selection of catering venues available. Their experienced team will help you find the perfect setting for your corporate event. Another important aspect of holding a successful corporate event is the choice of wines, beers and spirits. Again, a top class catering company will take all the hassle of this by organising all the drinks for you, not to mention the right sort of glasses, punch bowls etc. This also goes for all the other aspects of entertaining; tables and chairs, tablecloths, crockery and cutlery, whether coffee and tea will be served and of course, the very finest in food choices.

You really won't have to worry about anything if you choose the right catering company and this will leave you free to entertain your guests, secure in the knowledge that your corporate event is reflective of the high standards of your business. Ask around as a good reputation is hard to come by and the best catering companies will be well known.

In-House Team Building Events Vs External Team Building Providers

When businesses consider organising a team building event, this task typically becomes the responsibility of the Human Resources Department. There are exceptions of course. For instance, it is possible that the scheduling of an event will be done by a member of an administrative team but this is usually decided by the size of the business. In most instances, we have found that the larger organisations make use of their HR Departments to schedule such an event and the smaller businesses rely on a designated member of the administrative team to organise the event. There are also instances where businesses draw up a team, consisting of different members from different departments, that will be responsible for the organisation of a team building event.

Every business is unique and as such has their own approach to the organisation of a team event for the company but whichever department, team or individual responsible for the booking, there is regularly a question that arises, which is: "Should we just organise an event ourselves and make it an in-house team event?" This question may vary in form but the emphasis is always the same, that businesses imagine they will save money by organising an event themselves rather than calling in the professionals. In our considerable experience, businesses will not save money by organising the event in-house, in fact we have found that in the long run, it costs more money to organise an event in-house. There are very good reasons why professional event management providers are in business and also very good reasons why business should always make use of an outside provider.

To illustrate this point, there are a variety of considerations to be made. When engaging an event management company, a client benefits from the considerable experience and professionalism of the company they have chosen to organise and oversee their team event. The team building company will be able to select a suitable venue and make the necessary arrangements based on their experience of the venue, its quality and suitability. The event supplier takes almost all of the stress out of organising a team building event, they are there to do the job effectively and efficiently. However, it is important to note that the credit for a successful event will also come to the person from the business who has contacted and engaged the event management company. This could be beneficial to a career. It should also be considered that if a department, team or individual is selected by a business to organise an in-house event, if the event does not go well there will be a degree of blame attached to the individuals responsible for organising the event. This would be an unfortunate situation. So by engaging a professional company, the benefits are not only that a business will profit from the experience and professionalism available to them but also they will profit from the professional objectivity of the team building supplier. The distance and perspective provided by a team building company can make all the difference between a successful event that reflects positively on the corporate organiser and an unsuccessful in-house event that reflects poorly on the corporate organiser.

Most team building events, in their broadest sense, are organised with similar objectives in mind. The objective is to develop the team members and assist them in becoming more effective in working together as a cohesive unit. This is what every good team building company is there to achieve for businesses. Team building companies are qualified and experienced professionals. There are very good reasons why they are in business, so that the organization of an event can be left to them while businesses are free to continue running their business as they do best.

Event Management Guide - Finding a Venue

If you have been tasked with organising an event where a substantial amount of people are likely to attend then one of the most important jobs you will have to take care of is finding a venue. If you are inexperienced as an event planner then this may seem like something of a daunting task however with a little bit of forward planning there is no reason why your event will be able to go ahead without a hitch.

It is important that you start to look for a venue several months before the date of your event. For larger events you may even need to start your search at least a year ahead as bigger venues tend to get booked up way in advance.

The first thing which you need to consider is the amount of attendees you are expecting. This will instantly help you to narrow down your list of potential venues as you will be able to disregard those which don't have enough capacity as well as those who's rooms are simply going to be too large. The aspect which you have to take into consideration is the budget which you have available. Once you know what you have in the way of fund this will help you to narrow your list of venues down further.

Once you have made yourself a shortlist of potential venues you will need to get more specific in the criteria you require. You will need to work out what sort of venue will complement the theme of your event and also determine whether or not they will have the facilities required for your particular type of event. As the event planner you should ring round and enquire directly with staff at the venue to see if meets your list of requirements.

