For a company to thrive today, strategists must find ways to increase the organization’s ability to read and react to industry and market changes. They must know their goal to boost the company’s strategic flexibility by recognizing disruptions earlier and responding faster.

Strategic flexibility or adaptability can be defined as the organization’s capacity to identify major changes in its external environments, quickly commit resources to new courses of action in response to such changes, and to recognize and act promptly when it is time to halt or reverse existing resource commitments. Being adaptable means leaders must not get stuck in a too-rigid way of looking at the world. The organization must view change as an inevitable and essential part of an organization’s growth, in order to achieve this adaptability.

Financial Planning

When there is uncertainty or unpredictability in the environment, managers tend to focus almost all their energy on successfully executing the current strategy. What they also should be doing is preparing for an unknown future. Flexibility stems from the ability to learn; managers tend to overlook the negative and emphasize the positive. They need to understand not only what led to the positive outcomes but also what led to the negative ones. This will optimize their learning experience. According to Ford (2004) four points to foster and maintain adaptability include challenging complacency, giving all employees a voice, encouraging participative work and driving fear out of your group.

The companies chosen for this task vary by industry: a famous automobile manufacturer (Ford) a bank going through a merger (Compass) and a start-up software company (DawningStreams). Ford and Compass have been in business for a long time; it is likely they have changed their strategic plan based on changing forces and trends. DawningStreams is new (established in 2005 and incorporated in 2007). Even though they have not had their first sale and have no staff, the owners have devised several iterations of their strategy.

There is a diversity of stakeholders all that are interested in the activity of business organizations. Emphasis must be placed on their adaptability in strategic analysis and their adaptability in strategic management of business organizations. The organization must have a strategic management model.

Each company might scan the same areas, but for different reasons. Considering technological advances, Ford would prepare itself to lead the market by having various electronic equipment in their vehicles, as well as robotic equipment with which to build them and the supply chain technology to keep all in check. Compass Bank is going through a merge and expanding globally; therefore they will need to keep abreast of communication technology. DawningStreams is a software company; they will need to monitor those companies who would be their competition to ensure their product offers better functionality. All three companies would make sure potential customers would be able to get good information from internet websites and advertisement, which encompasses yet another area of technology the organizations may need/want to scan. In this instance, many members of the organization must be enrolled: upper management and finance, who will determine budgetary factors; the IT department, who will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of some of the technology; the staff who must be trained to use the technology; a sales force who will sell the technology.

To the outside observer, it may seem unnecessary for any but Ford to scan the (actual) environment when it comes to issues such as emission control, fuel efficiency and hybrid cars. That is true however; Compass Bank and DawningStreams can plan a strategy to be friendlier to the environment (and their pocketbooks) by practicing paper reduction (through the aforementioned technology). Lastly, DawningStreams’ product may be useful as a file sharing service to environmental groups.

With regard to the legal environment, all three must be acutely aware of laws, which affect their respective industry among others. To Ford, legal applies, among other areas, to environmental protection laws and department of transportation safety laws. To Compass Bank, they would abide by the rules of the Federal Reserve (www.federalreserve.gov) and the Federal Insurance and Deposit Corporation (www.fdic.gov). DawningStreams must follow laws as they pertain to the transfer of files, which have intellectual property and also the export of products, which have algorithms. All three companies are global and will need to monitor those laws in other countries, which could effect the strategic planning.

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

Ford Motor Company – Socio-cultural

Ford Motor Company embraces the socio-cultural changes taking place to allow the company to move in the right direction with respect to attitudes in the society. Two areas that stand out in terms of socio-cultural attitudes would be that of fuel economy and smaller cars. The growing concern by the public for better fuel economy has influenced the company’s introduction of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The organization is committed to the hybrid to improve fuel economy as a global strategy to meet customer demands. The increased demand in society for such environmentalism has assisted in the decision for Ford Motor Company to look forward to adding the hybrid feature to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan and continue in such a strategic planning direction.

The customers that use these vehicles get a substantial break on their insurance in many states and a tax credit as well while enjoying the increased mileage of a vehicle that runs on gasoline and capabilities for 100 percent electric power. The environmental scanning by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to be knowledgeable of the fact that the people in the United States are buying more small cars today than any other type of vehicle segment. The lifestyles changes have been monitored and there is good data that shows that such a trend will continue in this direction and the expected growth in this segment will continue. The company has redesigned the inside and outside of the Ford Focus to set the car apart from the competitors in the small car segment while increasing upgrades and features to experience positive outcomes. The direction that the company is taking is based on a competitive advantage and being a leader in the industry. The vehicle line has both a sedan and a coupe to attract targeted markets including younger buyers at an entry level to build upon brand loyalty and customer retention. Ford Motor Company will continue to use the socio-cultural factors to drive the business and enjoy future success.

