Look out for the women!

I came across an article called Hiring Tips, which really amused me at first and also got me to think if there was any truth in this at all!

Read on to know what I'm talking about; and yes, we are very keen on knowing what you think and feel about the same. So do add your comments!

Below is a part of the article I read.

To hire the right women -

1. Pick young married women. They usually have more of a sense of responsibility than their unmarried sisters, they’re less likely to be flirtatious, they need the work or they wouldn’t be doing it, they still have the pep and interest to work hard and to deal with the public efficiently.

2. When you have to use older women, try to get ones who have worked outside the home at some time in their lives. Older women who have never contacted the public have a hard time adapting themselves and are inclined to be cantankerous and fussy. It’s always well to impress upon older women the importance of friendliness and courtesy.

Hmmmm...
By Tasneem

Something that we hear way too much in recent times – Work-life balance!!!

Just as the name suggests, and very simply put, work-life balance is an achievement of a balanced work and general life routine. I won’t say equally balanced, because it never works so right practically, but something which is and should be more realistic and rewarding.

Some people might ask… “What’s life if you don’t have work?”, on the contrary, what’s work if you don’t have a life?

There is no ‘one size – fits all’ method. Each of us live and prioritize differently. The best approach to take is when you can ‘Achieve’ and ‘Enjoy’ everyday life - from the smallest to the biggest of things. Being creative while cooking, accepting a mistake and learning from it, reconnecting with a friend after a really long time, making a presentation at work, overcoming difficult situations through rationalizing or even writing this article for the blog is a sense of achievement and very enjoyable for me personally!

In a nutshell, the only trick is to be able to “balance work and life’s equations between positive and negative experiences...”

Would love to know your thoughts on work-life balance... so go ahead and drop a comment!

Some interesting quotes for you:

"It is balance; we need it. The sad part is
that some people pay more attention to their credit than
they do to their own balance in life!"
Catherine Pulsifer, from A Credit Check on Your Balance

"I've learned that you can't have everything
and do everything at the same time."
Oprah Winfrey

"Looking back at the times where I allowed my work to create stress and frustration in my life I now realize what I thought was important really was not. I am not saying you should not take your work seriously, what I am saying is that we need to realize that life is all about balance."
Catherine Pulsifer, from Briefcase with an Engine


- By Tasneem

The spirit of Diversity!

The demographics of our workplace have changed dramatically. Globalization has impacted all aspects of our lives. Every organisation today looks different from even five years ago - women, people with disabilities or people from far flung places in India or abroad are not a novelty anymore. Organizations in their hunt for talent are eager to have the best, and how and in what form they come is not important anymore. This vast diversity in such close proximity at work is a new experience for corporate India.
Diversity means differences and differences are rife with conflicts. It is easy for groups to disintegrate into cliques and sub-groups based on gender, language, religion or place of origin based on societal norms and influences outside of the organisation.
Our attitudes and behavior are heavily influenced by our own social identities and the identities we perceive of others. It is not so much about us being good or bad as it is about human nature and our own socialization. The good news, however, is that with a little bit of awareness and intention, we can counteract much of this.
People are DIFFERENT. But different doesn’t or shouldn’t mean one is "better" than another. Rather, "the sum is greater than its parts" must apply. Everyone has something to contribute and we must appreciate and leverage that.
Diversity Management is a new area of work in India and promises tremendous potential for the corporate sector.
In this endeavour, I look forward to our readers’ participation. The intent is to provoke public reflection on the issues of diversity and inclusion at work. Through your contributions, we hope to shape this medium to be a resource for senior managers and practitioners to have an open and fruitful dialogue to address the problems as we journey to an inclusive and productive work place. - Nimmi

Traveling is the best way....

I brought in my new year in the esteemed company of the Mummies and Pharoahs in the land of camels, desert, dates and belly dance - Egypt!

What a difference in culture i experienced. The men and women interact in starkly opposite ways!

We traveled around upper Egypt. Alexandria, which in my experience was the best city I visited amongst others during this trip - very Greek and so well kept. I strongly urge everyone who reads this post to visit this beautiful city.

Cruising on the river Nile for 3 days and my ride on the Feluka - a self inspiring, thought evoking and extremely relaxing ride was the highlight of my trip.

Repeated time and again, but I'll say it yet once more..traveling sure is the ideal way to learn and experience Diversity at its best!      - Tasneem

The Mosuo: Where marriage is not known

The Mosuo are a tribal people that live in the northeastern chineses privince of Yunnan. Unlike most other societies, the Mosuo are organized in a matriachal system, with women being more powerful than men. Lets have a closer look!

