LONG WORK HOURS

The question of work life balance arises when you have time for both work and life! How do you expect an employee to balance his life when he is spending over twelve hours at work? Longer working hours to meet deadlines and avoid pending work (yet having to complete assignments during the weekend) is a threat to the health as well as productivity of workers. Firstly, it causes sleeping problems, depression, an unhealthy lifestyle and a raised risk of cardiovascular disease, possibly linked to stress.

Next, a person who has spent much of his day (and part of his night) at office will only be half productive. The best ideas come to you only when your mind is relaxed. Thinking clearly and creativity requires adequate rest periods. Rest intervals that may be taken at work are only partially relieving. Unless an employee is absolutely comfortable and in perfect health, he might still be physically at his desk but be able to produce very little work. Management, in an increasingly complex world, must understand that employees should be allowed greater flexibility in how they want to work, where they want to work and also for how long. In the end, such an approach if well monitored may actually produce greater results even in a shorter span of time! 

POSTED BY : SHUBHAM AGARWAL

                        PGDM III SEM, 'A'

THE INDIAN TREASURES

Every new corporate advancement that enters our Indian Inc is perceived to be a contribution of the western world. However we fail to recognize that our own Culture and texts are better potential resources than the current resources available where one would find all sorts of cases that we face in reality and probable solutions to them. For instance one could take up the story of Vibhishana the younger brother of Demon King Ravan. When he tried suggesting a better solution to his sibling he was kicked out in the name of being disloyal. However his attempt to join Ram’s army succeeded. The strategy behind it being  the knowledge base available about Lanka and the army of Ravan(all the defects and positives) in the form of Vibhishan. Most important of all, his wish to become the next king was quickly recognized by Ram’s group. The moral of the story is this, when the top management of an organization  resists listening to Ideas and Suggestions/ does not give the right level of freedom and innovation  to  its employees, no matter how much it pays them, they tend to leave. Such an instance is always dangerous especially when it is the case of Key personals   as the competitors attract them easily by promising them whatever they want in order to get the information about an organizations so as get the details of their previous work place and its strengths. (loyalty is always a variable in corporate scenario and never constant). Thus a deep research and circumstantial interpretation of our treasures would surely pave way for a better management system.

POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH

                       PGDM III SEM, 'B'

RECESSION IN INDUSTRY

Here is recession in every Industry due to Global melt down and Steel Industry is no exception.It is like History repeats itself.The nature of problem varies from time to time whatever may be the name given to the so called downturn in the growth,the net resultant effect will be on the salried employee who ultimately loses his job.I have witnessed a similar situation some 10 years ago and the name given was Disinvestment in Public sector.The employees feared and searched for greener pastures in private sector.Some employess have left their secured jobs and strugged for years to get settled in Life.Now there is recession every where and Employees are shown Pink slips irrespective of the reasons that have lead to this types of decisions.Ultimately,a person with 2 yrs experience and as well as a persong with 20 yrs of experience has to run pillar to post in search of job which may give stability.Employees are always under constant pressure of not having job security rather than the work pressure.There is no exception to the people working in Gulf region had to face the indirect effects of Global meltdown or Financial upturn therby witnessing Pink slips from the employers.Due to this ,it is not only employess who are under constant mental stress but also the family members who are inevitably share the stress every day.There is disturbance in every aspect and insecurity every time.I question myself that when this constant searching and changing of job ends and when can I hava a stable and peaceful life after having 2 dacaded of professional experience.It remains a million dollar question and we should answew ourselves.

POSTED BY; SHUBHAM AGARWAL

                        PGDM III SEM, 'A'

ORGANISATIONAL COMMITMENT-TEST IN DOWNTURN

Organizational Commitment: What do we really think when we hear /read this title? The first reaction we might give is-A HR topic. A new HRjargon. etc etc... Theoretically- It’s performing beyond your jobresponsibilities in the organization.

Practically-Do we check with ourselves about the organizational commitment?So guys when especially in this time, we are talking about the Job loss and salarycut, can we think about organizational commitment as well?