Not only will you have to ensure that the facilities meet your requirements but arguably just as vital is the actual location of your venue. This will be especially important if you are expecting people who will be travelling long distances to attend your event. This aspect of your event management will require particular attention as the venue must have good access by roads or rail and it would be beneficial if your venue was located in the vicinity of a large town or city as it is likely that it will be close to a hotel. It is for this reason that you may wish to use a hotel as your venue as they will usually be equipped with conference facilities, but they will also be able to take care of the catering. This will give you one less task to organise.

All that will be left to take care of this the marketing and promotion of your event.

Asian Weddings - Planning the Sanji

Sanji, translated means an opportunity for the bride's and groom's families to be further acquainted over an evening of dance, music and fun. It is more prevalent in Indian weddings and originates mainly as a Gujrati tradition. Sanji runs through the whole evening and possibly into the night. Your planning mainly depends on the venue you choose according to the number of invitees and proceedings of the sanji.

For planning a Sanji you should have the following things in mind:

• Venue - You will need to confirm the number of guests from your fianc矇s side and choose a venue large enough to accommodate guests and the proceedings.

• Parking facilities in the venue - It is important that you ensure adequate parking space for your guests within the hired premises.

• Decorations - This primarily depends on the theme of the Sanji. You may also go for a traditional d矇cor. Some ideas for a Sanji d矇cor can include a Gujrati village theme with rural backdrops, floor cushions with embroidered mirror work. Fresh flowers and indoor fireworks are also prevalent.

• Seating - You need to make sure that the elderly, although in a song and dance place, get to feel comfortable. They may not be as energetic as the young guests and may need to rest frequently. Placing chairs around the perimeter of the event hall is a convenient way to arrange for it.

• Provision of sound systems - You should ensure the facilities being provided for the proceedings and check if they are a part of the in-house facility of the venue. In case you are hiring a DJ, you should make sure if he charges separately for his equipments and sound.

• Catering - You should make sure that the venue you are hiring allows outside catering if you are not satisfied with the in-house services. You will also need to tell the caterers to stick to a vegetarian spread as Sanji is an event of religious significance. Lots of drinks are advisable as guests may feel thirsty considering they will dance their hearts out.

• Meals - You should also check if the venue has arrangements for in house catering and ask for extra charges. Some of the venues may also provide for in-house kitchen services with re-heating facilities. Usually it is a number of meals instead of one that is arranged for as a Sanji is expected carries on into late nights.

• Music and Entertainment - In case you are going for the entertainment being conducted by a professional, hiring someone through personal recommendations make it easier. In cases of in-house entertainment provision, you will want to check the quality of their performance. The DJ must be familiar with the essence of the Sanji mainly for the track selection.

• Local laws and rules - Especially if you are planning an open air Sanji, you must ensure that the proceedings conform to local laws and rules as some residential areas may not allow events at late hours.

The Top Ten Criteria for a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Tool

The Top Five Security Information Management Considerations

1. Ensure your log management layer is scalable. The log management layer is responsible for collecting the hoards of audit logs within your environment; it is not likely to filter any collected data. A key requirement for a Security Information Management (SIM) tool is to collect all audit log data so that a forensic investigation can be instigated if required. This layer therefore needs to scale to ensure full log collection.

2. Comprehensive Reporting. The log management layer should be able to report on activity that have been collected and identified within the accounting and audit logs. This should include running reports across up to 90 days of data. When you are collecting 10-20 million logs a day, this means the report will need to search upwards of 2 billion entries to retrieve the requested data for the report. It is also possible that you will run several reports a day.

3. Log Collection. It is important that you can collect logs from across the enterprise. The SIM layer should be a true forensic store of accounting and audit logs that allows a complete investigation, should the need arise. This means you want logs from firewalls, operating systems, applications, VPN's, Wireless Access Points etc. You therefore need to ensure that logs from all of these sources can be collected. Plain text logs stored in flat files are typically widely collected, as are Windows Event Logs. Event logs stored database's are not easily collected, so if you have any custom built or internal built applications ensure that these logs can be collected, as often these are stored in some type of database.

4. Chain of Custody. Ensure that you can validate that the logs have not been changed or modified, since they were collected from the source device. This should include collection of the logs in real-time from the original device, to ensure they are not modified before collection. This will allow for a forensically assured investigation, if required.

5. Trend Dashboards. It is important to be able see the trend of the volume of logs being collected. When collecting millions of logs a day, dash-boarding all of that data becomes pointless, as it will be a sea of information. However the size of the haystacks can tell you if there are problems. For example if you see a huge spike in failed logins, this tells you that there is something going on within the environment that is not normal.

The Top Five Security Event Management Considerations

1. Correlation. The main purpose of a SEM tool is to filter out the noise from the forensic data and flag up or alert up any suspect behaviour. It is critical therefore that your SEM can filter the rubbish down to useful information via complex correlation rules.

It is almost useless to alert on every failed login within your environment, as in large enterprises there are hundreds or thousands of these per day. However 100 failed logins within a five minute span, from an external IP address, for an administrative account should be alerted on and investigated. Your correlation engine should support easy creation of these multiple event rules.

2. Dashboards. Once you have generated a correlated alert, you want to place this information on a dashboard for easy user consumption. While it is not feasible to dashboard the forensic data that the SIM has collected, because of the sheer volume, it is recommended to dashboard the SEM alerts, as they are likely to be significantly less in number. On average you should be alerting on less than 1% of 1% of the collected logs that equates to a maximum of 200 alerts from 2 million collected audit logs. With a really strong correlation engine we would expect to eventually tune these alerts down to 2 a day, instead of 200 a day. You only want to be alerted on TRUE security or operational risks to your enterprise, not every time someone fat fingers their password.

3. Reporting. While reporting capability is critical for SIM, it is also important for SEM. The reports are not going to be as difficult to produce, for starters you are not reporting against billions of logs, more likely you are reporting against tens of thousands of alerts. But management will want to see that critical alerts have been responded to and resolved.

4. Log Normalisation. To create detailed alerts you will need to "understand" the raw logs, for example you will need to understand what part of the log string is the group name, if for example you want to alert when a user is added to an administrator group. Most vendors will create normalisation rules for the standard off the shelf applications, but you should be able to normalise your organisations custom log formats, without having to employ the vendors, likely to be expensive, professional service consultants.

5. Alert Management. As well as creating complex alerts based on correlation rules it should be possible to track the status of generated alerts. Has the Alert been resolved? What steps were taken after the alert was raised. A built in ticketing system or tight integration in to an existing ticketing system is a critical feature of a Security Event Management tool.

Event Management Tips - Keep the Success Going Through the Night

Planning an event is so much harder than it's portrayed to be. You'd think that making a few calls and setting the time, place and date is not so hard, then you have to think about the food, decorations, the people being invited, the drinks, the waiters and waitresses, uniforms, flowers, settings, music, DJ, songs and lots more. Still seem easy to you?

Whether you're planning your first event or it's something you've been doing for some time here are some event management tips to making sure that the event you plan is a success:

Event Management Tip 1: Always have the Budget settled before doing anything else. Knowing the budget is what you have to base everything on, otherwise you could end up overspending and having to cut costs here and there and all that could be messy. For just-in-case situations, you should also have a little amount kept aside or a small backup fee you could use.

Event Management Tip 2: Count the number of people. You can't know how much of what to buy without knowing the number of people expected, and when you know that number, add some more. It's better to have more available seats than to not have enough.

Event Management Tip 3: Give the service people the information they require. The people you hire are going to be leading the event; they should know who they're serving, history of the company or information of the party hosts/celebrant. They should also know what they can and can't do and if there will be special guests at the party choose who will be serving them.

Event Management Tip 4: Have a backup plan for EVERYTHING. Think about what if this happens, that happens, lights go out, it starts raining, the speakers/projector/mic stop working etc. Having a plan B is what can save the party.

Event Management Tip 5: Practice once the day before and then relax. Stressing yourself out and over thinking doesn't necessarily help, it's more likely to cause problems.

It's not going to be easy, but it can be fun and challenging. Just keep in mind that mistakes can happen and all you need is a solution, with proper planning that should be quick and easy.

