Business Management

Many people interpret the concept of business management as an activity of buying and selling of goods only and perceive its objective as to increasing profits. Yes the interpretation is appropriate but to some extent, the word business management is not confined to buying, selling and profit making only.

There is another significant meaning to the word business management too. And it has got another important objective too. The word business implies: Any dilemma faced by people in any aspect of life and finding a solution to it is called business or in other words dealing with any issue is a business. And the word management implies using the best way of avoiding, solving and resolving that dilemma in a rational and calculated manner.

Some people wonder, why should someone study Business Management, since illiterate people own good businesses without even having any proper knowledge about it?

I would say that it is very simple to distinguish in between the functions and activities of an illiterate and a literate person. Here we are not merely talking about running a small, limited and inefficient business which is of course possible to be ran by any background of person but here we are rather talking about a well managed, administered, growing organizations, NGOs, Government bodies, companies, firms and industries, which in return generate a lot of employment to both professional and unprofessional people, increase the standard of living, tackle various local, national and international concerns of the people and society as a whole and also generate revenues (huge amount of taxes) to the government.

One will face numerous dilemmas and obstacles while operating in the above mentioned bodies hence solving of the dilemmas becomes a great concern and a serious business to the person in-charge, which really needs to be managed in order to stabilize and harmonize the environment.

The various problems and dilemmas may include: implementation of various developmental projects (communication, transportation, roads and rail networks, hospitals, irrigation system etc), poverty, gender discrimination, corruption, serious and epidemic diseases, illiteracy, unemployment, crimes, political and social unrest, economy slowdown, environmental issues etc.

So finding solutions to the above mentioned problems is not an easy task. And further more this giant system is not possible to be ran perfectly by an illiterate either hence business management becomes a vital element and a serious need of the hour.

Though every field has its own experts to tackle problems related to that field but beyond those expertise and experts there is still the need for a good administrator who can plan, organize, lead, control and implement the decision of the experts. Things go wrong if any entity is headed by an inefficient and indifferent administrator. So an efficient and effective administration does make a big difference and yields the desired outputs.

Even, when we have the objective of maximum profits making in certain circumstances, we do not merely mean to have huge amounts of profits with having less or no concern about the input (resources) at all, but what we mean by the objective of maximum profit is: optimal usage of resources and getting the best output from it (reducing waste as much as possible).

A small and limited business run by an illiterate businessman may make profits and may sustain for a longer period, no doubt at this, but it will never grow and expand its branches to the other parts of the country and international markets which is the ultimate goal of an intellectual businessman.

Someone might question me that there are many illiterate businessmen having worldwide investments and have giant businesses! How do they do it? I would still assert it. Yes they own the giant businesses but the fact still remains the same that they are run by professional and qualified personnel not by the illiterate themselves.

They still need intellectual executives and managers to provide conceptual, human and technical skills. They still need professional finance managers to manage their balance sheets, profit and loss accounts, ratio analysis and Cash flow statements. They still need professional HR managers to help them in their businesses growth by choosing the right, qualified and talented personnel, recruit, remunerate and retain the employees by using various human resources’ professional techniques, a few to mention. Without the help of the professionals the businesses will be extinct.

Further more a professional businessman is not concerned abut the profit only but also is concerned about the society and its people too. The aim isn’t huge amount of profit making only but is rather contributing something useful to the society too.

The various products developed by various talented people around the world that facilitated the life of all millions of human beings are the results of professionalism and education.

For better understanding of what business Administration courses impart to the undergraduates, I have summarized the main and sub-branches of a Business Administration degree bellow:

Management has four wide areas:

1. Human Resources:

This field deals with managing of various dilemmas related to human beings. This field includes study of: Psychology, sociology, Human Resources Management, Individual and Society, Organizational Behavior, labor law, industrial law, international law, ethics, soft skills (behavioral and attitudinal), effective communication, case Analysis and etc.

2. Finance:

This field deals with managing of various financial and economic transactions. This field includes study of: Microeconomic, Macroeconomic, managerial economic, Accounting, financial Management, Cost accounting, Management Accounting, taxation, capital market, entrepreneur project and etc.

3. Production:

This field deals mainly with the production of various products in a business. With the help of this knowledge managers can decide how to produce the various products required? How to reduce waste while producing? And many more things like that. This field includes the study of various subjects such as Mathematics, Logic, Quantitative method, statistic, Operation management, management information system etc.

4. Marketing:

This is the field wherein mangers need to find out the right customers for their products as well as forecast the future demand and many more activities that are related to market. This field includes study of: Business research method, Advertisement, sales and promotional management, retail management, strategic management, business law, business ethics etc.

Conserve the nature and its resources?

In fact we human beings can do anything; we can destroy as well as build hence we are the only creatures who are the most responsible for conserving the environment. What we need to do is very simple, just to reduce, reuse and recycle what ever we consume. The fact is that we consume a lot, and greed just keeps growing and growing.

No time is late and no small change is less. Drops make an ocean, so let’s start it from our selves only. There is a saying which says that, “self improvement paves the path for national improvement”.

THINGS WE MUST DO AND MUST NOT DO:

1) First: we need to control excessive consumption of water at our homes so that we can have fresh water for the future generations. We should teach our mothers, sisters, brothers, maids and all neighbors to use water as less as possible while taking bath, washing cloths, dishes, etc.

2) Second: we need to ovoid littering our surroundings. We should know what are degradable and what non-degradable wastes are and reduce them accordingly. We need to reduce the trashes, and if possible make a decomposition-plant at our neighborhood so that all the degradable can be decomposed over there.


