Karthik Kane

2009-10-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

White Chocolates

White chocolate gets its name from the cocoa butter it contains, but does not contain chocolate liquor or any other cocoa products.
As a result, it has no pronounced chocolate taste, but commonly tastes like vanilla or other added flavorings.
By law, white chocolate must contain a minimum 20% cocoa butter, 14% milk solids, and a maximum of 55% sugar.
There are some “white chocolate” products available that contain vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter—these should be avoided from a taste standpoint,
as they contain no cocoa products at all,
and are not technically white chocolate.

2009-10-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Milk Chocolate

In addition to containing cocoa butter and chocolate liquor, milk chocolate contains either condensed milk (most European varieties) or dry milk solids.
Milk chocolate must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor (in the United States), 3.39% butterfat, and 12% milk solids.
Milk chocolates are typically much sweeter than dark chocolate, and have a lighter color and a less pronounced chocolate taste.
Milk chocolate is more difficult to temper properly and more prone to overheating.

2009-10-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Dark Chocolates

Chocolate that contains chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla and leicithin (an emulsifier)।
There are no milk solids added in dark chocolate.
The cocoa content of commercial dark chocolate bars can range from 30% (sweet dark) to 70- 80% for extremely dark bars.
Bittersweet chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate also fall into the “dark chocolate” category.

2009-10-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Bittersweet chocolate

This contains at least 35% cocoa solids.Most bittersweet bars contain at least 50% chocolate liquor, with some bars pushing 70-80% chocolate liquor.
This chocolate often has a deeper, more bitter flavor than sweet dark or semi-sweet bars.
The amount of sugar in the chocolate is not regulated,so one manufacturer’s “bittersweet” bar may taste sweeter than another’s“semi-sweet”bar.

2009-10-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Murugan a Tamil Kadavul

2008-11-17T12:51:00.000-08:00

Tamil people take pride in naming Murugan a Tamil Kadavul. Their love for this particular deity is high and he is the most worshiped god in Tamil Nadu. His popularity is very high in south unlike north. The concept of Murugan as Tamil Kadavul is even expressed in latest film Billa in ‘Seval Kodi’ song.

Now let us make a small survey of names used to denote Murugan,

Kandha (dervative of Sanskrit word Skanda)
Subramaniyan(Sanskrit form Subhramanya)
Saravana(One who is born in Sara Vana, where Vana means forest)
Kumaran(which means younger one in Sanskrit)
Shanmuha (one with six faces in Sanskrit)
Karthikeya (also Sanskrit orgin)

As you see all the names is either Sanskrit or Sanskrit derivatives.

Let us now see his orgin, He is son of Shiva, Parvathi and brother of Ganesha.

So what are the elements which make him a real Tamil Kadavul?

What is the Myth as we know?

The basic Myth we know is as follows :

Shiva created Murugan to kill Curan.
He was born as six children and later integrated into one.
He arrested Brahma and taught Veda to Shiva in Swamimalai.
He fought for Gyana Palam and became an Aandi(saint) and stood on Palani hills.
He received his Vel from Parvathi in Sirakali
He destroyed Curan in Thiruchentur.
He freed the Devas and in turn got married to Indra’s Daughter Theivanai in Thiruthani. Fell in love and married Valli in Palamudhirsolai
Settled in Thriparankundram as Deity with two wives.

This myth is standard myth known to all Tamilians and explains the concept of Arupadai vedu(Concept of six sacred houses/Temples)।

How does it differ from Northern Myth?

The Atharva Veda describes Kumaran as ‘Agnibhuh’ or son of Agni, the fire god.
The Satapatha Brahmana refers to him as the son of Rudra and the ninth form of Agni. Unbarable to bear handle the heat , the sisu was split into six and put in the Pond in Sara Vana (Saravana Poigai).
He is brought up as six children and later in fight with Indra he was combined as one person with six heads.
He lead the army of Gods(Devas) to defeat Taraka.
He is an eternal Bachelor or he is married to Devasena, which means army of gods.
His weapon was raging fire , since he was a form of Agni.
He is eternally young god
He has attributes of attributes of being a teacher (The Chandogya Upanishad refers to Skanda as the “way that leads to wisdom”)
Myth of Skanda arresting Brahma also comes up.

Some important points to be noted here are:

Skanda is not son of Shiva.
He has no mother.
He is an eternal bachelor.
He doesn’t have a weapon called Vel.
There is no mention of Valli.

What was the Early Tamil myth?

There is no structured myth in Tamil for Murugan, but from various Sangam sources and archeological evidence and by inference, Murugan had the following features and attributes:

Eternal youth and beauty
Prowess in hunt and fighting
Prowess in love making (like Kama in Sanskrit)
Ability to enter and possess human beings
Red colour
Vel as his main weapon
Connection with animals like peacock, cock ,elephant and possibly goat and snake
Slayer of enemy cur ,representing fear ,terror and anxiety
Love for and union with Valli
Son of Mother goddess Korravai.

So here you see Murugan has a mother and not a bachelor. He has lover Vali, the daughter of mountain chief with whom he makes sexual union. He is also god of love and victory.

How was he worshiped in Early Tamilnadu?

He was believed to posses Katampu tree , hence the name Kadamban
He also possessed young women.
His priest was known as Velan.
Murugan was believed to posses Velan and give blessings to people.
He was worshiped by a form of Dance called Veriyatu.
He was also god of mountainous region Kurunji.
He was worshiped as slayer of evil and terror Cur, which later became Curan.
He was also believed to be god of Love, and often quoted in Sangam literature for his interludes with Valli.

The Integration:

Integration of Dravidian Murugan and Aryan Skanda has taken place when Pallavas came to Tamil Nadu. The Brahmins have spearheaded this integration.

Some important points in the integrated form:

The similar traits of both gods are eternal youth and destruction of evil.
The Aryan god had a father but no mother and Dravidian god has mother but no father.
The Dravidian mother Korravai was identified with Kali, Durga or Amman as early as Sangam age.
Since Kali /Durga were identified with Parvati the consort of Shiva, Murugan was identified as son of Shiva.
Taraka the asura in Aryan version was made brother of Surapadman(later name of Cur,Curan)
The eternal bachelor who was married to Devasena(Army of god) was changed to God with two wife to accommodate Valli, which was very famous tradition among Tamil .
Devasena was comfortably converted to Theivanai(Devayanai- Tamil myth says she was brought up by Ayiravatham the elephant of Indra – hence Deva yanai instead of Deva Sena or Deva Senai) a Brahmin girl and daughter of Indra.
The myth also was made up to represent two kind of marriage, Kalavu – love marriage (a Tamil/Dravidian tradition- Valli and Murugan) and Karpu – arranged marriage (Brahmin tradition- Theivanai and Murugan).
The fire weapon of North was replaced with Vel which is South Indian tradition.
Murugan as a mountain god is still maintained with all his temples situated on or near mountains.

When does the current myth come into Tamil Nadu?

The first textual evidence of Murugan as on of Shiva appears in Silapadikaram(4^thCentury AD).
The whole myth was first explained in Thirumurgatrupadai by Nakkirar(7-9^thCentury AD)
Final form of myth we know was written by Kasiappa Civasariyar in Kanthapuranam(14^thCentury AD)
Even in Kanthapuranam , Palani was not mentioned and surrounding myth of Gyana Palam was not included.
The standard Myth we know about Murugan was only written in 14 th century by Kasiappa Civacariyar a Brahmin priest at Kanchipuram.

How did the myth enter North India?

The myth of Muruga as we know was first written in Sanksirt sources in Sivapurana.
Sivapuranas were composed around 9-10^thCentury AD by Sanskrit scholars of south and it was heavily influenced by the Bakthi movement prevalent in south.
Unlike south, the North Indian myth says that Karthikeya was elder to Ganesha.
The popularity of Karthikeya is also not much in North India.

This is very brief essay to outline the process of Skanda – Muruga integration. There some evidences which has come up recently to indicate Murugan might be Pre Historic god and an inherited God of Tamil people rather than an indigenous deity. My next essay would be on his Pre Historic origins.

akon

2008-11-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

Lonely im so lonely,
I have nobody,
To call my owwnnn
Im so lonely, im mr. Lonely
I have nobody,
To call my owwnnn
Im so lonely,

Yo this one here goes out to all my playas out there ya kno got to have one good girl whose always been there like ya
Kno took all the bullshit then one day she cant take it no more and decides to leave

I wont up in the middle of the night and I noticed my girl wasn't by my side, coulda sworn I was dreamin, for her I was
Feenin, so I hadda take a little ride, back tracking ova these few years, tryna figure out wat I do to make it go bad, cuz
Ever since my girl left me, my whole left life came crashin

Im so lonely (so lonely),
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own) girl

Im so lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own) girl

Cant belive I hadda girl like you and I just let you walk right outta my life, after all I put u thru u still stuck
Around and stayed by my side, what really hurt me is I broke ur heart, baby you were a good girl and I had no right, I
Really wanna make things right, cuz without u in my life girl

Im so lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody to call my own)
To call my own (to call my own) girl

Im so lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own) girl

Been all about the world ain't neva met a girl that can take the things that you been through
Never thought the day would come where you would get up and run and I would be out chasing u
Cuz aint nowhere in the globe id rather be, aint noone in the globe id rather see then the girl of my dreams that made me
Be so happy but now so lonely

So lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own)

Im so lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own) girrll

Never thought that id be alone, I didnt hope you'd be gone this long, I jus want u to come home, so stop playing girl and
Come on home (come on home), baby girl I didn't mean to shout, I want me and you to work it out, I never wished Id ever
Hurt my baby, and its drivin me crazy cuz...

Im so lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own)

Im so lonely (so lonely)
Im mr. Lonely (mr. Lonely)
I have nobody (I have nobody)
To call my own (to call my own) girll

Lonely, so lonely
So lonely, (so lonely),
Mr. Lonely, so lonely
So lonely, so lonely, (so lonely), Mr. Lonely

Love

2008-11-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

Love VS Marriage

Love is holding hands in the street.
Marriage is holding arguments in the street.

Love is dinner for 2 in your favorite restaurant.
Marriage is a take home packet.

Love is cuddling on a sofa.
Marriage is one of them sleeping on a sofa.

Love is talking about having children.
Marriage is talking about getting away from children.

Love is going to bed early.
Marriage is going to sleep early.

Love is a romantic drive.
Marriage is arrive on tops curvy tarmac .

Love is losing your appetite.
Marriage is losing your figure.

Love is sweet nothing in the ear.
Marriage is sweet nothing in the bank.

Tv has no place in love.
Marriage is a fight for remote control.

Love is 1 drink and 2 straws.
Marriage is "Don't you think you've had enough!".

Conclusion: "Love is blind, Marriage is an eye opener!"

love's story

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat." Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh....Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love too, but he was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder and asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who helped me?" "It was Time," Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."

Unconditional love

Some time ago, a friend of mine punished his 4 year old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the small child tried to decorate a box to put under the tree. Nevertheless the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said "This is for you Daddy."

He was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction... He opened the box and his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.

Then he yelled at her:

DON'T YOU KNOW when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside of it???

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,

Oh Daddy it's not empty, I blew kisses into the box, all for you Daddy.

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her for forgiveness. My friend told me that he kept that gold box near his bed for years.

Whenever he was discouraged he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense each of us has been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses.

There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

A Silent Love

From the very Begining, the girl's family objected strongly on her dating this guy. Saying that it has got to do with family background & that the girl will have to suffer for the rest of her life if she were to be with him.

Due to family's pressure, the couple quarrel very often. Though the girl love the guy deeply, but she always ask him: "How deep is your love for me?"

As the guy is not good with his words, this often cause the girl to be very upset. With that & the family's pressure, the girl often vent her anger on him. As for him, he only endure it in silence.

After a couple of years, the guy finally graduated & decided to further his studies in overseas. Before leaving, he proposed to the girl: "I'm not very good with words. But all I know is that I love you. If you allow me, I will take care of you for the rest of my life. As for your family, I'll try my best to talk them round. Will you marry me?"

