Pontiac Career Management

Archive for March, 2010

The term marketing implies the single goal of profit. It is categorized into two, direct marketing and indirect marketing and there is a significant line of difference between the two. Direct marketing is basically business from manufacturer to consumer without the involvement of middlemen, whoever it is. This is generally done by mailing the consumer or contacting him directly, so he can know about the products. The use of media advertisements is very limited and whatever little use is made includes only the demonstration of their products with call back numbers. Direct marketing is a boon and a bane, both in some respects:

Advantages:

- Direct marketing involves direct business. So it is cost beneficial for consumers, as there is no price hike due to wholesalers or retailers.

- Marketing executives can state certainly of the exact response to their products.

- The profit or loss can be more accurately judged.

Disadvantages:

- Sometimes, direct mailing offends the customers and many do not endorse it as they say it inhibits their private lives.

But most marketing managers are in support of this kind of business. The various forms in which direct business is made are:

- Direct mailing: Here, paper mails are sent to the selected groups of people, who likely to give positive response e.g. the paper mails of latest food processor is sent to all homes where house wives are resident so that immediate response is seen. Also CDs can be used as demonstrating media.

- Email Marketing: Here, emails are sent to all the selected customer categories with repeated intervals of time. But most of these are put into trash and spams. So the effectiveness of this form cannot be predicted.

- Telemarketing: In telemarketing, calls are made directly to the consumers and the concerned product is advertised. People sit at call centers to sell products on behalf of their clients. But this form of direct business is quite unpopular and most people oppose the uninvited calls. It was initially made illegal but later on new laws were re-enforced and calls are now made only to those who don’t mind them.

- Voicemail: Telemarketing created a lot of consumer opposition and consumers would abuse the ones advertising on the phones. In order to avoid this, voicemail marketing was introduced, wherein; the entire advertisement is digitally recorded and presented.

- Use of coupons: Coupons are attached to direct mails and sent to the consumers. These generally advertise and give cost benefit to the consumers. So they avail these coupons and respond fast.

- Television marketing: Advertisements are given on the television and demos are with toll-free call back numbers or certain websites for the consumer to get in touch with the manufacturers.

- Broadcast faxing: This is the least popular form of direct marketing. The ads are directly faxed to the consumers.

Direct marketing can thus become successful only if the entanglements with the consumer are good. It can be B2B or B2C. It measures exact consumer response.

Vancouver hosts the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. After a four-year wait, hundreds of competitors from across the world battle it out for cherished gold medals in sports ranging from downhill skiing to ice hockey, bobsleigh and biathlon. Winter sports fans, athletes and the world’s media descend on the city for three weeks of dramatic action. The world-class resort at Whistler on Blackcomb Mountain hosts the ever-popular high-adrenalin Alpine skiing and “sliding” events such as the luge and bobsleigh. Newer sports like freestyle skiing and snowboarding take over Cypress Mountain in Cypress Provincial Park.

You don’t even need to leave the confines of the city to watch ice hockey and skating, with events at Canada Hockey Place, the UBC Thunderbird Arena and the Pacific Coliseum at Hastings Park. Away from the pistes and ice rinks, the concurrent Cultural Olympiad presents scores of concerts, new arts projects and other entertainment.

The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, will be held on February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the resort town of Whistler and in Richmond, a Vancouver suburb. Both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are being organized by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC). The 2010 Winter Olympics will be the third Olympics hosted by Canada, and the first by the province of British Columbia. Previously, Canada was home to the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta.

Following Olympic tradition, then Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan received the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. The flag was raised on February 28, 2006, in a special ceremony, and will be on display at Vancouver City Hall until the Olympic opening ceremony. The event will be officially opened by Governor General Michaëlle Jean.

Some venues, including the Richmond Olympic Oval, are at sea level, a rarity for the Winter Games. The 2010 Games will also be the first-Winter or Summer-to have an Opening Ceremony held indoors. Vancouver, which will be the most populous city ever to hold the Winter Games, will also be the warmest: in February, when the Games will be held, Vancouver has an average temperature of 4.8 °C (40.6 °F).

The opening and closing ceremonies will be held at BC Place Stadium, which received over $150 million in major renovations. Competition venues in Greater Vancouver include the Pacific Coliseum, the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre, the UBC Winter Sports Centre, the Richmond Olympic Oval and Cypress Mountain. GM Place will play host to ice hockey events, but because corporate sponsorship is not allowed for an Olympic venue, it will be renamed Canada Hockey Place for the duration of the games. Renovations include the removal of advertising from the ice surface and conversion of some seating to accommodate the media. Competition venues in Whistler include the Whistler Blackcomb ski resort, the Whistler Olympic Park and the Whistler Sliding Centre.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will mark the first time since the National Hockey League (NHL) allowed its players to compete in Olympic Games (in 1998) that Olympics will be held in an NHL market. To avoid conflict between player commitments to their Olympic hockey squads and their NHL teams, the league will not hold games during the 2010 Olympic Games, and the season schedule has been compressed. In addition, Vancouver’s NHL team, the Canucks, will be displaced from Canada Hockey Place, their home arena. As a result, the Canucks will be faced with the longest road trip in NHL history, with 14 games over 6 weeks, from January 27 to March 13, 2010.

Over the past few years, patient care technician has emerged as one of the most demanding professions in the health care industry. Though the job of a patient care technician is very similar to that of a nursing assistant, but it includes more responsibility. In addition to taking care of patients in hospitals and nursing homes, these medical professionals are equally responsible for acquiring information on the patients’ vital signs and carrying out normal every day activities such as gathering samples of blood from the patient.

Patient care technicians are often one of the key members of a medical team that spends most of the time with patients. In fact, in most of the occasions they are the professionals whom patients can contact first. These days patient care technicians also known as patient care assistants are recognized as the major or key players of a growing health care industry in the United States and often called admitting interviewers. Adding to this, if we look at the present scenario there are plenty of job opportunities available in this field and have a wide variety of possible locations for employment. An individual after earning a degree in patient care technician can work in hospitals, nursing and residential care facilities, or even in physician offices.

The employment prospect for patient care techs also looks to be very good for the near future. As per various leading health care industry experts, around 21% to 35% growth in the job market is expected over the next decade because of the rapidly aging population. In addition to this, according to information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the outlook for employment in the industry also seems to be excellent and around 647,000 new jobs from 2006-2016 in the wider field of nursing aides, orderlies and attendants, which includes these technicians, is expected to rise. Moreover, a major employer for patient care techs will be nursing homes and long term care facilities for people with chronic illnesses and disabling conditions.

In terms of salaries, this is one of the most favored professions that offer decent salary, as patient care technicians earn more than nursing assistants. The average salary for a patient care technician is between $23,000 and $46,000 depending on experience and location. Nevertheless, as a first-year certified patient care technician, you can expect to begin earning around $23,000 a year for full-time work. Though with more job experience, shift differential pay and holiday pay, some technicians can earn as much as $30,000 annually.

The present scenario creates a very positive and secured future for patient care technicians. Today as the role of the patient care technicians continues to evolve, the demand for such professionals are going to increase and with this increase one can expect the further jump in salary margin.