How Can I Start A Legitimate Online Business For Less?

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extra cash in your spare time or a full-blown six-figure income, pick any one of the many online business options that you could find around you and get going. Sounds very simple! Indeed it is as simple as it sounds.

Blogging:

Blogs are a great option for people who don't have a website or do not want to invest in one for the sake of funds paucity. Starting a blog is easy and you don't need any money, technical skills and dedicated fixed time. First start an account with "Blogger", a service owned by Google. Once you have opened your account there is no need for you to have any technical skills to make your first post, just follow the instructions in it. It is as simple as writing an email.

While Blogging, always try to choose a topic that interests you. It can be anything that you like - one of your hobbies, about a vacation that you had, or from an endless list of topics. This is to say that you can write about anything under the sun. Try to make a post to your blog on a regular basis. Write your own unique content always to make a niche on your identity. There is also an option like that you can publish other people's articles in your blog with their consent.

Once you have started your blog you need to promote it by attracting potential visitors to your blog. The very obvious way of marketing is getting your blog listed on Google or one of the other top search engines. The best way to propel yourself to the top of the search engine results is to start getting other Blogging sites to link to your blog, This can be achieved by writing articles or reciprocal linking.

Once you start getting visitors, you need to ensure that they keep coming back. One good way to do this is to start building an opt-in Email list. This is a great way to ensure that your visitors return to your site again and again.

Writing Articles:

Write articles related to the subject of your blog or website and put a "Resource Box" entry at the end with one or two very informative links to your blog or website. You can submit your articles to multiple article directories thus improving your search engine ranking
. Also submit your link to relevant categories of website directories or blog directories to boost your websites search engine ranking. There are some directories, which charge a small fee like $1 or $2 to get listed, but there are many others where you can submit your site for free or in exchange for a reciprocal link.

E-Commerce, eBay & Auction selling:

This is a way of selling products or a technology-based service on the net. If you are creative enough then you can create your own product for sale. You can sell used goods, buy goods wholesale or use a drop-shipping service via an online market place like Ebay, Amazon Auctions, or Craiglist.

S Morrison
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Applied Management and Decision Sciences

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Turban, King, Viehland, and Lee (2006) define e-business as conducting business using computer networks to accomplish activities throughout the value chain, which may include dealing with customers, suppliers or other external business partners as well as streamlining internal functions electronically. The use of the internet in the global economy accounts for transactions worth trillions of dollars each year (Turban, et al., 2006). There is little doubt that technology has changed and is continuing to change the way in which businesses operate. However, as technology expands the availability of options, the need to integrate business functions throughout the value chain becomes more visible (Cardoso, Bostrom, & Sheth, 2003). Gosain, Malhotra, Sawy (2005) have recognized that although most business people are quick to talk about the need for integration and collaboration via electronic networks, the direction for proceeding beyond the talk often remains elusive. The additional options available for conducting business and connecting with people have the potential to support the very silos that e-systems were expected to tear down.

In response to this threat, many organizations have purchased comprehensive software called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications (Cardoso, Bostrom, & Sheth, 2003) or have adopted strategies to re-evaluate their activities, commonly referred to as Business Process Reengineering (BPR) (Aalst, 2003; Attaran, 2000; Attaran and Wood, 1999; Li, Macquire, & Yao, 2003). ERP systems are designed to integrate all business functions and information within one computer database while the business processes provide the flowing structure of activities and interactions among the workers that connect all of the departments creating a cohesive, efficient whole. Many organizations have tried to increase efficiency and profitability by reengineering their business processes (Attaran, 2000; Attaran and Wood, 1999; Li, Macquire, & Yao, 2003). However, Attaran (2000) cites Hall et al. (2003) as finding that a majority of BPR initiatives resulted in less than 5% improvement. Attaran further cites Hammer and Champy (1993) as stating that between 50% and 70% of all BPR efforts do not achieve their goals. ERP software providers, in their own quest to remain competitive, have developed additional tools for their programs to assist organizations with establishing efficient business processes and participating in e-Commerce (Cardoso et al, 2003). These tools are called Workflow Management Systems.