The girl agreed, & with the guy's determination, the family finally gave in & agreed to let them get married. So before he leave, they got engaged.

The girl went out to the working society, whereas the guy was overseas, continuing his studies. They sent their love through emails & phone calls. Though it's hard, but both never thought of giving up.

One day, while the girl was on her way to work, she was knocked down by a car that lost control. When she woke up, she saw her parents beside her bed. She realised that she was badly injured. Seeing her mum crying, she wanted to comfort her. But she realized that all that could come out of her mouth was just a sigh. She has lost her voice......

The doctors says that the impact on her brain has caused her to lose her voice. Listening to her parents' comfort, but with nothing coming out from her, she broke down.

During the stay in hospital, besides silence cry,.....it's still just silence cry that companied her. Upon reaching home, everything seems to be the same. Except for the ringing tone of the phone. Which pierced into her heart everytime it rang. She does not wish to let the guy know. & not wanting to be a burden to him, she wrote a letter to him saying that she does not wish to wait any longer.

With that, she sent the ring back to him. In return, the guy sent millions & millions of reply, and countless of phonecalls,.. all the girl could do, besides crying, is still crying....

The parents decided to move away, hoping that she could eventually forget everything & be happy.

With a new environment, the girl learn sign language & started a new life. Telling herself everyday that she must forget the guy. One day, her friend came & told her that he's back. She asked her friend not to let him know what happened to her. Since then, there wasn't anymore news of him.

A year has passed & her friend came with an envelope, containing an invitation card for the guy's wedding. The girl was shattered. When she open the letter, she saw her name in it instead.

When she was about to ask her friend what's going on, she saw the guy standing in front of her. He used sign language telling her "I've spent a year's time to learn sign language. Just to let you know that I've not forgotten our promise. Let me have the chance to be your voice. I Love You. With that, he slipped the ring back into her finger. The girl finally smiled.

A Nice Story about Love

once had a friend who grew to be very close to me.

Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: "You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love."

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don't expect.
Advise, but don't order.
Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring."

Passing thought... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away.....

Life is beautiful!!! Live it !!!

inputs karthik....

karthik kane

2008-11-17T12:36:00.000-08:00

How To Use Body Language To Your Advantage When Dating

2008-11-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

This is the language where you don’t need any words. Women have been doing it for hundreds of years - to attract the man they want. Becoming fluent in body language will ensure that you will be skilled in attracting the right man, and sending the get-lost signal to the wrong man.

Eyeing Up the Prize

The more eye contact you establish with the target, the better. Start with some sidelong glances. Then, begin with direct eye contact. Once he turns to meet your gaze, immediately lower your eyes and smile to yourself, this will tell him that you were watching him and are embarrassed that he caught you - a sure sign of interest. Next, be bold and try holding his stare, flashing a small, open-lipped smile.

If there is a man that is giving you the eye and you are not interested, look away from him and don`t look back at him again. When in conversation, looking at the ceiling and all around the room, also shows a definite lack of interest.

First Impressions Count

You leave your home ready to go to a party when you spot your gorgeous neighbor, and he doesn’t give you a second glance. Why? Because you aren’t dressed your best. When you enter a room, most people look to see who has come in. This is when you have to make an impression. Looking your best will make you feel your best. So make sure that before you leave your front door, look your best, and you never know you might just attract the attention of that gorgeous neighbor.

The Hand Job (no, not what you are thinking!)

Even without direct contact, your hands can send very powerful messages. There are a number of ways to convey that you want to get to know someone. Keeping your hands unclenched shows you’re open to him. Using your hands to caress objects, such as the rim of your glass, locks of your hair, or the sleeve of your blouse, in a rhythmic (as opposed to fidgety) manner, can be a sensual act. And for the braver hands, try picking fluff off his jacket, touching him to punctuate a point, or using the “accidental touch” when reaching for the salt.

Hands that are jammed in pockets, busy cleaning glasses, or balled in tight fists are all bad signs. Fingers tapping, drumming, pointing, or wagging are also signals to move on.

Stand Out

Your posture is one of the most telling signals you transmit. An open posture is evidence of an open person. Turning your body toward the man you’re conversing with, keeping your feet flat on the floor and leaning forward are actions that show interest. As well, slightly tilting your head, crossing and uncrossing your legs, and thrusting your chest forward give the message that you are interested.

As for ways to send a man packing, crossing your arms, holding a drink high in front of you, turning your body away or resting your feet on their toes will tell a person you are not interested.

A Few Extra Tips

Hopefully by now, you have an attack plan and a clear idea of when it’s time to get down and dirty, or when you’re best just to wave the white flag. Here are just a few more tips when trying to perfect your body language skills:

You’ll know things are going really well when you begin “mirroring” one another’s body language and gestures.
Don`t tease him by offering more than you plan to follow through. This can lead to very ugly circumstances.
Chain smoking, being extremely intoxicated, or having eyes only for your plate of food will not put you in the best standing for the body language game.
If you try your hand at it, and he’s not responding, abort the mission immediately.…
Following him around all night will only serve in making you look needy and desperate.

And finally, if all else fails, buy yourself a T-shirt that reads, “Looking for Love.”

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The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction is the universal law that can help you find your soulmate. It says that you will attract to you those people, events, and experiences that match your state of being. If you focus on having gratitude for the love, companionship, and joy you have in your life right now, you will attract more of that into your life. If you focus on what you don’t have, you will send out a message of lack and you will attract more lack into your life.

In the movie “Conversations with God” the character Neale says to God: “I just want my life back.” And God says to Neale: “You can’t have anything that you want.”

They then have an entire dialogue where God explains to Neale that by ‘wanting something (or someone)’ all you get to have is the experience, the feeling of ‘wanting’. I think there’s something to be learned from that.

As part of the preparation to manifest your soul mate I suggest that you begin the process of “living as if.” This means that your daily actions become congruent with your beliefs. For instance, I once heard a story about the great actress Della Reese. During the time she was waiting for her soul mate to arrive, she would set a place at the table for him each time she had a meal. Eventually, he arrived. Della sent a clear message to the Universe and the Universe delivered.

Many years ago, there was a woman by the name of Gayle that was advised by her astrologer to put her intentions for a soul mate into the world by coloring a mandala. She took a black & white mandala and a rainbow of multi-colored pencils and began declaring her intentions while she colored in a space on the mandala. She asked for things like: finding the perfect spiritual friend and lover to go through life with; a man who is kind to animals; someone who would appreciate her sense of humor; a man who would be accepting and open to her spiritual quest. For each intention she used a different color until the entire mandala became a multi-hued Technicolor testimony to the qualities she desired in her future partner. Within weeks of doing this she met her soul mate and they have now been married for more than 20 years!

The Art of Flirting

Did you ever see a Tarzan flick? Gotta love it! Poor Jane didn’t have time to flirt with Tarzan, at least, not until after he had successfully demolished an entire tribe, wrestled an alligator and made his famous war cry. Even then, poor Tarzan didn’t quite understand it when she lowered her lashes slightly and gave a secret little smile to him.

Flirting. Oh, but there is definitely an art to it.

I recently did an online quiz on flirting. I don’t know how I ever managed to get married. My score was in the negative to 10 points! Of course, it has been so many years since I last flirted that maybe I have forgotten how to flirt. Yes! That is the answer to my pitiful score. Why should I have to know how to flirt anymore? I have the man I want. Still, it galls me to know I did so poorly but I will get over it.

As a writer though, don’t I need to know how to let my heroine flirt? Of course I do, if that is part of her personality. Flirting can be overt, subtle or even subconscious. Some women don’t even know when they are doing it. They are natural at it. But after doing the quiz, I realized that flirting has definitely changed over the years. Especially in the past ten years.

The basic principle is the same, but a few of the techniques have become different. Two-thirds of women make the initial contact. Here are the strategies the online quiz recommended. I hope you print this because if your heroine is anything like me, she is going to need it!

1. Playing hard to get is still the smartest strategy. Men love the chase. 2. Bedroom eyes are considered alluring when the pupils are dilated. Men love big eyes. 3. Smiling at him first. Men feel more comfortable to approach. 4. Dancing alone to music. You are alone and confident. Men like that. 5. Looking at him and flipping your hair. The universal “come nibble my neck” signal. 6. “Accidentally” brushing up against him. Men react like a cat getting stroked. 7. Nodding at him first. Again, the signal that you are willing for them to approach you. 8. Licking your lips during eye contact. Oh, they know what that means and so do you. 9. Dancing with a “geek”. If a man considers you will turn him down, if he sees you dance with a “geek”, he will feel more confident.

Now, I have to tell you patting his buttocks was mentioned. Personally I have never had the nerve to be so bold, and let me assure you I am quite a bold woman. And of all things, rock climbing was considered the best choice for a first-date destination if you really, really, really want to get a guy to fall for you. Not literally, I pray.

So, when considering what your heroine should do to attract her ‘Tarzan’, remember that flirting is an art. I am sure your ‘Jane’ will do well with some of the techniques mentioned above. Just don’t have her patting his buttocks as they are rock climbing.

6 comments August 15, 2008

A Nice Story about Love

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me.

Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said this: “You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love.“

This was how I saw it: As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds.

This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love…they try to posses it, they demand, they expect… and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you .

For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature. If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.

Give and don’t expect.
Advise, but don’t order.
Ask, but never demand.

It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.”

Passing thought… Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take; but by the moments that take our breath away…..

Life is beautiful!!! Live it !!!

Add comment August 10, 2008

love’s story

Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said, “Richness, can you take me with you?” Richness answered, “No, I can’t. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you.”
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, “Vanity, please help me!” “I can’t help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat.” Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, “Sadness, let me go with you.” “Oh….Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!”

Happiness passed by Love too, but he was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly, there was a voice, “Come Love, I will take you.” It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.

Love realizing how much he owed the elder and asked Knowledge, another elder, “Who helped me?” “It was Time,” Knowledge answered. “Time?” asked Love. “But why did Time help me?” Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, “Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is.”

Add comment August 5, 2008

Newton’s laws of LOVE

First law:

A boy in love with a girl continues to be in love with her and a girl in love with a boy continues to be in love with him, until and unless any external agent(brother or father of the girl) comes into play and breaks the legs of the boy.

Second law:

The rate of change of intensity of love of a girl towards a boy is directly proportional to his bank balance.

Third law:

The force applied while proposing a girl by a boy is equal and opposite to the force applied by the girl while using her sandals.

Universal law:

Love can neither be created nor be destroyed, it can only be transfered from one girlfriend to another girlfriend.

Dating Rules For Women

Guys, if you don’t like this, tough - look away now.

In another dating article on this site you will find a general set of rules than men should follow when dating. In the same way women have some general rules that they should content with when entering the dating jungle. Now I know everyone is different so don’t take things too seriously here. There has been some controversy over some literature published recently in the USA that sets out in detail the rules a woman should follow to get her guy (or woman). Ellen Fein and Sherrie Schneider’s 1995 bestseller “The Rules,” explains how women should play hard if they want to get their guy. I can understand why some groups would be hostile but the fact is when we grow up there are a predefined set of dating rules. All that happens is that we forget most of them after the age of 21 and then find we need to relearn them.

I wish there weren’t any general rules and we just got on with it but courtship is a ritual; there are things that we make happen that excite stimulate, create interest, confound etc. Dating is a long test of compatibility. Are we perfectly matched? If we just threw ourselves together then the chances of long term happiness may be reduced. And yet previous generations managed to succeed on a far less complex courtship criteria list. Many arranged marriages work too interestingly.

In every society there are a predefined set of social rules we follow, from the way and timing of eating to the way we behave in public. The issue here is that when women date there are things that can help them be more successful. If we accept that dating is a game then there are rules to that game and winners and losers. If you know the rules in advance it gives you a head start. If men know the rules by which you are playing you may change the rules to suit the situation to keep the man guessing. Men love a challenge so feel free to adapt rule and add them as you feel inclined.

You can separate rules out into two parts, dating and online dating. Both areas have distinct rules that a woman should follow for dating success.

