Business Education

Some of my links here are no good - I have to do something about that.

It's not everyday that I find something positive to write about on Africa, but I came across an article. Apparently a new network for business schools aims to share ideas and talent to improve delivery of learning across Africa. Members of the association of African Business Schools include:
1. University of Nairobi - School of Business
2. USIU
3. Catholic University.

I hope something comes out of this initiative - the cost of education in business schools out here can be outrageous - but that shouldn't deny Africans a chance for education - quality educatation for that matter.

I'll try to follow this story.

Africa unite!

It's Not All Gloom!

Life of a student I have come to appreciate is some sort of struggle... Not just about assignments, I must say what worries me too is finances. Being a seasoned finance student I think it's also a curse in disguise. I mean you go through all these cases on individuals who have 'made it' from nothing and you keep thinking at the back of your mind that you should also be doing somewhere.

Amazing that most of these billionnaires never stepped in a business school!

So in the meantime I'm forced to look after every cent (pence?) that comes through my hand. But I cannot complain their are privileges of being a student here - my favorite is getting discounts in most places.

One luxury I have enjoyed since coming here is getting The Financial Times newspaper at a considerably reduced price. A copy goes for £1.00 during the week and I get it for 25 pence (£0.25) now if that is not a deal then what is? Normally without such a deal I would afford tabloids only (big headlines no content) - they go for the same price range.
VALUE - if my memory serves me right is what customers are prepared to pay for a service/product. Simply put I don't think tabloids need a cent from me or rather I would make a difference in their survival.

Come to think of it I read Phillip Ochieng's article on Sunday Nation (28/05/06) - he was all out on this western educated, individuals full of theories and God forbid trying to apply them in life (or is it in Kenya!)

Anyway it's all that bad being a student atleast I can afford The Financial Times, The Economist among other 'quality' papers/magazines. And did I say should get a date - even if in my case it's once in a while I get discount to watch movies?

Come to think of it who is not getting western education?

Record Loss - £14.9bn!

My favorite company was in the news today - not for good reasons - with the biggest corporate loss for a UK firm. Not the fault of the current CEO but his challenge is to unveil a turn-around strategy; some have dubbed today's vision as a make or break.

I wonder how the new strategy will affect such investments as Safaricom - though understandably it is not considered strategic. With upto 6000 staff heading for the exit soon the ripples might reach Nairobi. One thing for sure is acquisition is being put on hold - aim is to improve revenue using existing assets. Wise move considering the loss is due to in part the disastrous acquisition of Mannesmann.


In the meantime the city awaits for a strategy from Sarin. You can watch his interview at the vodafone website. He must know by now vultures are all around him..... look at Lakshmi Mittal.

Life's What You Make It!

"High performers welcome UNCERTAINTY and recognize that risk drives values"

It's important that I remember always that home is where the heart is (someone said that and I believed him)

There's always an element of uncertainty in life - that's how it was meant to be I believe. Even the 'smallest' of decisions have to be dissected and analyzed. Nothing seems so true in matters of family and career change (or when to simply move on). I've been here for many years and I'm thinking the sooner I make my mind the better - so my ears are on the ground.
I'm one of those people who welcomes risks that can be measured - problem is financial measures do not always give the true picture.

I need to be more of a risk taker!
(Hopefully I will understand what I'm saying here soon!!!)

Radical Accountant

Conflict scenario:
Developed nations exploit less developed nations supported by local elites in the less developed nations exploit the bulk of the population. This would take us into globalisation and would raise issues of who benefits from globalisation. However none of these issues are ever going to be raised in an ACCA exam paper. There are limited job openings for Marxist management consultants and radical accountants. Just be thankful you are not poor, black, female and living in a less developed country since you would be subject to four interlocking systems of oppression. Rather, you as accountants or managers are, according to the radical view, an important part of the system of oppression and exploitation.

Adapted from my class notes.

The Rich Also Cry

Just when I was thinking about marriage this came up.... It's even harder now to settle down (imagine how it would feel if I was rich?)

