Game Archives - GUJRAT INDIA

Using Information From Surveys to Stay Informed and Keep Ahead of the Game

Gathering market research data is an excellent way of identifying a target audience for your product or service, but understanding and acting upon it is the key to your success.

Market research falls into two broad categories – primary and secondary. Primary research describes the process of gathering information from customers directly, by conducting online surveys or organising focus groups or one-to-one interviews with carefully selected individuals from within your target group. Secondary research more involves picking up information acquired by others, by trawling the blogs and websites of other businesses, even competitors, and absorbing the data that they have.

Adapting to Customer Expectations

Online surveys are an excellent means of compiling vital information from your potential customers which enables products and services to be more finely tuned to their expectations as well as to possibly changing demographics. The proliferation of companies offering online research to businesses which seek important information, both from their target group and sometimes from the wider public, provides an alluring range of options and choices of approach and methodology. For those who would prefer not to outsource the information-gathering process there are options such as Survey Monkey, which allow businesses to design and manage their own surveys. Either way, as method and technology become more sophisticated with the development of better software, businesses are increasingly able to identify with precision the customer base which they are keen to interrogate.

As well using surveys to identify potential customers, many businesses will also employ them as a handy way of keeping up with trends and spotting any movements in customer expectations. Equally they are a useful tool for quality control, teasing intelligence from existing service users about satisfaction levels and how a product or service measures up against its opposition at any specific moment in time.

The Importance of Understanding Your Customers

Survey companies such as YouGov and Ipsos obtain their information from the public by offering a small financial incentive to their own members to complete questionnaires on specific topics. Of course there is the danger that particular demographic groups may be over- or under-represented amongst their users, for instance it would be reasonable to assume that, all else being equal, those on a higher income would be less in need of the usually modest financial inducements offered than those who are otherwise unemployed or in low-paid work. The competent provider will be able to redress this imbalance through the screening process at the beginning of every survey.

Knowing who your customers are, the nature of their expectations, the quality of your competition and the level of satisfaction that exists with your own service or product is vital to any business that aspires to stay ahead of the game.

A Strategic Game Between Tesco and Asda in the UK

Price Wars in the U.K. Grocery Market:

Price wars are a phenomenon that occurs across companies in various industries throughout the global economic system. In an oligopolistic market structure, players closely monitor the prices of each player and respond to any price cuts. This paper seeks to explore the strategic business methods being employed in the British grocery oligopoly and determine its effects on the economy using a game theoretical model. I will conclude that such price wars will drive independent retailers out of business, leading to a consolidated industry dominated by no more than four U.K. grocery chains.

By definition, price wars indicate a state of intense competitive rivalry accompanied by a multilateral series of price reductions. In the short run, price wars can be ‘good’ for consumers due to a lower price structure in existing product offerings, and ‘bad’ for competing companies due to a decrease in profit margins as well as potential threats to its survival. In the long run, dominant firms in the industry could benefit as smaller, marginalized firms are unable to compete and shut down. However, it could be bad for consumers as the remaining firms may agree to increase prices, possibly colluding even beyond the price set prior to the price wars.

Major Players – Tesco and Asda:

In the U.K. grocery industry, both Tesco and Asda have utilized similar discounting strategies to gain market share. Prices at both stores are largely the same, as of the spring of 2005. Tesco’s market share as of 2002 was 27.1% and Asda’s was 16.9%, according to a study by BusinessWeek magazine. Sainsbury, an upscale grocery chain which in 1995 was the U.K.’s largest grocery chain, has fallen behind to third place with 16.1%. Safeway has a small foothold in the market with a 12.4% market share. The dominant players in this market are Tesco and Asda, and both are committed to price reductions – especially with nonfood items. Both Tesco and Asda have a goal of opening 10-12 new stores per year throughout the U.K.