General Dating Rules

· Always look great, whatever your income. Gorgeous hair and some lipstick and wearing rags will still turn his head. You have the advantage, you are the woman. Look your best as you could meet a potential Mr. Right anywhere at any time.

· Never reveal information you don’t have to. An enigmatic woman drives men wild.

· Keep dates brief but your men interested. Less is always more.

· Try and stay in shape and involve some fitness regime at a gym. However much you hate it, your Mr. Right loves your body as much as your mind.

· Let your man pay. If he is interested, he is interested enough to ensure you eat well and get home safely in a cab.

· Ensure you receive flowers, if he doesn’t know what a florist is, dump him.

· Never ever sleep with a guy until he has fallen for you. Sex early in your dating game plan will ruin everything.

· Always keep a guy waiting and never turn up early. It is a lady’s perogative.

· Never be available when he wants you to be. Never be at the end of a phone when he calls and always let him leave a message or two first before replying.

· If he is available Tuesday, you are available Thursday.

· Weekend shopping trips with girlfriends are sacred and not available for dates.

· Keep your man standing on quicksand by shifting landmarks and goalposts constantly.

· Ensure you are a good kisser. Men will walk away if you cannot kiss. Practise on a mirror if you have to.

· Never ever talk about previous boyfriends and particularly their prowess in the bedroom. The number of ex boyfriends is your business only.

· Never pre suppose anything about your date until you choose to know him better. You cannot always tell by looking

· If any man shows the slightest signs of possessiveness or insecurity run like the wind. Life is too short for boys.

· If his shoes or hygiene are a disgrace dump him

· Never talk too much about your father and how your date measures up in comparison.

· Never ever come across as too available or too desperate, he will run a mile. He is the one doing the chasing remember.

· If the guy in the corner is gorgeous go and get him and create the need in him for you. Never wait for men to come to you because you may watch him leave with someone else.

· You may well have all the bodily functions of a man, just try not to demonstrate them early on.

· If you are wanting a child, don’t mention it on the first few dates.

· Never ever criticize his mother unless you want to remain single.

Online Dating Rules

· Always let them come to you, don’t chase via email

· Block anyone who annoys you instantly

· Place the best & most vampish photo up you can find

· Don’t reply to instant messages with clever opening lines

· Remain aloof and let yourself be chased

· Always reply to emails at least 3 days after receipt

· Never provide you true email or phone details to the man

· Always date safely and protect yourself at every turn

· Make sure your login name is stunning and sexy as well as enigmatic

· Do not login for hours on end. Short, rapid visits are best

· Do not assume the man you are talking to is destitute or sad

· Never ever reply to emails at weekends, wait until a weekday

· Never state how good your sexual performance is in your profile

· If you don’t want to date married men spell it out in your profile

· A man who doesn’t reply to your email within 3 days should be ignored

· Make sure your humor levels come across in text

· Do not chat to hundreds of men at once, the delay in replying is a dead giveaway and your Mr. Right will be off.

· Don’t even think about misrepresenting your size or description. They will find out.

· Come across as cool and sophisticated for best results

Always remember ladies that you are a sexy desirable woman and the world is your oyster. Always let men do the chasing and always let yourself be the chooser. Always stay safe and never risk yourself for the sake of attending a date. Always use a safe dating website like LoveBrowser.com

10 Most Romantic Tips

1. Spread rose petals all over the bedroom.

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2. What could be more classic than a fine gold locket with your photo inside? (Maybe a photo of the two of you.)

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3. Bring home one small, unexpected gift each week.

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4. Write a classic, romantic, passionate, handwritten, heartfelt love letter. Most adults haven’t written a love letter since high school. (Why not? Have we lost our youthful idealism, or have we just gotten lazy?)

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5. When traveling, give your partner a bouquet of roses; one rose for each day that you’ll be away. Attach a note that says something like this: “These three roses represent the three days I’ll be away from you. They also symbolize the love, joy, and laughter we share together.”

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6.Say “I love you” at least one times a day.

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7. Guys: Surprise her by performing one of her chores for her. (And not something easy like carrying the groceries in from the car, but something that requires some time and effort — like cooking all the meals over a weekend, or cleaning the entire house.)

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8. Ladies: Send him a letter sealed with a kiss. (Use your reddest lipstick.)

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9. Hold hands.

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10. On your yearly romantic checklist, make plans for Valentine’s Day — well in advance!

What, Do You Think Tough Girls Don’t Cry Too?

Don’t think that behind our tough girl image we aren’t still girls. Do you think our hearts don’t break also? Do you think we don’t need your shoulders to cry on… too?

Behind the woman drinking shots with you, behind the woman paying for your lap dance at the strip club, behind the woman talking shit to you while beating your ass at poker is a woman who is just as vunerable as the next chick. Behind our tough girl act is still a girl who wants to be loved and cherished and told how beautiful she is like every other girl.

We lean over toilets and purge the pain like other women. We stand in the mirror and find all the little things we hate about ourselves to bear witness to the pain that we feel inside like every other woman. We drink away the pain behind smiling faces and we date men who are wrong for us. We forget to take our pills and pray that we won’t be pregnant by Not The One as we stand in our bathrooms holding pee stained sticks.

Basically, we fuck up too.

We want to be the prettiest. And even when we are The Prettiest Ones we wish to be prettier, funnier, cooler, smarter, just anything more than we are now. Because like other women we think something must be missing, or our lives would be perfect. And even though others look at us and think that we have it it all under control, we know deep down that something is missing.

While we may never watch Lifetime and you’ll never find us in the Chick Lit section, we worry about breast cancer and our reproductive time clocks too. And even when we say we don’t want husbands and kids, sometimes we stand in line behind that shopping cart with the happy family and unruly kid who is about to steal something and secretly think, “I want that some day”. But we brush those thoughts out of our minds in favor of reading the latest gossip. Because other people’s problems are easier to deal with than our own.

We cry and hurt like every other girl. And I cry too. And I need that shoulder to cry on. And even when I say I am ok, I may not be. I just find it hard to ask for the things that I really want… like everyone else. Like every other woman. The Mad Dater - Later kids

Meeting Women The Importance of Focusing to Seduce Women

Let us get one thing straight, without focus your chances to seduce women is a pretty low one.
What you think about and focus on is, inevitably, what you are going to get out of life. You have to think about new ideas, new goals and new women, or your mind and behavior will exhibit the old ideas, patterns and people.

If you don’t focus on and visualize the woman of your dreams and imagine ways of meeting her all the time, then you’ll probably end up meeting someone who resembles your last girlfriend, or worse!

Visualize how you’re going to seduce women before you even meet women.
Avoid thinking about what you don’t want. If you think about not wanting a boring lazy woman, and you focus on that, chances are you’ll be meeting more of them than any other kind of woman.

You must FOCUS on what you WANT in order to GET what you WANT. This applies to all aspects of your life not just women. If you just focus on obstacles you come across, instead of your ultimate goals, you’ll continue to have setbacks! You have to focus and think about what you want all the time.

Your First Impression

Within three minutes of meeting a woman, she woman will evaluate you, judge you and stereotype you by your first impression. Despite this being an unreasonable way to judge a person, women do this to almost every man she meets.

Make those first crucial minutes work FOR you, not against you. What is communicated and observed during your first few minutes meeting a woman will dictate your future relationship with that woman: you may become friends, lovers, or possibly remain strangers.

We are all guilty of judging others based solely on their physical appearances, and our personal prejudices and shortcomings. As shallow as that may be, it’s true. You must use this judgment period to your advantage. This time is your most valuable opportunity to portray your most attractive qualities. The best way to make your first impression work for you is to adjust your physical appearance for greatest results.
Keep in mind focus is all it takes if your goal is to meet and seduce women.

Wonderful

2008-11-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

You Are Wonderful

The following story captured our heart. It happened several years ago in the Paris opera house. A famous singer had been contracted to sing, and ticket sales were booming. In fact, the night of the concert found the house packed and every ticket sold.

The feeling of anticipation and excitement was in the air as the house manager took the stage and said, Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due to illness, the man whom you've all come to hear will not be performing tonight. However, we have found a suitable substitute we hope will provide you with comparable entertainment. The crowd groaned in disappointment and failed to hear the announcer mention the stand-in's name. The environment turned from excitement to frustration.

The stand-in performer gave the performance everything he had. When he had finished, there was nothing but an uncomfortable silence. No one applauded. Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy stood up and shouted, Daddy, I think you are wonderful! The crowd broke into thunderous applause.

We all need people in our Lives who are willing to stand up once in a while and say, I think you are wonderful.

And at times others are expecting this from you. Are you telling them how wonderful you are?

Funny Quotes.

Practice makes a man perfect... - But nobody's perfect...... So why practice?

Money is not everything. - There's MasterCard & Visa.

One should love animals. - They are so tasty.

Save water. - Shower with your girl friend.

Love thy neighbour. - But don't get caught.

Behind every successful man, there is a woman - And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.

Every man should marry. - After all, happiness is not the only thing in life.

The wise never marry - And when they marry they become otherwise.

Success is a relative term. - It brings so many relatives.

Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today.

Love is photogenic - It needs darkness to develop

Children in backseats cause accidents - Accidents in backseats cause children

"Your future depends on your dreams" - So go to sleep

There should be a better way to start a day - Than waking up every morning

"Hard work never killed anybody" - But why take the risk !

"Work fascinates me" - I can look at it for hours!

God made relatives; - Thank God we can choose our friends.

When two's company, - three's the result!

The more you learn, the more you know,
The more you know, the more you forget
The more you forget, the less you know - So... Why learn.

A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where train stops.
On my desk, I have a work station.... What more can I say....

A BOY'S LOVE

On the last day before Christmas, I hurried to go to the store to buy the remaining gifts I didn't manage to buy earlier.

When I saw all the people there, I started to complain to myself. It is going to take forever here and I still have so many other places to go... Christmas really is getting more and more annoying every year. How I wish I could just lie down, go to sleep and only wake up after it...

Nonetheless, I made my way to the toy section, and there I started to curse the prices, wondering if all kids really play with such expensive toys.

While looking in the toy section, I noticed a small boy of about 5 years old, pressing a doll against his chest. He kept on touching the hair of the doll and looked so sad. I wondered who was this doll for. Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him and said: Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?

The old lady replied: You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear. Then she asked him to stay here for 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I started to walk toward him and I asked him who did he want to give this doll to. It is the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for this Christmas. She was so sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus will bring it to her, after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. No, Santa Claus cannot bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mother so that she can give it to her when she goes there.

His eyes were so sad while saying this.

My sister has gone to be with God. Daddy said that Mommy will also go to see God very soon, so I thought that she could bring the doll with her to give it to my sister.

My heart nearly stopped.

The little boy looked up at me and said: I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I asked him to wait until I come back from the store.

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me: I also want mommy to take this photo with her so that she will not forget me.

I love my mommy and I wish she didn't have to leave me but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.

I quickly reached for my wallet and took a few dollars out and said to the boy. What if we checked again, just in case, to see if you have enough money?

OK he said. I hope that I have enough.

I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll, and even some spare money.

The little boy said: Thank you God for giving me enough money.

Then he looked at me and added: I asked yesterday before I slept for God to make sure I have enough money to buy this doll so that mommy can give it to my sister. He heard me.

I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and the white rose. You know, my mommy loves white roses.

A few minutes later, the old lady came again and I left.

I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article 2 days ago, which mentioned of a drunk man in a truck who hit a car where there was one young lady and a little girl.

The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-assisting machine, because the young lady would not be able to get out of the coma.

Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young lady had passed away.

I couldn't stop myself and went to buy a bunch of white roses and I went to the mortuary where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see before burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest.

I left the place crying, feeling that my life had been changed forever.

The love that this little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine.

And in a fraction of a second, a drunk man had taken all this away from him.

The donkey

A village potter used to make pots and planters. He would go to a near by town to sell his wares. He had a donkey on whose back he would load the pots etc.

Diwali was fast approaching, so the potter decided to make some statues of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi, to sell in town. He made some beautiful statues and painted them in bright colours. He then loaded them on to the back of his donkey and set off towards the city.

On the way, he crossed many people. They would invariably fold their hands and bow to the statues of Ganesha and Lakshmi. By the time they reached the city, many people had bowed their heads before the deities.

They reached the exhibition ground where the artisans could exhibit their things. Soon the potter was able to sell his statues for a good sum. He was pleased indeed!

The potter took his donkey by the muzzle and set off on the road leading back to the village. Every time they would cross anyone, the donkey would stop and preen himself prettily as if he were a model. But what was the matter! No one seemed to as much as glance at him! Why were people not bowing their heads before him anymore? Desperate to catch their attention, the donkey started to bray louder & louder...

He-haw, he-haw...... He went on. The passers-by started pelting stones at him in annoyance. The potter was bewildered too.

The poor donkey had thought that everyone was bowing to him, little realizing that their reverence was directed to the idols of God tied to his back and not to him!

Many of us make this mistake. A person occupying a seat of power, often finds people saluting him. If he thinks that the salutations are in his honour, he is living in a fool's paradise, like the donkey in the story!

The respect is given to the chair and not to the person occupying it. As soon as he steps down from the position, the people around him vanish.

Frogs croak only when it rains, as soon as the rain stops, they vanish.

Black & White

In life, a lesson learned in your past that you will never forget completely.When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson learned that day.

I was convinced that "I" was right and "he" was wrong - and he was just as convinced that "I" was wrong and "he" was right.

The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson. She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he answered.

I couldn't believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, "White." It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side was it black.

My teacher taught me a very important lesson learned that day: You must stand in the other person's shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their perspective .

The scholarly gentleman and The Boatman

One day, a very scholarly gentleman, while travelling in India, decided to go across big river, so he asked one of the village people who owned a small boat, if he would take him, to this request the boatman agreed.

As they started, the sun became obscured by dark clouds, and as the river was large, the gentleman realised that the crossing would take some time. So he started a conversation with the boatman.

"Did you know that the sun is approximately 93,000,000miles away, and yet it has provided heat and light, throughout the universe since time immemorial, baring that, if it was to shift, even a fraction of an inch out of its orbit, there would be total devastation?"

The boatman replied; "My dear sir, I am just a simple man who has had no education, there is no way I could know such information"

"Then" said the gentleman "You are 25% fool".

Some time passed, and as they were coming to the ½ way mark, the thunder began to rumble.

"Did you know notice the lightening, just before the rumbling sound". The gentleman asked. He continued. "Do you know how that phenomenon occurs"

"No sir" replied the boatman.

"Its occurrence is due to the expansion of rapidly heated air," the gentleman exclaimed, " You are 50% fool.

About ¾ of the way the weather completely changed. It became dark and started to rain heavily and started filling up the little boat with water clearly making it difficult for the boatman. But the foolish gentleman insisted in questioning.

"Do you know how we get rain",

"No sir," was the reply."

" The sun evaporates water from the sea, this gets stored in the clouds which then travel by be wind power, then when they become full, it lets all the water go, over the land. That's how we get rain."

"You are 75% fool." Said the gentleman, now feeling very smug.

The gentleman was suddenly interrupted from his basqueing by a loud cry from the boatman,

"Oh no! I have lost my oar and now the water is about capsize the boat, we have no alternative but to swim the remainder of the way, luckily for us it is not very far."

"But I can't swim," cried the gentleman now seeing his own imminent death.

"Then my dear sir, you are 100% fool" said the boatman.

Story time kids...

Once up on a time there was a small town in a beautiful country called India.

In that town there were these two kids named AN and AS. Both were known in their community for their intelligence and good Behaviour.

But there is a dark secret. Both had a peculiar and weird problem, one among them (AN) used to mingle with all other members of the community but still would feel "Alone in my own world".

The other (AS) almost lived in his own world and always think about things that are not happening in his life. These two felt it is biggest problem anyone can have in this world. One day both these met in school and discussed their problems and felt its time for them to find the solution.

They heard their friends discussing about a fairy in near by jungle who is kind to people and fulfils the wishes of good people.

Once their exams were over they went to jungle to look for the fairy. After roaming around for a few hours they found fairy. Fairy had a look at these boys and asked them what they were doing in the jungle.

AN said "O my kind fairy! Please hear my problem which is the most gruesome trouble in this whole world. I'm a loner and always feel that I have nobody who can care about me. I always feel I have less money (and this boy has hugeeeeeeeee property, mobiles which he changes 4 tiems a year, a bike and a car) .Please help me "

Fairy patiently listened to him. And then it was AS's turn. He starts " O dear fairy! Don't listen to AN. I'm sure you would feel my problem is the worst in the world when you hear mine. I'm fed up and have no time to look around other beautiful things in the world. I'm the only person who seems to be working and have no one to say hi or talk to me lovingly and also nobody has time to talk to me. Also I'm carzy for bikes and always confused on what to buy. Please help me".

Fairy clearly knew these kids need good counselling and starts telling them to spend some time with their family n friends in community.

We know kids right ? They never listen. And they thought this fairy is not sounding right and termed her too as a kid. That's it Fairy got soooo angry that she cursed both of them that they would always remain kids their whole life. And even after 15-20 years AS and AN remained kids forever.

Diversity interventions - the Crossroads.

2008-09-19T04:54:00.002-07:00

Diversity interventions - the Crossroads.

South African companies/ organisations/ teams are either under pressure to transform and include people from all backgrounds in a fair and equitable manner, or once transformed are often challenged by poor inter-diversity relationships and understanding of the need for transformation.

The need for transformation is also often brought to the fore when inter-personal, inter-diversity group communication and interactions are at a low. This negates the outputs of the team and makes work an unpleasant experience for team, clients and families.

Companies and organisations who believe they need a "diversity training" intervention are at a crossroads of danger and opportunity. The danger lies in the potentially divisive nature of such interventions and yet there are huge hidden opportunities to build individual, teams, organisation and to an extent the future of our country.

Transformation and diversity management programmes that isolate, intimidate and ignore people are self-defeating. If any person/ sector/ department or group feels threatened the process will be wasted and more so it could negatively impact your organisation.

The opportunity to build is found in the wisdoms, uniquenesses, talents, skills and histories of the group. The methodologies ensure that transformation is non-threatening, unifying and inclusive as possible. Learning is fun, motivational and exciting.

Inclusivity has two main dimensions, firstly, everyone feels valued and valuable and secondly all levels of the organisation/ team participate fully in the programme.

"In our early days in this field we operated through the shock therapy style of presentation. Some people survived and some didn’t! The main challenge was that we worked from a paradigm that judged people by their backgrounds. We now, through studying international learning methodologies and through personal experience and introspection, have found fun and non-threatening methods of bringing understanding, building relationships and accountability." Brian Moore - M.I. www.africa-dreams.com

Celebrating Humanity - The programme. www.africa-dreams.com
Transforming ourselves, our teams and our lives

In order to develop ourselves and our team at work we need to develop an understanding of our dependency, independency and inter-dependency. Once we understand that we need each other to survive and succeed we will observe that our actions, positive or negative, impact ourselves, our teams and our dependents.

It is true that the quality of life that we lead, the clothes that we wear, the humanity that we exude, the food on our table, the education of our family depends on the quality of our relationships within and outside of the workplace.

When seen in this context we begin to understand that there is a vital need for teamwork for us all to succeed. And the more diverse the backgrounds, skills and talents of the team, the more we win. The challenge is that diverse teams will only win through respect, tolerance and understanding and that is our starting point.

Knowing who we are...

An ongoing process of humanisation and communication builds the group at a human level. Communicating and developing understanding of the commonalities and uniquenesses that we all bring.

The next steps would be to develop an understanding of our intra-personal uniqueness and the ability to assess the uniqueness in other people in terms of their personality types and learning/ communication styles.

These simple skills will develop and enhance interpersonal understanding and communication.

Accountability for who we are...

When we take responsibility for our attitudes, our communication and our behaviour we can create a safe environment for ourselves, our families and other people.

To further develop a nurturing environment we develop problem-solving and solution-finding skills and learn to handle reactions to external stimuli.

Often we act out of historical programming when a short time for thought will break the cycle of anger. When we use the feeling of anger as a signal for thought, "Why am I feeling this anger?" or "Is this person saying this to hurt me?", we have an opportunity to respond rather than react. This can saves lives, families, sales and relationships!

Who adds to me and what do we contribute from our backgrounds, cultures, experience and traditions?

Through enjoyable, safe and non-threatening methodologies and processes we are able to learn - from each other - more about our lives, history, cultures and religions. In teams, selected by delegates on the basis of "who adds to me", we are able to compete in fun and respectful ways on issues of diversity. In this way a safe environment of communication and life-long learning is created.

As these processes unfold team members will begin to identify and break down old prejudicial paradigms and the foundations are laid for an ongoing respect based inter-personal team agreement.

At this point the 2 day Foundation© session ends.

Accountability for how we behave (1 day - Values Circle Process - by team and/ or department)

"At the level of respect all people are equal."

Most companies and organisation send down a list of management-decided values. Very few people know, remember and subscribe to the values, especially management. These values are only paraded at disciplinary hearings.

In order for individual change to be perpetuated within the team it is critical that the environment is kept safe and empowering by a team-decided and managed set of interpersonal values. These values are set to manage how team members interact and do not impact or negate corporate values.

This people-centred guidance system, if properly designed and implemented, will develop an ethic of praising and honouring the praiseworthy.

Those who have personal challenges will often need professional support and those who continuously break the rules must be disciplined.

Regular meeting time must be committed to allow the development of understanding and to offer guidance to those who break their self-chosen values.

The greater team manages the ongoing process offering support, guidance and discipline in a properly constituted system.

In this way we will have developed accountability and responsibility for our actions, within our team and an ongoing values structures to maintain respect and teamwork at the level of human interaction. This will definitely and positively impact family and social interactions.

A good leadership team will be part of the development and ongoing implementation of the programme and will be subject to the decisions of the structure.

A follow-up team-build, assessment and adjustment programme known as the Gathering© is facilitated approximately 12 months after the Values Circle process is formally constituted. With 1 year history of monthly meetings groups will have transformed substantially and be ready to cement the process into the future.

Through the Transformational Team-building© programme Celebrating Humanity©, people will understand their amazing relevance as individuals, team members & members of their organisations.

Mthimkhulu International

www.africa-dreams.com

for: Diversity Training, Transformational Team-building,Workforce Diversity, Workplace Diversity, Managing Diversity, Diversity Management

Leading the Culturally Diverse Workplace

In our fast transforming world, company and organizational leadership often lags the reality of their client-base. (And Cultural diversity in the workplace is as critical as religious, gender and language diversity.)

The gap between their clients and is often superficially bridged at the image level by advertising, sales teams and marketing. Advertising agencies manage at times to put on a face of a culturally-aware organization; sales teams are reasonably representative of their client base and marketing is occasionally targeted on the right market groups. But back at the office many decisions are made in the old traditional ways.

An individually-focused organization (IFO) will motivate its teams on their individual performances. Everything will be "Key Performance Indicator" (KPI) driven and individual success, at the expense of the less visible, will be encouraged.

A community-focused organization (CFO) will be focused on community and its all about us together as a community. They will often limit praise for individual successes and highlight group/ community successes.

In both IFOs and CFOs there will be inter-level, inter-team and inter-personal challenges, resulting in workplace conflict. When the issues of uniqueness, culture, religion, race, beliefs, gender, age, ability, generations, qualifications and historical experience are added to the picture then workplace conflict is a given.

These problems will be born of prejudice, jealousy, ignorance and the suppression of individual and workplace community aspirations and ideas.

Much of the challenge will emanate from the lack of representation at the highest level. This can be alleviated through transformation of the senior leadership. In such change comes all of the challenges of diversity in the boardroom.

How do you lead change, in diverse boardrooms and the workplace?

Some of the challenges are:

"Rightness" in conflict. Judgements are made from our upbringing, our history, circumstances and our religion, race, beliefs and cultural alignment.
The stresses in traditional "Workplace Diversity Management."
Diversity of values - we all value different things in different ways.
The varying interpretations of the key words, used to define values and principles.
The normal conflicts, gossiping and backbiting that occur soon after people come together in groups and or teams.

