My Views May 4th 2014

This blog is going to be my thoughts on recent events, a change from my recent posting giving advice to other people about their future development or career changes etc.

Indonesian Executions and reactions

Many people have made their opinions felt regarding the executions in Indonesia, but let’s look at this from a different perspective. Suppose the alleged smugglers had been successful and had got their product to its intended destination. This would have created more misery for people already addicted to drugs, first of all they need to raise money to buy the drugs, where does this come from? In most cases usually criminal activity and this usually involves at some point violence and possible deaths. Then there are the addicts themselves, every time they consume the drugs they are literally putting their life at risk from overdose, bad drugs etc.

So what do you do? Allow the drugs into your market? How many people are impacted from the use of drugs both directly and indirectly? Which will increase your crime rate and deaths from drug related activities? And let’s not be blinkered by this, there will be deaths from this and it will impact outside of the so-called drug world.

Each and every drug trafficker is well aware of the consequences involved within their trade, they know only too well the countries that carry the death penalty and which ones will actually carry out the executions see the list below:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore. Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United States, Vietnam, Yemen Zimbabwe.

Notice from the list one of the biggest complainers about the executions is the USA, whose approach to the death penalty has long been clear.

As for Australia, how they can complain about the executions is a little bit absurd considering it was their own police force that informed the Indonesian government of the actions of the drug traffickers, who knew full well what the consequences would be. So, please if you are going to create an International incident and a Diplomatic row make sure you have all the facts before you say something. And as for the Police Commissioner stating they had nothing to arrest them for, how about conspiracy to commit the alleged offence?

Shooting at Dallas Event

The organisers of this event must be really stupid and did not think this through very well at all, to hold a conference on cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. With recent events in France and Denmark this is tantamount to stupidity of a mind-boggling degree. Yes you have freedom of speech enshrined in your constitution, but for heaven’s sake the writing was on the wall long before the event, therefore you might as well have sent them a personal invitation and as for the venue itself, are you serious, that you would put people’s lives at risk to make a dollar?

• Depictions of the Prophet Muhammad are offensive to many Muslims.
• There were widespread protests in 2006 when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad.
• In January this year, 12 people were murdered by two Islamist gunmen at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published similar cartoons.
• And a gathering of free speech activists in the Danish capital Copenhagen was targeted by a gunmanin February, killing a film director.

A little forethought and listening plus being aware of people’s feelings would have avoided this.

French Schoolgirl Skirt Ban

Ok we get that France is an alleged secular culture, were the wearing of religious symbols is not accepted in public, but to get to a stage were the wearing of a long black skirt being deemed as religious in a public school is extreme to say the least.

As far as I can remember no-one has ever been told that a long black skirt is offensive.

I think someone needs to inform the fashion industry that they are perpetuating religious symbols in their latest trends about long skirts

Mayweather vs Pacquaio

Billed as the fight of the century actually turned out to be what most commentators could see a masterclass in defensive tactics, Mayweather threw more punches with greater accuracy than Pacquaio. He had height and reach advantages, so how anyone can say that it was a wrong result needs to look very closely at the statistics involved.

Customer Service – simple Do’s and Dont’s that work

We all know and understand what Customer Service is supposed to be, but, why do we still hear the horror stories of indifference and downright insulting behaviour, mainly from companies that espouse their commitment to customer care?

So what is Customer Service?

“Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.”

“Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.”

Unfortunately many companies fail to recognise the importance of customer service and only pay lip service believing that most customers are wrong. This happens mainly in Monopolised markets, where there is one major player and the competition is not strong enough to compete or there is no competition at all. State owned industries where there is a “Jobs for Life” culture and Governmental departments.

Where does Customer Service begin?

Customer service starts before the customer even walks through your door or calls your business, finds your website, etc. It starts with your vision and mission. It starts with the first person you hire or partner with. It starts as you create the culture of your organisation. It starts before the customer starts doing business with you.

Customer service in a business is not limited to the department that happens to boast that title.

Customer service starts with the first contact with your company and this does not mean the first human interaction, first contact can be your marketing or publicity.

Your initial advertising can convey either the right or wrong message, as to whether you are serious about customer care. Is your advertising be factual and truthful? Does it give your potential customer the confidence to follow the lead?

Everyone in your business should be responsible for the customer service experience.

This should be happening right from the beginning.