Tesco was founded in 1924 in North London by Sir Jack Cohen with proceeds he earned from Army services in WWI. By 2005, the company is an international grocery and retail chain with 2,365 stores around the world and a staff of approximately 367,000 employees. Tesco has had consistent growth in profit and sales over the past five years through 2005, and ten million visits per week take place by customers to its stores. Tesco has four key businesses; their core U.K. business, nonfood business, retailing services, and its international business. Tesco’s core market is in the U.K.

Asda was acquired by Wal-Mart in June 1999. There are 265 supercenters and 19 depots across the U.K. and approximately 122,000 employees across the company’s operations. The Grocer magazine named Asda “Britain’s best value supermarket” five years in a row through 2005. Since 1999, there have been over $915M in price cuts (adjusted from British pound sterling to U.S. dollars). Growth in nonfood items have exceeded expectation, as 5,000 new general merchandise lines have been added since 2002, including specialty items in pharmacies, opticians, jewelry, and photo departments.

Game Theory – “Hawk-Dove” Strategic Game:

It appears that both players in the U.K. grocery market are engaged in a strategic game that is similar to the Hawk-Dove Game, devised and named by Maynard Smith and Price (1976). This game has been a very important tool for understanding the role of aggression among players in economic systems. The Hawk-Dove game has been studied in many scenarios across various academic disciplines and has been instrumental in the are area of evolutionary game theory.

The idea here is that the Hawk is a very aggressive player, always fighting for some resource; the Dove is a pacifist, never fighting over that same resource. The goal of this game is to choose between the two strategies in order to determine how to share a common resource.

Other assumptions in the Hawk-Dove game are as follows: (1) fights between Hawks are brutal; (2) the loser is the first one to sustain injury; and (3) the winner takes sole possession of the resource. Each Hawk has a 50% chance of winning over another Hawk. The Dove withdraws in any conflict with a Hawk and, thus always loses. When two Doves interact, both share the resource.

This game has two pure-strategy Nash equilibrium, which determines the dominant strategy: One chooses to be a Hawk and the other chooses to be a Dove. There is also a mixed-strategy equilibrium, in which each animal chooses Hawk with a probability of one-third and Dove with probability of two-thirds. This is indicative of a distribution of strategies in a population in which Hawk is played one-third of the time and Dove is played two-thirds of the time. In other words, playing only Hawk or Dove exclusively, or in any other proportion, would be evolutionarily unstable.

In reality, Tesco and Asda have both been playing the Hawk strategy. Why would this occur when it is not an equilibria of the game and, in fact, is the most suboptimal outcome? It is possible that neither company is aware that they are playing this game. A more likely explanation is that the companies are both willing to sacrifice short-term profits in order to be the dominant players in the U.K. grocery industry in the long run. Public records demonstrate that executives at Tesco see Asda as a big threat, even though the quarterly sales at Tesco are 1.5 times that of Asda. Tesco is very focused in this price-war environment, and the company has even displayed on their grocery shelves the listing prices for their goods vis-a-vis Asda and Boots, a drug chain in the U.K.

This defense has seemingly paid off for Tesco, as it is still the market leader in terms of U.K. market share and net income. Furthermore, the company has been pursuing a unique marketing strategy based on a rich database of ten million customer surveys, customer panels, and mailed questionnaires with the goal of engaging the consumers in being empowered to redesign Tesco to best meet their needs and expectations.

Asda has been growing at 10% per annum, in the meantime, and is a viable competitor for Tesco. Another player, Sainsbury, has been in continual market-share decline since 1995 due to its unsuccessful execution of a high-priced alternative. Safeway, yet another major player and household name in the U.K. grocery marketplace, filed for bankruptcy in 2005 and subsequently merged with William Morrison. These four players in aggregate represent 72.5% of the industry, as of 2005.

