Intellectual Property Rights No 4 - "Textbook" for Inventors etc....?

This morning I found the third edition of the report by the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights. It is entitled "Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Development Policy" (see link below).
Although rather dated (2003) it gives an overview of IPR in the context of the development of poorer nations within the world economy. I have not attempted to read it but a few glances at the Contents (for about 191 pages of content) suggest that any jobseeker who desires to know the field will find the an interesting starting point.

I am curious of the content which delves into:
Health, including medicine;

Agriculture;

Traditional knowledge;

Internet;

Patent reform;

International aspects; etc.

Reminding myself of the problems that Alfred must have had 1200 years or so ago in developing steps towards nationhood - education, defence, "town", planning, "civil service"..., I must now scan the last eight years to learn of the impact (or not) of the Report and of any progress!

http://www.iprcommission.org/papers/pdfs/final_report/CIPRfullfinal.pdf

Research No 2 - How to research an Employer, etc using Social Media Marketing?

At the end of a job interview the interviewer almost always asks the likes of: "Have you any questions for me?"

It may be a good idea to have several questions up your sleeve: as opposed to none! Of course you will not be expected to ask more than one or two: the important point is that you will be able to show an interest in the organisation/ position/ department etc. Also, you have the opportunity to surprise or interest the interviewer with a genuine query - that's great.

Researching an employer will probably give many questions - which you might be able to bring into the interview as it progresses - leading to a good interview. So, how to research the employer...? (Similar approaches may be used to look at a supplier or a business which is for sale.)

The starting point is the recruitment literature. It should be sufficiently detailed to attract you to apply for the job being offered! Otherwise you will need to go to other sources.

Social Media Marketing: Today the seemingly progressive employer is into social media marketing so during the interview you will be able to demonstrate (if appropriate) your highly developed SMM knowledge and skills (for business) by referring to the content of :

• the latest tweets that have been issued by the employer - avoid looking at Twitter during the interview(!);
• the latest posts on the organisation's website;
• the most recent Google Alerts about the industry received on your smartphone;
• profiles of directors, managers and others you may have sussed on company's wall on Facebook or within LinkedIn;
• hashtags you use to research products and services in the industry;
• job specifications for positions for the developing SMM employment sector, particularly in the company's industry;
• comments you have made on various blogs associated with the organisation or industry;
• with caution, the Retweets or Likes you have about posts and profiles of the individuals and organisations you follow on Twitter or claim as a Friend on Facebook (respectively); and,
• your blog on Google+ (Sorry, but that might be taken by the interviewer/reader as one-up-manship or one-up-womanship.)

Caution: All the above suggests that you may need to be cautious. This will be particularly so if you sense that the interviewer, perhaps and older person, is not yet into these new fangled thingymijigs. For instance he or she may be an "arch enemy" of one of those you claim to be Follower of or as a Friend.



Finally, the interviewer may listen to you and subsequent to the interview:

• climb on to your Facebook wall;
• seek your Profile on LinkedIn;
• hunt down your wilder comments (to blogs); and/ or
• visit your personal blog or website to read your posts.

This post has tried to cover the jargon and elements of SMM - the next post will seek other sources.

Research No 1 - Why research / evaluate an Employer / a Supplier / a Business for Sale

This post is the first of a short series which looks at researching for particular purposes or circumstances. Thus,the circumstances for evaluation are: i) a job-seeker evaluating a prospective employer; b) a start-up business reviewing a supplier of goods and services; and c) possibly, a start-up business initiating due diligence of a business which is up for sale. All three are is likely to find that it takes time.

Taking time to research properly may well pay-off (in time and cost) for the job-seeker in terms of the likes of:

• aborted or fruitless CVs (and covering letters) or job applications;



• failure to get interviews;



• unpreparedness and hence inadequate interviews.

For the supplier-seeker inadequate research may mean critical losses (of time, costs and customers) due to the likes of one or more of:

• failures of supplies to arrive on time;



• poor quality products or services which need to be returned; and,



• poor after care and support.

The buyer of a business will need to ensure adequate research so as to avoid aborted costs, lost time, and possible problems such as:

• hidden problems, eg unpaid accounts,wages, and/or taxes;



• problems with the management, eg production of goods, delivery of services;



• personnel problem, eg staff leaving;



• outstanding liabilities or claims against the business;



• non-compliance with statutory requirements, eg taxation returns.

Some lines of enquiry and sources of information for each of these will be the same but the approaches are certainly very different.

Intellectual Property Rights No 3 - Value to Business and the Economy

Once again the IPO and government has drawn attention to the very high value of intellectual property rights (IPR). A figure of £65 billion a year is given as the annual increment of value in protected rights generated by businesses and other organisations. They include copyrights, and design rights, including rights in intangible digital assets -software.

It still remains the case, however, that many businesses do not protect the potentially valuable assets of this nature.


Details of recent reports on IPR may be found at http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

Personal Time Management 6A - Managing a To-Do List

Managing a to-do list requires practice. If you regularly use to-do lists you may pick up a few tips from this post but you will probably save time by skipping or speed-reading it. Non-useres or casual users should get something from the points given below.

