Декабрь 2008

How to Draft a Sample Loan Agreement

The promissory note is very similar to the loan agreement. The only difference is that the loan agreement will generally indicate the conditions and terms between the borrower and lender without legal suitable legal advice. The main reason behind drafting it so that the conditions and terms that both parties agreed upon have will be listed out properly and also so that these conditions can be referred to by anyone at any point of time. By drafting a sample loan agreement, a better and more understandable format will be followed along with a flow of words that is neat and precise. If a sample loan agreement is drafted, all the important and essential information related to this matter can be collected and this will also ensure that the original document will be of a high quality and will contain all the precise and correct information. This will ensure that all concerned parties will be benefited from the actual agreement.

A sample loan agreement contains many important details regarding the concerned parties and their agreements, details about the amount that has been transacted, interest rate per annum or per month, additional information pertaining to the payment details, the time period and its specifics, when the agreement and its effects will commence, the loan payment and its method, default events, all other additional and necessary information that should be provided,.

There will also be details concerning loan acceleration, late payments and their penalty, Attorney’s fees and indemnification as well as additional costs, details about the borrower, whether the borrower is a party or an individual, the provisions that have been made for modifications in the terms of agreements, the jurisdiction that applies to any breach in the agreement as well as all the laws that will apply to the lender and the borrower based on their residential locations. Once the signatures and consent of the borrower and the lender along with witnesses have been obtained, this entire process of drafting an agreement is completed.

I’m an insolvency practitioner and I’m here to help you

There is help available for business owners in dealing with a business crisis from people who are familiar with this type of situation and who possess the specific experience and skills needed. But there are differing types of help available so it is worth understanding who’s who in the world of CROs, IPs, IMs and other professionals you may encounter, some of whom work within your business and some of whom work simply as advisers.

A Chief Restructuring Officer or CRO, is a turnaround professional that management hire on a temporary basis to provide support and assistance.

A CRO’s job is firstly to help the business analyse its position, providing an experienced eye to look over how deep the crisis is, assess the options and make an informed judgement as to whether the business is salvageable.

CROs then move on to help to drive through the actions needed to deal with the situation, acting as a crisis manager to handle issues with the urgency, independence and sometimes ruthlessness required. CROs therefore need to be people who can cope with the challenges and difficulties that this implies in a professional way.

The CRO also brings to the business a body of specialist knowledge of relevant commercial and insolvency issues such as redundancy processes and wrongful trading, so helping to manage these risks.

A CRO brings their experience of dealing with not only a business in crisis, bit also their experience in keeping financial stakeholders such as banks on board supporting the turnaround. A CRO has the ability to talk to the bank and insolvency advisers their own language, so giving the business the best chance that it will receive funders’ support through its difficulties.

The help provided by a CRO is generally therefore extremely ‘hands on’ in nature. The contrast here is with the professional advisers such as the insolvency practitioner or the lawyer who, however close the relationship, do remain outside the business. The CRO sits on your side of the table at meetings and actively works on behalf of your business, often becoming part of your business by taking on the role and responsibilities of becoming a director to take charge and drive through change for the time needed to make the plan happen.

A CRO should ideally be formally accredited through the Institute for Turnaround as a turnaround professional, and may also be a member of the Turnaround Management Association. They often work alone but increasingly are operating as teams, often in conjunction with or organised through the firms who are also involved in supplying in specialists on a temporary basis known as interim managers to deal with particular functional aspects of the business (such as a temporary finance or production director) as may be required to turn the business’ performance around.

But CROs are not the only people that a business will need. As a turnaround affects all areas of the business, so the business tends to need assistance from a broad range of specialists.

If the business is in a severe crisis often formal insolvency advice will be needed at the outset by the directors from either lawyers or an insolvency practitioner (or ‘IP’) as to whether they are safe to continue trading the business. An IP will be able to advise on use of any of the business rescue procedures under the Insolvency Act such as a Company Voluntary Arrangement; will be able to help the directors in assessing the business’s position. They will also often have a strong working relationship with the bank and so may be able to to help gain bank support for a turnaround, as well as introducing or working with a turnaround professional.

Often there is a need to raise new or replacement finance to provide funds to deal with the initial crisis or to support the subsequent recovery and regrowth of the business. These funds will come from specialist asset financiers either directly or more usually through a broker who knows the market and is used to placing such business.