Concluding Thoughts:

Price wars in the British grocery oligopoly market have affected more than just Tesco and Asda. Both companies have been playing a Hawk-Dove strategic game, whereby both players are acting as Hawks. Their resulting actions have damaged the business prospects for independent retailers, such as local grocers and food shops, many of which have shut down as a result. Furthermore, local businesses across the value chain of the U.K. grocery industry, such as suppliers and distributors, have been negatively impacted as well.

Tesco and Asda have been following this strategy since Asda entered the market space in June 1999. Such actions will likely result in the continued consolidation within the U.K. grocery industry, with no more than four dominant players in this space – with the largest market share going to Tesco and Asda.

Up Your Game With Presentation Skills Training

Presenting ideas, products and solutions are a critical part of every business professional’s workday. Yet, many subject matter experts never receive formal presentation skills training. If you are long on expertise but short on confidence…discover how to up your game right here.

In the past, Presentation skills training were only available in exclusive seminars and time-consuming corporate classes. Now that’s all changed. Many organizations have cut training. Many seminars are so expensive that they are out of reach for new employees and managers. Yet, all day every day is filled with presentations. What can you do to ace the skills without spending an arm and a leg?

A few days ago I asked Sue, a Training Manager for a global organization what she recommended. “Professional development is provided by world-class companies. But if you’re not getting the presentation skills training you need from your company, go out and get it on your own.”

Let’s face it…it’s your career on the line. If your organization has cut in-house training you must find alternatives. In fact, live trainings can be costly and time-consuming. When face-to-face trainings are essential, it’s a worthwhile investment. But for core communication skills, many companies prefer the choice and convenience of top quality on demand training.

Use these 6 criteria to select an affordable and top-notch online training. The new training hub provides unparalleled options to learn-videos, blueprints, presentations, step-by-step tutorials, so you can learn how you want.

Customers get a valuable return on investment in Presentation Storyboarding through

1. Convenience.

Make sure that it’s easy to learn anytime, anywhere-from home, office or on the road. This makes learning possible for people who would never have been able to fit a program into their crazy-busy schedules.

2. Cost savings.

Meeting and travel related expenses are dramatically reduced when live face-to-face training sessions are replaced or blended with on-demand remote training.

3. Exceptional quality.

Look for exceptional quality. Make sure that skills taught remotely are grounded in field-tested practices. Then, look for quality in videos, blueprints, presentations and tutorials. If you are evaluating an online training program for yourself and your company, look for a standard of quality that will serve your entire organization.

4. Fast skill development.

When looking for online training, you want rapid skill development. According to “Training and Development Magazine” e-learning courses progress up to 50% faster than traditional courses. This is due in part to the individual ability to focus on personally relevant issues.

5. Maximum engagement.

People learn in different ways. Pick a program where learners are free to watch videos, use blueprints, and click through presentations. Choosing how and what to learn increases exploration and drives rapid learning.

6. Self-paced learning.

Select an offering that provides bite-sized learning. Look for programs that make it easy for learners to go at their own pace, learning at their own speed. The quality programs also include self-scoring quizzes so learners can challenge themselves and test their skills.

With 6 fresh new options available for online learning, there’s no excuse not to build presentation skills. Up your game. Your professional presentation skills will take you to the top of your career.

US Lacrosse Vets Give Back to the Game – Help German Team at World Games

The U.S. lacrosse community is a close knit group. Just about everyone who has played or coached the game welcomes opportunities to stay involved with the sport by helping improve the level of competition and by encouraging young players to excel.

At this year’s World Lacrosse Championships in Great Britain, the German men’s team benefited significantly from several U.S. lacrosse veterans who have ancestral ties to that country. Their involvement helped the team achieve an exciting fifth place finish. They also spurred growth for the game throughout Europe and Asia, and helped instill lacrosse camaraderie among a new generation of players.

Team Germany was coached by Jack Kaley, who spent a considerable part of his life playing or coaching the game in New York. He played the game at Hofstra University from 1957 to 1960, and then coached at Long Island’s East Meadow High School for 18 years. Kaley spent 17 years, until 2009, at New York Institute of Technology, where he delivered four national championships and the best winning percentage among all Division I and II schools.

