Wish you Happy New Year...

 

 

Merry Christmas...

~

Go Green Intiative...

Save Wood and Paper

• Return unwanted mail and ask for your name to be removed from the mailing list.
• Always use both sides of a sheet of paper.
• Use e-mail to stay in touch, including cards, rather than faxing or writing.
• Re-use envelopes.
• Always recycle paper after use.
• Share magazines with friends and pass them on to the doctor, dentist or local hospital for their waiting rooms.
• Use recyclable paper to make invitation cards, envelops, letter pads etc.

At your workplace

• Use printers that can print on both sides of the paper ; try to look into this option when replacing old printers.
• Use the back of a draft or unwanted printout instead of notebooks. Even with a double-sided printer there is likely to be plenty of spare paper to use!
• Always buy recycled paper - for your business stationery and to use in your printers.
• Switch off computer monitors, printers and other equipment at the end of each day. Though in standby mode they're still using power - and that adds to global warming.
• Always turn off your office light and computer monitor when you go out for lunch or to a meeting.

In your Home

• Turn off equipment like televisions and stereos when you're not using them.
• Choose energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.
• Save water: some simple steps can go a long way in saving water like for e.g: you should always turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth. And try to collect the water used to wash vegetables and salad to water your houseplants.
• Let clothes dry naturally.
• Keep lids on pans when cooking to prevent your cooker having to work extra hard. Prefer to use gas ovens, Geysers etc in place of the electric ones.
• Recycle your paper, glass, plastics and other waste.
• Use rechargeable batteries.
• Send e-greetings instead of paper cards.

In your Garden

• Water the garden early in the morning or late in the evening. This reduces water loss due to evaporation. Don’t overwater the garden. Water only till the soil becomes moist, not soggy.
• Explore water efficient irrigation systems. Sprinkler irrigation and drip irrigation can be adapted to garden situations .
• Make your garden lively - plant trees and shrubs which will attract birds. You can also put p nest boxes and put food.
• Try growing sturdy grass in bare patches of land , and convince people in your neighbourhood to do so too.
• Put waste to work in your garden- sweep the fallen leaves and flowers into flower beds or under shrubs . This will increase soil fertility and also reduce the need for frequent watering.
• If you have little space in your garden , you could make a compost pit to turn organic waste from the kitchen and garden to soil enriching manure .
• Don't use chemicals in the garden - as they will eventually end up in the sea and can upset the delicate balance of lifecycles.
• Organic and environmentally friendly fertilisers and pesticides are available - organic gardening reduces pollution and is better for wildlife.

Reuse and Recycle

• Use washable nappies instead of disposables if you can.
• Recycle as much as you can.
• Give unwanted clothes, toys and books to charity shops or jumble sales.
• Use mains electricity rather than batteries if possible. If not, use rechargeable batteries.
• Use a solar-powered calculator instead of one with a battery.
• Instead of a plastic ballpoint, use a fountain pen with bottled ink, not plastic cartridges.
• Store food and other products in ceramic containers rather than foil and plastic wrap 

While Shopping

• Buy fruit and vegetables that are in season to help reduce enormous transport costs resulting from importing produce and, where possible, choose locally produced food.
• When buying fish look out for a variety of non-endangered species and buy local fish if possible.
• Prefer vegetarian options for your meals.
• On-line Shopping Purchase solar powered products.
• Send e-cards, if you can, rather than buy paper cards.
• Shop online, not only will this reduce fuel consumption and emissions by not driving to the shops, but each time you buy something on-line WWF receive a donation. You may even buy products from the nature shop.

Right Recruitment - 7 Steps to Right Recruitment

This article is my effort to share my experience with the fellow recruiters.

 

After spending around 5 years in Staffing and Recruiting; I learned that attrition rate in all the companies are increasing day by day. The managements of many companies are not being able to retain their permanent employees and it results in decrease of the overall performance of the organization.

 

After thinking on this issue, I came to one conclusion: The attrition or turnover of the employees start from the very first step and that is Recruitment. If the recruitment is not right, there are more chances for an employee to leave the organization in a very short time.

 

One should take a lot much care while recruiting a permanent employee and should not only emphasize on technical skills. Even if one has to compromise little with the technical skills of a candidate to make sure he stays with the company for a long time, he should do that.

 

There are n number of factors which can give the hint whether the person will stay long with the company or he will run away soon!! Based on my experience, below I am listing few points which should be taken care while recruiting a permanent employee. These are my views and opinions based on my experience and readers are welcome to comment or criticize..:)

 

7 Steps for Right Recruitment

 

1. Understanding the Requirement

Make sure you have understood the requirement very well. You should not only look at the technical requirements but also try to understand the entire environment and situation of the vacancy. Why the vacancy is there? Is it a new vacancy or a replacement? If it is a replacement, what are reasons the previous employee on that position left the job or shifted or promoted?

 

2. Analyzing the position and team situation

After understanding the requirement, make sure you analyze the team environment and situation where the vacancy is open. Figure out the size of the team one has to work with. For example, if the team size of the position is 10 people, and if the incumbent has never worked in such team size, he wont be able to get adjusted easily. There are people who only gets adjusted with small teams and there are also professionals who can only work in big teams. This is the case with leading and management positions as well. If you try to hire a person who has led a team of 100 people and if he has to lead a team of only 5 people, there are always chances that he will be not satisfied and not get adjusted in the environment.

 

One also needs to check what kind of person the incumbent has to work with. Who is his supervisor; what kind of attitude he has and so on. In most of the cases, the study has found that an employee leaves because of his supervisor. Ultimately, the supervisor is the person who deals with him directly!!

 

3. Sourcing the right person

After analyzing the above two steps, now is the time to look for a right person. Match the technical skills, match the above two criteria and then call him for the interview. Salary is always an important criteria so never forget to match what he expects, what he has drawn, what is he drawing and what you can offer.

