Expert Witness Blog

In Creating a Sales Presence in the Global Marketplace, marketing strategy expert witness Glen Balzer writes:

Resources

When a company begins to plan its move into a foreign market, it can draw resources from several quarters. Divide resources into two broad groups: data and network. First, use data to build the expansion plan. How large is the market and how fast is it growing? Does the marketplace use manufacturers’ representatives, a direct sales force, or a hybrid blend of reps and direct sales? How eagerly do customers accept new entrants, particularly foreign entrants? How does a company contact and interview potential reps?

In Guaranteed Maximum Contracts construction expert witness Paul Gogulski explains the the G-Max contract:

G-Max contracts best achieve the owner’s objective because a partnership is formed between owner and contractor wherein the owner agrees to reimburse the contractor for actual cost as it occurs, not from a schedule of values. This eliminates the distrust between parties. It also eliminates the contractor’s negligence to pay his suppliers and subcontractors because he gets audited monthly. In today’s market, this one issue alone will solve a lot of problems and insure both savings and a smoothly running project.

The owner plays an active role throughout the entire process. The whole issue of cost is manageable when the savings are shared, rather than negotiated from an adversarial position. When the administration is properly set-up and organized, the benefits are truly amazing. Because every purchase order and invoice received from the contractor is submitted to the owner as backup, and because the owner agrees to cut the time for processing and pay promptly, a positive and successful relationship is assured. Front end loading disappears, so does the haggling with price.

In The Advantages of Strategic Advisory Boards For Agency Owners insurance agencies expert witness Andres Barile, MBA, CPCU, writes:

Agency Growth

Employment agreements for agency producers – In your agency, you have approached a competing producer trying to persuade her to leave her present position and join your fast growing retail agency. There is one big hurdle: she has a strict “non-compete agreement” that has to be circumvented. You can turn to the expertise of your strategic advisory board and work with its members to come to a solution on hiring the producer, without the problems that a non-compete agreement can give you;

Risk management expert witnesses may testify and write reports on risk assessment, credit risk, and market risk. In Too Good to Fail? New Challenges for Risk Management in Financial Services, SAS, a leader in business analytics software and services, offers this on-demand seminar:

With regulators, boards and investors heavily scrutinizing risk management practices, effective risk management is more critical than ever. How has the risk landscape changed in the past year? What are financial services firms doing now to manage risk more effectively?

Join our panel of experts to review key insights from this year’s survey of senior risk professionals, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit exclusively for SAS.

Disability insurance expert witnesses may opine on disability income insurance and disability insurance claims, among other topics. On their website, the Council for Disability Awareness answers the question: What are your chances of becoming disabled?

Higher than you probably think. You can ignore the problem, but it’s hard to ignore the facts:

* Just over 1 in 4 of today’s 20 year-olds will become disabled before they retire.

Night club security expert witness John Case, CPP, has over 30 years of private sector security experience. Here he writes on theft:

Employees and customers in nearly every type of business steal over a billion dollars a week from unknowing employers just like you! Honest employees often know theft is happening but hesitate to inform management of the problem. Most times, there are warning signs of theft are occurring through declining profits, unexplained inventory shortages, rumors and other discrepancies. But management usually doesn’t know how to deal with the problem until it is forced to face a crippling loss. There are proven ways to detect and prevent theft related losses within your business. You just have to know what to do!

Read more: employeetheft.com.

In Creating a Sales Presence in the Global Marketplace, marketing strategy expert witness Glen Balzer writes:

Expectations

When a company begins discussion about creating a sales presence in a foreign market, each member of the executive team probably has a different reason for expanding internationally. Sales may seek greater total available market. Manufacturing may prize greater volume across which to spread its fixed cost. Marketing might wish greater market share. Research and Development might crave better visibility into the foreign market. Finance may welcome the opportunity to reduce financial risk by spreading revenue across uncorrelated markets. Engineering may seek the opportunity to create an alliance with a foreign customer or competitor. If the project is to succeed, the executive team must develop and agree to a shared purpose.

Tree care expert witnesses may opine on tree diseases, storm damage, fallen trees and related issues. In Tree Storm Damage – Dealing With Total Tree Failure, professional forester Steve Nix writes:

Catastrophic tree failure and damage is not only dangerous but can cause significant property loss and will be expensive to remove. Here are some ways to deal with complete tree damage.

Read more: forestry.about.com.

Risk management expert witnesses may testify and write reports on risk assessment, credit risk, and market risk. In Too Good to Fail? New Challenges for Risk Management in Financial Services, SAS, a leader in business analytics software and services, explains:

With regulators, boards and investors heavily scrutinizing risk management practices, effective risk management is more critical than ever. Financial institutions worldwide have initiated risk management measures to address the most glaring deficiencies exposed by the financial crisis. But have they done enough?

* How is the complex operating environment affecting risk management?