Business Etiquettes

I saw anad sometimes back in ET, it was about the business ettiquette CD-ROM offered by ET. I actually wanted to have that but when i saw the cost of whole package, my plans took a backseat. Now i got to see a good presentation on business etiquitte. So thoghtto share it with all of you. Thanks to CITEMAN and HIWAY for such a good presentation. They have compiled almost all points necessary, however i was not agree with some points so removed them and have incorporated some new ones which i found suitable enough in Indian context. 

Appreciation of other culture

• Religious beliefs and rituals 

• Family and social structure

• Cultural Norms, Traditions

• Historical Background

• Politics and Government

• Economics and Industry

First Impression

·         First impression is the best impression

·         You represent the organization not yourself

·         Introduce yourself well

·         Memorize names of client representative. If you find it difficult to understand, ask the name again.

·         Handshakes

o   No moist / sweaty hands

o   Firm handshake (gentle if the other person is a lady)

o   Handshake to last only for a short while

Attire

•Appropriate protocol

•Shirt – Light pastel shades

•Trousers – Dark colors

•Shoes – Black / Brown (Polished)

•Socks – Color to match with shoes / trousers

•Slim wallet

•A respectable pen

•Party wear – Dark shirt, light colored trousers

•Different attire everyday during a week

Your personal appearance makes a lot of difference to your

level of confidence 

Personal Hygiene

•Shave / shower regularly

• Neat hairdo

• Use deodorant / perfume regularly

• Avoid herbal hair oils at work

• Clean and Ironed Handkerchief

• Make use of mouth fresheners

Must knows & do's

•Always carry and use your Business Cards

• Vision, Mission, Values … a must know

• History & Culture: Your company and client organization

• Clear idea on expectations from your manager

 Ask for help / clarifications

Communicating

•Speak slowly and clearly

• Watch your tone of voice … not to be too loud. Rememnber the primary aim of communicating is to make your point understand others.

• Ask for clarification if you don’t understand something

• Watch personal space … stand a foot away from other person

• Speak in the universal language (English) when at workplace

• Say “excuse me” if you accidentally bump into someone

Telephone Manners

• Begin the calls with “Good Morning/Evening..”

• Identify yourself

• Keep conversation to the minimum

• Don’t speak too loudly or disrupt people around you

• During meetings, turn your cell phone off / put on silent mode

• If you must take a call during a meeting, excuse yourself and walk out

• Please do not make any personal calls from the client site

Basic Table Manners

•Always sit up when seated on the table

•Avoid making strange noises on the table

•If you have to leave the table in between the meals then always excuse yourself

•While not eating, hands should be either on your lap or rest your wrist on the edge of the table

•Avoid reading at the table

•Always request the person closest to pass on the dish that you desire to have

•Using fork and knife (Work inwards)

• Elbows not to be rested on table while eating

• Season food according to your taste

• Eat with your mouth closed

•Social Drinking:

 - Never drink on empty stomach

 - At a cocktail party, hold the glass in your left hand and

   leave the right hand free for handshaking

 - Do not drive after drinking

Some More Hints ...

•Always come in neat and clean and follow dress code

•Do not discuss personal matters at the work place

•Be discreet when coughing and yawning

•Use positive language

•Be direct in communication

•If you have called a meeting, be there first

Winning Mantra from The MAHABHARATA

•Turn your weaknesses into strengths.

•Turn enemies into allies.

•Share your responsibilities.

•Teamwork scores over Individual Effort.

•Right Team = Right set of Individuals. The right man for the right job.

•Commitment scores over Competence.

•Team interests over Individual interests..

•Know your enemy/challenges. Exploit its weaknesses. Take calculated risks.

•The Right Managers : To inspire, invigorate, counsel in crisis .

•Know Ground realities. Accept different ideologies. Cooperate.