Legal advice is almost always required and the business will need a recovery specialist as a lead advisor who can call upon expertise within his or her firm across a wide range of areas such as insolvency and debt collection in the early stages; through key issues for restructuring a business such as employment and redundancy, as well as contractual disputes such as problem contracts; right through to corporate finance specialists if there is a need to raise new equity or arrange a sale of the business.

Interim Managers are often used as a flexible resource to meet the changing needs of a business during the different phases of a turnaround. A typical case might require significant assistance from an interim financial controller on tightening up management of its cash to survive an initial crisis. Then the business might need an operations specialist to address manufacturing issues, before then bringing in a marketing expert to provide a boost to regrowing sales, while the whole strategy is overseen by the CRO.

It Workers Hit Hardest by Offshore Outsourcing, Survey Finds

Based on the data collected from a sample of 10,000 people, the article finds that 8% of IT workers have been displaced by offshore outsourcing which is twice the rate of workers in other occupations.
The researchers at Stern and Wharton Business Schools found that because IT jobs are purely technical jobs involving little or no customer interaction they are the most at risk from outsourcing. The base rate of offshoring across all industries is just over 15%, but some 40% of all tech and telecommunications companies are doing some type of offshore work, according to the research by Dr. Prasanna Tambe, an assistant professor at Stern Business School.
By occupation, more than 30% of the survey respondents said they were offshoring software programming and development jobs, but only about half, or 15.5%, reported offshoring systems analysts, who typically interact more with others in a business. Of those displaced by offshore outsourcing, 70% lost their jobs, with older workers more likely to be displaced. The researchers did not predict what future displacement rates might be, but claim that as offshoring grows, tech workers without jobs that don’t require interpersonal skills are being replaced more rapidly.
IT workers worried about displacement must develop interpersonal skills and find IT careers that involve face to face interactions. Since IT workers have been more severely affected than other types of workers, Tambe argues that policy-makers could focus on tech workers to provide help, including job training and government compensation to offset wage losses. Educational institutions will have to react as well, with «increased emphasis on the development of interpersonal and management skills within the IT curriculum.»

Sources for this article can be referenced by contacting the author or by accessing the links found in the bio section of this article.

How to Start your Own Baby Food Business Part #6: Manufacturing Vs. Catering

Handmade Baby Food vs. Commercially Produced, Store Bought Baby Food

Food from your baby food catering business will be differentiated from commercial, factory produced baby food in the following ways:

People & Production

Your baby food is made-by-hand by individuals who are committed to the quality of the baby food. At least one certified chef is on duty at all times supervising the process and ensuring that ingredient and cooking standards are met. The food is made in a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen like the ones used by top chefs.

Commercial baby food is produced in mass in a factory or co-packing facility. More often than not, baby food is not the only food product produced in the facility. Typically baby food is made by workers that do not have culinary training and do not have a passion or commitment to high quality baby food.

Hand Selection of Ingredients

Each and every ingredient in your baby food, down to the smallest berry, is hand selected to ensure that it is of the highest quality and to make sure that it is completely ripe.

Commercial baby food is made from massive deliveries of bulk produce that arrive on loading docks. Food quickly passes by workers on conveyer beltsthere is little time for manual inspection.

Source & Quality

The majority of the ingredients in your baby food are locally grown. They are picked only when fully ripe and go from the field to our kitchen within a matter of days, sometimes hours.

Produce used to make commercial baby food comes from multiple sources and multiple countries. It is often picked before fully ripened, to withstand the long transport from the field to the factory. Sometimes produce becomes over-ripe or rotten as it sits on trucks, in warehouses, or on loading docks for days or weeks.

Organic

You use only 100% organic ingredients that are never stored near other non-organic ingredients or produced alongside non-organic foods.

Even foods that are made with organic ingredients can be contaminated with pesticides when they are transported or stored with or near non-organic ingredients or produced in a facility that also makes non-organic food products. Commercial baby food is often made in large factories or by co-packers that also produce non-organic foods.

Washing

All of produce used in the production of your baby food is individually washed or scrubbed by hand.

In commercial baby food factories, produce is either rinsed as it passes under a sprayer on a conveyer belt or it may be allowed to sit in a vat of water to be cleaned. Often the process involves cleaning agents or chemicals.

Preparation

All the produce used in the production of your baby food is peeled, cored, or diced by hand. This provides a second inspection of the ingredient before cooking.

Produce used to make commercial baby food is peeled, processed, and cut by machines in large batches. Seeds, stems, rotten spots, etc. can easily go over looked and may be included in the final product.