These are the best time for any HR personnel to figure out who isreally committed to the work and the company. Post appraisals people come andask for -"what is in it for me? I did so well. I did late sittings. I did that...Idid this...” does this all sound familiar?

When the top layer in the company is being fair and honest withthe employees below, its employees' duty to trust them and support them in thebad times. Help the organization sail through even in the rough weather. Itstime for employees to get up and stand together for their organization. Isn't it?

For those who did get their bonus pay and are not sacked (sorryfor being harsh) should really thank god and see how they can perform better toenhance the company's productivity. Employees could try any or all of these andmore to fight the current scenario:

Enhance / Upgrade your own skills

Train your team members

Learn new skills in other areas / functions

Design a new business model, applying creativity, to sell youproduct / project 

Help form a Green Team in your organization who would devicemethods to reduce extra expenses in the organizations.

Form a Motivators' Group-To motivate the employees within team aswell beyond.

... And there could be many such. In turn organizations could alsotake few steps to help employees come out of the setback and motivate them tolook forward to better times.

All in all both the shores-employees and Management-need to cometogether to stand strong and fight through with the current times. Remember welearnt long back in school- Together we stand, divided we fall!

HR comes into picture to balance the act at both the ends. Itfunctions as the mid-hanger between Management and Employees. In these times HRplays a very critical role. It has to be alert and Active!

So what are we saying? That HR plays an important role inmotivating employees, increasing their organizational commitment and helpingmanagement take right decisions pertaining to employees.

Employees on the other hand need to be more understandingand careful about their steps. Cautious and open for change.

Managementneeds to Listen and Think. Act cautiously and be open and honest!

 

POSTED BY: PREETI KUMARI

                       PGDM 3 SEM, 'B'

BURNING ISSUES IN THE HR SPACE

Nowadays it has become essential to understand the importance of human power in industries as well as new developing companies.Its quite natural that if there is satisfaction among the employees than obviously the companywill grow and will soon achieve its target. Earlier days it was followed that the exployees were not given importance at the place where they used to work but slowly and gradually they started understanding the importance of human resource in industries.
The new trend which I observed as being a trainee of one of the local public company for my college project , i saw that there is exploitation policy is going on in each and every company.Exploitation on new recruiters by their seniors has become common. Seniors always tend to behave in very rude manner and they never treat their juniors with love and care. This is the very first point where new recruiters feel insecurity about their jobs and their individual growth. so there exploitation tendency on new recruiters is one of the burning issues in the H.R space which need a very immediate action to remove these policy and try to understand the imprtance of the new budding employees which come with lot of positive energy but die as they enter in any public ltd company.
Lay off has also become one of the biggest burning issue in H.R.space. A company instead of giving lay off to its employees should thing of other alternative and when no alternative is found than only should conclude wiht these horrible decision.

POSTED BY: PALLAVI SINGH
                       PGDM III SEM
                       SEC 'B'

Microsoft introduces visual search for Bing.com


Software giant Microsoft has introduced visual search for its search engine Bing.com, in order to further set itself apart from market leader Google.
According to a report by BBC News, the new feature will let users browse results using pictures instead of text.
Visual search will concentrate on four main areas: travel, health, leisure and shopping.
"The whole concept is that the world of search is going to change," said Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi.
"There will be a more graphic way people will search, and it will pivot how people search," said Mehdi, the firm's senior vice president of online services.
Microsoft also claimed that "Visual Search" allows users to conduct certain searches faster than the traditional image search offered by rival Google and other search engines.
In a blog post, the company said a study it conducted found that consumers can process results with images 20 percent faster than text only results.
"It's like searching through a large online catalogue," Microsoft said.
As users enter search terms, a link at the top of the first page of results lets you choose to 'visualise' what Bing has found.
Click on the link and a display or gallery of related images will pop up.
A search at bing.com/visualsearch for "digital cameras," for example, returns a gallery of thumbnail pictures of digital cameras which can then be filtered by manufacturer or by price, displaying a new set of images.
Hovering over a particular image or clicking on it will provide information about that particular product and the images rearrange themselves on the page as a search query is refined "A thousand words".
At the moment, only a small number of topics will return a visual display. These centre around popular categories like entertainment, famous people, shopping and sports.
"Where visual search really helps is in areas like travel or e-commerce, shopping or even the movies," Don Dodge, Microsoft's director of business development told the BBC.
Microsoft said that it will be expanding visual search over the coming months.
"Your brain works faster on a picture than it does on text so a picture really is worth a thousand words," it said.