•Empower Women. The Gender Balance is required for stability and administration.

sensex

We all know about it and as they say half knowledge is dangerous, herecomes the sensex . Its a jargon which is not exactly a jargon we know it but dont know much :). when i saw this article, fell for it. Its very simple although i knew it but if someone ask to explain i couldnt do it before this. Just thought that many of you will go for interviews (hey boy hope you got it :))so reproducing it and would like to say biggggggg Thanx to CA CLUB. here goes the article  Sensex , an abbreviation of the BSE sensitive index, is a market capitalisation-weighted index of 30 stocks representing a sample of large, well-established and financially sound companies. It is the oldest index in India and has acquired a unique place in the collective consciousness of investors. The index is widely used to measure the performance of the Indian stock markets. Sensex is considered to be the pulse of the Indian stock markets as it represents the underlying universe of listed stocks on The Stock Exchange, Mumbai. Further, as the oldest index of the Indian stock market, it provides time series data over a fairly long period of time (since 1978-79). Sensex is not only scientifically designed but also based on globally accepted construction and review methodology. Sensex Calculation Methodology As per the methodology, the level of index at any point of time reflects the free-float market value of 30 component stocks relative to a base period. The market capitalisation of a company is determined by multiplying the price of its stock by the number of shares issued by the company. This market capitalisation is further multiplied by the free-float factor to determine the free-float market capitalisation. The base period of Sensex is 1978-79, and the base value is 100 points. This is often indicated by the notation 1978-79=100. The calculation of Sensex involves dividing the free-float market capitalisation of 30 companies in the index by a number called the Index Divisor. The Divisor is the only link to the original base period value of the Sensex. It keeps the index comparable over time and is the adjustment point for all index adjustments arising out of corporate actions, replacement of scrips etc. During market hours, prices of the index scrips, at which latest trades are executed, are used by the trading system to calculate the Sensex every 15 seconds and disseminated in real time.

Banking Jargons

When thought to gwt the difference between repo, reverse repo, CRR, SLR etc.  nth time, i got some good pieces. Why nth time, because i really dont know why it always slips from my mind and whenever i am supposed to explain all these jargons. I start feeling like dumb. im thankful to RAMKYC who is one of the people whom i respect and admire a lot. WIll sure try to emulate him very soon. The way he works hard and that too regularly is sure an inspiration. I would be taking some notes from him and would also post some excerpts from ET. So further delay here we go...

What is Repo rate?

PUT simply, the repo rate is simply the annualised interest rate at which banks borrow money from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) over a short term. This is generally seen as a way of tiding over a short-term liquidity crunch that is experienced by banks. However, to understand how this works, we need to understand the word repo. Repo technically stands for the word repurchase agreement. Most banks generally have a certain amount of government bonds or securities in their possession. When banks are in need for money they borrow money from the RBI using these government bonds or securities as a collateral. There is however the assurance that the bank will recover these later when the borrowed money is returned. The cost of the transaction takes the form of the repo rate. The repo rate is dependent on factors such as the credit worthiness of the borrower, how liquid the collateral is and the rates of other money market instruments. 
What is reverse repo? 
The word reverse repo generally accompanies most definitions of repo and is generally considered to be the opposite process. A reverse repo is when the RBI borrows money from the bank. The interest rate at which the bank borrows the money becomes the reverse repo rate. While the repo is generally used to infuse liquidity into the system, the reverse repo is used to reduce the supply of money in the market. 
What’s the impact of a repo rate reduction? 
While the RBI last initially slashed the repo rate by 100 basis points and brought it down to 8% on October 20, if further reduced it by 50 basis points and brought it down to 7.5%. This reduction, now makes it easier for banks to borrow money from the RBI at lower rates of interest. This is expected to increase the supply of money in the system. It is expected that with banks being able to arrange their own funds more easily, they will also extend this privilege to their customers and allow them to borrow at lower rates of interest. 
    The RBI had taken a similar decision to cut repo rates in August 2003. However, in the last few years, the rate has repeatedly been increased in order to tackle inflationary pressures.