Ford Motor Company – Legal –

Ford Motor Company with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency adheres to the legal aspect of environmental scanning. Ford Motor Company accepted an award in March 2007 from the Environmental Protection Agency called the Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. The company is the first automaker to have ever been awarded the award two years in a row. The award has come to be presented due to the commitment made by the company to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from all of the facilities in the company.

The organization is committed to the responsible use of resources and energy efficiency. The leadership realizes that the environmental protection laws are of great importance and use the environmental scanning to move in the right direction to obtain future success in the company. In 2006 alone the company has improved the energy efficiency in the United States operations by five percent and saving approximately million with enough energy saved to equal 220,000 homes. The effective energy management protects the environment and reduces the greenhouse emissions. Some of the actions taken by the company include replacing lighting fixtures that use 40 percent less energy and using different low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps in the properties to include the plants, corporate offices, distribution centers, and research and development campuses. Due to the environmental scanning that takes place at Ford Motor Company the company will use the information that is collected and continue in this direction. New projects for the company include Fumes-to-Fuel that is a system that converts paint fumes into electricity that is being performed with Detroit Edison along with attempting to consolidate the application of primer, base and clearcoat paint applications into a single application to eliminate the need for separate applications and ovens. In addition to the paint booth emissions Ford Motor Company will continue to rely on alternative energy sources such as landfill gas and wind and solar technologies to power their manufacturing facilities.

Ford Motor Company – Technology –

Another environmental scanning tool that Ford Motor Company monitors and uses would be the technological portion. The company has invested billion in the latest technology for flexible manufacturing. The technology that is involved is in many forms to include wireless technology that is installed on the delivery trucks with supplies to the plant as a monitoring status and improved efficiency to reduce inventory. The flexibility of products in the same plant allows the organization to use the same machinery and process for all areas from body assembly, paint facility, and final assembly. The improved efficiency at the manufacturing facility allows for several vehicle platforms to be built on the same line to produce multiple models and quickly change the vehicle mix, the volume, and options based on customer demand.

The technological changes that are being embraced by Ford Motor Company through environmental scanning enables the company to experience huge cost savings through new product launches and 50 percent reductions in cycle changeovers along with waste reduction. Robots are among the technological changes that are being experienced within the organization to include the 400 from the project that are used to weld and assemble the metal body of the vehicle for stamping and assembly. Artificial intelligence in the form of advanced visions systems and laser tracking systems are used to ensure quality through accuracy and dimension abilities. A multi-million dollar training facility is used to ensure that the workforce has the knowledge, skills, and ability to reap the benefits from the new technology that is being used by the company. The training that is administered includes the new servo-electric weld gun system that identifies the perfect center for welding that has replaced the older and loud air-powered system that used a less sophisticated spring system. The environmental scanning of technology that is performed by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to have positive outcomes in efficiency while remaining a competitive company in the industry through cost savings and continuous improvement.

Compass Bank- Political -

On February 16, 2007, Compass Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Compass Bank, announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBV Madrid: BBVA) (“BBVA”) will acquire Compass for a combination of cash and stock. Compass will become a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of BBVA and will continue to operate under the Compass name. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2007, pending customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA.

BBVA, which operates in 35 countries, is based in Spain and has substantial banking interests in the Americas. The transaction will facilitate BBVA’s continued growth in Texas and will create the largest regional bank across the Sunbelt. Upon completion of the transaction, Compass will rank among the top 25 banks in the United States with approximately billion in total assets, billion in total loans and billion in total deposits. In addition, the combined company will rank fourth in deposit market share in Texas with .6 billion in total deposits and 326 full-service banking offices.

Compass is a billion Southwestern financial holding company that operates 415 full-service banking centers in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Compass provides a broad array of products and services through three primary lines of business – Corporate Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Compass is among the top 30 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of Compass and the relevant bodies of BBVA, Compass will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA. After closing, BBVA intends to merge its U.S. based banking affiliates – including the former operations of Texas Regional Bancshares, State National Bancshares and Laredo National Bancshares – with Compass.

The aggregate consideration is composed of a fixed number of approximately 196 million shares of BBVA common stock and approximately .6 billion in cash. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2007.

The merger between both companies will be determined by the political factors ranging from implications of laws and regulations to the state of world politics including the consideration of wars which may be going on in different parts of the world. New laws, regulations, tax programs and public policy create forces and trends, which may provide challenges and barriers or opportunities for any company or organization.

