Entries Tagged 'miscellaneous' ↓

Follow us to our new home!

The Project Engineer Blog is moving to -

http://perthblogger.com/projectengineer

Update your bookmarks!

See you there!

Share and enjoy:

A couple of months ago I attended the opening of UWA’s new Business School. One of events held that day was a presentation/interview with Trevor Eastwood, the former CEO of Wesfarmers (which is a massive conglomerate corporation that owns companies like Bunnings and Coles to name a couple). It was interesting to hear from a CEO level some of the management practices that had been used to run such a massive company.

Tips from Trevor:

• Get someone better than you to do your job.
• Translate goals so that they are meaningful to every decision making level in the organisation.
• Use the Argenti System – it is a great delivery tool.
• Don’t track performance annually, you need to do it continually/monthly. You have to know if/when different areas of the business are doing good or falling off the perch.
• Honesty and integrity in business is essential.
• When making acquisitions the discounted cash flow method was used to assess the purchase price. You need to know how you are going to add value because if you don’t change anything it discounts your value (since you paid a premium to acquire the business).

Keeping the above in mind, Wesfarmers recently purchased the Coles supermarket stores. Woolworths, as the stock market will tell, has been outperforming Coles for a while now. In fact, I’ve been watching their share price throughout the whole Global Financial Crisis phase. It has been consistently hovering around the mid-$20 mark. In comparison, Wesfarmers stock has gone up in value by about $10 since Feb 2009. A big part of this has been them finally managing to turn Coles around, minimise their debt and move forward with its growth strategy.

The video below shows current Wesfarmers CEO Michael Chaney briefly describes how Argenti was used successfully over 25 years at Wesfarmers.

Download the PDF publications onthe Argenti System from Harvard:

SWOT Analysis I: Looking Outside for Threats and Opportunities

SWOT Analysis II: Looking Inside for Strengths and Weaknesses

Share and enjoy:

I finally did it.

After walking by them with the intention of buying for about a week or prob more, I mustered up enough courage to approach one of the vendors selling The Big Issue and bought one. It was a goal of mine to do something good ‘directly’ for someone who needs it (rather than just have a bit of money leave my account each month). I just didn’t realise how directly – the guys selling the magazine get to keep half the cover price of $5. They are people who have experienced or currently experience homelessness or long term unemployment.

I don’t know why I was chicken shit before. Like a friend suggested, maybe it was because of some of the vendors’ appearances and habits (eg smoking). But it felt good when I did it. The guy was a younger guy who seemed to process information a little bit slowly but he was very polite. I gave him all my coins, which were a bit more than $5 but I’m sure he’d appreciate them more than I would. The only thing I felt bad about was walking a way a little bit too quickly (I just didn’t know he hadn’t finished speaking …to wish me a great weekend. Aww)

I’m a Salvos Partner which means a tiny amount of cash gets taken out of my account monthly, but it keeps me “sheltered” from it all. Perhaps for the best, because there’s only so much you can do. Even if you win Lotto…

C Restaurant (Perth, Australia) has a lunch time promotion for August 09 where you basically pay whatever you think the meal is worth. There are 2 things here I struggle with. 1) My last experience there was pretty bad and it was way too expensive given the poor service. 2) I’d feel bad paying less than it’s worth because although they’re not a charity, promotions like this do allow families doing it tough to have a meal out at a restaurant. So for someone like me who is fortunate enough to have a job and can afford it occassionally, I’d feel like I was being greedy and taking away that opportunity from some people who might not be as fortunate. Another warped way of  thinking…

My Hub: Helping People: Simple Ways To Make A Difference

By selling the magazine vendors experience a boost in their self-esteem, are given an opportunity to make friends in a positive environment and are given the confidence to start making positive changes to their lives such as improved housing, addressing drug and alcohol abuse, seeking help for mental illness or reconnecting with family. – The Big Issue

Share and enjoy:

Not funny, people!

Engineer Joke #1

To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Engineer Joke #2

Q: How can you tell an extroverted engineer?
A: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.

Engineer Joke #3

Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers of the human body.

One said, “It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints.”

Another said, “No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections.”

The last said, “Actually it was a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?”

Engineer Joke #4

Two engineering students were walking across campus when one said, “Where did
you get such a great bike?” The second engineer replied,

“Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful
woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her
clothes and said, “Take what you want.”

“The second engineer nodded approvingly, “Good choice; the clothes
probably wouldn’t have fit.”

Engineer Joke #5

The Top 10 Things Engineering School didn’t teach
10. There are at least 10 types of capacitors.
9. Theory tells you how a circuit works, not why it does not work.
8. Not everything works according to the specs in the data book.
7. Anything practical you learn will be obsolete before you use it, except the complex math, which you will never use.
6. Never try to fix the hardware with software.
5. Engineering is like having an 8 a.m. class and a late afternoon lab every day for the rest of your life.
4. Overtime pay? What overtime pay?
3. Managers, not engineers, rule the world.
2. If you like junk food, caffeine and all-nighters, go into software.
1. Dilbert is a documentary.

Share and enjoy:

As a result of the Global Financial Crisis and subsequent closures of many mines, there have been a lot of Project Engineers and tradesmen losing their jobs. Companies are currently trying hard to do everything in their power to ensure that there are minimal casualties of this downturn in the market…

Share and enjoy: