Ye Htut

How to Form and Operate a Non-Profit Organization

2008-02-22T09:45:00.000-08:00

All Videos in this Series

Summary: Non-profit organizations are often political in nature, pushing for issues such as heath care and environmental regulation. However in this series, Expert Village will leave politics to the political action committees and instead focus our energies on issues very close to our heart: culture and education. As we turn the corner into the 21st century, non-profit groups throughout the country are striving to preserve the memory of the musicians, artists and writers who form the backbone of our cultural heritage. After watching this series of videos, you too will feel confident in lending your support by means of your own non-profit organization.

Original source:http://www.expertvillage.com

Web TV

2008-02-22T09:31:00.001-08:00

How to Build Self Confidence

2008-02-22T08:52:00.000-08:00

Steps

Recognize your insecurities. What does that voice in the back of your mind say? What makes you ashamed of yourself? This could be anything from Get Rid of Acne, to Overcome Serious Regrets regrets to Deal with Emotional Abuse motional abuse (past or present) from a loved one or friends at school. Whatever is making you feel unworthy, ashamed, or inferior, identify it, give it a name, and write it down.
Talk about it with friends and loved ones. Wear it on your sleeve. Each day chip away at it; wear it down. There's no quick fix. Get to the root of the problem; focus on it and understand that you need to resolve each issue before you can move on.
Remember that no one is perfect. Even the most confident people have insecurities. At some point in any of our lives, we may feel we lack something. That is reality. Learn that life is full of bumps down the road.
Identify your successes. Everyone is good at something, so discover the things at which you excel, then focus on your talents. Give yourself permission to take pride in them. Give yourself credit for your successes. Inferiority is a state of mind in which you've declared yourself a victim. Do not allow yourself to be victimized.
Be thankful for what you have. A lot of the times, at the root of insecurity and lack of confidence is a feeling of not having enough of something, whether it's emotional validation, good luck, money, etc. By acknowledging and appreciating what you do have, you can combat the feeling of being incomplete and unsatisfied. Finding that inner peace will do wonders for your confidence.
Be Positive, even if you don't feel positive. Avoid self-pity, or the pity and sympathy of others. Never allow others to make you feel inferior--they can only do so if you let them. If you continue to loathe and belittle yourself, others are going to do and believe likewise. Instead, speak positively about yourself, about your future, and about your progress. Do not be afraid to project your strengths and qualities to others. By doing so, you reinforce those ideas in your mind and encourage your growth in a positive direction.
Look in the mirror and smile. Studies surrounding what's called the "facial feedback theory" suggest that the expressions on your face can actually encourage your brain to register certain emotions. So by looking in the mirror and smiling every day, you might feel happier with yourself and more confident in the long run.
Fake it. Along the same lines of smiling to make yourself feel happy, acting confident might actually make you believe it. Pretend you're a completely confident version of you; go through the motions and see how you feel.
Express yourself, whether it's through art, music, writing, etc. Find something you enjoy. Everyone is born with talents and strengths. You can develop and excel in yours. If it's difficult to name two or three things you have some ability in or just plain love to do, think about things others do that you would like to do too and take some lessons or join an enthusiasts club. When you're following your passion, not only will it have a therapeutic effect, but you'll feel unique and accomplished, all of which can help build your self confidence. Plus, adding a variety of interests to your life will not only make you more confident, but it will increase your chances of meeting compatible friends!
Stick to your principles. It might be tough, but if you don't have something you can believe in, you don't have anything. If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything. No matter what's happened in your life, you can always lay claim to the fact that from this day forward, you've followed your principles to the best of your ability.
Help others. When you know you're kind to the people around you, and are making a positive difference in other people's lives (even if it's just being kinder to the person who serves you coffee in the morning) you'll know that you are a positive force in the world--which will boost your self confidence. Go volunteer twice a month at an elementary school. Bake something for your neighbor for no reason. Confidence that you have earned is the most long-lasting.

source:http://www.wikihow.com

Tips for Mastering Critical Thought

2008-02-16T21:16:00.000-08:00

Here are some ideas to help your critical thinking skills:

Be Skeptical

Doubt things. Don’t accept things at face value and think them through. The worst error you can commit is to delegate all your thinking to another person. By creating a layer of doubt on everything, even your ideas, you can improve them.

Skepticism isn’t cynicism, which rejects everything. It just means you need to place a layer of rational thought before accepting anything as truth.

Be Empirical

Many failures of thinking have to do with the beautiful theories and complex models we form inside our heads. These models can serve us well, but they can also trap us. Blinding you to potential opportunities and disguising threats.

Being empirical simply means that you experiment where you don’t know. Look towards data, not hypothesis, and follow what the numbers are telling you. No solution can be permanent, but resist the urge to force a complex reality into a simplified box.

Emphasize the Important

If I inform you that elephants are purple or that you can cut your e-mail time in half without problems, which would be better for you to think about? Rational thinking is an energy consuming ability. As such, you need to force it upon the things that matter most in your lives.

Sadly, many people who have mastered rational abilities of skepticism and empiricism avoid using them where they matter most. Within their narrowed field of study, they are ruthless thinkers, bringing out the truth. But then they go home and apply weak thinking skills to matters critical to their lives.

Here are some thoughts for where you might want to use your newfound critical thinking skills:

Habits. Where do you spend most your time and energy? If you are wrong about your habits, the result can be huge over a period of years.
Beliefs. How does your religious and spiritual beliefs influence your thinking. Using rational thinking skills can help you fine tune this ever-present aspect of your life.
Goals. What do you want to accomplish? Are you going about it the right way?
Opportunities. Have you summarily rejected opportunities because they don’t fit your worldview? Use some critical thinking skills to open up new possibilities.

Staying Smart

2008-02-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

Scientists used to believe that the brain was relatively fixed. You could learn new things and understand more, but new neurons couldn't be made. This means the underlying hardware that runs your brain was essentially fixed.

