The first approach to take is to take a broad overview of the different areas of the project:

• Scope
• Equipment
• Technology
• Existing Data
• People
• Timescale
• Budget

Then take each section and break it down into finer detail. A brainstorming session with a small group of team members representing different parts of the departments/groups involved can be helpful. This does not have to be a time-consuming task but is critical to the overall successful management of a project.

Scope

The nature of scope is the definition of what is and is not included in a business requirements document. Therefore, areas that might go wrong or cause problems will be issues surrounding what is or is not written in this document. So the first identified risks might be “Poorly defined business requirements”, “Lack of experienced staff documenting the requirements” or “Business requirements not approved by the business”

Equipment

This area of consideration should be about the equipment required to complete the project rather than any equipment that is the deliverable or end-result of a project. It might include computer hardware or factory equipment for making the final product or a range of other possibilities depending on the particular project. In identifying the risks under this section you will need to consider risks such as “what is the reliability of the equipment”, “how easily can the equipment be replaced if it breaks down”, “what are the costs of replacing faulty equipment” .

Technology

This section covers all areas to do with computers except the physical hardware. It should look at dependencies on software packages (both internal and external) and database management systems. For long-term projects, updating to different versions of software might have a time impact or cost implications if it involves additional staff or re-training existing staff.

Existing Data

Does existing data require conversion to a new system – if so is there a proven method that has been used before or will the solution be a ground-breaking one? Anything that has not been done before is likely to pose a high risk. Particularly if the existing data is proprietary so there is no expertise or experience to call on from previous projects either within or outside the organisation.

People

How critical are existing staff to the success of the project. Do they have specialist knowledge that would be difficult or expensive to find elsewhere. Is the current staff turnover high or are existing teams well-established, well-motivated and likely to stay the course of the project. As a project manager in a large global project you may not even know the project teams in different locations but only have contact with local project managers. Knowledge of the make-up of the teams can greatly assist in assessing potential risks.

Timescale

How accurate are the estimates for the whole project and each individual task. Is the project unlike anything that has been done before and, therefore, are the estimates really guesstimates, or worse, plain guesses? Has the business imperative driven the timescales such as in cases where time to market ahead of competitors is the over-riding factor? Or have the teams who have the knowledge to provide accurate estimates been allowed to do so. These factors affect the type and likelihood of timescale risks being faced.

Budget

Has the budget been determined more by a business imperative than by the actual cost likely to be required to complete the project. A limited budget is not necessarily detrimental to the success of a project. A good project manager will have the skills required to make the most of a limited budget and also to minimise the risks within such a project.

Indeed, many factors that inexperienced project managers might think create a more “risky” project are often factors that can be easily managed as they very commonly occur such as limited resources either in timescale or budget. It is more likely to be risks that occur infrequently or ground breaking new technology or products that will knock a project off course.

So identifying the risks in a project is critical to managing them successfully and the areas described above are the most important areas for a project manager to consider in identifying the risks. For larger, more complex projects, risk management will be an almost full time job and requires the project manager to have the training and skills to handle it effectively. Such project managers will have attended one of the many professional project management courses available to hone their skills in risk management..

The recruiters deal with different specialties, including: Human Resources, Medical Devices, Information Technologies (IT), and Marketing. Nonetheless they agreed on one thing: Five years ago, if an employer listed a job with 8-10 bullet points of “requirements,” a candidate might have been hired if he/she only had 3-4 of them. But today, virtually every client of theirs wants “12 out of 10 requirements to be evidenced – just to get the initial phone interview.”

It comes as no surprise they all report both recruiters and companies are being inundated by resumes, as more people are chasing fewer and fewer jobs. In this environment, they report employers have come to view job boards like Monster as counter-effective. When they advertise a position, they get SO MANY responses it becomes an overwhelming task just to sort through all the extraneous resumes to find the quality people who would be of interest. Result? They are utilizing alternative methods of identifying and recruiting top talent. It is more time efficient and effective for both corporate (in-house) and contingency (third party) recruiters to scour LinkedIn and other social media sites to find candidates worth pursuing. More and more, self-submitted resumes are not responded to because they aren’t even read!