Some of the solutions are:

Develop an understanding, and acceptance, of diversity - in so doing let the team experience harmony and teamwork in a transformational team-building environment.
Develop a common understanding of who we are, why we are together and how relevant our "work" is to society, the organisation, to family, to community and of course to the individual.
Develop a common name and a team-based mission.
Meet to clear past individual challenges, face-to-face.
Develop a short list of positive and mutually understood and agreed values/ behaviours, that must be adhered to by all members of the team.
Develop a list of negative and destructive behavours/ values that must be eliminated from the team's interactions.
Get agreement and sign a commitment.
Commit to equality at the level of respect, include management and leadership.
Put in place a peer-driven and managed monthly meeting structure to manage all aspects of the agreement and the behaviours of team members.
Regularly rotate the chair and the scribe to prevent a power-base from forming.
Ensure that the process is caring, motivational and empowering whilst developing understanding and maintaining discipline.

The outcome through diversity training, team-building and clearing conflict is a powerful peer-driven workplace management system, led by the diverse team that it seeks to guide.

The results:

Workplace diversity conflict is reduced through peer-agreement and management
Reduced management stress and wasted time, spent in work-place conflict resolution
Far less expenditure on labour dispute mechanisms and labour lawyers.
Workplace teams that are involved, professional, committed and communicating.
Better relationships with clients, family and community.

Leaders who choose to lead their culturally diverse work-teams, to great success, will involve each and every team member in the day to day processes of workplace diversity management. Ultimately, through the new diversity team unity and participation, they will be able to grow their services into burgeoning and exciting new markets.

It is time to lead and build diverse teams that are focussed and excited to be a part of their organisation.

More information on ">transformational teambuilding.

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace

This is the most exciting aspect of business in the modern world. The incredible amount of fresh ideas and new ways of doing business derive particularly from cultural diversity in the workplace.

Yet, within these opportunities lie many challenges.

Challenges of:

Misunderstanding
Mis-communication
Lack of commonly understood respect
Prejudice
Racism
Xenophobia
Superiority and Inferiority clashes
Tribalism
Language confusion
Varying value systems

All caused by the ever-increasing cultural diversity in the workplace.

What can we do?

How do we:

Build Respect?
Get Common Understanding?
Build Professionalism?
Reduce and Control Prejudice?
Improve Communication?
Clear past Interpersonal Conflicts?
Develop Accountability, Ownership and Responsibility?
Build Teamwork & Unity?
Get the Commitment of the entire Team?
Ensure cultural diversity in the workplace works for our clients, our teams and our company or organisation, well into the future?

Opportunities

Yes! Within the these challenges, of cultural diversity in the workplace, lie many opportunities.

Opportunities to powerfully and excitingly build your business and your organisation, with your diverse team!

Let us help you to:

Build unified, respectful and accountable teams that work together in an emotionally safe workplace, free of past inter-personal challenges and focussed on supplying professional services and products to your internal and external customer base.

We will give you the tools to make this a long-term programme of transformation and unifying of your cultural diversity in the workplace.

Yes! Ensure that cultural diversity in the workplace works for our clients, our teams and our company or organisation, well into the future. Read our eBook today!

Remember!

Cultural Diversity in the Workplace, when seen as an opportunity, is your organisation's next big leap into the 21st Century success!

http://www.cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace.blogspot.com/

It is fascinating how Diversity in the Workplace has become such a miscontrued, misunderstood concept.

A concept which has now become synonomous with describing people in categories such as Black, White, Hispanic, Coloured, Asian, Oriental,etc, etc....and how we can all best understand them, and how they behave.

Let's look at some of the dictionary meanings:

Diversity

diverse >adjective widely varied.
-DERIVATIVES diversely >adverb.
-ORIGIN Latin diversus 'diverse', from divertere (see divert).

diversity >noun (pl. diversities) 1 the state of being diverse. 2 a diverse range; a variety.

divisive >adjective causing disagreement or hostility.
-DERIVATIVES divisively >adverb divisiveness >noun.

divide >verb 1 separate into parts. 2 distribute or share out. 3 disagree or cause to disagree. 4 form a boundary between. 5 Mathematics find how many times (a number) contains another. 6 Mathematics (of a number) be susceptible of division without a remainder. 7 (of a legislative assembly) separate or be separated into two groups for voting. >noun a wide divergence between two groups: the North-South divide.
-PHRASES divide and rule (or conquer) maintain control over opponents by encouraging a disunity that makes their opposition ineffective.
-DERIVATIVES divided >adjective.
-ORIGIN Latin dividere 'force apart, remove'.

Have we been put on this earth to judge, change, hurt, divide or separate people. I don't think so! Yet sometimes, we unintentionally or unknowingly do it.

If one had to closely examine the programmes being delivered in the name of Diversity awareness, diversity management, diversity training and diversity understanding, then you will notice, that some companies have gone with the devisive approach, whilst others, pioneers in their field, have gone with the diverse approach.

Either way, if the approach seeks to divide people into cultural entities, 9 times out of 10, the programme is destined for disaster.

Due to the fact, that people seek to understand each other and themselves, and how to improve relationships through better communication, leading them down the path of themus, can be destructive. versus

Diversity in my opinion, addresses a whole lot more of fundamental issues, such as age, disabilities, gender, skills, abilities, human talent, experience etc, etc....

However, when one speaks about Diversity in the workplace, images of Black and White people are immediately conjured up.

Hatred and anger from past injustices are brought up, and pain, hurt, retribution and revenge are discussed. Which is good to talk about in a specific, mediated environment.

However, in the context of the work environment, we should be concentrating on how we each, with our different upbring and experiences, ADD to Each Other! rather than, based on the colour of our skin, we have been taught to fight each other.

Somewhere along the line, we have forgotten the fundamental rule, of Respect for ourselves and each other.

If we all respected the fact that as human beings, we are different, by virtue of being born to different parents, families, areas, communities, faiths, religions, cultures, languages etc.

Only then will we realise that, just those attributes alone, make us different from each other which is perfect.

We are all perfect as we are, just different!

Imagine a world where everyone spoke the same language, dressed alike, looked the same, walked the same way...How boring would life be?

My understanding of Diversity in the workplace, is one of fun exploration, amazing facts, intriguing customs, fascinating knowlege...Learning about how people think and how I can adjust my way of thinking to better understand everyone else.

There are many instances in the workplace, where conflict may arise, and I have found that the most common or easily used excuse, is that racism is the reason.

In some cases yes!In most cases, it is merely a lack of awareness or understanding, someone's inferiority complex kicking in, or even a powerplay by a team member, based on personality types.

In our experience as Diversity Training Specialists, using fun, non-threatening processes, allows delegates to fully explore other cultures, personalities and learning styles, within the basic rule of respect.

Delegates learn to understand to respect that each person has different skills and abilities, and especially, different understanding of what respect means to them in their own culture. Issues of respect for gender, age, language, body language, religion, home environment, values, morals, discipline, time etc...are all different.

By understanding how it is different, only then, can we adjust to each others' needs within the work environment.

For example, a community based person, generally, will regard humbleness as a positive attribute for someone to aspire to or be. A strongly individual based person will feel that being humble is a negative personality to have.

In all instances, every culture, age, language, gender, religion and ways of showing respect, is good, just different. No one is right or wrong.

When a child is disobedient, one does not fire them, call them racist or disown them. One seeks to make them understand, and understand them!

Remember the saying, "You can choose your friends, not family! In many cases, huge tolerance is adopted along with sympathetic understanding for the situation when conflict arises. However, like a family, teams at work need to be more understanding, tolerant and solution finders.

After all, the majority of the beautiful sunny day is spent in the confines of the office. You might as well seek to grow with knowlege, rather than surrender to ignorance and fear of the unknown.

"Building relationships is easy. If you are willing to work at it!"

A few tips:

Learn about the persons ancestory and the importance of where that person has come from. Then speak to them and find out how they feel about it.
Learn how to greet the person in their traditional way.
Adjust your body language to be non aggressive and more welcoming.
Learn how to pronounce the persons name properly without shortening it to make it more convenient. In most cases, you will be given an English name, because historically, it has become assumed that people generally, are not clever enough to pronounce it properly. Insist on practising their real name. It also provides for excellent office fun, making mistakes and laughing together, rather than at each other.
Remove Racist,gender based, blonde and sexual jokes and sarcasm from everyday communication. Remember, if you cannot tell the joke in front of your children, or when a person of that culture is in the room, then the joke is definitely unsuitable and you should, out of respect, refrain from telling it.
Respect also means, acknowleging someone's need for space, individual goals and need to achieve.
Also understanding that the corporate culture is totally different, and one needs to respect that too.
Punctuality means being on time at all times. Integrity, professionalism and a code of conduct is put into place to ensure the smooth running of every corporate company. Following those simple rules always benefits the individual and company.

If you need any further info or need ideas on how you can change your work environment into a harmonious team playing field, then visit www.africa-dreams.com or www.celebrating-humanity-projects.com

As we have said, many times over, companies embarking upon a “diversity training initiative,” stand at the crossroads of danger and opportunity. Our Guide to Selecting Teambuilding Providers clearly states, that the opportunity lies in uniting the teams and the greatest danger, in the separation of team members by their “differences.”

Our main guiding principle, is:-

“At the level of respect, all people are equal.”

Normally a “diversity training” initiative, is based in the need to reduce at least one of the following:-
• Negativity and Arguing.
• Incessant Gossiping & Backbiting.
• Cross-cultural Clashes.
• Personality Conflicts.
• Silly Time-wasting Workplace Disputes.
• Frustrating time spent in Dispute Mediation, and at the CCMA.
• Unnecessary Labour Lawyers' fees.
• Misunderstandings and Mis-communications.
• Inability to communicate with diverse clients.
• A lack of Professionalism and Accountability.
• Excessive Absenteeism.
• Racism and Prejudice.
• Rankism and Departmentalism.

and/ or to lay the groundwork for improving the (Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) rating of the company/ organisation.

Everyone needs to feel safe.

Whatever the reason for the program, it is essential that it is based in fun and respect, and is totally non-threatening, inclusive and motivational. Everybody wants their place in the sun.

One of the biggest challenges with traditional team-building exercises, is that the focus is often on the needs, talents and abilities, of a core group, within a team. The less young, educated, physically talented, or fit the team member - the more they have to rely upon the “cool group.” And the less they enjoy the experience.

These results are short term and limited.

Involving Diverse Teams

When working with a very diverse group of people, it is critical that the facilitators involve EVERYONE, in a way that is individually important to them, and their existence on the earth. This ensures that each person can, and does contribute.

In the Celebrating Humanity© - Transformational Team-building programs, processes are fun, exciting, non-threatening and most importantly, everyone participates.

Each person adds value to their teams in some way. The process and methodology must show the value of everybody, in the group. Processes need to show at least some of the knowledge, skills and abilities of each person.

We all add to each other

In a public session, a partially literate Zulu-speaking housekeeper, maKhumalo - sat in a team comprising highly-qualified HR professionals. Kevin Turner, who was raised on a rural Midlands farm, spoke excellent Zulu.

He and maKhumalo happily shared and communicated their knowledge on culture and tradition to the team. maKhumalo was the expert on Zulu culture, proverbs, ancestry. She brought great value, as did her team members. And similarly Kevin added to the team with his knowledge of Zulu and his warm humanness.

At the point where the team was asked to put together a Kwaito dance, maKhumalo suddenly stood out head-and-shoulders, above her more skilled and reserved team mates. It was delightful to watch her lead them. And they put on a wonderful 2 minute show, for the other teams.

Here was a wonderful lady, from the depths of rural KwaZulu Natal, and she was the stand-out leader for a group of University-educated Human Resources specialists! The exercise demonstrated, that we are all leaders, that we all bring value, and that we all need to respect and value each other.

Teams that understand, that we add to each other, will be far more secure. Through Transformational Team-building, they will know and experience, that the more diverse the team members, the more chances we have to win - through greater knowledge, skills, wisdom and understanding.

Some ways to involve people.