Now scientists know that this isn't true. The studies that showed new neurons couldn't be grown was based on animals in deprived environments. When given the right mental exercise, new neurons can grow. Although you probably won't be seeing people with watermelon sized heads and supercomputer brain abilities anytime soon, there are things you can do to stay sharp and expand your thinking power.

Problem Solving

Puzzles and games have been part of society for centuries. Not only do they provide a pleasurable diversion, they can make you smarter. Solving difficult problems does several things:

Keeps your thinking abilities sharp. Gives you practice with old mental tools. Helps you develop new mental tools.

Big solutions are comprised of smaller components. Figuring out how to build a house comes first from knowing how to lay a foundation, erect walls and hammer a nail. Similarly, coming up with a computer algorithm requires smaller mental tools to reach a final solution.

Problem solving allows you to gain skill with old tools, like a master carpenter getting better with time. But it also allows you to gain new ones. Approaching problems from different angles and finding different types of problems expands the amount of tools you can use. Thinking about designing a webpage by studying sculpture will give you different tools than just hammering out PHP.

Reading

If problem solving expands your tools, reading expands the supplies. Reading books on a variety of subjects offers you new metaphors, ideas, perspectives and understandings you wouldn't otherwise have.

I strive to read at least 50 books each year. This can be difficult in a busy world, but I know incredibly busy people who manage to read at least a hundred. By picking books from a broad range of subjects, not just one discipline, you can have a broader assortment of understandings.

Sharpen Your Focus

Concentration is a crucial aspect of intelligence. Tough problems require that you think for hours, days or even years to solve them. Some physicists have spent decades before reaching the solution to a particularly vexing problem.

Focus can be sharpened with practice. If you find yourself getting distracted after working for an hour, aim to work uninterrupted for an hour and ten minutes. Progressive training can enhance your ability to concentrate.

Another tool for concentration is writing. Writing out difficult problems gives you better control over your thoughts. When I was just starting to learn computer programming, my teacher told everyone in the class to write out all major problems before doing any coding. This would help organize your ideas so mistakes could be avoided and less time was wasted on trial and error.

The Act of Creation

I believe that everyone, no matter the profession, should be engaged in at least one creative activity regularly. Creative activities are those that make something new. Writing, programming, design, sculpture, painting, music even some computer games allow for creative expression.

Creating new things is not only fun, it has mental benefits as well. Larger projects force you to think in a scope beyond simple tasks. A door-to-door salesperson may only spend an hour or two with each customer before they reach a decision. After that, the salesperson moves to the next house. But creating a piece of music or art can take months and years of effort, requiring you to think beyond the next task.

Creative tasks also allow you to express ideas that might not otherwise be realized. Stories, images and ideas get suppressed in order to fit into our daily life. Having a creative outlet allows you to express those ideas and cultivates your ability to think.

Mastery

Building skills is another way to sharpen your mind. When building skills I believe all of them fall into two major categories, mastery and beginner.

Mastery skills are those that you perfect. It usually takes at least a decade of concentrated effort to master any one skill. Getting a doctorate takes the better part of a decade. Many martial arts masters trained for almost a dozen years. Mastering such a high level of skill requires both patience and discipline.

Beginner skills are those that you gain an adequate level and move on. Adequacy in most skills only takes a few months of concentrated effort. The goal here isn't for discipline as with mastery, but a steep learning curve and broader understandings.

Spending a few months on painting, another few in public speaking, and six months learning C++ might not make you an expert in any of these areas. But you will pick up mental tools you can generalize to other areas. In addition, the first six months of learning are usually sharp, testing your thinking power.

How to Use These Methods in a Busy Life

It can be hard to fit in a mental exercise routing into a busy life. But the benefits make it worth it. Thinking smarter, enjoying a richer life and becoming a more effective person are just a few of the advantages that taking up these ideas can yield.

When even that fails, the best solution is to incorporate these ideas into your work and routine. Find ways to transform how you do what you do so it becomes an engaging challenge.

Maslow's hierarchy of needs

2008-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the four lower levels are grouped together as being associated with physiological needs, while the top level is termed growth needs associated with psychological needs. Deficiency needs must be met first. Once these are met, seeking to satisfy growth needs drives personal growth. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are satisfied. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritized. If a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritize those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level. For instance, a businessman (at the esteem level) who is diagnosed with cancer will spend a great deal of time concentrating on his health (physiological needs), but will continue to value his work performance (esteem needs) and will likely return to work during periods of remission.

Deficiency needs

The first four layers of the pyramid are what Maslow called "deficiency needs" or "D-needs": the individual does not feel anything if they are met, but feels anxious if they are not met. The deficiency needs are: Physiological, Safety needs, Love/Belonging, and Esteem needs.

Physiological needs

These are the basic animal needs for such things as food, warmth, sex, water, and other body needs. If a person is hungry or thirsty or his body is chemically unbalanced, all of his energies turn toward remedying these deficiencies, and other needs remain inactive. Maslow explains that, "Anyone who attempts to make an emergency picture into a typical one, and who will measure all of man's goals and desires by his behavior during extreme physiological deprivation, is certainly blind to many things. It is quite true that man lives by bread alone — when there is no bread".

The physiological needs of the organism (those enabling homeostasis) take first precedence. These consist mainly of:

Excretion
Eating
Sex
Drinking
Sleeping
Warmth

If some needs are not fulfilled, a human's physiological needs take the highest priority. Physiological needs can control thoughts and behaviors, and can cause people to feel sickness, pain, and discomfort.

Safety needs

With his physical needs relatively satisfied, the individual's safety needs take over and dominate his behavior. These needs have to do with man's yearning for a predictable, orderly world in which injustice and inconsistency are under control, the familiar frequent, and the unfamiliar rare. In the world of work, these safety needs manifest themselves in such things as a preference for job security, grievance procedures for protecting the individual from unilateral authority, savings accounts, insurance policies, and the like.