Employers are looking for the following:

1. Candidates are expected to clearly articulate their accomplishments as part of their personal brand. Profiles must highlight an individual successes and results! Skills are important – but only insofar as candidates use them to attain results. Never lead with: “XX years of experience doing…” Each resume bullet point should tell a story: “Accomplished X by doing Y, resulting in Z.”

2. Clear branding. Know who you are, what you offer, and what you are after. Be comfortable with your own story, and have that story down pat. Convey it consistently in your resume, LinkedIn profile, on Facebook, and increasingly on Twitter. Tip: get all those references to partying, and anything that wouldn’t well represent an employer’s brand off your own Facebook page – NOW! LinkedIn is seen as a way screen people in, and Facebook is viewed as a means to screen people out – even before an individual knows he or she might be considered.

3. Fit, fit, and fit! It’s the buzzword of the decade, but it means different things to different companies. Fit goes beyond the job requirements and speaks to an individual’s experience working in a similar type organization in size, product/service, marketplace or geography. Questions of “fit” go to the concerns. Would a given candidate be happy working as part of this company/team…and would the people here be happy to work side by side with this individual? If hired, would the person last? Commonly, employers are utilizing behavioral interviewing to determine if a candidate is a “fit.

4. One recruiter put it this way, “The length of time [companies are taking] to fill openings is increasing. Companies are increasingly picky about who they hire. But they are hiring people who have ‘bull’s eye’ skill sets, have industry experience, and are a fit for their particular corporate culture.” More and more, you have to have all three to be hired, and candidates should adjust their job search accordingly.

5. People who can show they volunteer to do more than is required of them in the workplace

6. People who “know what they don’t know,” make no bones about it, and constantly strive to learn to fill in the gaps of their knowledge and experience.

7. People who can explain what they did in a past job that makes them valuable to a future employer.

8. People who can understand recruiters are professional service providers who deserve respect. (If you are dealing with a recruiter who doesn’t deserve your respect, move on to another one!) Understand recruiters work with candidates, but ultimately for companies.

9. People who make an effort to establish a mutually beneficial relationship, by addressing them personally, offering to help find other candidates for positions if they aren’t the right fit themselves.

10. People who recognize it is counterproductive for both themselves and the recruiter to do the “end run” around the recruiter and deal directly with the company they represent

Managing Anger
1. Managing anger is often managing Communications:- For two people to
communicate clearly, there needs should be that of a talker and a listener.
However is an argument there are two talker and no listeners! Thus to resolve an
argument one must remember several tech. of good communication.

(a) Use active listening: – Making eye contact and saying, “I understand what
you’re saying, or “I understand that you feel such and such”, helps calm
the other person down and helps clarify misunderstanding, often laying
the groundwork for him to listen to you after he has calmed down.

(b) Choose non-attacking words and use a polite tone: – we can always
express our views in a variety of ways, so the choice of words is
important, our tone of voice and our body language convey as much
information as our words.

(c) Do not let the argument expand: – In many arguments (especially marital
ones) one person brings up old issues from previous disputes. That
expands the argument and creates too many issues to resolve at one
time. If one person tries to bring up other issues, the other can use the
“broken record technique”, repeatedly politely insisting that he/she will
stick to the first issue, and will deal with the others only after the main
issue has been resolved.

(2) Choose constructive (not destructive) methods/solutions/ideas: – Try physical
outlets e.g. exercise, housework, crafts etc. Problems can be resolved with
action plans e.g. forming a neighborhood watch to combat vandalism.

(3) Involve an objective third party: – Ask someone you trust to be a sounding board.
Identify “Who might this be?”

(4) Use the ‘empty chair’ exercise: – Pretend you are sitting across the person you
are angry with and then say what’s on your mind. Who is this person?

(5) Writing a letter to the person you are angry with: – One can also write down to the
person describing it as if, it happened just now or one can also report about the
event that took place or both.

(6) Use relaxation technique: – e.g. guided imagery, self-help tapes, and music.

(7) Use positive self-talk: – e.g. “I am able to choose my anger style” and “I am angry
but I am not going to let it”.

(8) Work towards anger resolution through acceptance: – Learn to live with the fact
that certain people and situations, past, present and future will not change. Make
realistic expectations e.g. what is one frustrating anger situation?