“At this stage of my life, I am the Von Steuben of America who is going to Germany,” said Kaley, referring to Baron Von Steuben, the military officer from the area of German rule known as Prussia who arrived in America to help win the Revolutionary War. “Instead of coming here to fight a war for independence, I went there to help train lacrosse players and raise the bar in international competition.”

Lacrosse in Germany still is in its infancy. This year’s team consisted of players aged 19 to 34. They competed against some of the best players in the world as part of the ever-expanding tournament that fielded 30 teams.

“Lacrosse is not only the fastest growing game in America,” said Kaley, “it is the fastest growing game in the world. This year, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan were new to the tournament.”

Long Island Supports German Lacrosse

All the support for the German team this year had ties to Hofstra. The assistant coach, Richie Donovan, was an assistant coach at Hofstra (1986-1995) and the only member of the group without German roots. Chris Bergersen played with Hofstra (1993-1996).

The key financial supporter was James Metzger, who earned All-America honors at Long Island’s Half Hollow Hills East High School, where he won the 1977 Ray Enners Award for Outstanding Lacrosse Player in Suffolk County.

Metzger went on to play at Hofstra during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. He was named to the 1980 Division I All-American lacrosse team following his sophomore year. During that season, Metzger established a school sophomore record of 4.9 points-per-game that still stands. That record also ranked as the second highest points-per-game average in Hofstra lacrosse history at the time, and it currently ranks as fourth best all time at Hofstra.

As the coaches volunteered their time, Metzger’s financial assistance eased budget worries. Metzger, along with the others, is all about giving back to the game. As a successful business owner of the independent insurance brokerage Whitmore Group in New York, James Metzger ‘s financial gifts recently completed the renovation of the Hofstra men’s lacrosse locker room and established a new lacrosse office suite for the program. He also funded a permanent exhibit that celebrates the history of Hofstra’s men’s and women’s lacrosse programs along with the school’s football program.

With a history of supporting the game he enjoyed in school, Metzger couldn’t deny Kaley’s request for assistance for the German team. Kaley told Metzger that his name already was popular throughout Germany and that it appeared in every town (“Metzger” means “butcher”). Upon hearing this, Metzger felt it was destined for him to help grow the game in the country where he could trace his paternal origins.

“Anyone who is involved in lacrosse as a youth or young adult is told that when they are finished playing the game they need to find a way to give back to the game,” said Kaley. “Some of us can do this with our time as coaches. Others may not have the time as they have found success as business owners, doctors, or in other professions. But they still can help the game grow through their generosity.”

Germans Successful on the Field

At the World Lacrosse Championships, the German team accepted the offer to move up in the seeding to play in the highly competitive top division. The opportunity arose when a more experienced team, the Iroquois Native American team from the U.S., encountered passport issues and never arrived in the U.K. The Germans grasped the offer to play against some of the world’s best teams – Canada, U.S., Japan, England and Australia – and they did very well. They finished in fifth place.

“This was an opportunity of a lifetime for the German players,” said Kaley. “Now, the German lacrosse family has experience competing at the highest level and they have started their preparation for the next tournament in 2014. Now that they have the experience, they will work hard to develop and train to become more physically and mentally prepared for future competition.

A big part of the German team’s current and future success is attributed to those who joined Kaley this year.

“Metzger, Bergersen and Donovan all gave back to the sport’s young players,” said Kaley, “and these young players, when they are successful in their chosen fields, will remember their contributions and will want to continue the tradition by helping the next generation of lacrosse players.”

Winning the Inner Game of Money Law of Attraction System by John Assaraf Reviewed

Does it ever look like the most wonderful things just happen for you at just the perfect times? You fall into the complete right business condition and make a lot of wealth, or meet the best individuals?

