Technical training?

One issue that frequently comes up is training. Unfortunately, I don't have great coverage there. For example, how does one actually prepare and deliver material for information governance, ERP, or SharePoint?

One approach to operationalize this problem is to breakdown the contents of the CTT+ accreditation. References could include the CTT+ study guides.

Another approach is to review the content of a trade group such as the ASTD. Certain works seem to get good reviews, notably "Telling ain't training", "Beyond telling ain't training fieldbook", etc. Some other decent works seem to be the "ASTD handbook of measuring and evaluating training" and "The ASTD handbook of training design and delivery".

These things might be worth putting on my ILL list.

Developing Electronic File Structures: ARMA TR 23-2013

Thanks to the inter-library loan efforts of my local library, I now have a copy of this ARMA standard. Thanks LPL!

Let's see what's in this standard.

In the rationale we see that this standard is about the development of electronic file plans and should be used in conjunction with ISO 15489-1. That's good because I also got a copy of that standard via ILL.

Apparently a file plan is "a classification scheme that defines and identifies all files,including indexing and storage of the files, and referencing the disposition schedule for each file." It introduces some interesting concepts such as "data atlas", "data map", etc.

The standard sets up two axes of analysis: structured vs. unstructured, and record vs. non-record. It also presents different interpretations of the records lifecyle:

Information lifecycle model

• creation
• distribution and use
• storage and maintenance
• retention and disposition
• archival preservation

Progression of actions model

• creation
• capture
• storage and maintenance
• use
• disposal

Three ages model

• current records
• semi-current records
• non-current records

Vital records are particularly important. Long term preservation may be particularly challenging. A controlled language is also very important (e.g., controlled vocabularies, glossaries, indicies, ontologies, taxonomies, and thesauri). These tools are important for standardizing naming conventions, reducing duplication, etc. The standard gives some pretty blunt advice on terms:

• hire a consultant to create a controlled language tool
• locate an organization with similar functions and purchase the rights to use and customize its tool
• collaborate with similar organizations on the development of controlled language tools
• locate and use publicly or privately created controlled language tools

Lambe's Organizing Knowledge would be a pretty good reference here!

The standard then applies particular attention to taxonomies: "A taxonomy can be viewed as a type of geographical representation of an organization's controlled vocabulary... Since users in an organization possess varying levels of familiarity and skills, taxonomies help reduce information overload by providing multiple contextual cues ranging from functional to subject or series identification." The given example is functional:

• 0400 Financial management (FUNCTION)
• 0405 Accoutning and revenue (ACTIVITY)
• - 05 Accounts payable (SERIES/SUBJECT)

There are, of course, challenges with big bucket schemes and the standard references ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005 (R2010). It notes that "one of the key features of taxonomic design is that it supports information-seeking behaviors such as browsing and searching."

The standard articulates some of search approaches:

• boolean search
• full-text search
• keyword search
• metadata search
• natural language search
• phrase search
• proximity search
• SQL search
• truncated search
• wildcard operator search

Of course, we could segue into a significant conversation related to search engine tuning and optimization, its impact on information architecture, etc.

We then move on to classification:

"To classify is to create order out of chaos, to put like things together." The challenge occurs when there is a lack of controlled language which might lead to non-functional classification... which isn't good. This issue leads us into naming conventions. Considerations include:

• order of terms in file titles
• use of spaces and special characters
• format of dates or other numerical information
• acronyms or abbreviations
• document type labels
• version identifiers
• addition of confidential, draft, or final status designators

The standard recommends using the information lifecycle as an approach for determining the type of metadata to be assigned. "Common metadata elements" include:

• unique identifier
• data of capture
• document type
• taxonomic attributes
• title
• description
• creator
• language
• version
• subject headings
• keywords
• location
• retention information
• permissions
• access
• change logs
• logical format
• file format
• other technical specifications (7,18,19)

Morville and Rosenfeld's Information architecture for the World Wide Web also has some decent guidance on this topic and the Dublin Core is always a good reference.

Some good advice: "To ensure that a metadata protocol is consistently applied and not overly burdensome to organizations, metadata creation and collection may be automated or inherited from higher levels of the taxonomy, whenever possible." Metadata has to consider business drivers, risk factors, length of retention, regulatory environment, format specification, legal liability, and IT infrastructure.

Ultimately, the project has to involve business management, records and information management, and IT. There is also a need for policies and procedures, typically:

• Employee (HR) policy or handbook
• Employee use of infrastructure policy
• Information governance policy
• Information governance policy
• Intellecutal property policy
• Internet policy
• Mobile device policy
• Privacy/security policy
• Records policy
• Social media policy

Now that we're into the process of actually creating the file structure we have to do a few things:

1. The records inventory. Interview and survey to develop a list of the organization's records, including types, location, classification systems, and usage data. Consider email, storage, physical records, application databases, archives, backup, etc.
2. Create a data map/data atlas. 
• Data map. This is where we get more details. The data map is more than a records inventory. It is a "sweeping, defensible depiction of an organization's electronically stored information (ESI)." Include systems, media, business units, stewards, and custodians. The map gives one level of granularity but enables analysis. For example, it could facilitate a discussion related to the location of recruiting records. During eDiscovery, for example, a data map could be produced to identify potentially relevant ESI.
• Data atlas. It's more than a data map. It's a catalog of ESI and "may consist of maps, charts, lists, spreadsheets, tables with supplementary illustrations, databases, and analyses."
3. Creating/updating the retention schedule. The retention schedule should be updated an dlinked to the file plan.
4. Incorporate audit activities. Audit is essential according to GARP. The file plan needs to support audit activities:
• access and security controls
• disposition procedures
• legal holds and eDiscovery
• organizational understanding of RIM/training
• physical and electronic file plans
• policies and procedures related to RIM
• retention and vital records schedules
• roles and responsibilities related to RIM
• identification of persons/timelines associated with file plan revision
• identification of triggers for revision/modification
• examination of continued relevance of controlled language tools
• adequacy of storage infrastructure

We then get into a discussion of storage which is... not terribly informative. We have some information on media types, obsolescence, conversion and migration, DR and BC, etc. Smallwood's Information Governance book is more informative on the topic.

An interesting comment on shared drives: "Nearly every organization has network shared drives offering file storage for its employees. In many instances, however, RIM policies for the use of these drives are non-existent. If policies are in place, compliance and oversight are inadequate, allowing individual departments to develop information silos rife with duplicative and unnecessary files."

The guide continues with some concerns related to access, noting best practices by the American Health Information Management Association (34) , the International Association of Privacy Professionals (35), NIST, and ISACA. There is also a bit of commentary on security and privacy regulations. Again, Smallwood is probably a better resource.

FRCP 26 and 34 get some mention. It notes that FRCP 30(b)(6) allows an organization to name an individual to testify on its behalf. A file plan is a good resource for them. Other resources include the EDRM, IGRM, GARP, Sedona principles, etc.

Then there's a technology discussion: ECM, EDMS, ERMS, etc.

Section 9 is about change management and training. It promises that Appendix A will serve as a guide. Key principals in change management include executive support, communicating the need for change, establish a change process including training. Communications plan could consider social platforms, newletters, and promotion campaigns. There is some guidance for training but it seems pretty crappy. Apparently the American Management Association and the American Society for Training and Development have better guidance (a BOK maybe?).

Appendix A provides a WBS for a project.

Appendix B offers a pretty good case study.

The standard is interesting but it really doesn't give us a template for a data map/data atlas... which would be nice.

Other references? 

• ARMA TR 22-2012 Glossary of Records and Information Management Terms.
• ANSI/ARMA 5:2010 -- vital records programs: identifying, managing, and recovering business-critical records.
• ARMA -- Controlled language in records and information management
• ISO 5963:1985 Documentation -- methods for examining documents, determining their subjects, and selecting index terms
• ANSI/NISO Z39.85-2012, The Dublin Core metadata element set
• ARM TR3-2009, Metadata: a basic tutorial for records managers
• ARMA Retention management for records and information. 
• ARMA Guideline for outsourcing records storage to the cloud.
• ARMA Records management responsibility in litigation support
• DoD 5015.02-STD
• Naming conventions for electronic documents (Alberta Government Services)
• Best practice for file-naming (North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources)
• Managing electronic records in shared network drives -- good practice guidance. University of Stirling Records Management Office.

Books by Steelcase

I find Steelcase to be a very interesting company largely because it is a company focused on worker productivity that is not necessarily a tech company. So what kinds of things has it published? Let's see:

• The Steelcase national study of office environments -- do they work? (1978). It's at Western but probably locked up in storage.
• Planning principles for effective office interiors (1974). There's a copy at UofM.
• White-collar productivity : the national challenge (1982). This one is also at Western.

A general search for "white collar" is pretty interesting.

Office space terminators...

Extending some of my previous ideas about pico productivity, I end up with a a few composites. Basically, what happens when we put the Terminator in an office environment.

Additional thoughts on pico-productivity

I sometimes wonder what our goals are for managing knowledge workers and information exchange. We can take a life cycle perspective where we hire a new employee that may know nothing. The are raw clay. We develop that employee until they become... what... a machine? Here's a potential model:

In this model we see our raw recruit get groomed into something much more specialized: a machine. We have essentially taken out all of their individuality and "soldiering" and turned them into a perfectly repeatable machine. Of course, there's some middle ground. For example, we might not have a machine but a worker that does a highly repeatable and measurable task with documented procedures and good controls (and ignoring Roy's concept of "banana time").

Of course, we might end up envisioning something else. Instead of a machine we might want a highly effective individual operator or Terminator:

Here too, there is a downside. Not every employee has the potential to be a Terminator. For that matter, rarely does a Terminator have the chance to be a Terminator. How often does such a clear cut mission actually occur? We have to ask ourselves how effective a Terminator would be in fulfilling all of the administrivia that creeps into our jobs. Just imagine: the Terminator does performance reviews; the Terminator attends a month-end meeting; the Terminator takes another HR course; etc.

A bigger risk is that our trained employee simply becomes lost in the mechanics of the machine we have built in an effort to increase efficiency!