Compass Bank – Technology –

Ford is in the process of implementing a laser marking system on its production line to ensure the highest standard on each transmission assembled. The system will be checking for quality on different points on the assembly line. Ford is teaming up with a company called MECCO to implement this process and a trial run of the new system will last for 3 months. MECCO is a leader in its industry when it comes to laser technology. The decision to implement this new laser marking system came because it is more cost- effective and safer than previous ways of marking checkpoints for quality.

Although this process at Ford has not officially been implemented yet, Compass Bank can learn a few different things. It may be a good idea for Compass Bank to do a short trial of online cell phone banking to see how popular it becomes and if it worth all the time and effort, being spent to get it launched. Compass Bank should also consider investing into a company who is the best at what they do, is in the same time zone, and can meet their demands in a timely manner, not simply because they may be cheaper. Finally, Compass Bank can learn that they need to consider what will be most cost-effective and in the best interest of the company over time. Organizing a time line and a list of costs and potential risks would also be beneficial to Compass Bank so they know what to expect and when with the implementation of online cell phone banking.

When completing the global scan one looks for emerging new technologies which may impact any business in any industry. At one time the emergence of the Internet was a technology that was becoming an emerging trend across all industries. Today very new technologies are used to develop information systems at a fraction of the cost and time of processes that were used five years ago. Wireless is a telecommunications technology that may have moved from a trend to a force in revolutionizing the way information is stored, accessed and used across all industries around the world. Some, if leveraged by a company within an industry before competitors use it, may even provide a competitive advantage.

Compass Bank – Competition –

Although mergers may be costly and rather difficult, the value it creates in the end is the desired outcome companies seek. The eagerness to merge is based on several beliefs, those beliefs are, that the performance gains are greater, expenses are reduced, market power is increased, and shareholder’s wealth is also greater than before. The value of a merger is enhanced when the overall benefit is more valuable than the aggregate of two separate pre-merger companies.

In the end, both John and Bernard should consider this before finalizing a decision. When Zion’s purchased Stockmans, there overall value increased by 43 branches. These branches will help performance and brings much more power to the financial market. In the Journal of Money article, Pilloff states “Companies are more willing to acquire others to avoid being acquired themselves.” Keeping this in mind, companies must figure out a cross border strategy.

As part of the broad environmental scan, it is important to identify the internal capabilities of the organization. There are various models for defining capabilities. Most focus on the broad set of intangible assets such as brand, human capital, organizational capital and even relationship capital. Others include the more concrete assets such as available capital, the organization structure, current technologies and information technology infrastructure. In addition to doing a broad environmental trend, Compass Bank needs to do a more detailed capability assessment using any of the models available.

DawningStreams – Competitors –

Business activities are becoming more and more complex to manage, because of distance, time zones, number of parties involved in projects, number of tasks to achieve, multiple prioritizations, lack of general synchronization, insufficient secure and confidential communication channels and growing complexity of IT infrastructures. The use of task list managers has become very common. It is becoming more difficult to keep teams synchronized, to follow and to implement new business processes and to exchange sensitive information confidentially. The DawningStreams software application is aiming at increasing the practicality of daily executive activities. The types of business, which will most probably be interested in our product, are construction (size of network), consulting (need for synchronization), pharmaceutical research (secure exchange of information) and the software industry (complexity of manufacturing).

Many companies have already developed software applications that enable secured communications and file sharing. However, most, if not all, are relying on Microsoft technologies, which prevent them from expanding to Mac or Unix users. DawningStreams is developed in Java, which can be used on any platform, including Mac and Unix. Microsoft has acquired the Groove Company and has released a new version of the product, which can perform many of the functionalities of DawningStreams, but not generic activities (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/default.aspx). This is our closest competitor by far. More recently, we found, merely by accident, a company called Shinkuro (www.shinkuro.com), which offers the file sharing aspects of DawningStreams but lacks other capacities.

Although DawningStreams will face competition from many existing players, the fact that it will combine a super-set of functionalities in one application, for a very reasonable price, will give it some leading edge over other competitors. If the US patent is granted, the position of DawningStreams will become a niche. Even if the patent were not granted, it would take a profound architectural redesign of Groove (or other competitors) to include generic activities and match the offer of DawningStreams. As a strategy we will monitor the activities of those companies’ websites and understand what they offer in terms of similar functionality and try to ensure we match or best those functionalities to the best of our ability and resources

