The History of Typing

Originally, of course, all writing was done by hand.

The first ever person to patent a typewriter was Henry Mill. His idea is entered in the records in the British Patent Office in 1714. Unfortunately Henry Mill never got around to manufacturing his machine due to impatience with manufacturing it.

More types of typewriters were invented after this, but were huge and heavy, some resembling the size of a piano, and took actually longer to use than handwriting itself, which obviously defeated the object!

The first person to actually manufacture the first practical typewriter was Christopher Scholes, who patented his second model in 1868 (this machine finally exceeding the speed of handwriting), along with the help of S.W. Soule and G. Glidden.

Scholes sold the rights of the typewriter over to Densmore, and Densmore improved the typewriter and its usability by using Philo Remington to market the machine. It was not an instant success however. The first Scholes and Glidden typewriter was offered for sale in 1873. It was not until a few years later that Remington's engineers worked on the device and improved it, that it became a success and sales rocketed. The first typewriter sold for $125. About 5000 were sold in the next four years and about 6 different models evolved in that time due to improvements. On some machines the return (carriage return) could be used by a foot pedal.

The keyboard then was designed in a way that the most commonly used letters were next to each other and thus, It was found that the keys jammed easily. A business associates, James Densmore suggested separating the most commonly used keys away from each other to slow down typing, and this is how we got today's keyboard arrangement, the QWERTY (the first six letters on the keyboard).

Typewriters became common in offices in the late 1880s. Initially the typewriter could only produce capital letters but it later was later modified with upper and lower case letters. A typewriter has (and still does on modern typewriters) a carriage containing a large roller which is used to return, (hence the name carriage return) and a small roller to hold the paper in place.

If you made a mistake it required a lot of rubbing out (including the carbon copies), or starting all over again.

Tippex was not invented until the 1950s and even then it was a powdery paper type of substance (not like the fluid we have now). But before you used it you had to still had to tub out the mistake on all of the carbon copies first. And then it still made a bit of a mess, so accuracy was paramount.

In the 1970's a Remington was still used and most students had to complete an RSA Certificate of competence in typing. This took a lot of time and care and if an error was made Tippex was used to correct errors. In the 1980s computers became more and more advanced and of course today we have the modern computer (thank goodness for that)!

Features to Look For in Time and Attendance Tracking Systems

Tracking time and attendance has been in use for a long time, ever since employment became much more formalized. Although time clocks are a much more evolved way to keep track of time and attendance, they are by no means the most efficient. Believe it or not, time clocks first came out over a century ago and while they have improved over the years, they are still subject to errors and dishonesty.

These days, however, time and attendance tracking is gradually moving to computer-run applications. These programs offer a much more efficient and secure way to record and monitor employee performance. To find out which system is best for your company, here are some important features to look for:

Capability to record both billable hours and non-billable hours

Time and attendance tracking systems should be able to track paid and non-paid hours. Although billable hours may seem like the more important component, non-billable hours are actually needed in order to monitor actual time spent on a project or task. This will help determine whether an employee is productive or if the task is cost effective in the long run.

Capability of recording and managing a variety of projects and tasks

An efficient time and attendance tracking system is one that lets you list the necessary projects and tasks required in your business. This allows users to simply select which tasks are relevant to them and then input the time spent performing those tasks.

Capability of being integrated into other systems used by other departments

Time and attendance tracking is usually relegated to Human Resources department. However, it is also a required report for the Accounting department and should be compatible with the system already in place. Your tracking system should also be easy to integrate into your company's billing system and project management applications. That way, invoicing, report generation and project assessment are much more efficient and easier to perform.

Flexibility of application

Look for a time and attendance tracking system that is adaptable to different applications. It should be able to handle different types of paid employees, including salaried employees and managers, flextime employees and telecommuting personnel. It should also be flexible enough to be used by your company's contractors and consultants. If some of your employees work for third parties, for example, you should be able to use your system to bill the correct number of hours your employees have spent on certain tasks.