POSTED BY:-
SHILPI KUMARI
PGDM-3rd sem.

SBA ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

The Steps of an Environmental Investigation



NAICS Codes. For all Property except units in a multi‐unit building, CDC must begin by making a Good Faith effort to determine the


NAICS code(s) for the Property’s current and known prior uses and compare the NAICS code(s) to the list of environmentally


sensitive industries in Appendix 4. For units in a multi‐unit building, Lender may proceed directly to paragraphs 2.a) and b) below.


1. If there is a NAICS code match to an environmentally sensitive industry identified in Appendix 4, the Environmental Investigation


must begin with a Phase I, regardless of the amount of the loan.


If the NAICS code begins with 447 (gas stations with or without convenience stores), CDC must refer to, and if applicable comply


with, “Environmental Investigation Requirements for Gas Station Loans” in Appendix 5.


2. If there is not a NAICS code match to an environmentally sensitive industry, the CDC must proceed as follows:


a) If the loan amount is up to and including $150,000, the Environmental Investigation may begin with an Environmental


Questionnaire.


b) If the loan amount is more than $150,000, the Environmental Investigation must, at a minimum, begin with an Environmental


Questionnaire and Records Search with Risk Assessment.


3. Environmental Questionnaire Results. If the Environmental Questionnaire reveals it is unlikely that there is environmental


contamination at the Property and that no further investigation is warranted, CDC must submit the results of the Environmental


Investigation to SBA with recommendations and seek SBA’s concurrence.


If at any time an Environmental Questionnaire reveals that further investigation is warranted, CDC must obtain, at a minimum, a


Transaction Screen.


4. Environmental Questionnaire & Records Search with Risk Assessment Results


a) If the Environmental Questionnaire reveals it is unlikely that there is environmental contamination at the Property and that no


further investigation is warranted, and the Records Search with Risk Assessment concludes that the Property is a “low risk” for


Contamination, CDC must submit the results of the Environmental Investigation to SBA with recommendations and seek SBA’s


concurrence.


b) If the Records Search with Risk Assessment concludes that the Property is an “elevated risk” or “high risk” for Contamination, CDC


must obtain a Phase I ESA.


5. Transaction Screen Results


a) If the Environmental Professional conducting the Transaction Screen concludes that no further investigation is warranted, the CDC


must submit the results of the Environmental Investigation to SBA with recommendations and seek SBA’s concurrence.


b) If the Environmental Professional conducting the Transaction Screen concludes that further investigation is warranted, the CDC


must obtain a Phase I ESA.


6. Phase I ESA Results


a) If the Environmental Professional conducting the Phase I ESA concludes that no further investigation is warranted, the CDC must


submit the results of the Environmental Investigation to SBA with recommendations and seek SBA’s concurrence.


b) If the Environmental Professional conducting the Phase I ESA concludes that further investigation is warranted (typically a Phase


II), and the CDC still wants to make the loan, the CDC must proceed as recommended by the Environmental Professional, or in the


alternative submit the results of the Environmental Investigation to the SBA with recommendations and seek SBA’s concurrence. In


general, SBA will require compliance with all of an Environmental Professional’s recommendations (including “housekeeping


measures,” such as secondary containment, decommissioning monitoring wells, sealing floor drains, etc.). In the rare instance where


an exception may be warranted, CDCs must provide a rationale for not wanting to follow the Environmental Professional’s reccomendations.
 
PRESENTED BY:-
SHILPI KUMARI
PGDM-3rd sem