I do have a bigger point in this analysis. I'm really thinking about how to optimize the different steps in the model. How, for example, do we make sure that we get the right recruits. The Hudson's Bay Company, for example, basically had various captive charity schools to produce recruits. There's also the issue of effectively socializing these recruits and developing a base set of skills. All soldiers, for example, need to do basic training before specializing. There's also the issue of how we develop specialized skills. What do the training and apprenticeship programs look like? And ultimately, how do we start taking some of the repeatable tasks and mechanizing them?

Leveraging BOKs... or is that BsOK... or maybe just "Bodies of Knowledge"

What do you do if you need to do research on a topic and you really don't know anything about it? This scenario is quite common among in my line of research. For example, you could be doing research on a topic like Web Content Management. Our general approach is to ask: "Who is going to do this research? What questions do they need to ask?" In this case, the answers would be "Applications Manager" and a whole list of questions related to the technology and project. The question that one should ask, however, is "who should I hire? What are there qualifications?". These questions enable me to operationalize the problem.

The first thing that I would look for in a potential hire is some sort of certification or accreditation. These certifications -- if they exist -- give us a list of necessary skills, competencies, and project steps. For our example, we could search for something like "web content management certifications" or "web content management accreditation" or "digital market certifications", etc.

Many certification programs have an underlying body of knowledge (BOK) or some sort of similar structure. Ideally, the accreditation is based on the BOK but there might be some exceptions. Sometimes the BOK is commercially available; sometimes it's not. For example, the ITIL books could certainly represent a BOK but they aren' labeled as such nor is the COBIT framework. Conversely, the IEEE Software Engineering Body of Knowledge is labeled as a BOK but doesn't have a corresponding certification program. Regardless, a search for things like "web content management body of knowledge" or "web content management competency requirements" can be valuable.

A third vector is to explore maturity models. Some models are very mature and correspond with the tenets of ISO 15505. Others are more like thought models. Regardless, appending "maturity model" to any particular domain can give some sense of what kinds of requirements and skills should be involved in a particular project. If a maturity model doesn't exist, BOKs and accreditation frameworks can be valuable for creating one with a somewhat rigorous base.

Let's give this a try. First off, we have the UK's Institute of Direct and Digital Marketing (http://www.theidm.com/). It offers some masters programs and postgraduate diplomas.  It does, however, give us a list  of courses:

• social media: strategy, tools, and tactics
• email marketing: tactics
• social media strategy
• email marketing: strategy
• digital marketing: the complete guide

The course description for that one gives us some interesting information (http://www.theidm.com/marketing-training/courses/digital-marketing-the-complete-guide/):

1. Impact of digital on business: history of digital/internet marketing; how technology is changing business; digital disruption
2. Impact of digital on marketing: challenges; how has digital impacted marketing; paid, owned, and earned media; impact of digital on the 4Ps; rise of permission marketing; developing a value proposition
3. Impact of digital on customers: impact on customer behaviour and buying habits; impact on the marketing funnel and customer journey
4. Developing a digital strategy: intro; integration and multichannel; test and learn
5. Mobile experience: channel or access point; intro to mobile devices; impact of mobile on consumer behaviour; mobile marketing opps; sites vs. apps; responsive and adaptive design
6. Introduction to social media: why is it different; intro to social channels; intro to social strategy; understanding audience and channel; identifying competitors and opportunity; intro to social listening; measurement and evaluation
7. Intro to content marketing: why is content important; brand storytelling; explore different types of content; what makes successful content; content curation; intro to online video; hero, hub, and hygiene content; content strategy and plan; measuring success
8. Intro to email marketing: new direct marketing; building a mailing list; hurdles in getting content opened and read; using email to drive engagement and action; anatomy of a successful email; measurement and testing
9. Introduction to digital display: more than clicks; display format; video advertising; buying digital display
10. Intro to affiliate marketing. What is it; why and how; what are the different types of opportunities; what type of responses
11. Data and legal for digital marketers. Where does data come from; why is it valuable; how can you use it; segmentation, targeting, and single customer view; intro to legal; web analytics; the future

Not bad. Let's see what else we can find.

Now we have something from WebProfessionals.org and the WOW Certified E-Commerce Manager (CECM -- http://webprofessionals.org/certification/cecm/). What is this thing? It has a pretty standard test (70 questions in 60 minutes) across topics like internet basics, web business strategies, client and project management, web marketing and sales, and the fundamentals of e-commerce. The details:

• Internet basics: browsers, search engines and directories; internet history; FTP, email, newsgroups, WWW; web business concepts; budgeting/ROI; outsourcing; legal issues; intranets/extranets
• Web marketing and sales: online and offline ad placement and tracking; search engines and rankings; site metrics, analysis and refinement; web marketing, advertising and promotions, web traffic measurement and analysis; marketing strategy; market research and development; web site usability; customer profiling; sales-force automation.
• Fundamentals of e-commerce. Dynamic content management rules; online merchandising; customer profiling and CRM; legacy system integration; content management system; security/privacy integration; vendor selection; database management; order and credit processing, fulfillment; customer support and retention systems; meta-data, search optimization
• Client and Project Management. requirements definition; goal and milestone management; scope management; client expectations and communications.