Some of the ways that we involve our delegates, are through:-
• Workplace Knowledge.
• Background.
• Artistic ability.
• Joke-telling skills.
• Dancing skills.
• Language and greetings.
• Proverbs.
• Body language.
• Cultural knowledge.
• Beliefs.
• Religion.
• Music.
• Traditions.
• Other relevant Skills and Talents.

Diversity does not only mean culture and religion.

At Lake Kariba, we took the top executives of the Bank of Zambia, through a transformational team-build.

Now Zambians have, since the inauguration of Kenneth Kaunda, believed that they are all “Zambians.” “One Zambia, One nation”, was the clarion cry of former President Kaunda’s government. And it has worked!

The Zambians all stood as one. Not black, or white, Losi, Ngoni, Bemba, Nyanja, Tonga or as speakers of any of the over 69 dialects. Just Zambians.

The World, South Africa, companies and organisations could learn a lot form the people of this beautiful country.

Thus, in Zambia - there was no desire to bring “cultural diversity” to the team-build. So we found out about the various skills and abilities of the team members, and involved them all in, in that way. They soon knew, just how much, they added to each other.

And one of the most brilliant dancers, in that small section of the program, was wheelchair-based. He really made the wheelchair dance!

You never know how your team members add to you, until you experience them as humans.

Skills Development

Any team-building/ diversity training program that does not develop skills, is not worth the investment.

Transformational Team-building programs are intended to improve the lives of delegates, by building their personal skills, communication and relationship skills - socially, at the office and at home.

Some of the skills would include:-

• How to learn more easily for your unique Learning Style.
• How your unique Learning Style shapes your Communications Style.
• How to assess the Learning Type of the person/s you are communicating with and get stunningly better results, in your communications.
• The impact of your Communications Style on your relations in all areas of your life.
• Simple and easy, non-judgemental and team-based Personality assessment skills and how to get better results by adjusting your own behaviour.
• Understanding body language from different cultural groups. Making adjustments for far better results, with clients and team members.

In a recent chat, with one of our Celebrating Humanity© facilitator’s wife - she said, “Fazal was amazing in the Free State. He greeted the local people in Sesotho and through body language showed his respect. The people were simply amazing to us.”
We know Fazal well and are certain that he would have used his other, easy-to-use communication skills, to further build the relationships, as he went along on his fishing tour.

Sustainability

It is critical to make sure that the team-build is not a once off injection in the spirit of the team! The program has to include in-house follow up, initially guided by the teambuilding organisation. The Harvest programme ensures sustanability.

Ownership

Another great opportunity to add to this “diversity training,” (now "grown-up" to be Transformational Team-building,) is to ensure that your team owns the change.

In this way, managers and their teams, can drastically reduce the interpersonal war stresses, that once seemed inevitable within teams.

One of the big challenges to “managing” teams, as opposed to “leading” teams, is that most traditional managers still manage people, as if they are their children.

The moment that there is conflict the traditional parent pulls the kids apart. “Stop that Mary! Go to your room Sipho. If you do that again Bavika, I will punish you!

The only difference is that you cannot fire your kids!

Managers/ leaders that spend all of their time “managing diversity,” are in a boiling pot. They will never be able to focus on their time on doing what they are paid to do and will suffer the consequences of unnecessary stress, both physically, emotionally and in their relationships.

The only way to reduce this stress on businesses, clients, teams and their families is to get all team members managing their own behaviour.

All people are leaders.

This is a fact ignored in most teams. I was in a local hardware store, a number of years ago, and chatting to a “Shelf packer.” As we were speaking happily in Zulu, his supervisor marched up and arrogantly demanded that his "underling" go and do his other work. With suppressed anger, my friend bid me farewell and went off, to do his "superiors" bidding.

Little did the young supervisor know, that this same elderly gentleman was the chairman of a number of multi-million Rand development contracts, in his rural village. He could have learnt a lot from him, with a little more respect.

Perhaps this is an extreme example, so let’s take our Kwaito dancer - maKhumalo. She manages the cleaning, laundry, cooking and kids in a suburban home. She runs a home in Mahlabathini, where she is building a new home and she educates her 3 children. She is not only a “Dance leader,” she is an every day leader.

So why not place the leadership of workplace relationships, in the hands of your team members. They may even guide you, as is the example with our young supervisor. He certainly could have used some gentle guidance!

Increase the Ownership and Accountability

A true Transformational Team-build, with the correct amount of time allocated to the process, will dramatically reduce stress through increasing the ownership, accountability and responsibility of each and every team member!

Once your team decides how they will behave around each other, and what is not acceptable behaviour - they own it and can manage it.

With the right clearing processes, constitution and a 1 hour monthly meeting, this peer-driven process ensures that relationship management - is no longer the responsibility of the managers/ supervisors or the board members.

Transformational Team-building - with the commitment, and full participation, of all management and leadership - has the power to transform teams. And we have the evidence to prove it!

Challenges

Some possible challenges to your team-build for diverse teams:-

• Leadership/ management sending only “them,” because “we” don’t need it.

Trying to cut costs by:
• Going for the shortest possible intervention.
• Paying for a once-off intervention.
• Saving on the venue. “Let’s do it in the board room.”
• The program will be interrupted, by “emergency situations. If a team members are not available, the emergency is always resolved quite easily, in their absence.
• Another challenge is that people do not feel respected if the company is not prepared to pay for an upmarket venue.
• Attendance will be poor and no team-build can be successful, without the team.
• Cutting down on the quality and diversity of food and refreshments. Many diabetics, vegans, vegetarians, followers of Shembe, Judaism, Islam and numerous others - are often not properly catered for, during outings or training sessions.
• Utilising service providers who do not dedicate extensive time to understanding your people, your company and your country. (This is often a decision based on cost alone.)

We hope that the following guidelines will help you to select your next teambuilding organisation, with great care. And we will be delighted to hear from you, or just learn how the teambuild worked for your team.

Top 10 Mistakes Made When Hiring Consultants

2008-09-19T04:54:00.001-07:00

Consultants play a part in the ongoing activities of many businesses. They come from a wide range of backgrounds and need to be evaluated carefully. Below are 10 of the common mistakes made when hiring a consultant.

Not having a contractual agreement. Make sure to have the parameters of the relationship, specifying the agreed work and the timeframe in which the work needs to be completed, in an agreement signed by both parties.
Not checking the consultant's background. Consultants vary widely in their skills and abilities. Some are at the top of their field, while others have more recently jumped on the consulting bandwagon. Some due diligence, which includes checking references, will help you discern the pros from the wannabes.
Failing to make sure that someone in-house cannot do the job. A common mistake is not taking into account the various skills of your own employees before hiring a consultant. Business owners often spend more money than necessary instead of taking the time to re-read the resumes of their staff.
Not checking the compensation scale. A major mistake many companies make is hiring a consultant without checking the going rate in the industry. You need to do some research to find out the pay range for the services you require before overpaying.

5. Not establishing who pays for expenses. Beyond the consultant's fee are various expenses that he or she may expect to be covered. These should be discussed in advance so they do not come as a surprise when they appear on the invoice.

6. Not making sure of the consultant's availability. A consultant that takes on a job and disappears for three weeks to do another job is typically not a benefit to your business. Make sure the consultant is available to work on your project.

7. Not conducting a thorough hiring interview. It is a common mistake not to take the interview process as seriously with consultants as is typically done with fulltime employees because they are not "on staff." Big mistake. If they will be involved in the future of your business, it is imperative that you conduct a comprehensive interview.

8. Not having them sign a letter of confidentiality. Since contractors are free agents, you need to keep in mind that they may work for your competition after completing your project. Therefore, having a signed letter of confidentiality is important..

9. Not clearly describing the project. Lack of clear communication is a common mistake. Too often contractors and employers are not on the same page from the start, which leads to numerous complications later on.

10. Failing to introduce the consultant to your staff. Before other employees start questioning who this person is and why they are asking for files or about certain projects, you should make sure to introduce the consultant to your regular employees, especially those with whom he or she will be working.

Top 50 Consultants of India

2008-09-19T04:54:00.000-07:00

S.No	Site
1.	Ernest and Young Private Limited
2.	Centre for Industrial and Economic Research
3.	Reliance Quality Consultant
4.	Industrial Techno Economic Services Private Limited
5.	India Recruitment Agency
6.	ABC Consultants Private Limited
7.	Ma Foi Management Consultants Limited
8.	Strategic Career Networks Private Limited
9.	Exim Consultants
10.	Career Growth
11.	India Consult Associates
12.	Allied Boston Consultants India Private Limited
13.	VLS Finance Limited
14.	ABC Business Solutions Private limited
15.	Rank Team Consultants (India) Private Limited
16.	Target Foreign Trade Services
17.	Gesco Corporate Centre
18.	Vexil Business Process Services Private Limited
19.	Market Insight Consultants India
20.	JCG Associates
21.	Jiya and Associates
22.	Sai International Trading Company
23.	Vinay K. Gupta and Company
24.	M.M. Enterprises
25.	Packolabel Systems Private Limited
26.	PMG Consultant
27.	Aum Consultancy Private Limited
28.	Maxi Overseas Education Inc.
29.	Alert Security Force Private Limited
30.	Satguru Consultants
31.	Global Institute of Success Thinking
32.	Pristine Ventures Private Limited
33.	The Corporate Profiles
34.	R. Khattar and Associates
35.	Secured Outsourcing Solutions
36.	Market Insight Consultants
37.	V.R. Bansal and Associates
38.	Falcon Freight Incorporates
39.	Kumar and Associates
40.	A.K Nigam Associates
41.	Professional Supports
42.	G.K. Kedia and Company
43.	K G Corporation
44.	Libra Consultants
45.	Infini Juridique
46.	Prudent Polyconsultant Private Limited
47.	Libran Engineering and Services
48.	Suseela Mahesh Chartered Accountant
49.	R. Rajan Associates
50.	Q.C. Services

What makes YOU special?

2007-12-12T04:09:00.000-08:00

Take a look at the following list of 35 things that make you special. It’s like a life inventory. When you consider all the questions, you’ll get a sense of how your life is at the moment, and how you could change it to bring out YOUR special uniqueness.

1. Personality
What is your personality? Take a look at the following personality types according to the Enneagram. Are you:

An idealistic Reformer,
a caring Helper,
a success-oriented Achiever,
an introspective Idealist,
an idealistic Reformer,
a caring Helper,
a success-oriented Achiever,
a sensitive Individualist,
an intense Investigator,
a security-oriented Loyalist,
a spontaneous Enthusiast,
a powerful Challenger,
or a reassuring Peacemaker?

2. Signature style
What’s your signature style? Are you engaging, entertaining, moving, intense, funny, bold, ditzy, serene, boring, or threatening?

3. Beliefs
What do you believe about life, the universe, or about yourself? Do you have religious beliefs? Do have beliefs about yourself that limit your potential? Complete this quiz to find what your limiting beliefs are.

4. Spirituality
Are you drawn to the mysteries of life? Do you use spiritual practice, i.e. meditation, prayer, or other to nurture your spirituality?

5. Aspirations
What are your aspirations? Do you strive for a cause that is greater than you?

6. Dominant sense
Each of us has a dominant sense through which we experience the world. What is your dominant sense? Is it sight or sound or touch? To find out do the test here.

7. Thoughts
What kind of thoughts are mostly in your mind? Are they daydreams, or thoughts focussed on your current project? Is your mind usually focused on the past, on the present, or on the future?

8. Goals
What are your goals? Have you recorded them? Which goals we choose, and whether we set them determines a substantial part of our uniqueness. Click here to learn how to set goals.

9. Creativity
Are you creative? Do you create at work, or write, paint, cook, or in any other way? Often people who are creative are more lively and happier than those who are not. Find out what makes us creative.

10. Happiness
How happy are you? Take the test here to see how happy you are. Find out what authentic happiness is.

11. Attitude
What is your habitual attitude? Is it negative or positive? Our attitude is shaped by influence and association, beliefs, thoughts, expectations, and self-talk. How was your attitude shaped?