For the most part physiological and safety needs are reasonably well satisfied in our affluent and relatively lawful society. The obvious exceptions, of course, are people outside the mainstream — the poor, the disadvantaged, and members of minority groups. If frustration has not led to apathy and weakness, such people still struggle to satisfy the basic physiological and safety needs. They are primarily concerned with survival: obtaining adequate food, clothing, shelter, and seeking justice from the dominant societal groups.

Safety needs include:

Personal security from crime
Financial security
Health and well-being
Safety net against accidents/illness and the adverse impacts

Love/Belonging/Social needs

After physiological and safety needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs is social. This psychological aspect of Maslow's hierarchy involves emotionally-based relationships in general, such as:

friendship
sexual intimacy
having a supportive and communicative Family

Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance, whether it comes from a large social group (such as clubs, office culture, religious groups, professional organizations, sports teams, gangs) or small social connections (family members, intimate partners, mentors, close colleagues, confidants). They need to love and be loved (sexually and non-sexually) by others. In the absence of these elements, many people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and depression. This need for belonging can often overcome the physiological and security needs, depending on the strength of the peer pressure. e.g. an anorexic ignores the need to eat and the security of health for a feeling of belonging.

Esteem needs

All humans have a need to be respected, to have self-esteem, self-respect, and to respect others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. Imbalances at this level can result in low self-esteem, inferiority complexes. People with low self-esteem need respect from others. They may seek fame or glory, which again depends on others. However confidence, competence and achievement only need one person and everyone else is inconsequential to one's own success. It may be noted, however, that many people with low self-esteem will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by receiving fame, respect, and glory externally, but must first accept themselves internally. Psychological imbalances such as depression can also prevent one from obtaining self-esteem on both levels.

Growth needs

Though the deficiency needs may be seen as "basic", and can be met and neutralized (i.e. they stop being motivators in one's life), self-actualization and transcendence are "being" or "growth needs" (also termed "B-needs"), i.e. they are enduring motivations or drivers of behavior.

Cognitive needs

Maslow believed that humans have the need to increase their intelligence and thereby chase knowledge. Cognitive needs is the expression of the natural human need to learn, explore, discover and create to get a better understanding of the world around them.

Aesthetic needs

Based on Maslow's beliefs, it is stated in the hierarchy that humans need beautiful imagery or something new and aesthetically pleasing to continue up towards Self-Actualization. Humans need to refresh themselves in the presence and beauty of nature while carefully absorbing and observing their surroundings to extract the beauty that the world has to offer.

Self-actualization

Self-actualization — a concept Maslow attributed to Kurt Goldstein, one of his mentors — is the instinctual need of humans to make the most of their abilities and to strive to be the best they can.

In Maslow's scheme, the final stage of psychological development comes when the individual feels assured that his physiological, security, affiliation and affection, self-respect, and recognition needs have been satisfied. As these become dormant, he becomes filled with a desire to realize all of his potential for being an effective, creative, mature human being. "What a man can be, he must be", is the way Maslow expresses it.

Maslow's need hierarchy is set forth as a general proposition and does not imply that everyone's needs follow the same rigid pattern. For some people, self-esteem seems to be a stronger motivation than love. Mussolini, for example, alienated his closest friends by undertaking reckless military adventures to achieve status as a conqueror. (This example can also be used to illustrate the means-to-an-end dilemma of human motivation. That is, Mussolini may have reached for status as a means to gaining the affection of Adolf Hitler. More will be said about this problem later.) For some people, the need to create is often a stronger motivation than the need for food and safety. Thus, the artist living in poverty is a classic example of reversing the standard hierarchy of needs. Similarly, persons who have suffered hunger or some other deprivation for protracted periods may live happily for the rest of their lives if only they can get enough of what they lacked. In this case, the level of aspiration may have become permanently lowered and the higher-order, less prepotent needs may never become active. There are also cases of people's martyring themselves for causes and suffering all kinds of deprivations, particularly in the physiological, safety, and sometimes social categories, to achieve their goals.

Maslow writes the following of self-actualizing people:

They embrace the facts and realities of the world (including themselves) rather than denying or avoiding them.
They are spontaneous in their ideas and actions.
They are creative.
They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives.
They feel a closeness to other people, and generally appreciate life.
They have a system of morality that is fully internalized and independent of external authority.
They have discernment and are able to view all things in an objective manner.

To further confound the problem of understanding motivation, Maslow points out that motives are not always conscious.^[1] In the average person, he believes, they are more often unconscious than conscious — showing the influence on his thinking of Freudian psychologists who have long been concerned with the hidden causes of human behavior.

In Maslow's theory, then, human needs are arranged in a hierarchy of importance. Needs emerge only when higher-priority needs have been satisfied. By the same token, satisfied needs no longer influence behavior. This point seems worth stressing to managers and administrators, who often mistakenly assume that money and other tangible incentives are the only cures for morale and productivity problems. It may be, however, that the need to participate, to be recognized, to be creative, and to experience a sense of worth are better motivators in an affluent society, where many have already achieved an acceptable measure of freedom from hunger and threats to security and personal safety, and are now driven by higher-order psychological needs.

In short, self-actualization is reaching one's fullest potential.

According to Maslow, the tendencies of self-actualizing people are as follows:

1. Awareness

efficient perception of reality
freshness of appreciation
peak experiences
ethical awareness

2. Honesty

philosophical sense of humour
social interest
deep interpersonal relationships
democratic character structure

3. Freedom

need for solitude
autonomous, independent
creativity, originality
spontaneous

4. Trust

problem centered
acceptance of self, others, nature
resistance to enculturation - identity with humanity

Maslow discovered that healthy individuals are motivated toward what he termed self-actualization, and noted that Self-actualizing people had strikingly similar characteristics. He described self-actualization as:

“an episode or spurt in which the powers of the person come together in a particularly and intensely enjoyable way, and in which he is more integrated and less split, more open for experience, more idiosyncratic, more perfectly expressive or spontaneous, or fully functioning, more creative, more humorous more ego-transcending, more independent of his lower needs, etc. He becomes in these episodes more truly himself, more perfectly actualising his potentialities, closer to the core of his being, more fully human. Not only are these his happiest and most thrilling moments, but they are also moments of greatest maturity, individuation, fulfilment - in a word, his healthiest moments.