DawningStreams – Political -

Maintaining the secrecy of information is the fundamental function of encryption items. Persons abroad may use such items to harm US law enforcement efforts, as well as US foreign policy and national security interests. The US Government has a critical interest in ensuring that persons opposed to the United States are not able to conceal hostile or criminal activities, and that the legitimate needs for protecting important and sensitive information of the public and private sectors are met. Since 2000, US encryption export policy has been directed by three fundamental practices: technical review of encryption products prior to sale, streamlined post-export reporting, and license reviews of proposed transactions involving strong encryption to certain foreign government end-users and countries of concern. US encryption policy also seeks to ensure that American companies are not disadvantaged by the European Union’s “license-free zone.” (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams will contain cryptographic functions. Any reliable and efficient cryptographic system requires a central authority to avoid identity theft. Cryptography is a key functionality of DawningStreams. All specialists insist on designing systems using well-studied algorithms and fully tested protocols; novelty is considered a source of risk. The cryptographic layer of DawningStreams will rely on a dual public-private key system. The private key encryption system will implement Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard (http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/), the public key system will implement RSA (www.rsa.com) and the hashing function will implement the 256 bits version of the Secure Hash Algorithm (http://secure-hash-algorithm-md5-sha-1.co.uk/ ).

Encryption products can be used to conceal the communications of terrorists, drug smugglers, and others intent on harming U.S. interests. Cryptographic products and software also have military and intelligence applications that, in the hands of hostile nations, could pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national security, foreign policy, and law enforcement interests of the United States are protected by encryption export controls. These controls are consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 13026, which was issued on November 15, 1996, and the Presidential Memorandum of the same date. (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams also plans to be an international company, as offices now exist in the Netherlands and the US. As part of the strategy, we will ensure we remain compliant by registering our product with any necessary agency and allowing those agencies access to the processes if they feel there is a threat. We will be responsible to monitor (as best as we can) our client base and to put the proper verbiage in our contracts that illegal activities will not be tolerated. We will continue to monitor the BIS site mentioned in previous paragraphs and also sites in the European Union such as the Crypto Law website of legal expert Bert-Jaap Koops (http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/)

DawningStreams – Technology/Intellectual Property –

The management of organizational strategy requires a comprehensive assessment of the macro environment of the business. Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the original ideas and innovations evolved by an organization in order to haul up its systems and processes. Creation of ideas requires large investments. This necessitates the protection of IP. Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, processes, and systems of an organization against those that are rated best in the industry. It helps in uncovering weaknesses and flaws in the organizational systems, processes, and products. (Watson, 2003)

The study of the global research conducted by McAfee Inc. and MessageLabs Ltd. on security threat in small businesses in the U.S. reveals that 80 percent of small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMB) believe that an information technology (IT) security failure would be damaging in attaining their business priorities. Yet, only few are courageously making steps to fight against infringements due to resource limitations from other business related priorities. The research implies that company size plays an essential part in the way senior management views security. Among the challenges that SMBs face include keeping up-to-date with security solutions and keeping costs low. Small-to-medium businesses’ behavior towards security is very tactical and meets only immediate requirements. (unknown, 2007)

DawningStreams’ relevance to these forces is two-fold. We are a software company—there is an opportunity for us to lose the intellectual property by those who would download and attempt to modify the code. We have competitors who offer functionality similar to ours, however we offer an additional functionality the others do not. It is this ‘specialty functionality’ for which we applied for a patent the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the patent is granted, there is less likelihood of software piracy or the loss of our IP. Environmental scans should show us if there are other companies trying to do this.

The functionality, which most resembles our competitors’, is the ability to share files. That brings in a different concern with intellectual property- the possibility someone else’s IP could be sent from one of our users to another, as this could seriously damage our reputation, as what happened with Napster. (www.napster.com).

Conclusion

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

References

Bilek, E. (n.d.) Compass Bankshares to be Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.,

Investor Relations. Retrieved from the Internet on March 31, 2007 at

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/77/77589/bbvarelease.pdf

Cole, Jim. Zions makes small deal, cites growing Arizona market. American Banker, 171(175), 1-1. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from Proquest Database.

Ford Motor Company (2006). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved March 2007,

from the World Wide Web, Web Site: [https://ford.com]

Ford, S. (2004) Adapted from 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed, Harvard Business School

Press. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Hockenberry, Todd. (2006). Ford implements advanced laser marking. Industrial Laser Solutions, 21(4), 6-7. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost database

Jacobs, P. (2005) Five Steps to Thriving in times of Uncertainty. Negotiation (p.3) Retrieved

April 1, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

McLean, J. (2006) We’re going through changes! British Journal of Administrative Management

54. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Pearce, J. & Robinson, R, (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 2007, from the University of Phoenix, Resource, MBA 580-Strategies for Competitive Advantage Course Web Site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Author Unknown, Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back in corporate vogue. (2006) Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

Unknown (2007) 80% of Small-to-Medium Sized Firms Fear a Security Threat. Computer Security Update 8 (4). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Unknown (2006) Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back

in corporate vogue. Retrieved from the Internet at

http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

US Department of Commerce (2007), Encryption (ch.10, section 742.15). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from the Bureau of Industry and Security Website at http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2007/foreignpolicyreport/fprchap10_encryption.html

Watson, G. (2003) Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from the Oklahoma State University website at http://www.okstate.edu/ceat/msetm/courses/etm5111/CourseMaterials/ETM5111Session3Part2.ppt#260,1,Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy

Forces and Trends in Business

Steven Brown, MBA is a loving husband and father of two boys. He enjoys his time with his family by providing a strong family foundation of Christian Faith. After completing his Bachelors degree, Steven wanted to further his ability to teach and share to others his mindset that they can do anything if they would believe in themselves.