"When Federal bank of USA reduces interest rates, what rate exactly is that with context to RBI's? Is it in relation to CRR?" The simple answer to the question is NO. The complicated answer is:

US Fed announces two different rates: the discount rate and the federal funds rate. The discount rate is the interestrate charged by the US Fed on the loans it gives to commercial banks. The federal funds rate is the interest rate at which banks lend to each other overnight. The US Fed only prescribes a target federal funds rate.

In contrast, the RBI announces only the bank rate. This is the same as the US Fed discount rate. There is no equivalent for the federal funds rate from the RBI. Instead, it announces its repo and reverse repo rates. Market rates (i.e., lendings and borrowings among the market participants) are determined based on these repo and reverse repo rates. Repo rate is the rate the RBI charges for the money lent by it to the banks. Reverse repo rate is the rate which it gives to the banks for lodging money with it. Both these types of transactions are backed by securities. In a repo transaction what happens is the banks lodge securities with the RBI in return for money. So, in effect what a repo transaction (a repo for the banks) does is infuse liquidity in the market. A reverse repo (for the banks) drains liquidity from the market. Comparing rates with CRR is not correct. CRR and SLR are reserve requirements. That is, banks are mandated by the RBI to hold certain amount of money in the form of cash or invest a certain amount in prescribed securities. The US Fed has similar reserve requirements for banks operating there. The US Fed has a single reserve requirement. It is at present 10% of the deposit liabilities of the banks. I am sure all of you know that RBI mandates two different reserve requirements: the CRR and the SLR. The former is the amount of funds that the banks have to keep with the RBI. The latter is the amount of money that the banks to keep invested in RBI approved securities to meet their liquidity requirements. We have covered about them in detail in this Disover-It post. However a repeat would be in order here: Statutory Liquidity Ratio -- SLR, is the percentage of net demand and time liabilities of a bank that has to be maintained by a bank with the RBI. This can be in the form of cash, gold or approved securities. This percentage currently is at 25%. The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 actually prescribes a floor and ceiling for this percentage. The floor is at 25% and the ceiling is at 40%. That is, the RBI can't impound more than 40% of the net demand and time liabilities of banks nor can it prescribe a percentage which is below 25% for this purpose. It has to operate within this band. But recently the BR Act, 1949 was amended doing away with the floor. This gives RBI flexibility to prescribe a percentage of SLR which is lower than 25%. On the SLR funds, the RBI has to pay interest to the banks. It is currently at 6.5%. Contrast this with CRR -- Cash Reserve Ratio, wherein the Bank has to maintain a certain percentage of its net time and demand liabilities in the form of cash with the RBI. CRR at present is 6. On the CRR funds, RBI will not pay any interest to the banks. You can take the ‘net demand and time liabilities’ broadly to mean the deposits of the bank. Why this term is used is that many a time there will be situations in which the deposits figure will not be reflecting the actual deposits. It is the ‘net’ figure that is to be taken and not the ‘gross’ figure. Demand liabilities are those that have to be paid by the bank on ‘demand.’ And ‘time liabilities’ are those that have a time within which the bank has to pay these liabilities. Time deposits like bank FDs (Fixed Deposits) come under this ‘time liabilities’ category.