Cooking

The majority of your baby food made using produce that has been gently steamed to ensure that the vitamins and nutrients are not «cooked out» of the food. This process also helps the food to retain its natural color. Some foods are baked or roasted whole to ensure that the natural juices are retained.

Commercial baby food is boiled in large vats or cooked quickly in giant, super heated ovens. Both processes are designed to cook the food as quickly as possible so large amounts can be produced at once. The food must be cooked at high enough temperatures to be sterilized in order for it to sit in a warehouse or on a store shelf for long periods of time. Essential nutrients and natural colors are lost. Vitamins and color must be added back into the food. This is accomplished using either synthetic materials or fruit/vegetable concentrates or dyes. Some food dyes are made using ground insects.

Processing

Your baby food is pureed in small batches which are weighed and measured by hand. Each batch is checked and rechecked to ensure a smooth or creamy texture.

Commercial baby food is ground in large, industrial vats. Sometimes tons of food is processed at once.

Texture

You add only a small amount of distilled water to your foodjust enough to allow for a smooth puree. Because we add such a small amount of water, there is no need to add thickening agents.

Large amounts of water are added to commercial baby food to «thin it out». This allows the company to get more baby food out of each pound of produce (water is cheap) thus increasing company profits while nutritionally cheating babies. Thickening agents, such as starch, are then added (starch is cheap too). Thickening agents also «stabilize» factory-made foods by keeping the complex mixtures of oils, water, acids, and solids well mixed.

Quality Control

At every point in the cooking and pureeing process the temperature of the food is checked and rechecked to ensure that the correct temperature and consistency is being met. Temperature is monitored during the cooking process to make certain that vital vitamins and minerals are not «cooked out», and as food is cooled to avoid pathogen growth.

Most of the production is often monitored by computers rather than humans.

Packaging

Your baby food is packaged by a person, giving it one final quality check.

Commercial baby food is packaged by big machines that squirt food into jars or containers with no one overseeing the process.

Freshness, No preservatives

Your stores/kitchen/etc.make fresh baby food daily. You only make enough food to fulfill the needs of for the current week. Your baby food is sold or delivered to customers within 24 to 48 hours of being made. There is no need to add preservatives and no food is wasted.

Commercial baby food is made in mass. Tens of thousands of «units» of baby food are produced each day. Commercial baby food can sit in a warehouse or on a store shelf for up to 2 years. The companies must add chemical or natural preservatives to keep the food from degrading. Even frozen baby food in the grocery store can sit in the freezer for months before it is sold.

Inspired by Nokia 8800 Sirocco

The Nokia 8800 is a gorgeous, slim and attractive mobile phone that comes in a beautiful silver stainless steel covered casing. Nokia 8800 Sirocco is the masterpiece of Nokia as it comes with 64 MB of NAND flash memory that allows the users to store all the information they wish. The Nokia 8800 offers a SVGA 0.5 mega pixel camera which is highly useable and allows user to take snaps accurately and with ease. The user can capture video footage and play back the footage in the video player time and again. The images and the videos can be seen in a clear TFT 256K colour screen.

Nokia-8800-Sirocco has a digital music player and a built-in FM radio so that the user can never be lagged behind in the context of entertainment and information. The user can download or use pre-installed ring tones which are inserted in the phone in polyphonic, MIDI, MP3 and ACC formats.Nokia has put all the latest multimedia features in the 8800. Bluetooth technology provides a wireless connection; EDGE technology provides speed and reliability and tri-band provides GSM coverage. With the support of all these technologies, the users really take the world in their hands.

The Nokia 8800 offers commendable messaging services including MMS, SMS, email and instant messaging. The email service supports SMTP, POP3 & IMAP4 email formats that provide the user with a great method of communication from a mobile phone.

It was only after the launch of Nokia 8800, the true potential of the fashion phone was realized. The super sleek metallic body and smooth edges of the deep thumb rest creates a mesmerizing light and shade effect. The Nokia 8800 Sirocco is not about flashy design, the phone is all about plain luxury. The 256K colour TFT display is carefully protected with scratch-resistant sapphire coated glass to sustain the handset’s royal looks. The smooth slider reveals the least fussy and easy to use keypad.

Nokia 8800 Sirocco have a 2.0 megapixel camera (CMOS) with 8x digital zoom in case you want click a few pictures or video record in 3GP format without any limit on time. Nokia 8800 Sirocco supports external memory card other that the in-built memory of 128 Mb. To maintain the 8800 Sirocco’s individuality, Nokia have applied encryption on its content for the very first time. Please Purchase online http://www.phoneandbeyond.com