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Welcome to Africabiz Online Synopsis RSS Feed edition. Previous issue available atthis link

Dear reader,

- THIS DELIVERY STANDS FOR TWO ISSUES

Africabiz's Editorial Team is taking one month break from August 15 to September 14, 2006. Therefore, this delivery covers two months: July 15 to August 14 - Issue N° 87; and August 15 to September 14, 2006 - Issue N° 88. The next issue N° 89 will be online on September 15, 2006.

Click here for the beginning of the article
Click here for PART II
Click here for PART III

TO MANAGE A PROJECT AND NOT JUST TO SUPERVISE. PART I: DEFINITIONS

First of all, one needs to give a concise definition and meaning to the two verbs included in the global title: (1) to manage and (2) to supervise and (3) to the main word: project.

The verb "Manage" has hundred of meaning and definitions. We will consider the one that interests us most, which is to manage a (developing) project from its earlier status (from the conception' stage) to the final implementation stage, and gear it into a successful undertaking for an enterprise, a community or a country.

Qualifying the undertaking as being successful, one understands that the final implementation of the project improves the economic and "environmental" situations of the enterprise, the community or the country that carried the project. That is the project's finalization creates jobs and improves wealth and riches in the community, the enterprise or the country - without destructuring the social fiber and the global environment.

We shall stick to that 'simple' definition, even if the other meaning such as control, supervise, administrate, administer, coordinate, centralize, delegate, reprimand, congratulate, analyze, emulate, emulation, motivate, team-work, govern and operate. Etc.; intervene, one way or another, in the process of managing a project to a successful end as above outlined.

On its part, the verb "Supervise" had a clearer cut definition stated in The American Heritage Dictionaries: To have the charge and direction of (something.) - Or to direct and watch the performance of the others. Or to put it as simple as possible: To be the boss, overlooking the jobs of others in the day-to-day life of a human entity (organization, enterprise, and community.) In short: To manage people and or projects.

Now let us consider the main subject: What is a project?

The word "Project" has hundred of meaning and definitions.

Consulting Wilkipedia we can read this:

The word project comes from the Latin word projectum. From projicere, "to throw something forwards" which in turn comes from pro-, which denotes something that precedes the action of the next part of the word in time and jacere, "to throw."

The word "project" thus actually originally meant "something that comes before anything else is done".

One may think also about projects in terms of Platonism, where ideas from the realm of ideals are projected onto the physical world. In few words, "a project is the conceptualization of an idea, translated into a set of actions, with guidelines for a successful implementation. It is a scheme, a plan, a strategy to reverse a trend; to improve a situation - politically, socially and economically." (Dr. Quenum's definition.)

Nineteen and twentieth centuries had seen great projects. Let us just name some for the 20th:

1-The New Deal: that had been conceived and implemented by the Roosevelt's administration in the States to reverse the distressing economic situation resulting from the Great Depression that started in 1929.

2- The landing of Allied Forces on the beaches of Normandy (France) June 4, 1944 - during World War II that precipitated the fall of Germany's Hitler Nazi regime, was the result of an intensive planning followed by an extraordinary coordination of thousand of participants.

3- The Marshall Plan that had been conceived and implemented starting from 1949 to contain and stop the influence of the Soviet Regime upon Western Europe. The Marshall Plan assisted France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg to quickly recover from the heavy economic destructions sustained during World War II. It quickened the economic recovery of said nations.

There are many others of the kind such as the Manhattan Project / the first Atomic Bomb project (that shortened the Pacific Battle during World War II); The Apollo Project (that made it possible the landing of human beings on the moon.) Mao-Zegong's Long March (1934-35) was the epopee that led to the installation of the Popular People Republic of China.

The list of successful projects that changed the destiny of the humanity is endless.

These projects were successful undertaking because from the start the seeds of success were sown by the sponsors and experts in charge of the concept, the design, and planning.

If the concept, the basic idea of a project is biased from the start, flawed by misleading assumptions and doctrines, the wall of disaster is just half way down - during the implementation process.

Mao-Zegong's Great Leap Forward (1958) stands as one of the biggest failure (disaster) because the concept was not in harmony with the existing bad Chinese economic situation, and was based on illusions and false assumptions. The plan was a terrible failure; an estimated 20 to 30 million people died in the famine that followed (1958-61). That is something well known and well documented. No need to elaborate.