3) Third: we need to reduce our consumption. By doing so we will conserve the non-renewable natural resources of the environment. We have to reduce, reuse and recycle natural resources like metal , iron, steel, minerals, fuel…etc

4) Fourth: we need to avoid deforestation, the trees are protecting us from many natural disasters such as wind cyclone, water storms, land erosion etc, as well as provide us various fruits and also keep the environment clean and beautiful.

5) Fifth: we need to control population growth. If we keep bearing and giving births to children then there would be a lot of pressure on natural resources and in result there would be a huge scarcity of everything. The food prices will go up, there wouldn’t be any clean and fresh water for drinking and the forests would be cut off and instead homes and houses would be reconstructed which will lead to land erosion, dirty climate, noise pollution, water pollution and etc.

6) Sixth: stop mining that leads to a lot of difficulties. The land loses its fertility. The air gets polluted and chemicals are causing normal life of people and many things more.

7) Seven: stop damming of flowing water. It causes the natural cycle. The rivers bring rich soil with them which is further useful for the crops that farmers grow them on their lands. River distributes fresh water to the people of remote areas and so on.

8) Eight: stop excessive fishing and hunting of wild life. The natural cycle will get disturbed by eliminating any class member of the cycle.

I have mentioned very few and basic things that can have a great impact on the natural environment. Lets promise to reduce, reuse and recycle what ever we do till the end of our life.

I want Freedom

God has given me so much but,
I have nothing to sustain
I am sighing, I am weeping
I want freedom from recession

There is nothing that can cheer me
Bring me joys and relaxation
I am always like a dumb thereto,
I want freedom from depression

I am harassed and enslaved
And am treated like a toy
For the pleasure of the misers
I want freedom from oppression

I am coming from a cage where I was nurtured with mercy
And now living in a cage where I am brutalized and thereafter
Am laid in cage where I am interrogated for my doings, hence
I want freedom from confession

Anger Management

What can you do about your anger? To know about its adverse impacts and the ways to heal it, read out the project bellow, which I had prepared for myself.

1. What are the effects of anger?

Well, before I answer this question I would like to define anger first.
What is Anger? Anger is a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance. There are two contributed factors for anger such as internal and external environments.

The effects of anger are generally divided in to two, they are as follows;
• Physiological effects
• Psychological/ emotional/mental effects

• The followings are the physiological effects of anger;

i. Loss of appetite / indigestibility problems
ii. High blood pressure
iii. Headache
iv. Restlessness/loss of sleep (insomnia)


• Psychological/ emotional/mental effects
i. Tears
ii. Aggressiveness
iii. Negative thought or perceptions
iv. Loss of wisdom/mental problems
v. Confusion
vi. Loss of good decision making ability
vii. Depression
viii. Madness/insaneness
ix. Displacement
x. Revenge
xi. Stubbornness
xii. Over-emotional
xiii. Tension
xiv. Violence



2. Should anger be managed? Why?

The consequences of anger are very adverse and even sometimes life threatening, usually people who are always angry at some or the other thing like; why so and so person did this thing to me?, why I was not recognized?, why people are talking about me? No one loves me!, jealousy etc, tend to displace it by starting fighting, firing bad words or insulting someone, smoking, drinking alcohol and etc, which will put them in more depression instead of freeing or relieving them from this trauma, and will finally commit suicide or murder someone else innocent.

Apart from the above mentioned addictions, they also become vulnerable against many diseases due to loss of resistance system of their body and get abnormalcy state. The joys of the life are gone merely because you don’t like something, can’t adapt to the situations or can’t change your thinking process.

If you would like to have a happy life, you need to perceive everything in a positive manner, be always optimistic and flexible, mingle with people, and accept yourself as well as others, whatever they are and whatever they are doing.

In fact this is life; we need to adapt to its ups and downs and get pleasure from every moment of it. There is a saying which says that, “no pain no gain” is quite appropriately applicable to our life, if we don’t suffer, how will we know the sweet taste of happiness and joys? In fact these are difficulties and sorrows that make happiness more colorful and make it real happiness.


3. What incidents make me angry?

The incidents that are really making me angry are; delay or cancellation of a flight, carelessness of a person, irrational reasoning, mess in my room, at home or even in the classroom or college. And further more I am getting angry at those friends or relatives who don’t get ready fast, while going to college or somewhere else. I hate late goings.

4. Mostly whom I am angry at?

I would say most of the times I am angry at myself and then at human race’s cruelties, oppressions and the way they embrace various religions or other superstitious activities.


5. Besides angry, what does the situation make me feel?
I resent while some teachers exaggerate corporate life’s requirements (qualifications) and underestimate students’ knowledge. It makes me feel illiterate.

I dislike seniors who don’t take the consent of the juniors. It makes me feel voiceless or deprived of my rights.


6. What have I learnt, regarding anger?

I have learnt about anger and its adverse impacts on human beings’ physiological and psychological/emotional/mental processes, as well as how to control and channelise and manage it.

Our minds can not function properly while we are angry, and further more we cant make rational and wise decision while we are angry weather at ourselves or at someone else, in result we may land up somewhere in a deep ditch of dirt, which is going to be a moment of deep grief and depression.

7. How have I change? What is my new way of dealing with life?
In fact our automatic thinking leads us to feelings; hence if we have negative thinking about anything, our feelings would be definitely negative and eventually will get angry at that particular thing. If we try to find out the truth behind that action, then based on that truth we can change our thinking and henceforth we can change our feelings.

For example: I have had hatred about someone for a very long period of time and I always used to say about him that; why he fool is like this? But now I have got the remedy to it.

I pondered deeply into this situation and tried to find out the facts and truths involved in this matter, eventually I found out the truth that he is brought up like this which is a situational case, so he is no more responsible for being so.

Then I stopped to hat him, because I found the truth and he is not to be blamed, for that was the situational and raising part of his life that caused and made him this way. Now I am simply repeatedly saying; it would be nice if he was not like this. And also repeat that it would be nice if I don’t blame him, because this is not his fault.

Note: Among five angers the most hazardous anger is the abstract anger (always angry at yourself and the source of anger is not known), which is really very difficult to cure. We need to be very careful about our anger that can cause our health and take away our joys and happiness if we don’t control it.

Financial crisis

Recently I went through the economic and news reports of some of the economic institutions and organizations such as South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), World Bank, European Union, Asian development bank, International monetary fund and Federal Open Market Committee and I found that the overall economy is slumped.

All nations suffer in some or the other way from the financial crisis with some variations depending up on the economic policies of that country. Some accuse the capitalism for these economic crisis and some blame financial institutions and their policies for being so apathetic and unvigilant in their activities.

I would also be somewhat in the favor of blaming capitalism; I don’t know that how long the world’s hungry businessmen will continue their greedy quests for growth in their businesses and wealth. In my point of view this perpetual growth is very destructive in long term even though they do facilitate and modernize today’s life of the people.

As we know according to the classical theory which says that, “supply creates demand” is correct but only for unsought and luxury products only I suppose, the basic and necessary commodities like food, medicine and things like that have their own demand even if they are not produced and supplied, because we human beings are alive by consuming them.

On the other hand the Keynesian theory states that, “demand has its own life” is also correct because once a persons needs are satisfied he/she may not buy or seek to demand that particular item. I will justify it with a simple example; suppose you are neither hungry nor thirsty as well as have no appetite for taking anything, so will you be willing to spend money on anything edible? Absolutely not, you will not buy anything until and unless you become hungry, so this is what demand has its life.

I am quite confused when I hear perpetual growth and development, increase in production and things like that around the world from every single business and businessman. Don’t they think that how long will this growth of everything continue and how long will they be selling all the things in increasing manner not even in an even and stable manner.

Definitely one day it will face recession and trough due to the completion of demand. That day is exactly today; it had come once in the near past, and will definitely be coming in the future too. The economy itself will recover when the people consume bought products and or the products become obsolete, thereafter people will tend to buy.

Can you drive a car by reading a book about it?

Many emphasize too much up on memorizing definitions of various subjects, theories and other related things. According to me it is good to know about them but too much emphasize on memorizing definitions will have an adverse impact up on students learning process.

Learning by heart will limit the knowledge of the students by preventing them from reading extra materials such as novels, newspapers, magazines, and other useful books that are interesting students hence I suggest all the students to read and understand deeply the exact meaning and purpose of a particular definition, not to memorize them merely for the sake of tests and examinations. Try to read a lot about various issues instead of memorizing one or two definitions. Reading various matters will increase your reading speed, Improve your vocabulary, enhance your analysis power and expand your general knowledge.

Let’s understand it more;
Definition is a concise explanation of the meaning of a word, phrase or symbol. You need not memorize the definitions but by looking at them you can draw the clear picture of the subject witch will help in better and profound understanding of the various matters covered by the subject. The following are definitions of some subjects I have compiled from various sources; take a look they may be useful for you and benefit you;



Business research method (BRM)
BRM is a systematic inquiry that provides infrastructure to guide business decision.

Human resources management (HRH)
HRM is a management function that helps managers plan, recruit, select, train, develop, remunerate and maintain members for an organization.

Operation management (OM)
Operation management is defined as the design, operation and improvement of the systems that create and deliver the firm’s primary products and services. OM is also a field of management.

Economic
Economic is the study of how societies choose to use scarce productive resources that have alternative uses, to produce commodities of various kinds, and to distribute them among different groups. Economic is divided into two major parts;
Microeconomic; is concerned with the behavior of individual entities such as markets, firms, and households.
Macroeconomic; views the performance of the economy as a whole.

Cost Accounting;
Provides information for management accounting and financial accounting, it measures and reports financial and non-financial information relating to the cost of acquiring or utilizing resources in an organization


Cost Management;
Cost management is described as the approaches and activities of mangers in short-run and long-run planning and control decisions that increase value for customers and lower costs of products and services.

Operation research (OR);
Is the application of quantitative methods to decision making in all fields.

Management science (MS);
Is the application of quantitative methods to decision making in all fields.

Marketing Management (MM);
MM is the art and science of choosing target. Or the art of selling products or to deliver a high standard of living is called marketing.

Organizational behavior (OB);
A field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organization, for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organization’s effectiveness, Specifically (OB) focuses on how to improve productivity, reduces absenteeism and turnover, and increase employee citizenship and job satisfaction.

Development or Disaster!

Today’s aggressive development in various fields causes sadness and depression, the joys of simple life are gone. The social loafing and mingling with people is stagnant. Day and night hardworking becomes a fashion and passion of the people. The gap in between generations is widening due to westernization and Americanization’s impacts through media and other channels.

Free moment of people, liberalization, privatization and deregulation are good but for few days, the long-run would be hazardous and disastrous. TV, radio, internet, mobile phones, computers, and things like these were created to benefit and facilitate people but they turned to be adversely affecting human beings lives and natural environment.

You might have heard that how much the so-called toxic technology such as computer, mobile phones and internet and so on are harmful and contribute amply to the global warming and environmental pollution in large. Of course they have facilitated us but point to be noted is; these all facilities are for short-run not long-run.

I wonder that how much the industries would like to produce. For how long they are going to go ahead and expect every day high growth (especially unsought and luxury goods) and when they are going to be satisfied? Every thing has got a limit and we should maintain an equal balance of the things we do over here. But I thing we have already crossed the limit and almost destroyed the natural cycle.

Bryan Walsh, in a Time magazine article, notes that, “80% of Americans toss their obsolete gizmos into the trash .... Every day Americans throw out more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers, making electronic waste the fastest-growing part of the U.S. garbage stream.”

India in the context of criminalized politics

India in the context of criminalized politics

Today India with diverse cultures, languages, religions and a vast population is believed to be the land of thousands colors (incredible India). And its democracy is well known in the world.

The benefits of democracy are many one of them is India’s overall growth and internal stability, India wouldn’t have been so stable if it hadn’t had such kind of democratic environment because democracy has allowed and equalized all the religions (Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism), and ethnic groups to practice freely in their religious ceremonies, prayers and rituals and actively participate in various private and governmental systems and affairs.

But at the same time this democracy in India despite its merits has drawbacks too; one of these drawbacks is criminalized politics. Despite India’s fair educational system and a moderate proportion of educated people, one would find an illiterate, raper, kidnapper, or perpetrator holding the prestigious position of a minister, leader of a political party or any other high ranked position.

According to a report by NDTV that states that, “criminalization of politics in India is a growing problem, despite legal attempts to address it. In 2003 a law was introduced to prohibit the election of criminals or alleged criminals to state or central legislature. However, persons with criminal or alleged criminal backgrounds continue to hold seats in parliaments all over the country. In fact, current statistics show that some 23.2 percent of members of parliaments in India have criminal investigations or cases pending against them. The forthcoming state election in Uttar Pradesh is a case in point. An estimated 35 percent of candidates have trials and cases pending against them. The charges include rape, armed robbery and murder.”

In fact this really has an adverse effect up on the country’s prosperity and development. The economy doesn’t grow due to corruption and failure of fulfilling the projects; this is one of the main reasons for India’s slow growth and high rate of poverty. It has been 60 years now India has achieved its independence from British, but is still under threat and is trapped in internal slavery by its own trappers.

India with a beautiful natural climate and vast land (good for agriculture) and with strong labor force is still behind china and other developing countries.


How this happens?
As India’s high proportion of population is illiterate, religious and under the depression of caste system and has many poor people too (around 27% of the world’s poor people under poverty line are in India) hence corrupt politicians take the advantage of this condition of the people. They deceive and provoke peoples’ sentiments by giving them false promises either about shelter, food and job or protection of communal rights.
So some innocent people in hope of getting something positive and remedial from these types of politicians support and vote them, hence they get selected for the prestigious and high posts in the nation and thereafter become the lords and trample the rights of the same innocent people.


Who is responsible?

Well, it is definite that we would straightaway indicate to the legislatures for not making strict lows against perpetrators, executors for not executing effectively and efficiently so that crimes can be reduced with the arrest of criminals and the last judiciaries for not being so vigilant, partial and inefficient to punish and control all wrong doings.

Do you think they (legislatures, executors, and judiciaries) are the only bodies responsible for the things done in the society? Of course yes law-wise, but is not the one who steals, robs, kidnaps, rapes, or doing any other illegal activity a member of the same society? If yes, are not we responsible for the destruction of our society?

Actually it is I and you! No one else should be blamed for our doings; the person who is corrupt is elected by you and me only. We elect them for our sake and prosperity not for the sake and prosperity of the country. I and you seek personal interests in a particular person or party and we tend to prefer our personal interests over societal interest hence we select them. And at the end of the day we are the ones who are oppressed by the same people elected by us.

So what should be done?
To improve and develop the society as a whole you first need to improve yourself and thereafter preach the good, create awareness, and awaken civic sense and patriotism among people for the betterment of the society. We need to devote our selves for the future of our country and coming generations’ freedom, development and progress as our ancestors have done it for us. And we have to sacrifice our personal stakes so that we can achieve independence from criminals’ rule.

We are not ruled by them but we help them rule us! Let’s eliminate all the differences among us and vote for the right, true and eligible person. And go against race, language, and any other distinguishing characteristic of a person that mislead the whole purpose of election and selection. This is the base for all.

Slumdog Millionaire

Can you imagine how big achievement it is? Certainly no one expected this much but it made it! The real story of the film which really depicts the real life of the slums reflected and turned into reality itself. The poor residents of Mumbai’s slums (one of the biggest slum in Asia) who have never dreamed of even having a proper meal and place to live are now celebrating their success at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. By winning eight-Oscar-awards this film made a history in the field of Indian cinema (Bollywood)

81st Annual academy awards of Oscar 2009
Categories in which Slumdog Millionaire wins
Best film
Best director (Danny Boyle)
Best original score A R Rahman
Best original song A R Rahman, Sampooran Singh Gulzar
Best sound mixing Resul Pookutty, In Tapp, Richard Pryke
Best adapted screenplay
Best cinematography
Best editing

But this remarkable achievement is not done by voluptuous, sexy, beautiful actresses and handsome and brand ambassador actors. This all is done by profound thinking, hardworking, simplicity and reality. And further more I would like to add that the real heroes are not those who are seen in a film on the screen but the real heroes are behind the scene that think and work hard to make a film successful. The real heroes are the directors, singers, composers, editors etc.




You may think that I am not right but this film has proved it, and we are witnessing that it made a great success without known and famous actors and actresses. If there had been any famous actress and actor many would certainly have associated the success of the film with them. This is the misperception of many of us who don’t know the reality.

For decades Indian cinema has focused only in artificial, exaggerating and boasting sexy girls and boys with the so-called still unaccepted love and family tales. I am not emphasizing that there should be hundred per cent reality stories and films depicting real life of the society and its people, but what I mean to say is to have at least some thing that can inspire to some extent the hopeless, depressed, hesitant and reluctant members of the society. And give them a chance to boost and bloom the new generation.


