Business, management and administration

HOW TO BE A BETTER EMPLOYEE! SIX SIMLE TIPS

2011-07-04T01:33:00.000-07:00

Why should you want to be a better employee? Well, maybe you would like a promotion, a raise or just your own office? Would you like to gain self respect as well as the respect of you peers or your supervisors? You might even want to keep the job you have! You can, by paying attention to just a few simple things.

Get to work on time

Whenever time your works starts, or shifts starts, be ready to work. If this means arriving 10 to 15 minutes earlier, then do it. Nothing is more frustrating to a boss than to have employees walk in the door at exact time to start work and then take as much as 30 minutes to get oriented to produce.

Dress appropriately

Whatever attire is appropriate for your work, be clean and neat. There are employees who come to work wearing clothing that looked like they had spent the night sleeping in them.Casual clothing is accepted in most work places today, but, nothing says more about you than clean and pressed! If you do not use a cleaning service, use an iron. Pressed shirts and slacks command respect.

Ask what your job responsibilities are

If your position does not have a job description handbook, ask what your specific job duties are to be. Do not assume that you know them and let someone, possibly your supervisor or a co-worker explain just what is expected of you. Asking can eliminate possible confusion and difficulties on a new job. If at some point you become unaware of what to do next, notify the proper person and continue doing "something productive" until the next step is explained to you. Do not just sit and wait!

Give at least eight hours of productive work

Very few people have the ability to give an employer eight full hours of productivity; the norm is about six hours. There are always interruptions, times of confusion, questioned to answered, phone calls, etc that interfere with productivity. Many companies have additional seminars available to help establish work ethics for their employees. Take advantage of any and all available to you and your productivity will increase. Time is money to a corporate ladder and will allow you to be home more often (on time) as productivity during the work day will eliminate the necessary for over-time work.

Help others

If you finish your designated work, offer to help someone else. Your assistance could be beneficial to someone under a tight deadline and co-workers always appreciate offers for assistance.

Leave 'personal' time at home

While you are at work...work! Leave personal messages, phone calls, making personal appointments, etc to your break time or lunchtime. If you must take care of personal business that cannot wait until after work or an the weekend, ask for personal time off for those situations. Again, time is money to a company and it is important that each employee fulfill the designated job they were hired to do.

TIPS TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT BOSS

2011-07-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

Most people at some point in their lives have to deal with a difficult boss. You may not be able to always correct their behavior, but you should never have to live in fear and let your difficult boss control your life.

Here are some strategies on handling a difficult boss situation.

Always have a plan B

Most people are scared about a discussion with their boss concerning their abusive behavior because they fear reprimand or losing their jobs as a result of it. Their fear is usually justified if supervisor is a control-freak and feels that subordinate is threatening their control. Before you deal with any type of conflict, you always need to have a plan B in case things don't work out. Having a plan B empowers you with the ability to walk-away at any time should the negotiation not go right.

Never react to verbal abuse harsh criticism with emotion

This will always get you in more trouble than you started with because it will become a war between egos and chances are good that your boss has a bigger ego than you have- hence why s/he is difficult in the first place.

When personal attack is made on you, they are trying to bait you reacting emotionally because once you react you become an easy target for additional attacks. The key then is not to react, but to acknowledge and move on. If your boss happens to be an intimidator or a control freak, then the best way of dealing with their behavior is to remain clam and acknowledge their power.

Discuss rather than confront

When your boss criticizes you, don't react out of emotion and become confrontational with them about it because that just breeds more conflict. Instead, use their criticism as a topic for discussion on interests, goals, and problem solving and ask them for their advice. If they criticise your work, then means that they have their own idea on how that work should be done, so ask for their advice on how work can be improved.

Manage the manager

A source of conflict usually occurs when a group of employees get a new manager who demands that things run differently. Instead of waiting for their criticism, take a proactive approach and be absolutely clear from the very beginning on how your boss wants things to be done so that there is no miscommunication.

Know that you can do little to change your boss

Being a difficult person is a part of their personality and therefore it is a very difficult, if not possible, things to change in a supervisor, so don't think that you can change the way that you view their behavior. Don't label them as your boss. By avoid making it easy on yourself to be angry with your boss.

Evaluate your own performance

Before you go attacking your boss, examine your own performance and ask yourself if you are doing everything right. Get opinions from other co-workers about your performance and see if there is any warrent to the criticisms of your supervisor before you criticise their opinions.