Self-actualising people, those who have come to a high level of maturation, health and self-fulfilment, have so much to teach us that sometimes they seem almost like a different breed of human beings.”

The following descriptions have been compiled from the writings of Maslow and others.

1. Clearer perception of reality. Self-actualizing people perceive reality more effectively than others and are more comfortable with it. They have an accurate perception of what exists rather than a distortion of perception by one's needs, and possess an ability to be objective about their own strengths, possibilities and limitations. They judge experiences, people and things correctly and efficiently, and have an unusual ability to detect the spurious, the fake, and the dishonest. They are not afraid of the unknown and can tolerate the doubt, uncertainty, and tentativeness accompanying the perception of the new and unfamiliar.

2. Acceptance of self, others, and nature. Self-actualizing persons are not ashamed or guilty about their human nature, with its shortcoming, imperfections, frailties, and weaknesses. They can accept their own human shortcomings, without condemnation. Nor are they critical of these aspects of other people. They respect and esteem themselves and others. Moreover, they are honest, open, genuine, without pose or facade. They are not, however, self-satisfied but are concerned about discrepancies between what is and what might be or should be in themselves, others, and society.

3. Spontaneity. Self-actualizing people are relatively spontaneous in their behaviour, and far more spontaneous than that in their inner life, thoughts and impulses. Self-actualising persons are not hampered by convention, but they do not flout it. They are not conformists, but neither are they anti-conformist for the sake of being so. They might act conventionally, but they seldom allow convention to keep them from doing anything they consider important or basic. They are not externally motivated or even goal-directed; rather their motivation is the internal one of growth and development, the actualization of themselves and their potentialities.

4. Problem-centering. Self-actualizing people have a problem-solving orientation towards life instead of an orientation centered on self. They are interested in solving problems; this often includes the problems of others. Solving these problems is often a key focus in their lives. They commonly have a mission in life, some problem outside themselves that enlists much of their energies. In general this mission is unselfish and is involved with the philosophical and the ethical.

5. Detachment and the need for solitude. Self-actualizing people enjoy solitude and privacy. It is often possible for them to remain above the battle, unruffled and undisturbed by that which upsets others. They may even appear to be asocial. It is perhaps, related to an abiding sense of security and self-sufficiency.

6. Autonomy, independent of culture and environment. Self-actualizing persons are not dependent for their main satisfactions on other people or culture or means-to-ends, or in general, on extrinsic satisfactions. Rather they are dependent for their own development and continued growth upon their own potentialities and latent resources. The meaning of their life is self-decision, self-governing and being an active, responsible, self-disciplined deciding person rather than a pawn or a person helplessly ruled by others.

7. Continued freshness of appreciation. Self-actualizing people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again the basic pleasures of life. They experience awe, pleasure, and wonder in their everyday world, such as nature, children, music and sexual experience. They approach these basic experiences with awe, pleasure, wonder and even ecstasy.

8. The mystic experience, the oceanic feeling. Self-actualizing people commonly have mystic or `peak' experiences or times of intense emotions in which they transcend self. During a peak experience, they experience feelings of ecstasy, awe, and wonder with feelings of limitless horizons opening up, feelings of unlimited power and at the same time feelings of being more helpless than ever before. The experience ends with the conviction that something extremely important and valuable has happened so that the person is to some extent transformed and strengthened by the experience that has a carry-over into everyday life.

9. Oneness with humanity. Self-actualizing people have deep feelings of identification, sympathy and affection for other people, and a deep feeling of empathy and compassion for human beings in general. This feeling is, in a sense, unconditional in that it exists along with the recognition of the existence in others of negative qualities that may provoke occasional anger, impatience, and disgust.

10. Deep interpersonal relations. Self-actualizing people have deeper and more profound inter-personal relationships than most adults, but not necessarily deeper than children. They are capable of more closeness, greater love, more perfect identification, more erasing of ego boundaries than other people would consider possible. One consequence is that self-actualised people have especially deep ties with rather few individuals and their circle of friends is small. They tend to be kind or at least patient to almost everyone, yet they do speak realistically and harshly of those whom they feel deserve it — especially the hypocritical, pretentious, pompous, or the self-inflated individual.

11. Democratic character structure. Self-actualizing people are democratic in the deepest possible sense. They are friendly towards everyone regardless of class, education, political beliefs, race, or colour. They believe it is possible to learn something from everyone. They are humble in the sense of being aware of how little they know in comparison with what could be known and what is known by others. They are ready and willing to learn from anyone. They respect everyone as a potential contributor to their knowledge, merely because everyone is a human being.

12. Ethical means towards moral ends. Self-actualizing persons are highly ethical. They clearly distinguish between means and ends and subordinate means to ends. Their notions of right and wrong and of good and evil are often not conventional ones.

13. Philosophical, unhostile sense of humor. Self-actualizing people have a keen, unhostile sense of humour. They don't laugh at jokes that hurt other people or are aimed at others' inferiority. They can make fun of others in general — or of themselves — especially when they are foolish or try to be big when they are small. They are inclined towards thoughtful humour that elicits a smile, is intrinsic to the situation, and spontaneous.

14. Creativity. Self-actualizing people are highly imaginative and creative. The creativity involved here is not special-talent creativity. It is a creativity potentially inherent in everyone but usually suffocated by acculturation. It is a fresh, naive, direct way of looking at things, rather similar to the naive and universal creativity of unspoiled children.

7 Habits To Win In Office Politics

2008-02-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

Office politics - a taboo word for some people. It’s a pervasive thing at the workplace. In it’s simplest form, office politics is simply about the differences between people at work; differences in opinions, conflicts of interests are often manifested as office politics. It all goes down to human communications and relationships.