Of course all types of films are required for a society in order to entertain the people. A blend of all colors will make it more colorful. But point to be noted is that meaningful films will have an edge over the others and those which are having negative impact on morals and defect the rituals and norms of a society will not help but will make it worse and worse, because our children are learning through observation (social learning theory). They learn what they see.



The things which are morally and ethically unacceptable will be planted in the minds of our youth and the crimes’ (killing, kidnapping, blackmailing, raping, molestation…etc) rate will keep increasing which will have disastrous consequences.

Today millions of people around the world are watching and observing Indian cinema, So Indians need to innovate and create new ways of making films. And now it is time for Indian cinema to think globally not locally and nationally. This is a great chance as well as challenge for Indian cinema!

Analysis of Chicken soup for the entrepreneur’s soul

Can’t I become a successful entrepreneur? This question will prompt you many times while reading this book. Yes, after reading this book you will feel like you are an entrepreneur but you haven’t understood your hidden potential strengths in you. And you will feel that you have not realized and utilized them properly.

There is no such a formula for becoming a successful entrepreneur, but there are definitely some rules and principles which can help you becoming a successful entrepreneur or anything else you wish to become in your life. In my point of view the subsequent are to be practiced in one’s life for becoming a successful personality.

1. Firstly you should have a vision in your life and work towards it to make it happen.
2. Secondly you should love what you do.
3. Thirdly you need to be courageous, hardworking, honest and patient enough while working towards your goals.
4. Fourthly the aim shouldn’t be only profit making but considering society and its people as well.
5. Fifthly you have to have creative ideas as well as willing to take a bit risk too. After combing these all you can become successful in any field and your efforts can be fruitful.

We may be working in different fields but we end up with some common goals (happiness in life, victory, prosperity and success).

Authors of the book;
Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen are the #1 New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneur's Soul is a compilation of short stories from entrepreneurs, who share their experiences of success, failure and courage, with a little helpful advice.

Some of the inspiring quotes I have collected from the book.

1. Establish relationship first and then do business.
2. If you have a sense of entrepreneurship, take that first step.
3. In an even-changing world, the only constant you can control is you!

4. People can take away your house, wealth but they can not take from you what you have learnt.
5. Treat yourself like a brand and remember consistency and credibility are your greatest assets.
6. Remember you get what you pay for.
7. Forget margins. Are you giving customers the goods and services that they want when they want them? Satisfy those requirements and the margins will take care of themselves.

8. A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.
9. None of us can change our yesteryears but all of us can change our tomorrow.
10. Ideas are the seeds of future fortune.


11. Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you will land among the stars.
12. There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it is going to be a butterfly.
13. The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
14. It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to some one else.

15. Two heads are better than one.
16. Enthusiasm is the yeast that raises the dough
17. There is nothing wrong with being fired.
18. You don’t have to be thin, rich, young or wrinkle-free to be successful. You just have to be you and never, never, never and never give up.

19. If you can’t take the heat, go out of the kitchen.
20. Life is tough…….wear a helmet.
21. The only way to do great work is to love what you do.
22. Whenever one door closes, another one always opens.

23. We must accept the challenges that life offers.
24. High expectations are the key to everything.
25. All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.
26. If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it.

27. The world doesn’t pay you for what you know; it pays you for what you do.
28. The universe rewards actions.
29. A journey of one thousands miles must begin with one step. (famous chinese proverb)

30. It is not whether you get knocked down; it is whether you get up again.
31. Do not aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in it and it will come naturally.
32. No dream is too big.
33. We do not remember days …we remember moments.
34. Don’t quack like a duck soar like am eagle.

Four important codes for success
1. The destiny code; to crack the destiny code you must discover your unique place in the universe.
2. The prism code; destiny is the path you choose. Prism is the vehicle you navigate down the path.
3. The angel code; you can’t do it alone, you need a team.
4. The star code; cracking the star code is the process of discovering and serving a very special group of customers treating them like the stars they are.

The forces that influence HRM

In brief there are two external and internal environments which play major role in shaping any company or organization’s human resources management decision making. Every HR manger has to consider them while making decision. They are as follows

External forces;
External forces include political legal, economic, technological and cultural factors.

1. Political legal; three institutions such as legislature, executive and judiciary constitute the political environment.
a) Legislature (parliament at the center level), (Assembly at the state level) is the law making body.
b) Executive is the law implementing body.
c) Judiciary has the role of watchdog. It makes sure that both legislature and executive work within the confines of the constitution and in public interest.

2. Economic; economic growth, industrial production, agriculture, population, national and per capita income, money and capital markets, suppliers, competitors, customers and industrial labor are the components of the economic environment.

3. Technological; with the introduction of new technology the following things take place;
a) Jobs become more intellectual or upgraded
b) New technology dislocates workers
c) Technology has impacts on workers
d) The job holder should be highly professionalized and knowledgeable

4. Cultural factors; The culture factors influence the HR function in the following segments; knowledge, belief, art, moral, laws, customs and other capabilities and habits of an individual.

Internal forces;
Internal forces are; strategy, task, leadership, unions, organizational culture and conflict and professional bodies.
1. Strategy, task and leadership;
2. Unions;
3. Organizational culture and conflict;
4. Professional bodies;

Analysis of (Wings of fire) book

Name of the book; Wings of fire
Written by; Arun Tiwari

This book is an autobiography of APJ Abdul Kalam, ex-president of India known as the president of the people as well as a great missile scientist and rocket engineer. This book is a bit difficult to read especially for non-science people because the book carries many scientific terms which makes it a little bit complicated to understand easily, but over all it is an interesting and very advantageous book to read.