‘Have long-term strategic view of your career’- Nandan Nilkani

While i was having tough time in deciding my next move because of external pressures and insisting, i saw an inetrview in ET. It seems so real to me and so relevent when he answered a question in the tough time of Financial tsunami. I thought its the most apt and readymade solution of my problems. Whenever one get a new good offer, (better than the exisiting one), compare the future prospects, if its better again, compare what dividend will you get and forsee what everyone cannot. Once you are done with this, you'll get the answer of million dollar question. True implimenting that is again a herculian task but think think and think and then decide. :) if you couldn't figure out what i am talking about till now, forget it and see the reproduced interview here... his advise wud be helpful to all of us at one point of time or the other.
Infosys cochairman Nandan Nilekani’s word of advice to the young B-school graduates: ‘Have a long-term strategic view of careers.’ Tech bellwether Infosys, as part of its academic initiatives, held the finals of its B-school quiz under its ‘Incorporate’ programme. This year’s edition saw six teams competing for the winner position selected from 1,700 students across 15 business schools. Mr Nilekani, in an interview to ET,dwells on the various facets of his company’s engagement with the campus. Excerpts:
As a first-generation entrepreneur, what advice would you give to B-school graduates today?
I personally feel people should have a long-term strategic view of their careers. There is a bit of a tendency to say who is the highest salary payer and I feel that can be a bit tricky. When we started our career, we focused on how we can learn and become better in our jobs. That I feel—our early investments—is now paying dividends. Take a long view of life and do not merely take the best paying job coming out of campus.
In the current economic environment, what role can B-school graduates play?
One good sign is that there are a lot more entrepreneurs from B-schools. Today, the world is much more integrated, globalised and complex. The graduates who understand this, can provide their organisations the right kind of leadership with the ability to take bold decisions in challenging times.
What about Infosys’ academic initiatives?
We are constantly holding several events and all are part of enhancing engagements with B-schools. We have many alumni willing to participate in these relationship building efforts. It also gives these graduates the chance to acquaint themselves of the various opportunities we provide. Infosys is an attractive place for the young business graduates as they can play various roles in the areas of consulting, project management and client-facing activities. For all these, the Bschool graduates are very suited.
Besides, we have other programmes like ‘campus connect’ involved with faculty training. We are part of the Knowledge Commission and have worked with AICTE. In general, we have engagements at multiple levels to build good relationship with educational institutions and raise their standards.
What challenges do you see in the area of higher education?
Higher education—which is under-governed and over-regulated—is desperately in need of reforms. We are at a point, where India is going to reap its demographic dividend but a very small percentage of the students are getting access to higher education. We have to move urgently on this, otherwise, we are going to miss the boat.

Market Reserch a lucrative career option

These days when some of my college friends were doing a live project in one of the good Mrket reserch firm i was wondering if these firms are worth enough for a longterm career option. Do they really fit into a good career path for long? or they are just to gain experience and to move on. While i still wonder what could be the answer of these question got a good piece of interview of ORG IMS research HR head, Max D’souza,in ET so reproducing the same here...

MAKING a career in market research for long was not considered as a preferred option by the best of brains. However, with the entry of MNCs in India, and thereby improved HR practices, firms like ORG IMS are now getting premium slot in leading institutes like the IIMs and IITs. ORG IMS research HR head, Max D’souza, spoke on the changing paradigm of market research field in India. Excerpts:


How would you compare HR practices in Indian market research firms with that in the UK and US?

The gap in HR practices between Indian market research companies and those in the West is significant. Since there is a scarcity of talent and people with analytical bent of mind (the ideal talent) in the West, the priority on HR practices is very high. In India, the scenario is completely reverse. There is immense talent that suits the requirement of the industry and historically, market research was not rated on a high scale in the market. However, MNC market research firms like ORG IMS have laid down adequate systems in place which help HR practices to be the driving force in managing people expectations, talent attraction and retention strategies. The MNCs have changed the historical perception of market research as a career option.

There is a perception that entry-level salaries are not too lucrative in Indian market research firms. Your comments.

The perception is, in fact, the reality! This has come into existence due to past practices and talent attraction being a challenge. This drastically dropped the quality of talent at the entry level and hence salaries too were low. Today, sectors like BPO and KPO have raised the entrylevel salary bar significantly which too has changed the compensation philosophy in market research companies. The leading firms now source their talent from leading B-schools. Many candidates aspire to pursue their career in good market research firms. The salary gap between market research companies and those in sectors like FMCG is no doubt bridging.