 

4. Gathering basic information

Many recruiters find it silly to gather the basic information about the candidate. However, this is where they make a big mistake. Basic information like birth place, current location, family background, marital status, hobbies etc. make a big difference. These are the details which can help a recruiter to figure out the candidate's current situation, his attitude, his hidden talents and skills and many more.

 

For example, if you have sourced a candidate who is female, recently married; there are chances for her to ask for maternity leave and the organization has to suffer. If you have a candidate who is relocating himself from his native location to a distant place, there are chances that if he gets a good opportunity in his native, he will accept it and run away. Similarly, if you find out the hobbies of a candidate you can figure out little about his attitude. If a candidate has been a soccer player in past, he may prove to be a good team member. If he is tennis player, he may like to work independently and so on..

 

So next time you interview someone, make sure you gather the basic information.

 

5. Interviewing

I will not discuss about the common things we ask while interviewing a candidate. Most of the recruiters or interviewers know what he has to check. But there are some other factors which need to be considered while interviewing. These are not the questions but hints we can get while interviewing.

- Body Language

- Facial expressions

- Speech

- Attitude

- Habits

 

6. Presenting profiles to management

It is very important for a recruiter to see how he is presenting the profile to the management. Once a recruiter has shortlisted one profile, he should wait for few more to get shortlisted. A recruiter should always give choices to the management and not just one resume. The management should have a chance to compare at least 3-4 profiles for a position. So make sure, you always present at least 3-4 resumes for a position to your management.

 

7. Recruiter as a sales person

I always consider a recruiter as a sales person. He is actually selling jobs to a right candidate and again selling the right candidate to the management. The sales always include after sales service. Always make sure you update the candidates and management about the latest status and keep both of them updated and posted.

 

Recruiter - A Strategic partner of an Organization

There was a time when Organizations used to recruit people by outsourcing their needs to Agencies or through references and good will. But look today, the entire scenario has changed.

 

Now organizations have their own Recruiting Divisions were 5-15 recruiters work specifically to source the right talent. Companies are still outsourcing their hiring needs to Agencies but in-house recruiters have become an essential component of the Business Life Cycle and Organizational Structure. Recruiters in a way have become Strategic Partners of the organization.

 

There was a time when a Single HR person used to handle all the HR Department's process but today it has changed. Recruiters are hired for a very specialized function of recruiting. The demand of Recruiters has increased especially in Information Technology and Software Industry. The high demand of professionals in mass value has increased the need of a specialized profile that can help in Recruiting effectively and promptly. Today the deadline to recruit people has trimmed out drastically. Organization wants to get somebody recruited on an urgent basis to meet their deadlines and as a result the deadline for a recruiter has become shorter sometimes of just couple hours. This shows the importance of a recruiter in today's corporate world.

 

However, not all recruiters are capable of meeting these short deadlines. The education on Human Resource Management is still limited to the General HR issues. The importance of Recruiting Function in the courses offered in the institutes is very less. In today's corporate scenario, the profile of an HR Professional has average 70% of recruiting functions and rest of other HR functions considering that the company has only one HR guy to perform all the functions.

 

I strongly believe that today it has become essential to train and educate HR professionals who have more portion of recruiting function in their profile and those who really wants to build their career in recruiting field. There is a need to educate them to "How to Recruit Effectively".

 

The corporate should take initiatives to impart specialized Recruiting Trainings to their HR and Recruiting professionals which will eventually help the organization to recruit the manpower at a faster speed and skilled employees.

 

 

 

A Complacent employee in an organisation never helps

Tom Dumez, vice president (HR) of Kent Records, discussed employee engagement at a conference in the US. Excerpts: "Let me challenge you with some statistics. Did you know that 46% of employees are either reactively or actively disengaged, have misguided loyalty, or are actually there mostly to negatively impact your business? These employees cost us way too much money year after year, yet we usually keep them because they have been here so long. Why do most companies historically hold onto the 'fat' for so long, instead of trimming it?"

In an era where talks on cost cutting measures are more than just whispers in the office aisles and have moved beyond the water cooler chats, it's surprising that complacency still exists. But it's a malaise every workplace is stricken with. 

Sandeep Choudhary, regional practice leader at Aon Hewitt, a human resource consulting major, doesn't mince words when he calls it a disease. "Generally speaking, everyone's intelligent, obedient and fit for a particular job considering they have fulfilled the requirement spelt out by an organisation. What differentiates the complacent from the driven is the initiative," he says. 

It's this lack of initiative, which Dumez termed 'fat' and Choudhary 'disease' that has led to companies take employee engagement seriously. Case in point: National Thermal Power Corporation. The old-world mammoth has quite a few initiatives in place to address and avoid complacency. Among others, it sponsors employees for full time BE, MTech and PGDBM programmes in reputed institutes. "This helps give a fresh start to their careers and avoid mid-career slump," says an NTPC spokesperson.

Disease Alert 
In the workplace, complacency can be defined as a sense of comfort coupled with a lack of interest in addressing key organizational issues or areas that need improvement and growth. Mid-career is the operative word here, as most employees who get disengaged fall in the mid-level management. 

Companies are realizing the importance of keeping the employees engaged. Take for instance, ONGC that has launched Gyandhara e-learning programme last year where online certification courses were provided to field executives. "Studies have shown that lack of required abilities and skills cause disengagement. Such factors can be addressed through HR interventions," says an ONGC spokesperson. 

Even private institutions are recognizing the need for such interventions. Sunil Goel, director, Globalhunt, an executive search firm notes that New Age businesses like IT, BPO, financial services and also other MNCs have significantly brought down employee complacency levels. 

"Many organisations have idle workforce, which they don't optimize and utilize properly. Invariably, some become complacent," he points out. The tricky bit: employees don't even recognize when they get infected. Complacency stops you from putting in your best and the quality of work inevitably suffers. 

 

Courtesy by: http://mailer.timesjobs.com/tech01/Mailers/HRDialogue/oct11/landing/in_focus.html

 

Wish you Happy Diwali and prosperous New Year....

 

 

 

 

Happy Diwali and prosperous New year !