12. Attraction
What are you drawn to? What are your favourite colours? What’s your favourite music, climate, or food? What kind of people do you like? Read the rest of this entry »

13. Genes
We are shaped by both heredity, as well as environment. What traits have you inherited from your parents that make you unique?

14. Body
The size and build of our body is genetically encoded. However, how we care for our bodies determines what it looks like. Check out the following questions: Are you slim or overweight? Are you fit or out of shape? Are you flexible enough to touch your toes? Is your body able to practise sports, or dance, or do yoga, or train in martial arts? If you have a physical disability, are you stretching your capability to the limit, or not?

15. Face
The face is a mirror of the soul. If we are kindly and upbeat, our face looks animated and relaxed. If we feel down, or anxious or ill, our face looks tight and grey. What is your face like? Do you take moments to relax your face?

16. Ethnicity
What is your ethnic origin? Are you proud of your culture of origin and your ancestors, or not?

17. Culture
What is your culture? Is it followed by the majority or a minority of the people around you? In what way does your culture influence your life?

18. Voice
We are born with a particular voice and its resonance, tone and pitch. However, it can be developed - as actors and singers know. What is your unique voice like?

19. Diction
Do you speak with an accent or a dialect? The way we pronounce the language we use is a unique marker.

20. Gender
Gender is only partly determined by body formation. What masculine and feminine traits do you see in yourself?

21. Health
Good and bad health are life’s gift and burden. What really shapes our uniqueness is the attitude to health. What is your attitude? Are you pro-active or passive? Do you complain or actively seek healing?

22. Hormones
Hormonal patterns determine whether we are tired, or hungry, or irritated, or lustful.
What hormonal patterns or surges are noticeable in your life and how do they influence you?

23. Age
Age is a biological factor. But it is also influenced by the mind. Do you feel old and unfit, as well as low on energy and drive? Or do you feel vitally alive, energetic and youthful? If you want to feel youthful, you need to put effort into keeping your mind and body in good shape. How do you keep in good shape?

24. Intelligence
Being intelligent is not only having a high IQ. Intelligence is now seen to include social, emotional, and physical aptitude. Your mix of these strands of intelligence is what makes you unique. How do you maintain and develop your intelligence?

25. Life experience
Each of us has a unique experience of life. Used wisely, experience is valuable because we can recognise patterns and respond appropriately. Which life experience has shaped you most?

26. Childhood
The childhood we experienced in the past makes us unique today. What was your childhood like? How has it shaped you? If your childhood included traumatic experiences, what have you undertaken in order to heal from them?

27. Trauma
What kind of life crises have you experienced? Have you integrated them, or are they still unresolved? (My upcoming Ebook From Tragedy to Triumph: How to Win Through a Life Crisis explains how to integrate difficult experiences).

28. Opportunities
We have all encountered different opportunities in life. What kind of opportunities have you encountered or created? How have you responded to them? What we make of opportunities is part of what makes us special.

29. Relationships
Whom and what we relate to makes us who we are. Which human beings do you love or feel connected to? Whom do you feel disconnected with? What about the environment - do you love nature, or the city? What is your relationship to animals - which are your favourite animals?

30. Learning
Your stance towards learning makes you unique. Is continuous learning important to you or not? Do you like formal study or informal learning? What kind of learning environments work best for you?

31. Habits
How do you spend your time on a regular basis? How much time to you spend on passive recreation, such as TV? Do you have an unpaid activity that you enjoy? How important is this activity to you?

32. Work
Most people spend more time at work than asleep. How we spend this big chunk of our life makes us unique. What do you define as your main work? Do you work for yourself or work for others? Do you work mostly alone or with a team of others?
Are you passionate about your work or is it a chore? Do you earn enough to keep yourself going or are you struggling financially?

33. Quirks and foibles
What are your quirky habits? As I said in the introduction, these foibles can be the thing that people enjoy about us.

34. Communication style
Psychologists pinpoint four different communication styles. Are you a Relater, Socialiser, Thinker, or Director? Check it out on this site.

35. The life journey
Each of us is on a unique life path. Which path we follow defines a part of our uniqueness. What path have you chosen?

What strikes me is that we are able to change most of these variables! What makes us truly special is how we spend our energy, thoughts, and time, as well as how we respond to whom and what we encounter.

It’s in your power to evolve and bring forth the unique, special person that you are. That’s an awesome responsibility.

Policies & Procedures

2007-12-12T03:41:00.000-08:00

ATTENDANCE POLICY

Your attendance is extremely important to the success of The Company. We expect employees to strive for perfect attendance and to arrive for work on time. We recognize that, on occasion, you may not be able to come to work or need additional time before you arrive. Sickness and other emergencies cannot always be anticipated and may require you to miss all or part of your workday.

If your need for time off is foreseeable, you must provide as much notice as possible. If your need for time off is not foreseeable, you must provide as much notice as practicable, but in no event less than one (1) hour prior to your normally scheduled starting time. Of course, if you cannot contact by yourself, you must have someone do it for you.

When you contact your reporting authority you must let them know for how long you will be out and when you expect to return or, as the case may be, arrive for work.

Employees desirous of taking leave should give a leave letter in writing to their respective Team Manager. The printed format will be available with the HR and Admin Department or the front office. Leave is subject to approval from the concerned authorities.
SMS will no more be accepted as a mode of official communication.
No leave will be granted unless it’s a matter of utmost emergency or valid reasons.
The first authority of informing about your absence would be the Manager the number being 9962036262 or 43561352. The responsibility of being update with the contact phone numbers would lie with the employee. If the manager were on leave the next person of contact would be the respective Team Managers to whom you are supposed to report.
Excessive absence, or lateness and excessive patterns of absence or lateness may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

PUNCTUALITY POLICY

Reporting for work regularly and on time is essential, since lateness or absence interferes with the daily running of The Company and laces an extra workload on your fellow employees. Please use your personal time to schedule business, medical and other appointments which conflict with your work schedule. Failure to report to work on time is cause for disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.

· All the employees should be at the workplace at 9.00 a.m. No reasons will be considered for the delay. The attendance register will be taken out at 9.15 a.m.

· If an employee doesn’t show up to the office before 10 a.m. without notice, the termination letter will be dispatched to his contact address on the same day. No claims can be made later. The employee will not be paid his/her due salary, relieving letter or references from the seniors.

· If any senior authority is found to provide reference to a dismissed employee, their services will be terminated too without notice, relieving letter or references.

NON DISCLOSURE POLICY

All employees at one time or another will receive or be exposed to personal, privileged and/or confidential information. That information may concern other employees, the company’s operations, customer lists, company affairs, product development, trade secrets, business models or other organizations with which we do business. You are obligated to ensure that this information remains confidential and is not disclosed. This is true regardless of whether you are actively employed, on leave or your employment with The Company ends (for any reason). Employees who disclose such sensitive information will be disciplined, up to and including immediate termination or legal action.

In addition, employees are not permitted to photograph, record, photocopy, and soft copy or otherwise preserve company forms, lists or other materials belonging to The Company without prior authorization. This is especially critical for items that were prepared or saved for an employee's own or someone else's current or future use. No employee can take the information out of The Company either in person or whatever medium not mentioned here.

PROBATION POLICY

The period of probation shall be six months for employees. The performance of a probationer will be appraised at the end of this period. Accordingly, the probationer is either confirmed or the period of probation extended or his services discontinued.

The Probationary Appraisal Form (Annexure X) is the final step in process of assessment of probationers. The appraisal shall form the basis of either confirming an employee, terminating his services or extending his probation period.

Upon successful approval from the management, a confirmation letter or an extension letter will be issued.

JOB TRAINING POLICY

Every employee has room to expand upon their skills by learning from their co-workers, training programs and other independent means. When you were selected as an employment candidate, you already possessed some of the skills required to perform the basic requirements of your job. We will develop your skills beyond this foundation.

During the first few weeks of your employment with us, one or more peers in the daily requirements of your position will train you. We will expect you to learn the training materials and policies given to you during this time. We understand it can be overwhelming, however we expect new employees to "hit the ground running" as our work environment is quite competitive and fast paced.

Our goal is to qualify employees during training- not disqualify them. Please ask questions or let a manager know immediately if you feel you are falling behind, receiving contradictory information or do not understand any aspect of your responsibilities.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training needs shall be an outcome of the Performance Management Process as well as the business needs of the organization. Training shall be in consonance with the Business Strategy of the organization and in line with the overall development of the individual.

Training need analysis shall comprise of ascertaining the Individual needs and the group needs

The identification of individual needs will be done at the Performance Appraisal Meeting when the Development Plan of an employee shall be worked out. This will be communicated to the employee during the Performance Appraisal Discussion with his/her Reporting manager.

PAY POLICY

Direct deposit is the preferred method by which employees are paid. The salaries will be paid on 10^th of every month and will be directly deposited to their respective corporate account.

Employees should keep the concerned authorities informed as early as possible, if their account information is changed for any reason.

HOURS WORKED POLICY

All full-time employees are paid for their full day work from Monday to Friday and half-day work on Saturdays. Employees are not paid for lunch and therefore must clock out before dining and clock in upon return to the work area. All employees -- full-time and part-time -- will be furnished with a daily or weekly work schedule. Daily starting times, lunch period and leaving times may vary from day to day.

The office boy will go out thrice a day, for breakfast, Lunch and once in the evening. This facility has been arranged to the benefit of employees and shouldn’t be misused. Employees can place their order at once. He will not be allowed to go beyond the stipulated times.

LEAVE POLICY

Employees who have completed three months of service in The Company would be entitled to one paid leave per month subject to the approval from the concerned authority. The leave cannot be carried forward or encashed. If an employee takes more than the specified leave, the salary will be deducted commensurate to the number of days of leave and as per the existing rules. The rules can be discussed with the manager.

Employees who haven’t completed three months of service are not entitled to any leave whatsoever except for special permissions granted by the manager.

EMPLOYEE CONDUCT POLICY

Every employee is expected to act in a professional, responsible, and courteous manner at all times. Clearly, such behavior fosters a positive and productive working environment. Conversely, inappropriate or unprofessional behavior is disruptive and unproductive. Moreover, inappropriate conduct is cause for discipline, up to and including immediate termination.

Of course, in the context of this manual, it is impossible for The Company to identify all standards of conduct that are unacceptable. Again, The Company demands that employees act in a professional and courteous manner. We expect that employees will use common sense and good judgment in achieving this goal. However, The Company’s judgment, and not that of any individual employee, is the benchmark for what is acceptable and what is not. An employee’s conduct is not made acceptable solely because the employee believes it to be. Nor may an employee excuse his or her conduct because this manual does not specifically prohibit the objectionable conduct. The Company expects that employees recognize that inappropriate conduct, from rudeness to theft, is unacceptable. The decision as to what is inappropriate is left in The Company’s hands and sole discretion.

TEAMWORK POLICY

Our success begins and ends with teamwork. It is expected that each person will do their part to avoid situations that disrupt or promote others in their group to act in ill-will, to be insubordinate to a supervisor or to intentionally sabotaging the efforts of other employee teams or departments.

Teamwork is promoted when everyone acknowledges the team leader, respects the leaders judgment and authority and follows through on requests / directives without questioning them in a hostile or demeaning way. Mutual respect is the underlying factor. If someone is known to intend harm against the company or a team, please see your manager.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION POLICY

Performance observations are conducted on a daily basis through interactions between managers and peers. These observations help managers and employees to determine the context for which a formal performance evaluation will transpire. It is not necessary for a manager to privately meet an employee each time an assessment is conducted.

Performance reviews are one method by which The Company builds a case for each employee's attitude, strengths and areas of improvement. Although a wage change may be given during a review, completion of a Performance review is not a guarantee to expect changes in compensation. Many other factors are related to the frequency and amount of compensation changes if they occur.

The Performance reviews of all the employees will be held twice a year, once in January and once in July.

Managers must formally record in writing an opinion of each employee under their direct supervision who has been with the company for more than 90 days. Human Resources will notify managers of those employees who are due to be reviewed.