Why executives make more money

2011-07-03T05:33:00.000-07:00

Engineers and scientists will never makes as much money as business executives. Now a rigorous mathematical proof that explains why this is true:

Postulate 1: Knowledge is Power

Postulate 2: Time is money

As every engineer ans scientist knows:

Work/Time=Power

Since, Knowledge=Power and

Time= Money we have:

Work/Money=Knowledge

Solving for Money, We get: Work/knowledge=Money

Thus: as knowlegge approaches zero, Money approaches infinity regardless of the Work done

Conclusion: The less you know, the more you make.

TIPS ON MAKING A SUCCESSFUL CAREER CHANGE

2011-07-03T05:16:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for more than just a better job? Are you looking for more rewarding profession, one than better aligns with your skills, interests, values and plans for the future? If so, be prepared to face a lot of reflection and planning. It's important to take a serious look at the many possibilities and outcomes before you jump into a new career or field. Consider these tips as you make a transition from your present career to your next:

Have a clear plan:

The smartest move that you can make is carefully map out an effective career-changes strategy. This should include a detailed action plan that takes into consideration finances, research, education, and training. Keep in mind that a successful career change can take several months or longer to accomplish, so patience is key.

Wait for the right time:

The best time to consider a new career is when you are safely ensconced in your existing position. It goes without saying that a steady pay cheque can relieve a lot of pressure. There are many ways to take steps toward your new career path; you can volunteer or offer yourself as a freelancer or consultant. This can help you to test the waters in your desired new field.

Be sure of your reasons:

Just because you're unhappy in your current job isn't strong enough reason to make a total career break. Carefully analyse whether it is your actual career you dislike or whether your employer, supervisor. or office situation is the problem.

Do your research:

Be sure to examine all possibilities before attempting a career jump. Talk to people in your network: read career and job profiles; meet with a career management professional. The more information with which you arm yourself beforehand, the more successful you will be.

Decide what's important:

This is the best time for thought self-reflection.Ask yourself what it is you really want to do with the rest of your life. take an honest inventory of your likes and dislikes, and evaluate your skills, values and personal interests. Many people who are looking to change careers do to so find a balance between their personal and professional lives, to accomplish the right mix of meaning and money. You may want to consider consulting a career coach and/ or taking a career assessment test.

Examine your qualification:

Do you have the necessary experience and education to be considered a qualified candidate in your desired career field? If not, you need to find a way to bridge the credentials gap. This might mean making your goal more long-term while you go back to school or receive additional training.

Learn about the industry:

Get a feel for the field that interests you. Read industry journals, attend conferences, and talk to people in the profession about what target industry has grown potential. Trade magazines, organizations, and entrepreneurs have created a slew of websites that offer searchable databases where job openings in many specific industries are listed. Start looking at these sites on a regular basis.

Develop your network:

Begin nurturing professional friendships early and tend them regularly. Professional organization and job industry trade associations are good place to start. Many of them hold networking events and jobs fairs.

Update your job skills:\It is especially important to polish up your job-0hunting skills and techniques before you get out there and start networking. Make sure you are using your time and resources as effectively as possible.

Pay your dues:

Don't expect begin at the same level of seniority in your career that you held in your old one. It will take time to move up the ranks, but if you find a new career that you absolutely love, it will be worth it.

TIPS TO BEING MORE PRODUCTIVE IN THE WORK

2011-07-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

These days getting more from the resources you have available is almost taken for granted. You have more and more tools to help you, yet you still struggle to be as productive as you would like. Does it really need to be like that? Here are top eight tips for being more productive.

Discover when you are at your best:

Some of us are at our very best early in the morning. For others it might be late into the evening or even in the middle of the day. Knowing when you are at your best has huge benefits when it comes to scheduling what you do it.

Set goals and objectives:

Determine at the start of each day what outcomes you will have achieved. Don,t worry if you don't have every detailed worked out as to how you will do it. By setting an intention or outcome you will figure out ways of achieving it.

Know what matters:

Many people lack clarity on what their key deliverables are. We all know that about 20 percent of what we do account for about 80 percent of the result. What is the 20 percent that gives the most impact for you? If you know, set out to find out.

Start with the biggest challenge:

While it is always tempting to start with easy stuff and start scoring things off the list, avoid doing this. Start with the most challenging task first. It might be a report, a project plan, a specification or an important customer call. Whatever it is, do it first.

Manage interruptions:

Open plan offices are all the rage. While they are great for team and group working, you sometimes need some quiet space. Make it clear to those around you if you need a slot of time without interruptions.