We also get a list of emerging topics for 2015. Members are concerned about: web security, social media, web project management, web marketing, mobile app dev, responsive design, typography, HTML5, JavaScript, programming, web and content marketing, CSS, linked and big data, programming, JQuery, search, web standards, legal and copyright, legal issues.

Now something from the Smart Card Alliance -- the CSCIP Body of Knowledge (http://www.smartcardalliance.org/activities-leap-cscip-body-of-knowledge/)

• Smart card fundamentals. card components, IC types, card design, formats, communication interfaces, memory size and tpes, operating systems, design features, manufacturing process, readers, relevant smart card standards, smart cards and biometrics, specifications
• Security. certifications (FIPS, common criteria); IC level; card edge interface; encryption algorithms; security at system level; phsyical; logical
• Smart Card Application and Data management. single applicaiton cards, multi-application cards; chip initialization; key management; issuance; card life cycle; relevant standards
• Smart Card Usuage Models. drivers and benefits; SIMs; UICCs; near field communication; sample smart card mobile and subscriber models
• Smart Card Usage Models. identity cards, ePassports, physica/logical access, biometrics, digital certificates, relevant standards, bank cards, contactless payments, NFC payments, transit payment, parking payment.

So this one is interesting but really not overly relevant for what I'm looking for.

Dalhousie has a Master of Electronic Commerce program but I really don't want to have to parse all of the background information.

The Online Marketing Institute has an Email Marketing Certification (http://www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org/course-certifications/email-marketing-certification/). The class list gives us some guidance on what we could see: Foundations, campaign fundamentals, copywriting and content essentials, how to build and manage an email list, crafting effective email messages, tracking and measuring, deliverability and reputation, compliance and CANSPAM.

What other programs do they have? There are certs for Content Marketing, Web Analytics, Web Usability, SEO, Paid Search, Demand Gen, Mobile Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Facebook and Google+ Marketing, etc.

Then there's the eMarketing Association. It has a variety of certs including mobile marketer, eMarketer, social marketing associate, etc. Let's see what involved in the Certified eMarketer (CeM) program. You need to be a member, have two years of experience, and take an exam... but we don't have any kind of BOK. The available courses seem a bit... dodgy. Next!

The Direct Marketing Association offers the DMA Certified Marketing Professional (DCMP). It's basically a course and a test. The outline of the course gives some details (http://dmaeducation.org/files/2014/07/DCMP1.pdf)... but lacks details to be meaningful.

IAB Canada also offers a "Digital Marketing Certification Program" for the Canadian marketing community. There are three different designations: a certificate, a leadership certificate, and a master certificate. The certificates are earned by completing IAB courses. So, what are the courses? The Integrated Digital Marketing course (http://iabcanada.com/courses/integrated-digital-marketing/#description) actually looks pretty interesting but it's not quite what I'm looking for.

There is also the Certified eMarketing Consultant certification assessment (http://cemcglobal.com/body_knowledge). It's an Australian thing. The body of knowledge considers:

• Social Networking. create profiles and groups; use Open Social; participate in conversation
• Publishing. act like a publisher; identify audience; create content; differentiate concept; assess competition; build online community; seek to influence, not control; explore experimental ideas
• E-mail marketing. use lists responsibly; provide compelling value prop; use 1.54 and 5.0 second rules; identyf market segments; maximise conversions; get messages to clients at the right time
• Web Page Marketing. understand prospect and customer needs; understand sales funnel; implement marketing metrics; understand conversion definitions; set specific measurable goals; create valuable content; avoid serif fonts; use frames and flash cautiously
• Internet forum. create a trusted community, engage the conversation, follow forum rules and regs
• Blogging. post regularly; use catchy titles; ask open-ended questions; comment on others frequently; know Twitter; provide RSS to email; use imags; use header tags; structure for scannability; research and chose mailing list correctly; use Facebook; offer something unique; provide videos; link; become an affiliate; use keywords; make sharing easy; use analytics
• Wiki. participate; develop an internal one; encourage participation; grow content
• Photo sharing...
• Podcasting...
• Audio sharing...
• Video broadcast...
• Video sharing...
• Microblogging...
• Livecasting...
• Virtual world...
• Virtual gaming...
• RSS
• SEO. analyze every page for its own keywords; titles include keywords; check metadata; build links
• SEM. create good content
• Mobile marketing...
• Social media strategy...
• Social media strategy applications. create audience personas; develop and validate concepts; assess competition; validate execution; assess sales viability

This stuff is okay... but is perhaps a bit dated.