Turban, King, Viehland, and Lee (2006) defines workflow management as, “The automation of workflows, so that documents, information, and tasks are passed from one participant to the next in the steps of an organization’s business process” (pg. 311). Mohan (n.d,) has cited the Giga Group definition for workflow as “the operational aspects of the business process – the sequence of tasks and who performs them, the information flow to the support tasks, and the tracking and reporting mechanisms that measure and control them” (pg. 1). With the appropriate direction, the WMS has the potential to become a knowledge management system by offering the links of various functional department knowledge and activities to other departments in the organization that can utilize the knowledge in useful ways. The system is also internet-enabled to include functionality for expanding communication to external business partners and suppliers in the value chain.

Robert II Smith
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International Management

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These value orientations can be related to effective management prac­tices in different locations. The following suggestions illustrate how these orientations may be related to management. In a society that believes humans are subjugated by nature, plan­ning would be futile, because the future is preordained. In a society that is present-oriented, rewards would be closely tied to current performance. In a society that believes in the basic goodness of human beings, participative management is likely to be the normal approach. In a society that is primarily being-oriented, decisions are likely to be intuitive with less concern for logic. In a society that is hierarchical, organization structures are likely to reflect this in formal, authority-based hierarchy.

The value survey model (VSM), introduced by Hofstede (1980), has been widely discussed in International management literature, and it appears to provide information of relevance from a managerial point of view. The model proposed 4 dimensions of culture, and a fifth dimension was later added based on research in the Far East (Chinese Culture Connection, 1987). The five dimensions are as follows.

Individualism (IDV) is the degree to which individual decision making and action are accepted and encouraged by the society. Where IDV is high, the society emphasizes the role of the individual; where IDV is low, the society emphasizes the role of the group. This was explained by Triandis (1972).

Uncertainty avoidance index (UAI) is the degree to which a society is willing to accept and deal with uncertainty. Where UAI is high, the society is concerned with certainty and security, and seeks to reduce uncertainty; where UAI is low, the society is comfortable with a high degree of uncertainty and is open to the unknown.

Power distance index (PDI) is the degree to which power differences are accepted and sanctioned by a society. Where PDI is high, the society believes that there should be a well defined hierarchy in which everyone has a rightful place; where PDI is low, the prevalent belief is that all people should have equal rights and the opportunity to change their position in the society.

Masculinity (MAS) is the degree to which traditional male values are important to a society. Traditional male values incorporate assertiveness, performance, ambition, achievement and material possessions, while traditional female values focus on the quality of life, the environment, the nurturing and concern for the less fortunate. In societies that are high of MAS, sex roles are clearly differentiated and men are dominant; If MAS is low, sex roles are more fluid
Confucian Dynamism (CD) is a complex dimension based on beliefs of the Chinese philosopher, Confucius. The dimension incorporates ideas of time and activity. Here, for simplicity, CD is defined as a time orientation only – taking a long term or short term view. A society that is high on CD has a long time horizon and looks to the future. A society which is low on CD has a shorter time horizon and is more concerned with events in the present and immediate future.

Hofstede reports scores from 1 to 100 for each country in his sample. The scores reported by Hofstede are based on employees within one organiza­tion, a large U.S. multinational company. Certain types of individuals are attracted to such an organization, and this is reflected in these scores. These scores should not, therefore, be interpreted as an accurate descrip­tion of the national culture as a whole; rather, they should be seen as an indication of the similarities and differences that one might expect to find among employees in this type of organization in different countries.

In addition, these scores represent a central tendency in a particular population, but there is likely to be a wide array of values in any coun­try; organizations and industries will attract and retain individuals with value systems that fit into the organizational culture. For example, a study of fast food restaurant managers in Canada and the United States revealed a very low level of individualism combined with no uncer­tainty avoidance and high power distance and masculinity (Punnett & Withane, 1990). This is quite dissimilar from the Canadian and U.S. value profile presented by Hofstede; but it appears to match the needs of an industry where people must work in close coordination, where there is little job security, and where there are clear distinctions of power and a great deal of competition.

Robert II Smith
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