In this book Dr. Kalam has talked about various other matters besides his life’s story and achievements. He doesn’t talk only about his life and achievements but conveys a very deep message that inspires people and gives remedial steps for the educated, experienced and senior people (especially to today’s leaders and mangers) in order to improve and develop.
In fact that is one of the main reasons which encouraged me to analyze this book through my cognition. From my point of view APJ Abdul Kalam wants to convey the following messages to the people of the world, not I suppose only to Indians through this book;

1. The possibility of achievements in everyone’s life
Every thing is possible to be achieved for anyone and every human being has got the capability and competency of doing some or the other thing the only things an achiever requires are; first the desire of doing something within him, second the belief that he can achieve it and the last but not the lest is the expectation from what ever the achiever does. So I can conclude that we all are equal regardless of class (economic status), culture, language and etc if we cultivate the above mentioned forces in ourselves.

2. The relationship in between spirituality, science and achievements
Actually science is sourcing from the religion itself only but unfortunately people misperceive it. The spirituality protects us from depression while achieving our goals and relieves us, as well as gives us patience against failure and difficulties. It gives us hopes of achieving our dreams. He himself is a very spiritual person, as he mentions through out the book. (The quotes are given at the end)

3. The leaders & leadership, the managers & management
A leadership of trust is required for leaders to develop the competencies of the followers and allow them to do things by their own in order to get motivated and learn by their own, from their own mistakes. Interact with the followers discuss and exchange the views and problems instead of giving directions, and involve them directly in problem solving. This is what leadership is!

As I went through three forth of this book, I found Abdul Kalam as a great leader and manager of the nation rather than a scientist and an engineer even though he is a real engineer (So he is both a successful engineer and a transformative leader). The way he inspires the nation and each and every individual of the society through out this book in a very wise and patient manner is incredible.

Even through out his life he has always focused on, how people should achieve their goals and how they should be led. He has pointed out some of the weak points of the Indians for example; “What makes life in Indian organization difficult is the widespread prevalence of this very contemptuous pride. It stops us from listening to our juniors, subordinators and people down the line”.

When talking of management, he is an excellent manager knowing all the things required for a manger. He has talked about hands on and hands off approach, in order to mange the performance of a specialists’ team. He better knew how to manage the teams and teem-members; he has mentioned many times in the book in various ways that how people can be led and managed. There are more to tell about his personality.

And I would conclude by saying that; Abdul Kalam is not only an engineer or scientist but he is a great transformative leader and a successful manager as well.

The followings are some of the quotes I found interesting from wings of fire book;

1. Those things that hurt instruct. (from Benjamin Franklin)

2. To success in life and achieve results you must understand and master three mighty forces; a: desire, b: belief, c: expectation

3. All reasonable men adapt themselves to the world, only few unreasonable ones persist in trying to adapt the world to themselves. All the progress in the world depends on these unreasonable men and their innovative and often non-conformist actions. (George Bernard Shaw)

4. I wonder why some people tend to see science as something which takes man away from God. As I look at it, the path of science can always wind through the heart. For me, science has always been the path to spiritual enrichment and self-realization.

5. A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week. (General George Patton)

6. The best way to win was to not need to win. The best performances are accomplished when you are relaxed and free of doubt.

7. I often read Khalil Gibran, and always find his words full of wisdom. “Bread baked without love is a bitter bread that feeds but half a man’s hunger”–those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around. If you are a writer who would secretly prefer to be a lawyer or a doctor, your written words will feed but half the hunger of your readers; if you are a teacher who would rather be a businessman, your instructions will meet but half the need for knowledge of your students; if you are a scientist who hates science, your performance will satisfy but half the needs of your mission.

8. I have always considered the price of perfection prohibitive and allowed mistakes as a part of the learning process. I prefer a dash of daring and persistence to perfection. I have always supported learning on the part of my team members by paying vigilant attention to each of their attempts, be they successful or unsuccessful.

9. To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.


10. To live only for some unknown future is superficial. It is like climbing a mountain to reach the peak without experiencing its sides. The sides of the mountain sustain life, not the peak. This is where things grow, experience gained, and technologies are mastered. The importance of peak lies only in the fact that it defines the sides. So I went on towards the top, but always experiencing the sides. I had a long way to go but I was in no hurry. I went in little steps–just one step after another–but each step towards the top.

11. “God can do tremendous things through the person who doesn’t care about who gets the credit. Ego involvement must go,” writes [Robert] Schuller. “Before God trusts you with success, you have to prove yourself humble enough to handle the big prize.”

12. It has been my personal experience that the true flavor, the real fun, and the continuous excitement of work lies in the process of doing it rather than in having it over and done with.


13. Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person. And to retain this right, you will have to be willing to take the social or external risks involved in ignoring pressures to do things the way others say they should be done.


14. Total commitment is the common denominator among all successful men and women. Are you able to manage the stresses you encounter in your life? The difference between an energetic and a confused person is the difference in the way their minds handle their experiences. Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success. All of us carry some sort of super-intelligence within us. Let it be stimulated to enable us examine our deepest thoughts, desires, and beliefs.

15. I have used the word ‘flow’ at many places without really elaborating its meaning. What is this flow? And what are these joys? I could call them moments of magic. I see an analogy between these moments and the high that you experience when you play badminton or go jogging. Flow is a sensation we experience when we act with total involvement. During flow, action follows action according to an internal logic that seems to need no conscious intervention on the part of the worker. There is no hurry; there are no distracting demands on one’s attention. The past and the future disappear. So does the distinction between self and the activity.

Analysis of UK’s 1980s and 1990s economic status

Dear friends this is an analysis of a case study, of UK’s 1980s and 1990s economic status. The analysis is done in a question and answer form which makes it very easy to understand. And I have almost defined the economic terms and terminology related to this study.