Another marketing BOK

Another marketing BOK. This one is currently under development by the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). The BOK isn't completed but there is a breakdown of domain knowledge (http://www.smps.org/uploadedFiles/SMPS/Site_Framework/Sidebars/CPSM/SMPS_DomainsofPractice_Insert_11X17.pdf):

Marketing research
 Monitor social, demographic, cultural,
and economic trends
 Monitor industry-related market information
 Read publications relevant to a target market
 Forecast trends
 Set up methodologies for collecting and
evaluating information
 Maintain a network of contacts to keep
abreast of relevant markets and trends
 Design/Evaluate research studies
 Analyze/Document research results
 Participate in market research activities
 Monitor federal, state, and local
regulatory matters
 Read marketing reference materials
 Gather data using interviews, surveys
and focus groups


Marketing planning
 Analyze data of relevant industries and competitors
 Analyze relevant historical and contemporary data
 Analyze market data
 Interpret market research results
 Conduct a SWOT analysis
 Collect industry marketing cost data
 Participate in strategic planning
 Develop a vision statement, goals and objectives
 Facilitate the planning process
 Select target markets
 Create a marketing plan/budget
 Set marketing goals
 Manage implementation of a marketing plan/budget
 Estimate the impact of marketing on the bottom
line and the return on investment
 Conduct a cost/benefit analysis
 Provide a progress report on the marketing plan
 Revise the marketing plan

Client and business development
 Create business development strategies
 Research prospective client industries
 Pre-qualify a client/project
 Build a relationship with prospective clients
 Maintain contact databases
 Maintain a relationship with past clients
 Measure client satisfaction
 Address issues from a client satisfaction survey
 Participate in client business
development activities
 Develop client-specific business
development plans
 Develop project-pursuit or capture plans
 Conduct client perception studies

Proposals
 Conduct and participate in an RFQ/RFP
strategy session
 Determine the firm’s capability to perform
the requested project
 Make a go/no-go decision
 Complete government forms
 Identify firms for teaming/partnering
 Determine the value of the project to the firm
 Determine the fee structure
 Determine the history and culture of the
project/building site
 Draft a proposal
 Oversee production of a proposal
 Draft a letter of intent
 Develop a presentation of a proposal
 Prepare proposal presentation materials
 Identify presentation personnel, meeting space
and equipment needs
 Use desktop publishing software
 Identify client hot buttons
 Identify affirmative action and M/WBE opportunities
 Arrange for audio/visual aids
 Conduct a presentation rehearsal
 Present a presentation
 Perform contract negotiations
 Draft/Sign a contract
 Develop a system/schedule for tracking
proposal elements
 Conduct a post-award debriefing regardless
of outcome
 Develop a proposal QA/QC process
 Develop a proposal close-out process

Promotional Activity
 Develop corporate identity
 Develop a unique value proposition
 Plan trade show activities
 Maintain a press list
 Develop a communications/social media plan
 Maintain a web presence
 Manage expenditures consistent with the budget
 Develop an advertising plan
 Place advertisements
 Develop corporate entertainment strategies
 Represent the firm at external events
 Draft press releases
 Draft newsletter or journal articles
 Create electronic/video promotional materials
 Coordinate photography
 Interview vendors and consultants
 Select vendors and consultants
 Manage and direct activities of consultants
 Prepare award competition entries
 Coordinate firm special events
 Train staff to interact with media

Management
 Supervise marketing and support staff
 Communicate across departments and/or
branch offices
 Develop information management systems
 Develop an internal communications program
 Conduct marketing training sessions
 Conduct marketing and BD training for
technical staff
 Attend professional development activities
 Develop marketing incentive systems
 Recruit personnel
 Evaluate the production process to
improve efficiency
 Comply with business and accounting principles
 Select a customer relationship management
(CRM) system
 Maintain a customer relationship management
(CRM) system
 Promote a firmwide business development culture

Professional Certified Marketer BOK

Then there's the AMA's Professional Certified Marketer (https://www.ama.org/events-training/certification/documents/ama-pcm-handbook.pdf). The BOK includes:

• Domain 1: Ethical issues
• marketing ethics
• identify the ethical values marketers should embrace
• know the AMA statement of ethical norms
• understand the process of making ethical marketing decisions
• distinguish between ethics and social responsibility
• describe how ethics can be integrated into marketing strategy
• Domain 2: Strategic marketing
• marketing fundamentals
• define the role of marketing in orgs
• describe how marketers create value for a product or service
• understand why marketing is important
• understand the importance of relationship management
• marketing planning
• discuss importance of understanding a company's business, mission, vision, and values in setting strategic goals
• describe elements of a strategic marketing plan, from planning, through implementation, to metric-based evaluation
• list the steps an organization uses to develop a strategic marketing plan
• marketing analysis
• understand the techniques used in making marketing strategy decisions
• analyze a marketing situation using SWOT analysis
• outline how customers, the company, competitors, and channel partners affect marketing strategy
• explain why macro environmental forces are important in making marketing decisions
• Domain 3: Understanding and Targeting the Marketplace
• consumer behavior
• articulate the steps in the consumer buying process
• describe the difference between functional and psychological needs
• understand the various control and risk factors that affect information search
• discuss post-purchase outcomes
• understand the psychological and social/cultural factors that affect the behavior of buyers as they go through the consumer buying process
• describe how the consumer decision making process can be influenced by varying levels of consumer involvement
• business-to-business marketing
• describe ways in which B2B firms segment their markets
• understand the B2B buying process
• understand the key differences between B2B and B2C marketing
• identify the different roles within the buying center
• global marketing
• understand the factors that aid in the growth of globalization
• understand the methods used to assess attractiveness of global markets
• discuss various strategies used effectively enter into global markets
• highlight the similarities and differences between a domestic marketing strategy and a global marketing strategy
• segmentation targeting and positioning
• discuss different techniques and methods for segmenting markets
• describe how firms determine whether a segment is attractive and worth targeting
• articulate the difference among various targeting strategies
• define brand positioning and value proposition
• describe how firms develop value propositions to build a brand 
• market research
• understand the marketing research process
• summarize the differences between secondary data and primary data
• describe various secondary data sources
• describe various qualitative and quantitative primary data collection techniques
• examine circumstances under which collecting information on consumers is ethical 
• Domain 4: value creation
• branding and packaging decisions
• explain the various components of brand equity
• develop an understanding of brand strategy and the various types of branding strategies used by firms
• distinguish between brand extension and line extension
• indicate the advantages of a product's packaging and labeling strategy
• products and services
• describe the different groups of adopters articulated by the diffusion of innovation theory
• explain the various stages involved in developing a new product or service
• describe the various product life cycle concepts
• identify types of consumer products
• explain the difference between a product mix's breadth and a product line's depth
• describe how the marketing of services differs from the marketing of products
• discuss the four gaps in the Service Gap Model
• understand the various dimensions related to service quality
• explain the zone of tolerance
• discuss the strategies and tactics companies used to recover from bad service experiences
• Domain 5: value capture
• pricing concepts and methods
• understand the various principles and techniques used by firms to set their prices
• understand the variety of pricing orientations considered by firms when setting prices
• explain price elasticity and inelasticity
• describe how to calculate a product's break-even point
• describe the various types of competitive pricing
• describe the forecasting terms used to determine demand
• describe the differences between various pricing strategies
• describe the legal and ethical issues related to pricing
• Domain 6: value delivery
• supply chain and channel management
• define supply chain management and the role of logistics
• describe the flow of merchandise and the flow of information in the supply chain
• describe the strategies used in managing supply chains and marketing channels
• retailing and multichannel marketing
• discuss the factors manufacturers should consider asat hey develop their strategy for working with retailers
• understand the various levels of distribution intensity
• describe the various types of retailers and the benefits and challenges of each type
• identify the benefits and challenges of multichannel retailing
• Domain 7: marketing communication
• integrated marketing communications
• understand the principles of communication and strategies used to effectively communicate
• explain the four steps of the AIDA model
• describe the various traditional integrated marketing communication channels
• recognize the challenges and opps associated with communicating to various cultural an social target segments
• explain the various ways used to allocate the IMC budget
• advertising, public relations, and sales promotion
• describe the steps in designing and executing an advertising campaign
• understand the various objectives of advertising
• describe the different ways that advertisers appeal to consumers
• identify the various types of advertising media
• identify agencies that regulate advertising
• describe the elements of a public relations toolkit
• identify the various types of sales promotions
• direct marketing and customer relationship management
• understand the variety of methods used in direct marketing, and the advantages and disadvantages of each
• understand the use of data in segmenting target markets
• recognize various legal and ethical issues related to direct marketing
• interactive marketing: internet/social media
• recognize and describe the newer and emerging communication channels
• identify the various types of interactive marketing vehicles
• identify various types of social media, their advantages and disadvantages
• recognize the various legal and ethical issues
• personal selling and sales management
• define the steps in the personal selling process
• describe the key functions involved in managing a salesforce
• describe the ethical and legal issues in personal selling
• Domain 8: marketing evaluation
• marketing metrics
• identify marketing metrics used to measure integrated marketing communications success
• discuss the principles and techniques used to track and measure the success of a marketing plan
• understand the economic and accounting principles related to profitability and profit/loss analysis
• understand the role of marketing metrics in the ongoing evaluation of business and marketing planning

Virtual Training 2015/04/02 #013.2

Take downs from the knees

It seems like ages since I've been on the mats. Easter holidays will do that. I did, however, make a point of studying some tutorials and taking some notes.

Pull back

1. The first take down starts from a typical tie up... actually they all do. You have their head and an elbow, typically with your left hand on their head. Now, put your right foot to the outside of their left knee and swing your left leg under. Pull them into your guard.

2. The second take down starts exactly the same way. You have a tie up. Now, put your right foot between your opponents legs. Swing your left foot under and lie down on your left side. Lift with your right foot like a butterfly sweep. Take mount.

3. The third version is exactly like the second version but it's intended for a smaller guy. Basically. move dynamically and pull hard. You're really hopping into the move. That's probably good advice for all of these!

4. This take down is much like the others but it has a twist. Push in the elbow of the arm on the side with the raised knee so their elbow is over your knee and into your navel. Grab their lat and sit back, again like a butterfly sweep but to the other other side. You'll both end up on your backs so move fast and take side control.

5. Finally, try putting your right foot across their body to the outside. I've used this setup to get a basic judo throw from the knees (but injured one of my training partners in the process). This version is a bit different and potentially safer. Just roll onto your side with the raised knee. Your shin should basically come up across their abdomen. Go for the armbar.

There are other take downs but is the basic Roy Harris series. The other series involve two-on-ones and push forwards.