–
Mangat Singh
Dpty General Manager – Operations
www.AniWebDesigns.com
Skype : Dhiman2145
BBM : 21B00B63

You are driving along in your car on a wild, stormy night. You pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.

2. An old friend who once saved your life.

3. The perfect man (or) woman you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car?

Think before you continue reading. This is a moral/ethical dilemma that was once actually used as part of a job application.

You could pick up the old lady, because she is going to die, and thus you should save her first; or you could take the old friend because he once saved your life, and this would be the perfect chance to pay him back. However, you may never be able to find your perfect dream lover again.

The Johny was hired (out of 200 applicants) had no trouble coming up with his answer.

He simply answered: “I would give the car keys to my old friend, and let him take the lady to the hospital. I would stay behind and wait for the bus with the woman of my dreams.”

Never forget to “Think Outside of the Box.”

–
Source: Harvinder Ahuja’s note on facebook
–

–
Mangat Singh
Dpty General Manager – Operations
www.AniWebDesigns.com
Skype : Dhiman2145
BBM : 21B00B63

Don’t Give Orders
When you give orders, you tell someone to do something. “Put that file on my desk”, is an order. So is, “put Roger on the late shift”. When you give an order, you do not allow the other person any latitude to think about what to do or how to do it. All they can do to satisfy your order is exactly what you ordered. There are two reasons why this is bad. First, you do not allow the person to figure out the best way to do the task. Second, you do not let them learn.
Sometimes it is appropriate to give orders. In the military, there are times when a leader has to give orders. When you tell a squad to “charge that hill” you don’t want them to think about it. You just want it done. However, even in the military, leaders don’t give orders unless they have to. Instead of giving orders and telling someone what to do, good managers give instructions. Instead of telling them what to do, you tell them what you want done.

Give Instructions Instead
When you tell an employee what you want done, instead of giving an order, you give them the freedom to come up with their best way of getting that task done. It may not always be the best way, and you may have to do some monitoring and guiding, but there is also the chance that they will come up with something better than what you planned.
When an employee is given an instruction instead of an order, they have to think. They can’t just do what they were told and say they were following orders. They have to think of ways to get the job done. They have to decide which is the best way. They have to invest a little of themselves in the solution.
Also, when you give an employee an instruction, instead of an order, and let them decide for themselves the best way to accomplish the task, you are more likely to get their buy-in and support. If they have made the decision about the best way to accomplish the task they are more likely to believe it is correct and valuable. They will defend it against others who question it.

Be Clear
Orders are generally very clear. “Get the report to me by Thursday morning”, does not leave much room for interpretation. So when you give instructions, instead of orders, you need to be as clear about what results you expect.
Instead of saying, “I’d like you to review the past month’s data and get back to me on it”, be more precise. For example, you could say, “Please review the past month’s data. By Monday morning, I expect your recommendation of the best course and a couple of alternatives for ways to close more sales.” Or you could say, “By our meeting on Friday, I want you to have consolidated all the department’s projects into a single master schedule. I want you to tell me where we are over committed and where we have excess capacity.”
When you give instructions instead of orders there is a tendency to be less clear about the expected outcome. A good manager makes instructions clear.

Give Instructions, Not Orders
Your job as a manager is to get things done. However, it also means getting things done through others. When you give orders, you limit the group to your level of expertise. When you give instructions, you let the employees contribute whatever they can. It may not be as good as what you would have done, but that is an indication that you need to do further training. However, it also might be better than your idea. When that happens, you have an employee who feels involved and motivated and you look smarter.

The next time you start to give an order, give instructions instead. Tell the employee clearly want you want done. Let them figure out how to do it. It is a better solution for both of you.

–
Mangat Singh
Dpty General Manager – Operations
www.AniWebDesigns.com
Skype : Dhiman2145
BBM : 21B00B63
LiveProfile : LPQ0JVK1

If Prince William and Catherine’s marriage is expected, like his father’s and grandfather’s before him, to be a day off from a recession, it had better be a really good party. UK’s second quarter 2011 GDP figures, released on Wednesday , show a 0.5% growth in the Jan-March quarter of 2011, indicating that the economy has been on a flat track since September , after taking into account the snow-related losses in the last quarter.