 

The Six Attitudes Leaders Take Towards Social Media

Slowly but surely, business leaders are shifting their attitude toward social media — from seeing it as a threat to discovering its very real opportunities.

And their attitude matters, a lot. Social media is about people, not technology. Its business value does not come from social software or a snazzy website, even one with 800 million users. Its value stems from how business leaders, from senior executives to managers, use it to foster new collaborative behaviors that materially improve business performance.

Leadership attitudes, and the organizational culture they spawn, are critical to social media success. They are among a company's most fundamental social media assets — or liabilities. Here are the six basic categories that business leader attitudes toward social media fall into:

Folly:
Leaders with this attitude consider social media a source of entertainment with little or no business value, and they typically ignore it. Where a folly attitude prevails, the approach to a social media strategy must emphasize direct business value tightly tied to well-known and recognized organizational goals or challenges — and it must avoid flabby value statements around improved collaboration and stronger relationships.

Fearful:
Fearful leaders see social media as a threat to productivity, intellectual capital, privacy, management authority, regulatory compliance and a host of other things, and often discourage and even prohibit its use. This attitude can reduce the potential risk, but it also stifles any possible business value. To counteract fear, the strategic approach should focus on relatively low-risk initiatives, even if other, higher-risk opportunities might offer greater business value.

Flippant:
These leaders may not ignore or fear social media, but they don't take it seriously, either. This typically leads to a technology-centric approach where the company simply provides access to social media and hopes that business value will spontaneously emerge. This rarely bears fruit. Important in countering this attitude is convincing leadership that purpose matters, and that they should progress beyond the technology and identify good purposes for social media — causes that are strong enough to catalyze and mobilize communities of people to act in a way that delivers value to the community and the organization.

Formulating:
Formulating leaders recognize both the potential value of social media as well as the need to be more organized and strategic in its use. The right approach here should build on this positive foundation, emphasizing the broader strategic value of social media and mass collaboration, with a succinctly expressed set of business opportunities that (1) demonstrates social media's potential impact across many areas of the business, and (2) is strong enough to capture the attention of the most senior leaders.

Forging:
In companies where leaders have a forging attitude, the whole organization is starting to develop competence in using social media to assemble, nurture and gain business value from communities. To keep progressing, leaders should recognize previous successes, capitalize on growing momentum, advocate continued evolution and increase investments. They should also promote additional grassroots social media efforts as critical in becoming a highly collaborative social organization.

Fusing:
This is the most advanced attitude, and still rare. Fusing leaders treat community collaboration as an integral part of the organization's work, ingrained in how people think and behave. This is a description of a social organization, and in such organizations the need for an explicit vision and strategy subsides — all business strategy and execution already include community collaboration where it's appropriate.

How do most leaders shape up? Right now, our analysis indicates that leaders of most organizations have yet to progress to the Formulating stage, which accounts for the high social media failure rate. We know treating social media as strategic can lead to tangible business value and competitive advantage, so the goal is for business leaders to move quickly past the Folly, Fearful, and Flippant stages and get right to Formulating. Ignoring social media, or throwing it over the fence to Marketing or IT could create serious business risk.

Where does your organization stand?

 

Mind the genie in the lamp.

There once was a very poor man, who woke up hungry with only 1 rupee left in his pocket. He decides to go to the market and see if his rupee can buy him some left over fruit. At the market he meets a fancy clothed man behind a table with a beautiful oil lamp on it, and a sign that reads "1 rupee". The poor man can't believe his eyes, and asks the man what the catch is. It's true, the lamp only costs 1 rupee, the man says. And he explains that in the lamp there lives a genie, who fulfills all your desires. "Then why do you sell it?", the poor man wants to know. "Well, the genie is always active and rather impatient", it is explained. "And if you don't pay attention to him, he'll start taking things away again". "Well OK", the poor man says. "Since I don't have much to lose I will buy it from you".

 

When he arrives back home, he rubs the lamp and the genie appears. "How can I serve you, master?", he asks. "Prepare me a meal worthy of a king", the poor man commands. Within a second the genie serves an opulous meal with 87 courses. The poor man is delighted, but when he wants to start eating, the genie asks again - "And how can I serve you master?" Keeping in mind that the genie can also take away all the goodies, the poor man commands: "Build me a beautiful castle, suitable for a maharaja!" Only a few seconds pass by, and the man now finds himself in a beautiful palace. He likes to explore it, but there comes the genie again, asking "How can I serve you, master?" Every wish is immediately fulfilled, and when ignored, the genie takes away everything.

 

The poor man is annoyed and goes to the village sage, where he explains his problem. After a silent conversation, the poor man steps to the genie and says: 'Genie, build me a large pole and stick it in the ground". The genie immediately builds a pole and sticks it in the ground. "Now genie, I want you to climb up and down the pole, over and over again". The genie starts climbing right away. And now the man has time to eat his meal, explore his palace and do other things. When he and the sage go to see what the genie is doing, they see that he has fallen asleep next to the pole. "And so it is with the thinking genie of every man", explains the sage. "It is restless in its desire to satisfy every desire, and fragments our being. The pole is a tool called a 'mantra'. By repeating it over and over again, our restless mind is kept busy until it gets so bored that it falls asleep. And this way our true self can enjoy the world."

Lesson: you are more than your mind - don't worry and enjoy your self

 

How we succeed by failing...

By the time Steve Jobs’s Wikipedia page had been adjusted to past tense, eulogists had added a footnote to his biography of success. Failure.

Jobs, though wildly successful, also failed often and badly. Therein, we note, lies perhaps the larger lesson of his life: Sometimes you have to fail to succeed.

The truth is, you usually have to fail to succeed. No one emerges at the top. Even those born lucky eventually get a turn on the wheel of misfortune. Anyone with a résumé of accomplishments also has a résumé of failures, humiliations and setbacks. Jobs was fired by the company he co-founded. Yet it was during this period of exile that he picked up a little computer graphics company later called Pixar Animation Studios, the sale of which made him a billionaire.

This is to say, to fail is human. To resurrect oneself is an act of courage.

