Credit Cards
When applying for a credit card it is always a good idea to know your personal credit score, since this will affect your ability to negotiate beneficial terms for your credit. If your credit score is poor – e.g. due to unpaid bills, a habit of paying your bills to late or an earlier filing for bankruptcy – you will most likely end up with a high interest credit card, if your application is accepted at all. If your credit card score is poor, it is therefore advisable to try to rebuild you credit score.
You might already have received a lot of different credit card offers through the mail, on the Internet or from credit card promoters in malls or on campuses. Simply choosing the credit card company that has the flashiest online commercial or the one that is handing out balloons at your local mall every Saturday may however not be the wisest decision. Always compare several credit card offers before you make up your mind. The credit card that is ideal for you friend might be highly unsuitable for you, your financial situation and your lifestyle. Do not only choose among the credit card companies that shower you in commercials and promotional gift. Instead, you should always contact your bank and ask about their credit card offers for long time customers. By applying for a credit card from a bank that knows your financial history and current economical situation you might be able to negotiate a better deal. This is however not a strict rule, and you should always compare the offer from your bank with offers from other credit card companies.
The credit card application will usually be sent to you by ordinary mail, since you need to sign it. Today, there is also the possibility to apply online or over the phone. Be very careful when you fill in a credit card application, regardless of if it is to be mailed, transmitted online or over the phone. You will share highly personal information in your application and you do not want this information to end up in the wrong hands. There are many examples of dishonest websites gathering personal information from unsuspecting individuals. This information is then used for fraudulent undertakings and can seriously harm your financial situation. In cases of severe identity theft, you could even face charges and it can take a long time to establish that you are in fact innocent and that someone else have been using your name, address, social security number etcetera.
Only fill out credit card applications for credit cards that you actually need. Filling out applications as a “test” or to get some promotional gizmo is unadvisable since each application will be noted on your personal credit record. Having a large amount of different credits can make creditors perceive you as a high risk person. Having a lot of different credit cards is also generally a bad idea, unless you know from experience that you are a very neat and organized person that will keep track of all your different debts regardless of how many credit cards you use. Only use several credit cards if you actually gain something from it.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Resume for a job
Resume for a job
While one page resumes are surely nice to see, they are not always a rule. Once you’ve had one or two jobs, coupled with your credentials, education, professional affiliations, and so on, you’re easily on two pages. This is perfectly acceptable and very much the norm.
While you succeed in cramming more content in less space, you’re compromising on the readability of your resume and overloading the reader with too much information. If you have trouble reading your own resume, recruiters too will. A 12 – point type size and a one-inch margin all around is the norm. For extra space, you can slightly reduce the top and bottom margins or reduce the volume of information but never reduce type size or font.
Just about any resume even one used with success before can benefit from careful scrutiny and periodic revision. Your resume mirrors your career graph and should evolve as you do. In addition to acquiring new skills, experiences, and accomplishments, you may have shifted in your professional focus or interests. Perhaps you have gained insights into what employers are really looking for in your line of work.
Above all, your resume should be revised so that it is tailored to the employer who will receive it. Even if you have little to add in the way of content, you can always improve your resume by refocusing it on the specifics of the position you are seeking, and by strengthening its wording and overall appearance.
Objectives are fast becoming a thing of the past. Why? Because everyone’s objective says almost the same thing: "Looking for a position where I can use all my skills and experience in a challenging environment with opportunities for advancement where I can deliver high quality work"?. The sentence is vague and meaningless. And even if you provide specifics, you will need to modify your resume every time you look for another type of job. Mention your particular interests in your cover letter instead.
This is another interesting item that many of us seem to be attached to. In truth, if prospective employers want references, they will ask. Usually, it is understood that you will have references, which you will provide if asked. Eliminate it as a way to un-clutter your resume.
Don’t let misconceptions come in between your resume and your next important job opportunity. Much of resume writing style is based on hearsay rather than expert advice.
While one page resumes are surely nice to see, they are not always a rule. Once you’ve had one or two jobs, coupled with your credentials, education, professional affiliations, and so on, you’re easily on two pages. This is perfectly acceptable and very much the norm.
While you succeed in cramming more content in less space, you’re compromising on the readability of your resume and overloading the reader with too much information. If you have trouble reading your own resume, recruiters too will. A 12 – point type size and a one-inch margin all around is the norm. For extra space, you can slightly reduce the top and bottom margins or reduce the volume of information but never reduce type size or font.
Just about any resume even one used with success before can benefit from careful scrutiny and periodic revision. Your resume mirrors your career graph and should evolve as you do. In addition to acquiring new skills, experiences, and accomplishments, you may have shifted in your professional focus or interests. Perhaps you have gained insights into what employers are really looking for in your line of work.
Above all, your resume should be revised so that it is tailored to the employer who will receive it. Even if you have little to add in the way of content, you can always improve your resume by refocusing it on the specifics of the position you are seeking, and by strengthening its wording and overall appearance.
Objectives are fast becoming a thing of the past. Why? Because everyone’s objective says almost the same thing: "Looking for a position where I can use all my skills and experience in a challenging environment with opportunities for advancement where I can deliver high quality work"?. The sentence is vague and meaningless. And even if you provide specifics, you will need to modify your resume every time you look for another type of job. Mention your particular interests in your cover letter instead.
This is another interesting item that many of us seem to be attached to. In truth, if prospective employers want references, they will ask. Usually, it is understood that you will have references, which you will provide if asked. Eliminate it as a way to un-clutter your resume.
Don’t let misconceptions come in between your resume and your next important job opportunity. Much of resume writing style is based on hearsay rather than expert advice.
TRAINING AIDS AND ADVANTAGES – EMPLOYEE TRAINING
TRAINING AIDS AND ADVANTAGES – EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Films, Slides, Projectors, Movies, Stills
Charts, Graphs, Flash Cards, Flannel Boards, Pictograms
Pamphlets, Brochures, Handbooks, Manuals
Libraries and Reading Rooms
Teaching Machines, Closed Circuit TV.
Exhibits ,Posters and Displays.
Notice Boards, Bulletin Boards, Enlarged Drawings.
Cartoons, Comic Books, Books.
Follow –up
The final step in most training procedures is that of follow-up .When people are involved in any problem or procedure,it is unwise to assume that things are always constant.Follow-up can be adopted to a variable reinforcement schedule in the discussion of learning principles .The follow-up system should provide feed-back on training effectiveness and on total value of training system shown below
Advantages of Training
The contribution of imparting training to a company should be readily apparent .The major values are:
1.Increased Productivity: An increase in skill usually results in an increment in both quality and quantity of output. However, the increasingly technical nature of modern jobs demands systematic training to make possible even minimum levels of accomplishment.
2.Heightened Morale: Possession of needed skills help to meet such basic human needs as security and ego satisfaction .Collaborate personnel and human relations programs can make a contribution toward morale ,but they are hollow shells if there is no solid core of meaningful work down with knowledge , skill and pride
3.Reduced Supervision The trained employee is one who can perform with limited supervision. Both employee and supervisor want less supervision but greater independence is not possible unless the employee is adequately trained.
4.Reduced Accidents: More accidents are caused by deficiencies in people than by deficiencies in equipment and working conditions. Proper training in both job skills and safety attitudes should contribute toward a reduction in the accident rate.
5.Increased Organizational Stability: The ability of an organization to sustain its effectiveness despite the loss of key personnel , can be developed only through creation of a reservoir of employees. Flexibility , the ability to adjust to short-run variations in the volume of work requires personnel with multiple skills to permit their transfer to jobs where the demand is highest.
Films, Slides, Projectors, Movies, Stills
Charts, Graphs, Flash Cards, Flannel Boards, Pictograms
Pamphlets, Brochures, Handbooks, Manuals
Libraries and Reading Rooms
Teaching Machines, Closed Circuit TV.
Exhibits ,Posters and Displays.
Notice Boards, Bulletin Boards, Enlarged Drawings.
Cartoons, Comic Books, Books.
Follow –up
The final step in most training procedures is that of follow-up .When people are involved in any problem or procedure,it is unwise to assume that things are always constant.Follow-up can be adopted to a variable reinforcement schedule in the discussion of learning principles .The follow-up system should provide feed-back on training effectiveness and on total value of training system shown below
Advantages of Training
The contribution of imparting training to a company should be readily apparent .The major values are:
1.Increased Productivity: An increase in skill usually results in an increment in both quality and quantity of output. However, the increasingly technical nature of modern jobs demands systematic training to make possible even minimum levels of accomplishment.
2.Heightened Morale: Possession of needed skills help to meet such basic human needs as security and ego satisfaction .Collaborate personnel and human relations programs can make a contribution toward morale ,but they are hollow shells if there is no solid core of meaningful work down with knowledge , skill and pride
3.Reduced Supervision The trained employee is one who can perform with limited supervision. Both employee and supervisor want less supervision but greater independence is not possible unless the employee is adequately trained.
4.Reduced Accidents: More accidents are caused by deficiencies in people than by deficiencies in equipment and working conditions. Proper training in both job skills and safety attitudes should contribute toward a reduction in the accident rate.
5.Increased Organizational Stability: The ability of an organization to sustain its effectiveness despite the loss of key personnel , can be developed only through creation of a reservoir of employees. Flexibility , the ability to adjust to short-run variations in the volume of work requires personnel with multiple skills to permit their transfer to jobs where the demand is highest.
Indian stock market
Indian stock market
The working of stock exchanges in India started in 1875. BSE is the oldest stock market in India. The history of Indian stock trading starts with 318 persons taking membership in Native Share and Stock Brokers Association, which we now know by the name Bombay Stock Exchange or BSE in short. In 1965, BSE got permanent recognition from the Government of India. National Stock Exchange comes second to BSE in terms of popularity. BSE and NSE represent themselves as synonyms of Indian stock market. The history of Indian stock market is almost the same as the history of BSE.
The 30 stock sensitive index or Sensex was first compiled in 1986. The Sensex is compiled based on the performance of the stocks of 30 financially sound benchmark companies. In 1990 the BSE crossed the 1000 mark for the first time. It crossed 2000, 3000 and 4000 figures in 1992. The reason for such huge surge in the stock market was the liberal financial policies announced by the then financial minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh.
The up-beat mood of the market was suddenly lost with Harshad Mehta scam. It came to public knowledge that Mr. Mehta, also known as the big-bull of Indian stock market diverted huge funds from banks through fraudulent means. He played with 270 million shares of about 90 companies. Millions of small-scale investors became victims to the fraud as the Sensex fell flat shedding 570 points.
To prevent such frauds, the Government formed The Securities and Exchange Board of India, through an Act in 1992. SEBI is the statutory body that controls and regulates the functioning of stock exchanges, brokers, sub-brokers, portfolio managers investment advisors etc. SEBI oblige several rigid measures to protect the interest of investors. Now with the inception of online trading and daily settlements the chances for a fraud is nil, says top officials of SEBI.
Sensex crossed the 5000 mark in 1999 and the 6000 mark in 2000. The 7000 mark was crossed in June and the 8000 mark on September 8 in 2005. Many foreign institutional investors (FII) are investing in Indian stock markets on a very large scale. The liberal economic policies pursued by successive Governments attracted foreign institutional investors to a large scale. Experts now believe the sensex can soar past 14000 mark before 2010.
The unpredictable behavior of the market gave it a tag – ‘a volatile market.’ The factors that affected the market in the past were good monsoon, Bharatiya Janatha Party’s rise to power etc. The result of a cricket match between India and Pakistan also affected the movements in Indian stock market. The National Democratic Alliance led by BJP, during 2004 public elections unsuccessfully tried to ride on the market sentiments to power. NDA was voted out of power and the sensex recorded the biggest fall in a day amidst fears that the Congress-Communist coalition would stall economic reforms. Later prime minister Man Mohan Singh’s assurance of ‘reforms with a human face’ cast off the fears and market reacted sharply to touch the highest ever mark of 8500.
India, after United States hosts the largest number of listed companies. Global investors now ardently seek India as their preferred location for investment. Once viewed with skepticism, stock market now appeals to middle class Indians also. Many Indians working in foreign countries now divert their savings to stocks. This recent phenomenon is the result of opening up of online trading and diminished interest rates from banks. The stockbrokers based in India are opening offices in different countries mainly to cater the needs of Non Resident Indians. The time factor also works for the NRIs. They can buy or sell stock online after returning from their work places.
The recent incidents that led to growing interest among Indian middle class are the initial public offers announced by Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Udyog Limited, ONGC and big names like that. Good monsoons always raise the market sentiments. A good monsoon means improved agricultural produce and more spending capacity among rural folk. The bullish run of the stock market can be associated with a steady growth of around 6% in GDP, the growth of Indian companies to MNCs, large potential of growth in the fields of telecommunication, mass media, education, tourism and IT sectors backed by economic reforms ensure that Indian stock market continues its bull run.
The working of stock exchanges in India started in 1875. BSE is the oldest stock market in India. The history of Indian stock trading starts with 318 persons taking membership in Native Share and Stock Brokers Association, which we now know by the name Bombay Stock Exchange or BSE in short. In 1965, BSE got permanent recognition from the Government of India. National Stock Exchange comes second to BSE in terms of popularity. BSE and NSE represent themselves as synonyms of Indian stock market. The history of Indian stock market is almost the same as the history of BSE.
The 30 stock sensitive index or Sensex was first compiled in 1986. The Sensex is compiled based on the performance of the stocks of 30 financially sound benchmark companies. In 1990 the BSE crossed the 1000 mark for the first time. It crossed 2000, 3000 and 4000 figures in 1992. The reason for such huge surge in the stock market was the liberal financial policies announced by the then financial minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh.
The up-beat mood of the market was suddenly lost with Harshad Mehta scam. It came to public knowledge that Mr. Mehta, also known as the big-bull of Indian stock market diverted huge funds from banks through fraudulent means. He played with 270 million shares of about 90 companies. Millions of small-scale investors became victims to the fraud as the Sensex fell flat shedding 570 points.
To prevent such frauds, the Government formed The Securities and Exchange Board of India, through an Act in 1992. SEBI is the statutory body that controls and regulates the functioning of stock exchanges, brokers, sub-brokers, portfolio managers investment advisors etc. SEBI oblige several rigid measures to protect the interest of investors. Now with the inception of online trading and daily settlements the chances for a fraud is nil, says top officials of SEBI.
Sensex crossed the 5000 mark in 1999 and the 6000 mark in 2000. The 7000 mark was crossed in June and the 8000 mark on September 8 in 2005. Many foreign institutional investors (FII) are investing in Indian stock markets on a very large scale. The liberal economic policies pursued by successive Governments attracted foreign institutional investors to a large scale. Experts now believe the sensex can soar past 14000 mark before 2010.
The unpredictable behavior of the market gave it a tag – ‘a volatile market.’ The factors that affected the market in the past were good monsoon, Bharatiya Janatha Party’s rise to power etc. The result of a cricket match between India and Pakistan also affected the movements in Indian stock market. The National Democratic Alliance led by BJP, during 2004 public elections unsuccessfully tried to ride on the market sentiments to power. NDA was voted out of power and the sensex recorded the biggest fall in a day amidst fears that the Congress-Communist coalition would stall economic reforms. Later prime minister Man Mohan Singh’s assurance of ‘reforms with a human face’ cast off the fears and market reacted sharply to touch the highest ever mark of 8500.
