The "made in China" bugaboo is reminiscent of the post war Japan products, and following a bit later, the Taiwanese products, both of which acquired the stigma of being shoddily made and invariably looked at as synonymous to cheap and inferior. The major difference between the Japanese and Taiwanese phases as compared to that of China’s is that the former were borne out of dire situations, Japan from the ravages of war and Taiwan over a … [Read more...]
Corporate Governance… Some Regrets
August 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment
In successful companies whether multinational or local, corporate plans and reports are expressed succinctly in numbers. Revenue growth, margins, market shares, head-counts, productivity gains, cash flow management, employee satisfaction scores and more numbers efficiently tell the state of the business. What is not eloquently reported in our presentation of corporate reports are the travails of the working men and women who were on almost … [Read more...]
Political Polls – How Reliable Are They?
March 2, 2010 By 3 Comments
“I gather, young man, that you wish to be a Member of Parliament. The first lesson that you must learn is, when I call for statistics about the rate of infant mortality, what I want is proof that fewer babies died when I was Prime Minister than when anyone else was Prime Minister. That is a political statistic.” (Winston Spencer Churchill) The use of research whether applied to marketing or scientific endeavors that better the human … [Read more...]
Telemarketing DNCR compliance revisited
August 10, 2009 By 1 Comment
Our report last March about Do Not Call Register compliance , or rather lack of compliance, elicited some favourable response from our readers. We suggested in that report that it is wise for call centres and telemarketers to check what systems they have in place to ensure that they comply with relevant privacy legislations. Last week, we noted that another company was penalised by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) … [Read more...]
Spamming and search engine marketing
April 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Have you ever wondered what the sender of this seemingly harmless-looking email want to achieve? Have a look at the email: The message runs as follows: 新しいメールアドレスをお知らせします 新しいメールアドレス： email-add@yahoo.co.jp Hello Dear. My name is Mrs.Nawa Tomar. I am a dying woman who has decided to donate what I have to you and the charity organization around your community. and I was … [Read more...]
Christmas, Santa and Statistics
December 19, 2008 By Leave a Comment
From time to time, our favourite statisticians come up with happy and light notes about the numbers they collect. In a media release yesterday headlined "Festive facts and figures from the ABS", the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported: "With the festive season upon us for another year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has released some interesting facts and figures on some of our Christmas characteristics. In 2008, Santa will … [Read more...]
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