Or maybe you are one of those people who find themselves in one bad relationship, job, or financial situation after another and you just can’t seem to be able to shake off your bad luck.

These experiences are more than just luck or a fluke, they are the effect of a very commanding force at work. It’s called the Law of Attraction, and right now it’s actually attracting people, jobs, money and relationships to you.

According to the Law of Attraction, you will attract into your life whatever your mental focus is on.

It stands to reason then that you should use the majority of your time thinking about the things you want to have in your life like money, happiness, and great relationships, instead of thinking about the stuff you don’t want like debt and job problems.

When you fully absorb the power of the Law of Attraction, you begin to understand just how much control you really have over the outcomes in your life. Learning to precisely apply this law however, runs much greater than just trying to think positively.

I’m going to share with you the little known secrets behind the Law of Attraction, so you can move past all of the rhetoric people use to sell books, and start truly living in wealth and abundance!

We are going to take an close up glimpse at the two main parts of the Law of Attraction, and once you understand these, you will have the power to use your mind to manifest whatever it is that you want in life.

Firstly we are going to start with Brain Wave Energy so you will know exactly how your thoughts honestly attract your situations to you like a magnet. The second piece you need to understand is called Neuro-linguistic Programming, which deals with your subconscious thoughts and why most people try genuinely hard but still fall short at applying the Law of Attraction.

Frequency and Energy:

Every single piece of matter in the world, seen or unseen, at its fundamental element is made up of one thing, “pure energy” and this energy is in a persistent state of high vibration.

To your eyes, your hand appears to be solid, but under a very powerful microscope, your hand would be a collection of vibrating energy and you would actually see light coming through it.

Like everything else, your thoughts give off brain waves which at their core is pure energy and can even be examined by science through a process called Electroencephalography or EEG.

That means when you are thinking constructive thoughts, you are literally putting out a optimistic vibration to the universe. If you are thinking about the things you don’t want, then you are putting out harmful vibrations to the universe and literally attracting the things you don’t want into your life.

The Law of Attraction responds to whatever vibration you putting out, and it responds by giving you more of what you are vibrating.

We can easily tell what vibration we out by how are feelings.

When you are in a positive state of emotion and feeling good and energetic about life, you will naturally have positive thoughts and a positive brain wave vibration.

Whether you are aware of it or not, whether you are doing it intentionally or not, we each create our own reality according to the vibration we are putting out as we draw circumstances and people towards us that match our vibrational frequency.

Neurological Programing:

Now this is where it begins to get REALLY interesting because our feelings actually start with our subconscious thought.

50% of how we naturally tend to think and feel is caused by our biological makeup which we inherited from our parents.

The other 50% was actually programmed into our brain since the day we were born by the people we were surrounded with the most (like your parents).

If you think about your brain as being similar to a computer is begins to make more sense. During our childhood our brain is taking in data at a speedy pace to try and figure out the world around us (kind of like a software upload). Repetitive data, like “beware of traffic when crossing the street” then gets hardwired into our brain as a survival mechanism and we develop a natural fear of oncoming traffic.

Some things are hardwired into us just as we saw, heard and felt them, yet other things we had so much contempt for we may have actually been hardwired to do the exact opposite. Ever catch yourself doing something the precise same way one of your parents did? Or maybe you do something just the opposite?

Either we have subconsciously elected to emulate what they did, or we subconsciously resent how they handled cash and we do the opposite.

This is a important part of why so many people have problems with affirmations. It doesn’t do any good to say you think one way about a condition when subconsciously you really feel differently.

Of course this isn’t to say that affirmations do not have their place, just that affirmations along with optimistic thoughts are not powerful enough to employ the Law of Attraction to create a existence of true wealth and abundance on their own.

It is the subconsious hard wired programming that Winning the Inner Game of Money produced by John Assaraf is designed to show you how to over come. Visit my link below and to learn more and claim an exciting bonus and free video directly from John Assaraf!