The news has been greeted, at best, with a shrug by economists , and gloomy words like double-dips and stagflation are doing the rounds again. Following a disappointing business confidence survey for April, the sunshine and romance may be all the good news there is likely to be for a while. Economic forecasters are worried that the extended holiday, which lops almost a fortnight off the second quarter, will affect the second quarter GDP data again, by some estimates to as much as a one-fourth of the quarter’s output.

Estimates of the average costs of an extra bank holiday on the economy range from £1.2 billion to £6 billion . And the total cost of the wedding holiday may reach as high as £50 billion. The Confederation of Business and Industry, which had earlier pegged costs of a bank holiday at £6 billion, has allowed that a day off for the wedding is appropriate. However , the extended holidays after the Easter have turned into a bit of a headache for employers, especially small businesses as they will have have to cough up large overtime payments for employees.

London and Partners expects 600,000 visitors in the capital during the royal wedding , adding about £30-50 million to London’s economy. PwC has estimated a profit to London of about £107 million. But in the week before the grand party, when most business is at a standstill, with over 6 million on holiday, takings are poor – nightspots and popular destinations are deserted mid-week . “I’ve never seen so many tourists, but I’ve never had such a slow week,” says a Central London black cab driver. The event is billed as the most expensive security event to be staged ever, which is expected to leave taxpayers with a bill of about GBP 20 million.

While the cost of the extravaganza, as the Palace has been at pains to point out, is being borne by the groom’s father and the bride’s millionaire parents, the security is not. PwC’s survey finds that about 20,000 people will spend upwards of £300 a night for the chance of a glimpse of Kate and William.

However, for 35% of them this budget is being cut out of general living expenses, and 27% would be able to pay off their debts if they save this money.As of now, these are more or less wild guesstimates; the profit and loss account will completely depend on whether eager Americans and others will spend enough to make up for the inevitable hit.

Significantly, literacy rates improved sharply among females compared to males. Thus, while effective literacy rates for males rose from 75.26% to 82.14% — a rise of 6.9% — literacy rates for females climbed from 53.67% to 65.48%, an 11.8% increase.

That is heartening news indeed. But this data masks a few worrying concerns. First, the data relates to effective literacy, and not literacy. Measuring effective literacy in India means including anyone who can read and write his or her own name.Thus, if Ram knows how to read and write the three letters of his name, and Sita knows how to read and write the four letters of her name, they get included in the category of effective literates. This is not the way developed countries define literacy.

Not job worthy
Second, literacy becomes relevant if it leads to employability. Both the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Boston Consulting Group estimate that India would face a “talent gap” of more than 5 million by 2012, as existing educational institutions do not impart employable skills. Just 20% of the engineering graduates are unemployable. A McKinsey report finds only 25% engineers, 15% finance graduates and less than 10% of the other graduates to be employable.

It is even more alarming when one takes into account that graduates comprise only 3.5% of India’s population — this includes graduates in all streams such as arts, commerce, science, engineering, and medicine. If 90% of the graduates are unemployable, it means that barely 0.5% of India’s population comprises employable graduates.

A deep rot
It would be easy to blame India’s colleges and universities. But the rot goes deeper than that. In India’s schools, the quality of teaching and the filtering out of inept or backward students has been woefully poor.

This was obvious from the results tabulated by E-convergence Technologies Limited (ETL), a private sector company with which this author is closely associated. During 2002-03, ETL decided to find out more about the quality of education being imparted in Mumbai’s schools.

In order to normalise the sample base, it focussed only on privately managed schools and English medium schools. The study covered 34 schools who gave ETL permission to conduct a quiz in English and Mathematics (some of the questions were as rudimentary as putting a set of numbers in the right order). A total of 16,500 students appeared for the quiz. It was found that 65% of the students failed in Mathematics, while 75% failed in English. Almost all the students were from Classes V and VI (10-11 year-old children). That this could happen with privately managed, English medium schools in one of India’s prime cities is a good indicator of how low standards have fallen.

Similar surveys carried out in 1977 by Aikara (and published in the India Education Report of the Oxford University Press) indicated that ‘backward’ states like Bihar had fewer students performing poorly than ‘progressive’ states like Maharashtra and Gujarat. It could be that the lack of alternative job opportunities in Bihar kept good teachers in their respective schools, whereas in progressive states, good teachers migrated to better paying and better respected professions.