Any person in your organisation who comes into contact with a potential customer is also part of the experience.

Paying attention to social media is a valuable source of how your customers perceive your product and services, you should be looking for negative AND positive comments this will show you where you are going wrong. Do not be put off by the negative comments, instead, use them as a learning experience, we can all learn something. Comments from current and former employees are they disgruntled? Why are they making these comments?

Some of the simplest things can be your biggest weapon in attracting new customers

Answering the Phone:

• How long does a customer wait for a call to be answered? The longer a customer waits the sooner you lose them.
• Human interaction is essential, having customers constantly pressing numbers to get to the right department can be frustrating and again sets the tone.
• If you do decide to use an automated menu… KEEP IT SIMPLE.. what may seem logical to you when you set up the system makes no sense to your customer.
• If your customer is on the line for too long waiting, this increases their frustration level, have somebody available to take the customers number and OFFER to call them back, let them know a time frame when someone will call them, keep to it and make sure you do at the first opportunity,
• The first person to answer the phone is going to be the one person that starts the experience for your customer and if their reaction to the call is not positive this will set the tone for the next person to take the call, in effect this has already set a negative tone.

Face to Face:

• Smile – “A smile is the universal welcome.”
• Greeting, come to meet your customer, shake their hand, enquire their name, make them feel as though they are welcome. Do not sit behind a desk or if you are in retail behind the counter do not create a barrier between you and your customer.
• LISTEN – listen to the grievances of your customer, to them it is a major problem, have they been given the right information? Remember it is a fact we all only hear what we want to hear, so listen closely ascertain if they were given the full facts. You may be surprised, but sometimes the customer is actually right.
• Body Language – do not look as though you are aggressive or defensive, as humans we naturally react to the other person’s body language and we need to be aware of your customer needs
• Speed – resolve the problem quickly, do not delay.
• Mobile Phones – when meeting somebody with a complaint leave your mobile to one side – if you respond to your mobile while dealing with a complaint, you are displaying disrespect and they will assume you are not interested in their problem, thus, creating a bigger obstacle to resolve.
• Be polite – no matter how the customer initially appears, if you exhibit a calm attitude, this will also be reflected in their responses as the conversation continues.
• Knowledge – ensure that the person who deals with your customer is the best one suited to the task – they have expert knowledge.
• Be True to Your Word – Only ever offer a customer or client something that you are sure you can give them. It is better not to mention a delivery date and then deliver tomorrow than it is to say you’ll deliver tomorrow and then don’t. Stick to deadlines, make sure you turn up promptly for any appointments and never make promises you cannot keep. If situations change then let the customer know as soon as possible
• Be Memorable – For the Right Reasons We tend to remember positive and negative experiences more vividly than average day-to-day ones. Try to make every customer’s experience a positive one that they’ll remember and talk to others about.
• Be helpful – be courteous and polite – give a little extra if possible, even if it is just some advice or extra information about the product or service they are buying or interested in buying.
• At the end of the meeting, thank them for their time: your customers have chosen you but they could have gone to thousands of other organisations, each one probably offering a similar range of merchandise, qualifications and experience. Your clients pay your salary, so treat them with respect. They deserve it.

ALWAYS REMEMBER WHEN A CUSTOMER HAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE THEY WILL TELL 10 PEOPLE, IF A BAD EXPERIENCE THEY WILL TELL THE WORLD

You think you know where your AID money goes?

At least 20% of the aid money countries claim they are giving to developing countries never leaves, according to new research.

Researchers at the Bristol-based group Development Initiatives estimate that at least $22bn (£13.7bn) of the $100bn-plus reported by donors in 2011 was never transferred to developing countries.

“Large headline figures are presented as if aid is entirely a cash lump sum passed directly from donor to recipient,” added the researchers. “[But] aid is a bundle of different things. Some of it is money. Some is food and other goods. Some is people: the costs of consultants and staff providing technical advice and training.”

Countries report their aid spending annually to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, though their submissions are rarely subjected to rigorous independent scrutiny.

The researchers found that while Italy reported giving about $2bn in bilateral (country-to-country) aid in 2011, less than $300m was transferred to developing countries.

In contrast, Denmark, which also reported giving about $2bn in aid, transferred roughly $1.85bn to developing countries in the form of cash grants, loans, project support or technical advice.

Less than 70% of French aid – and less than 50% of Austrian aid – was transferred to developing countries in 2011.