Below I will help you by listing the tools you will need and steps on how to get it done.

Car Leasing

Things you will need:

Large adjustable wrench

Channelocks

Bearing race driver tool

Various size punches

Socket and ratchet set

Assorted wrenches

A rags or two

New wheel bearings

Wheel bearing grease

New cotter pin

New grease seals

Wheel blocks

Safety glasses

A jack and a pair of jack stands

Even if the bearings are not making a noise it is always a good idea to have them inspected every 30,000 miles. I have it done when my breaks are replaced.

Okay let’s get started.

Get all of your tools and supplies together before you begin and allow plenty of time to do the job.

Please take note that these are general instructions and consult the appropriate repair manual for your vehicle.

Always think safety first whenever you’re working around machinery. Wear safety classes to protect your eyes and beware of hot objects, sharp items and hazardous materials. It is very, very important to never work on a car that is only supported by a jack, always place a sturdy foundation under the vehicle to prevent it from falling on you.

From this point on cleanliness is important. You do not want any dirt, sand or metal chips inside the hub.

1. Remove your disc brake calipers and caliper bridge to remove the rotor.

2. Remove the bearing cap. This is a press fit and to remove it grab it with your channelocks and work it back and forth until it pops off. Be careful not to crush it.

3. Once the cap is off you will see a cotter pin, remove the cotter pin and remove the retainer ring. If your vehicle has a castellated nut, you will not have a retaining ring.

4. Using your channelocks or adjustable wrench, remove the nut from the spindle.

5. Next remove the outer wheel bearing and washer.

6. Slide the rotor or drum off the spindle.

7. Remove the grease seal and take out the inner wheel bearing.

8. Wipe all the old grease from inside the hub.

9. Remove the bearing races from the hub.

10. Take a punch with a flat narrow tip and place it on the back of the race.

11. Tap the race out, alternating from side to side so it comes out evenly and doesn’t get cocked in the hub.

12. Once it’s out, flip the rotor or drum over and do the same for the other race.

13. Clean the inside of the hub with some rags.

14. Make sure the spindle is clean as well.

That’s all there is to it. Like I mentioned earlier take your time and you will not get frustrated, good luck with your project.

How To Replace Front Wheel Bearings – You Can Do That

Dennis Watson – Just helping others succeed.

Zeoh.com Free Classifieds Web Site =>http://www.zeoh.com/

You Can Do That Web Blog =>http://www.you-can-do-that.blogspot.com/

1. One page wonder.

Easy Financial Design

Your professional biography should be a few paragraphs and kept to one page or less. One page is perfect for copying on the reverse side of a handout or flyer. Several paragraphs, left justified make it easier to read and skim.

2. First, second, or third person?

Always write your biography in the third person. That is, refer to yourself by your name or she/he as appropriate. It sounds more professional as it appears that a third party wrote the text. For example, “Alexandra has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, Newsweek, and Time magazines.”

3. Business in brief.

Not only do readers want to know what you do, but also they want to know who you work with – because they might want to work with you! A professional biography should include a sentence or two about your business niche (or niches) as well as the types of clients you serve. A modified version of your 30-second elevator pitch might be perfect.

4. And the winner is….

Make sure that you include a list of awards that you have received. Readers are interested in knowing about your talents and the organizations that recognize you for them.

5. Organizations.

Include names of the organizations, clubs, or associations to which you belong. A reader’s interest might be highlighted at seeing that you belong to the same alumni association or professional business group. Again, these connections might possibly lead to some interesting and exciting business opportunities.

6. Certifications and designations.

Include any professional certifications or designations you hold. Make sure you write out their names in full, rather than use abbreviations. Not everyone might know that CMA stands for Certified Management Accountant. And, perhaps, in a different discipline, it might represent something else – like a Certified Materials Analyst. If you no longer hold a particular designation, but it has played a major role in who you are and what you do, don’t hesitate to make a reference to it. For example, “Ann is a former Certified Data Processor and spent the last decade as an adjunct faculty member teaching higher mathematics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.” Don’t include abbreviations of college degrees, like MBAs as it looks unprofessional. The only exception to this would be for a Ph.D. designation.