Kapil Sibal’s Right to Education (RTE) Act does not help much either. In fact, it could make a bad situation worse. RTE is preventing schools from detaining students till they reach Std VIII. Thus, a student can go through the schooling system without learning anything, and come out claiming that he is a “Std IX fail” student, when he might have learnt nothing beyond Std III. And an academically poor student in a classroom can prevent other children from learning effectively too. The RTE Act could thus promote more mediocrity than ever before.

That is why effective literacy levels are not something to gloat over. They need to be taken with a barrel-full of salt.

Source
www.dnaindia.com

Some additional stats revealed by AAML show that 81 percent of US lawyers have reported and increase in the number of cases that cite evidence obtained from the social networking sites as a proof to file for divorce. This trend has been steadily rising for the past five years, and coincides perfectly with the evolution of social media.

The undisputed leader in social media, Facebook is also the undisputed leader in providing evidence for divorce filings. According to the AAML survey 66 percent of the respondents state that the primary evidence for divorce filings are based on Facebook, with MySpace following at 15 percent and Twitter at 5 percent.

According to Marlene Eskind Moses, President of the AAML:

Going through a divorce always results in heightened levels of personal scrutiny. If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence. As everyone continues to share more and more aspects of their lives on social networking sites, they leave themselves open to much greater examinations of both their public and private lives in these sensitive situations.

Facebook may never tag itself as a dating site, but it provides all the tools that are available on traditional dating sites to let people connect. In fact due to the social nature of Facebook, it might be more suited to finding dates. On traditional dating sites, although one’s intention is to find a significant other, but the fact that you dont know that person before hand makes the connection all the more difficult. Where as on Facebook, even though you might not be looking for a date when you connect with someone you knew from high school. But the fact that you already knew him and were emotionally attached to him/her at some point in time goes a long way in transforming an innocent “hello how are you doing mate” to a full fledge affair.

Steven Kimmons, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois said in a statement that:

We’re coming across it more and more. One spouse connects online with someone they knew from high school. The person is emotionally available and they start communicating through Facebook. Within a short amount of time, the sharing of personal stories can lead to a deepened sense of intimacy, which in turn can point the couple in the direction of physical contact. I don’t think these people typically set out to have affairs. A lot of it is curiosity. They see an old friend or someone they dated and decide to say ‘hello’ and catch up on where that person is and how they’re doing.

At the end of the day, Facebook is merely a tool for social communication and its upto the users to decide how to make use of it. However, Facebook has been phenomenal in bringing already bumpy relationships to a speedy end by providing alternatives that might not have been so readily available in the past.

Mangat Singh
Dpty General Manager – Operations
www.AniWebDesigns.com
Skype : Dhiman2145
BBM : 21B00B63

* Badges for sent, delivered, and read messages
* Displays when a contact is typing (and when a contact is reading)
* Ability to update status to Facebook and Twitter
* Add contacts by scanning your address book, Twitter, and Facebook
* PIN assigned to your account, for easy sharing
* Coming Soon- Outgoing Photo Attachments

From many messaging applications that come and go, this LiveProfile probably the best there is off course beside the BBM application. The application is providing messaging features that we all need with several nice additions. You can scan to address book Twitter, and Facebook to add friends to your contact list that is very nice. More, this application is also working smoothly and snappy, even some time it is snappier than BBM.
To get this application you can go straight to LiveProfile website for a free download. This application is compatible with most BlackBerry devices running OS 4.5 or higher.

This application is for iPhone, Blackberry, Androids.

Skype @ Dhiman2145
bbm @ 21B00B63
LiveProfile @ LPQ0JVK1
World is getting real small

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Events can be quite expensive considering the price of the big event, the price of the marketing, time spends outside and also the staff downtime which will happen within the event, you have to make sure that the outcomes are just like possible in order to improve your ROI.