At least 8% of British bilateral aid was not transferred to developing countries – a relatively low proportion compared with other donors.

The report doesn’t examine which companies or consultants win contracts for technical advice or other projects, which means the real figures on how much aid stays in donor countries could be significantly higher.

Last year, the Sunday Telegraph revealed just how lucrative the UK aid business has been for a small group of primarily British consultants.

Aid statistics therefore fail to reflect the resources that developing countries receive, the report argues, making it difficult for poor countries to understand exactly how much money is coming in from donors.

Researchers found, for example,

“that more than $5bn of aid supposedly given to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011 was never transferred to the country. Instead, most of this figure represented debt relief.”

So where does it go?

The real problem is that aid is actually rising but much of it never reaches poor countries and, when it does, it causes economic, social and political damage.

Almost 50% of donor aid fails to target poverty, but instead aims to meet other donor priorities.

• Consultants

 

In the UK almost £500million was paid in 2011 to consultants, many of whom earn six, even seven-figure incomes, courtesy of the donors.

• £6million was paid to the University of Cape Town to investigate mental health issues in southern Africa and millions of pounds to US-based organisations, including the Clinton Foundation, the International Food Policy Research Institute and Family Health Inter-national.
• It is paying a Washington-based group, Search for Common Ground, £3.9million to “support the electoral cycle in Sierra Leone”. Consultancy firms in India and Uganda are also receiving large sums.

• More than £20million last year was spent on hotels for these consultants, including many five-star ones.

• Corruption

(The abuse of power for Personal gain)

 

Corruption comes in many forms through the various AID programmes starting with the Customs Offices of the recipient country and then filters down the system, which, results in some instances no AID actually being received for the original recipients.

• Corruption manifests at three different levels. These include:

• Petty corruption where small favours are exchanged between small groups of people. This level of corruption is rampant in developing countries where civil servants are poorly paid. These people will exchange small gifts just to obtain some small favours.

• Grand corruption, which occurs at the highest levels of government. This form of corruption necessitates considerable insurrection of the economic, legal and political systems. This is the sort of corruption that precipitated the significant cutting of foreign aid in Uganda. It is characterised with despotic governments and those without strong anti-corruption agencies.

• Also known as endemic corruption, systematic corruption occurs due to the failing of the system. Corruption can occur in the different economic sectors, both public and private, and even in non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as these are not immune to it. Corruption in the public sector occurring in the legislative (political), executive (police) and the judiciary systems is considerably dangerous as it affects public service delivery.

This is just scratching the surface of the problems of giving AID to people that are most in need, seems that the politicians and others in the so called developed countries like to play with the figures saying how wonderful they are.

There is obviously no accountability and/or transparency from either the Donors or the recipients.

Most research has shown that there is plenty of smoke and mirrors to mask the fact that the well intentioned donations are being siphoned off into the pockets of the people who least need it and away from the people who most need it.

Skill sets needed for your career and life

Many people do not realise that skills we use every day are usable in every aspect of our lives, from day to day dealings with family and friends, to your future job and career prospects. How do we assess our own skills?

A skill is simply something that you are able to do. A skill set is the combination of abilities that connect to a particular job.  One person may possess many skills in many areas. However, he or she may be good in a few areas, average in most and have poor skills in some areas.  It is important for you to be able to identify your skill set and match it to the skill set of the job that you are applying for.

Transferable skills are skills gained through your previous jobs, hobbies or even everyday life. These skills can be used, or transferred, to another job. Review your past jobs to see if there are skills that can be transferred to the current position that you are seeking.  Next, review your personal activities like volunteering, coaching, or handling adversities to see if these activities can be used as skills in your next job.

Personal skills are skills that come naturally to some, but they can also be learned. Examples of these skills are honesty, punctuality and being team-oriented. Employers’ top interview questions are “Tell me about yourself” and/or “How would your co-workers’ describe you?” They ask these questions because your personality and attitude toward your work affect everything you do.

Work-specific skills are skills used to do a particular job such as driving, designing websites, or accounting. You can gain these skills through your work experience as well as by attending seminars or other training opportunities to increase your knowledge or expertise in a certain area. Work-specific skills are probably the most obvious skills.  Analyse your previous jobs, voluntary activities, hobbies etc. and think about how you spent your day, and what skills you used.