On a different topic, I've taken renewed interest into that fancy side mount escape and potential follow ups. I'll just call it the Lindy Hop sweep because you're basically swinging your opponent around your back. So, you're in bottom side control. Your opponent has a good cross face and is fighting for that collar. You're up on your hip facing away from them and they have near side control. The first thing is to protect your neck so keep your bottom hand against your face and take away any space they may have. Now, reach up around their head with your other arm in a "show me your biceps!" motion. Move your bottom leg perpendicular to their body to make space, bridge, and then pass your bottom arm under your body so that you're essentially rolling over onto your tummy. Since you've hooked your opponent's head, they are coming along for the ride. They will basically come over your shoulders and you will end up in some sort of weird scarf hold, crossfacing with the wrong arm. If you're quick, you can get a paper cutter choke or an ezekiel. Personally, I'm always just a bit surprised that I got the sweep and generally forget the finish!

The other thing that I want to learn is the ghost escape from side control but I don't quite have the mechanics down.

Marketing Intelligence Body of Knowledge

I was recently reviewing some BOK stuff and I came across this core curriculum. Honestly, I think that all sorts of researchers should really go through this stuff.

There's also the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association. It offers the Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) designation, along with some core curriculum competency requirements:

1. Professional practice
1. Rules of conduct and good practice
1. General rules for the conduct of research
1. integrity and due care
2. competence
3. objectivity
4. quality control
5. projectability of research results
6. documentation of work performed
7. access to documentation
8. recruitment
9. use of marketing research information
10. using the services of others
11. professional development
2. Responsibility of members to the public
1. treatment of respondents
2. respondents rights
3. respondent confidentiality and privacy
4. use of monitoring tools
5. research with minors
6. selling and fundraising under the guide of marketing research
3. Responsibility of clients to practitioners
1. competitive bids
2. ownership of research techniques
3. dissemination of research results
4. liability
5. fees and remuneration
4. Responsibility of practitioners to clients
1. privacy and confidentiality
2. multi-client projects
3. verification of interviews
4. disclosure of research methodology
5. security of information
6. fees and remuneration
7. use of clients name
2. Marketing research design
1. The need for marketing research
1. value of marketing research
2. reducing uncertainty
3. problem solving
4. monitoring trends and performance
5. the cost vs. value of marketing research
2. Defining the research objectives
3. Research designs
1. exploratory, conclusive, and tracking research
2. cross-sectional and longitudinal design
3. secondary and primary research
4. quantitative and qualitative research
5. tools for data collection
1. surveys (mail, telephone, in-person, omnibus)
2. research panels
3. in-depth interviews
4. focus groups
5. experimental designs
6. on-line vs other data collection methods
4. Designing a research project
1. criteria for selecting a research design
1. determining the specific information needs
2. identifying the sources of the required information
2. appropriate use of data collection tools
3. elements of a research plan/proposal
1. background
2. the research problem
3. objectives of the research
4. need for external resources
5. research techniques used
6. scope of the study
7. deliverables
8. limitations
9. timeline
10. costs
3. Statistical methods for marketing research
1. Sampling methods
1. The need for sampling
2. Defining the study population
1. element
2. population
3. sampling unit
4. sampling frame
5. study population
3. Sampling methodologies
1. random
2. stratified random
3. cluster
4. systematic
5. random digit
6. quota
7. nonprobability
8. choosing a sampling method
4. Determine the size of the sample
1. calculating sample statistics
1. margin of error
2. level of confidence
3. response rate
4. completion rate
5. sample distribution
2. effect of smaple size on precision
2. Analyzing research data
1. assessing the quality of the sample for making inferences back to a universe
1. expected or know biases
2. weighting to correct for possible biases
2. characteristics of data
1. types of data
1. nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio
2. categorical vs. continuous
2. data considerations for analytical procedures
3. tabulation of research data
1. specifying a set of tables for preliminary analysis
2. tables for specific hypotheses
4. measures of central tendency and dispersion
1. mean
2. median
3. standard deviation
4. standard error
5. skewness
5. significance testing and strength of relationships
1. confidence intervals boundaries for categorical and continuous
2. significance difference testing for categorical and continuous
3. t-tests
4. chi square
5. correlation
6. multivariate analysis
1. multi-dimensional scaling
2. correspondence analysis
3. regression
4. analysis of variance
5. discriminant analysis
6. factor analysis
7. cluster analysis
8. classification tree analysis
9. conjoint and discrete choice analysis
10. structural equation modelling
4. Questionnaire design
1. Questionnaire types
1. range of types
2. disadvantages and advantages
2. questionnaire components
1. questionnaire sections
2. typical content of each section
3. question comprehension
1. survey atmosphere
2. respondent understanding
3. respondent agendas
4. question sequencing
1. logical flow
2. psychological flow
3. question order effects
5. types of questions
1. behavioral measures
2. attitudinal measures
3. open ended
4. hybrid
5. closed ended
1. dichotomous
2. multiple choice (multichotomous)
1. types
2. when to use prompted/unpromted
3. when to rotate or not (primacy and recency)
3. rating scales
1. ranking
2. likert scale