India, after United States hosts the largest number of listed companies. Global investors now ardently seek India as their preferred location for investment. Once viewed with skepticism, stock market now appeals to middle class Indians also. Many Indians working in foreign countries now divert their savings to stocks. This recent phenomenon is the result of opening up of online trading and diminished interest rates from banks. The stockbrokers based in India are opening offices in different countries mainly to cater the needs of Non Resident Indians. The time factor also works for the NRIs. They can buy or sell stock online after returning from their work places.
The recent incidents that led to growing interest among Indian middle class are the initial public offers announced by Tata Consultancy Services, Maruti Udyog Limited, ONGC and big names like that. Good monsoons always raise the market sentiments. A good monsoon means improved agricultural produce and more spending capacity among rural folk. The bullish run of the stock market can be associated with a steady growth of around 6% in GDP, the growth of Indian companies to MNCs, large potential of growth in the fields of telecommunication, mass media, education, tourism and IT sectors backed by economic reforms ensure that Indian stock market continues its bull run.
Organizations must be family friendly
Organizations must be family friendly
Employees today are asking for a workplace that helps them balance the demands of their work and family lives, rather than forcing them to choose one over the other. Organizations have also accepted that among the many other aspirations of employees, the most important is one that seeks to be able to ‘provide well’ for their families Amongst the many schemes that organizations have introduced for their employees, having special schemes for their children is the latest addition. While some are offering various schemes like scholarships, medical benefits, and training some young kids to accompany their mothers to work. Many organizations boast of instances where they have gone out of their way to extend special help to the child of a particular employee.
At NIIT, one would witness various examples of how these commitments have been actually put into practice. Little NIITian is a special name given to the kids of NIITians (read: employees), who are a special part of NIIT. The company’s ‘calendar’ is dotted with many fun activities which encourage active participation from these little ones. No matter what the occasion, if it touches and concerns a NIITians or his / her family, the company tries to be a part of it. Amongst the many schemes which the company offers towards employee welfare, the one which was found most special was the one wherein on the birth of a little NIITian, the company contributes a sum as investment in the name of the new born. NIIT also has schemes like ‘Little NIITian Care Leave (LNCL)’ under which, the NIITians can avail half time working hours on half pay, to take care of a child at home. The leave can be utilized for a maximum of six months period for half days till the child is one year old.
High expectation levels, increasing attrition rates and increasing demand for work life balance has forced organizations to look beyond run of the mill HR interventions. Objective is to create ‘Home away from Home’, an atmosphere where the basic needs of employees are met and they don’t have to be bothered about the daily routine tasks. Under the ‘Child Care Support’ scheme that the company offers, crèches, workplace nurseries, out-of-school care, holiday play schemes and after school clubs are included Similarly, Cellebrum proposes to have scholarship programs, wherein the child of a meritorious and tenured employee with good academic records will be given scholarship fees based on the company’s policy. “Cellebrum has already initiated tie ups with various schools / institutes to take care of the child’s admission at the time of relocation. There is also a ‘Career Counseling Cell’ which provides in-house career counseling options for children of employees.
Amongst the various schemes that 24/7 Customer has initiated for the families of its employees, some of the most prominent ones include ‘Family insurance Scheme’, ‘Employee Welfare Fund’,’ Family Oriented Reward Program’, ‘Reward & Recognition,’ ‘Parents Day’ and ‘Daycare Centre’. 24/7 Customer is the only BPO in India to provide extended insurance to the employee and their families (employee plus four dependents). Under the ‘Employee Welfare Fund’, employees in any kind of medical emergency or need can avail it as a loan. There are instances when one of the family members of an employee had to undergo a major surgery and the amount from this scheme proved to be very helpful. Every month, on Parents Day, the family members of employees are invited to spend a day with their children/spouse/sibling.
Employees today are asking for a workplace that helps them balance the demands of their work and family lives, rather than forcing them to choose one over the other. Organizations have also accepted that among the many other aspirations of employees, the most important is one that seeks to be able to ‘provide well’ for their families Amongst the many schemes that organizations have introduced for their employees, having special schemes for their children is the latest addition. While some are offering various schemes like scholarships, medical benefits, and training some young kids to accompany their mothers to work. Many organizations boast of instances where they have gone out of their way to extend special help to the child of a particular employee.
At NIIT, one would witness various examples of how these commitments have been actually put into practice. Little NIITian is a special name given to the kids of NIITians (read: employees), who are a special part of NIIT. The company’s ‘calendar’ is dotted with many fun activities which encourage active participation from these little ones. No matter what the occasion, if it touches and concerns a NIITians or his / her family, the company tries to be a part of it. Amongst the many schemes which the company offers towards employee welfare, the one which was found most special was the one wherein on the birth of a little NIITian, the company contributes a sum as investment in the name of the new born. NIIT also has schemes like ‘Little NIITian Care Leave (LNCL)’ under which, the NIITians can avail half time working hours on half pay, to take care of a child at home. The leave can be utilized for a maximum of six months period for half days till the child is one year old.
High expectation levels, increasing attrition rates and increasing demand for work life balance has forced organizations to look beyond run of the mill HR interventions. Objective is to create ‘Home away from Home’, an atmosphere where the basic needs of employees are met and they don’t have to be bothered about the daily routine tasks. Under the ‘Child Care Support’ scheme that the company offers, crèches, workplace nurseries, out-of-school care, holiday play schemes and after school clubs are included Similarly, Cellebrum proposes to have scholarship programs, wherein the child of a meritorious and tenured employee with good academic records will be given scholarship fees based on the company’s policy. “Cellebrum has already initiated tie ups with various schools / institutes to take care of the child’s admission at the time of relocation. There is also a ‘Career Counseling Cell’ which provides in-house career counseling options for children of employees.
Amongst the various schemes that 24/7 Customer has initiated for the families of its employees, some of the most prominent ones include ‘Family insurance Scheme’, ‘Employee Welfare Fund’,’ Family Oriented Reward Program’, ‘Reward & Recognition,’ ‘Parents Day’ and ‘Daycare Centre’. 24/7 Customer is the only BPO in India to provide extended insurance to the employee and their families (employee plus four dependents). Under the ‘Employee Welfare Fund’, employees in any kind of medical emergency or need can avail it as a loan. There are instances when one of the family members of an employee had to undergo a major surgery and the amount from this scheme proved to be very helpful. Every month, on Parents Day, the family members of employees are invited to spend a day with their children/spouse/sibling.
Multinational Corporations
Multinational Corporations
Multinational corporations (MNCs) have their headquarters in one country but their operations are in many countries. Of the ten largest multinational industrial corporations, ranked by 1985 sales, eight are American. The ten are (1) General Motors, (2) Exxon, (3) Royal Dutch / Shell Group (Dutch-English), (4) Mobil, (5) British Petroleum (English), (6) Ford Motor Company, (7) International Business Machines (IBM), (8) Texaco (9) Chevron, and (10) American Telephone and Telegraph.
In its early stages, international business was conducted with an ethnocentric outlook; that is, the orientation and type of operation was based on that of the parent company. The polycentric attitude, on the other hand, is based on the notion that it is best to give foreign subsidiaries, staffed by local nationals, a great deal of managerial freedom. It is assumed that nationals have the best understanding of the local environment. Region-centric orientation favors the staffing of foreign operations on a regional basis. Thus, a European view may be composed of British, French, German, and Italian influences. The modern multinational corporation has a geocentric orientation. This means that the total organization is viewed as an interdependent system operating in many countries. The relationships between headquarters and subsidiaries are collaborative, with communication flowing in both directions. Further more key positions are filled by managers of different nationalities. In short, the orientation of the multi-national corporation is truly and goes beyond a narrow nationalistic view point.
Multinational corporations have several advantages over firms that have a domestic orientation. Obviously, the MNC can take advantage of business opportunities in many different countries. It can also raise money for its operations throughout the world. Moreover, multinational firms benefit by being able to establish production facilities in countries where their products can be produced most effectively and efficiently. Companies with worldwide sometimes have access to natural resources and material that may not be available to domestic firms. Finally, the large MNCs can recruit management and personnel from a world wide labor pool.
Despite the increasing competition and the cost advantages of some foreign corporations, a number of US companies have done very well in the international environment.
Fortune studied a number of large companies that earn more than 20% of their revenues from overseas operations. The reasons for the success of these firms differ greatly. IBM’s size makes it possible to dominate the market. Coca-Cola is very adept at opening up new markets rather rapidly. McDonald’s on the other hand, does not rush into the market but carefully assesses the potential for success. Hewlett Packard and Boeing bring foreign managers to the United States to expose them to their organizational culture.
The MNCs that were studied structure their organization very carefully to suit the needs of each individual country. In addition, these firms are flexible in their product design and marketing. It should also be noted that the operations abroad were largely managed by foreign nationals.
Managerial Functions in International Business:
Evidence shows that management fundamentals may be applicable in different countries. However, the practice of carrying out the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling differs considerably in domestic and international enterprises.
Planning requires setting objectives and then selecting strategies, policies, programs, and procedures for achieving them. A critically important activity for the MNC is the assessment of opportunities and threats in the external environment. This is a complex task even for a domestic enterprise, but it becomes much intricate when many different, ever changing world markets must be scanned.
External threats and opportunities must be matched with the internal strengths and weakness of the firm. For example, a poor educational system makes it difficult to find qualified personnel. Similarly, cultural orientation towards time will affect planning. Specifically, cultural attitudes that emphasize a short time perspective will not be conducive to long range planning. Finally, political and economic instability in a country makes it difficult to forecast and will discourage long term commitment of resources.
Multinational corporations (MNCs) have their headquarters in one country but their operations are in many countries. Of the ten largest multinational industrial corporations, ranked by 1985 sales, eight are American. The ten are (1) General Motors, (2) Exxon, (3) Royal Dutch / Shell Group (Dutch-English), (4) Mobil, (5) British Petroleum (English), (6) Ford Motor Company, (7) International Business Machines (IBM), (8) Texaco (9) Chevron, and (10) American Telephone and Telegraph.
In its early stages, international business was conducted with an ethnocentric outlook; that is, the orientation and type of operation was based on that of the parent company. The polycentric attitude, on the other hand, is based on the notion that it is best to give foreign subsidiaries, staffed by local nationals, a great deal of managerial freedom. It is assumed that nationals have the best understanding of the local environment. Region-centric orientation favors the staffing of foreign operations on a regional basis. Thus, a European view may be composed of British, French, German, and Italian influences. The modern multinational corporation has a geocentric orientation. This means that the total organization is viewed as an interdependent system operating in many countries. The relationships between headquarters and subsidiaries are collaborative, with communication flowing in both directions. Further more key positions are filled by managers of different nationalities. In short, the orientation of the multi-national corporation is truly and goes beyond a narrow nationalistic view point.
Multinational corporations have several advantages over firms that have a domestic orientation. Obviously, the MNC can take advantage of business opportunities in many different countries. It can also raise money for its operations throughout the world. Moreover, multinational firms benefit by being able to establish production facilities in countries where their products can be produced most effectively and efficiently. Companies with worldwide sometimes have access to natural resources and material that may not be available to domestic firms. Finally, the large MNCs can recruit management and personnel from a world wide labor pool.
Despite the increasing competition and the cost advantages of some foreign corporations, a number of US companies have done very well in the international environment.
Fortune studied a number of large companies that earn more than 20% of their revenues from overseas operations. The reasons for the success of these firms differ greatly. IBM’s size makes it possible to dominate the market. Coca-Cola is very adept at opening up new markets rather rapidly. McDonald’s on the other hand, does not rush into the market but carefully assesses the potential for success. Hewlett Packard and Boeing bring foreign managers to the United States to expose them to their organizational culture.
The MNCs that were studied structure their organization very carefully to suit the needs of each individual country. In addition, these firms are flexible in their product design and marketing. It should also be noted that the operations abroad were largely managed by foreign nationals.
Managerial Functions in International Business:
Evidence shows that management fundamentals may be applicable in different countries. However, the practice of carrying out the managerial functions of planning, organizing, staffing, leading, and controlling differs considerably in domestic and international enterprises.
Planning requires setting objectives and then selecting strategies, policies, programs, and procedures for achieving them. A critically important activity for the MNC is the assessment of opportunities and threats in the external environment. This is a complex task even for a domestic enterprise, but it becomes much intricate when many different, ever changing world markets must be scanned.
External threats and opportunities must be matched with the internal strengths and weakness of the firm. For example, a poor educational system makes it difficult to find qualified personnel. Similarly, cultural orientation towards time will affect planning. Specifically, cultural attitudes that emphasize a short time perspective will not be conducive to long range planning. Finally, political and economic instability in a country makes it difficult to forecast and will discourage long term commitment of resources.
Overcoming Office irritations
Overcoming Office irritations
Employees of some companies have to face unfortunate situations to be working in a company where on the pretence of providing a better work life, all the employer does is serve a birthday cake or allows a 15 minute break in the recreation room daily.
Well, practices may not be bad, but they will definitely not turn ones workplace a place where one wants to be for a long time. If one loves what he is doing and want to continue in the same place for a long time, then here are few things one can try to make to be happy at work.
An employee must get himself assigned to a project. He can go to his boss and suggest a project of his interest and which will further enhance company’s progress as well. If one loves talking to people, a research project can be suggested.
An employee can tell the employer that to keep ahead of competitors he wants to do research and find out the need of customers and solution to solve their problems. This will give a chance to step out and speak to people and the employee can interact with people on line or simply get busy on the telephone or go and meet them.
Sometimes it is just not the day when one feels like going to work. If that’s the case and if ones work permits then all one has to do is work from home. Do the work in the same fashion as watching TV or play with ones child and send in reports twice in a day. If ones boss resists, explain that this style of working is helping him get the work done efficiently and could not attend work because of minor health problem.
Jump into multi tasking: If one does not like some aspects of his job, then he can try to find out if one can exchange his assignments with a colleague with mutual consent and employer’s permission. Weakness of an individual can be someone else’s strength and vice-a-versa. By exchanging job assignments the work is done efficiently while both the colleague and the employer can be happy with the results.
An individual’s colleagues at work must know that he enjoys listening to others and likes to help them. One will find that there are many at his workplace who will appreciate an ear where they can unburden their worries and take a breather. This will enable him to get a whole hearted cooperation from all his colleagues at the work place and he can discharge his duties not only successfully but much faster.
One never knows but he may end up making a close friend in the deal and find himself enjoying at work. Take the newfound friend to lunch or catch up for a drink after work. This will help one unwind and relax.
Change work environment makes an employee feel more like home and he will enjoy working at his desk or cubicle for eight hours. Adding colors, pictures or favorite items to work-desk energize him and give positive vibes, helping to do the job to the best of ones ability.
And, if after doing all this one is still unhappy at work maybe it’s time to look for a new job.
Changing a job is possible up to certain age and beyond that companies may not be in a position to absorb experienced people until and unless they are being considered for a top management positions. If a senior person is having professional reputation he can soung a few consultants indicating his desire to change that too it becomes essential. Otherwise a senior management person must have the art of getting along under all circumstances in the work environment. Otherwise he would not have reached that position at all. The organization under normal circumstances would not like to lose any top level person say a General Manager or Executive director. But for the junior and middle management cadres we have suggested tackiling the problems in the above paragraphs.