Jobs himself recognized his failures in a now-famous 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. He recalled sleeping on the floors of friends’ dorm rooms and walking seven miles to a Hare Krishna temple for his one good meal of the week. One needn’t make an appointment with the Genius Bar to glean the moral of this story.

Fear of failure isn’t only an adult concern. From an early age, we are plagued with anxiety about performance. This seems a natural-enough evolutionary development. The strong and savvy survive (and get the girl). The less accomplished eat scraps and enjoy the company of human leftovers. “Losers,” we call them. So habitual is our attention to failure that we even have a word — or at least the Germans do — for enjoying others’: schadenfreude.

What possibly could make us take pleasure in another’s failure? Simple. We love the company.

A history of human failure would make for a long and interesting read, yet we prefer books about success. We thrill at the end-zone victory dance, applaud the extra point, admire the perfect 10. In literature, what is redemption but recovery from human failing? We love no one more than the man or woman who says I made a mistake, I’m sorry, please forgive me. Forgive? We want to hoist the penitent on our shoulders.

An entire lexicon of cliches has evolved around the idea of failure and recovery. It’s not the thing attained that matters; it’s the journey that gives us life. The act of creation — the struggle — far exceeds the pleasure of the thing created. Unless, of course, it’s an Apple iPhone 4S. BlackBerry? Not so much.

Recent acknowledgment of the power of failure, inspired by Jobs’s too-soon demise, provides a welcome spiritual uplift for stressed-out adults. But we’re missing an even more important morality tale that has profound consequences for our nation’s future. Our obsession with success and our fear of failure has trickled down to ever-younger humans, our children, at great cost not only to their psychological well-being but also, ultimately, to our ability to compete in the global marketplace.

We’re so afraid that our kids won’t measure up that we drive them crazy with overbooked schedules and expectations and then create a sense of entitlement by insisting on assigning blame elsewhere when their performance is lackluster. Sideline parents, first cousins to back-seat drivers, who challenge coaches, teachers and umpires on behalf of their children are a relatively new development that can’t be considered positive. When I wrote recently about the failure (there’s that word again) of colleges to teach core curricula that engender critical thinking skills, dozens of professors wrote to complain of students who aren’t willing to work hard (or show up) yet still expect good grades. Even in college, they said, parents pester professors for better marks for their little darlings.

In another famous commencement address, J.K. Rowling’s to Harvard in 2008, the “Harry Potter” author eulogized her own valuable failures. “Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations,” she said. “Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way.”

If we agree that wisdom, confidence and a better Apple are gifts of failure, then why are we so afraid to allow our children to experience it? In a culture where failure is not well-enough understood as necessary to growth — and accomplishment is diminished by a code of equal outcomes that enshrines entitlement — then no one gets wiser or better. And a nation populated by such people may not survive.

Courtesy by: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-we-succeed-by-failing/2011/10/14/gIQAnDgykL_story.html?tid=sm_btn_linkedIn

3 Types of Networks You Need

The old adage "It's not what you know, it's who you know" is truer than ever in today's organizations. But how do you know whom to know? Here are three types of networks it pays to have: Personal support. Form relationships with people who help you get back on track during a bad day. These may be friends or colleagues with whom you can just be yourself. Purpose. Include in your network bosses and customers who validate your work, and family members and other stakeholders who remind you that your work has a broader meaning. Work/life balance. Seek out people who will hold you accountable for activities that improve your physical health, mental engagement, or spiritual well-being.

Courtesy by: http://web.hbr.org/email/archive/managementtip.php?date=101311

Happy Dassehra...

 

Wish you Happy Ganesh Chaturthi....

Gajanana Shri Ganaraya aadi vandu tujha Moraya

Ganpati Bappa Morya!Mangal Murti Morya

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi.

 

Inspirational leader! How you inspire your team?

Leadership is a skill that can be acquired with the implementation of carefully thought of steps!

Following are some areas people see in leaders:

•          Good boss guide others either by doing something himself or by directing a specific course of action.

•          Believes on performance rather than experience.

•          Focus on what went wrong & why.

•          Evaluate each & every action that he performs.

•          Accept the responsibility for consequence of his action.

•          Never does something that goes against his conscience.

•          Begins & takes a task to its completion.

•          He is able to create a image of role model

•          He does not let his subordinates feel their inferiority.

•          The subordinates should be aware of what are the positive qualities of the leader & which, in fact, had led to   the  position that he is in.

To understand people concerns and exhibit the commitment towards resolving the issues, you can start following practices to inspire your team:

•          Take frequent shop floor or cafeteria rounds.  This will help you to connect with all level people.

•          Organize listening lunches – where the leader has a monthly lunch with staff at all levels.

•          Just have a talk around. Management by walking about, just asking questions and listening.

•          Organize fortnightly department meetings.

•          Have a detail monthly talk with line manager.

•          Monthly employee meeting bringing all people together.

•          Communicate with them through department newsletters.

•          Create the chat room or knowledge forum on website where anyone can post a question.

But be aware, if you heard issues, you need to change the situation also.

Besides this your main thrust should be on trust. Leadership is nothing but trusting your capable people. You can exhibit your trust by transferring you power in following way.

• Allow your team to sign the documents like invoice, documents etc.
• Nominate and allow the representation of your team members in at seminars, public speaking. Encourage them to participate in public events on behalf of the company.
• Create no-blame culture.
• Create right-first-time culture.
• You have to allow the decision making process as low as possible onto the shop floor and trust employees enough to try and take those decisions for themselves. In Toyota, operators at the shop floor can stop the line if he see any quality problem.
• Constant verbal appreciation and an appreciative attitude from your manager build a culture of appreciation, which has a longer-term effect.
• Internal departmental or employee awards for excellence.

Courtesy by: Jagdish Badal, Asst.Manager (IFEN Ahmedabad)

 

We Support Anna Hazare...

 

SUPPORT INDIA AGAINST CORRUPTION

 

Say… “I am Anna”

 

Jai Hind…

 

Vande Mataram…

 

Jago India Jago!!!

 

 

Decisions decoded

It is an often heard statement: A business's success is the sum of the good (or bad) decisions that the managers make. Mithila Mehta helps you make effective decisions at the workplace

In today's fast paced and extremely competitive world, making effective decisions has become even more necessary. So brutal is the environment that a single bad decision could cost an upcoming manager his/ her career. Sometimes, decisions need to be made in the fraction of a second. There is no time for a collaboration or consensus. At other times, it is a long and research-intensive process. Multiple aspects, perspectives and opinions must be considered. Keeping this contrast in mind, employees often find it difficult to form concrete parameters which will help them make effective decisions. However, here are some guidelines which will help make you a better decision-maker at work.

UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT:
No decision can be made effectively if you do not understand its fundamental basis. Understand the problem at hand in context, the various choices, the stakeholders involved, the consequences of the decision and its implications.

KNOW AND RESEARCH:
The employee who makes the best decisions isn't necessarily the one who is the most experienced. "The best decision-maker is the person who knows the organization the best. It is only when he/she is acutely aware of the firm's current strengths, weaknesses and operations that decisions will be effective, "says brand manager Sharad Pant. Additionally, being well informed about the prevailing industry atmosphere, global trends and the competition is imperative. "Research is the basis of good decisions. And by research, I mean hardcore, current and verifiable facts," adds Pant.

At the same time, don't be over reliant on data and statistics ."In the process of number-crunching,managers often forget the humane aspect of their decisions.Also,numbers aren't gospel;they can be misleading or untrue.Many employees succumb to what we call 'paralysis by analysis' and hence make poor decisions,"says Suruchi Agarwal,marketing,FMCG sector.

EMOTIONS QUOTIENT:
Sometimes,the best decisions don't come from the head,but from the heart."I've seen some great decisions being made instinctively.Almost a decade ago,my organisation decided to change our packaging design to rival our competitor,despite not having done much market research.It was purely based on a gut feeling from the CEO.The spontaneous decision paid off,"says product manager Girish Setalvad.

ATTITUDE ALERT
The attitude you bring to the table during the decision-making process is of utmost importance.Always remember that it's nothing personal,so leave your preconceived biases behind.Says Agarwal,"Decisionmakers are commonly thought to be bossy,dominating and all-knowing.I'm sorry,but I must bust that myth.The ideal decision maker is one who listens,considers and collaborates when time permits.It's also necessary to be flexible and open to criticism or divergent views."

COLLECTIVE THOUGHT
The best decisions are often ones that stem from varied views and opinions.Collaborative decisions,that involve various stakeholders,are usually most effective at the workplace."Our company was planning a complete revamp of the organisational structure by redefining the operations of key divisions.We decided to involve the employees in this process as well,since they would be directly affected by the result.We were able to evolve a strategy that addressed their concerns and priorities,"says Setalvad.

 

ALTERNATIVES
One of the biggest mistakes made while taking decisions is getting stuck to a 'pet solution'and refusing to see other alternatives."It is important to consider various alternatives to a problem.These should then be evaluated using the pre-decided criteria or parameters to come up with the best option,"says Agarwal.Also,do remember to consider the trade-offs or the opportunity costs involved.
While it is important to come up with a final decision,it is equally important to come up with a Plan B."Be prepared for the eventuality that things may not work out as planned.At the same time,it doesn't help to be overly pessimistic.Hope for the best but be prepared for the worst,"signs off Pant.

 

 

(Courtesy By: Ahmedabad Mirror, Mon, 20-09-2010)

 

Domain knowledge - very Important

 

There was a family with one kid. One day the mother was out and dad was in charge of the kid, who just turned three.

 

 

Someone had given the kid a little 'tea set' as a birthday gift and it was one of his favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when kid brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea from father, kid's Mom came home.

 

Dad made her wait in the living room to watch the kid bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!'

 

Mom waited, and sure enough, the kid comes down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then she says to him, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet??'

 

 

....Mothers know!!

 

 

 

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Domain knowledge is very important!!! Else your supplier will trick you..... :-)

 

 

Keep your fork...

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things "in order," she contacted her Pastor (person from church) and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.

 

Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. "There's one more thing," she said excitedly.

 

"What's that?" came the Pastor's reply.

 

"This is very important," the young woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand."

 

The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.

 

"That surprises you, doesn't it?" the young woman asked.

 

"Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request," said the Pastor.

 

The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance! 'So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?'" Then I want you to tell them: "Keep your fork...the best is yet to come."

 

Save Birds....

 

મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીઓને પત્ર...

મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીઓને પત્ર – મૃગેશ શાહ

[ આજે શિક્ષણનો એક માત્ર ઉદ્દેશ 'નોકરી' મેળવવાનો થઈ ગયો છે. એ પણ અમુક જ પ્રકારની 'નોકરી' ! શિક્ષિત લોકો પોતાની સર્જનાત્મકતાને ભૂલીને એમ માનવા લાગ્યા છે કે આપણો ઉદ્ધાર એકમાત્ર મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીઓ કરી શકશે. આ પત્રમાં તેને વ્યંગાત્મક રીતે વ્યક્ત કરવાનો પ્રયાસ કર્યો છે. અહીં ભાવ જાણે ગોપીઓને મૂકીને શ્રીકૃષ્ણ અંતર્ધાન થઈ ગયા હોય તેવો છે. જેમ ગોપીઓ શ્રીકૃષ્ણને પ્રગટ થવા વિનંતી કરે છે, તેમ અહીં એક આમ નોકરિયાત મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીને પોતાનો ઉદ્ધાર કરવા વિનવે છે.]

માનનીય શ્રી મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીઓ,

આપને કોટિ કોટિ પ્રણામ. ઘણા સમયથી અમારા આંગણે આપનું આગમન થયું નથી, તો અમારી નમ્ર વિનંતીનો સ્વીકાર કરીને આપ અમારે ત્યાં સત્વરે પધારશો. આપને કદાચ અહેસાસ નથી કે અમારા મનમાં આપનું શું સ્થાન છે ! અમારા હૃદયની સંવેદનાઓ આપ સુધી પહોંચે એ માટે જ આ પત્ર આપને પાઠવ્યો છે. અમને આશા છે કે અમારા મનની આ વ્યથાને જાણીને આપ તુરંત અમારે દ્વારે દોડી આવશો….!