Capability to produce reports

Ultimately, your goal in using a time and attendance tracking system is not just to produce reports for salary computation but also to view how productive your employees have been. Your system should be able to help you perform specific project management tasks and be able to analyze workflow and productivity using reports generated from the application. Use a system that can generate reports in text, figures and graphs for more flexibility.

Ease of use

The best time and attendance tracking system is one that is easy to install and does not impede immediate application with a steep learning curve. Vendors generally allow you to use a trial version of their system or might even allow you to run a completely functional application free of cost for a limited period so you can test run and see if it's useful to your company.

Look for an application that managers and employees alike can use on their own. This will help allow for a more independent recording of important information, to be monitored and checked only by a Human Resources staff for accuracy.

To determine which time and attendance tracking system is right for you, learn more about the different types of systems available that will fit your company's unique needs.

How Can You Improve on Bad Habits Concerning Trends?

After identifying your organization's bad habits about orienting yourself optimally relative to trends, you'll need to work at eliminating the bad habits so that they can be replaced with the desired habits. Communication and learning are good ways to begin.

Rather than starting by sharing the conclusions you arrive at about what your organization's bad habits are, you'll get better results if you take other people in your enterprise through the process of answering these questions:

1. What irresistible forces are already affecting your enterprise?

2. What has your enterprise done well in responding to, adapting to, anticipating, and creating these forces?

3. Why did your organization do well with regard to these forces?

4. What habits would have helped your organization to be more successful in these past situations?

5. What existing habits are in conflict with the habits that would help you be more successful?

You'll learn something, too, because you'll often find that the perceptions of others will differ from yours. With more perceptions to work with, you're likely to get better ideas for how to improve.

One way to do this is to measure performance and share the results. For example, most companies would never acquire oil producing companies if they realized that the inflation-adjusted dollar price of petroleum products has always declined over the long term. Seagram might never have bought Conoco had they realized this fact, and instead improved the company's acquisition habits while increasing the resources available for acquisitions.

Start Becoming a Stallbuster Now

Be sure to use the questions in each essay you read on this subject to tie the lessons of each lesson back to your organization. If you have not yet gotten out a pencil and some paper, or turned on your computer, now is a good time to begin making permanent your observations.

This article can be a valuable resource for you. But this will only happen if you follow through by working on the questions as they arise.

In addition to answering the questions, make a list of your own improvement ideas as they occur to you and keep the list with you as you read the rest of the book. You'll find that your ideas are likely to change and improve as you read more material and answer the questions at the end of each essay.

Make notes of how your ideas change. Keeping such a list will also encourage you to work more in this area of replacing bad habits because you'll have written record to show you how much you've learned from when you started reading these essays.

You will have obviously to move from thinking into action before the benefits will become tangible. Having a record of how much your thinking has been stalled will encourage you to take that needed action.

Copyright 2008 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved

Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is coauthor of seven books including Adventures of an Optimist, The Irresistible Growth Enterprise, and The Ultimate Competitive Advantage.

How To Find Legitimate Women's Shoe Wholesale Distributors And Avoid Being Scammed

When you are looking for women's shoe wholesale distributors online, chances are out of 10 you will come across about 7 to 8 scam sites. They are designed to avoid detection and lure sellers to commit to a purchase with no strings attached. This articles attempts to help you sift out these scam sites and avoid pitfalls. These tips do not only apply to women's shoe wholesale distributors but suppliers of other types of goods as well.

First of all, check the contact details of the company provided. Legitimate suppliers will definitely have a valid telephone number. It is advisable to contact the company via phone to make sure that it is valid and also to get a feel of its professionalism from the way the call recipient answers the call. Also, a real company will always use a land line as the contact number instead of a cell phone number.

Secondly, verify that the contact details include the full business name and its registration number. It would be ideal to be able to verify the information from the company registry of the country where the company resides.

Thirdly, do an online Whois lookup on the domain name of the company website. You can do it at http://www.whois.sc Check for the date the domain name was registered and its expiry. Legitimate women's shoe wholesale distributors for example will have its domain registered typically for a period of more than 3 years.

Fourthly, verify the address to make sure it is not a fake. Make sure it is valid and not in some poor, deserted and undeveloped area.

Last but not least, go for secure mode of payment like Escrow, Cod, Paypal or credit cards as far as possible. Try to avoid Western union and wire transfers which are unsecured and untraceable. Also, when doing business with any women's shoe wholesale distributors for the first time, order in smaller quantities first to establish the trust.

To save time and minimize the risk of running into scam sites, you can also opt for online listing of suppliers and distributors that reviews these companies before listing them in the database.

6 Tips On Choosing And Doing Business With Wholesale Wine Distributors

When choosing wholesale wine distributors to work with, there are a few areas to look into. Choice of wine, order quantity, reliability and quality of service will determine which wholesale wine distributors you should work with. Here we will look at 6 aspects.

1. Popularity of wine. This differs from country to country and state to state. For example, if your area is affected by anti-French sentiments, the sale of French wines would no doubt suffer. This will give you an idea which wholesale wine distributors to consider.

2. Minimum order quantity imposed by the wholesale wine distributors. It does not take rocket science to figure out that the more the order, the better the deal. However, if you do not have a big enough cellar to store the wines, it is pointless. Here, you have 2 options, order in smaller quantities or look for a distributor that will help you store the wines.

3. The profile of your target customer. Are you targeting the masses that will go for more economical choice of wine or are you selling to a selective group of people who only want the best? This will affect your choice of wine and consequently the wholesale wine distributors to work with. For example, although the price of French wines is affected by fluctuations in Euro against the US dollar, depending on your area, you might still be able to find customers who value quality more than price.

4. Is the packaging appealing and attractive? Do not underestimate the power of visual representation. French suppliers for example, have suffered loss of market share due to centuries of traditional methods, marketing, and labeling restrictions compared to new world wines.

5. Go for unique selections to differentiate yourselves from the rest of the retailers in your area as well as the big boys. This way, you will have higher chance of obtaining a steady pool of customers for your wine selections.

6. Check for any legislation within your area that affects the price of wine. For example, some states in US restrict that wholesaler must buy from wine makers at a mark up of 33.3% and retailers must sell at a mark up of 50%.

Knowing how to choose and work with wholesale wine distributors is one thing but finding a reputable and reliable distributor is another. Go for online distributor directories that feature reviews on wholesalers. One of these directories even has a forum where members who are retailers post comments on distributors. Joining these forums will give you a head start when dealing with the wholesalers.

George Tho is a webmaster and lover of ice wine. Read his review on an online directory with a database of over 4000 suppliers and wholesalers in different trades that has been reviewed by its staff and members together with a lively forum filled with retailers that will help you find reliable wholesale wine distributors here.

Selling your Southern California Business - Open Listings Vs Exclusive Listings

When it comes to selling your business in California, an exclusive listing with a business broker provides the greatest likelihood of success for both the seller and the broker.

Only a limited number of business brokers will accept an open listing, and typically, a broker that chooses to work with such a limited commitment from a seller will NOT provide the greatest amount of effort to sell the business. Likewise, the commitment level of the seller is questionable. To understand this point in more detail, let's start with a definition of the two types of listings.

Open Listing:

An Open Listing is an authorization to sell a business or property. It may be given to several brokers concurrently or the business may be sold by the owner himself. There is usually no time limit associated with this type of listing. If the owner sells the property through his own efforts, he is not responsible to pay commissions to any of the listing brokers. An open listing may be canceled by either party at any time.