What do you think is meant by a soft landing in the context of economic activity?

Well, the soft landing is a situation in which the economy, or part of it, slows down gradually after a period when it has been growing rapidly, without causing many problems.

What evidence can you find in the report to support the prediction of a soft landing?

Well, in my view the following are some of the strong supporting reasons for the prediction of a soft landing and I feel that they all contribute to the same trend. As I have already mentioned that soft landing does not harm much the economic condition of a country but still it can be a threat or wake up call for a country’s economy. They are as follows;

Ø Slowing growth of over all economy is generally a major sign of a soft landing.
Ø Modest retail sales growth. Inflation is causing the growth of the retails.
Ø The housing market remains subdue. It is mentioned in the case that the house prices are remained flatten in some areas and falling in others, so this point can also contribute to the soft landing, because the housing market is one of the most important part of economy.
Ø The strong recovery in the manufacturing sector over the past few years is now moderating. This is a very important point as it clearly says that after a strong recovery the manufacturing sector is now moderating, means not growing any more, so I am sure that this also indicates soft landing.
Ø PSBR position during the financial year is slightly worsening and the downward trend is expected to continue. This is very important point as we know if a country’s PSBR (public sector borrowing requirement) is worsening and tend to continue so it is obvious that a country is facing a slight budget deficit and would face a soft landing in economy.
Ø The export rate is slowing, which is reflecting in over all slowdown in growth. Export is also a main source of income which in this case is getting slow.
Ø The 4% economic growth of the last year has come down to 3% of GDP and will be just over 3% this year and is also likely to come a little bit more down from 3%, is clearly supporting the expectation of a soft landing.


The UK experienced a severe boom and bust cycle in the late 1980s and early 1990s, what were the main causes of such volatile activity? What were the main consequences for economy for economic policy?

Definition;
Boom and bust is a feature of an economic system or an industry where a period of success and wealth is followed by a period of difficulty, then by another period of success, and so on in a repeated pattern:

The sharp rise in the export volume relative to import has helped a lot UK’s economy to stabilize as well as grow because when export is more than import the products go out and in return money comes in, on which profit is made and the same money is reinvested so it gets multiplied.

Not to increase the interest rate has also helped the country’s economy. The low interest rate encourages people to borrow more money, for their activities like investing in various businesses and as well as spending on various commodities. These all activities increase the flow of the money and the economy grows very rapidly.

On the other hand high rates of interest are reducing borrowing and it subsequently results in reduction of investment and consumption rate. The most important element of an economy success of a country is confidence of the people if the confidence of the people is low then the investors as well as the consumers’ setback and reduces their activities in the market.

When there is a rise in income the economy can be recovered, because people will spend, save and invest while their income is high, which in UK happened during that time of boom and the opposite is but when income is low and now spending, saving and investment is done.

Monetary policy plays a major rule over here. If it does not consider the cost of money and availability of money properly then it can affect the entire economy such as housing sector, business investment, spending on consumer durables, export. These all things are influenced by interest rates, credit availability and foreign exchange rate.

Note; I have given some more details at the end of the report regarding overall condition of the UK’s economy.

Monetary policy has tended to emphasize small changes in short-term interest rates in recent. Explain the rational behind this policy and compare it with interest rate policy decisions in the 1980s.

Definition;
Monetary policy is the way in which a government or central bank controls the supply of money and credit in an economy; Demand can be stimulated by the proper mix of fiscal and monetary policy.

The purpose behind monetary policy and its ultimate objectives are to achieve the best combination of low inflation, low unemployment, rapid GDP growth and orderly financial markets. The changes in the interest rate were aimed to encourage people to take actively part in their businesses, so that the economy could grow fast. If the government puts a high rate of interest rates people will not borrow money from the financial market and in return the financial market will not be getting any interest and finally the economy will worsen.

As we have know that investment, saving, spending, and employment give potential growth to the economy, so it is important to encourage the people by giving them some incentives (like low interest rates, low taxes rates). Changing in interest rates has a great influence up on the housing, mortgage, business investments, stock prices, spending on consumer durable, state and local spending and export sectors. The interest rates can slam and raise all the mentioned sectors immensely.

Why is the continued fragile state of the housing market regarded as an important factor with respect to consumers’ expenditure and the general feel-good factor?

Well, housing market is an important market due to the following reasons;
Ø This sector involves high business transactions. It is major business market in terms of consumers’ spending (expenditures).
Ø It provides interests to the financial market as people borrow money for the purpose of buying, and constructing houses, so it has a great effect on the economy.
Ø It provides jobs to the people both in financial markets as well as engineers, architectures, labors etc, as they construct and build new buildings and in return they make money through this business.
Ø It provides property taxes to the government, taxes are very important to the government for the development of developmental and non-developmental expenditures.
Ø It shows the interest and confidence of the people in the country’s economy if no confidence then no growth, because people are risk-averse, they try to avoid loss and save themselves safe.
Ø This sector (housing market) stabilizes almost the financial market as it is a huge element of consumers spending.


Why should the financial markets be concerned about the government’s budget deficit position?

Financial Market;
Financial market has the functions of buying and selling shares, bonds, currencies, etc.

Budget deficit;
Budget is the official statement made by a government of the country’s income from taxes, etc. and how it will be spent. And budget deficit means when there is a short fall in the budget.

Now coming to the financial market concerns, why is the financial market concern about the government’s budget deficit? It is very clear that the government as a watchdog always has the duty to regulate, control and even help all the sectors in a country. As financial market a part of business sectors, it should be concerned about the budget deficit.