Another current big failure broadcast every day by media around the world is the project to invade Iraq conceived by the Bush Administration and based on the neocons' doctrine: the neoconservatism. The invasion was supposed to bring peace and democracy to Iraq and among other things drag down oil' selling price.

We are all witnesses now that nothing of the kind is happening in Iraq. In the contrary, the country is divided into sectarian political and religious forces and is reeling under violence not seen before that are simply civil war acts. And the price of oil skyrocketed from US$ 30 a barrel (before the invasion) to above US $ 70 currently. Without any hope for a limit in the near future, in spite of considerable financial means and human resources thrown into the venture - something in the range of four billions US $ per month.

The fiasco is blinding. The reasons are clear: Pre and post invasion planning were based on false assumptions. The invading soldiers would be welcomed with flowers! There would be only scanty insurgency. Etc.

That single failure example reveals the following paradox:

The management skills of the project's manager is not the prerequisite for the potential success of a project.

Indeed, whatever maybe the outstanding managing-skills of the person in charge of implementing a project, and the abundance of financing means made available, he would not succeed driving the scheme to a successful final stage if the project is badly conceived and bundled, non realistically planned from the start. (Click here to review a case study). That person cannot accomplish miracles.

No doubt, the future success of a project is "genetically" present from the start. It is sown into the initial scheme and strategy. Good planning yes. But one based on sound assumptions and real facts. Everyone is entitled to his opinions, but one's opinions and illusions cannot stand for facts. And realistic assumptions are made only from true facts, which might lead to good planning of an event or a a venture.

African countries have initiated developing projects since the independence era in the 1960's. These projects - the national developing schemes - were deemed to improve the economic situations of the countries.

The implementation of said developing schemes yielded results far below the expectations of the governments and African citizens. In few words these schemes failed to improve the economic situation of the continent, which is now in dire economic straights with high level unemployment rates (up to 80% of the available "working force" - outside the rural sector;) and the lowest per capita Gross National product - in average US$ 500 (five hundred) for the whole continent (which evolution is flat near zero for 50 years running.) A true economic disaster. Click here to read more about the inadequacy of the strategy followed by African nations since 50 years running.

In year 2002, the African rulers implicitly recognized that the continent's economy is in bad shape and therefore conceived and launched a continental developing project called Nepad: The New Partnership for Africa's Development. Nepad has been conceived to quicken the developing of the continent.

Africabiz had, in several deliveries[34, 39, 50, 75], exposed the reasons why Nepad, as conceived, would not improve the economic situation of African countries - for decades to come. If ever!

Next delivery: The Essentials To Making A Developing Project A Success Story
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"CONTRIBUTOR'S GUIDELINES" are available here. We invite you to contribute to AFRICABIZ ONLINE MONTHLY ISSUE - with articles related to "How Africa Could Bridge The Developing Gap".

Your feedback / objection / contribution is welcome. Visit WorldWide BizCenter, and choose General Information (as topic) to create a thread for discussion. On the top of the WorldWide BizCenter page, there is a HELP link to assist you making an efficient use of the discussion board. This link also is useful

Many thanks for subscribing to Africabiz. See you here on September 15, 2006.

Dr. B.M. Quenum
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Business Opportunities

PART X: - THE ECONOMY OF SCALE - THE IMPACT OF MASS PRODUCTION ON PROFIT- MARGIN

The economics about a medium-scale fish smoking operation that produces fivefold the output of the small-scale operation exposed in last delivery will be the case study to exposing the impact of mass production on profit-margin and to highlight the effect of the economy of scale.

Table below shows the production cost for each fish specie in small and medium-scale operations. One notices that catfish's production costs decrease from US$ 1,208 (small-scale operation) to US$ 1,174 (medium-scale). That is twenty-eight percent decrease. For tilapia, the decrease amounts to thirteen percent. These diminutions reflect the positive impact of mass production on productions' costs.