7. Published?

Have you written any articles, books, e-courses or e-books? Self-published or not, your works add to your level of professionalism and credibility. Showcase them in your biography and you might earn additional royalties in terms of new clients or other opportunities.

8. Did I mention the media?

Have you been a guest on talk radio or television? Were you or your business featured or even mentioned in a newspaper article? If so, readers want to know. Again, these types of “mentions” add to your credibility and presence.

9. Call me any time.

People who want to know about you will read your biography for just that reason. And, if its compelling, rich, and includes the information they’re interested, in, they’ll want to contact you. Include complete contact information like your title (if any), name, address, telephone, fax, email, and website address. Make it easy to find this information by including it in the last paragraph of your professional overview.

10. Write, rewrite, and do it again.

After you have written your biography, edit, edit, and edit again. You may need to do a dozen or so revisions before you get it just right. Eliminate extra words, use descriptive words, keep the sentences short but varied in length, and write in the third person. Ask some friends to provide input as well. Make sure to revise your biography regularly to keep it up-to-date and refreshed.

Copyright 2004 by Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff.

Top Ten Tips for Writing a Professional Overview or Biography

Tara Alexandra Kachaturoff is a business consultant, writer, speaker, Certified Guerrilla Marketing Coach and producer/host of Michigan Entrepreneur Television. Drawing on over 15 years of corporate experience, she coaches executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs on business and lifestyle issues and has been featured in print, radio and television. Her websites include http://www.virtualleverage.com, http://www.tarakachaturoff.com, and http://www.michiganentrepreneurtv.com

Is 790 FICO credit score good enough for a mortgage loan or car loan or refinance?

Credit Score

* The 790 FICO credit score is actually very good which can assist you to get the best rates of interest. Moreover, there are numerous benefits which you can grab by maintaining the score at the median level i.e., 720. Check out the following reasons:

* Low rates: Low interest rates would help you to gain more. Thus, it is always wise to keep a check on the status and take measures to rectify whenever necessary.

* Small business loan: In case you own a company which is not more than three years old and apply for a small business loan then your personal credit history would also automatically come under scrutiny. Thus, you need to manage you finances in an appropriate manner in order to grab benefits.

* Credit card rewards: You can even grab discounts and reward points from your cards. But, in order to grab such incentives one needs to check out the terms of each and every card.

* Enriches your power of purchasing: If you possess good financial status then your purchasing power also get automatically enhanced. This factor in turn leads to enhanced life style. Moreover, high scores mean good interest rates and numerous incentives.

790 Credit Score – Is 790 FICO Credit Score Good Enough For Mortgage Loans, Car Loans Or Refinance?

Get Your All 3 Credit Reports Free

Click Here —>Free Credit Report & Scores [http://www.consumercreditrepairsecrets.com/Credit-Repair]

President Obama has come up with Stimulus Package that will focus on providing assistance to low- and middle-income Americans. To check if you qualify for Government Grants

Click Here –> Federal Grant Programs

FREE Trials are for a limited time only, so get yours today.

The first move you can make to raise your score is to payoff a credit card you currently have open. The amount of credit you have used is one of the factors used to calculate your credit score and paying an open account will help your rating a lot.

Credit Repair

If you currently cannot pay it off you can at least pay it down so that you owe less than 50% of the total amount you have available to spend, this will help as well. The next thing you can do to raise your credit score is to open a new account ONLY IF you don’t have to many open.

Adding to your available limit can positively impact your score if you don’t have enough open credit available to you. For example, you only have one 0 card and this is the only account on your report, then you need to add more available credit to your file and this can increase your rating as well.

The last thing you can do to is to make sure you don’t have any errors on you cedit report. One estimate suggests that at least 70% of Americans have an entry on their report that is not correct. Having this entry disputed and removed can definitely increase your credit scores with the three main credit bureaus.

How to Raise My Credit Score Fast

Visit Bad-credit-repair-tips.com to learn more about do-it-yourself-credit repair, credit repair services and how to raise your credit score 200+ points to get approved for car, home and credit card loans.

Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, my mother-in-law found herself in need of a new place to live after over 30 years in her rent-controlled apartment. She had been in a run down building in Hollywood. Her landlord had passed away and the relatives were selling the building. Thanks to my husband’s research he found that there were several options, none of which would be at the same 0.00 a month, but closer to us and in a much better area than what she had been living in.

Retirement Fund

Living in South Orange County, we were able to check out the different areas personally. Since my mother-in-law doesn’t drive and is 78, we had to make a list of definite needs to make the transition for both her and us as smooth as possible.