Delegate more:

If you have a secretary or personal assistant, they can often take a lot of tasks off your hands. This might be for example routine letters or phone calls or operating a bring foward system for items that you have deferred.

Book out time slots in the diary:

The more senior you get, the more likely you are to get your diary filled with meetings. With diaries also being open to others, it can mean there is no time to get things done. Make a point of booking out tasks that you have to do as appointments so that someone else does not grab the time.

Be realistic:

Remember you are a human being and not a human doing. it is all too easy to set up lists of things to do that are totally unrealistic. We all have done it. We like to be helpful. Get into the habit of setting challenging but realistic targets.

At the end of the day improving your productivity is an ongoing process. Start by taking some simple steps and watch as you start to achieve more and more with less and less effort.

TIPS TO REST YOUR EYES AT WORK

2011-06-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

Sitting on achair and working for prolonged time not only hampers work productivity but also causes heakth hazards in the long run. However one can easily do away with this condition with the long run. However, one can easily do away this condition with the help of meditation nap, which is a simple process to relax and rejuvnate the mind and the body in less than 15 minutes. Follow these simple steps and freshen yourself for better productivity.

Strength your legs for 30 seconds.
Sit on your chair and back away from desk a bit.
Close your eyes.
Stretch your arms above your head, slowly roll your head to stretch your neck.
Take at least three deep breaths in and out.Do this slowly and hold in between the in and out breath.
Rest and relax your face, jaw, eyes and whole body.
Be aware of how you feel as you relax.
Calm the mind. Let go of of all thoughts. As thoughts come into your mind, just repeat this gentle reminder to yourself - empty the mind. You may want to switch over to a word of your choice to focus on (mantra) that will help push out other thoughts. Examples of such words are Om, peace, calm, rest, empty, power, strength, and love.
Ignore noises in the same way that you ignore thoughts. Repeat your mantra, empty the mind. Don't get mad at noices, just flow with them as if they are waves under your boat of meditation.
Open your eyes slowly after about 10 minutes., Take a few more deep breaths and stretch again: arms, neck, and legs. Now get back to work!

Eight ways to make your budget work

2011-06-28T03:47:00.000-07:00

Accept the learning curve

Living within a budget is an educational curve for new entrepreneur. Trimming your expenses, knowing how long a pay cheque will last, or how much of cash reserve to keep around are issues which require skillful management. Knowing these techniques takes time, but a start-up can learn to adjust its budget mostly through practical experience, and what was once a shot in the dark would gradually become a more predictable and useful practice.

Be prepared to miss your estimates

Knowing that you are going to miss your estimates doesn't make an entrepreneur unintelligent or a bad businessperson. Instead, a good businessman must in such cases try to miss them intelligently and start thinking of ways this can be corrected at as possible, try to adjust from some other area within your overall budget to account for the adjustment.

Work flexibly

As with setting up a budget, sticking also often boils down to willingness to be flexible. For instance, if your start-up's revenue does not match what you expected - and there's a good chance this might be the case in the first few years- trim expenses to compensate. B t the same token, if you are taking in more than anticipated, it might be time to invest in better equipment.

Watch your cash flow

If you want to stick to a budget, make sure that your inflow more than compensate for your outflow. Monitor your income closely to make certain that you have adequate funds to pay your bills, particularly if your business is prone to long lapses between pay cheques.

Err on the side of being conservative

When setting up your budget, it is always a good idea to oversate your expenses and lowball your expected revenue. Look at budget savers and other ways to lessen the burden on your income, when initially planning your business expenditure.

Nature a cash cushion

The uncertainty of budgeting - both in terms of income as well expenses - stands as one of the biggest threats to the survival and success of any start-up. While trimming expenses to the absolute bone is always a good idea, it's also prudent to set aside income whwnever possible. Not only can that money come in handy for predictable expenses, it also can prove an absolute lifesaver, should an unexpectedly high expense suddenly crop up.

Check your budget every month

It is always helpful to check budget every month and examine your cash flow to make certain your available funds are sufficient to meet your liabilities . If you're adjusting your budget as you go, it is of some help to have emergency fund to take care of monthly overturns.

Budget as a form of restraint

Setting up and sticking to a solid budget is the most effective teacher of fiscal discipline there is. But don't be shy about busting your budget if an occasion should truly warrant it. It's often impossible to budget for a valuable last minute-minute seminar or a budget for a trade show to make valuable contacts. If you are too rigid with your budget, you'll refuse to spend when you really should