Employees of some companies have to face unfortunate situations to be working in a company where on the pretence of providing a better work life, all the employer does is serve a birthday cake or allows a 15 minute break in the recreation room daily.
Well, practices may not be bad, but they will definitely not turn ones workplace a place where one wants to be for a long time. If one loves what he is doing and want to continue in the same place for a long time, then here are few things one can try to make to be happy at work.
An employee must get himself assigned to a project. He can go to his boss and suggest a project of his interest and which will further enhance company’s progress as well. If one loves talking to people, a research project can be suggested.
An employee can tell the employer that to keep ahead of competitors he wants to do research and find out the need of customers and solution to solve their problems. This will give a chance to step out and speak to people and the employee can interact with people on line or simply get busy on the telephone or go and meet them.
Sometimes it is just not the day when one feels like going to work. If that’s the case and if ones work permits then all one has to do is work from home. Do the work in the same fashion as watching TV or play with ones child and send in reports twice in a day. If ones boss resists, explain that this style of working is helping him get the work done efficiently and could not attend work because of minor health problem.
Jump into multi tasking: If one does not like some aspects of his job, then he can try to find out if one can exchange his assignments with a colleague with mutual consent and employer’s permission. Weakness of an individual can be someone else’s strength and vice-a-versa. By exchanging job assignments the work is done efficiently while both the colleague and the employer can be happy with the results.
An individual’s colleagues at work must know that he enjoys listening to others and likes to help them. One will find that there are many at his workplace who will appreciate an ear where they can unburden their worries and take a breather. This will enable him to get a whole hearted cooperation from all his colleagues at the work place and he can discharge his duties not only successfully but much faster.
One never knows but he may end up making a close friend in the deal and find himself enjoying at work. Take the newfound friend to lunch or catch up for a drink after work. This will help one unwind and relax.
Change work environment makes an employee feel more like home and he will enjoy working at his desk or cubicle for eight hours. Adding colors, pictures or favorite items to work-desk energize him and give positive vibes, helping to do the job to the best of ones ability.
And, if after doing all this one is still unhappy at work maybe it’s time to look for a new job.
Changing a job is possible up to certain age and beyond that companies may not be in a position to absorb experienced people until and unless they are being considered for a top management positions. If a senior person is having professional reputation he can soung a few consultants indicating his desire to change that too it becomes essential. Otherwise a senior management person must have the art of getting along under all circumstances in the work environment. Otherwise he would not have reached that position at all. The organization under normal circumstances would not like to lose any top level person say a General Manager or Executive director. But for the junior and middle management cadres we have suggested tackiling the problems in the above paragraphs.
Interviews can reveal candidates’ market value
Interviews can reveal candidates’ market value
Interviewing for a new job can reveal the true market value of an individual’s skills and experience—if he is well prepared to negotiate his salary
Everybody loves a good pay hike. Since he is highly unlikely to get as many increments in a year as he may like, he might consider switching jobs. He may figure that a new employer would value him more, and send off a resume. How well prepared will he be when it’s time to talk about money?
The interview is going the individual’s way, and he is able to impress everyone. Then the human resource (HR) manager shoots the big question: how much remuneration he is expecting? Usually, money is discussed only when the interview reaches the negotiation stage.
The candidate’s answer to that question can make or break the deal. HR managers believe it’s a loaded question. During the negotiation stage, managers rate him for individual personal qualities on the basis of the remuneration he demands. While the individual is justifying his demand, the managers are assessing his mindset towards money, as well as rating his knowledge, self-assurance and understanding of the current demand-supply scenario for jobs in the industry.
How much to ask for? In most people-oriented industries where retaining employees is tough, a hike of 25-30% above an individual previous salary is acceptable. Yet HR managers are not necessarily put off by interviewees who ask for more than the industry norm.
It is expected the interviewee to have given good thought about how much his paycheck should be. People should be asking for remuneration according to their abilities, liabilities and future goals. Their salaries should help them move forward in life.
Their demand will not always be in tandem with industry standards, but that should not deter them from asking what they think they deserve. Lying about an individual’s previous salary is not at all recommended in fact prohibited. Many people resort to this, since the higher salary at the new job would be based on the previous salary. Not only is lying legally and morally unacceptable, but it is also unlikely to work if he is seeking to switch to a reputed company. For most companies, it is now the norm to ask for an individual previous salary slip, Form 16, and reference letters from people in the individual’s field of work.
Some multinationals in fields like real estate, where salaries are sky-high, even hiring a third party investigator to check on the credentials of new recruits. In such a scenario, an individual’s best option and one that is legally unimpeachable is to switch jobs after getting an increment at his old job. Salary structure today is decided on a “cost to company” basis. This means companies look at the total expenses they would incur on an employee which include medical expenses, leave travel allowance, and sometimes even office space.
Trying to decipher exactly how much cash will actually flow into an individual hands may seem confusing at first glance, as he run down the list of sub-heads like car fuel, entertainment, attire, and other allowances. It is, of course, a good idea to make the effort to understand the salary structure. But if he really wants to save all the fretting, let the new employer know the “take home” that he would like each month.
Leave the fine tuning to the accounts department. Tax benefits Interaction with the accounts department, however, is inevitable, because a candidate needs to know the tax implications of his salary. Employees are often so engrossed in their jobs that they forget to inform the accounts department about their investments, home loans, and so on. Then they get a surprise when they see the tax deductions in their first paycheck.
When a individual joins a new company, he needs to declare the tax benefits he is eligible for. Proof of those investments can come later, so long as it is before the end of the financial year. Cash in hand depends on ones ever growing needs— a house, a car, a better lifestyle. Having more cash in hand is becoming an imperative, leading to a new trend among employees to prefer cash in hand, rather than gratuity and provident fund (PF) contributions by the employer.
Employee stock ownership plans have lost some of their allure, because of the fringe benefit tax on the profit, starting from this year. This is paving the way for higher take-home salaries.
There is more good than bad in going for interviews. Interviews that reach the monetary negotiations stage enable one to know his market value. Some interviewees may go ahead and accept the offer for a new job. And others will use their new-found market value to get that elusive pay hike from their existing company.
Interviewing for a new job can reveal the true market value of an individual’s skills and experience—if he is well prepared to negotiate his salary
Everybody loves a good pay hike. Since he is highly unlikely to get as many increments in a year as he may like, he might consider switching jobs. He may figure that a new employer would value him more, and send off a resume. How well prepared will he be when it’s time to talk about money?
The interview is going the individual’s way, and he is able to impress everyone. Then the human resource (HR) manager shoots the big question: how much remuneration he is expecting? Usually, money is discussed only when the interview reaches the negotiation stage.
The candidate’s answer to that question can make or break the deal. HR managers believe it’s a loaded question. During the negotiation stage, managers rate him for individual personal qualities on the basis of the remuneration he demands. While the individual is justifying his demand, the managers are assessing his mindset towards money, as well as rating his knowledge, self-assurance and understanding of the current demand-supply scenario for jobs in the industry.
How much to ask for? In most people-oriented industries where retaining employees is tough, a hike of 25-30% above an individual previous salary is acceptable. Yet HR managers are not necessarily put off by interviewees who ask for more than the industry norm.
It is expected the interviewee to have given good thought about how much his paycheck should be. People should be asking for remuneration according to their abilities, liabilities and future goals. Their salaries should help them move forward in life.
Their demand will not always be in tandem with industry standards, but that should not deter them from asking what they think they deserve. Lying about an individual’s previous salary is not at all recommended in fact prohibited. Many people resort to this, since the higher salary at the new job would be based on the previous salary. Not only is lying legally and morally unacceptable, but it is also unlikely to work if he is seeking to switch to a reputed company. For most companies, it is now the norm to ask for an individual previous salary slip, Form 16, and reference letters from people in the individual’s field of work.
Some multinationals in fields like real estate, where salaries are sky-high, even hiring a third party investigator to check on the credentials of new recruits. In such a scenario, an individual’s best option and one that is legally unimpeachable is to switch jobs after getting an increment at his old job. Salary structure today is decided on a “cost to company” basis. This means companies look at the total expenses they would incur on an employee which include medical expenses, leave travel allowance, and sometimes even office space.
Trying to decipher exactly how much cash will actually flow into an individual hands may seem confusing at first glance, as he run down the list of sub-heads like car fuel, entertainment, attire, and other allowances. It is, of course, a good idea to make the effort to understand the salary structure. But if he really wants to save all the fretting, let the new employer know the “take home” that he would like each month.
Leave the fine tuning to the accounts department. Tax benefits Interaction with the accounts department, however, is inevitable, because a candidate needs to know the tax implications of his salary. Employees are often so engrossed in their jobs that they forget to inform the accounts department about their investments, home loans, and so on. Then they get a surprise when they see the tax deductions in their first paycheck.
When a individual joins a new company, he needs to declare the tax benefits he is eligible for. Proof of those investments can come later, so long as it is before the end of the financial year. Cash in hand depends on ones ever growing needs— a house, a car, a better lifestyle. Having more cash in hand is becoming an imperative, leading to a new trend among employees to prefer cash in hand, rather than gratuity and provident fund (PF) contributions by the employer.
Employee stock ownership plans have lost some of their allure, because of the fringe benefit tax on the profit, starting from this year. This is paving the way for higher take-home salaries.
There is more good than bad in going for interviews. Interviews that reach the monetary negotiations stage enable one to know his market value. Some interviewees may go ahead and accept the offer for a new job. And others will use their new-found market value to get that elusive pay hike from their existing company.
BPO policies- what works
BPO policies- what works
The biggest challenge that HR managers working for BPO companies face is that of attrition. How to tackle attrition? Which HR policies work best? To start with, there are no easy answers. Nor should we expect any standard policy package to work for all companies. Each company needs to work out the HR policy package that would work best given the company’s specific character. A few general guidelines can, however, be suggested.
It is first necessary to point out that in the Indian BPO industry, attrition is more of a problem in voice operations and not so much in non-voice operations. Second, most Indian BPO companies operate in the low-end of the information food chain or the low end of the knowledge spectrum and rates of attrition are highest in these firms and, therefore, they pose a problem for HR managers. Attrition is not really a problem in high-end BPOs. Thus, the problem of attrition is most acute in call centres and, therefore, what we really need is a policy package to tackle attrition in these firms.
Many HR managers in such firms believe that high rates of attrition in Indian call centres are a phenomenon peculiar to India. It is not so. Various studies have shown that if the average rate of attrition in Indian call centres is in the region of 30-35 per cent, it is around 25-30 per cent in the US or UK. Moreover, in call centres in other countries competing with India (for example Philippines) the attrition rate is again at least as high as it is in India. Thus, high rates of attrition is a kind of given in the call centre industry around the world.
Studies show that Indian BPO firms which have been able to tackle the problem of attrition successfully adopt policies which can be grouped into two basic categories:
(a) policies that are based on the basic strategy of “learning to live with it”, and
(b) policies that are based on the basic strategy of “learning to tackle it”.
The emphasis in the first group of policies is on constant recruitment and training and not on retention while in the second group of policies the emphasis is on retention rather than on constant recruitment and training.
Studies also show that in call centres, the basic strategy of “Learning to live with it” works best while the basic strategy of “Learning to tackle it” works best for non-voice operations and in firms engaged in high end processes. In call centres, adopting a basic strategy that emphasizes retention can be suicidal because however much HR managers may try, call centres will have high attrition rates. Hence, spending too much on retention will only result in hiking costs and thereby eroding the very cost arbitrage that is the basis of the call centre business while it will not help in reducing the attrition rate appreciably. On the other hand, if the emphasis is on constant recruitment and training, costs can be kept down without affecting operations even if the attrition rate is in the region of 30-35 per cent.
Studies also show that one third of all attrition in call centres are because of high stress levels and the desire to pursue higher education or alternative occupations while two thirds can be attributed to better job opportunities in the industry. In short, a large majority of people quitting go to another call centre. This is the reason why many call centre HR managers fall into the trap of putting emphasis on retention thinking that if they can implement good retention policies then the two thirds of the people going to other call centres for better job prospects would not do so. These HR managers fail to realize that irrespective of the retention policies, two thirds of the people will still leave for better job prospects and that beyond a point spending more on retention would only eat into margins and erode the basic profitability of the business.
In this context some facts are worth noting:
(a) most Indian call centres need no more than graduates and there is no dearth of graduates in India so that there is no basic shortage of manpower as long as the call centre company does not make the mistake of recruiting over qualified people for their operations. Such over qualified people will leave anyway after a few days or weeks once they realize that their expectations do not match with the reality.
(b) Most Indian call centres need to train people for no more than three months to get them to become fully productive as long as the raw recruit had basic English language skills, especially verbal communication skills. Moreover, in many low-end processes where the script is given by the client and agents have almost no discretion, even basic skills of communication in English is not required since almost anybody can be trained to read a prepared script with a certain specific accent and diction. Hence constant recruitment and training is cost-effective even with attrition rates of around 30-35 per cent.
(c) In most Indian call centres, the majority of the agents are in the age group 18-26 and their focus is on the here and now. Such employees prefer to get their entire compensation in cash and not through such rubrics as provident fund, medical cover, superannuation benefits etc. Hence, call centres need to structure their compensation package in a way that most of the benefits go to the employee in the form of cash or through such things as company credit cards, easy car/housing/consumer durable loans, club membership etc. For this reason, proprietory firms have an edge over corporates as it is easier for proprietory firms to structure a pay package with a larger “here and now” cash component.
(d) Since most employees are young they are emotionally less stable than older employees and are prone to switch jobs for the most trivial reasons. Instead of spending a lot through higher pay packages in a bid to retain talent, call centres would do well to concentrate on constant counseling at the workplace to help young employees realize the virtues of patience and the fact that even a call centre job can lead to a long term career.
(e) Again instead of continually increasing the pay package, call centres would do well to try and create opportunities for upward mobility not just through scaling up of operations but also through moving up the value chain in terms of processes handled (this should anyway be a strategic goal for any BPO unit irrespective of whether it is facing a problem of attrition or not).
(f) The usual stress busting mechanisms should be in place – work should be fun – partying, get togethers, sporting events, facilities for yoga and aerobics exercises, good food and cafeteria facilities, etc help in a big way to retain younger people.
Space limitations do not permit a fuller discussion, but some of the basic issues have been covered above. From what has been said so far it should be obvious that what kind of policies a firm must choose to tackle attrition depends a great deal on the kind of processes it is handling. The problem of attrition is highest in the firms engaged in low end processes while those engaged in high end processes do not have so much of a problem. Also, while firms engaged in low-end processes would do well to adopt the basic strategy of “learning to live with it”, firms engaged in high-end processes would do better by adopting the basic strategy of “Learning to tackle it”. For those adopting the second strategy, talent retention policies would tend to be similar to standard policies adopted by most companies such as a fast track promotion policy, frequent hikes in the compensation package etc. For firms engaged in low end processes, the key to success is to realize that emphasis on retention will not work and, therefore, it is better to concentrate on constant recruitment and training.
The biggest challenge that HR managers working for BPO companies face is that of attrition. How to tackle attrition? Which HR policies work best? To start with, there are no easy answers. Nor should we expect any standard policy package to work for all companies. Each company needs to work out the HR policy package that would work best given the company’s specific character. A few general guidelines can, however, be suggested.
