Friday, August 12, 2011

OVER COMING FROM THOUGHT ATTACK




Prof. Satya Sidhartha Panda.
MBA, MJMC, CCMM, PhD
Bangalore -INDIA
Email: Satyasidharth@yahoo.com
Blog: http://www.sidharthmission.blogspot.com
OVERCOMING FROM THOUGHT ATTACK
Abstract
This paper attempts for persuade to understand how the Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion , success and how you can overcome of your negative thoughts at your Bad Time .
Research indicates that on average, 60-80% of people, especially women, have low serotonin levels, which can lead into a downward spiral of hopelessness and despair. These negative feelings, thoughts and moods take us away from abundance and towards attracting more negative experiences. Believe me you can overcome from Thought Attack but Attitude and thoughts do not change overnight.
It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds. Not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. Some consider the subject as just nonsense, and others scoff at people who believe and accept it. Among the people who accept it, not many know how to use it effectively to get results. Yet, it seems that many are becoming attracted to this subject, as evidenced by the many books, lectures and courses about it. This is a subject that is gaining popularity. Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment. The power of thoughts is a mighty power that is always shaping our life. This shaping is usually done subconsciously, but it is possible to make the process a conscious one. Even if the idea seems strange give it a try, as you have nothing to lose, but only to gain. Ignore what others might say or think about you, if they discover that you are changing the way you think.
Key Words: mental attitude, mind thoughts, positive mind, frustration and disappointment
Introduction:
Truly, thoughts are things and powerful things .It is quite common to hear people say: "Think positive!” to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what they really mean, or do not consider them as useful and effective. How many people do you know, who stop to think what the power of positive thinking means?
Experts say that being a positive-minded person can help make your life easier, healthier, and longer. People who are optimistic are generally believed to be stronger than pessimists, both in psychological and physical terms. They are also known to be better equipped to cope during periods of stress. The Mayo Clinic says people with a negative outlook are more inclined to suffer from depression, more susceptible to catching colds and more likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
Psychologists estimate that we think between 60,000 - 80,000 thoughts per day and approximately 80% of those thoughts are generally negative. They also say that most of these negative thoughts are the same negative thoughts we had yesterday, last year, and 10 years ago. These negative thoughts have been developing in our subconscious for years, often stemming from childhood issues. As we age, we tend to repeat the negative thoughts we heard in our childhood and eventually replace our parents' voices with our own. Becoming more aware of your thoughts gives you the freedom needed to alter negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.
Don't blame yourself for having negative thoughts. We live in an anxiety-provoking world filled with stories of natural disasters, wars and illness. As a result, we are constantly being bombarded with negative and fear-inducing information. It is no wonder we tend to think negatively and are worrying so much of the time.
That being said, thinking these thoughts will not make us feel better, maybe more in the majority, but no happier. By being more conscious and vigilant of our thoughts, we can learn to catch ourselves earlier on and prevent going off on a rampage of indignation. This can be achieved by stopping and asking ourselves, 'how are these thoughts going to help me lead a happier life?'
The following story helped me to understand how this Thought (power) works:
I am Sidhartha; at the time When I finished my M.B.A. and planed for job Hunt, I applied for a new job @ IBM Bangalore and It was a dream company being an MBA Graduate, but as my self-esteem was low, and I considered myself as a failure and unworthy of success, I was sure that I was not going to get the job. I had a negative attitude towards myself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than me. I manifested this attitude, due to my negative past experiences with job interviews.
My mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. I was sure I would be rejected. On the day of the interview I got up late, and to my horror I discovered that the shirt I had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, I went out wearing a shirt full of wrinkles.
During the interview I was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about my shirt, and felt hungry because I did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted my mind and made it difficult for me to focus on the interview. My overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently I materialized my fear and did not get the job.
One of my best MBA Mate applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. She was sure that she was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview she often visualized herself making a good impression and getting the job.
In the evening before the interview She prepared the clothes She was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview She woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time.
She got the job because she made a good impression. She had also of course, the proper qualifications for the job, but so had me.
What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our mind's eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside.
Once a negative thought enters your mind, you have to be aware of it and endeavor to replace it with a constructive one. The negative thought will try again to enter your mind, and then you have to replace it again with a positive one. It is as if there are two pictures in front of you, and you choose to look at one of them and disregard the other. Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively and ignore negative thoughts.
In case you feel any inner resistance when replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, do not give up, but keep looking only at the beneficial, good and happy thoughts in your mind.
It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.
All of us get upset when we don't do a certain task very well. But it's no reason to be upset. If you haven't fared well in any particular subject, don't keep thinking about how bad your marks were. Instead, look forward to the next examination, and prepare well for it. Be determined to do well the next time. Be confident of doing well. If you study well, the results will show. So don't lose hope when you don't do well. Use it as an opportunity to improve yourself.
Change your negative self-talk: One way to do this is once you have identified a negative thought try to replace it with more realistic thinking rather than pessimistic thoughts. For example, instead of saying to yourself, "why does this always happen to me?" try to remember a time in your past when you had other challenges and then remember how you managed to overcome those challenges. You will feel much different if instead of saying, "Why does this always happen to me?" you replace the thought with, "Okay, it seems I have hit another bump in the road, but I know I have had worse and I am still here, so I know I can find a way to succeed with this as well." This method of focusing on the solution rather than the problem will lead you to feel empowered, rather than overwhelmed or victimized. This works for all situations, whether it is a health, financial or relationship issue.
Affirmations: Are another way to use positive statements. You need to repeat them many times, either out loud or in your mind. An affirmation should be constructed in the present tense, and should be said often. Write your affirmations on index cards or post-it notes and stick them on your keyboard, computer monitor, refrigerator, mirrors, and/or car-anywhere and everywhere you can. The more you see them, the more you'll say them to yourself and the more they will become ingrained in your mind. You also may choose to think a positive thought about yourself and repeat it when negative thoughts enter you mind. You will find a list of affirmations in the handouts.
Certain examples include:
"Today is going to be a great Day for me”
"Circumstances are what they are, but I can choose my attitude toward them."
"I love and accept myself just the way I am"
"It's never too late to change. I am improving one step at a time."
"It's ok to make mistakes. I am willing to learn from them."


The Problem with Having a Negative Bias
Confirmation Bias: The major problem with negative thinking is that human beings tend to see and hear what they believe about another even if it isn't true. In other words, what you believe about another person (positive or negative), you will find evidence of that belief in everything he or she says or does.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy: The case whereby individuals (a) have an expectation about what their partner is like, which (b) influences how they act toward their partner, which (c) causes that partner to behave in a way consistent with the individual's original expectations. People tend to live up or down to our beliefs about them.

Learned Hopelessness: When negative thinking consistently invades the relationship, it produces an environment of hopelessness and demoralization. The negatively framed partner is robbed of motivation and action.


10 tips for Overcoming from Thought Attack (Negative Thoughts.)
Recognize negative thoughts as they take shape and bury them before they take root. If you feel your mood darkening again, put a stop to these dangerous musings before you succumb to them. Rule your emotions; don't let your emotions rule you.
Hang out with people who think positive as well. This condition can be quite infectious.
Just as contagious is a negative mindset. So avoid people who tend to think negatively on a constant basis. After all, who wants to hang around naysayers all the time?
Work out and eat right. If you look good on the outside, it'll be easier to feel good on the inside, too.
De-clutter. Surround yourself only with the things you love and that make you feel good--framed family photos, favorite books, potted plants, and works of art, or whatever else that's meaningful to you.
If people tell you can't do something, take that as a challenge and prove them wrong. Chances are, they themselves can't do it or are too afraid to try and are simply bitter about it. If you show them it can be done after all, maybe they'll even be inspired by your success. You can be a living tip for positive thinking to them.
Just when you're about to blow your top for all the seeming misfortunes that befall you, remind yourself of all your blessings instead. This practice can be very sobering, indeed.
Be a volunteer or get involved in charity work. Not only will you realize the sheer number of people who have bigger problems than you do, but there is also such an emotional and even spiritual high to be experienced in helping others.
De-stress. You're more likely to be cranky if you're perpetually stressed out. So get away from it all and recharge.
Keep it up. Getting started is easy. It's the maintenance that's tricky. Make a habit out of thinking positively till it becomes an indelible part of who you are.
Follow these 10 tips for think positive, make your thoughts in to your positive strength and be successful in your search for a happier and healthy thinking and healthy acting.

Conclusion:
All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference, and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts, and vice versa. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive people and avoid negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive, and they dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.
Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment. It’s only you who can overcome from Thought Attack (Negative Thinking.) Just think your are the Creation Of almighty. SUCCESS Mantra - It's Within You
Working your way to success? Here are a few tips that could aid you in the rise: • Visualize your way to success
• Be positive that you will succeed
• Anticipate that success is not too far when faced with a task that seems daunting always picture yourself as having succeeded in finishing it well.
Positive picture in your mind will go a long way in building your confidence levels. Never visualize failure.
Banish all thoughts of failure and tune your thoughts towards a successful end. Your task may be anything - it could be cleaning your cupboard, your first solo drive, an interview…. . Positive visualization is bound to put you in the right direction.
A word of caution: While visualization is crucial, what is equally necessary is actually working towards your goal. Remember, fate supports those who work hard. Attitude and thoughts do not change overnight. Just think Positive in your mind, Heart & Soul and make a habit of think + Ve. Don’t ever try – I want to Do but always try for I love to Do.




Friday, January 14, 2011

HRM:

Is essential for the prosperity and welfare of an Organization, a society and a nation.
Human Resource Management is a process of bringing people and organizations together so that the goals of each are met. It tries to secure the best from people by winning their wholehearted cooperation. In short, it may be defined as the art of procuring, developing and maintaining competent workforce to achieve the goals of an organization in an effective and efficient manner.

In an organization, there are tall people, short people, fat people, thin people, black people, white people, elderly people, and young people and so on. Even within each category there are enormous individual differences. Some will be intelligent, others not so intelligent, some are committed to jobs, others are not, some will be outgoing, others reserved and so on. “The point is that these differences demand attention so that each person can maximize his or her potential, so that organizations can maximize their effectiveness and so that the society as a whole can make the wisest use of its human resources”. The challenge of HR managers today is to recognize talent and nurture the same carefully and achieve significant productivity gains over a period of time. The enterprise is nothing but people. Technological advances globalize competition, demographic changes, the information revolution and trends toward a service society have changed the rules of the game significantly. In such a scenario, organizations with similar set of resources gain competitive advantage only through effective and efficient management of human resources.

The role of a HR manager is shifting from a protector and screener to the planner and change agent.
In present day competitive world, highly trained and committed employees are often a firm’s best bet. HR professionals play a key role in planning and implementing downsizing, restructuring and other cost-cutting activities. They enable a firm to be more responsive to product innovations and technological changes. For example, team based work assignments and productivity linked rewards could replace manufacturing systems. In service enterprises like banking, hotels, insurance firms, etc., discourteous employee responses may ruin the relationships with customers. Employees who lack the temperament, maturity, social skills and tolerance for frequent contact should not be selected at all for service-oriented activities. HR professionals can help an organization select and train employees for such emerging roles. Employees are the primary pillars of corporate success. Machines neither have new ideas nor they can solve problems or grasp opportunities. Only people who are involved and thinking can make a difference. Through open communications, proper feedback and fair treatment of all employees’ grievances and discipline matters, HR professionals promote employee commitment at various levels. In such a case employees perform the assigned tasks willingly and enthusiastically and thus offer a competitive advantage to the organization. As rightly pointed out by Charles Creer, (Strategy and Human Resources, 1995), “in a growing number of organizations human resources are now viewed as a source of competitive advantage.

Increasingly it is being recognized that competitive advantage can be obtained with a high quality workforce that enables organizations to compete on the lines of market responsiveness, product and service quality, differentiated products and technological innovation”. In the new economy, winning will spring form organizational capabilities such as speed, responsiveness, agility, learning capacity and employee competence. Successful organizations will be those that are able to quickly turn strategy into action; to manage processes intelligently and efficiently; to maximize employee contribution and commitment; and to create the conditions of seamless change. The need to develop those capabilities brings us back to the mandate for HR set forth at the beginning of this article. Let’s take a closer look at each HR imperative in turn. Becoming a Partner in Strategy Execution. Strategy is the responsibility of the company’s executive team – of which HR is a member.

To be full-fledged strategic partners with senior management, however, HR executives should impel and guide serious discussion of how the company should be organized to carry out its strategy.
First, HR should be held responsible for defining an organizational architecture. In other words, it should identify the underlying model of the company’s way of doing business. Several well-established frameworks can be used in this process. Jay Galbraith’s star model, for example, identifies five essential organizational components: strategy, structure, rewards, processes and people. The well-known 7-S framework created by McKinsey & Company distinguishes seven components in a company’s architecture: strategy, structure, systems, staff, style, skills and shared values. It’s relatively unimportant which framework the HR staff uses to define the company’s architecture, as along as it’s robust. What matters more is that architecture be articulated explicitly. Without such clarity managers can become myopic about how the company runs – and thus about what drives strategy implementation and what stands in its way. They might think only of structure as the driving force behind actions and decisions, and neglect systems or skills. Or they might understand the company primarily in terms of its values and pay inadequate attention to the influence of systems on how work – that is, strategy execution – actually gets accomplished. In India, the borderless world is shaking the roots of business. HR managers have long realized the importance of conducting their business in a socially relevant and responsible manner. What do you do when the company operates in an area where large army of unemployed people lives? A philosophy of hiring workers who are capable of being trained as against hiring only qualified applicants may help reduce unemployment. It may also improve profitability in the long run. Is it possible for a person to buy a firm’s products or services if he remains unemployed?

The society at large nowadays is more demanding. The actions of business are being monitored and evaluated closely. If a manufacturer claims that his product has one hundred per cent juice content (e.g., Onjus) and the rival (Tropicana) tries to contest this issue openly, the customer is ready to evaluate the issue dispassionately and decide about the future course of action. If the expectations are not met or the tall claims do not stand the test, the fate of the firm/brand is automatically sealed (as it happened in the case of Bajaj’s motor cycle, ‘Cheetah’, technologically-outdated Ambassador car model, etc.). Firms do not operate in isolation.

They are stuck with society. Social impacts have to be carefully evaluated before undertaking any action programme. And society here includes the firms’ own employees and their friends, relations, neighbors as well.
Before cutting jobs in a big way (where, for example, in National Textile Corporation 40,000 jobs have been slashed voluntarily), HR managers have to assess reactions beforehand and come out with certai11 proactive steps (explain facts, train or retrain them, give outplacement help, etc.).

Considerable pressure can be exerted on a firm to alter its practices (for example, in Steel Authority of India, SBI and other State owned Banks, DTC the slashing of jobs did not take place in a big way) if the public believes that it is not operating in the best interests of society.

Culture is our philosophies, faith and beliefs. By organization culture we mean the philosophies, practices and the codes of practices which are prevalent in the organization. A culture with innovative ideas and opportunities for humans to develop and grow will pave way for all round development of humans and organization. The objective of HRM is to develop HR function is according to the organizational needs and see that good culture is established in the organization. Objectives for the welfare of the society:- Our society as you know very well consists of all our systems and their beliefs. Every organization faces the societal impact. HRM seeks to do maximum good to the society and also tries to minimize the effects of the so called social events. These social objectives are planned and needed to satisfy the ethical and social needs of the society. HRM has the societal objective of doing good to society, complying with legal formalities and building good industrial relations. A firm, after all, operates by public consent to satisfy society’s needs.

The role of HRM has undergone a dramatic change over the years. From control and direction of employees, HR department is expected to move toward clarifying goals and paths and creating a supportive and growth oriented environment and concerned about the society and nation as a whole

Note: Dear Readers, Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome
Thank you!
Happy Learning **
JAI HIND

Thursday, January 13, 2011

THE NEW " AVATAR " OF HRM

THE NEW "AVATAR " OF HRM
PROF.SATYA SIDHARTHA PANDA (Ph.D.)
BANGALORE-INDIA
In all activities men and resources are involved. For a long time men or workers were taken for granted. Greater accent was given to resources, production machinery and top managers. But at present in the modern large scale production of innumerable products with a wide market, (where sky is the limit) in the last few decades the importance of human resources and their development has come to the fore. The importance of human resources to any organization need not be over-emphasised. Human resource is the wealth of a nation and an organisation. The development process is wide and varied. In this lesson, let us understand the importance and concept of Human Resources Management(HRM).

An effective productivity management process is simply not possible without the commitment and involvement of employees at all levels. Commitment is the binding of the individual to behavioural acts. In prospective view, commitment is conceived as an individuals psychological bond to the organisation or social system as reflected in his involvement with loyalty for and belief in the values of the organisation. Success in the employee involvement arena requires, first and foremost, a recognition by top management that participative management means cultural change which, requires management commitment and a long-term perspective.

Regardless of their industry, size or location, companies today face five critical business challenges. Collectively, these challenges require organizations to build new capabilities. Who is currently responsible for developing those capabilities? Everyone and no one. That vacuum is HR’s opportunity to play a leadership role in enabling organizations to meet the following competitive challenges.

Globalization: Gone are the days when companies created products at home and shipped them abroad “as is”. With the rapid expansion of global markets, managers are struggling to balance the paradoxical demand to think globally and act locally. The imperative requires them to move people, ideas, products and information around the world to meet local needs. They must add new and important ingredients to the mix when making strategy: volatile political situations, contentious global trade issues, fluctuating exchange rates, and unfamiliar cultures. They must be more literate in the ways of international customers, commerce, and competition than ever before. In short, globalization requires that rganizations increase their ability to learn and collaborate and to manage diversity, complexity and ambiguity.

Profitability through Growth: During the past decade, most Western companies have been clearing debris, using downsizing, reengineering, delivering and consolidation to increase efficiency and cut costs. The gains of such yard work, however, have largely been realized, and executives will now have to pay attention to the other part of the profitability equation: revenue growth.

Technology: From videoconferencing to the Internet, technology has made out world smaller and faster. Ideas and massive amounts of information are in constant movement. The challenge for managers is to make sense and good use of what technology offers. Not all technology adds value. But technology can and will affect done. In the coming years, managers will need to figure out how to make technology a viable, productive part of the work setting. They will need to stay ahead of the information for business results. Otherwise, they risk being swallowed by a tidal wave of data – not ideas.

Intellectual Capital: Knowledge has become a direct competitive advantage for companies selling ideas and relationships (think of professional service, software and technology-driven companies) and an indirect competitive advantage for all companies attempting to differentiate themselves by how they service customers. Form now on, successful companies will be the ones that are the most adept at attracting, developing, and retaining individuals who can drive a global organization that is responsive to
both its customers and the burgeoning opportunities of technology. Thus the challenge for organizations is making sure they have the capability to find, assimilate, develop, compensate, and retain such talented individuals.
Change, Change and More Change: Perhaps the greatest competitive challenge companies face is adjusting to – indeed, embracing – nonstop change. They must be able to learn rapidly and continuously, innovate ceaselessly, and take on new strategic imperatives faster and more comfortably. Constant change means organizations must create a healthy discomfort with the status quo, an ability to detect emerging trends quicker than the competition, an ability to make rapid decisions, and the agility to seek new ways of doing business. To thrive, in other words, companies will need to be in a never-ending state of transformation, perpetually creating fundamental, enduring change. The five challenges described above have one overarching implication for business: the only competitive weapon left is organization. Sooner or later, traditional forms of competitiveness-cost, technology, distribution, manufacturing, and product features – can be copied. They have become table stakes. You must have them to be a player,
but they do not guarantee you will be a winner


The Challenge of Human Resource Management
The most significant resource of any organization is often said to be its people. Such claims appear in organizations’ annual reports and mission statements. Of course, an organization is nothing but a group of people whose activities have been planned and coordinated to meet organizational objectives. An organization that exists to produce goods and services has a good chance to survive and prosper if it consists of the Right People. This is true for all organizations. In a similar fashion, people need organizations. The vast majority of people must work to support themselves and their families. But people work for many reasons other than economic security. For example, many also work to keep busy and feel useful, to create and achieve something. They want to gain recognition and achieve status or to test and stretch their capabilities. To meet these multifarious needs, people and organizations join forces. Unfortunately, this union seldom approaches perfection. Organizations encounter several obstacles in meeting their goals and in a similar way all employees report some problems in their attempts to be productive and efficient in their jobs and to feel satisfied in their work lives. The challenge of human resource management is to minimize these obstacles and problems. The central challenge facing society is the continued improvement of our organizations, both private and public. Another important purpose of human resource management is to improve the contribution made by people to organizations, (Davis) through effective and efficient use of resources. Efficient means that it must use the minimum amount of resources needed to produce results. Effective means producing right things through right ways. The resultant productivity (ratio of output to input) gains obtained through HR efforts enable managers to reduce costs, save scarce resources, enhance profits and offer better pay, benefits and working conditions to
employees.

Pervasive force : HRM is pervasive in nature. It is present in all enterprises. It permeates all levels of management in an organization.

Action oriented : HRM focuses attention an action, rather than on record keeping, written procedures or rules. The problems of employees at work are solved through rational policies.

Individually oriented : It tries to help employees develop their potential fully.It encourages them to give out their best to the organization. It motivates employees through systematic process of recruitment, selection, training and development coupled with fair wage policies.

People oriented : HRM is all about people at work, both as individuals and groups. It tries to put people on assigned jobs in order to produce good results. The resultant gains are used to reward people and motivate them toward further improvements in productivity.

Development oriented : HRM intends to develop the full potential of employees. The reward structure is tuned to the needs of employees. Training is offered to sharpen and improve their skills. Employees are rotated on various jobs so that they gain experience and exposure. Every attempt is made to use their talents fully in the service of organizational goals.

Integrating mechanism : HRM tries to build and maintain cordial relations between people working at various levels in the organization. In short, it tries to integrate human assets in the best possible manner in the service of an organization.

Comprehensive function : HRM is, to some extent, concerned with any organizational decision which has an impact on the, workforce or the potential workforce (Bernardin). The term ‘workforce’ signifies people working at various levels, including workers, supervisors, middle and top managers. It is concerned with managing people at work. It covers all types of personnel.
Personnel work may take different shapes and forms at each level in the organizational hierarchy but the basic objective of achieving organizational effectiveness through effective and efficient utilization of human resources, remains the same. “It is basically a method of developing potentialities of employees so that they get maximum satisfaction out of their work and give their
best efforts to the organization” (Pigors and Myers).

Auxiliary service : HR departments exist to assist and advise the line or operating managers to do their personnel work more effectively. HR manager is a specialist advisor. It is a staff function.

Inter-disciplinary function : HRM is a multi-disciplinary activity, utilizing knowledge and inputs drawn from psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, etc. To unravel the mystery surrounding the human brain, managers, need to understand the appreciate the contributions of all such ‘soft ‘disciplines.

Continuous function : According to Terry, HRM is not a one short deal. It cannot be practiced only one hour each day or one day a week. It requires a constant alertness and awareness of human relations and their importance inevery day operations.

The 21st century would see the following inter-related phenomena emerging, posing challenges to the corporate world and culminating in Olympian competition:
ü Borderless world
ü Diversity
ü Knowledge Power
The cross-cultural, cross-border mingling has resulted in the creation of a new class of people—global citizens with global attitudes, tastes and networks. Since it unleashes multiple variables, the borderless world precludes immense complexity—complexity in the environment, in inter-organizational relationships, in modes of conducting business and in socio-cultural diversity.
One of the important duties of the modern HR manager is to get things done through people. He has to bring employees into contact with the organization in such a way that the objectives of both groups are achieved. He must be interested in the people, the work and the achievement of assigned objectives. To be effective, he must balance his concerns for people and work. In other words, he must know how to utilize human as well as non-human resources while translating goals into action. It is in managing human assets that the manager’s capabilities are tested fully, because of the following reasons:

Human resources are heterogeneous. They consist of many different individuals, each of whom has a unique personality, a combination of different emotional responses to different stimuli and different values, attitudes, motives and modes of thought. Human beings behave in widely different and complicated ways. Their reactions to promises, praise or criticism, for example, can be quite different. It is very difficult to predict their behaviour especially in an organization where they work in-groups. Their behaviour is neither consistent nor readily predictable. Modern employees are better educated, possess greater skills, have more sophisticated technology available for their use and enjoy higher standards of living than previous generations.
A human being himself determines what he contributes. If he is motivated, he will work for an organization more efficiently and effectively. So, it must be recognized by the manager that individuals, not organizations, create excellence. Recognizing the importance of the human element in the production process, PF Drucker had remarked that “man, of all the resources available to man, can grow and develop”. The problem of establishing the right climate to maximize employee motivation and commitment is still with us.

Changes in 21st century impacting HRM: Some of the current trends that would have a significant impact on the way HR practices would get transformed in future may be listed thus:

i. HR as a spacing board for success: Executives with people management skills would be able to steal the show, since they help integrate corporate goals with employee expectations in a successful way. enior HR executives would be able to smoothly move into top management positions, using their soft skills to good advantage.

ii. Talent hunting, developing and retaining: Clear focus areas: The 21st century corporation would be looking for people with cross-functional expertise strong academic background and team management skills. The new recruits are is expected to utilise the scarce resources judiciously and produce excellent results- in line with the expectations of internal as well as external groups. As companies realise the importance of human element in gaining a sustainable competitive advantage, there would be a mad scramble for 'talent'. This would in turn, compel corporate houses to pay close attention to talent acquisition development and retention through novel developmental efforts compensation packages and incentive schemes apart from flexible working schedules. More and more workers would be able to process information by working at homes, forcing companies to evaluate each employee’s contribution carefully and pay accordingly.

iii. Lean and mean organisations: Organisations will be forced to eliminate low-end job, say good-bye to older employees with limited skill-sets, out source work to specialised institutions in an attempt to save costs and remain highly competitive. As a result lay offs would occur and unemployment rates will go up; large outlays of cash may be required while buying out older employees and obtaining employee loyalty and commitment would be quite challenging in such a scenario.

iv. Labour relations: Deregulation, privatisation, global competition and the like would in a way, mean the end of the road for trade unions. They will lose their count slowly but steadily. The political support enjoyed by them hitherto would also come down drastically. Economic compulsions would make both the employers and employees realise the folly of pulling down shutters or going on strike, however genuine the cause might be. Governmental influence in labour-management relations would have only historical significance as employment-related issues begin to be dictated by market forces.

v. Health care benefits: To attract talented workforce healthier work environments would be an absolute necessity. Employees would be obliged to give their employees safe, healthy and secure work environments. Wellness programmes also need to be designed to help employees identify potential
health risks and deal with them before they become problems. More importantly, organisations need to pay more attention to issues such as office decor, furniture design, space utilisation with a view to improve the comfort levels of employees.
Top 10
HR Best Practices
1.Safe, Healthy and Happy Workplace
Creating a safe, healthy and happy workplace will ensure that your employees
Feel homely and stay with your organization for a very long time. Capture their pulse through employee surveys.
2. Open Book Management Style
Sharing information ensures that the employees are as enthusiastic about the
business as the management. Through this you can create a culture of participative management and ignite the creativity of the work force. It involves making people an interested party to your strategic decisions, thus
aligning them to your business objectives. More importantly, it helps in building trust & motivates employees.

3. Performance linked Bonuses
Paying out bonuses or having any kind of variable compensation plan can be both an incentive and disillusionment, based on how it is administered and communicated. Never pay out bonus without measuring performance, unless it is a statutory obligation.

4.360°PerformanceManagement Feedback System

This system, which solicits feedback from seniors, peers and subordinates, has been increasingly embraced as the best of all available methods for collecting performance feedback. Every person in the team is responsible for giving relevant, positive and constructive feedback.

5. Fair Evaluation System for Employees

Each employee should have well defined reporting relationships. Evaluation becomes fairer if it is based on the records of periodic counseling & achievements of the employee, tracked over the year. Cross – functional feedback, if obtained by the immediate boss from another manager (for whom this employee's work is also important), will add to the fairness of the system.



6. Knowledge Sharing
Store knowledge in databases to provide greater access to information posted
Either by the company or the employees on the knowledge portals of the company. When an employee returns after attending any competencies or Skills development program, sharing essential knowledge with others could be made mandatory.

7. Highlight performers
Create profiles of top performers and make these visible though company intranet, display boards etc. It will encourage others to put in their best, thereby creating a competitive environment within the company.

8. Open house discussions and feedback mechanism
Ideas rule the world and employees are the biggest source of ideas. Open house discussions, employee-management meets, suggestion boxes and idea capture tools such as Critical Incidents diaries are the building blocks that can help the Managers to identify & develop talent.

9. Reward Ceremonies
Merely recognizing talent does not work, you need to couple it with ceremonies where recognition is broadcast. Looking at the pay check is often less significant than listening to the thunderous applause by colleagues in a public forum.

10. Delight Employees with the Unexpected
Occasionally delight your employees with unexpected things that may come in
The form of a reward, a gift or a well-done certificate. Reward not only the top
Performers but also a few others who are in need of motivation to exhibit their potential.

It covers all aspects of managing employees in its widest sense and emphasizes the role of line managers in overseeing their own staff. From this perspective, HRM is a new generic label for all the techniques and tactics available to manage people. It concentrates on translating organizational objectives into operational achievement by winning employee commitment and gaining high-quality performance.


HR should lead by Examples:

Jack Welch was appointed CEO of GE in 1981. At that time the firm had a market capitalization of $13 billion. In 2000 when he stepped down the firm’s turnover had increased multifold to $500 billion. What was the secret of Welch’s success? He has laid down the following pointers for managers to be successfully motivated and inspire the Human Talents for our organization **

Create a vision and then ignite your organization to make this vision a reality.
Get people so passionate about what they are doing that they cannot wait to execute this plan. Have great energy, competitive spirit and the ability to spark excitement and achieve results. Search for leaders who have the same qualities.

Focus on strategic issues. Your job is to understand the vital issues within each of your businesses. Recognize the talent needed to win in those markets.

Focus on the main issue . Your job is to see the big picture. Don’t manage every detail. Don’t get caught up in the minute details, but instead inspire others to execute some of your vision. Surround yourself with great people and trust them to do their job and contribute their best to the organisation.

Involve everyone and welcome great ideas from everywhere. Anyone can be a leader, just so long as they contribute, and the most meaningful way for anyone to contribute is to come up with a good idea. Business is all about getting the best ideas from everyone. New ideas are the lifeblood of the Organisation, the fuel that makes it run. “The hero is the person with a new idea.” There is simply nothing more important to an organisation than expressing ideas and creating a vision.

Lead by example. To spark others to perform, you must lead by example. Jack Welch’s mastery of the four E’s of leadership – Energy, Energise, Edge, and Execution – was always in evidence. “He had great energy, sparked others, had incredible competitive spirit, and had a record of execution that was second to none. This is a key of the Welch phenomenon. Had he been lacking in any of the traits he espoused, he would not have commanded such acclaim.”



Toyota follows certain well-defined business principles guiding its functioning. These are:

1. Honour the language and spirit of law of every nation and undertake open and fair corporate activities to be a good corporate citizen around the world.

2. Respect the culture and customs of every nation and contribute to economic and social development through corporate activities in local communities.

3. To provide clean and safe products and to enhance the quality of life everywhere.

4. Create and develop advanced technologies and provide outstanding products and services that fulfil the needs of customers worldwide.

5. Foster a corporate culture that enhances individual creativity and teamwork value, while honouring mutual trust and respect between management and labour.

6. Pursue growth and harmony with global community through innovative management.

7. Work with business partners in research and creativity to achieve stable, long-term growth and mutual benefits and be open to new partnerships. These principles, will guide the company in its global vision 2010. This global vision envisages continuous innovations in future, use of environment friendly technologies, respecting and working with different sections of society and establishing an interactive relationship with society.

At Last I can say that ; “Every leading organization is looking at developing their employees into balanced human beings in order to make them use their real potential, and that offer a new set of opportunities to HR in those organizations”.



Greater level of involvement of HR people in the day-to-day life of employees is becoming the norm of the day for companies, which are looking for greater commitment from employees. An increasing trend is visible among the young professionals in recent years, by way of giving more and more emphasis on family and life’s interests, and at several occasions it acts as a critical factor for employment decisions as well.


Note: Dear Readers, Your feedback and suggestions are always welcome

Thank you!
Happy Learning **
JAI HIND

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Abstract of My Ph.D Thesis

Prof.SATYA SIDHARTHA PANDA
M.B.A.,M.J.M.C .,CCMM,(Ph.D)
BANGALORE -INDIA
Submitted @ Einstein International University ,U.S.A
Abstract
Satisfaction drives the engines for business to invest and reap benefits. Most of all satisfaction brings life and business much closer towards moments of worthiness of the time spent.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has blossomed as a movement in recent years, driven partly by growing pressures on companies from NGOs, customers and other stakeholders, and partly by companies choosing voluntarily to push ahead in this area. But as firms have expanded their CSR activities, the sophistication of tools available to understand the value and business impacts of such activities has lagged behind. While an impressive range of initiatives, indices and tools have been or are being developed, allowing some form of measurement, these are of limited use in guiding actual investment decisions on CSR: for example, many focus on whether CSR has minimized risks, and thus neglect the business opportunities that it may help capture. Likewise many fail to differentiate between CSR issues that impact business performance from those that are marginal in this respect.
Corporate social responsibility is at least in its name and formal recognition a relatively recent phenomenon. Yet, owners and managers of firms have engaged in activities that we would now consider CSR almost from the beginning of the industrial revolution (Davis, Whitman and Zald, 2006). But, until the 1990s, CSR was generally limited to corporate philanthropy. It is from the early 1990s that enlarged concepts and practices of CSR have come to the fore. What drove these radical changes in the conception and implementation of CSR?
Objective of the Study
The research is undertaken to test the proposition that the ethics, Market Value and CSR Practices of corporations based in the United states differ dramatically from corporations based in Europe and other countries .The analysis is meant to provide companies with a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the U.S, India and most Asian, Europe and other countries business environments. I want to inform all the companies of the current business climate in Europe and other countries by taking a closer look at government regulation, company policies, best practices and opinion surveys. This timely study uses a blend of qualitative and quantitative research to provide the necessary data to develop recommendation and make concluding statements.
4

Literature
Finding comparable information in Europe and other countries took a more thorough search. A Careful review of the latest industry publications, on-governmental organization reports, academic journals and leading periodicals was used to provide theory, track the history of regulations, and stay up to date on reactions to recent corporate scandals. A sample is collected to help evaluate whether American, India, Europe and other countries company policies and procedures regarding business ethics and CSR differed. The company information was often not easily accessible causing time constraints that kept the sample size to 18 companies across 4 industries. I relied on information publicly available in February 2004 through the companies, websites, reports and business database at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Using the qualitative data from the sample, I documented patterns and trends of corporate business ethics and social responsibility, and identified patterns of differentiation across industries and geography.

Finally what is proposed, therefore, is to select and work with a number of these global leaders and study how they decide which CSR activities create value. The basic aim of this research will be to understand better the link between responsibility and the Impact on the market Value and thereby bringing new insight in to the CSR dialogue.

Regards,
Prof.S.Sidhartha Panda
JAI HIND **

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

CASE STUDY : THINK OUT OF THE BOX


Case Problems:
1. Company X is facing a lot of problems these days. It manufactures white goods like
washing machines, microwave ovens, refrigerators and air conditioners. The company’s
margins are under pressure and the profits and market share are declining. The
production department blames marketing for not meeting sales targets and marketing
blames production department for producing goods, which are not of good quality
meeting customers’ expectations. The finance department blames both production and
marketing for declining return on investment and bad marketing.
What quality of management do you think the company is lacking? Explain briefly. What steps
should the company management take to bring the company back on track?
2. A company wants to modify its existing product in the market due to decreasing sales. You
can imagine any product about which you are familiar. What decisions/steps should each
level of management take to give effect to this decision?
3. A firm plans in advance and has a sound organization structure with efficient supervisory
staff and control system. On several occasion it finds that plans are not being adhered to. It
leads to confusion and duplication of work. Advise remedy.
These activities are meant to reinforce concepts and to make the learning joyful. They also
aim to give pupils simulated experiences of the managerial activities relevant to their level of
understanding.
*******************
Problem 1
‘F’ limited was engaged in the business of food processing and selling its products under a popular brand.
Lately the business was expanding due to good quality and reasonable prices. Also with more people
working the market for processed food was increasing. New players were also coming to cash in on the
new trend. In order to keep its market share in the short run the company directed its existing workforce
to work overtime. But this resulted in many problems. Due to increased pressure of work the efficiency of
the workers declined. Sometimes the subordinates had to work for more than one superior resulting
in declining efficiency. The divisions that were previously working on one product were also made to
work on two or more products. This resulted in a lot of overlapping and wastage. The workers were
becoming undisciplined. The spirit of teamwork, which had characterized the company, previously was
beginning to wane. Workers were feeling cheated and initiative was declining. The quality of the products
was beginning to decline and market share was on the verge of decrease. Actually the company had
implemented changes without creating the required infrastructure.
Questions:
1. Identify the Principles of Management (out of 14 given by Henry Fayol) that were being violated by
the company.
2. Explain these principles in brief.
3. What steps should the company management take in relation to the above principles to restore the
company to its past glory?
Problem 2 (Related to case problem –1)
The management of company ‘F’ Limited now realized its folly. In order to rectify the situation it
appointed management consultant ‘M’ consultants to recommend a restructure plan to bring the company
back on the rails. ‘M’ consultants undertook a study of the production process at the plant of the company
‘F’ limited and recommended the following changes —
1. The company should introduce scientific management with regard to production.
2. Production Planning including routing, scheduling, dispatching and feedback should be implemented.
3. In order to separate planning from operational management ’Functional foremanship’ should be
introduced.
4. ‘Work study’ should be undertaken to optimize the use of resources.
5. ‘Standardization’ of all activities should be implemented to increase efficiency and accountability.
6. To motivate the workers ‘Differential Piece Rate System’ should be implemented.
7. The above changes should be introduced apart from the steps recommended in case problem-1 (as an answer to
question no 3 of that case problem). It was expected that the changes will bring about a radical transformation in the
working of the company and it will regain its pristine glory.
Questions:
1. Do you think that introduction of scientific management as recommended by M consultants will result in intended
Outcome?
2. What precautions should the company undertake to implement the changes?
Give your answer with regard to each technique separately as enunciated in points 1 through 6 in the case problem.

Monday, October 4, 2010

CSR

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
This literature review was written by Prof.Satya Sidhartha Panda,(Ph.D.)
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has blossomed as a movement in recent years, driven partly by growing pressures on companies from NGOs, customers and other stakeholders, and partly by companies choosing voluntarily to push ahead in this area. But as firms have expanded their CSR activities, the sophistication of tools available to understand the value and business impacts of such activities has lagged behind. While an impressive range of initiatives, indices and tools have been or are being developed, allowing some form of measurement, these are of limited use in guiding actual investment decisions on CSR: for example, many focus on whether CSR has minimized risks, and thus neglect the business opportunities that it may help capture. Likewise many fail to differentiate between CSR issues that impact business performance from those that are marginal in this respect

The emergence of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as important institutional actors in the global political economy is a relatively recent phenomenon (Doh/ Teegen, 2002). The growing importance of NGOs in major global policy debates represents both a response to, and an element of, the globalization phenomenon. NGO influence has been felt in a range of major public policy debates, and NGO activism is responsible for major changes in corporate behavior and policy. Multinational corporations (MNCs) now are increasingly confronted by a range of international agreements and codes of conduct that attempt to govern their behavior, many of which are driven by NGO pressure. During the past decade, concerns over the downsides of economic globalization, particularly in the environmental and labor areas, have contributed to the growth of codes of conduct (Drezner 2000, Williams 2000, Kearney 1999). Such codes are viewed by many NGOs as a means to reign in the excesses of globalization. Codes may take the form of international agreements, or be sponsored by international organizations, the private sector, or non-profit organizations.

Krishak Bharati Coopertive Limited (KRIBHCO) is the world’s premier fertilizer producing cooperative having outstanding track record to its credit in all spheres of its activities. KRIBHCO has fully imbibed the cooperative philosophy and has made sustained efforts towards promoting the cause of modern agriculture and agriculture cooperatives in the country.

Having its genesis in farmers’ cooperatives, social development and humane facets have always been of prime focus in its growth and philosophy – an organization which owes its existence to the farmers, by the farmers and for the farmers of this great country.

SERVICES TO COOPERATIVES AND FARMERS

Ø The Society since inception has made vigorous efforts towards the development of farm technologies and other welfare schemes for upliftment of the farming community. Over 1600 programmes on crop seminars, farmers meetings, block demonstration, field days, Kisan Melas, farmers visit, agriculture campaigns health checkup campaigns, veterinary health check up camps and income generation programmes etc. have been conducted which have benefitted about 2.5 lac farmers across the country.

Ø Around 400 programmes on cooperative conference, workshops and state consultative committee meetings have been organized with a view to strengthen the cooperative system.

Ø A variety of facilities like farm implements, furniture, technical assistance towards improvement in godown facilities etc. are being provided to the economically weaker societies.

Ø Around 50,000 soil and water samples have been tested and recommendations made available to the farmers to improve and enhance their produce.

Ø Krishak Parivar Sangams have been organized in 14 states on the theme dry land farming and farm technology.

Ø KRIBHCO has established Krishi Paramarsh Kendra at its corporate office for facilitating farmers in providing information and advise on micro nutrients soil testing, soil improvement, latest farm technology through internet and also KRIBHCO Kisan Helpline.

SEED MULTIPLICATION PROGRAMME

With a view to provide quality certified seeds of main crops to the farmers, KRIBHCO has established most modern seed processing plants situated in 9 states. From a modest production of 2,982 Qtls of quality seeds in 1991-92, KRIBHCO today provides 1.54 lakh Qtls of the quality seeds to the farmers annually.

GRAMIN VIKAS TRUST (GVT)

Ø KRIBHCO established Gramin Vikas Trust which is managing Rural Development Rainfed Farming Projects which are jointly funded by DFID and KRIBHCO. The primary objective of GVT is to enhance livelihood and elevate poverty of the tribal and rural population in the rainfed regions of the country through facilitating farming systems, development and research, institution building and beneficiary participation.
Ø The GVT projects have successfully developed JANKAR system whereby village volunteers are trained and equipped to take forward the project intervention and dissemination of project approaches and technologies so that they can act as animator for the development programmes.

BIO-FERTILISERS

Ø Continuous promotional and educative programmes are being conducted to increasingly make farmers aware of benefits derived through use of bio-fertilisers.
Ø KRIBHCO has established Bio-fertiliser Plants in order to provide eco-friendly and cost effective fertilizers. The tremendous efforts putforth by KRIBHCO in this direction has been acknowledged for three consecutive years by National Productivity Council by awarding first position to KRIBHCO for production, marketing and promotion of bio-fertilisers in the Nation.

Ø Conclusion
Ø The modern concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is evolving gradually despite several hindrances. Driving forces behind this evolution is pressure from various stakeholders (Importers, Environmentalists) while slow progress is attributed to lack of Good Governance, absence of strong labor unions, consumer forums and above all lack of understanding by business houses, specifically non-exporting ones, that CSR is not charity but is rather an instrumental PR investment.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Nation Builder

Nation Builder.
Prof.Satya Sidhartha Panda (Ph.D.)
This Poem is dedicated to My Father, Mother and My Gurus.

Teachers
The nation Builders,
Deal with children
With love and affection,
Never make them gloomy
Preach them to be dreamy
Life is not a burden
But full of flavor
And full of Fun.
Release them from bookish burden
Free from fear and tension,
Give them only a scanty load,
Help to fly like bird,
Let them understand life,
Teacher is none but a true friend,
And school/ college, a play ground.
Be an example
Often face them with a smile
Keep your sorrows and misery in exile
You’re the burning candle
Your glamour, your Endeavour
`II make the world a heaven
Teachers,
The builders of the Nation.
Gurudev I need your Blessing !!