Is it possible to have a long-term career in market research in India?

Youngsters are getting attracted to market research since it gives a first-hand view of the whole industry. This learning curve gives a potential employee a defined edge to perceive career as ‘market experts’. It also enables them to be thought leaders in a specialised area since a market research background gives a very strong fundamental base.
There are hardly any academic curriculum in India which is specialised on market research. Any plans in this regard?
There is a dire need for a specialised curriculum in market research, which will help to build the future talent pool. Many B-schools have indeed started encouraging market research in their curriculum and I am sure we are not far from having a dedicated specialisation in market research. Currently, we do face a lot of difficulty to find the right talent, but this is compensated by our initiative in investing among students through internship programs. Though right now there are no plans for rolling out any market research course, we are quite active in partnering with B-schools to assist and develop curriculum in market research.

Phelps the phenomenon

At 23, Michael Fred Phelps has become an international sporting sensation.
The young American swimmer has smashed seven world records and won eight gold medals at the Beijing [Images] Olympics [Images], the first athlete ever to secure first place so many times at a single Olympics Games.
Given his success, it's easy to slot Phelps into the 'born achievers' category -- at 23, he's established a glorious career doing what he loves best, he's a millionaire, a world record-holder and the pride of his nation.
But hold on a minute -- is Michael Phelps [Images] really a born achiever?
He may beg to differ.
At the age of seven Phelps, the youngest of three children, was diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For those not familiar with the condition, ADHD is a childhood condition characterised by constant activity, impulsive behaviour and the inability to focus one's attention on anything for a short span of time.
ADHD is treated with therapy and medication, but is not classified as curable -- as per information on the website WebMd.com, about 60 percent of afflicted kids carry the condition into adulthood.
To help release his pent-up energy and to emulate his older sisters who were also accomplished swimmers, Phelps took up swimming, starting to outshine his peers right from the start.
At the age of nine, Michael's parents divorced. His mother brought up all three children single-handedly, encouraging them to follow their dreams at all costs -- one middle-school teacher even told Michael's mother he would never be a success.
But successful Phelps is, and how.
Yes, there are the occasional set-backs. Like the time back in 2004 when Phelps, then 19, was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was under the legal drinking age limit of 21 in any case and to top it he was driving in an inebriated state. A repentant Phelps pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months probation, saying in court, "I recognise the seriousness of this mistake. I've learned from this mistake and will continue learning from this mistake for the rest of my life."
So who is Michael Phelps? He was a regular kid who struggled with an irregular condition and the divorce of his parents. He's young, he excels at what he does and like the rest of us, slips up once in a while.
And what life lessons do his struggles and successes hold for us?

Deal with your own issues effectively -- Michael certainly dealt with ADHD and his parents' divorce that way. His mother helped him cope up with his condition and channeled his energy into what he loved.
Cut out the drama -- Michael's story is inspirational but at the same time, neither the young man nor his family have exploited their experiences to sensationalise his life. They've told it like it is.

Zero in on your strengths and overcome your weaknesses -- He was less than an average student at school, but Michael was a passionate and dedicated student of his sport. The young swimmer is known to have studied tapes of his races over and over, zeroing in on mistakes and working towards bettering himself constantly. Excellent is still not good enough.

Remain focused on your goals -- At the Athens Olympics back in 2004, Phelps was beaten by teammate Ian Crocker beat in the 100m butterfly. He put up a poster of Crocker in his room to motivate him and keeps a list of his career goals beside his bed.

Pursue what you love with passion and put in a genuine effort -- Phelps' dedication to swimming was apparent back when he was nine and began to break national records in his age group. His commitment to what he does has grown with him. It's not just his career and his unbelievable performance at the Olympics that classify Phelps as a winner -- it's his story of inspiration that makes him a real champion, a youth icon, somebody to look up to.