It is first necessary to point out that in the Indian BPO industry, attrition is more of a problem in voice operations and not so much in non-voice operations. Second, most Indian BPO companies operate in the low-end of the information food chain or the low end of the knowledge spectrum and rates of attrition are highest in these firms and, therefore, they pose a problem for HR managers. Attrition is not really a problem in high-end BPOs. Thus, the problem of attrition is most acute in call centres and, therefore, what we really need is a policy package to tackle attrition in these firms.
Many HR managers in such firms believe that high rates of attrition in Indian call centres are a phenomenon peculiar to India. It is not so. Various studies have shown that if the average rate of attrition in Indian call centres is in the region of 30-35 per cent, it is around 25-30 per cent in the US or UK. Moreover, in call centres in other countries competing with India (for example Philippines) the attrition rate is again at least as high as it is in India. Thus, high rates of attrition is a kind of given in the call centre industry around the world.
Studies show that Indian BPO firms which have been able to tackle the problem of attrition successfully adopt policies which can be grouped into two basic categories:
(a) policies that are based on the basic strategy of “learning to live with it”, and
(b) policies that are based on the basic strategy of “learning to tackle it”.
The emphasis in the first group of policies is on constant recruitment and training and not on retention while in the second group of policies the emphasis is on retention rather than on constant recruitment and training.
Studies also show that in call centres, the basic strategy of “Learning to live with it” works best while the basic strategy of “Learning to tackle it” works best for non-voice operations and in firms engaged in high end processes. In call centres, adopting a basic strategy that emphasizes retention can be suicidal because however much HR managers may try, call centres will have high attrition rates. Hence, spending too much on retention will only result in hiking costs and thereby eroding the very cost arbitrage that is the basis of the call centre business while it will not help in reducing the attrition rate appreciably. On the other hand, if the emphasis is on constant recruitment and training, costs can be kept down without affecting operations even if the attrition rate is in the region of 30-35 per cent.
Studies also show that one third of all attrition in call centres are because of high stress levels and the desire to pursue higher education or alternative occupations while two thirds can be attributed to better job opportunities in the industry. In short, a large majority of people quitting go to another call centre. This is the reason why many call centre HR managers fall into the trap of putting emphasis on retention thinking that if they can implement good retention policies then the two thirds of the people going to other call centres for better job prospects would not do so. These HR managers fail to realize that irrespective of the retention policies, two thirds of the people will still leave for better job prospects and that beyond a point spending more on retention would only eat into margins and erode the basic profitability of the business.
In this context some facts are worth noting:
(a) most Indian call centres need no more than graduates and there is no dearth of graduates in India so that there is no basic shortage of manpower as long as the call centre company does not make the mistake of recruiting over qualified people for their operations. Such over qualified people will leave anyway after a few days or weeks once they realize that their expectations do not match with the reality.
(b) Most Indian call centres need to train people for no more than three months to get them to become fully productive as long as the raw recruit had basic English language skills, especially verbal communication skills. Moreover, in many low-end processes where the script is given by the client and agents have almost no discretion, even basic skills of communication in English is not required since almost anybody can be trained to read a prepared script with a certain specific accent and diction. Hence constant recruitment and training is cost-effective even with attrition rates of around 30-35 per cent.
(c) In most Indian call centres, the majority of the agents are in the age group 18-26 and their focus is on the here and now. Such employees prefer to get their entire compensation in cash and not through such rubrics as provident fund, medical cover, superannuation benefits etc. Hence, call centres need to structure their compensation package in a way that most of the benefits go to the employee in the form of cash or through such things as company credit cards, easy car/housing/consumer durable loans, club membership etc. For this reason, proprietory firms have an edge over corporates as it is easier for proprietory firms to structure a pay package with a larger “here and now” cash component.
(d) Since most employees are young they are emotionally less stable than older employees and are prone to switch jobs for the most trivial reasons. Instead of spending a lot through higher pay packages in a bid to retain talent, call centres would do well to concentrate on constant counseling at the workplace to help young employees realize the virtues of patience and the fact that even a call centre job can lead to a long term career.
(e) Again instead of continually increasing the pay package, call centres would do well to try and create opportunities for upward mobility not just through scaling up of operations but also through moving up the value chain in terms of processes handled (this should anyway be a strategic goal for any BPO unit irrespective of whether it is facing a problem of attrition or not).
(f) The usual stress busting mechanisms should be in place – work should be fun – partying, get togethers, sporting events, facilities for yoga and aerobics exercises, good food and cafeteria facilities, etc help in a big way to retain younger people.
Space limitations do not permit a fuller discussion, but some of the basic issues have been covered above. From what has been said so far it should be obvious that what kind of policies a firm must choose to tackle attrition depends a great deal on the kind of processes it is handling. The problem of attrition is highest in the firms engaged in low end processes while those engaged in high end processes do not have so much of a problem. Also, while firms engaged in low-end processes would do well to adopt the basic strategy of “learning to live with it”, firms engaged in high-end processes would do better by adopting the basic strategy of “Learning to tackle it”. For those adopting the second strategy, talent retention policies would tend to be similar to standard policies adopted by most companies such as a fast track promotion policy, frequent hikes in the compensation package etc. For firms engaged in low end processes, the key to success is to realize that emphasis on retention will not work and, therefore, it is better to concentrate on constant recruitment and training.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Interview questionnaires
Interview questionnaires
When a wide geographical coverage is required and a large number of people have to be contacted, the most efficient and convenient method is to collect data through mail/web questionnaires. The Researcher or Surveyor (RS) can send thousands of questionnaires at a comparatively low cost. Since RS cannot seek further clarification as in the case of interviews, RS should take utmost pains in preparing the questionnaire.
The following hints will be of help:
When a wide geographical coverage is required and a large number of people have to be contacted, the most efficient and convenient method is to collect data through mail/web questionnaires. The Researcher or Surveyor (RS) can send thousands of questionnaires at a comparatively low cost. Since RS cannot seek further clarification as in the case of interviews, RS should take utmost pains in preparing the questionnaire.
The following hints will be of help:
- Each question should be clearly framed and should seek to elicit the information related to the topic of RS report.
- It should be precise and not vague. For example, if RS askS, “Do you see films regularly,” RS’s respondent will not understand what RS means by ‘regularly’. And suppose he says ‘yes’ how will this answer help RS? But if RS says, “How often in a month do you see a movie?” he will understand what RS wants to know and his answer will be precise and useful.
- Avoid leading questions – questions which suggest or anticipate answers and thus conditions or prejudice the respondent’s mind. For example. “Do you read The Hindustan Times?” is an attempt to lead the respondent. A better question to ask would be, “Which daily newspaper do you read?
- As in the case of interviews, do not ask any questions which may embarrass the respondent. Questions about sex habits, religious beliefs, personal income etc are better avoided. When RS have to write a report touching on such matters, obtain the consent of the respondent beforehand if possible and keep the information secure and confidential. In all situations avoid asking questions which may hurt the respondent’s self respect pride or ego.
- Since RS are making a demand on the time of strangers, ensure that questions are easy to answer and the questionnaire is brief and convenient to handle. Leave plenty of space in it for answers. It would be irritating for the respondent to find that he cannot write what he wants. Often questionnaires remain unanswered because of this defect.
- Arrange RS’s questions in a logical order and get them cyclostyled or printed neatly. Mail the questionnaire in an attractive envelope along with a covering letter, courteously seeking the respondent’s cooperation and help. In many respects this letter should be similar to a sales letter. It should be able to attract the respondent’s attention, make him feel important and induce him to fill in the questionnaire and return it to RS promptly. Courtesy demands that RS should enclose a postage paid envelope for reply.
BPO Policies: 5 Emerging Trends
BPO Policies: 5 Emerging Trends
Watch out for the next three years! A turbulent phase of global consolidation and aggregation should see Indian BPOs and KPOs emerge bigger and stronger. Some may even become MNCs and global industry leaders. Human resources will, however, be the key challenge at the industry level as well as for the individual HR professional. Successful HR managers will have to be prepared for five emerging trends.
Deepak Wadhwan, consulting advisor, KPMG, points out in an article in The Economic Times a few key trends which he claims may get overlooked. The top five are:
HR managers who are better prepared to handle these trends are more likely to perform rather than perish. That means, they must be prepared for:
Not that all factors will be applicable to all organisations in BPO/KPO space. Each business will have its own strengths and opportunities and weaknesses and threats. The individual HR manager too has to asses what his/her organization specifically needs. A proactive manager will try to outguess the board and keep some plans ready even before they are actually asked for.
An M&A human resource impact study keeping in mind any one/several possible victims/predators in mind is a good example. M&As are complex and traumatic affairs from a HR point of view. In case one’s organization has any chance of becoming a participant in any M&A event in the near future, a little early planning can prove to be a big help.
Similarly, being all ready to ramp up overnight, as it were, due to some early preparation on your part, can only earn you kudos from the guys who matter. The same can be said about each of the other big trends such as the possibility of talent war or multicultural and multinational operations. The key issue is to correctly asses which way your own organization is headed and then to be specifically prepared for it.
Some companies will not bother much about brand building – either because they don’t need it or care for it, for some reason or the other – but most others would do so. That would mean an additional set of headaches for HR professionals. Apart from the many intangible values that add up to create robust brand equities, some very necessary and tangible aspects are getting certifications of various kinds, following industry best practices and maintaining/improving delivery standards. Achieving these goals will require constant development of HR systems and processes. In plain English that simply means more work for the HR professionals.
Managing human resources in an HR and knowledge intensive BPO/KPO industry was never easy, but with a period of turbulence about to set in, its just going to get tougher! But then being forewarned is being forearmed – just ride out the storm.
Watch out for the next three years! A turbulent phase of global consolidation and aggregation should see Indian BPOs and KPOs emerge bigger and stronger. Some may even become MNCs and global industry leaders. Human resources will, however, be the key challenge at the industry level as well as for the individual HR professional. Successful HR managers will have to be prepared for five emerging trends.
Deepak Wadhwan, consulting advisor, KPMG, points out in an article in The Economic Times a few key trends which he claims may get overlooked. The top five are:
- The next three years will see a lot of mergers and acquisitions in BPO space worldwide.
- Most new voice/data BPOs will be at least 1000 seaters while KPOs serving any specific domain, 100 seaters.
- Attrition will rise in the middle and top levels leading to a talent war.
- Most top Indian BPO/KPO companies would have multicultural/multinational operations/workforce.
- Bottomline: Those who focus on brand building will perform, others will perish.
HR managers who are better prepared to handle these trends are more likely to perform rather than perish. That means, they must be prepared for:
- M&As
- Scalability
- Talent War
- Multicultural Ops
- Brand Building
Not that all factors will be applicable to all organisations in BPO/KPO space. Each business will have its own strengths and opportunities and weaknesses and threats. The individual HR manager too has to asses what his/her organization specifically needs. A proactive manager will try to outguess the board and keep some plans ready even before they are actually asked for.
An M&A human resource impact study keeping in mind any one/several possible victims/predators in mind is a good example. M&As are complex and traumatic affairs from a HR point of view. In case one’s organization has any chance of becoming a participant in any M&A event in the near future, a little early planning can prove to be a big help.
Similarly, being all ready to ramp up overnight, as it were, due to some early preparation on your part, can only earn you kudos from the guys who matter. The same can be said about each of the other big trends such as the possibility of talent war or multicultural and multinational operations. The key issue is to correctly asses which way your own organization is headed and then to be specifically prepared for it.
Some companies will not bother much about brand building – either because they don’t need it or care for it, for some reason or the other – but most others would do so. That would mean an additional set of headaches for HR professionals. Apart from the many intangible values that add up to create robust brand equities, some very necessary and tangible aspects are getting certifications of various kinds, following industry best practices and maintaining/improving delivery standards. Achieving these goals will require constant development of HR systems and processes. In plain English that simply means more work for the HR professionals.
Managing human resources in an HR and knowledge intensive BPO/KPO industry was never easy, but with a period of turbulence about to set in, its just going to get tougher! But then being forewarned is being forearmed – just ride out the storm.
Geeta Saar
This is what Bhagwan Shri Krishna wants to tell you:
Hey Parth (Employee),
Incentive nahi mila, Bura Hua
Salary cut rahi hai, Bura Hua
Extra shift hogi, woh bhi buri hogi.
Tum pichhla incentive na milne ka paschatap na karo,
Tum agle incentive ki chinta na karo,
Bus apni salary main santusht raho....
Tumhari pocket se kya gaya , jo rote ho?
Jo aaya tha sab yahee se aaya.
Tum jab nahi the, tab bhi company chal rahi thee
Tum jab nahi hoge, tab bhi chalegee.
Tum koi experience leker nahi aaye the..
Jo experience mila yahi mila...
Jo support diya company ke liye...
Degree leker aaye the, experience leker chalo.
Jo system aaj tumhara hai...
Woh kal kisi aur ka tha....
Kal kisi aur ka or parso kisi aur ka hoga..
Tum ise apna samajh kar kyo magan ho rahe ho..
Yahi khushi tumhari tension kaa kaaran hai.
Kyo vyarth chinta karte ho, kisse vyarth darte ho, Kaun tumhe nikaal sakta hai.
Policy change company ka rule hai
Jise tum policy change kahte ho, wahi to trick hai.
Ek pal main tum Best performer or Hero no.1 ya Super Star ban jaate ho,
Dusre pal main tum worst performer or target nahin achieve kar paatey ho.
Appraisal, incentive etc. etc. mann se hata do, vichaar se mita do,
Phir company tumhari hai or tum company ke.
Na yeh increment wageyrah tumhare liye hai, na tum iske kabhi ho,
Parantu job secure hai
Phir tum tension kyon lete ho........?
Tum apne aap ko company ko arpit kar do,
Yahi sabse bada golden rule hai,
Jo is golden rule ko jaanta hai,
woh review, incentive,recession ,retirement aadi se sada Ke liye muqt ho jaata hai.
Hey Parth (Employee),
Incentive nahi mila, Bura Hua
Salary cut rahi hai, Bura Hua
Extra shift hogi, woh bhi buri hogi.
Tum pichhla incentive na milne ka paschatap na karo,
Tum agle incentive ki chinta na karo,
Bus apni salary main santusht raho....
Tumhari pocket se kya gaya , jo rote ho?
Jo aaya tha sab yahee se aaya.
Tum jab nahi the, tab bhi company chal rahi thee
Tum jab nahi hoge, tab bhi chalegee.
Tum koi experience leker nahi aaye the..
Jo experience mila yahi mila...
Jo support diya company ke liye...
Degree leker aaye the, experience leker chalo.
Jo system aaj tumhara hai...
Woh kal kisi aur ka tha....
Kal kisi aur ka or parso kisi aur ka hoga..
Tum ise apna samajh kar kyo magan ho rahe ho..
Yahi khushi tumhari tension kaa kaaran hai.
Kyo vyarth chinta karte ho, kisse vyarth darte ho, Kaun tumhe nikaal sakta hai.
Policy change company ka rule hai
Jise tum policy change kahte ho, wahi to trick hai.
Ek pal main tum Best performer or Hero no.1 ya Super Star ban jaate ho,
Dusre pal main tum worst performer or target nahin achieve kar paatey ho.