We decided we had to have it close by, but not too close-we wanted to keep our privacy and make sure she would not rely on us to take her places. The complex had to either have a bus stop within walking distance or a shuttle service. The most important was that she had to be able to afford the apartment on her own, since neither we nor my sister-in-law could afford to supplement her social security. If possible, since she wouldn’t know anyone, we were hoping that there would be a social calendar for her to get involved with or a senior center close by.

Thanks to our local Social Security Office, they pointed us to the internet. We googled “affordable rentals for senior citizens”. We narrowed the search down to our particular part of Orange County. We were able to locate several complexes and check them out. All but a “high end” offering had a lengthily wait list. Thankfully they all gave us an average of 6-12 months, which we managed to work out with the family who now owned her building. They were also going to give her a re-location settlement, which would provide her with funds to afford a mover and offset the cost of the rent increase.

All the places had brochures, applications and floor plans available for us to take back and discus with her. She decided on two. Then it was a waiting game. My husband would call the apartment managers every 2-3 weeks to check on where his mother was on “the list”. Finally one came up. This particular complex had one coming up in a couple of weeks. My mother-in-law was actually still a few names off, but since the manager knew she had to be out of her present apartment by the end of the same month and my husband had been so good about checking in, she let the space go to her.

The apartment has a shuttle service several times a week to the local markets, to several medical offices (which included her Kaiser-Permanente clinic), an exercise room, a craft room, internet access (as well as classes!), weekly get-togethers and a host of supervised activities. They also have laundry rooms on each floor, central air-conditioners, private patios and dishwashers. All things her current place never even considered having!

Here are a listing of some of the alternative senior housing areas we found:

Freedom Village in Lake Forest: This is a religious-based complex, but it is open to everyone. Should it be necessary, assisted living and nursing centers are available on site.

Heritage Park and Square in Ladera Ranch: These were the most expensive and the nicest. No transportation, but otherwise had many social amenities available.

Buena Vida at Town Center in Rancho Santa Margarita: Senior apartments. Amenities were available, but not plentiful.

Fountain Glen in Laguna Niguel: Senior apartments. Due to long wait list of over a year, we didn’t consider the area.

Hacienda del las Palmas in Laguna Hills: Closest to us, too close. However it had not only senior apartment, but if necessary, assisted living, residential car and Alzheimer’s Care-the only one that did.

Renaissance at the Regency and it’s sister, the Wellington in Laguna Woods and Aliso Viejo: Both are independent retirements centers which have both kitchens or without and use of a dining facility. These also had assisted living as well as residential care. Pricey and very “hotelish”.

There are many others available, but all, again, have long waiting lists. The best suggestions:

Decide what the most important amenities are, what is the highest amount that the renter can afford to pay and then contact the local social security office for the best direction in which to start the hunt.

Affordable Housing for Seniors in South Orange County, California

Carine Nadel writes on a variety of subjects that she feels not only strike a cord in her life, but in many others as well. To read more of her work, log onto: http://www.Carine-whatscooking.blogspot.com or http://www.fabulously40.com

Thus, further assurance of repayment needs to be offered in order to convince them. The key is to use the benefits of certain types of loans to your advantage and find a way out whenever a loan turns out too onerous.

Personal Loans

Government Loans For Students Do Not Consider Credit Score or History

Those loans for students that are granted by the government do not consider credit score or history as a variable for approval. This is due mainly to the fact that those who apply for these loans have no credit history at all but also because these loans are meant for helping those going through underprivileged situations to pay their way through college and graduate.

Stafford loans (granted by the US department of education) and Perkins loans which are also granted by the federal government but are assigned according to the needs of the applicants and not on a first arrived first served basis are examples of the above. As long as there are no records of non-attendance of federal loans, your credit score and history won’t be an obstacle to obtaining a federal student loan.

PLUS Loans When The Money Granted Is Not Enough

PLUS loans are meant to fill a gap that turns federal loans into an imperfect financial source. Federal loans presuppose that the applicant will have aid from family members and thus, the amount of money granted usually doesn’t cover for all the costs of college studies. PLUS loans are granted to parents to let them help with their children college payments.

PLUS stands for Parent Loan For Undergraduate Students and are low interest loans for parents that let them borrow up to the full cost of their children education as long as there are no other financial aid in which case, the amount of additional aid must be deducted from the overall PLUS loan available amount. These loans require credit checks, but the credit report that will be verified is the parents’ and not the student’s.

Private Bad Credit Student Loans And Consolidation

Sometimes federal loans are simply not enough and you need to resort to private funding. PLUS loans are an option but are not always available if parents don’t meet the income or credit requirements. Bad Credit Private Student Loans are available as well as No Credit loans, only critical delinquencies like default or bankruptcies can prevent you from getting finance if you can afford it.

However, you need to bear in mind that the cost of financing will be higher with bad credit and that whenever possible you should consolidate your student debt if you can obtain a lower interest rate due to an improvement on your credit score and history.