3D Game Development Tools

Gaming industry has come a long way over the years. From simple brick games about two decades ago, the world has move to 3D game development. Around the world, game developers stretch their skills to entertain enthusiast gamers with ever enthralling gaming experience. Being a $10 billion plus industry it is not fun for the game developers but serious business. Be it the personal computer, play stations, Xbox or your mobile phones, 3D games are slowly but steadily overtaking their two dimensional cousins.

This growth has been further fuelled by the emergence of many offshore centers where expert game developers create, innovate and execute new 3D games every day. There are many small and big companies, which outsource their projects to these locations. The game developers use latest tools and platforms to develop games. The games are tested extensively by experts, before letting it into the market.

Popular 3D Game Tools

Autodesk 3ds Max – One of the favorite with developers this is a modeling, animation and rendering package. Renowned games like Unreal Tournament, Need for Speed, Call of Duty, Half-Life and The Lord of the Rings have been developed using this platform. Combining integrated features like Character Studio, Scene Explorer and Key Framing 3ds Max offer the best solution to game developers around the world. It comes with flexible plugin architecture and can be used on Microsoft Windows platform.

UNITY– It is an integrated authoring tool, which is used to develop 3D projects mainly for the mobile platform and has some of the best iPhone and Android games to its credit. Games like Batman Streets of Gotham, Foreign Legion, Enercities, Robot Rampage and Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 was developed using this platform. It can produce games both for the Windows and Mac platform. Recently support for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 has added to this platform. It is also used to develop browser games.

Autodesk Maya– This was the original tool from Autodesk and is popular among certain sections of developers. Renowned games such as Madden NFL 2004, NASCAR Thunder, Halo 2, and Final Fantasy XI are developed using Maya. It works equally well on Linux, Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh platforms. Maya is equipped with its very own cross-platform scripting language, fittingly called Maya Embedded Language.

Blender Game Engine– Mostly used for developing mobile games, Blender game engine is an open-source comprehensive 3D production suite. Blender game engine is made robust with features such as Python scripting and OpenAL 3D sound. Some of the most well-known games developed on this platform include Yo Frankie!, Boro-Toro and DukDuk!

These platforms have pushed the threshold of game development, which has become one of the most competitive industries in the world. To develop your own 3D game, visit http://www.evontech.com/smartfox-flash-net-silverlight-game-development.html

PC Game Demo is a Serious Business

The PC gaming industry means business that’s why companies churn out quality video games year after year. Gamers would spend millions on dollars for games to be played on their PC. But with the high costs of video games today, most users would have to wait for a really good game to be released before they buy one. But how would the consumers know a good game from the rest of the field? Video game companies came up with PC game demo in order to let the players experience the game first hand before actually paying for it.

Most PC game demo would not be complete. They would just be enough to give the player a feel of what the game play is all about. In that short period of time, the player can discern whether the game is good enough to buy the full version. With the high price of video games at present, making sure that the game is worth it is probably the best move for a budget conscious consumer. There are lots of web sites out there that offer downloads of PC game demo. They would provide links for the games. Sites would provide accurate descriptions of the game and some would even have their own PC game reviews section. This would help the user pick which game to download. Some reviews would be written by the site’s staff while other sites would allow users to write their own review of the game.

There are different types of PC game demo. Some would offer the full game for download but there will be a limited number of times to be played or a limited time period only. The full game would be unlocked once you registered the game online. To register you have to pay a certain amount. Then there’s the PC demo game where only a couple of levels would be available for the player. At present the most downloaded PC game demo is Crysis. This is followed closely by Call of Duty 4, Half Life 2 and World in Conflict. Reading the PC game reviews of these games would tell that these games are great. Maybe that’s why they get the most downloads these days.

