Sunday, November 22, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Teleworking today...is it a benefit?
Teleworking allows employees work at home or at a local telework center one or more days per week using communication tools, such as such as phone, fax, modem, Internet teleconferencing, e-mail or IM, to perform work duties from a remote location.
The term telework is the term favoured in Europe and other countries while telecommute is used more often in the U.S and Canada.
(webopedia.com)
Teleworking brings about the added benefit to employees, to be able to work from locations without having to travel long distances to their workplace. It also brings us closer to clients and business partners while we are travelling, because we can simply use information provided by the information systems of a company and showcase it there and then, rather than having to come back "later" with information.
Time to respond, can be an effective competitive advantage in a highly competitive business world.
For example, insurance representatives are usually armed with laptops and presentations demonstrating the forecasts of life policy returns instantly, and, they have been using remote means of working for over a decade, in the author's experience. Mobile working may also give the impression of flexibility, in that employees are given the option to work from any location or from locations where connectivity is securely allowed, for example over a virtual private connection between the head office and the branch office. Nevertheless, one needs to appreciate the fact that mobile working is limited by the availability and reputation of the underlying technologies, particularly the Internet infrastructure - which is running out of static IPv4 addresses - and, the connection speed, on which there have been complaints recently.
Whilst this practice seems to have been widely adopted, due to the perception that most persons can access their web-based email and avail from smartphones and other devices, Marissa Meyer, CEO of Yahoo Inc. (2013) decided to do away with teleworking connections after finding out that some of the teleworking employees were found to have been "tele-slacking" i.e. the employees were not actually logging on to work, and, Ing. Meyer felt that she had to take a drastic decision, asking them to return to the office to work.
"The come-to-work order was first reported when a leaked memo from Yahoo's human resources director was published by a tech blog in February." Sourced from http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/19/marissa-mayer-telecommuting/. This practice was not completely agreed with by magnate Richard Branson, who seems to favour teleworking as today's way of working. Nevertheless, the risk of abuse still exists:
Bob had simply outsourced his own job to a Chinese consulting firm. Bob spent less that one fifth of his six-figure salary for a Chinese firm to do his job for him. Authentication was no problem, he physically FedExed his RSA token to China so that the third-party contractor could log-in under his credentials during the workday. It would appear that he was working an average 9 to 5 work day. Investigators checked his web browsing history, and that told the whole story.
Sourced from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/blog/2013/01/17/employee-subcontracts-own-work-to-china-collects-full-salary-watches-cat-videos/ Ryan seems to corroborate that speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. How does this influence productivity?
Within the Republic of Malta, teleworking is regulated by subsidiary legislation 452/104, which defines telework as "a form of organising and, or performing work, using information technology, in the context of an employment contract or relationship, where work, which could also be performed at the employer’s premises, is carried out away from those premises on a regular basis".
This indicates that the legal definition of teleworking allows for working at a branch office, and, this form of teleworking is adopted by real estate entrepreneurs, who prefer to recruit sales agents on a self-employed (sub-contracting) basis, and, offering the services of providing office equipment including a company telephone in order to carry out prospecting and sales duties from the branch office. The employer has the legal right to accept or refuse duties carried out over a teleworking connection.
Broadband connection problems, and, other Internet connection problems were common in the Maltese islands since the introduction of Internet service as commercially available to personal and corporate customers. 77.5% of households in Malta and Gozo had access to the internet last year (2012), according to NSO figures reported by timesofmalta.com.
Unfortunately more recent statistics were not available at the time of writing. The Government of Malta, had in the past introduced schemes such as Blue Skies to encourage third age citizens in buying broadband connection at subsidized rates, however, there is no guarantee that this was taken up by all the members of the ageing population, and, this leaves them at the risk of being marginalized.
Does this meant that the remaining 22.5% would not be familiar with using internet to carry out business, or attend to their day to day shopping needs?