There is no need to be afraid of office politics. Top performers are those who have mastered the art of winning in office politics. Below are 7 good habits to help you win at the workplace:

HABIT #1 - BE AWARE YOU HAVE A CHOICE

The most common reactions to politics at work are either fight or flight. It’s normal human reaction for survival in the wild, back in the prehistoric days when we were still hunter-gatherers. Sure, the office is a modern jungle, but it takes more than just instinctive reactions to win in office politics. Instinctive fight reactions will only cause more resistance to whatever you are trying to achieve; while instinctive flight reactions only label you as a pushover that people can easily take for granted. Neither options are appealing for healthy career growth.

Winning requires you to consciously choose your reactions to the situation. Recognize that no matter how bad the circumstances, you have a choice in choosing how you feel and react. So how do you choose? This bring us to the next point…

HABIT #2 - KNOW WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO ACHIEVE

When conflicts happens, it’s very easy to be sucked into tunnel-vision and focus on immediate differences. That’s a self-defeating approach. Chances are you’ll only invite more resistance by focusing on differences in people’s positions or opinions.

The way to mitigate this without looking like you’re fighting to emerge as a winner in this conflict is to focus on the business objectives. In the light of what’s best for the business, discuss the pros and cons of each option. Eventually, everyone wants the business to be successful; if the business don’t win, then nobody in the organization wins. It’s much easier for one to eat the humble pie and back off when they realize the chosen approach is best for the business.

By learning to steer the discussion in this direction, you will learn to disengage from petty differences and position yourself as someone who is interested in getting things done. Your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is mature, strategic and can be entrusted with bigger responsibilities.

HABIT #3 - FOCUS ON YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE

At work, there are often issues which we have very little control over. It’s not uncommon to find corporate policies, client demands or boss mandates which affects your personal interests. Bitching and complaining are common responses to these events that we cannot control. But think about it, other than that short term emotional outlet, what tangible results do bitching really accomplish? In most instances, none.

Instead of feeling victimized and angry about the situation, focus on the things that you can do to influence the situation - your circle of influence. This is a very empowering technique to overcome the feeling of helplessness. It removes the victimized feeling and also allows others to see you as someone who knows how to operate within given constraints. You may not be able to change or decide on the eventual outcome, but you can walk away knowing that you have done the best within the given circumstances.

Constraints are all around in the workplace; with this approach, your boss will also come to appreciate you as someone who is understanding and positive.

HABIT #4 - DON’T TAKE SIDES

In office politics, it is possible to find yourself stuck in between two power figures who are at odds with each other. You find yourself being thrown around while they try to outwit each other and defend their own position. All at the expense of you getting the job done. You can’t get them to agree on a common decision for a project, and neither of them want to take ownership of issues; they’re too afraid they’ll get stabbed in the back for any mishaps.

In cases like this, focus on the business objectives and don’t take side with either of them - even if you like one better than the other. Place them on a common communication platform and ensure open communications among all parties so that no one can claim “I didn’t say that”.

By not taking sides, you’ll help to direct conflict resolution in an objective manner. You’ll also build trust with both parties. That’ll help to keep the engagements constructive and focus on business objectives.

HABIT #5 - DON’T GET PERSONAL

In office politics, you’ll get angry with people. It happens. There will be times when you feel the urge to give that person a piece of your mind and teach him a lesson. Don’t.

People tend to remember moments when they were humiliated or insulted. Even if you win this argument and get to feel really good about it for now, you’ll pay the price later when you need help from this person. What goes around comes around, especially at the work place.

To win in the office, you’ll want to build a network of allies which you can tap into. The last thing you want during a crisis or an opportunity is to have someone screw you up because they habour ill-intentions towards you - all because you’d enjoyed a brief moment of emotional outburst at their expense.

Another reason to hold back your temper is your career advancement. Increasingly, organizations are using 360 degree reviews to promote someone.

Even if you are a star performer, your boss will have to fight a political uphill battle if other managers or peers see you as someone who is difficult to work with. The last thing you’ll want is to make it difficult for your boss to champion you for a promotion.

HABIT #6 - SEEK TO UNDERSTAND, BEFORE BEING UNDERSTOOD

The reason people feel unjustified is because they felt misunderstood. Instinctively, we are more interested in getting the others to understand us than to understand them first. Top people managers and business leaders have learned to suppress this urge.

Surprisingly, seeking to understand is a very disarming technique. Once the other party feels that you understand where he/she is coming from, they will feel less defensive and be open to understand you in return. This sets the stage for open communications to arrive at a solution that both parties can accept. Trying to arrive at a solution without first having this understanding is very difficult - there’s little trust and too much second-guessing.

HABIT #7 - THINK WIN-WIN

As mentioned upfront, political conflicts happen because of conflicting interests. Perhaps due to our schooling, we are taught that to win, someone else needs to lose. Conversely, we are afraid to let someone else win, because it implies losing for us.

In business and work, that doesn’t have to be the case.

Learn to think in terms of “how can we both win out of this situation?” This requires that you first understand the other party’s perspective and what’s in it for him. Next, understand what’s in it for you. Strive to seek out a resolution that is acceptable and beneficial to both parties. Doing this will ensure that everyone truly commit to the agree resolution and not pay only lip-service to it.

People simply don’t like to lose. You may get away with win-lose tactics once or twice, but very soon, you’ll find yourself without allies in the workplace. Thinking win-win is an enduring strategy that builds allies and help you win in the long term.

SMART (project management)

2008-02-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

SMART is a mnemonic used in project management at the project objective setting stage. It is a way of evaluating if the objectives that are being set are appropriate for the individual project.

A SMART objective is one that is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

Peter Drucker, in his 1954 seminal work, "The Practice of Management" coined the usage of the acronym for SMART objectives while discussing objective-based management.

In recent years the term SMART (and more recently SMARTER) have been used beyond the original confines of MBO and Project management. They are now in common usage in helping managers agree objective within appraisal and performance management systems

Elements of a SMART objective

Specific

Specific in the context of developing objectives means that an observable action, behavior or achievement is described which is also linked to a rate, number, percentage or frequency. This latter point is extremely important - let me illustrate. 'Answer the phone quickly' can be said to be a precise description of behavior, you can clearly see whether someone answers the phone or not, but there is no rate, number, percentage or frequency linked to it. So, if I state; 'Answer the phone within 3 rings' a rate has been added and the behavior is now much more specific.
Summary: Is there a description of a precise or specific behavior / outcome which is linked to a rate, number, percentage or frequency?