Most PC game demo download sites would have a search feature so that you can easily find the game you like. You can opt for the result to show only the games that are free to try or free to download. You can also select the genre you wish to download. Popular genres include first person shooter, action, adventure, casual and a lot more. Even if you don’t know what you’re looking for at the moment, downloading free PC game demo can help you decide whether the game’s for you or not. If the game’s for you then you can buy the full version later.

PC game demo gives the consumers the power to test a particular game before buying the full retail version. This gives both the gaming company and the player the advantage. Consumers get to know the game better before buying them while the companies can offer free trials to a global market.

Introduction To HTML5 Game Development

HTML5 games have made gaming quite easy. Thanks to the HTML5 development companies for producing these games which do not require any plugin or download on our devices. Most of the portals are adding new to their portal. If you are into a business of game portal, you need to upgrade it soon with html5 or else your competitors will race ahead of you. Don’t lose business!

HTML5 Games Companies

There are many companies which are specialized in this new technology. They have a good range of games for all age groups. If you want a game to be developed then go to those developers who have successfully completed at least a dozen projects. They should have a good portfolio of games. You should choose the game which is suitable for you. You will get the support for the game after the purchase. Make sure that the game developer is using latest technologies like construct 2 to develop 2D games.

HTML5 Licensing

When you get the game developed then you get the exclusive rights to the game so you can sell it as well. You can also go for non-exclusive rights to the game without the selling option. You can find developers who are specialized in 2d gaming technologies. If you are planning to charge the user then go for extended licensing. If you want to earn the revenue through the advertisements only then you can go for cost-effective regular HTML5 game licensing. You can also avail the services of compiling the game for android or iOS. The USP of a good game developer is – they build the games around the client inputs and constantly engage with the client during the course of game development.

Reskinning of the Games

If you want a game in a particular style and appearance then that can be done as well. So, you can have graphics, sounds, texts and other features as per your liking while the original codes will be intact. You won’t have to wait long to get the reskinning done, it will get done in 3 to 5 days.

Construct 2 Engine

This Technology is in a growth stage. The web browsers have already been redone to facilitate HTML5 games. This technology has inbuilt javaScript engines and frameworks like Construct 2. These frameworks enable the developers to create wonderful games in a short span of time. The framework technologies totally utilize the improvements in the browser. HTML5 are browser-based. Construct 2 is a behavior-based logic system to develop and edit HTML5. Construct 2 contains the event sheets which are like the source files present in programming languages. Construct 2 can export to the majority of browsers and Online Gaming platforms like Facebook, amazon app store, etc.

Benefits

It can be supported on almost all the platforms. Unlike flash, they do not require a plugin. These can be deployed on all platforms without any hassles. HTML5 is catching the frenzy as users can play it on the browser without any download.

Male Bonding Time Through a Golf Game

Playing golf is not as easy as it looks. Golf swing lessons are not mastered overnight. It is pretty sure that Tiger Woods can hit a golf ball with his eyes closed and still beat you a hundred times. But you need to remember that before he was able to achieve his current stature, he had his own share of golf game bloopers too. Honestly, playing golf it is not as simple as standing, swinging and hitting the ball, there is so much more than that. Of course focus is important and together with that comes patience. Yes, patience is very important. Playing golf is not like playing basketball, volleyball, baseball where screams are involved. In golf, you actually have to be very quiet and before even playing you have to know simple swing lessons before knowing how to play.

That is actually one of the main reasons why some people find golf to be quite a boring sport. Hence given a choice to either watch an adrenaline pumping, gut screaming basketball game or a mind teasing, quiet golf game, which would you pick? That’s a no brainer, basketball of course! However, more and more people are beginning to take the challenge of playing golf. That is why you will see a lot of video instruction materials teaching a newbie some golf swing tips and other golf techniques.

Golf is often called the business sport. Why? It is because business men in particular usually settle their deals with their clients through a quiet game of golf. The long walks in the green is sometimes enough to seal a business deal. Since you need to walk to where the ball is, sometimes it usually takes a while to get there. Some smooth businessmen even give simple tips to their potential clients. The friendly golf game may eventually turn into something beneficial for the business.