Appraisal, incentive etc. etc. mann se hata do, vichaar se mita do,
Phir company tumhari hai or tum company ke.
Na yeh increment wageyrah tumhare liye hai, na tum iske kabhi ho,
Parantu job secure hai
Phir tum tension kyon lete ho........?
Tum apne aap ko company ko arpit kar do,
Yahi sabse bada golden rule hai,
Jo is golden rule ko jaanta hai,
woh review, incentive,recession ,retirement aadi se sada Ke liye muqt ho jaata hai.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
HR managers need to be better performers
HR managers need to be better performers
It may sound a bit ironic. Indian managers may be high performers in their area of expertise but the performances of the people who manage them leave much to be desired for. That in short is the synopsis of a recent survey conducted by global management consultancy firm.
In the firm’s High Performance Work Force study 2007, conducted by interviewing 40 Indian CEO and Human Relation (HR) department heads, the majority of the executives cited that HR is their most critical workforce (Globally, HR is ranked No. 7 in the pecking order of importance).
However, there was deep dissatisfaction with HR’s performance. In an adequacy vs expectations survey across different workforce like sales, manufacturing, R&D, HR, etc HR performed the worst. The study pointed out that CEOs believed that there is a huge gap between the potential and actual achievement by their HR function.
The survey sought executive insights in three broad areas – most important factors in achieving high performances and how their companies are addressing these factors, the importance of various workforces to company’s success and their performances and the extent to which the HR function is supporting the company’s key workforces and positioning them for success.
The executives in the study came from diverse industries like steel, construction, engineering to finance and entertainment.
In India, both old and new economy companies are trying to fish in the same pond, creating severe talent crunch.
As new economy companies continue to attract talented people in droves, old economy companies such as those in steel, power generation and manufacturing appeared to be better prepared to deal with talent issues. These companies are more willing to use “appropriate metrics” to track HR and over workforce performance.
In what could be particularly worrisome, the middle management level was found to be unhappy with how organizations treat them. The amount of effort in retention and leadership development at this level is just not good enough.
As companies often get their next generation of leaders from this level, the study found that the HR department needed to do much more as executives in this level are at a critical point of their career. The study found that it is a situation that should be troubling not only for HR leaders themselves, but for the executives as a whole.
Advertising as entertainment
Advertising as entertainment
The advertiser’s role is to determine the communication objectives. These have to be in line with the overall organizational goals and strategy.
The advertiser’s goals and strategy are influenced by the government policy. It may even sponsor news or films made by the corporate sector on television. Hence government rules and regulations and electronic media (T.V., Video, Cable T.V. Radio etc.) policies play a dominant role in advertiser’s decision-making.
The advertiser is facilitated by advertising agencies and media in translating its goals into action. Marketing research in turn assists all these institution, i.e. the advertiser agencies and the media. Within the advertiser’s organization, it’s the product managers, or the brand managers (as in soft drinks and personal products) whose task is to coordinate between the advertising agencies and the organization. In fact, in many of the multinational and large Indian firms, a product manager or brand manager is a strategist and it’s his or her responsibility to develop communication goals for the product or brand and evolve a marketing plan and strategy for it. The advertising campaign, which is a part of this overall marketing strategy, is often decided by the product managers.
While all large advertisers depend on advertising agencies to develop the campaign, smaller advertisers, has to depend on its own internal resources or take the services of freelance advertising personnel.
For generations, advertising interrupted the entertainment that one wanted to read, hear or watch. Now, in a turnabout, advertising is in increasingly being presented as entertainment and surprisingly the idea of all ads all the time is gaining some favor.
One reason is proliferation of broadband internet connections, which make it easier for computer users to watch or downloads clips. That is enabling media companies, agencies and advertisers to create sites devoted to commercials and other forms of advertising for amusements, rather than hard core huckstering.
Oddly, the trend runs counter to another powerful impulse among consumers: the growing desire to avoid advertising. TV viewers, for instance are spending billions of dollars a year for TiVo and other digital video recorders that help them zip through or zap commercials, and click through rates for banner web ads are declining.
The difference between ‘watching a commercial’ on a website and in ones living room is that online is “an opt-in audience” and he/she is choosing to be there. It’s the nature of the web to offer a destination one can go to and know what he is going to see.
There’s certainly an audience for entertainment as part of the offering. The numbers seem to support it. For example, veryfunnyads.com, a broadband website operated by the TBS cable network has delivered over 63 million video since its introduction a few months ago.
It’s a very straightforward premise: The viewer is going to have a funny experience, and going to have it every 30 seconds. The funny-ad website is part of a re-branding campaign for the TBS network, which carries the theme “Very funny”. The goal is to cultivate an identity for TBS as a home for sitcoms and humorous movies.
A lot of people talk about zipping through commercials because the average break doesn’t hold the promise of being entertaining.
Putting choice on the table, changes the whole game. Everything is about control. If an ad is interesting the viewer will have the conversation with the brand. If it’s not, it’s a waste of time.
The concept as MTV meets QVC, offering consumers in the intended audience of ages 18-30 product information in the form of entertaining video clips rather than traditional commercials. The clips are to run 2-3 minutes apiece and be presented by hosts considered authorities like cars, clothing or computers.
The only reason of any chance of being successful is transparency. If people know they’re being sold to, you can celebrate the sell. The USA Network unit of NBC Universal, part of General Electric also intends to climb aboard the pitch wagon celebrating advertising as entertainment with an online effort centered on brand centric content. Plans calls for a website next year that will include commercials and movie trailers as well as features like social networking and tools to let visitors make ads of their own. Consumers want to be entertained on their own time, on their own terms.Value to the customer
Value to the customer
There is the most difficult question: “what does the customer consider value / what does he look for when he buys the product?”
There is the most difficult question: “what does the customer consider value / what does he look for when he buys the product?”
Traditional economic theory has answered this question with the one word: price. But this is misleading to be sure there are few products in which prices are not one of the major considerations. But first ‘price’ is not a simple concept.
For a fuse box and switch box manufacturer; his customers, the contractors, are extremely price conscious. Since all the boxes they buy carry a quality guarantee accepted by the trade as well as by building inspectors and consumers, they make few quality distinctions between brands, but shop around for the cheapest product. But to read “cheap” as meaning lowest manufacturer’s price would be a serious mistake. On the contrary, “cheap” for the contractor means a product that has a fairly high manufacturer’s price: a product that (a) cost the least money finally installed in the home(b) achieves this low ultimate cost by requiring a minimum of time and skill for installation, and© has a high manufacturer’s cost to give the contractor a good profit. Wages for skilled electrical labor being very high, low installation costs go a very long way to offset high manufacturer’s price. Furthermore under the billing tradition of the trade, the contractor makes a little money out of the labor required for installation. If he is not his own skilled worker, he bills his customer for little more than his actual wage costs. He makes his profit traditionally by charging double the manufacturers price for the product he installs. That product that will give him the lowest cost to the home owner with the lowest installation cost and the highest mark-up on the product that is, the highest manufacturer’s price is therefore the cheapest to him. And if price is value, then high manufacturer’s price is better value for the electrical contractor.
This may appear to be a complicated price structure. In the American automobile industry, where most new cars are sold in trade against a used car, the “price” is actually a constantly shifting configuration of differentials between the manufacturer’s price for a new car, a second hand and third hand used car, a third hand and fourth hand used car, and so on. And the whole is complicated on the one hand by constantly changing differentials between the amount a dealer will allow on a used car and the price he will ask for it, and on the other hand by the differences in running costs between various makes and sizes. Only advanced mathematics can actually calculate the real automobile “price.”
And, secondly, price is only a part of value. There is the whole range of quality considerations: durability, freedom from break down, the maker’s standing, purity, and etc. high price may actually be value- as in expensive perfumes, expensive furs or exclusive gowns. Finally, what about such concepts of value on the part of the customer as the service he receives? There is little doubt, for instance, that the American housewife today buys appliances largely on the basis of the service experience she or her friends and neighbors have had with other appliances sold under the same brand name. The speed with which she can obtain service, if something goes wrong, the quality of the service and its cost have become major determinations in the buyer decision.
Indeed, what the customer considers value is so complicated that it can only be answered by the customer himself. Management should not even try to guess at it. It should always go to the customer in a systematic quest for the answer.
Who is the customer?
Who is the customer?
The first step towards finding out what our business is to raise the question “who is the customer?” – The actual customer and the potential customer? Where is he? How does he buy? How can he be reached?
The first step towards finding out what our business is to raise the question “who is the customer?” – The actual customer and the potential customer? Where is he? How does he buy? How can he be reached?
One of the companies that had come into existence during the World War- ll decided after the war to go into the production of fuse boxes and switch boxes for residential use. Immediately it had to decide whether its customer should be the electric contractor and builder or the homeowner making his own electric installations and repairs. To reach the first would be a major effort at building a distributive organization; the homeowner could be reached through mail-order catalogues and retail stores of such existing distributive organizations as Sears, Roebuck and Montgomery Ward.
Having decided in favor of the electrical contractor as the larger as well as more stable (though the more difficult and much more competitive) market, the company had to decide where the customer was. This innocent sounding question required major analysis of population and market trends. In fact, to go by past experience would have meant disaster to the company. It would have led them to look for their customer in the big cities and the postwar housing boom was primarily sub-urban. That the company foresaw this and built a marketing organization centering in the suburbs unprecedented in the industry was the first major reason for its success.
The question “how does the customer buy?” was fairly easy to answer in this case: the electrical contractor buys through specialty wholesalers. But the question of how best to reach him was hard indeed. Even after almost ten years of operations the company is still undecided and is still trying out various methods such as salesmen or manufacturer’s agents. It has tried to sell direct to the contractors by mail or out of central sales warehouses of its own. It has tried something never attempted before in the industry: to advertise its product directly to the public so as to build up ultimate consumer demand. These experiments have been successful enough to warrant the suspicion that the first supplier who finds a way around the traditional wholesaling organization of the industry with its high distributive expenses will sweep the market.
The next question is: “what does the customer buy? The Cadillac people say that they make an automobile and their business is the Cadillac Motor Division of General Motors. But the question is whether a man spends five or six thousand dollars on a new Cadillac for his transportation or he is buying primarily prestige. The Cadillac in other words cannot compete with the Chevrolet and the Ford on cost; it may also not compete to take an extreme example with diamonds and mink coats.
Marketers must know their customers. And in order to know the customer the company must collect information and store it in a database and do database marketing. Database marketing is the process of building maintaining and using customer database and other databases (products, suppliers, resellers) for the purpose of contacting, transacting, and building customer relationships.
Ideally, a business database would contain business customers’ past purchases; past volumes, prices, and profits; buyer team member names (and ages, birthdays, hobbies, and favorite foods); status of current contracts; an estimate of the supplier’s share of the customer’s business: competitive suppliers: assessment of competitive strengths and weaknesses in selling and servicing the account; and relevant buying practices, patterns, and policies. For example, a Latin American unit of the Swiss pharmaceutical firm Novartis keeps data on 100,000 of Argentina’s farmers, knows their crop protection chemical purchases, groups them by value, and treats each group differently. A customer database is an organized collection of comprehensive information about individual customers or prospects that is current, accessible, and actionable for such marketing purposes as lead generation qualification; sale of a product or service, or maintenance of the customer relationshipsFlow of communications in an organization
Flow of communications in an organization
Three types of communications in an organization can be classified by their flow: vertical, horizontal and informal. In directing activities of subordinates, the manager issues orders to others further down in the hierarchy. Organization charts show the flow of authority and the channels through which this downward, vertical communication flows. Authority lines are important channels of communication but they comprise only one type of channel. Control reports and memoranda flow back up through the levels of the hierarchy as subordinates are made accountable for their actions. This upward vertical flow of communications is the heart of a control system.
Three types of communications in an organization can be classified by their flow: vertical, horizontal and informal. In directing activities of subordinates, the manager issues orders to others further down in the hierarchy. Organization charts show the flow of authority and the channels through which this downward, vertical communication flows. Authority lines are important channels of communication but they comprise only one type of channel. Control reports and memoranda flow back up through the levels of the hierarchy as subordinates are made accountable for their actions. This upward vertical flow of communications is the heart of a control system.
Horizontal channels provide means by which managers on the same level of an organization coordinate their activities without referring all matters to their superior. Such communication is sarcastically named as a “gang plank”. Because many matters can be handled at the same level of an organization by direct mutual interaction instead of a formal communication thereby speeding action while at the same time relieving superiors of unnecessary problems. Multiple copies of memoranda that flow to all positions needing the information increase coordination of effort.
Formal communications are planned to meet the specific needs of the organization; however, many communication are informal. The grapevine may be helpful for the attainment of organizational goals, but it also serves the social needs of the individuals in the organization. A manager can utilize the grapevine as a positive aid, but may also face problems of rumors, gossip, and other negative outlets of expressions by people in the organization. The grapevine cannot be destroyed; therefore, it should receive conscious attention. Informal channels may be superior for some organizational purposes. A “word” can be dropped at the proper time and may remedy a disciplinary problem without resort to a formal reprimand. Because the speed at which information flows through a grapevine is often astounding, management must seriously consider this third type of communication.
Communication may be viewed as a pattern of interconnecting lines, referred to as networks. Researchers have experimented with various structural patterns of communications in small groups.
Overloading of communication channels can cause the network to be jammed with irrelevant messages. Newer methods of processing and transmitting data have increased the number of communications which flow to executives. Managers can literally be buried in memoranda and reports with no hope of digging themselves out. The answer to this problem lies in monitoring the channels to clear messages in order of priority and importance. More messages do not necessarily mean more information. The communication system should provide for editing devices, or persons, to regulate the quality and quantity of communication with regard to sufficiency of information for decision centers.
Timing of communications can result in problems for management. Some types of messages need to be released so that everyone will receive them simultaneously. Other types of messages being transmitted should be timed sequentially so that receivers will not be confused by issues that are not important to them at the moment.
Routing of communications should provide sufficient information for a decision to be made by the proper persons. The route may determine the content of the message and the language in which it is stated. If official information is first received by the grapevine, or from persons outside the organization, the employee may be placed in an insecure position. If a supervisor receives information from subordinates, it signifies a short circuit in the line of communication from top management, and thus threatens the supervisor’s status and authority. The answers to the problem are in the proper planning of a communication system and in the recognition of its human elements.
Determination of the flow of communication and recognition of the many barriers to good communication is basic to the communicating function. Communication networks, communication channels, and barriers to communication must continually receive attention.Friday, September 21, 2007
Right Business or change required
Right Business or change required
The analysis of “the business” is not yet complete and Management still has to ask: “Are we in the right business or should we change our business?
Of course, many companies get into a new business by accident; they stumble into it rather than steer into it. But the decision to shift major energies and resources to new products and away from old ones, the decisions, in other words, to make a business out of an accident always based on the analysis: What is our business and what should it be?
A successful Midwestern insurance company analyzing the needs of their customers came up with the conclusion that traditional life insurance leaves unsatisfied a major want of the customer: a guarantee of the purchasing power of his dollars. Life insurance and annuities, in other words, need to be supplemented by equity investment by means of a “package” containing both standard life insurance, or pension in dollars, and an equity investment. To fulfill this want the life insurance company bought a small but well managed investment trust and now offers its certificates to the holders of its insurance policies and pension contracts as well as to new customers. The company has not only gone into the business of managing equity investments; it has gone into the business of merchandising investment trust certificates.