Traditionally, Mosuo women are leading the extended family, with one of them being chosen as the head of it. They are responsible for the organization of work, financial affairs and relationships with other families and public authorities. Grandmothers, mothers and daughters can inhibit the same house, with uncles, brothers and sons being happily accepted. All the family sleeps together in the living room, except for the grown up women, that enjoy the luxury of private rooms on the first floor.

With the age of 13, boys and girls are considered adult, an event that is celebrated in the tribal community. If a child dies before this age, it will not get a traditional funeral.

Marriage is now practiced among the Mosuo and sexual relationships are practiced freely. This means, that when a woman and a man are attracted to each other, they will be dating and the man can come to the woman's private room in the evening, but has to leave from there before morning. Relationships can last very long and even for the entire life, but the friend of the woman will never be part of her family. Instead, he will stay with his parents and other relatives, as well as the children of his sisters and nieces. Even if the woman he is in a relationship with has children, he will never be their father, instead, they will be raised by her and her brothers and nephews. Relationships are monogamous and might well last for years or decades.

The result of this setting, where a person never leaves the family he or she is born into, are very stable family structures. There are no divorces, no struggle over inheritances or child custody and all children will be cared for by the extended family. In the 1970s, the chinese government forced the Mosuo couples to marry - with the result that all of them divorced a few weeks later and returned to their traditional way of life.

Quite interesting setting I think - and seems to work out. Never heard of a society where marriage is not known before...

--- by Nils ---

Women Leaders = $$$!!??!

Some research suggests that companies with a high number of female managers and directors outperform the average market performance.

This led Nuissance Capital (a Swiss-based investment company) to initiate a “Womens Leadership Fund” – an Investment fund investing only in companies with a high number of women in leading positions.

Interesting approach that shows that equality is not all about “being nice to disadvantaged” but actually paying off financially! ;-) (though, the fund will have to prove to be a above-average performing one)

Want to invest? Or just know more? Have a look:
http://www.naissancecapital.com/NC/?id=35


--- by Nils ---

Perception

..something to think about...

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January

morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds

and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk..

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children

to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theatre in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social

experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected

context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be

this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made....

How many other things are we missing?

[Sent to me by a friend] - Tasneem.

Develop better sense!

Learn from the brilli‘ant’

Let us not be fooled by their size since size doesn’t always matter anyway!! One little bite can get us jumping off the ground with many long minutes of irresistible itch.

But that’s not all that comes to my mind when I think of our ‘Ant’ friends. Here are some interesting facts about the working of ants and believe me, there’s plenty to learn from them!

Get the Team work right!

“Whether it’s 2 people, a department or an organization, teams are the means by which great things get done” – Steven .J. Stowell

Team work is all about getting very different individuals to work together showing appreciation and respect and ensuring maximum productivity. Undoubtedly, we all struggle at different times trying to get it right.

Ants have very enviable team working capabilities. Within the community there is a wide variety of activities and behaviors, with each ant knowing its place and fulfilling its duties with total loyalty to the whole. Each ant does his bit to ensure the survival of the whole community. They work hard, are patient and co-operative. An ant is able to carry a leaf, a crumb or a dead ant for miles - just to get back home to the anthill, requiring a load of stamina and patience. If an ant has to fight,  dig tunnels or carry leaves for miles, it will, all for the good of the community. As well as being extremely hard working they possess an extraordinary ability to work as a team - the power of their medicine - to build their homes, to feed and protect all members of their colony with honour and respect toward their common goal - the good of the community. Worker ants are great architects and can show us how to construct our dreams into reality.

Team work - Simply stated, is less ‘me’ and more ‘we’.

The watchful ants!

They not only work well, but protect and caution their colony from danger. Ants interact using a system known as pheromones, which involves sending 'chemical messages' to their community through smell and taste. This is one of the oldest and most evolved forms of group communication on the planet and has many features that today's mobile and virtual teams could benefit from.

Certain types, such as alarm pheromones, produce a “releaser effect”, which induces a quick response and may be used to tell other ants to evacuate a dangerous area such as an approaching lawnmower. For example, when a spider approaches an ant will release alarm pheromones that alert all the other ants. Ants may also discharge alarm pheromones as a result from being diverted from their work, e.g. heavy human steps.

“Ants are good citizens, they place group interests first” – Clarence Day

What a sacrifice!

Queen ants have wings and are able to fly until they fall pregnant. Once pregnant they tear of their own wings sacrificing the ability to fly for the birth of a newborn.

Imagine what the world would be like if humanity held and applied the values that the ant expresses. Hard work and patience, which come with the power of the ant, make goals and dreams a reality.

Something fun to do!

"To stop them coming into my kitchen I put some sugar outside. They have so much to eat that they are not interested in coming into my kitchen". - Anonymous


 --- by Tasneem ---