A golf game can also be a venue for men to talk about stuff that men are interested in. There chit-chat can be about how their doing in businesses or jobs, their cars or the latest gadget that they have. Of course, exchanging ideas and tips are part of their conversation too. If women have their shopping, day spa treatment, coffee, lunch dates as their bonding time. Men, on the other hand, have golf game to bond with friends. This is one way of how men bond, and renew their friendship and it is a great stress reliever too.

A lot of men are becoming interested in playing golf. They are willing to spend time and money to take that golf swing lessons to improve their handicap. A lower handicap can boost one’s confidence during a golf game. But learning may not be enough if you do not practice and familiarize yourself with the techniques. Some golf mates would even seek an advice or two from you if you are consistently playing with low handicap. You may not be as good as any of the professional players; however friends seeking out some golf swing techniques from you would certainly be a good morale-booster. Next time you hit the fairways with your friends or business clients; make sure that you have practiced to make that good impression.

Winning at the Proposal Game

Bids, Tenders and Proposals

Submitting bids and tenders is a great way to grow and expand your business and is a great way for a small company to become a much larger company. It can be frustrating and costly to bid, this work taking you away from other business activities. However, winning a bid gives you access to a new customer and other project opportunities. You also have to consider as to whether you have the financial standing and moral fortitude to undertake large projects so choose your opportunities with great care. Smaller projects can help your company grow efficiently and profitably with less drama and anguish. Here are a few pointers to remember when producing tenders.

1. Work in partnership on larger tenders, spreading the risk, costs and work required with a similar company, but also the profit.

2. Make sure that what you bid on you can actually provide at the price that you bid on.

3. Be on time with your submission – if you miss the cut off date and time you will not be evaluated.

4. Ask and review the questions if you are unsure. Questions asked are a great way to understand what other bidders are struggling with as well.

5. Similarly attend the briefings.

6. Read the RFP and PQQ numerous times, particularly the guidance notes, the must haves and the evaluation criteria. This gives you a wealth of knowledge about what is required and what will score you good points.

7. Keep to the word count and guidance on what to produce. If it says no attachments for example they will not evaluate these so keep this information in the main body of the tender. This includes CVs/Resumes.

8. Research: Look at sample tenders on the internet and try and find out who your target company deal with currently.

9. Understand your target company and what kind of objectives and visions you have. Prove in your tender that you understand the company.

10. Understand who you may be competing against and try and find your USP that will put you above them.

11. Do not use jargon without explaining it first.

12. Do not lie on your proposal in order to win – it will come back to haunt you if they find out or you win a bid you cannot produce.

13. Many companies are risk adverse so ensure they understand how you are mitigating risk.

14. Mention your company name at least once in each question- just to remind the weary evaluator who you are. Be positive about what you CAN provide. No modesty allowed in proposals.

15. Make your target company excited about working with your company whilst also giving them confidence that you can provide a winning solution.

16. Do not mention competitor names or make any reference to them, but make sure that you appear better than them in your proposal.

17. Use consistent branding and great presentation throughout your proposal, particularly if it is written by more than one person.

18. Ensure all the attachments have your company name, copyrights and bidding reference on them and obviously if you refer to an attachment, make sure they are actually submitted.

19. Ensure that your costing model is accurate and makes you a profit. Winning because you have a low priced bid is no good if you are tied to a non profit making proposal for the next few years.

20. Lastly quality check to ensure you have answered all the questions correctly, spelt and grammar checked and have not missed out any requirements.

21. Always ask for feedback on your proposal, even if you lose.

22. If you are asked to a presentation, do not assume you have won, they often ask several. Prepare to give the best presentation of your solution that you can.

23. Keep bidding, it’s a numbers game, the more you tender the more chance you have of winning, particularly as you get better and quicker and bidding.