Top 8 Social Media Marketing Tips for Your Events

Small businesses to large MNC's try to plan and execute effective marketing strategies to attract more customers toward their products and services. Taking up the proper ways of marketing your products and services can help you enhance your sales and thus, increase profit margin.

Use Facebook to Let the World Know about Your Event

With over 800 million users to its credit, Facebook has emerged as one of the most popular social networking sites of today. Open an events page on this site and start online promotion of your software and solutions. Add people to your list of friends and post your events data and pictures on your Facebook page. You can get new ideas about how to promote your event by checking the pages of your competitors and improve your ways of marketing.

Twitter about Your Event to the World

You can Tweet to update individuals about your present and future occasions. As Twitter allows only a maximum of 140 characters in a single tweet, you should frame your content in such a way that it attracts maximum readers' attention. You should try to post at least five tweets a day and don't forget to provide your event website link with each new tweet. You must tweet and re-tweet to all like-minded people to lure them to attend your event.

Make Use of Google+ to the Greatest Extent

Google+ is the latest networking application from Google. Event organizers can use it to create an event buzz on the online social world. You can create an events page on Google+ to share your program-related news and information with the target audience. You can use 'Circles' to interact and share the news and information of the occasion within your group. Google Hangouts can be used to start a video chat with your existing as well as potential attendees.

Create a Company Blog

You must create a company blog alongside your own business website to add photos and interesting articles on your approaching festivals and activities. You should hyperlink relevant keywords in your blog post to direct the readers toward your company website and its products.

Use Your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is a very popular business networking site with a good number of active users and visitor base. You can use this platform to encourage your potential attendees to give recommendations on your profile. This platform is ideal for connecting with people of specific interests and industry type. You can also join various event groups and participate in their discussions. You can even submit links in these groups for other members to see and share.

Comment on Other's Blog

In addition to maintaining your own blog, you must comment on others' blogs in order to increase the impact of your programs and make yourself acceptable to the online audience. Read what others have to say about an article and try to comment on the same with a link to any of your recent blog post.

Use Mobile Phones to Spread the Word

Many online event management solution providers offer an in-built mobile phone application to send event-related news to their target audience's Smartphone. You can also send text messages to your customers in no time and inform them about your event's date and time.

Upload Videos Related to Your Event on YouTube

Upload videos of your past and live events on YouTube. People searching for events will come across your event videos and watch it. You can also link your video with the event registration or ticketing pages to boost your ticket sales.

Save on Costs With an Online Event Management Solution

If you are not online, you don't exist. That's your attitude, that's my attitude and that's the attitude of your target audience. As an event organizer, you are well aware of the perceptions of your target audience and have already taken measures - hosted information about your event online on your own website and on social networking websites to spread the word and build awareness. The online medium can do more for you than just spread the word. It can be an excellent sales medium and cost saving device. All you require is an online event management solution to get you started.

An online event management solution can speed up your work processes, automates mundane tasks, improves efficiencies and reduces timelines. It can also help you save on cost and increase your budget for other activities.

The New Process
1. You host information about your event on your website, so people can learn more about the same without having to call your office multiple times.
2. Interested parties can register instantly online.
3. They confirm their seat or ticket by paying instantly using the online payment facility.
4. The registration information is stored electronically and an invoice with all relevant details is automatically fired by email.

Each of these steps eliminates an expense, saves on costs and frees up funds for other purposes.

Step 1 & 2 reduces your printing costs. As you know, every event generates a multitude of paper and printing - brochures, leaflets, registration forms, invoices and more. When you host your event information online, interested parties learn about the event directly online, thus reducing the number of brochures and leaflets required. Similarly, when people have the convenience of registering or booking online, you will see a reduction in the number of walk-ins, thus reducing the number of printed registration forms required. Both these reductions will reduce your massive printing bill.

Step 3 & 4 reduces postage & courier costs. Here two cost saving aspects come into play. The first, since there is less to be printed (brochures and leaflets), there is less to send by snail mail or courier. Thus, you will see a reduction in courier charges and postage cost. Also, since all information is stored electronically, you can generate invoices and receipts directly online. This eliminates the need to print and send invoices and receipts by courier.