Ex-wives of two high earning men won the right to a large chunk of their former husbands wealth yesterday. Many are insisting that this high court decision could spurn marriage and insist on pre- nuptial agreements. Hard to pass judgment especially after reading the cases instead of following the headlines.
I agree women who give up potentially lucrative careers to raise children are entitled to compensation for their sacrifices. One woman gave up a career in law to raise up their kids and the other though their marriage was shortlived (3 years)was also a high earner (£82,000 p.a. before bonuses!)

I believe marriage issues should be settled out of court (ideally!!) I mean this is person I said 'I do' before everyone - why should it turn out that bad later on. Maybe I'm saying that because I'm not sharing out 'my' fortune. Still it was peanuts getting £5m from the husbands wealth of £20 - £30 million - for heaven's sake share the money!

But all these just brings to fore the pay differences that exists - fund managers and tax consultants earning over £200,000 p.a. I'm not sure I understand how the divorce law works in Kenya especially with regards to fumaintenancenance of dependance. This is purely out of curiosity rather me scheming a future plan! These rules mainly are for the monied among us - which I'm not.


PS: Pre-nups are not strictly enforceable in the UK another thing I learned though the courts are guided by such agreements at times.
Others are hailing the courts decisions as good news for women who put family first. Let's wait and see whether a can of worms has been opened here.

I just want a phone!

Finally I am making progress with my search for a phone - actually I realized I do not need a new one. The offer I got on the table from t-mobile is even more interesting.
If I forego my ambition to get a Nokia N70/N80 and stick to what I got my monthly bill will be £5 for the rest of the year!!!

I guess I have only one option then - forget the damm phone and use what I got! I would be mad not to take up this offer; although the opportunity cost is high (or is it not? - holding out the chance to get a new gadget for another 12 months)

My current bill is atleast £22 a month and the offer is £5! Yippeee! It pays to be patient!

Barca!

UEFA Champions! They deserved it and this week they seal the La Liga (Etoo has just scored - makes him top scorer this season - we need such Africans)

And Ballack signed for Chelsea this week (over £130,000 per week!!!!) And he says it's because he loves Chelsea over teams like Man U somehow I believe him! For that kind of money a week (sorry for a year I would love anyone!) anyway good luck to him.

Why would I hide the fact that I only signed up because of the money - everybody knows money is very important for an athlete/model their careers are short.

Let me Just Chill!

I've literally not been able to write anything throughout the week - thank God it's over (the week that is!)

this was the week where I normally work and come home feel like I've trodden upon. To make matters worse I had hay fever (I think that is what I know as flu?) I've been struggling to read my mail... Or even read the daily papers! And at the back of mind I'm thinking of my pending exams.

Was life meant to be like this?

Before I came to the UK a friend where I used to work warned me - the west is good when you are young and strong but hardly the place to settle down (well of course unless you are minting cash)

Someone explain to me why we work in Nairobi all our lives but look forward to the day when we go back to our rural homes? That might explain the scenario an African in the West always looks forward to go back home.

Reminds me men who went home for Christmas with their furniture...hahah!

What Phone?

Times have changed - gone are the days when we had phones to make calls, nowadays phones are cameras, mp3 players, video recorders and the list goes on and on and on (Aha did I mention that we use them to browse the internet?)

I must confess it must be very hard to keep up with the technology. I've tried to maintain my sanity in all this madness though. I remember when I got the contract I have now with t-mobile - I went into this shop and this youngster kept going on and on about the functionalities of the handsets on display...... Can record for this hours, play music, tune into FM stations and of course take pictures. Trying to be cheeky I asked whether it could be used to make and receive calls!

I have been so busy I forgot my contract was running out - so today I got a nice surprise I have to choose another handset as I renew my contract! So I'm on the look out for a new handset not that the current Nokia 6230i is no good. I have been a loyal Nokia phone user and if all goes well I want to maintain the trend (Why rock a smooth sailing boat?)
Nowadays the extra features are the ones that sell a handset, how far should I go to get these phones.

But I'm not easily blinded - my relationship with t-mobile is purely business they are after my cash and I'm un willing to part with it. My current contract is £18 a month U-Fix which comes to almost £22 after VAT. In return I get free minutes during off - peak hours (I never even finish the free minutes!) So the I will be negotiating my new contract on the fact that I have been a loyal customer (profitable? No idea mate that's for them to tell me!!)