Yet, technology moves on and awaits us, consumers to jump on the bandwagon and buy in to the latest technologies, such as the latest iPhone, or other smartphones available. Vodafone (Malta) have recently inaugurated the first 4G network in Malta. Will this bring about more options for mobile working, or are we feeling like we have more options than we might need? Do you still have a single mobile phone, or do you carry about a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, and, a few other devices as part of your daily carrybag?
Worksmart.org.uk clarifies that teleworking can be required as part of a job description for new starters, but if an existing office-based job is to be changed to teleworking, it should be a voluntary arrangement for both the worker and the employer. In either case, prospective employees being offered a job need to read the terms and conditions of the contract of employment and reflect how this will affect their work-life balance, particularly if they have parenthood responsibilities.
This essay does not attempt to understand whether this is perceived as fair or not considering the different forms of employment options available, but nevertheless provides evidence that teleworking has been adopted for over a decade that seems to have provided employers with the benefit of asking employees to access information hosted on companies' servers remotely, thus being able to read and reply their emails promptly, or even accessing the information systems used within the organization.
Employees may feel that they can never leave the workplace when teleworking, given the pervasive manner technologies such as smartphones, tablets and other devices surround us whilst we are trying to find some private space of our own. The boss might call and ask questions even though you are not meant to be working at 01:00 AM, because he is aware you read your emails till late morning. Does this create any stress related issues?
The author has been through burn down stress and other adverse health conditions that to date have benefited nobody, not even the author himself, who has been left to the consequences of his misfortune by the executives who once brandished their business suit as if it was the Knight's armor. You would not even imagine the costs in terms of health and recovery, not to mention the family related problems that stress may bring upon the dependants of the victim. Dr. Debono, a previous Member of Parliament also complained of health issues during 2012-2013, and, farcically, the people he represented perceived him as a rebel, and, at times as "weak".
After his public political feud between Dr. Franco Debono and ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, the latter had publicly complained to have been flooded with numerous SMSs by Dr. Debono. This is a fierce showcase of mobile telephony misused, since it alienated Dr. Gonzi from what might have been clarified in a face-to-face meeting, however, we do not intend to debate the personal issues between politicians, but merely to illustrate how mobile devices can be misused.
As a matter of fact, cyber-stalking is being currently debated by a prominent politician in order to protect the interests of individuals whose private lives might have been damaged with the influx of social media and the excessive use of mobile phones and social media to share our personal lives with the public. It is known that some software engineers have revealed company secrets over social media, and, other persons have had their employment terminated over improper conduct published on social media, through the careful prying eyes of modern day human resources practitioners who protect the interests of the employing organization, at times by prying into the employees' private lives, and, ensuring that the code of conduct has not been breached. At this point, some employees may feel that their privacy is being invaded. Similarly, for the purposes of security we have to undergo numerous checks such as checks at the airport, and, when one has to travel regularly, these checks may become a nuisance, and at times might be a valid question whether they are a health hazard. For example, the author tends to question airport staff whether X-Ray spot checks at Heathrow Airport, London will have negative side effects on one's health, since it is not healthy to expose oneself to too many X-Rays within a defined period of time. Unfortunately the staff handling the equipment are not usually qualified radiologists and tend to give 'white lies' encouraging the individual to undertake such tests.
Now this might not have happened to anyone else, so you would not even have an idea what it means to the victim, and, it would seem that few people do actually, according to research. Most people see stress-related symptoms as 'alien' until it hits them and they actually have to go through the side-effects of such symptoms.
This leads us to understand that publicly acknowledging stress can have a negative effect on the reputation of an individual, and, even, though prejudice is - strictly speaking - against the basic right to be respected, some employers and people who lack awareness of such rights prefer to follow their instincts and prejudices rather than understand what stress means for its victims.
Again, this brings about a perceived demand for professional human resources management, and, in understanding what empathy is about. Unfortunately, it would seem that managers who seem to have been educated by F.W. Taylor have little awareness of the basic needs around managing human beings. Indeed, sometimes we need to remind our managers that we are only human beings, because their expectations are as ambitious as the ways they organize to ensure that employees never actually 'leave the workplace'. Is there a need to force the state of being a workaholic upon employees, or is it just adrenalin that drives scientifically-driven managers?