Top ten strategies for an effective event:
- Properly get ready for the big event (pre planning)
- Properly market the big event for your customers and potential prospects
- Make sure you possess the best are a symbol of the big event
- Make sure you have your marketing material
- Make sure you have goodies to give up
- Ensure your staff are ready and get sound advice
- Make certain your staff are presentable and available
- Work the big event
- Have USP’s about the stand or causes of individuals to hold off
- Have marketing follow-up following the event

Success at a meeting could be divided to 3 standard components:
- Successful pre planning
- Successful event
- Successful follow-up

A lot of companies often focus a lot about the actual event (number two) they lose out steps 1 & 3 and miss 2/3 from the potential from the event.

Get yourself ready for the big event
This could involve making certain you organize using the event planners what space you would like in the event and when that space is the greatest possible site. Selecting a stall that’s near to the drinks area/chill out area is nice – as you will see more foot flow. Equally, choosing s stall close to the entrance from the event will make sure that everybody walks past your stand at least two times. Organizing for those facilities to become ready (lap tops, communications, food for staff/staff rotas etc.)

Properly Market the big event
Letting people know you will attend the big event is essential, instead of it as being a surprise let your visitors and target customers realize that you will be there. Improve your exposure by placing a link in your e-mails so the word can spread. Place the event in your twitter/Facebook page. It is only could exponentially increase your visitors. Invite individuals to you are a symbol of a glass or two or perhaps a free offer. Hold a raffle and obtain individuals to arrive at present their tickets to win a trip/PlayStation/car etc.

Obtaining the best are a symbol of the big event
There are numerous exhibition stand designers so looking around for top stand in the best prices are advisable. There are numerous different types of stands, so deciding on the best one for the best event is nice. If it’s a vital event and also you desire a large amount of exposure, it may be ideal obtaining a larger are in position to improve your presence. If it’s a little event and you simply desire a presence – a small stand and small space on the floor is possibly best.

Get a marketing material ready
A lot of companies arrive for an event with insufficient marketing material to provide prospects or no marketing material. We perceive some exhibitors supplying old outdated material that they must scribble a brand new address on, or perhaps a new website or services that aren’t available. Very embarrassing and doesn’t provide a good impression.

Goodies
Having freebies is a part of a meeting plus they are normally inexpensive but leave an enduring impression. Something associated with your market is clever (if you’re builder, a stress ball within the form of a wrecking ball or hard hat) but normally something which the punter could keep is much better (just like a pen, mug, clock or something like that similar). Bags are great but they are disposed of so are not permanent.

Ready your staff
Getting staff about the stand and dealing the big event supplying flyers/brochures, goodie bags will receive a buzz going. Hiring models just to walk around supplying freebies or snacks can create more effect. Organizing staff to go to the big event for scheduled times could keep them focused (instead of 2 people for the entire event).

Staff working the big event
Often staff has been receiving a stand speaking with one another, looking bored, talking on the cell phones and ignoring customers. This is actually the easiest way to get rid of the event and was money. Having staff smiling, speaking with people, bringing punters to the stand, looking smart will exponentially increase your enquiry numbers.

Working the big event
This will be significant, because it is maximizing the little period of time the big event is on. Having staff networking along with other exhibitors can get you to understand your industry, competitors and customers. When you are known, you’re giving out a picture – that is good PR (if it’s done correctly). Have staff approaching visitors with freebies and gifts. Bring passers buy to the stand and participate in conversation. Models work nicely at events because they produce an expert and friendly impression and are usually approachable. Branding the models together with your corporate image provides you with great exposure.

Have USP’s about the stand
Possess a unique feature about the stand. Something which brings people in. This is often anything (a sports vehicle, a gaming system having a plasma screen, a bar, a pool) so long as it draws attention and gets people involved and hooked. A couple of seconds is you’ll need for that message to sink in or these phones be acquired because of your hunter sales people.

Marketing Follow-up
When the event continues to be and gone, people will forget you. Therefore all of the effort and resource you place to the above is finished, wasted and forgotten. That’s if you don’t perform a follow-up. Organize a mailing or an e-mail campaign A couple of days following the event. Contact prospects following the mailing. Obtain the conversations going again. Send more freebies within the post to prospects (chocolates work nicely) and be sure that everybody that visited was scanned (events normally provide scanners to help you see anyone who you’ve scanned and grab their contact information).

The follow-up as stated may be the main thing, if you don’t do that then your great event will end up a memory that disappears quickly.

Good Luck for your event

Mangat