Measurable

A system, method or procedure has to exist which allows the tracking and recording of the behavior or action upon which the objective is focused. Setting an objective that requires phone calls to be answered in three rings is fine, provided a system exists which measures whether this is actually being achieved. If none exists the manager must be prepared to set time aside time to actually monitor the response rates to incoming phone calls. The only other alternative is to get the person with whom the objectives are being set to measure their own progress; in some cases and situations it may be acceptable to do this, in others maybe not - use common sense to decide this.
Summary: Is there a reliable system in place to measure progress towards the achievement of the objective?

Achievable

The objectives that are set with people need to be capable of being reached, put most basically; there is a likelihood of success but that does not mean easy or simple. The objectives need to be stretching and agreed by the parties involved. Setting targets that are plainly ridiculous does not motivate people; it merely confirms their opinion of you as an idiot. They will apply no energy or enthusiasm to a task that is futile. Consider sending a group of footballers out to play a game having told them the final score already, and they've lost! What's the point? So don't do it. (Some people feel that Agreed should stand for the definition of A in SMART. But as this relates to the process of communicating and deciding the objective rather than a definition of the content it seems out of context in relation to the rest of the criteria and consequently I do not use it. I concur however that objectives should indeed be agreed between involved participants rather than enforced.)
Summary: With a reasonable amount of effort and application can the objective be achieved?

Relevant

This means two things; that the goal or target being set with the individual is something they can actually impact upon or change and secondly it is also important to the organization. Example: Telling the cleaners that they 'have to increase market share over the next financial quarter' is not actually something they can do anything about - it's not relevant to them. However, asking them to reduce expenditure on cleaning materials by £50 over the next three months is entirely relevant to them. It's what they spend their budget on every day. As to whether it's relevant to what the organization is trying to achieve, the manager has to decide this by considering the wider picture.
Summary: Can the people with whom the objective is set make an impact on the situation? Do they have the necessary knowledge, authority and skill?

Time-bound

In the objective somewhere there has to be a date (Day/Month/Year) for when the task has to be started (if it's ongoing) and/or completed (if it's short term or project related). Simply: No date = No good.
Summary: Is there a finish and/or a start date clearly stated or defined?

Ten Steps to SMART objectives (Download)

Management Thought

2008-02-16T10:21:00.001-08:00

There are many views of management, or schools of management thought, that have evolved over the years. What follows is a brief discussion of some of the theories of management that have greatly affected how managers manage today.

Classical Thought The classical school of management thought emerged throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s as a result of the Industrial Revolution. Since the beginning of time, managers have needed to know how to perform the functions discussed earlier. The Industrial Revolution emphasized the importance of better management as organizations grew larger and more complex. As industry developed, managers had to develop systems for controlling inventory, production, scheduling, and human resources. It was the managers who emerged during the Industrial Revolution, many who had backgrounds in engineering, who discovered that they needed organized methods in order to find solutions to problems in the workplace.

Classical management theorists thought there was one way to solve management problems in the industrial organization. Generally, their theories assumed that people could make logical and rational decisions while trying to maximize personal gains from their work situations. The classical school of management is based on scientific management which has its roots in Henri Fayol's work in France and the ideas of German sociologist Max Weber. Scientific management is a type of management that bases standards upon facts. The facts are gathered by observation, experimentation, or sound reasoning. In the United States, scientific management was further developed by individuals such as Charles Babbage (1792–1871), Frederick W. Taylor (1856–1915), and Frank (1868–1924) and Lillian (1878–1972) Gilbreth.

Behavioral Management Thought It was because the classical management theorists were so machine-oriented that the behavioralists began to develop their thinking. The behavioral managers began to view management from a social and psychological perspective. These managers were concerned about the well-being of the workers and wanted them to be treated as people, not a part of the machines.

Some of the early behavioral theorists were Robert Owen (1771–1858), a British industrialist who was one of the first to promote management of human resources in an organization; Hugo Munsterberg(1863–1916), the father of industrial psychology; Walter Dill Scott (1869–1955), who believed that managers need to improve workers' attitudes and motivation in order to increase productivity; and Mary Parker Follett (1868–1933), who believed that a manager's influence should come naturally from his or her knowledge, skill, and leadership of others.

In the behavioral management period, there was a human relations movement. Advocates of the human relations movement believed that if managers focused on employees rather than on mechanistic production, then workers would become more satisfied and thus more productive laborers. Human relations management supported the notion that managers should be paternalistic and nurturing in order to build work groups that could be productive and satisfied.

The behavioral science movement was also an important part of the behavioral management school. Advocates of this movement stressed the need for scientific studies of the human element of organizations. This model for management emphasized the need for employees to grow and develop in order to maintain a high level of self-respect and remain productive workers. The earliest advocates of the behavioral science movement were Abraham Maslow (1908–1970), who developed Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and Douglas McGregor (1906–1964), who developed Theory X and Theory Y. These theories are discussed in depth in other articles.

Contemporary Management Thought In more recent years, new management thoughts have emerged and influenced organizations. One of these is the sociotechnical system. A system is a set of complementary elements that function as a unit for a specific purpose. Systems theorists believe that all parts of the organization must be related and that managers from each part must work together for the benefit of the organization. Because of this relationship, what happens in one part of the organization influences and affects other parts of the organization.

Another contemporary approach to managing involves contingency theories. This approach states that the manager should use the techniques or styles that are most appropriate for the situation and the people involved. For example, a manager of a group of Ph.D. chemists in a laboratory would have to use different techniques from a manager of a group of teenagers in a fastfood restaurant.

Closed Management Systems Within the classical and behavioral approaches to management, the managers look only within the organization to improve productivity and efficiency. This is a closed system—the organization operates as though it is in its own environment. Outside influence and information are blocked out.