What If I Need A Student Loan But I Have Bad Credit?

Mary Wise is a personal loan consultant who has been associated with Bad Credit Loans and has more than thirty years of experience in finances. She has helped a lot of people to obtain bad credit personal loans, home loans, car loans, unsecured credit cards and many other products regardless of their credit situation. If you want to learn more about Personal Loans you can visit her at http://www.badcreditloanservices.com

A warrant for arrest may be issued if you fail to appear in court at any time when you should have done. You might have neglected to show proof of community service that you’ve done or failed to pay a fine.

Bankruptcy

If the police think that you’ve committed a crime and have sufficient evidence against you then they can apply to the court for a warrant for your arrest. Once a warrant has been issued against you the police will come looking to arrest you and take you to jail.

Don’t ignore a warrant for arrest even if you don’t know you have one

A warrant for arrest is something that you can’t afford to ignore even if you didn’t commit the crime. If the police arrest you then you’ll end up in court and your record will show that you were arrested and returned on the warrant involuntarily. If the court thinks that the police had to track you down and drag you into court then they will be against you from the start even if you didn’t know that the warrant existed.

Being arrested on arrest warrants that you didn’t know that you have isn’t as uncommon as you might think. You might have simply forgotten to pay a fine or picked up a speeding offence. You might even have been victim of criminal identity theft where someone else has committed a crime in your name.

Giving yourself up voluntarily is much better than being dragged into court

If you give yourself up voluntarily to the court on a warrant for arrest then you can expect to be treated very differently by the court. They will often be more sympathetic to your case and grant bail more easily. To do this you must be aware that you have a warrant in the first place so it’s very important that you check for arrest warrants routinely.

Search for arrest warrants quickly and from the comfort of your home

You can check for arrest warrants easily and quickly by subscribing to an online service like the one mentioned in this article How do I check for arrest warrants. Alternatively you can check at the courthouse or ask a police officer neither of which are ideal solutions.

However you decide to check for warrants do it do it now and do it often. It could make a serious difference to your life one day.

What Is A Warrant For Arrest And How To Check For Arrest Warrants

How to find an arrest warrant online quickly, easy and fully confidential Check to see if you have a warrant for your arrest Find out how to do background checks on anyone you like http://www.howdo-i.com/backgroundcheck

A no employment check payday loan is granted without considering the past credit track record of the borrower. At times you even find companies that do not even conduct an employment detail check before granting the loan. Though there are certain other formalities that the applicant would have to fulfill in order to be eligible for the loan.

Personal Loans

Eligibility Requisites

In order to be eligible for a no employment check payday loan, an individual must fulfill all of the below mentioned criteria:

o The applicant must be 18 years or above and should be a citizen of the US.

o He should earn at least 00 a month.

o He should possess an active checking account that is at least 6 months old.

o He should also have residential proof.

If you fulfill the entire above mentioned criteria, then your no employment check payday loan would be easily granted. If this seems like an appropriate proposition, all you have to do is to find a lending company and apply immediately.

Take Care While Picking A Lending Company

Do proper research and take care of all these pointers:

o Make sure that you locate a reputed company as there are a number of fraud ones out there trying to fool people like you.

o The company you deal with should inform you about all the terms and conditions and deal with complete transparency.

o Be sure to ask about the interest rate that the company would levy on your loan. As yours would be a no employment check payday loan, you are more likely to be charged a higher interest rate.

Once you have located a company that is offering you the best deal, go ahead and sign up with them. You would have to fill up an online application form and submit it for approval. On approval the amount would be electronically transferred into your bank account, the same day.

While all of the above should be in place, do ensure that you repay your no employment check payday loan on its due date to prevent any further damage to your credit rating.

No Employment Check Payday Loan – Quick Cash Advance

You can apply for a payday loan no employment check quickly online. Cash can be yours in the next few hours. Check out also no teletrack payday loan with no credit check required.

When you’re legal with the government, the next step is to get yourself a competent broker. I use the term competent because there are a lot of poor brokers out there and because you’ll be looking on the internet, it is possible that you could run into a flat out scam. The internet is a free place for people to come and make a website, which makes it difficult to tell which broker’s website is legit or an operation run out of a basement. I found the best way of finding a good broker is to hang out at forex forums and read the broker topics. You’ll learn a lot about which are good, bad and scams.

Forex Trading

To compete against big banks and other firms, you’re going to need software to help watch the market for you. Automated software can be very helpful at finding profitable trades when you’re not in front of the computer.

Start a Forex Business

Forex Tracer is the best automated software tool on the market. It is a 24hr automated tracing machine that will find the most profitable trades possible.

Learn more at the Forex Tracer Review.