Another example is the shift from sales focus to service focus recently made by a business publisher. This company, which publishes reports for businessmen on economic conditions, taxes, labor relations and government regulation, underwent tremendous expansion during World War II; and the expansion continued at first in the postwar period. But while new sales continued to rise year after, total business volume began to stagnate around 1949; and profits began actually to go down. Analysis showed that low renewal rate was to blame. Not only did the sales force have to sell ever harder to keep total volume from slipping; the high cost of selling renewals threatened to eat up the profits from new sales. What was needed was actually a complete shift in management’s concept of the nature of the business from one of selling new customers to one of keeping old customers. This required a change in objectives; where new sales quotas had formerly been dramatized, emphasis is now on renewal quotas. It required a shift in major from selling the customer to servicing him. It required a change in organization structure; the regional sales managers were converted into managers primarily charged with renewal responsibility and with both a sales and a service manager reporting to them. It required a complete change in salesman compensation, in the criteria of selection and in the methods of training salesman. It required changes in the editorial content of the publications with more space given to long range economic trends and long range business planning.
Changes in the nature of the business arising out of innovation are too well known to require much documentation. All major enterprises in the engineering and chemical fields have largely grown by projecting innovation into new businesses. The same is true of insurance companies; the growth of the successful ones is largely traceable to their ability to develop new business on the basis of innovations in insurance coverage. The recent almost explosive growth of health, hospitalization and medical expense insurance is an example. Productivity considerations, too, may demand a change in the nature of the business.
A small wholesaler of Christmas toys added an entirely different business, the wholesaling of beachwear, to employ all year round his major economic resource: his trained sales force. Here utilization of time demanded adding a new business.
To improve the productive utilization of his resources another small manufacturer decided to give up making machine tool parts entirely and instead confined himself to being a consultant on welding problems and techniques. His manufacturing, while profitable, was no more so than that of hundreds of other small companies.
The analysis of “the business” is not yet complete and Management still has to ask: “Are we in the right business or should we change our business?
Of course, many companies get into a new business by accident; they stumble into it rather than steer into it. But the decision to shift major energies and resources to new products and away from old ones, the decisions, in other words, to make a business out of an accident always based on the analysis: What is our business and what should it be?
A successful Midwestern insurance company analyzing the needs of their customers came up with the conclusion that traditional life insurance leaves unsatisfied a major want of the customer: a guarantee of the purchasing power of his dollars. Life insurance and annuities, in other words, need to be supplemented by equity investment by means of a “package” containing both standard life insurance, or pension in dollars, and an equity investment. To fulfill this want the life insurance company bought a small but well managed investment trust and now offers its certificates to the holders of its insurance policies and pension contracts as well as to new customers. The company has not only gone into the business of managing equity investments; it has gone into the business of merchandising investment trust certificates.
Another example is the shift from sales focus to service focus recently made by a business publisher. This company, which publishes reports for businessmen on economic conditions, taxes, labor relations and government regulation, underwent tremendous expansion during World War II; and the expansion continued at first in the postwar period. But while new sales continued to rise year after, total business volume began to stagnate around 1949; and profits began actually to go down. Analysis showed that low renewal rate was to blame. Not only did the sales force have to sell ever harder to keep total volume from slipping; the high cost of selling renewals threatened to eat up the profits from new sales. What was needed was actually a complete shift in management’s concept of the nature of the business from one of selling new customers to one of keeping old customers. This required a change in objectives; where new sales quotas had formerly been dramatized, emphasis is now on renewal quotas. It required a shift in major from selling the customer to servicing him. It required a change in organization structure; the regional sales managers were converted into managers primarily charged with renewal responsibility and with both a sales and a service manager reporting to them. It required a complete change in salesman compensation, in the criteria of selection and in the methods of training salesman. It required changes in the editorial content of the publications with more space given to long range economic trends and long range business planning.
Changes in the nature of the business arising out of innovation are too well known to require much documentation. All major enterprises in the engineering and chemical fields have largely grown by projecting innovation into new businesses. The same is true of insurance companies; the growth of the successful ones is largely traceable to their ability to develop new business on the basis of innovations in insurance coverage. The recent almost explosive growth of health, hospitalization and medical expense insurance is an example. Productivity considerations, too, may demand a change in the nature of the business.
A small wholesaler of Christmas toys added an entirely different business, the wholesaling of beachwear, to employ all year round his major economic resource: his trained sales force. Here utilization of time demanded adding a new business.
To improve the productive utilization of his resources another small manufacturer decided to give up making machine tool parts entirely and instead confined himself to being a consultant on welding problems and techniques. His manufacturing, while profitable, was no more so than that of hundreds of other small companies.
Criteria of performance for the operations management System
Criteria of performance for the operations management System
Three objectives or criteria of performance of the production and operations management system are:
The case for ‘efficiency’ or ‘productive’ utilization of resources is clear. Whether, the organization is in the private sector or in the public sector, is a ‘manufacturing’ or a ‘service’ organization, or a ‘profit making’ or a ‘non-profit’ organization, the productive or optimal utilization of resource inputs is always a desired objective. However, effectiveness has more dimensions to it. It involves optimality in the fulfillment of multiple objectives, with a possible prioritization within the objectives. This is not difficult to imagine because modern production and operations management has to serve the so-called target customers, the people working within, as also the region, country or society at large. In order to survive the production/operations management system, has not only to be ‘profitable’ and/or ‘efficient’, but, must necessarily satisfy many more ‘customers’. This effectiveness has to be again viewed in terms of the short and long time horizons (depending upon the operations system’s need to remain active for short or long time horizons) – because , what may seem now like an ‘effective’ solution may not be ‘all that effective in the future. In fact, the effectiveness of the operations systems may depend not only upon a multi-objectives satisfaction but also on its flexibility or adaptability to change situations in the future so that it continues to fulfill the desirable objectives set while maintaining optimal efficiency.
Typically, what are the different decisions taken in production and operations management? As a discipline of ‘management’ which involves basically planning, implementation, monitoring, and control, some of the jobs/decisions are involved in the production and operations management.
The production and operations management function can be broadly divided into the following four areas:
This is primarily an aspect pertaining to the long term decision with some spillover into the intermediate region. Although it is not immediately connected with the day-to-day short term decisions handled in the plant, it is an important problem to be addressed in an age of spectacular technological advances, so that an appropriate choice is made by a particular organization to suit its objectives, organizational preparedness and its micro economic perspectives. It is a decision that will have a significant bearing on the management of manpower, machinery, and materials capacity of the operations system and also on the type of disturbances it can create within and outside the system by generating (i) undesirable effects of deterioration, (ii) potentially harmful waste by-products, and (iii) potential risk, to the users and non-users alike, due to a variety of reasons. A technology decision is closely linked with the capacity and system maintenance areas.
The capacity management aspect once framed in a long term perspective revolves around matching of available capacity to demand or making certain capacity available to meet the demand variation. This is done on both the intermediate and short time horizons. Capacity management is very important for achieving the organizational objectives of efficiency, customer service and overall effectiveness. While lower than needed capacity results in non-fulfillment of some of the customer services and other objectives of the production/operations system, a higher than necessary capacity results in lowered utilization of the resources or, in other words, lower efficiency of the conversion operations. There could be a ‘flexibility’ built into the capacity availability, but this depends upon the ‘technology’ decision to some extent and also on the nature of the production/operations system. While some operations systems can ‘flex’ significantly, some have to use inventories as the flexible joint between the rigidities of a system. The degree of flexibility required depends upon the customers demand fluctuations and thus the demand characteristics of the operations system.
As the product variety increases, the systems of production/operations change. In a system characterized by large volume low variety, one have capacities of machinery and men which are inflexible while taking advantage of the repetitive nature of activities involved in the system; whereas in a high variety (and low volume) demand situation, the need is for a flexible manufacturing system even at some cost to the efficiency. It may be noted that the relationship between the flexibility, capacity and the desired system-type holds good even for the ‘service’ industry.
Scheduling is another decision area of operations management which deals with the timing of various activities – time phasing of the filling of the demands or rather, the time phasing of the capacities to meet the demand as it keeps fluctuating.
System Maintenance: The fourth area of operation management is regarding safeguards – that only desired outputs will be produced in the ‘normal’ condition of the physical resources, and that the condition will be maintained normal. This is an important area whereby ‘vigilance’ is maintained so that all the good work of capacity creation, scheduling, etc is not negated.
Three objectives or criteria of performance of the production and operations management system are:
- Customer satisfaction
- Effectiveness
- Efficiency
The case for ‘efficiency’ or ‘productive’ utilization of resources is clear. Whether, the organization is in the private sector or in the public sector, is a ‘manufacturing’ or a ‘service’ organization, or a ‘profit making’ or a ‘non-profit’ organization, the productive or optimal utilization of resource inputs is always a desired objective. However, effectiveness has more dimensions to it. It involves optimality in the fulfillment of multiple objectives, with a possible prioritization within the objectives. This is not difficult to imagine because modern production and operations management has to serve the so-called target customers, the people working within, as also the region, country or society at large. In order to survive the production/operations management system, has not only to be ‘profitable’ and/or ‘efficient’, but, must necessarily satisfy many more ‘customers’. This effectiveness has to be again viewed in terms of the short and long time horizons (depending upon the operations system’s need to remain active for short or long time horizons) – because , what may seem now like an ‘effective’ solution may not be ‘all that effective in the future. In fact, the effectiveness of the operations systems may depend not only upon a multi-objectives satisfaction but also on its flexibility or adaptability to change situations in the future so that it continues to fulfill the desirable objectives set while maintaining optimal efficiency.
Typically, what are the different decisions taken in production and operations management? As a discipline of ‘management’ which involves basically planning, implementation, monitoring, and control, some of the jobs/decisions are involved in the production and operations management.
The production and operations management function can be broadly divided into the following four areas:
- Technology selection and management
- Capacity management
- Scheduling /Timing,Time allocation
- System maintenance
This is primarily an aspect pertaining to the long term decision with some spillover into the intermediate region. Although it is not immediately connected with the day-to-day short term decisions handled in the plant, it is an important problem to be addressed in an age of spectacular technological advances, so that an appropriate choice is made by a particular organization to suit its objectives, organizational preparedness and its micro economic perspectives. It is a decision that will have a significant bearing on the management of manpower, machinery, and materials capacity of the operations system and also on the type of disturbances it can create within and outside the system by generating (i) undesirable effects of deterioration, (ii) potentially harmful waste by-products, and (iii) potential risk, to the users and non-users alike, due to a variety of reasons. A technology decision is closely linked with the capacity and system maintenance areas.
The capacity management aspect once framed in a long term perspective revolves around matching of available capacity to demand or making certain capacity available to meet the demand variation. This is done on both the intermediate and short time horizons. Capacity management is very important for achieving the organizational objectives of efficiency, customer service and overall effectiveness. While lower than needed capacity results in non-fulfillment of some of the customer services and other objectives of the production/operations system, a higher than necessary capacity results in lowered utilization of the resources or, in other words, lower efficiency of the conversion operations. There could be a ‘flexibility’ built into the capacity availability, but this depends upon the ‘technology’ decision to some extent and also on the nature of the production/operations system. While some operations systems can ‘flex’ significantly, some have to use inventories as the flexible joint between the rigidities of a system. The degree of flexibility required depends upon the customers demand fluctuations and thus the demand characteristics of the operations system.
As the product variety increases, the systems of production/operations change. In a system characterized by large volume low variety, one have capacities of machinery and men which are inflexible while taking advantage of the repetitive nature of activities involved in the system; whereas in a high variety (and low volume) demand situation, the need is for a flexible manufacturing system even at some cost to the efficiency. It may be noted that the relationship between the flexibility, capacity and the desired system-type holds good even for the ‘service’ industry.
Scheduling is another decision area of operations management which deals with the timing of various activities – time phasing of the filling of the demands or rather, the time phasing of the capacities to meet the demand as it keeps fluctuating.
System Maintenance: The fourth area of operation management is regarding safeguards – that only desired outputs will be produced in the ‘normal’ condition of the physical resources, and that the condition will be maintained normal. This is an important area whereby ‘vigilance’ is maintained so that all the good work of capacity creation, scheduling, etc is not negated.
Employees or customers
Employees or customers
Paucity of talent coupled with high rate of attrition has forced corporate companies in India to give higher priority to employees than the customers sometimes to ensure their top and bottom lines continue to improve.
Cutting across sectors, employees both in new age and brick and mortar companies are today in the enviable position of choosing their employers, contrary to the dictum of chasing a job. With this reversal in trend companies are thriving to become “employer of choice”.
Finding the right talent has become much harder in today’s world and the employers need to create brand value for themselves among the job seekers. Employers are now working in a small field with very few quality candidates and finding right person is three times harder than it was ten years ago. Employer branding comes as a rescuer in such a scenario.
Waking up to the need, a number of companies, from IT firm HCL to tires to pharmaceutical group Apollo International, are projecting themselves as employer of choice, while valuing their workers more than customers.
At HCL a strong message is conveyed to employees that customers come second to the employees. This imbibes a feeling in the mindsets of employees that they are the priority for their organization. This creates a sense of belongingness and employees on their part feel a sense of responsibility for the organization.
Apollo wants to be known as the most preferred employer of choice mentions a top HR director of the company. The branding is the need for the day, be it for a product, a person or a company. An “inside-out method” is followed, as per which internal branding compels value proposition for external people as well as current employees.
The industry players believe the new focus is helping the companies not just for hiring new as well as right talent, but for also retaining their existing employees. With the companies having a better brand value than others, the existing employees stay on for longer recognizing the brand promise and new candidates are also attracted. In addition, the exercise also saves on hiring and related costs.
The tool has helped up in significantly cutting cost per hire. High reputation in marketplace helps in attracting specialist talent in the present difficult market. This tool fosters employee productivity and helps to retain and attract employees.
However, the rule is not the same for each and every company. To create a brand value, the company first needs to be good at its original business.
Firstly a company has to be successful at its business. Also, they should walk their talk by running an organization which has a sense of purpose and which treats employees fairly based on the current market value.
The dividends reaped, however, are significant for the companies that have successfully implemented this model.
A fastest growing IT corporate company in India is projecting itself as a young dynamic company with a workforce that could pay a leading role in the information technology sector, and this projection has helped with the company becoming the fastest growing IT company in India, managing to be in the top five slots for the last few years.
Here we would like to clarify that customers are not neglected for the sake of employees. It is while customers are given certain privileges the same benefits are also passed on to the employees subject to feasibility and practical possibility. For example in case of 5 star hotels the facilities given to their guests is even extended to the employee and his family members subject to the rules even guests may have to follow. In case of a IT company a club facility meant for top management and their high value customers is noe being extended to employees beyond a certain grade. Another IT company provided a chauffeur driven car to an employee of Assistant manager and above category on his or her marriage anniversary day at company’s expense.
Paucity of talent coupled with high rate of attrition has forced corporate companies in India to give higher priority to employees than the customers sometimes to ensure their top and bottom lines continue to improve.