Open Management Systems Another perspective is the open system. As one would expect, here the organization functions in conjunction with its external environment, acting with and relying upon other systems. Advocates of an open system believe that an organization cannot avoid the influence of outside forces.

Managerial Skills

2008-02-16T10:17:00.002-08:00

To be an effective manager, it is necessary to possess many skills. Not all managers have all the skills that would make them the most effective manager. As technology advances and grows, the skills that are needed by managers are constantly changing. Different levels of management in the organizational structure also require different types of management skills. Generally, however, managers need to have communication skills, human skills, computer skills, time-management skills, and technical skills.

Communication Skills Communication skills fall into the broad categories of oral and written skills, both of which managers use in many different ways. It is necessary for a manager to orally explain processes and give direction to workers. It is also necessary for managers to give verbal praise to workers. Managers are also expected to conduct meetings and give talks to groups of people.

An important part of the oral communication process is listening. Managers are expected to listen to their supervisors and to their workers. A manager must hear recommendations and complaints on a regular basis and must be willing to follow through on what is heard. A manager who doesn't listen is not a good communicator.

Managers are also expected to write reports, letters, memos, and policy statements. All of these must be written in such a way that the recipient can interpret and understand what is being said. This means that managers must write clearly and concisely. Good writing requires good grammar and composition skills. This is something that can be learned by those aspiring to a management position.

Human Skills Relating to other people is vital in order to be a good manager. Workers come in about every temperament that can be imagined. It takes a manager with the right human skills to manage this variety of workers effectively. Diversity in the workplace is commonplace. The manager must understand different personality types and cultures to be able to supervise these workers. Human skills cannot be learned in a classroom; they are best learned by working with people. Gaining an understanding of personality types can be learned from books, but practice in dealing with diverse groups is the most meaningful preparation.

Computer Skills Technology changes so rapidly it is often difficult to keep up with the changes. It is necessary for managers to have computer skills in order to keep up with these rapid changes. Many of the processes that occur in offices, manufacturing plants, warehouses, and other work environments depend on computers and thus necessitate managers and workers who can skillfully use the technology. Although computers can cause headaches, at the same time they have simplified many of the tasks that are performed in the workplace.

Time-Management Skills Because the typical manager is a very busy person, it is important that time be managed effectively. This requires an understanding of how to allocate time to different projects and activities. A manager's time is often interrupted by telephone calls, problems with workers, meetings, others who just want to visit, and other seemingly uncontrollable factors. It is up to the manager to learn how to manage time so that work can be completed most efficiently. Good time-management skills can be learned, but managers must be willing to prioritize activities, delegate, deal with interruptions, organize work, and perform other acts that will make them better managers.

Technical Skills Different from computer skills, technical skills are more closely related to the tasks that are performed by workers. A manager must know what the workers who are being supervised are doing on their jobs or assistance cannot be provided to them. For example, a manager who is supervising accountants needs to know the accounting processes; a manager who is supervising a machinist must know how to operate the equipment; and a manager who supervises the construction of a home must know the sequence of operations and how to perform them.

Management (Definition)

2008-02-16T10:15:00.001-08:00

Throughout the years, the role of a manager has changed. Years ago, managers were thought of as people who were "the boss." While that might still be true today, many managers view themselves as leaders rather than as people who tell subordinates what to do. The role of a manager is comprehensive and often very complex. Not everyone wants to be a manager, nor should everyone consider being a manager.

A Definition of Management

Some would define management as an art, while others would define it as a science. Whether management is an art or a science isn't what is most important. Management is a process that is used to accomplish organizational goals; that is, a process that is used to achieve what an organization wants to achieve. An organization could be a business, a school, a city, a group of volunteers, or any governmental entity. Managers are the people to whom this management task is assigned, and it is generally thought that they achieve the desired goals through the key functions of (1) planning, (2) organizing, (3) directing, and (4) controlling. Some would include leading as a managing function, but for the purposes of this discussion, leading is included as a part of directing.

The four key functions of management are applied throughout an organization regardless of whether it is a business, a government agency, or a church group. In a business, which will be the focus here, many different activities take place. For example, in a retail store there are people who buy merchandise to sell, people to sell the merchandise, people who prepare the merchandise for display, people who are responsible for advertising and promotion, people who do the accounting work, people who hire and train employees, and several other types of workers. There might be one manager for the entire store, but there are other managers at different levels who are more directly responsible for the people who perform all the other jobs. At each level of management, the four key functions of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling are included. The emphasis changes with each different level of manager, as will be explained later.

Planning Planning in any organization occurs in different ways and at all levels. A top-level manager, say the manager of a manufacturing plant, plans for different events than does a manager who supervises, say, a group of workers who are responsible for assembling modular homes on an assembly line. The plant manager must be concerned with the overall operations of the plant, while the assembly-line manager or supervisor is only responsible for the line that he or she oversees.

Planning could include setting organizational goals. This is usually done by higher-level managers in an organization. As a part of the planning process, the manager then develops strategies for achieving the goals of the organization. In order to implement the strategies, resources will be needed and must be acquired. The planners must also then determine the standards, or levels of quality, that need to be met in completing the tasks.

In general, planning can be strategic planning, tactical planning, or contingency planning. Strategic planning is long-range planning that is normally completed by top-level managers in an organization. Examples of strategic decisions managers make are who the customer or clientele should be, what products or services should be sold, and where the products and services should be sold.

Short-range or tactical planning is done for the benefit of lower-level managers, since it is the process of developing very detailed strategies about what needs to be done, who should do it, and how it should be done. To return to the previous example of assembling modular homes, as the home is nearing construction on the floor of the plant, plans must be made for the best way to move it through the plant so that each worker can complete assigned tasks in the most efficient manner. These plans can best be developed and implemented by the line managers who oversee the production process rather than managers who sit in an office and plan for the overall operation of the company. The tactical plans fit into the strategic plans and are necessary to implement the strategic plans.