PRODUCTION COSTS / MEDIUM-SCALE OPERATION
1,985 metric tons of smoked catfish (weighting each 298 gram. in average (click here for more about the weight of the fresh fish.) That is 6,661,074 smoked catfish per year for 2,325,000 US$ production costs. That gives a production cost per fish equals to .350 US$ or per kg. of smoked catfish =	1,174
1,760 metric tons of smoked tilapia (weighting each each 128 gram. in average (click here for more about the weight of the fresh fish.) That is 13,750,000 smoked tilapia per year for 2,350,000 US$ production costs. That gives a production cost per fish equals to .171 US$ or per kg. of smoked tilapia =	1,335
PRODUCTION COSTS / SMALL-SCALE OPERATION
397 metric tons of smoked catfish (weighting each 298 gram. in average (click here for more about the weight of the fresh fish.) That is 1,332,214 smoked catfish per year for 475,000 US$ production costs. That gives a production cost per fish equals to .360 US$ or per kg. of smoked catfish =	1,208
352 metric tons of smoked tilapia (weighting each each 128 gram. in average (click here for more about the weight of the fresh fish.) That is 2,750,000 smoked tilapia per year for 475,000 US$ production costs. That gives a production cost per fish equals to .173 US$ or per kg. of smoked tilapia =	1,349

Table below compares Gross Profit generated by both operations:

GROSS PROFIT / MEDIUM-SCALE OPERATION
GROSS PROFIT	2,112,105
GROSS PROFIT / SMALL-SCALE OPERATION
GROSS PROFIT	434,396

One notices that for an increase of investment from US$ 81,000 (small-scale operation) to US$ 123,000 (medium-medium operation) - that is 51.8% - the resulting Gross-Profit jump from US$ 434,395 to US$ 2,112,105 that is an increase of 386%.

For more on the matter click following link to read about the importance of good planning before starting a venture - in any line of business.

MORE ON FISH FARMING

1- How to Start and Manage a Fish Farming Business by Jerre G. Lewis 2- Integrated Fish Farming by Workshop on Integrated Fish Farming 3- Catfish farming handbook by Jerry Mack Johnson 4- Commercial Catfish Farming by Jasper S. Lee 5- Cage Culture Of Tilapia In Rural Farm Ponds An article from: Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science [HTML] (Digital - January 1, 2000) 6- Backyard Fish Farming by Paul Bryant

7- Intensive Fish Farming by Jonathan Shepherd, Niall Bromage 8- Second International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture: by Thai International Symposium on Tilapia in Aquaculture 1987 Bangkok, et al (Hardcover - January 1990) 9- Tilapia Culture by Abdel-fattah M. El-sayed, A. F. M. Sayed (Hardcover - February 2006) 10- Tilapias: Biology and Exploitation by M.C.M Beveridge (Editor), B. McAndrew (Editor)

Control Your Desktop

HOW TO STABILIZE APPLICATIONS AND REDUCE FREEZES AND CRASHES ON YOUR SYSTEM

Sometimes bulky applications such as Macromedia MX 2004, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Professional Version 7 crash out abruptly. I have experienced that often with Macromedia MX 2004, which drove me to find out why and search for a solution.

I have noticed that before the crash occurs, there is a drop in the RAM available for the application and a sharp increase in CPU usage (I use Cacheman XP from Outer Technologies to meter and control RAM and CPU attribution and usage to loaded applications).

System Crash Monitor is also installed. But apparently both utilities - Cacheman XP [12] and System Crash Monitor [15] cannot handle the trouble.

I performed Internet Search and found a new application called AntiCrash from dachhundsoftwares.com that claims to repair all problems resulting from crashes and freezes. I installed it and since then I never got any trouble anymore with bulky utilities such as Macromedia MX 2004 and Adobe brands. To review what AntiCrash does click here

Freebie Of The Month

FREE INTERNATIONAL PHONE CALLS

In line with previous deliveries [83, 86] that dealt with Voice Over The Net (VoIP) telephony, we introduce a web based system call JAJAH.

JAJAH is a free global calling program that make possible free landline and mobile calls to and within: the United States, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

The plan also applies to landline calls to and within: Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria and most other European nations.

Calls are totally free when calling another JAJAH registered user, and in countries where free phone calls are not available, or if you are calling a non-JAJAH user, calls are simply subject to JAJAH's ultra-low rates, usually less than 3 cents a minute. For calls to African countries, however, we noticed that VOIP BUSTER rates are more competitive.

To take advantage of this amazing new program, simply log into JAJAH to start calling. But to assure all your calls are free, you should ask your friends and family to join. Registration is fast, easy and totally free. No hidden costs, downloads, contracts or special equipment.