So I will keep a tab on what goes on, one thing i'm sure of is I'm not spending a dime to get the more fashionable ones - I got to keep my head cool. What am I doing with my 'old' handset? Not sure my sis could do with this one.

Perfumes

And when will perfumes ever have guarantees?

I see an advert of these celebrity walking around and all these beautiful ladies giving him the eye. It would never happen to me will it? Until these companies give us guarantees I think it is a scam!
It will be so cool - buy a perfume if it says I'm going to get positive feedback from this girl I've been watching, say at work or even in church (what?!)

I guess it's because it is not only the perfume other factors do come into play, oh conveniently someone making the advert forgot to mention it.

When I came here I used to get under arm deodorants for like £1 and was comfortable but now if is less than £15 something is not right! These are some habits I find will be hard to kick as I watch my spending. I bought lacoste perfume for men - and I could not tell my friends how much it cost £29.99!, they would hathoughthgt I was crazy.
Anyway that was last Christmas - I've seen the light now, I want some guarantees before I get any of the perfumes.

How much is too much when it comes to perfumes?

What are you watching?

I was laughing uncotrollably last night when I got home, I found my room mate watching TV (as usual!) - actually MTV cribs. Some footballer was showing off his crib (why is it the British have to do exactly what Americans are doing?) And I was miserably drawn into watching the program.

If you ever find yourself in a postcode where there are so many satellite dishes,
Sky in my case, then you are in a poor neighbourhood. You can tell the type of people in a neighbourhood by the number of satellite dishes that are around. Only poor people can afford to watch TV - fantasies on life because the rich actually live the life.
We can watch baywatch and dream - the rich are living baywatch (why should they watch The Apprentice anyway?). We subscribe to pay TV so that at least we can live our fantasies. And even sad - we rush from work just to seat infront of the TV (an evening well spent?, was it refreshing?)

Have mercy - instead of watching MTV cribs, we should be living in the cribs! Or driving those fly rides!

Sad, innit!

Thought I was the only one

I thought I was the only one who was stubborn for the sake of it(actually I have been accused of being negative at times!...me?) I remember expressing my frustrations about The Apprentice - this program where we have young, restless and ambitious men and women competing to get a job....... it brings out the worst in recruitment and businessmen/women (I had Martha Stewart had her own show too but it was cancelled for some reason.... shows how hard it is for ex-convicts to get a job!)

I've noticed of late the press being critical of the whole set up of the program. Long overdue! (Why do all the wrong businessmen get on TV?). The picture you get is they are all bullies and lead by fear - I mean what is the apprentice learning from all these? Maybe that is why I enjoyed the first and original episode American version.

There is something about Sir Sugar that makes me cringe - what type of business do you run with that type of attitude? If he is in the matatu business or a street peddler (PIMP)- enough respect it goes down well.

Most business men in my mind are soft spoken, focused and perhaps even slightly boring - that is where I wanna be. Sugar is one of those "business giants" whose companies are actually small, and who loom a great deal larger in the media than in other field.

I think the TV executives should save us the agony and scrap the show........ ENOUGH!

Latest

I am impressed by my progress maintaining financial discipline. Since I realized my progress was lacking in direction - not enough discipline - the steps so far have been positive.

I'm saying that after receiving my latest bank statement - my overdraft has been reduced drastically and according to my projections this month I do not expect to even reach £900. That to me is God send! Only thing I'm not going to celebrate the achievement by the usual SHOPPING SPREE! And what is pushing towards the £900 is the fact that I have to send mum some money.

That's the difference between me (and I'm sure most who are here but not from here) we got family connections back home who look up to us. And so the chunk of the money instead of saving we opt to send to our loved ones. I still believe we are in a crisis, I mean there is a danger of working so hard living well but struggling at the end. Life is like a marathon race as they say - not a sprint. How are you planning for your retirement?

Trust me that is something that's always on my mind - trying to maintain the balance between putting some money aside and also have a life now. It would be interesting to read how some other people are doing it. So far I got some nice blogs - different from me but all the same interesting.