નાનપણથી અમને જે મોટી-મોટી ડિગ્રીઓ મેળવવાનું કહેવામાં આવે છે એનું અંતિમ લક્ષ્ય તમારું શરણું સ્વીકારવાનું જ હોય છે. તમારે ત્યાં નોકરી મેળવનાર પાસે તો ઈન્દ્રલોકનું પદ પણ તુચ્છ છે ! અમારા બધા અભ્યાસક્રમો અગાઉથી તમારી જરૂરિયાત પ્રમાણે ઘડવામાં આવે છે. ભલે અમે 'એમ.બી.એ','સી.એ.' કે એન્જિનિયર કહેવાઈએ પરંતુ જો તમારી છત્રછાયા ન સાંપડે તો અમારાથી શેક્યો પાપડ પણ ભાંગી શકાય તેમ નથી ! આકર્ષક પગાર-પૅકેજ સામે જોતાં અમે રાત-દિવસ આપના ખ્યાલોમાં ડૂબેલાં રહીએ છીએ. તમે અમારો હાથ નહીં પકડો તો કોણ પકડશે ? તમે એક માત્ર અમારી ગતિ છો. આ જન્મમાં બીજું કંઈ મળે ન મળે, પણ જેને તમારું શરણું મળે છે, એ તો તરી જ જાય છે.

અમે સાંભળ્યું છે કે આપ જ્યાં જાઓ છો ત્યાં બધા ન્યાલ થઈ જાય છે. આપની પ્રતિક્ષામાં અમે બે-બે માસ્ટર ડિગ્રીઓ લઈને બેસી રહ્યાં છીએ ! આપના દ્વારા મળતી વિશેષ સવલતો વિશે એટલું બધું સાંભળ્યું છે કે જાતે કશું કરવાની ઈચ્છા જ નથી થતી. અમારી સ્થિતિ તો અહલ્યા જેવી છે, એક માત્ર આપની ચરણરજ દ્વારા જ અમારો ઉદ્ધાર થઈ શકે છે. જો આપનાં પાવન પગલાં અમારે ત્યાં ન થવાના હોય તો પછી આ બધી ડિગ્રીઓનો અર્થ જ શું છે ? અમે તો અમારી રીતે કશું કરી શકીએ તેમ નથી. અમને તો એમ શિખવવામાં આવ્યું છે કે 'મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપની જ તમારું લક્ષ્ય છે…..' આપ સાક્ષાત અભયનું સ્વરૂપ છો. બિઝનેસમાં તો અનેક ભયસ્થાનો છે. અમારા માટે તો એ ભવસાગરમાંથી પાર ઉતરવા સમાન કઠિન છે. એ તો જાણે યોગનો માર્ગ છે ! અમને તો તમારો 'બેઠા પગારવાળો' આકર્ષક માર્ગ જ વધુ પસંદ છે. એમાં અમને સહેજેય ભય નથી. આપનું શરણ લેનારને વળી ભય શાનો ?

અમે તમારા માટે ઘર-પરિવાર બધું જ છોડી દેવા તૈયાર છીએ. તમે કહેશો ત્યાં જૉબ કરીશું. તમે જ્યાં જગ્યા આપશો ત્યાં પડ્યા રહીશું. આપનું જો સાંનિધ્ય પ્રાપ્ત થતું હોય તો બે દિવસનો ટાઢો ભાત ખાવો પડે તો પણ અમને વાંધો નથી. અમે આપની ચોવીસે કલાક સેવા કરીશું. ભલે ને તમારા ઓફિસના નવ કલાક હોય. અમે તો એ પછી પણ મોબાઈલ અને લેપટોપ વડે આપનું જ કામ કરતાં રહીશું. આપના સ્મરણ વિના એક ક્ષણ વ્યર્થ નહીં જવા દઈએ. અમને ખબર છે કે ઘરકામ જેવી તુચ્છ બાબતો આ વિરાટ કાર્યમાં વિધ્નરૂપ બનવાની છે, પરંતુ અમે એ માટે પહેલેથી જ એટલા સજ્જ છીએ કે આપને ફરિયાદનો એક મોકો નહીં આપીએ. આખરે દુનિયાના બધા સંબંધો એક પ્રકારની મોહમાયા જ છે ને ? તો પછી એનાથી દૂર શું અને નજીક શું ? શરણ તો એકમાત્ર આપનું છે, જે જીવનભર સાથ નિભાવનારું છે. સામાન્યજનો સંયુક્ત કુટુંબો છોડી શકતાં નથી, પરંતુ જે આપનું શરણ લે છે, તે વિના કોઈ વિધ્ને સરળતાથી કુટુંબ બહાર પગ મૂકી શકે છે.