Here, are some job skills that can be an asset to your future employment skills:

No. 1 Critical Thinking 

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Analyzing	Separating or breaking a whole into parts to discover their nature, functional and relationships.
Applying Standards	Judging according to established personal, professional, or social rules or criteria.
Discriminating	Recognizing differences and similarities among things or situations and distinguishing carefully as to category or rank.
Information Seeking	Searching for evidence, facts, or knowledge by identifying relevant sources and gathering objective, subjective, historical, and current data from those sources
Logical Reasoning	Drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in or justified by evidence
Predicting	Envisioning a plan and its consequences
Transforming Knowledge	Changing or converting the condition, nature, form, or function of concepts among contexts

No. 2 Complex Problem Solving 

Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

Focus on the solution – not the problem. It helps to first acknowledge the problem and then move your focus to a solution-oriented mind-set where you keep focussed on what the ‘answer’ could be instead of lingering on ‘what went wrong’ and ‘whose fault it is’.

Keep an open mind – Try ‘ALL POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS’ – even if they seem ridiculous at first. It’s important you keep an open mind to boost creative thinking, which can trigger potential solutions.

View problems without emotion – try and approach problems neutrally – without any judgment.

Think “outside the box” – Change the ‘direction’ of your thoughts by thinking outside the box. Try to change your approach and look at things in a new way. You can try flipping your objective around and looking for a solution that is the opposite!. Even if it feels silly, a fresh & unique approach usually stimulates a fresh solution.

Use language that creates possibility – Lead your thinking with phrases like ‘what if…’ and ‘imagine if…’ These terms open up our brains to think creatively and encourage solutions. Avoid closed, negative language such as ‘I don’t think…’ or ‘This is not right but…’

Use the KISS principle (Keep it Simple Stupid) – As human beings we have a tendency to make things more complicated than they need to be! Try simplifying your problem by generalizing it. Remove all the detail and go back to the basics. Try looking for a really easy, obvious solution – you might be surprised at the results! And we all know that it’s often the simple things that are the most productive.

No. 3 Judgment and Decision-Making 

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate ones.

Identify the purpose of your decision. What is exactly the problem to be solved? Why it should be solved?

Gather information. What factors does the problem involve?

Identify the principles to judge the alternatives. What standards and judgement criteria should the solution meet?

Brainstorm and list different possible choices. Generate ideas for possible solutions.

Evaluate each choice in terms of its consequences. Use your standards and judgement criteria to determine the cons and pros of each alternative.

Determine the best alternative. This is much easier after you go through the above preparation steps.

Put the decision into action. Transform your decision into specific plan of action steps. Execute your plan.

Evaluate the outcome of your decision and action steps. What lessons can be learnt? This is an important step for further development of your decision making skills and judgement.

No. 4 Active Listening 

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate and not interrupting. These can be verbal or nonverbal.

Verbal Signs of Active Listening

Remembering

The human mind is notoriously bad at remembering details, especially for any length of time. However, remembering a few key points, or even the name of the speaker, can help to reinforce that the messages sent have been received and understood – i.e. listening has been successful.  Remembering details, ideas and concepts from previous conversations proves that attention was kept and is likely to encourage the speaker to continue.  During longer exchanges it may be appropriate to make very brief notes to act as a memory jog when questioning or clarifying later.

Questioning

The listener can demonstrate that they have been paying attention by asking relevant questions and/or making statements that build or help to clarify what the speaker has said.  By asking relevant questions the listener also helps to reinforce that they have an interest in what the speaker has been saying.

Reflection

Reflecting is closely repeating or paraphrasing what the speaker has said in order to show comprehension.  Reflection is a powerful skill that can reinforce the message of the speaker and demonstrate understanding.

Clarification

Clarifying involves asking questions of the speaker to ensure that the correct message has been received.  Clarification usually involves the use of open questions which enables the speaker to expand on certain points as necessary.

Summarisation

Repeating a summary of what has been said back to the speaker is a technique used by the listener to repeat what has been said in their own words.  Summarising involves taking the main points of the received message and reiterating them in a logical and clear way, giving the speaker chance to correct if necessary.

Non-Verbal Signs of Attentive or Active Listening

This is a generic list of non-verbal signs of listening, in other words people who are listening are more likely to display at least some of these signs.  However these signs may not be appropriate in all situations and across all cultures.