In addition to these cost saving features, you also save on labor. What activities used to require 4 or 5 individuals to complete, now can be handled by 1 or 2. It used to be that you had to hire extra temporary staff to handle the registration calls, the faxes, the walk-ins and the data entry. By launching your event online, your entire registration process now happens directly online. The registrant registers directly online at his own convenience and the information is directly stored in a secure database that is accessible by you from any PC with an internet connection. Moreover, since the registrant delegate enters his own information, it reduces the chance of data entry errors and there is no need for extra staff.

Understanding Business Development Ideas For Event Management Industry

What is Event Management?

Event management refers to methods of outsourcing business occasions, social occasions, or a combination of both. There is no limit to the business development ideas for an event management business. It is possible to organize every kind of event ranging from wedding to a political rally. An event management team can be retained for any type of business meeting.

500 Billion Dollar Industry:

Last 15 years have witnessed a tremendous growth in the field of event management. If we add the amount of money spent on event management all over the world in one year it comes to a whopping 500 billion dollars. Gone are the days when we could do with hiring only a small catering team that supplies the food for a business event. If you wish to make an impression on your potential clients today, hiring a meeting management company is a necessity.

Events of Any Range Can Be Managed:

If you wish to start an event management business and you are looking for business development ideas for it then you will be happy to know that you can start this business for any range. It is possible to manage an event for only a small group of people. On the other hand, you can manage mega events for five thousand people and more.

People prefer to choose an event management team that is known for its expertise in this field. When you plan an event, it not only consumes your valuable time but also produces much stress. Event management business owners have contacts in this field and they can offer you the best possible services at the most competitive prices.

Manage Accommodation and Entertainment:

As an event management business, when you organize an event involving five thousand people for a whole day, you should not assume that catering is the most difficult thing to manage. Accommodation and entertainment are also very important for managing such large events. You also require sufficient and efficient staff for the event. Moreover, you also have to plan about the size of the room, seating arrangements, and the total budget of the event. If you do not have enough expertise to deal with all of these factors, you may face difficulties in running event management business successfully.

External Factors Affecting Event Management Business:

Several external factors also affect the growth of the event management industry. Some of these factors are the rate of the growth of economy, lifestyle, and changing characteristics of the people living in the area. Tourism and branding activities like festivals and corporate activities such as conferences, product launches, award ceremonies, and gala dinners are under the scope of event management business. Key factors for the success of an event management business are reputation, network, service promotion, links with the suppliers, and high quality managerial skills.

Outsourcing Versus Crowdsourcing - What Is the Difference?

Many of us have performed some outsourcing work in one way or another. Then again, many of us may not have heard of the term called crowdsourcing. In this article, the author explains the two, and reveals the difference for business owners to be able to implement both concepts effectively to achieve profitability and great business performance.

In Outsourcing, what you do is you pay someone to do a job for you, very much like employing a part time employee. Most probably, this person or organization have a relationship with you for years already before you consult or outsource to them.

In Crowdsourcing, you leverage from the Internet from a huge group of people. Okay, example would be this. Assuming your organization or company is a small one, and you need a lot of information in a short time, let's say, in organizing an event. You then, logon to a website with a lot of event managers, which is a forum website, and then you post something there saying something like this "My company ABC Enterprise will be organizing a Green event, and would like to source for Event managers who have experience and ideas on how to run this event." Let's say the forum has about 1000 Event Management companies registered. Normally, Conventional Marketing Conversion Rate is 1%, meaning out of 1000, 10 will reply with a meaningful answer.

Using the 10 suggestion and contacts from the Event Managers, you can begin to tap their experience and minds to organize your Green Event before outsourcing to them. Of course, this exercise will only be effective with a large pool of targeted people (like Event Managers) and can only be done via the Internet and also Online Marketing (posting in the forum is the tactic).

The above tactic may sound like a simple one, but it is effective, if we only take time to do it. It saves you money and time and not to mention brain juice in doing a company or business project. This tactic or strategy is pretty simple yet cost effective which may save organizations and businesses tens of thousands of dollars if it is implemented correctly. With the advent of digital community platforms, crowdsourcing campaign implementation is very convenient indeed.

If you would have built a community online over a period of time, you would be able to perform crowdsourcing easily and thus saving market research fees.