To-do Lists: The following eight points are in effect habits for managing you daily to-do lists:

1. Begin the list for a particular future day as soon as a "happening" is known and "diaried";
2. Think about and finalise the next day's to-do list in the evening before and check it after a night's sleep;
3. Keep the number of to-do's on the day reasonably do-able in the day (See 1);
4. Note the to-do's as must-do's/ should-do's/ possible-do's, ie have an A-list/ B-list/ C-list;
5. Divide any large to-do into a number of smaller ones;
6. Spread very large to-do's over several days/months... etc;
7. Build into every daily to-do list a bit of slack;
8. Cluster like activities, eg correspondence/ filing/ telephoning.

Storage of Lists: Keep a loose-leaf folder for all future days' daily to-do lists (See 1).

Filing: For the correspondence each day collect the file into any files used but otherwise collect and put in order any papers to be filed later (as a to-do), ie do filing at say, the end of the week (See 8).

Diary: My diary acts as an annual to-do listing (See 1) and has a page for a caution list covering next year and subsequent years. Make an entry in the diary as a reminder that to-do's for this year's events to flag-up a warning a month/ week / few days in advance; thus the diary also acts as a caution listing over time. [Tip 1 Regularly look-at or scan your diary a week to a month in advance.]

Telephoning: Have a telephone pad for notes you wish to keep as a record of any conversations. Pad might show: a) person's telephone number, b) date, c) time, d) important points, e) future action and when. [Tip 2]

See PTM 6B for Complete To-do Lists

Time Management 5 - Do you use Clusters to make Time?

Personal time management is "home-based" and mini-scaled when compared to an employer's likely use of systems. Nevertheless the underlying principles are the same or similar.

Here we examine "clusters" for time-saving - it will involve some time in setting up. In some instances the items will be hard copy but do not ignore opportunitis for digital copies. The following are examples:

• Storage Maps: In principle everything has a place for its storage. Untidiness waste times. Not knowing where things are kept wastes time, Not putting things back in their place wastes time. Create a cluster of storage maps of spaces, ie your kitchen, ...bedroom,... garage,.... shed, etc. Show on each map of a space where "things are stored.




• "Tool Boxes": If possible store complementary things together, ie take on board the idea of "tool boxes" or "needle work boxes" for clusters of things. The list could be endless and these are few examples: i) Christmas decorations box; ii) envelope with last year's Christmas cards; iii) garden tools for weeding (in a bag); iv) an address book; v) a birthday book; vi) bulbs, fuses, etc and tools for minor electrical repairs.... etc; v) hanging box for keys.




• "Organisers" or "Folders": Keep originals or copies of personal papers in a filing system. Suit your own life-style from the likes of: i) personal or family history (births, marriages and deaths etc); ii) executor's file (enabling probate and distribution of your estate); iii) files for financial and investment papers; iv) files for insurances; v) files for records of property matters, eg council tax, insurances, names and addresses of contractors, gardeners, etc. (Again the list seems endless!)




• "Libraries": Have organised "libraries" for records, CDs, DVDs, books, magazines and the like.




• "Trays": Organise your current correspondence into trays - yes - "IN", "PENDING" and "OUT". Try not to handle correspondence twice, ie "pending" is neglible; and "out" is to the mail or filing for retained papers.

Personal Time Management 4 - How do you make Lists?

Time management in business or employment may be highly sophisticated but critical path analysis, PERT, and methodology is often based on lists of tasks and/or events. In this post personal time management and the use of lists is explored.

• Time Audits: Looking at your expenditure of time during a normal week - the last 168 hours - may be rewarding. Periods of time of may be divided intothe following: a) Sleep; b) Personal hygiene; c) Meals; d) Domestic - planned "work" and routine "chores"; e) Planned job-seeking; f) Travel; g) Planned leisure h) Time filler-ing - unplanned time usage - TV watching, dozing, etc. The importance of analysing the time audit is in revealing how much time was spent on achieving you objectives or targets for leisure, job-seeking and other planned activities.




• To-do's List: For each day prepare a list of projects, tasks, jobs and other activities which you intend to complete. Large projects may be broken down into smaller tasks and spread over several days or weeks etc.




• Caution List: A digital or hardcopy reminder or warning system in the form of a "diary" with a list of all the important long-term dates, eg renewal of passport, car insurance, MOT, health check-ups, etc. It may span say, 10 years!




• Executor's File: A folder of all important documents your executor will need to obtain probate and administer your estate. It is likely to contain your Will, insurances, evidence of investments and holdings of property, etc.




• List(s) for Event(s): Different events and trips you make will usually require different sets of belongings, documents and pre-events activities etc. Make a list for each kind of event. A holiday in the UK will be similar to one in say, France but will have marked differences, eg the latter requires a passport, euros and EU health card. By way of example - an American family member has a "recreational vehicle" (RV) checklist of about five pages and a pre-travel check which takes about two hours!

Again, your use of lists may not be as comprehensive as suggested here - just use or develop from the above as your life-style requires!