I would be interested in ideas.

Just Good Isn't Enough?

I'm looking around me and the picture ain't that good. I mean strange that it is not the most hardworking that go home with the trophy.

Yes I watched The Apprentice and it is down to two ladies (the UK has a different version - I still prefer D. Trump) It's funny but I try to picture myself in the boardroom - definitely I wouldn't survive. Shows you how different we are yet we are the same.

One of the reason I came to the UK was that I had a dead-end job in Kenya, not good for the young and the restless! Anyway the program brought memories of one interview I went to at Safari Park Hotel. They made us seat in a Board Room like in the program - it was very uncomfortable for me then. Now I would slaughter them all - I seen it all in The Apprentice! Cheers for that. So there we were routing for the only brother in that program. My black millitant brother always thinks there is a conspiracy against any black man(or woman) anywhere. When Sir Alan Sugar started describing the brother (Ansell) as being a "good" guy and that's all - a good salesman. Instead Sir Alan would prefer the lady whom he described as a back stabber! What in the world are we on here?
My millitant brother's theory was right - they were setting up a brother for the big kill. He was good, could get along with everyone, more of a team player - wrong not good enough for Sir Alan Sugar! (What kind of business does this man run? - must be a PIMP!)

Now I know being good is a weakness - I thought TV wasn't meant to teach me much unless it was the Discovery Channel/ History Channel.

Oh by the way I lost the interview - I should have slaughtered my fellow contestants, I'm wiser.

I do not know how many of us can survive such "interviews" or are just too good?

Days Like This

I wonder whether I'm messing my body/system?

I have noticed that nowadays I spend very little time in bed. Generally I go to bed after just before midnight and be out of bed around 7am. I know that's not bad, but I'm not getting any younger! Is it not advisable to age gracefully by having quality number of hours dedicated to sleep? There must be a study that has made such a conclusion.

The reason I'm saying this quiet a few times I've found myself dozing off when going around London. It's not normal since it happens immediately I settle down - embarrassing when I wake just after the train has pulled out of my stop! And there is some mad kids who might happy slap you it looks funny when I saw on TV a man who was sleeping in a bus and was slapped by some yobs. I know it ain't funny especially when you are a victim - tired from work and just can't wait to get home.
Or even worse to be in class and not really be there!

Today I'm cool - not working and no lectures. I think this is how life was meant to be. (I wish!)

I'm wide awake and looking forward to what the day has for me - Oh and I've just paid my Gas bill and I'm £120 short!

Exams!

That was me today trying to ignore my troubled life lol. burying myself in books - I can't wait for the exams in June I got to finish this and do something else with my life - like get married. But I like the study table it makes me look serious and not just wasting my time - if mum sees this she would be proud.

So let me just in bed tonight because it's the same game tomorrow.

Another Day Another Murder!

It's been one of those days running against time.
I got a warning last Thursday that I'm in danger of getting my gas being disconnected due to outstanding bills. Amazing and disturbing is all I can say - I paid my bill last April 6th nut for some reason my account has never been credited to date. I found that out this morning, after countless calls to British Gas to sort out the mess.

I have of late developed a survival tactic - When I get a bill I NEVER GET EXCITED and rush to pay. I take my time surely they will send one or two reminders before I get a warning and that's when I get excited and pay immediately. Not a very safe strategy if you are not sure of your cash flow during the period.

I would love to know how other people survive with these bills...

The bill was for £120 for the quarter and so I was frustrated when after I made my way to the bank I realized my account had never been debited with the amount. First it was a nightmare just to get hold of BG customer service throughout the weekend - being a bank holiday.Why haven't they outsorced this job to India at least you get quick response ? When I finally got someone early this morning and he checked my account he confirmed the transaction on his screen but for some reason (careless!) someone forgot to contact my bank for the money. (Then why stress me with threats out of there own carelessness?)

So now I'm back on square one, I have an oustanding £120 bill, my account has a bump now and that means only one thing - another tough four weeks ahead of me. While all these drama was going on I had a lecture today that had to be attended - imagine if I was married with kids.



How often do you check your bank transactions? Do you go line after linOr or just the major transactions?