Cutting across sectors, employees both in new age and brick and mortar companies are today in the enviable position of choosing their employers, contrary to the dictum of chasing a job. With this reversal in trend companies are thriving to become “employer of choice”.
Finding the right talent has become much harder in today’s world and the employers need to create brand value for themselves among the job seekers. Employers are now working in a small field with very few quality candidates and finding right person is three times harder than it was ten years ago. Employer branding comes as a rescuer in such a scenario.
Waking up to the need, a number of companies, from IT firm HCL to tires to pharmaceutical group Apollo International, are projecting themselves as employer of choice, while valuing their workers more than customers.
At HCL a strong message is conveyed to employees that customers come second to the employees. This imbibes a feeling in the mindsets of employees that they are the priority for their organization. This creates a sense of belongingness and employees on their part feel a sense of responsibility for the organization.
Apollo wants to be known as the most preferred employer of choice mentions a top HR director of the company. The branding is the need for the day, be it for a product, a person or a company. An “inside-out method” is followed, as per which internal branding compels value proposition for external people as well as current employees.
The industry players believe the new focus is helping the companies not just for hiring new as well as right talent, but for also retaining their existing employees. With the companies having a better brand value than others, the existing employees stay on for longer recognizing the brand promise and new candidates are also attracted. In addition, the exercise also saves on hiring and related costs.
The tool has helped up in significantly cutting cost per hire. High reputation in marketplace helps in attracting specialist talent in the present difficult market. This tool fosters employee productivity and helps to retain and attract employees.
However, the rule is not the same for each and every company. To create a brand value, the company first needs to be good at its original business.
Firstly a company has to be successful at its business. Also, they should walk their talk by running an organization which has a sense of purpose and which treats employees fairly based on the current market value.
The dividends reaped, however, are significant for the companies that have successfully implemented this model.
A fastest growing IT corporate company in India is projecting itself as a young dynamic company with a workforce that could pay a leading role in the information technology sector, and this projection has helped with the company becoming the fastest growing IT company in India, managing to be in the top five slots for the last few years.
Here we would like to clarify that customers are not neglected for the sake of employees. It is while customers are given certain privileges the same benefits are also passed on to the employees subject to feasibility and practical possibility. For example in case of 5 star hotels the facilities given to their guests is even extended to the employee and his family members subject to the rules even guests may have to follow. In case of a IT company a club facility meant for top management and their high value customers is noe being extended to employees beyond a certain grade. Another IT company provided a chauffeur driven car to an employee of Assistant manager and above category on his or her marriage anniversary day at company’s expense.
Examples of Items You Can Use for Employee Recognition
Examples of Items You Can Use for Employee Recognition
Employee recognition is best approached creatively. While money is an important form of employee recognition, ideas for employee recognition are limited only by your imagination. Use the following ideas as you approach the provision of employee recognition.
Money
Base salary
Bonuses
Gift certificates
Cash awards
Written Words
Handwritten thank you notes
A letter of appreciation in the employee file
Handwritten cards to mark celebratory occasions
Recognition posted on the employee bulletin board
Contribution noted in the company newsletter
Positive Attention From Supervisory Staff
Stop by an individual’s workstation or office to talk informally
Provide frequent positive performance feedback – at least weekly
Provide public praise at a staff meeting
Take the employee out to lunch.
Encourage Employee Development
Send people to conferences and seminars
Ask people to present a summary of what they learned at a conference or seminar at a department meeting
Work out a written employee development plan
Make career development commitments and a schedule
The Work Itself
Provide cross training opportunities
Provide more of the kinds of work the employee likes and less of the work they do not like
Provide opportunities for empowerment and self-management
Ask the employee to represent the department at an important, external meeting
Have the employee represent the department on an inter-departmental committee
Provide opportunities for the employee to determine their own goals and direction
Participation in idea-generation and decision making
Gifts
Company logo merchandise such as shirts, hats, mugs, and jackets
Gift certificates to local stores
The opportunity to select items from a catalog
The ability to exchange "positive points" for merchandise or entry into a drawing for merchandise
Symbols and Honors
Framed or unframed certificates to hang on the wall or file
Engraved plaques
Larger work area or office
More and better equipment
Provide status symbols, whatever they are in your organization
Employee recognition is best approached creatively. While money is an important form of employee recognition, ideas for employee recognition are limited only by your imagination. Use the following ideas as you approach the provision of employee recognition.
Money
Base salary
Bonuses
Gift certificates
Cash awards
Written Words
Handwritten thank you notes
A letter of appreciation in the employee file
Handwritten cards to mark celebratory occasions
Recognition posted on the employee bulletin board
Contribution noted in the company newsletter
Positive Attention From Supervisory Staff
Stop by an individual’s workstation or office to talk informally
Provide frequent positive performance feedback – at least weekly
Provide public praise at a staff meeting
Take the employee out to lunch.
Encourage Employee Development
Send people to conferences and seminars
Ask people to present a summary of what they learned at a conference or seminar at a department meeting
Work out a written employee development plan
Make career development commitments and a schedule
The Work Itself
Provide cross training opportunities
Provide more of the kinds of work the employee likes and less of the work they do not like
Provide opportunities for empowerment and self-management
Ask the employee to represent the department at an important, external meeting
Have the employee represent the department on an inter-departmental committee
Provide opportunities for the employee to determine their own goals and direction
Participation in idea-generation and decision making
Gifts
Company logo merchandise such as shirts, hats, mugs, and jackets
Gift certificates to local stores
The opportunity to select items from a catalog
The ability to exchange "positive points" for merchandise or entry into a drawing for merchandise
Symbols and Honors
Framed or unframed certificates to hang on the wall or file
Engraved plaques
Larger work area or office
More and better equipment
Provide status symbols, whatever they are in your organization
Shortage of talent - higher compensation
Shortage of talent - higher compensation
Many IT companies in India have offered higher salary increases during the increment season of this year, compared to what they did the year before. The increases appear to be particularly high at mid levels, where talent scarcity is becoming pronounced. More so in smaller companies, for whom retaining talent has become extremely challenging.
"i-Gate" has announced an average increment of 16% this year against 13% last year. TCS has increased it by 15% this year, 4 % points higher than a year ago; HCL has hiked it by 15% as against 12% last year. Mid-sized companies like Subex Systems have been giving 20% hikes across the board for the last two years, while its top performers have got a 30-35% increment.
But despite the high pay packet structure in MNC companies, India still offers a low cost arbitrage which in turn has forced Indian biggies to push up their salary levels.
Infosys’ average hike this year is said to be roughly the same as last year, at 12-15%, but the hikes for the top performers is whopping 30%, against about 8% at lower levels.
HR head of Infosys explains this difference on the grounds that ‘supply to the entry level remains god, but the supply of mid-level people is challenging. Wipro, which will announce its increments only later this year (it had given an average hike of 12% during Q3 of last fiscal),is expected to follow a similar strategy . HR head at Wipro, says when there are constraints on the budget, it’s important to differentiate top performers from the average.
While most employees are likely to rejoice at such salary increases, companies are far from enthusiastic. The issue now is how long they will be able to maintain these levels of increases. The general cost factor is becoming a concern said a COO of another company. In the salary game, everybody is a loser considering particularly that billing rates have not gone up dramatically.
HR managers in the biotech field appear to have realized that they would not be able to attract and keep top talent if companies do not open their purse strings long and wide. Some surprisingly pleasant facts expressed by the concerned top management personnel are,
A Rs. 2.5-3 lac package is now not foreign to the sector even for a fresher and in a year he is able to scale up to a Rs. 4-6 lac bracket. And the scene is getting all the same, especially for those who add to their qualifications on a regular basis, given the rapidly evolving technologies.
At the team leader stage the salary often crosses the Rs. 10Lakh mark, and the project head can look forward to pocketing a Rs. 25-lakh annual sum.
At the senior levels there has never been a cap . Senior biotechnologists whose skills are difficult to replace with get paid handsomely. In a company of India called Biocon alone there are at least four people who earn more than Rs. 1 cr ($ 250,000) per annum.
The biotech sector has money It’s only a matter of companies wanting to part with it. That can only happen if they find an exceptional talent. Companies seem to have realized the need to take care of the fresh candidates. In case of IT its becoming difficult between retaining employees and clients as the billing rates have not gone up to meet recurring increases in compensation to employees.
Many IT companies in India have offered higher salary increases during the increment season of this year, compared to what they did the year before. The increases appear to be particularly high at mid levels, where talent scarcity is becoming pronounced. More so in smaller companies, for whom retaining talent has become extremely challenging.
"i-Gate" has announced an average increment of 16% this year against 13% last year. TCS has increased it by 15% this year, 4 % points higher than a year ago; HCL has hiked it by 15% as against 12% last year. Mid-sized companies like Subex Systems have been giving 20% hikes across the board for the last two years, while its top performers have got a 30-35% increment.
But despite the high pay packet structure in MNC companies, India still offers a low cost arbitrage which in turn has forced Indian biggies to push up their salary levels.
Infosys’ average hike this year is said to be roughly the same as last year, at 12-15%, but the hikes for the top performers is whopping 30%, against about 8% at lower levels.
HR head of Infosys explains this difference on the grounds that ‘supply to the entry level remains god, but the supply of mid-level people is challenging. Wipro, which will announce its increments only later this year (it had given an average hike of 12% during Q3 of last fiscal),is expected to follow a similar strategy . HR head at Wipro, says when there are constraints on the budget, it’s important to differentiate top performers from the average.
While most employees are likely to rejoice at such salary increases, companies are far from enthusiastic. The issue now is how long they will be able to maintain these levels of increases. The general cost factor is becoming a concern said a COO of another company. In the salary game, everybody is a loser considering particularly that billing rates have not gone up dramatically.
HR managers in the biotech field appear to have realized that they would not be able to attract and keep top talent if companies do not open their purse strings long and wide. Some surprisingly pleasant facts expressed by the concerned top management personnel are,
A Rs. 2.5-3 lac package is now not foreign to the sector even for a fresher and in a year he is able to scale up to a Rs. 4-6 lac bracket. And the scene is getting all the same, especially for those who add to their qualifications on a regular basis, given the rapidly evolving technologies.
At the team leader stage the salary often crosses the Rs. 10Lakh mark, and the project head can look forward to pocketing a Rs. 25-lakh annual sum.
At the senior levels there has never been a cap . Senior biotechnologists whose skills are difficult to replace with get paid handsomely. In a company of India called Biocon alone there are at least four people who earn more than Rs. 1 cr ($ 250,000) per annum.
The biotech sector has money It’s only a matter of companies wanting to part with it. That can only happen if they find an exceptional talent. Companies seem to have realized the need to take care of the fresh candidates. In case of IT its becoming difficult between retaining employees and clients as the billing rates have not gone up to meet recurring increases in compensation to employees.
Living to Work or Working to Live?
Living to Work or Working to Live?
This is a question that most professional managers end up asking themselves somewhere along their careers. Of course, there are no easy answers but it may be illuminative to take a look at some of the responses to this question that thinkers have come up with in recent times as also in the past.
Modern economists try to seek answers to the question through a framework of a theory of market forces and Game Theory and while this ends up including the issue of mate selection and marriage as well, the primary focus is on the market factors that regulate the trade-off between work and leisure. The basic model is known as the backward bending supply curve of labor.
This approach leads to the conclusion that as a particular society or economy develops, more and more people spend more time on leisure, or, in other words they can be said to be working to live than living to work in such societies.
Statistical studies seem to bear this out, or at any rate, the researchers who did the studies claim that they do so. For example, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January, 2006, found that over the period 1965 to 2003 leisure for men increased 6-8 hours a week while for women the increase was 4-8 hours a week which translates into 5 to 10 weeks of additional vacation per year assuming a 40 hour week.
Similarly, a separate study (the results are not exactly comparable but captures the trend) in 2006 by the Leisure Economics Research Center of the People’s University, Beijing found that over the past 20 years, leisure had increased by about 5 hours a week for men while for women the increase was more at 6-7 hours a week.
In India, the reverse seems to be happening. More and more people seem to be spending more time at the office, less time with their families, less time for vacations and less time for themselves. While this may be true for certain sectors of the economy, which may be intrinsically more stressful, any overall study of work and leisure across the entire Indian population may show that the Indian economy too confirms to this direct correlation between development and leisure. Other indirect measures captured by the human development index would suggest that this is so.
Be that as it may, modern companies recognize the issue as a management problem that should be addressed. And what better way to address it but try and blur the distinction between leisure and work? Concepts such as “work as fun” cover many types of activities that managements, leaders and HR managers can adopt to help reduce the existential angst that day to day stress generates in most employees.
The so-called “casualization” of the workplace, in terms of dress code – more formal wear giving way to less formal wear, behavioral norms – superiors trying to be more accessible than in the past, etiquette – more informal ways of interacting with colleagues, has been a direct result of conscious attempts to blur the distinction between work and leisure.
Many new age organizations relying heavily on information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been able to introduce flexi-timings and grant employees the freedom to work from anywhere including from home. This again tends to blur the distinction between work and leisure.
To most employees, however, it always seems as if the owner of the business can have all the leisure while employees do all the work. The ownership issue is certainly important. Many companies, therefore, have an employee stock ownership plan which seeks to address this as well, to the extent possible!
Whichever way we may look at it, in modern day meritocracy there is no escaping from this existential angst.
Ultimately, it is a matter of individual circumstances and choice: how much leisure can you afford now in the trade-off between work and leisure? It may always be more prudent to get back to work now and think of leisure later, especially now that you have finished reading this article at leisure!
This is a question that most professional managers end up asking themselves somewhere along their careers. Of course, there are no easy answers but it may be illuminative to take a look at some of the responses to this question that thinkers have come up with in recent times as also in the past.
Modern economists try to seek answers to the question through a framework of a theory of market forces and Game Theory and while this ends up including the issue of mate selection and marriage as well, the primary focus is on the market factors that regulate the trade-off between work and leisure. The basic model is known as the backward bending supply curve of labor.
This approach leads to the conclusion that as a particular society or economy develops, more and more people spend more time on leisure, or, in other words they can be said to be working to live than living to work in such societies.
Statistical studies seem to bear this out, or at any rate, the researchers who did the studies claim that they do so. For example, a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, January, 2006, found that over the period 1965 to 2003 leisure for men increased 6-8 hours a week while for women the increase was 4-8 hours a week which translates into 5 to 10 weeks of additional vacation per year assuming a 40 hour week.
Similarly, a separate study (the results are not exactly comparable but captures the trend) in 2006 by the Leisure Economics Research Center of the People’s University, Beijing found that over the past 20 years, leisure had increased by about 5 hours a week for men while for women the increase was more at 6-7 hours a week.
In India, the reverse seems to be happening. More and more people seem to be spending more time at the office, less time with their families, less time for vacations and less time for themselves. While this may be true for certain sectors of the economy, which may be intrinsically more stressful, any overall study of work and leisure across the entire Indian population may show that the Indian economy too confirms to this direct correlation between development and leisure. Other indirect measures captured by the human development index would suggest that this is so.
Be that as it may, modern companies recognize the issue as a management problem that should be addressed. And what better way to address it but try and blur the distinction between leisure and work? Concepts such as “work as fun” cover many types of activities that managements, leaders and HR managers can adopt to help reduce the existential angst that day to day stress generates in most employees.