3. semantic-differential
4. scale design
6. wording
1. effective wording of questions
1. clarity
2. use of specialized terms
3. neutral questions
4. behaviour questions
5. personal or private questions
6. questions involving pride
7. question length
2. wording to avoid
7. questionnaire format
1. effective questionnaire format
1. self-administered
2. interviewer-administered
3. show cards
2. formatting to avoid
8. pre-testing
5. Qualitative marketing research
1. qualitative research
1. use of qualitative research
2. limitations
2. types of qualitative research
1. focus groups
2. diads/triads
3. mini-groups
4. mega groups
5. in-depth interviews
6. observations
7. impact of technology
1. use of interactive devices
2. telephone groups
3. internet focus groups
4. long distance observation
3. designing a focus group study
1. group composition
2. geographic location
3. group size
4. number of groups
5. recruitment
6. screener questions
1. design
2. purpose
7. selection of focus group types
8. costing
9. facilities (features of a good facility)
10. developing the discussion guide
1. purpose
2. content
11. moderators
1. role of the moderator
2. qualities of a good moderator
3. special considerations
1. gender
2. ethnic background
3. age
4. special knowledge
4. moderating skills and techniques
1. projective techniques
2. use of stimuli
3. group dynamics vs. group interviewing
12. role of observers
4. communicating the findings of focus groups
1. reporting techniques
2. cautions to readers
3. items that should not be included
6. Market intelligence and competitive intelligence
1. Defining market intelligence
1. role and purpose of MI in business
2. components of MI
3. strategic and comp reasons for using MI
4. MI's fit with marketing research
5. how to ensure effective MI
6. how MI is defined across business organizations
7. MI champion development, role, and challenges
2. MI management
1. creating a MI culture
2. developing MI teams
1. roles to be included
2. skills and requirements
3. benefits of MI in organizations
4. users of MI and their individual needs
5. effective decision-making with MI
1. strategic decision making
2. tactical decision making
3. operational decision making
6. analyzing business environment situations and matching with intelligence needs
3. market intelligence process
1. assessing information needs
2. issues management and prioritization
3. analyzing risk
4. developing valid assumptions
5. identifying constraints and how to handle them
4. market intelligence logistics
1. what MI looks like on the user's desk
2. how to communicate MI
3. sources of MI information
4. technical considerations
5. systems and software
6. tools used in MI -- front end and back end
7. data warehousing
8. data mining, filtering, and funneling
5. environmental scanning
1. macro environmental analysis
2. micro environmental analysis
3. market share
4. market size assessment
5. market saturation
6. situation and SWOT analysis
6. internal information used in MI
1. customer information
1. CRM information
2. social media info
3. loyalty and winback info
4. customer segmentation and targeting
7. external info used in MI
1. competitive intelligence
2. competitive technical intelligence
3. patents
8. MI metrics and key performance indicators
1. how to establish key metrics
2. setting and monitoring KPIs
9. information considerations
1. how to ensure urgency, accuracy, relevance, currency, accessiblity, sensitivity
2. cost considerations
10. MI tools and techniques
1. trend analysis
2. predictive modeling
3. customer segmentation and valuation
4. dashboards
5. mapping and GIS
6. drill down techniques
11. MI reporting and monitoring
12. understanding competitive intelligence
1. competitive intelligence
1. active versus defensive CI
2. commonalities and diffs between CI and market research
3. popular applications -- how orgs use CI
4. traditional vs. non-traditional competitors
2. ethics
1. understanding diffs between ethical and non-ethical
2. guidelines for employees
3. guidelines for suppliers
3. sources
1. primary
2. secondary
3. social media
4. tips for growing your network of sources
4. eliciting information
1. how to reach credible respondents
2. tips for listening, questioning and observing
5. data analytical tools
1. blind spot analysis
2. data cell screening
3. predicting techniques
4. ration analysis
5. win loss analysis
6. reporting CI
1. accuracy, misinformation, and verification
2. templates: in-depth, monthly monitoring, quick turn
3. CI newsletter
4. tips for producing effective reports
7. defensive CI (preventing leasks)
1. types of leaks -- accidental, unintentional, intentional, malicious
2. guidelines for elimination
8. setting up the CI program
1. tools -- brief, instructions, plan, respondent DB
2. how to:
1. conduct a CI needs assessment
2. motivate collection and reporting of CI
3. setup a database
4. determine if you need software
5. measure effectiveness
9. understanding competitor benchmarking
1. applications and benefits
2. sample sizes
3. survey format
4. report formats
10. mystery shopping
1. applications and benefits
2. types -- retail, high end customer, B2B, leakage
3. channels -- call centre, onsite, e-support
4. tips on recruiting, briefing, and debriefing
5. report formats
11. special applications
1. public sector CI
2. using CI for new markets
3. war gaming
7. Marketing management
1. customer behavior
1. decision making by end consumers
2. decision making by business orgs
3. source of influence on decision making
2. marketing research
1. using marketing research
2. developing customer insight from data
3. customer focused marketing
1. market segmentation
2. target marketing
3. product positioning
4. the marketing mix
1. the product
1. understanding the product
2. branding
3. new product development
4. product mix decision
2. marketing communications
1. models of communication
2. marketing communications methods
3. advertising planning
3. price
1. variables used in pricing decisions
2. pricing strategies
4. channels of distribution
1. variables in channel decisions
2. channel strategies
5. marketing strategy
1. elements of strategy formation
2. deliberate vs. emergent strategies
3. evaluating core competencies