Courtesy {Rediff}

Big Financial Crisis

Click Image to enlarge

Let us keep some extract for our record from ET.
The oldest and the fourth-largest investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings filed for bankruptcy, while Merrill Lynch, famous for its iconic bull statue in the New York City financial district, sold out before it was too late. With stunning speed, two of the most storied investments banks faded into history, with Lehman headed for the biggest ever bankruptcy filing and Bank of America (BankAm) buying Merrill in a $50-billion stock deal. Another world titan, the largest US insurer, American International Group (AIG) has been given special permission to access $20 billion of capital in its subsidiaries to free up liquidity. AIG had asked the US Federal Reserve for a bridge loan.

Beauty With Brains

AAH ! Common guys! stop staring, I know she is beutiful, in fact everyone would say she is beutiful. But if i ask what is her pic doing on a blog which is neither an entertainment blog nor a compilation of youtube videos or MMS clips or galleries :) :D

Well She is just one step away from being the world chess champion (Women category)and her name is Alexandra Kosteniuk. She is a super model from Russia and has many firsts in his kitty. One of them is being the first and only woman from russia who possess Grand Master (Men) title with her.She stormed into the finals of the Women’s world championship in Nalchik, Russia. It is very rare to see beauties in the game of chess. find out more abt her http://www.kosteniuk.com/

Phelps- The greatest of 'em all

.
Michael Phelps, 23 year-old American swimmer won unprecedented eight gold medals in
Beijing Olympics 2008. He, thus bettered compatriot Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals at Munich Olympics 1972 in Germany thirty six years ago - August '08.

I searched about "aartis", specially the Gulshan kumar era sweetest sound in peanuts cassets songs :)and voila! i stumbled upon this link on google video (yup! true the ubiquitous you tube has the same video uploaded long back, in fact many more to choose from. But somewhere i like video google.Its quick requires less time to buffer and virtually spam free :)).
So what is special about this video. The very fact that its aarti of most worshipped God of India Sri Vishnu (commercialism and competition would not even left Gods :), make it special . But apart from this it has something more important. If you see the video, you would find it sarts with pic of AUMMMMM! and show us every bhagwan in between. So one in all darshan is available in this video.



Courtesy: Google Video

Happy Independence Day

I was a typical example of one of those poor souls who had never realised the true meaning of freedom and what exactly we can do in free India which we could not have done before 1947. It was 1994 and i was mugging up a speech on independence day in english (that was a herculian task for me as i was from hindi mwedium school). I was reciting the speech like a parrot do and that too on 'n'th time and suddenly a thought came to my mind. Why do we celebrate our independence day? what's big deal if we are independent. We were eating and sleeping even before independence in any case so why so much celebration in school/college/org.? I asked to my dumb childhood friend "Abey Nanka tu dance perform kar raha hai na?" haan, pat came reply. Par kyun be? matlab aakhir aisa kya hai ki hum celebrate karein? Nanka said "abey paka mat. Apna speech rat le aur chalta ban". I gave him a how-dumb-my-friend-is look and moved on. Next morning i supposed to show my recitation to my english teacher (who have worked hard to prepare the speech) I asked to him the same absurd question. He was wellknown to me and i used to be a loving shisya of him. So he replied in detail. You know the way you eat , the way you sleep, the way you study the way you dream. It wud never have been the same without freedom. Ofcourse life runs even if you are slave but freedom is beyond what me and you can think of. Its just a feeling which can be realised when we are not independent. I didnt pay a heed and just recited my speech on 15th august, incidently i got a momento which which still peep into my drawing room from one of the cupboard.
Today when i can see a downpour in Delhi and can njoy the rain relishing "Slice Of Italy" Pizza and Garlic bread even at this point of time (2;00am). I realize it wudnt have been the case if we were independent.I really can say with proud and ecstasy in my heart that I am Indpendent and I Love India. I am citizen of independent India and the air im inhaling is of my India, Free India...
Happy Independence Day.
Jai Hind !!!!!!!!