The so-called “casualization” of the workplace, in terms of dress code – more formal wear giving way to less formal wear, behavioral norms – superiors trying to be more accessible than in the past, etiquette – more informal ways of interacting with colleagues, has been a direct result of conscious attempts to blur the distinction between work and leisure.
Many new age organizations relying heavily on information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been able to introduce flexi-timings and grant employees the freedom to work from anywhere including from home. This again tends to blur the distinction between work and leisure.
To most employees, however, it always seems as if the owner of the business can have all the leisure while employees do all the work. The ownership issue is certainly important. Many companies, therefore, have an employee stock ownership plan which seeks to address this as well, to the extent possible!
Whichever way we may look at it, in modern day meritocracy there is no escaping from this existential angst.
Ultimately, it is a matter of individual circumstances and choice: how much leisure can you afford now in the trade-off between work and leisure? It may always be more prudent to get back to work now and think of leisure later, especially now that you have finished reading this article at leisure!
Types of communication problems
Types of communication problems
Many writers do not identify the communicating functions as a separate managerial process; all emphasize controlling a distinguishable function. In this article we are discussing the communicating functions because they are, in fact, closely related. Both distinguishable function and communicating function are also closely related to the emerging importance of managing information and computers.
Communicating:
Managers spend major percentage of their time transmitting ideas to others, orally and in writing. They most often use the symbols of their language but also employ mathematical symbols, code, sign their ideas. Other managerial functions, especially controlling and organizing, involve communication problems. Communication serves as a link process by which parts of a system are tied together. The subject has received the attention of many specialists, including the technical communications engineer, the linguist, the psychologist, the sociologist, and the organization theorists.
Communicating as used in this article is a managerial function because it represents a basic human characteristic required by all managers in performing their jobs. In fact all managerial functions involve human element. Today managing information is centered on computers and non-human devices and thus is distinguished from communicating and other managerial functions. The interface between human beings and computers is an intriguing issue for the present, we assume that managers will continue to manage computers rather than be managed by computers.
Types of Communication Problems:
All communication problems can be treated in three basic groups:
Cybernetics has contributed new insights into answers to the first group of problems. The terms in this new discipline have precise meaning to the communication engineer but may be confusing to the manager. Several important distinctions made by the communications engineer will provide an introduction to this interesting subject and will hint at some fundamental ideas of use to manager in transmitting messages.
In cybernetics information has nothing to do with the meaning (the subject of the second group of problems). It is quantitative measure of the amount of order in a system and is related not to what you do say but what you can say about a matter. If the system is highly disorganized, a message can say a great deal. Information is a measure of one’s freedom of choice when one selects a message. If there is no freedom of choice there is no information. If “Q” is always followed by a “U” in a language, “U” is perfectly predictable and, therefore, no information is added. The more probable is the message, the less information it gives. If a subordinate always sends his superior a message “Things are fine”, the superior can predict the message before he receives it and thus receives no information. The more disordered the situation is, the more information is required to describe it completely.
The idea of noise in information includes the undesirable uncertainties in the transmission process. “Snow” on television, “static” on the radio, or any interference in the receipt of a message increases uncertainty. Redundancy is used to help combat noise and insure against mistakes. Redundancy is anything that makes the transmission more predictable. Redundancy provides some structure (the opposite of randomness) that will increase the probability that the message will be received. Because all transmission of message is subject to the “loss of information” through noise the sender of the message should be conscious of the need for redundancy and the minimization of the number of times that the message is to be retransmitted.
Many writers do not identify the communicating functions as a separate managerial process; all emphasize controlling a distinguishable function. In this article we are discussing the communicating functions because they are, in fact, closely related. Both distinguishable function and communicating function are also closely related to the emerging importance of managing information and computers.
Communicating:
Managers spend major percentage of their time transmitting ideas to others, orally and in writing. They most often use the symbols of their language but also employ mathematical symbols, code, sign their ideas. Other managerial functions, especially controlling and organizing, involve communication problems. Communication serves as a link process by which parts of a system are tied together. The subject has received the attention of many specialists, including the technical communications engineer, the linguist, the psychologist, the sociologist, and the organization theorists.
Communicating as used in this article is a managerial function because it represents a basic human characteristic required by all managers in performing their jobs. In fact all managerial functions involve human element. Today managing information is centered on computers and non-human devices and thus is distinguished from communicating and other managerial functions. The interface between human beings and computers is an intriguing issue for the present, we assume that managers will continue to manage computers rather than be managed by computers.
Types of Communication Problems:
All communication problems can be treated in three basic groups:
- The technical problem of how accurately the symbols can be transmitted.
- The semantic problem of how the symbols convey the desired meaning.
- The effectiveness problem of how meaning affects the desired results.
Cybernetics has contributed new insights into answers to the first group of problems. The terms in this new discipline have precise meaning to the communication engineer but may be confusing to the manager. Several important distinctions made by the communications engineer will provide an introduction to this interesting subject and will hint at some fundamental ideas of use to manager in transmitting messages.
In cybernetics information has nothing to do with the meaning (the subject of the second group of problems). It is quantitative measure of the amount of order in a system and is related not to what you do say but what you can say about a matter. If the system is highly disorganized, a message can say a great deal. Information is a measure of one’s freedom of choice when one selects a message. If there is no freedom of choice there is no information. If “Q” is always followed by a “U” in a language, “U” is perfectly predictable and, therefore, no information is added. The more probable is the message, the less information it gives. If a subordinate always sends his superior a message “Things are fine”, the superior can predict the message before he receives it and thus receives no information. The more disordered the situation is, the more information is required to describe it completely.
The idea of noise in information includes the undesirable uncertainties in the transmission process. “Snow” on television, “static” on the radio, or any interference in the receipt of a message increases uncertainty. Redundancy is used to help combat noise and insure against mistakes. Redundancy is anything that makes the transmission more predictable. Redundancy provides some structure (the opposite of randomness) that will increase the probability that the message will be received. Because all transmission of message is subject to the “loss of information” through noise the sender of the message should be conscious of the need for redundancy and the minimization of the number of times that the message is to be retransmitted.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
BPO Policies: 5 Emerging Trends
BPO Policies: 5 Emerging Trends
Watch out for the next three years! A turbulent phase of global consolidation and aggregation should see Indian BPOs and KPOs emerge bigger and stronger. Some may even become MNCs and global industry leaders. Human resources will, however, be the key challenge at the industry level as well as for the individual HR professional. Successful HR managers will have to be prepared for five emerging trends.
Here are a few key trends which he claims may get overlooked. The top five are:
HR managers who are better prepared to handle these trends are more likely to perform rather than perish. That means, they must be prepared for:
M&As
Scalability
Talent War
Multicultural Ops
Brand Building
Not that all factors will be applicable to all organisations in BPO/KPO space. Each business will have its own strengths and opportunities and weaknesses and threats. The individual HR manager too has to asses what his/her organization specifically needs. A proactive manager will try to outguess the board and keep some plans ready even before they are actually asked for.
An M&A human resource impact study keeping in mind any one/several possible victims/predators in mind is a good example. M&As are complex and traumatic affairs from a HR point of view. In case one’s organization has any chance of becoming a participant in any M&A event in the near future, a little early planning can prove to be a big help.
Similarly, being all ready to ramp up overnight, as it were, due to some early preparation on your part, can only earn you kudos from the guys who matter. The same can be said about each of the other big trends such as the possibility of talent war or multicultural and multinational operations. The key issue is to correctly asses which way your own organization is headed and then to be specifically prepared for it.
Some companies will not bother much about brand building – either because they don’t need it or care for it, for some reason or the other – but most others would do so. That would mean an additional set of headaches for HR professionals. Apart from the many intangible values that add up to create robust brand equities, some very necessary and tangible aspects are getting certifications of various kinds, following industry best practices and maintaining/improving delivery standards. Achieving these goals will require constant development of HR systems and processes. In plain English that simply means more work for the HR professionals.
Managing human resources in an HR and knowledge intensive BPO/KPO industry was never easy, but with a period of turbulence about to set in, its just going to get tougher! But then being forewarned is being forearmed – just ride out the storm.
Watch out for the next three years! A turbulent phase of global consolidation and aggregation should see Indian BPOs and KPOs emerge bigger and stronger. Some may even become MNCs and global industry leaders. Human resources will, however, be the key challenge at the industry level as well as for the individual HR professional. Successful HR managers will have to be prepared for five emerging trends.
Here are a few key trends which he claims may get overlooked. The top five are:
- The next three years will see a lot of mergers and acquisitions in BPO space worldwide.
- Most new voice/data BPOs will be at least 1000 seaters while KPOs serving any specific domain, 100 seaters.
- Attrition will rise in the middle and top levels leading to a talent war.
- Most top Indian BPO/KPO companies would have multicultural/multinational operations/workforce.
- Bottomline: Those who focus on brand building will perform, others will perish.
HR managers who are better prepared to handle these trends are more likely to perform rather than perish. That means, they must be prepared for:
M&As
Scalability
Talent War
Multicultural Ops
Brand Building
Not that all factors will be applicable to all organisations in BPO/KPO space. Each business will have its own strengths and opportunities and weaknesses and threats. The individual HR manager too has to asses what his/her organization specifically needs. A proactive manager will try to outguess the board and keep some plans ready even before they are actually asked for.
An M&A human resource impact study keeping in mind any one/several possible victims/predators in mind is a good example. M&As are complex and traumatic affairs from a HR point of view. In case one’s organization has any chance of becoming a participant in any M&A event in the near future, a little early planning can prove to be a big help.
Similarly, being all ready to ramp up overnight, as it were, due to some early preparation on your part, can only earn you kudos from the guys who matter. The same can be said about each of the other big trends such as the possibility of talent war or multicultural and multinational operations. The key issue is to correctly asses which way your own organization is headed and then to be specifically prepared for it.
Some companies will not bother much about brand building – either because they don’t need it or care for it, for some reason or the other – but most others would do so. That would mean an additional set of headaches for HR professionals. Apart from the many intangible values that add up to create robust brand equities, some very necessary and tangible aspects are getting certifications of various kinds, following industry best practices and maintaining/improving delivery standards. Achieving these goals will require constant development of HR systems and processes. In plain English that simply means more work for the HR professionals.
Managing human resources in an HR and knowledge intensive BPO/KPO industry was never easy, but with a period of turbulence about to set in, its just going to get tougher! But then being forewarned is being forearmed – just ride out the storm.
Resume writing tips - types of resume
Resume Writing Tips:
There is more to a C.V. than meets the eye. Your C.V. is your first communication with your prospective employer. It serves as a personal advertisement for you and it must be organized in a manner to make it interesting, informative, yet brief, and good enough to take you to the next stage i.e. ‘INTERVIEW’.
There are Two Types of C.V.’s :
• Chronological Format:
Here the experience is given in the reverse chronological order & with specific dates.
• Functional Format:
Experienced group by functions / dept – e.g.- Sales – Mktg, Purchase, Personnel, etc. no specific dates.
We recommend the chronological format as Employers & Personnel Manager are used to it. Based on your experience, make a choice. It can also be a combination of both.
Don’t miss on any essential information that should be there in every C.V. Be factually accurate in your CV. Most critical , do not misrepresent yourself.
Tips
• Always accompany your resume with a cover letter.
• Do not fake your resume.
• Simplicity is the key, Use a clear, simple. Legible font.
• Use good paper; it does not have to be the most expensive kind.
• Check your grammar and spelling.
• Do not write, "Resume" on your resume.
• Do give your full name, address and telephone number, so the employer can contact you.
• Write a strong statement of your goals taking care not to exaggerate.
• Keep your resume concise but informative as far as stating your education goes. List out special skills and highlight any extraordinary job skills you might have. Use bullets if necessary.
• If you are looking for an entry level position, put your educational qualification right after your goal.
• If you have experience, list your jobs first, starting with the most recent one. Indicate how long you were at each job. Mention all projects (however small) you worked on at each job, your role in the project, how you accomplished the assigned tasks.
• Mention awards and honours you may have received, papers you may presented.
• If you are just out of college, and do not have any experience, elaborate on projects you may have worked on. This will give the employer an idea of how you may fare in job atmosphere.
• Mention that references will be available upon request.
There is more to a C.V. than meets the eye. Your C.V. is your first communication with your prospective employer. It serves as a personal advertisement for you and it must be organized in a manner to make it interesting, informative, yet brief, and good enough to take you to the next stage i.e. ‘INTERVIEW’.
There are Two Types of C.V.’s :
• Chronological Format:
Here the experience is given in the reverse chronological order & with specific dates.
• Functional Format:
Experienced group by functions / dept – e.g.- Sales – Mktg, Purchase, Personnel, etc. no specific dates.
We recommend the chronological format as Employers & Personnel Manager are used to it. Based on your experience, make a choice. It can also be a combination of both.
Don’t miss on any essential information that should be there in every C.V. Be factually accurate in your CV. Most critical , do not misrepresent yourself.
Tips
• Always accompany your resume with a cover letter.
• Do not fake your resume.
• Simplicity is the key, Use a clear, simple. Legible font.
• Use good paper; it does not have to be the most expensive kind.
• Check your grammar and spelling.
• Do not write, "Resume" on your resume.
• Do give your full name, address and telephone number, so the employer can contact you.
• Write a strong statement of your goals taking care not to exaggerate.
• Keep your resume concise but informative as far as stating your education goes. List out special skills and highlight any extraordinary job skills you might have. Use bullets if necessary.
• If you are looking for an entry level position, put your educational qualification right after your goal.
• If you have experience, list your jobs first, starting with the most recent one. Indicate how long you were at each job. Mention all projects (however small) you worked on at each job, your role in the project, how you accomplished the assigned tasks.
• Mention awards and honours you may have received, papers you may presented.
• If you are just out of college, and do not have any experience, elaborate on projects you may have worked on. This will give the employer an idea of how you may fare in job atmosphere.
• Mention that references will be available upon request.
The Seven Levels of Delegation
The Seven Levels of Delegation
Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable they are then the more freedom you can give them.
The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a lot of freedom, especially if your job or reputation depends on getting a good result. Take care to choose the most appropriate style for each situation.
Delegation isn't just a matter of telling someone else what to do. There is a wide range of varying freedom that you can confer on the other person. The more experienced and reliable they are then the more freedom you can give them.
The more critical the task then the more cautious you need to be about extending a lot of freedom, especially if your job or reputation depends on getting a good result. Take care to choose the most appropriate style for each situation.
- "Wait to be told." or "Do exactly what I say." No delegation at all.
- "Look into this and tell me what you come up with. I'll decide." This is asking for investigation and analysis, but no recommendation.
- "Give me your recommendation, and the other options with the pros and cons of each. I'll let you know whether you can go ahead." Asks for analysis and recommendation, but you will check the thinking before deciding.
- "Decide and let me know your decision, but wait for my go ahead." The other person needs approval, but is trusted to judge the relative options.
- "Decide and let me know your decision, then go ahead unless I say not to." Now the other person begins to control the action. The subtle increase in responsibility saves time.
- "Decide and take action, but let me know what you did." Saves more time. Allows a quicker reaction to wrong decisions, not present in final level.
- "Decide and take action. You need not check back with me." The is is most freedom that we can give to the other person. A high level of confidence is necessary, and needs good controls to ensure mistakes are flagged.
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