RWC Blog

Quite often the topic of “customer loyalty” pops-up in the classes that I teach at EIT. It is interesting to see the strength of conviction in some students that “customer loyalty” is a valid phenomenon.  My input into such conversations remains unchanged from occasion to occasion. That being that the concept of “customer loyalty” is actually a fallacy. Why ? Customers are not loyal to brands or businesses. Rather, they (we) are creatures that are driven by the pursuit of…

During a ‘Branding’ lecture that I facilitated yesterday, students – in small groups – were asked to critically examine an ecommerce website of their choosing, in terms of: Its features and functions. How engaging it is – and why its level of appeal/ engagement is what it is. The target audience that the site is attempting to appeal to. The user experience – site navigation, layers that need to be drilled-down into before pertinent information is uncovered, etc. How readily/…

Yesterday I delivered a lecture to Eastern Institute of Technology ‘Branding’ students which focused on internet-based marketing. Over and above coming to terms with contemporary principles in respect of internet-based marketing and critiquing various ecommerce websites; I asked students (most of who are under 30 years of age) to take care when selecting marketing channels. Why ? Despite the fact that  many people over the age of 55 years – who didn’t grow-up routinely interacting with digital technology – are…

Today, during an Operations Management lecture at the Eastern Institute of Technology – in reference to our current topic of interest (“capacity”) – I spoke about the fact that every person/ individual in the world has finite capacity. In the context of the work place environment, students were taught the importance of monitoring the capacity of particularly those people who prove themselves to be highly competent contributors. Why ? Often it is these people who: say nothing as more and…

Today, alongside my Gisborne-based colleague, I facilitated an Operations Management lecture at the Eastern Institute of Technology (Hawkes Bay campus) which centered on how to manage/ resolve manufacturing bottle-neck situations – once the cause of the given bottle-neck is deemed to be “people-related” (e.g. a member of the team isn’t able to sustain packing fruit into trays/ cartons at the same rate as their colleagues). Students worked in small groups to address an exercise which called for them to consider…

I’m presently helping an Auckland based Eastern Institute of Technology commerce Lecturer to re-develop a particular tertiary-level marketing course, for delivery in 2018.  One of the resources that I’m suggesting is incorporated in next year’s course is:   Allocation of SME Business Owner Time & Energy The percentages that you see within the pie chart relate to a (so called) “typical” Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) scale of business. I have established these “ideal norms” after 20 + years of guiding the development…

I work alongside a clever, bright and positive lecturer to deliver an ‘Operations Management’ course to both Gisborne and Hawkes Bay EIT tertiary students.  Yesterday we we’re concentrating on the topic of measuring “efficiency” when my colleague offered this wisdom during the lecture… “Effectiveness” is doing the right thing. “Efficiency” is doing the thing right. A differentiation which can be expanded in meaning to understand that it is possible for someone to be highly efficient yet not very effective. This…

This blog has been in my head for a while now. It stems from my first-hand experience working as the CEO for a N.Z. business in recent times, during which I listened to how the directors of this business would blame a number of parties (e.g. accountants/ consultants) for their trading performance and achievements. These directors made claims that they had failed to move their business ahead and grow at a faster rate due to poor advice that they had…

It is increasingly apparent that well-developed verbal communication skills are becoming a rarity as the digital age continues to evolve. This trend is particularly evident among younger people (i.e. mid twenties and below), many who seem to have chosen the route of hiding behind digital screens in preference to stumping-up to talk face-to-face with another person.  Based on my first-hand experiences in various management roles – and now as a tertiary education provider – I can tell you that the…

The book titled “Physics of the Future”, written by Michio Kaku  (www.mkaku.org), continues to provide stimulating reading material for me. It is a fascinating book, that provides remarkable insights into how physics is continuing to shape the world and our experiences in it.  The chapter in this book that has spiked my interest recently is one which identifies what Michio strongly predicts will shortly become the most valuable “commodity” (if it can be called that) in the world. What is…