Any decision made by the government has the impact on all the sectors in the country. And if government faces any difficulty it also has an adverse effect up on all the sectors. Because the government can not fulfill what he has planed for the country’s economy, so he has to borrow form somewhere else which in return require interests which can really cause the economy.

So for paying all those interests and debt the government is obliged to increase the interest rates in the country for its loans and apply a high rate of taxes and cut subsidies given to some of the companies.

Here the government will have to tighten the fiscal and monetary policies in order to make sure; the flow money, cost of money, price stability, exchange rate stability, taxation, borrowing and many other economic activities which in these all activities the financial market is interested and has a close relationship with it.

If all these activities were enjoyable the financial market will be happy otherwise it goes sick. Because the government will not have enough money to inject it to the market in order to stabilize the market and its flow. So the financial market will suffer a lot that is why financial market is concerned in the government budget deficit.

How supply-side policies have changes the UK’s economic performance in recent years?

In my point of view the economic performance of UK was indeed caused by the reforms, particularly the reform of the industrial relations system or to put it more frankly, the reduction in union power. For better clarification the following are some of the real facts of the supply-side policies changes and their impacts and advantages.

Supply side Policies in the UK during 1980s and 1990s
1. Privatization
· There has been an extensive privatization campaign; most of the major utilities such as Gas, Water and Electricity have been sold by the govt.
· Generally this has been successful more competition, lower prices and better quality of service.
· However it has been difficult to introduce competition into the water industry and Railway industry.

2. Tax Cuts
· In the 1980s income tax was cut especially for the better off, the top rate of income tax fell from 60% to 40%. This did not lead to significant increases in productivity. Overall the tax burden has not fallen because the government has increase indirect taxes

3. Reduced Power of Trades Unions
· The power of trades unions has fallen because of laws making it more difficult for unions to operate. Also the decline of manufacturing industries has reduced an important trade’s union base. There are now less days lost to strikes and wage inflation has not been a problem like in the 1970s
· However many workers are less protected and may get lower wages leading to greater inequality

4. Deregulated Financial Markets
· The government has deregulated the financial services market, for example building societies can act like banks, and more institutions can now offer mortgages, this has lead to more competition and lower borrowing costs for many


5. Other Factors that Have increased Productivity in UK economy
· However increased productivity is not just due to govt. supply side policies. Other factors have also caused increased productivity like;
· Better technology. The development of the internet has helped reduce costs for firms and increase competition; this is not due to the govt.
· Lower prices of raw materials. In the past decade the price of raw commodities have stayed fairly low, this has helped keep inflation low
· Increased inward investment, Foreign companies have often been successful in implementing better working conditions
Overall view of the UK’s Economy;
The cut in the interest rates is playing a major role because this can attract people to borrow and invest in the markets, especially in the housing market in which all the common people get involved. Stocks rise in the hope of interest-rate cuts.
Investment is a major function of an economy which subsequently results to continue the cycle of business and multiply the productivity rate of all other functions of economy (employment, consumption, savings, aggregate demand, and aggregate supply).

People are always afraid of high rates of interest as well as high rates of taxes. That is why business people don’t have the incentives to invest and when there is no investment, then everything gets stopped. Rate of the unemployment decline has continued to moderate and has come down. Much of the improvement is in large measure due to an increase in part-time employment and a decline in the number of people registering for unemployment benefits. Employment plays a great role in the smooth running of economy.

At the end of the 1980s, when the economy was at the peak of the cycle, the fiscal surpluses gave a misleading picture of the health of the public finances. However, fiscal policy was relaxed. Output, revenue and spending projections, and, in particular, the estimate of the level of output relative to its trend, were subject to large errors. The fiscal position turned out much worse than the forecasts and illustrative projections suggested. As the 1980s progressed, the PSBR declined and surpluses were reached. On the basis of unchanged policies, surpluses were projected to continue.

But by the early 1990s the public finances had deteriorated markedly with the deficit reaching 7 per cent of GDP in 1993-94. The cost of this deterioration has been high.
At the end of the 1980s the fiscal surpluses were taken largely at face value and so gave a misleading picture of the health of the public finances.

The UK was only able to repay part of its public debt because output was significantly above its trend level. Over optimism about the trend level of output at the end of the 1980s was a critical factor for the deterioration of the public finances over the last cycle. Finally, the two components of the fiscal balance - revenues and expenditures - are in themselves difficult to forecast with accuracy.

The experience of fiscal policy over the last economic cycle demonstrates that it is easier to reduce revenue and increase expenditure than to do the reverse. So when things go wrong with the public finances it is difficult to put them right, particularly since it can take a long time even to recognize the problem. Moreover, when public borrowing turns out higher than expected, debt interest costs also rising intensifying the problem.

The Government has set the following two fiscal rules which deliberately take account of the significant effect of cyclical variations on the public finances: The golden rule: over the economic cycle, the Government will borrow only to invest and not to fund current expenditure; and Public debt as a proportion of national income will be held over the economic cycle at a stable and prudent level.

The Government's commitment to transparency and stability, and to achieving its fiscal rules, will form key features of the proposed Code for Fiscal Stability.
For better understanding the following charts are supplemented; they represent the various aspects of UK’s economy status.

Many business cycles occur when shifts in aggregate demand cause sharp changes in output, employment and prices. Aggregate demand shifts when changes in spending by consumers, businesses or government change total spending relative to the economy’s productive capacity. A decline in aggregate demand leads to recessions or depressions. And an upturn in economic activity can lead to inflation.

Business cycle is influenced by exogenous factors such as technology, election wars, exchange rate movements, or oil price shocks. Insufficient aggregate demand leads to deteriorating business conditions and soaring unemployment. Understanding the forces that affect aggregate demand, including government fiscal and monetary policies can help to smooth out the cycle of boom and bust.