વિકાસની જે વ્યાખ્યા આ જગતમાં આપે લોકો સમક્ષ મૂકી છે તેવી અગાઉ કોઈએ મૂકી નથી. આપના સાંનિધ્યથી જ લોકોને સમજાયું છે કે હવાઈયાત્રા, લકઝરી કાર, ટૂરિસ્ટ પેકેજો અને મોંઘીદાટ વસ્તુઓ જીવનમાં કેટલી બધી અગત્યની છે ! એના વિનાનું તો જીવન તે કાંઈ જીવન છે ? દર રવિવારે 'શૉપિંગ' કરવાનો આપે જે મહામંત્ર આપ્યો છે એનાથી આખા જગતનાં કેટલાંય દુઃખો જાણે નામશેષ થઈ ગયાં છે. દસ રૂપિયાની વસ્તુ માટે હજાર રૂપિયા ખર્ચવાનો આનંદ કેવો હોય તે આ જગતના પામર મનુષ્યો શું આપનું શરણું સ્વીકાર્યા વગર જાણી શક્યા હોત ? આપની એક જાદુઈ લાકડી ફરે છે અને ઘરની ચીજવસ્તુઓ બદલાવા માંડે છે. ટીવીમાંથી પ્લાઝમા ટીવી, મોબાઈલમાંથી આઈફોન, એ.સી.માંથી સ્પ્લિટ એ.સી. – એ બધો વિકાસ આપને આભારી છે. ભલે અમે બધી વસ્તુઓ વાપરીએ કે ન વાપરીએ પરંતુ અમારી પાસે બધું જ છે એવું ગર્વ સાથે કહી તો શકીએ છીએ ને ! તમારા પ્રતાપે તો અમે હજારોના હપ્તાઓ હસતાં હસતાં ભરી શકીએ છીએ. તમારા તપના પ્રભાવે તો અમે ત્રણ-ત્રણ માળ ચણી લીધા છે. અમારા સંતાનોની ભાવી પેઢીઓ તમારી સેવા કરી શકે એ માટે અમે અત્યારથી જ તેઓને મોંઘીદાટ સ્કૂલોમાં મોકલી દીધાં છે. આખરે તમારું ઋણ ભૂલાવું ન જોઈએ !

આપનું નામ જ કેટલું પાવનકારી છે ! આપના નામનો ઉલ્લેખ કરતાંની સાથે અમને લોન મળી જાય છે. ક્રેડિટ-કાર્ડ આપનારી બેંકો અમારા પગમાં આળોટતી થઈ જાય છે. મોંઘીદાટ કાર વેચનારી કંપનીઓ અમને રોજ ફોન કરે છે. લગ્ન ન થતાં હોય તો લગ્ન તાત્કાલિક ગોઠવાઈ જાય છે. ઈન્સ્યોરન્સ કંપનીઓ અમારી આગળ પાછળ ફરતી થઈ જાય છે. આ સુખ માટે તો હજારો દુઃખો મુબારક છે ! ઘણાં એમ કહે છે કે મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીઓમાં ખૂબ પોલિટિક્સ રમાય છે અને ઘણી તાણ સહન કરવી પડે છે, પરંતુ અમે કહીએ છીએ કે કશુંક મેળવવા માટે કશુંક તો સહન કરવું જ પડે ને ? માણસની સહનશક્તિની સાચી કસોટી તો તમારે ત્યાં જ થાય છે. વળી, સંવેદનશીલ માણસને આપ બાયપાસ સુધીની તબીબી સુવિધાઓ એ માટે જ તો આપો છો ! કેવું આપનું આગોતરું આયોજન છે ! આપના આયોજનને આ સૃષ્ટિના બ્રહ્મા પણ સમજી શકે તેમ નથી. બિચારા નોકરીયાતનું તો શું ગજું ? જે આપનો પાલવ પકડી લે છે તે ધીમે ધીમે લાગણી, સંવેદના, ઋજુતા અને કરુણા જેવા ફાલતું ગુણોથી મુક્ત થઈ જાય છે. તેને માટે જગતના બધા જ મનુષ્યો સમાન થઈ જાય છે. તે જેવો વ્યવહાર બહારના લોકો સાથે કરે છે તેવો જ વ્યવહાર ઘરના લોકો સાથે કરે છે. બહુધા તે મૌન પાળે છે કારણ કે તેને બોલવા માટે સમય જ બચતો નથી. સવારથી રાત સુધી માત્ર આપની સેવામાં લાગી જનારને વળી સૂર્યોદય કેવો અને સૂર્યાસ્ત કેવો ? આઠ લાખનું આપનું પેકેજ ભલભલા સર્જનાત્મક લોકોની સર્જનાત્મકતાને ખતમ કરી નાખે છે. તેઓ પણ આ અભયપદનો સ્વાદ ચાખીને આપનું શરણું ગ્રહી લે છે. 'સિક્યોરીટી' અને 'સ્ટેબિલિટી' નામના જે બે શબ્દોને આપે જન્મ આપ્યો છે, એ તો આજના યુગના જાણે શીલાલેખ સમાન બની ગયા છે. આપનું એક ચરણ 'સિક્યોરીટી' આપે છે તો બીજું ચરણ 'સ્ટેબિલિટી' આપે છે.

આપને ખબર જ નથી કે અમારા મનમાં આપની માટે કેટલો અહોભાવ છે ! અમે આપના દ્વારા બનેલી લગભગ દરેક ચીજવસ્તુઓ વાપરીએ છીએ. વસ્ત્રો પણ આપને ત્યાંના જ પહેરવાનો આગ્રહ રાખીએ છીએ. શેરીના નાકે મળતી દુકાનમાંથી કરિયાણું ખરીદીએ તો આપની સેવા શી રીતે થઈ શકે ? એથી, જ્યાં આપની અમીદષ્ટિ ફેલાયેલી હોય તેવી જગ્યાએથી જ ઘરવપરાશની ચીજવસ્તુઓ ખરીદવાનો આગ્રહ રાખીએ છીએ. ટીવીમાં જે કોઈ નવી વસ્તુ જોવા મળે તે બીજે દિવસે આપના પ્રભાવથી ખરીદી લઈએ છીએ. બાળકોમાં આ ગુણ વિકસે એ માટે સતત સાવધાન રહીએ છીએ. એમને વારસામાં આપવા માટે બંગલો, ગાડી અને ફાર્મહાઉસથી મૂલ્યવાન બીજું શું હોઈ શકે ? એમનાં લગ્નપ્રસંગો વધુ ને વધુ ખર્ચાળ અને આધુનિક શી રીતે કરી શકાય એ માટે અમે સતત ચિંતિત રહીએ છીએ. એ બાબતમાં તો અમે આપની વિશેષ કૃપાદષ્ટિ ઈચ્છીએ છીએ. અમે બાળકોને મોંઘામાં મોંઘી ચીજવસ્તુઓ લાવી આપીને કહીએ છીએ કે 'જો આ પ્રકારનું ઉચ્ચ જીવન(!) જીવવું હોય તો મલ્ટિનેશનલ કંપનીઓનું શરણ ગ્રહી લો….' હજુ કળિયુગનો પ્રભાવ ઓછો છે તેથી તેઓ માની જાય છે અને વધુ ને વધુ ટકા લાવીને આપના માર્ગે શી રીતે પ્રયાણ કરી શકાય, તે સતત અમને પૂછતા રહે છે.