Exclusive Right-to-Sell Listing:

The Exclusive Right-to-Sell listing is the most common type of listing. It provides one broker the right to sell the business exclusively. This listing entitles the broker to commissions on the sale during the life of the listing agreement, even if the owner himself sells the business. This type of listing runs for a specific period of time, usually six months. The agreement may only be canceled by the listing broker during that period.

Initially, the open listing may sound like a great way to maintain more options; however, typically this type of listing agreement is a waste of time for both the seller and the broker. Here are a few reasons why this agreement can be counter-productive.

• Initial Effort

For a business broker to do his job properly, he must invest a large amount of time and effort up front long before the business actually sells or even goes to market. He must review the business from many different perspectives and understand the many unique aspects of the business including operations, financials, history, marketing, licensing, leasehold and personnel. This work must be performed before the business goes to market. The only way a broker can protect this initial effort is to secure an exclusive agreement with the seller. That way he can feel secure in dedicating the proper amount of time and effort necessary to do his job well.

• Co-broker Concerns

Often a broker will have concerns about offering the business to other cooperating brokers with only an open listing. Unfortunately, there are some less ethical agents that may try to circumvent the original broker and bring a buyer directly to the seller. With an open listing, this is a real concern. You want your broker to be able to offer the business opportunity to any qualified business broker without hesitation. With an exclusive right-to-sell listing he has protection from any non-principled brokers.

• Marketing Restraints

The concerns about the way an open listing is marketed are two fold. First, a broker will be concerned about the amount of money they are willing to invest in marketing an open listing, knowing that it may be canceled at any moment. Secondly, the broker must be very careful about the details he reveals to prospective buyers because a buyer can move to a different broker, or even try to work directly with the owner at any time. Both of these worries restrain the marketing effort.

• Competing With the Owner

Often in an open listing the seller can and will compete with the broker by bringing in his own buyers. This type of environment can create an adversarial relationship between the seller and broker. Without the cooperation of both broker and seller, deals rarely ever close. I always describe the right relationship between the seller and his broker to be just like a good partnership. Both parties work together toward the same goal. Selling a business is a difficult operation; make sure you work together with your broker for the same goal. By doing this you have the highest likelihood of a successful transaction.

Joe D. Robertson is the Broker and Owner of Southern California Business Brokers; Orange County primer full-service business brokerage.

First Step For Business Expansion

A true businessman is one who believes in constant growth. Every business must be affluent enough to cater to its financial needs. As a good businessman you must be keeping an eye on your cash reserves and cash flow. There are times when you want to start some new business plan or need some finance for an overseas project. Most of the times, the main problem coming between you and your ambition is of adequate finance.

Commercial loans may help you in jumping this hurdle. Commercial loans help you by arranging funds so that you may not loose big business opportunity only due to the lack of funds.

You can acquire both secured and unsecured commercial loans depending on the situation. You must decide before applying for commercial loans, which kind of loan your business firm would be able to get comfortably. If there is no property in the name of your firm then you have to opt for an unsecured commercial loan. These loans never require any kind of security. They may offer you fund up to £25,000. You must take great care before opting for these loans. Make sure you check the interest rates because sometimes the interest rates with unsecured loans may be high, which can increase your liability. Businessmen who are confident enough for debt repayment go for the unsecured commercial loan. They have the fund they need and that too without risking any asset.

The more comfortable option for having a commercial business loan is to opt for a secured commercial loan. Financial institutions feel less risk in providing these loans. They acquire any of your assets as security and then sanction the loan. Usually these loans take less time in approval. One benefit with these loans is that you can raise a large amount of money. The loan amount can go up to £250,000. You are required to submit a business report with all your previous business details. You must mention your past credit history. The bank would show interest in your future plans so craft the project report with nicely described plan.

To give an excellent launch to your business plan a well planned commercial business loan is always advantageous. Various online loan opportunities are present now. You can compare different factors related to your commercial loan, such as the interest rates, repayment periods etc. Online loan applications are secure and convenient also.

About The Author: The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. He has done his masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting ask4loan.co.uk as a finance specialist.