Contingency planning allows for alternative courses of action when the primary plans that have been developed don't achieve the goals of the organization. In today's economic environment, plans may need to be changed very rapidly. Continuing with the example of building modular homes in the plant, what if the plant is using a nearby supplier for all the lumber used in the framing of the homes and the supplier has a major warehouse fire and loses its entire inventory of framing lumber. Contingency plans would make it possible for the modular home builder to continue construction by going to another supplier for the same lumber that it can no longer get from its former supplier.

Organizing Organizing refers to the way the organization allocates resources, assigns tasks, and goes about accomplishing its goals. In the process of organizing, managers arrange a framework that links all workers, tasks, and resources together so the organizational goals can be achieved. The framework is called organizational structure, which is discussed extensively in another article. Organizational structure is shown by an organizational chart, also discussed extensively in another article. The organizational chart that depicts the structure of the organization shows positions in the organization, usually beginning with the top-level manager (normally the president) at the top of the chart. Other managers are shown below the president.

There are many ways to structure an organization, which are discussed extensively in the articles referred to previously. It is important to note that the choice of structure is important for the type of organization, its clientele, and the products or services it provides—all which influence the goals of the organization.

Directing Directing is the process that many people would most relate to managing. It is supervising, or leading workers to accomplish the goals of the organization. In many organizations, directing involves making assignments, assisting workers to carry out assignments, interpreting organizational policies, and informing workers of how well they are performing. To effectively carry out this function, managers must have leadership skills in order to get workers to perform effectively.

Some managers direct by empowering workers. This means that the manager doesn't stand like a taskmaster over the workers barking out orders and correcting mistakes. Empowered workers usually work in teams and are given the authority to make decisions about what plans will be carried out and how. Empowered workers have the support of managers who will assist them to make sure the goals of the organization are being met. It is generally thought that workers who are involved with the decision-making process feel more of a sense of ownership in their work, take more pride in their work, and are better performers on the job.

By the very nature of directing, it should be obvious that the manager must find a way to get workers to perform their jobs. There are many different ways managers can do this in addition to empowerment, and there are many theories about the best way to get workers to perform effectively and efficiently. Management theories and motivation are important topics and are discussed in detail in other articles.

Controlling The controlling function involves the evaluation activities that managers must perform. It is the process of determining if the company's goals and objectives are being met. This process also includes correcting situations in which the goals and objectives are not being met. There are several activities that are a part of the controlling function.

Managers must first set standards of performance for workers. These standards are levels of performance that should be met. For example, in the modular home assembly process, the standard might be to have a home completed in eight working days as it moves through the construction line. This is a standard that must then be communicated to managers who are supervising workers, and then to the workers so they know what is expected of them.

After the standards have been set and communicated, it is the manager's responsibility to monitor performance to see that the standards are being met. If the manager watches the homes move through the construction process and sees that it takes ten days, something must be done about it. The standards that have been set are not being met. In this example, it should be relatively easy for managers to determine where the delays are occurring. Once the problems are analyzed and compared to expectations, then something must be done to correct the results. Normally, the managers would take corrective action by working with the employees who were causing the delays. There could be many reasons for the delays. Perhaps it isn't the fault of the workers but instead is due to inadequate equipment or an insufficient number of workers. Whatever the problem, corrective action should be taken.

12 Rules for Self-Management

2008-02-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

Live by your values, whatever they are. You confuse people when you don’t, because they can’t predict how you’ll behave.
Speak up! No one can “hear” what you’re thinking without you be willing to stand up for it. Mind-reading is something most people can’t do.
Honor your own good word, and keep the promises you make. If not, people eventually stop believing most of what you say, and your words will no longer work for you.
When you ask for more responsibility, expect to be held fully accountable. This is what seizing ownership of something is all about; it’s usually an all or nothing kind of thing, and so you’ve got to treat it that way.
Don’t expect people to trust you if you aren’t willing to be trustworthy for them first and foremost. Trust is an outcome of fulfilled expectations.
Be more productive by creating good habits and rejecting bad ones. Good habits corral your energies into a momentum-building rhythm for you; bad habits sap your energies and drain you.
Have a good work ethic, for it seems to be getting rare today. Curious, for those “old-fashioned” values like dependability, timeliness, professionalism and diligence are prized more than ever before. Be action-oriented. Seek to make things work. Be willing to do what it takes.
Be interesting. Read voraciously, and listen to learn, then teach and share everything you know. No one owes you their attention; you have to earn it and keep attracting it.
Be nice. Be courteous, polite and respectful. Be considerate. Manners still count for an awful lot in life, and thank goodness they do.
Be self-disciplined. That’s what adults are supposed to “grow up” to be.
Don’t be a victim or a martyr. You always have a choice, so don’t shy from it: Choose and choose without regret. Look forward and be enthusiastic.
Keep healthy and take care of yourself. Exercise your mind, body and spirit so you can be someone people count on, and so you can live expansively and with abundance.

Go Hae, Lovers

2008-01-04T10:06:00.000-08:00

Justice Vs. Power - Chomsky Vs. Foucault, Part 1

2007-12-27T08:42:00.001-08:00

We should know it better.

Justice Vs. Power - Chomsky Vs. Foucault, Part 2

2007-12-27T08:38:00.000-08:00

We should know it better.

Trial by Franz Kafka Part 1

2007-12-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

My Favourite Writer .. Franz Kafka

Trial by Franz Kafka Part 2

2007-12-27T07:39:00.000-08:00

My Favourite Writer .. Franz Kafka

Hey There Delilah

2007-12-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

Just miss a girl who left our town for city.

Lets go to Paris

2007-12-27T07:14:00.000-08:00

I wish I'll be there one day

Summer Wine

2007-12-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

Best of Kenny G

2007-12-25T10:07:00.001-08:00

Instrumental Love theme

Love Songs

2007-12-25T10:04:00.001-08:00

Love songs by Celine

You might like it too.

2007-12-25T03:22:00.000-08:00

Fav Song

2007-12-25T03:15:00.001-08:00

Remind me of someone.