માત્ર આપના માટે અમે કેટલો ભોગ આપ્યો છે એનો આપને સહેજેય અંદાજ હશે ખરો ? અગાઉ દરરોજ મિત્રોની ઘરે જતાં હતાં, જે અમે સદંતર બંધ કરી દીધું છે. બાળકોને રોજ રાત્રે વાર્તાઓ કહેવાની જૂનવાણી પદ્ધતિ બંધ કરીને અમે તેઓને કમ્પ્યૂટર લાવી આપ્યું છે. મહેમાનોને શક્ય એટલું દૂર રાખવાનો પ્રયત્ન કરીએ છીએ. પત્નીને ઘરના કંટાળાજનક કામોમાંથી મુક્ત કરીને આપના ચરણોની દાસી બની શકે તેવું વાતાવરણ પૂરું પાડ્યું છે. અમે તો તન, મનથી કેવળ આપને જ સમર્પિત છીએ, જેથી અમને આપનું ધન નિયમિત પ્રાપ્ત થતું રહે. 'હવે તહેવારો પહેલાં જેવા નથી રહ્યાં' એમ બોલી-બોલીને અમે કોઈ તહેવારો ઉજવતાં નથી. દિવસ-રાત કેવળ આપનું રટણ કર્યા કરીએ છીએ. અમે તો એમ જ માનીને ચાલીએ છીએ કે આપની આખી કંપની કેવળ અમારા થકી જ ચાલે છે ! કહો, આટલો આત્મીયભાવ આપને ક્યાંયથી મળ્યો છે ખરો ? આપની સેવા કરતાં કોઈના શ્રીમંત, ચૌલ-સંસ્કાર, લગ્નપ્રસંગ કે મરણમાં ન જઈ શકાય તો જરાય અફસોસ થતો નથી. આખરે અમારું જીવન તો કેવળ આપના માટે જ છે ને ? જ્યારે અમે તમારી શરણમાં નહોતાં ત્યારે સાંજે છ વાગ્યે છૂટીને ઘરે જઈને હિંચકે બેઠાં-બેઠાં પરિવાર સાથે આઈસ્ક્રીમ ખાતાં હતાં. મોજમજા કરતાં પડોશીઓ સાથે ગપ્પાં મારતાં હતાં. પરંતુ જ્યારથી આપનું સાંનિધ્ય સાંપડ્યું છે ત્યારથી અમને સત્ય સમજાયું છે કે એ બધું 'ટાઈમ વેસ્ટ' હતું. આપે વિકાસની વ્યાખ્યા સમજાવી એ પછી તો અમે એ બધું ક્યારનુંય છોડી દીધું છે. હવે અમને એ તરફ જોવાની પણ ફુરસદ નથી.

હજી તો અમારી આંખોમાં કેટલા બધાં સપનાં અંજાયેલાં છે ! બાળકો માટે નવું લેપટોપ ખરીદવાનું છે. પરિવાર સાથે સિંગાપોરની જાત્રા (!) કરવાની છે. તમને તો ખબર જ હશે ને કે આઈફોન-4 પણ આવી ગયો છે ! સગાં-વહાલાંઓ હવે અમારી કારને 'ખટારો' કહે છે ! તમારી હયાતીમાં આવું અમે કેવી રીતે સાંભળી લઈએ ? પેલાં નવાં નીકળેલાં ડિજિટલ આલ્બમ અને કેમકોર્ડર અમે નહીં લઈએ તો કોણ લેશે ? ઘણીવાર તો એમ થાય છે કે આ બે રૂમના ફલેટને વેચીને પેન્ટહાઉસ લઈ લઈએ. શું થાય ? સ્ટેટ્સ પ્રમાણે તો રહેવું જોઈએ ને ! બાળકોને સમરકેમ્પમાં આ વખતે શિકાગો મોકલવાં છે. અમે તો એકમાત્ર તમારું નામ દઈને આ સઘળા સંઘર્ષોમાં ઝંપલાવતા રહીએ છીએ. આપના ભરોસે પાર થઈશું જ એવી અમને શ્રદ્ધા છે.

આ ભવસાગરમાં તમે આમ અમને મઝધારમાં છોડીને ચાલ્યા જશો તો અમે કોનું શરણ ગ્રહીશું ? અમારા બાળકો કોના માટે ભણશે ? તેઓના એડમિશન માટે ડોનેશન ક્યાંથી લાવીશું ? અમારી લોનોના હપ્તા કોણ ભરશે ? દર રવિવારે મૉલમાં કોણ જશે ? તમારા વગર તો ફિલ્મો-પાર્ટી-ડાન્સ-શૉ ઠંડા પડી ગયા છે. ઘરમાં વસાવેલી આ બધી વસ્તુઓ અમે 'અપડેટ' નહીં કરીએ તો અમારું ઘર મ્યુઝિયમ બની જશે એવી અમને ચિંતા છે. એકમાત્ર તમારા સહારે તો અમે આ પથારો પાથર્યો છે ! હવે આમ તમે અમને છોડીને ચાલ્યા જાઓ એ કેમ ચાલે ? માટે….પ્લીઝ…. તમે આવો….. અમારો હાથ ઝાલો….. અમારી આ નમ્ર વિનંતીનો સ્વીકાર કરીને અમારે ત્યાં પધારો…..અમને ખાત્રી છે કે આ પત્ર દ્વારા તમે અમારી વ્યથા જાણ્યા પછી તુરંત અમારા દ્વારે દોડી આવશો…. અસ્તુ.

લિ.
આપનો પરમવિશ્વાસુ,
એક આમ નોકરિયાત !