Smile

Small smiles can be used to show that the listener is paying attention to what is being said or as a way of agreeing or being happy about the messages being received.  Combined with nods of the head, smiles can be powerful in affirming that messages are being listened to and understood.

Eye Contact

It is normal and usually encouraging for the listener to look at the speaker.   Eye contact can however be intimidating, especially for more shy speakers – gauge how much eye contact is appropriate for any given situation.  Combine eye contact with smiles and other non-verbal messages to encourage the speaker.

Posture

Posture can tell a lot about the sender and receiver in interpersonal interactions.  The attentive listener tends to lean slightly forward or sideways whilst sitting.  Other signs of active listening may include a slight slant of the head or resting the head on one hand.

Mirroring

Automatic reflection/mirroring of any facial expressions used by the speaker can be a sign of attentive listening.  These reflective expressions can help to show sympathy and empathy in more emotional situations.  Attempting to consciously mimic facial expressions (i.e. not automatic reflection of expressions) can be a sign of inattention.

Distraction

The active listener will not be distracted and therefore will refrain from fidgeting, looking at a clock or watch, doodling, playing with their hair.

No. 5 Computers and Electronics 

Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, electronic equipment and computer hardware including applications and programs.

No. 6 Mathematics 

Knowledge of basic Math skills, people forget that we actually use these skills every day of our lives without even thinking or using calculators our problem comes when we hear the word Maths…go back to basics and start from there you will be surprised how much you actually know about math solutions and their applications.

No. 7 Operations and Systems Analysis

Determining how a system or operation should work and how changes in conditions, operations and environments will affect outcomes. Understanding the needs and product requirements of a particular design.

No. 8 Monitoring 

Monitoring and assessing performance of yourself, other individuals or organizations to make improvement or take corrective action.

No. 9 Sales and Marketing 

Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting and selling products or services. Includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques and sales control systems.

Critical thinking and its importance

Critical thinking

Noun

“Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.”

Having the ability to think critically is an important skill that many people lack. Critical thinking is the best way to solve problems since it requires looking at an issue from several standpoints before reaching a final decision.

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. To be a critical thinker skills you should have the ability to do the following:

• understand the logical connections between ideas
• identify, construct and evaluate arguments
• detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
• solve problems systematically
• identify the relevance and importance of ideas
• reflect on the justification of one’s own beliefs and values

Critical thinking is not a matter of collecting information. Someone with a good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to realise consequences from what they understand, and knows how to make use of information to solve problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform themselves.

Critical thinking should be a component of every curriculum. Knowledge without critical thinking skills turns a person into a parrot. Fully developed human beings don’t necessarily need all the answers but should have effective skills for formulating and evaluating the questions.

To teach critical thinking skills, you do not give facts to memorize. Instead, you train to ask questions, seek alternative answers, try hypotheses, and consider other viewpoints. Critical thinking helps formulate the right questions, assess possible answers, judge the credibility of information and sources, and make solid judgments based on evidence.

Critical thinking enhances language and presentation skills. Thinking clearly and systematically can improve the way we express our ideas. In learning how to analyse the logical structure of texts, critical thinking also improves comprehension abilities.

Critical thinking promotes creativity. To come up with a creative solution to a problem involves not just having new ideas. It must also be the case that the new ideas being generated are useful and relevant to the task at hand. Critical thinking plays a crucial role in evaluating new ideas, selecting the best ones and modifying them if necessary.

What Are the Benefits of Critical Thinking in the Workplace?

Brings New Ideas

When an issue comes up in the workplace, a common reaction is to assume that it falls into a predetermined category. Critical thinking does not make any assumptions, and using the process of critical thinking in the workplace removes the temptation to immediately classify every issue under something that has happened in the past. It forces employees and managers to look beyond conventional solutions and look for new ideas that can help to efficiently address problems.

Fosters Teamwork

The entire workplace can get involved in the critical thinking process. The more people that are involved, the more solutions your company will come up with. A diverse workplace can benefit immensely from critical thinking. Not only does it give a reason for people of diverse backgrounds to work together on product solutions, it also encourages teamwork and gives each employee a chance to impact the future of the organization. Critical thinking exercises promote workplace tolerance and can be used as part of diversity training.

The application of critical thinking in the workplace also has a good impact on the relationship between people working within the same team or organisation as well as between people working at different levels.