Upon conclusion of the evaluations, each employee will have time to read the evaluation and respond for the permanent record. Following the employee's review process, they will have an opportunity to formally critique their direct supervisor with the Human Resource manager present. This bottom up evaluation will also be recorded in the Manager's file.

PROMOTIONS POLICY

It is the policy of The Company, wherever possible, to fill vacancies with qualified employees from within The Company. Promotion to all positions is based on, among other things, individual ability, efficiency, qualifications, performance, good attendance and punctuality, educational background and length of service.

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS POLICY

All Employees deal with our customers (Clients and candidates). No matter what your position, every employee impacts the customer in some way. Employees are reminded to promote The Company just as they would represent their families. This means being friendly and courteous.

The methods adopted by the employees that can enhance customer relationships are to answer phones before three rings, transfer office calls correctly, follow through on promises, give updates if necessary, greet walk-in customers or just smile and say hello. Treating others as you expect to be treated goes a long way in customer service relationships.

RESIGNATION POLICY

If you decide to leave The Company, we ask that you give your Manager at least one months’ courtesy notice. Resigning without notice means you will not be entitled to receive the final payment. The concerned authorities upon receiving the resignation letter will give resignation acceptance letter.

Please keep in mind that as an “employee at will” once you give notice, The Company may decide it is not necessary for you to work out the entire duration of your notice.

The identification card, HR handbook and the database should be submitted before leaving The Company.

NON CLIENTS POLICY

Following separation from employment, The Company does not allow employees to work for organizations that are our clients. Although you have every right to seek gainful employment, our clients would benefit greatly from your experience and expertise. It is up to us to determine whether our secrets are intentionally compromised, and if so, to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

Former employees are encouraged to make notice to the manager if they expect to accept a client's offer of employment. The Company will decide whether an opportunity exists for our policy to be violated.

DRESS CODE POLICY

A strict dress code should be followed to ensure an appealing atmosphere. Your manager will review the dress code and personal appearance standards for your job position with you. The purpose of The Company dress attire and personal appearance standards is to present a professional, fresh, and neat appearance.

CELL PHONE POLICY

The use of a personal cell phone while at work may present a hazard or distraction to the user and/or co-employees. This policy is meant to ensure that cell phone use while at work is both safe and does not disrupt business operations. Unless otherwise authorized, employees may only use personal cell phones for an emergency.

TELEPHONE AND COMPUTER USE POLICY

The Company understands that when employees work during the week it is occasionally necessary to conduct personal business during office hours. However, employees should limit their personal use of the telephone and computer during office hours. Telephone and Internet systems are provided by The Company at its expense for business use, all messages sent by or received on those systems are company documents. The Company reserves the right to access and to disclose the content that you send or receive on any of the systems.

Given the ever-changing nature of these technologies, it is impossible to catalogue all possible abuse or misuse. Nevertheless, employees are strictly prohibited from using any technology to view, listen to or communicate offensive, defamatory or disruptive content.

The Company will periodically audit its systems, including e-mail and Internet access, to determine whether there is evidence of abuse or misuse.

Employees who abuse this policy are subject to disciplinary procedures up to and including discharge.

EMPLOYEE SUGGESTIONS POLICY

The company strongly encourages employees to offer suggestions that will improve any aspect of our operations. Please bring any suggestions to the attention of your reporting authority or the manager, or if you prefer, in writing or mail. While we welcome anonymous suggestions, we encourage employees to take credit for an idea. When circumstances warrant, employees will be rewarded for any suggestion that assists us in enhancing our company.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE POLICY

Work related problems can arise in any place of employment. We hope individuals will try to reconcile differences on an individual basis. Should this not be possible, to resolve a problem quickly and fairly, The Company has developed a grievance procedure using the following steps:

1. If you have a problem, notify your next reporting authority immediately. Most difficulties can be settled promptly at this point.

2. If the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction you (and a co-worker of your choice, if you wish) may go to the manager and verbally explain the problem to him/her; or you may instead submit the problem to him/her in writing or mail. This step should be taken within five (5) working days after your reporting authority has given his/her decision or after the incident giving rise to your grievance, whichever is later. If the circumstances require it, the previously identified official will conduct an investigation.

Following his/her investigation, the manager will respond in writing to your grievance. The decision shall be final.

CHANGE IN STATUS POLICY

Changes in status may affect your eligibility for benefits, amount you pay for benefits, delivery of your paycheck and other issues. It is extremely important to keep your personnel records up-to-date by notifying The Company in writing or mail, of any change in status.

Notify Human Resources if any of the following or any other information you feel is important to be updated, have changed or will change in the near future:

1. Legal name
2. Home address
3. Home telephone number
4. Person to call in case of emergency
5. Number of dependents
6. Marital status

HANDBOOK DISCLAIMER POLICY

I understand that I am responsible for reading the handbook, familiarizing myself with its contents, and adhering to all of the policies and procedures of Dewdrop Career Solutions (P) Ltd whether set forth in this handbook or elsewhere.

The policies, procedures and standard practices described in this manual are not conditions of employment. This manual does not create an express or implied contract between The Company and any of its employees located in Bangalore, Chennai or any other designated locations where this manual is applicable. The Company reserves the right to terminate any employee, at any time, with or without notice or procedure, for any reason deemed by it to be in the best interests of the Company.

I understand that the information in this handbook represents guidelines only. The Company reserves the right to modify this handbook, amend or terminate any policies, procedures, or employee benefit programs whether or not described in this handbook at any time, or to require and/or increase contributions toward these benefits programs.

All personnel policies contained herein were adopted by The Company and supersede previous policies. We periodically review personnel policies in part or as a whole, to ensure that they continue to reflect current thinking in the field of Human Resources Management and are consistent with trends and legislative requirements.

I further understand that no manager or representative or The Company, other than a Senior Officer of The Company, is authorized to enter into any employment agreement on behalf of Dewdrop Career Solutions (P) Ltd, other than the Managing Director or the C.O.O. I also understand that any such agreement, if made, shall not be enforceable unless it is a formal written agreement signed by both, an authorized Dewdrop Career Solutions (P) Ltd Senior Officer and me.

I also understand that this manual is the property of, and is to be returned to the Human Resources Department should my employment be terminated.

E-recruitment is the name of the game

2007-12-12T03:40:00.001-08:00

Riding on the back of a war for talent, online recruitment is steadily gaining a bigger share of the recruitment pie. While IT and ITeS companies have been their traditional clients, companies from diverse sectors such as auto components and pharma today are relying on online recruitment to fill up their vacancies. According to industry estimates, between 30% and 40% of placements are now made through the Internet, either through job sites of individual companies or through online recruitment agencies.

The IT sector was the first to move online. IT companies usually need to hire a large number of people. Therefore, IT human resources departments and job seekers are tech savvy and have access to the Internet at all times. However, with Internet penetration increasing to over 60 million users, and other industries like engineering and telecom, automobile and machinery, construction, pharma, banking, insurance and financial services also now growing rapidly and recruiting in large numbers, online recruitment has pretty much become the gold standard for all human resources departments.

Explains Jobstreet.com CEO Anand Iyer, "Companies look at e-recruitment when they start recruiting in large numbers. This is, typically, the case when a company is ramping up, hiring in thousands to set up a new centre." Jobstreet has a database of more than 5 million resumes with BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance), technology, telecom and pharma companies accounting for its clients.

According to experts, the job search market including print medium and placement consultants will grow from Rs 1,500 crore in the financial year 2006 to over Rs 2,800 crore in financial year 2011 at a CAGR of 13.4%.

During the same period, the online segment is expected to grow at CAGR of 31%, gaining market share from the print and consultant segments and hence, is set to improve its market share of 10% in financial year 2006 to 21% in financial year 2011.

The benefits that online recruitment offers against traditional methods of recruitment have won it loyalists. The recruitment industry is highly information dependant. Online recruiting enables the industry to have access to a lot more information in lesser time. Says Hitesh Oberoi, COO, Info Edge, which owns naukri.com having a database of over 11 million resumes, "It's cheaper, faster, has global reach, works 24/7, allows you to target your search and also enables you through the right software tools to manage your recruitment process. On the other hand, job seekers take advantage of the filtering tools to filter out unsuitable jobs, making their search more efficient and convenient."

A few other advantages emanate out of the benefits that one gets out of process automation like email campaigns, search resumes and applicant tracking. Online recruitment also brings down the cost per hire due to technology deployment. "Going through a placement house means payment of one month's salary for every successful recruitment. Whereas going through a job portal would cost much less, and you also build up a database over time," points out Iyer.

It is the database of potential employees that is the goldmine for recruitment agencies and employers alike. Recruitment service providers use the database to select suitable candidates, headhunt the rest, and select the most fitting profiles. However, it is up to an organisation to effectively deploy this resource in their business, as sometimes there are discrepancies. "We witness significant inefficiencies in recruitment and thus, higher costs after using online recruitment. This may appear paradoxical," says Aditya Narayan Mishra, general manager, Ma Foi Management Consultants Ltd. This happens because an online tool helps one reach out to a wider community but not essentially the right group of candidates that the organisation targets.

However, having received hundreds of applications, one has to deploy resources to study them, scrutinise and interview them. "Many a time, we discover that the applications received are far higher than what is desired and most of them are from desperate job seekers rather than the brilliant candidate that the organisation should be targeting," he adds.

Traditional placement agencies are, however, unfazed at the growth of job portals. In fact, recruitment agencies are one of the biggest customers of job portals. Large recruitment service providers can also host online recruitments without much difficulty. Most of them also have their own online and offline database, though that may not be available to clients or candidates. Agrees Oberoi, "The online recruitment sites will not replace offline placement agencies. In fact, placement agencies are our clients. Increasingly, however, advertising from print will move online."

But there is space for both. It is also increasingly difficult to survive in isolation. Says Jacob Samuel, associate partner, Elixir Web Solutions, an HR recruitment firm, "Of course, there is space for both. In fact neither can operate effectively in isolation. Recruiting is a lot more than merely finding people." Online recruiting is a tool which when coupled with strong recruiting and probing skills will get you the best yield. When used in isolation this might actually result in the loss of some potential top-notch candidates that no organisation can afford in this day and age, with the raging war for talent, he points out.

A significant drawback in the evolution of technology is the loss of human interaction, which is applicable to the online recruitment process. In India, the cultural shift is a challenge in the online recruitment space, as organisations prefer to deal with people rather than e-mails. This is especially true for the hiring for senior executive positions. Traditional recruiting channels would be more appropriate keeping the confidentiality and the extent of networking and assessment in mind.

However, for larger volumes online recruiting would help reach out to more people and facilitate a larger pool generation. When it comes to short-listing and screening candidates, interviewing, negotiating and finally convincing candidates to join a particular company, offline placement agencies have a distinct advantage.

With online recruitment come online assessments. Impersonation and fudging during online tests are issues that sometimes keep companies away from online recruitment. However, job portals say that they have devised ways to restrict these if not completely prevent them.

Most companies go for proctored assessment that is supervised rather than unproctored assessment that's typically used to weed out unwanted candidates. "If unsupervised testing is conducted, we always recommend that further testing be completed later in the recruitment process to confirm and validate the results of the unsupervised test," points out Mark Cadman, managing director, e-bilities Pty Ltd. The Australia-based company has tied up with Ma Foi to offer online pre-employment screening tests.

HOW TO WIN CANDIDATES

2007-12-12T03:35:00.000-08:00

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

Don't criticize, condemn or complain.
Give honest and sincere appreciation.
Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Six ways to make people like you

Become genuinely interested in other people.
Smile.
Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about them.
Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
Make the other person feel important - and do it sincerely.

Win people to your way of thinking

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.
Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."
If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.
Begin in a friendly way.
Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately.
Let the other person do a great deal of the talking.
Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.
Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.
Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.
Appeal to the nobler motives.
Dramatize your ideas.
Throw down a challenge.

How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

Consultants job often includes changing your people's attitudes and behavior. Some suggestions to accomplish this:

Begin with praise and honest appreciation.
Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.
Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person.
Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.
Let the other person save face.
Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."
Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.
Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.
Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

Democrates

2007-07-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They're the kind of people who'd stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn't bother to stop because they'd want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club.