White (2013), clearly states that when the spotlights are switched off most public figures have to manage the same debilitating effects of being human.
Not "being seen in the office" may affect a person's chances of promotion, result in a smaller pay rise than office-based peers and lower performance evaluations, according to research by the London Business School and the University of California. Sourced from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21588760, written by M. Ryan. This issue seems to have been confirmed as a negative perception by other employers as well (Theuma/Aquilina 2012/2013).
Nevertheless, teleworking brings about advantages, including technology at your fingertips. News feeds (e.g. RSS Feeds), email, and, information systems can be accessed from any device which connects to the world wide web, and, nowadays that includes laptops at WiFi spots, smartphones, tablets, and, even nifty devices such as Google Glass, useful contextual information on the locality being visited, or translations on the fly displayed through a tiny screen that is bundled along with in the form of a reading glass.
Mobile working has speeded up and has had an obvious impact on electronic commerce. We can download mobile applications instantly, and, read our emails from just about everywhere. We are so flooded by emails, that the Data Protection Legislation protects our privacy by requiring the explicit consent of the data subject prior to being provided with promotional information. Nevertheless, this regulation is not strictly adhered to, especially as Maltese political parties are approaching election time, and, they feel the urge to reach out to potential voters with their multi-channelled marketing campaigns that take the form of digital marketing, direct marketing and the most extroverted of public relations that rises to the level of a rock concert. Ironically, the politicians then complain about running out of funds when they are required to feed the needy, or to run campaigns for the socially disadvantaged, and, the layman would probably ask whether budgets are being allocated in a socially responsible manner, rather than being driven by "election fever". Does this happen in your country as well? One this is for sure, mobiles do not even leave politicians at rest, because they answer at every hour, and, publish campaigns on social media. This is an advantage given that up to a few years ago we accused politicians of being too secretive and lacking transparency. Liberalism and the need for transparency may have forced the politician to act more responsibly in the public interests, thanks to evolving technologies and mobile working.
Technologies have created thousands of jobs, and, the IT industry has not been seen any decrease in demand for integrated technologies, mobile applications, websites and all sorts of technologies that bring about convenience at anyone's fingertips. All this started with a few 'garage-bred' ideas of a few American and British entrepreneurs on the likes of Bill Gates, Sir Tim Berners Lee, and, others, and, technology is around us nowadays, looking at us with its prying eyes. Does this give you a sense of security or does it invade your privacy? It depends how you look at it, some people have nothing to hide, others cannot state the same. One man's meat is another man's poison, as the saying goes.
In the Maltese islands, if you are caught talking on your handheld mobile phone by a traffic policeman, you are liable for a fine, because, they assume that the human mind cannot focus on driving and on handling the phone. In fact, some people wish that managers had the same lines of thought before putting pressure on surrealistic commercial deadlines that must be met, and, in both cases you get penalized for breaching a rule that someone else has created. Therefore technology has brought about the added source of revenue for Transport Malta, to help Malta out of its public debt by giving hefty fines to people who are unaware of the use of mobile phones with "handsfree" earpieces or sets that can be integrated to the car speakers and microphone without distracting the driver of a recent BMW from keeping his or her eyes on the wheel.
Wang and Strong outline the following dimensions by which quality of information can be analysed including intrinsic, contextual, representational and accessibility of information. These dimensions bring about the importance of coding standards to be adhered to when engineering an application for mobile phones or for other mobile devices. How does this influence the importance of quality management upon the profession of software engineering, and, the need for coherence when displaying information required for productive use, and, for public scrutiny? What is the cost of an error nowadays in terms of rework and reputation?
Mobile working can be an advantage in the sense that it connects people in faraway places and allows managers not to worry about having to pay for travelling and work-permits since employees and sub-contractors can work remotely at a lower cost than an air-ticket and accomodation. Mobile working takes advantage of the Internet infrastructure to allow people to collaborate through various technologies, such as Skype and social media, and, shared applications. On the other hand, mobile working can result in information overload, undue stress, and, surreal expectations, if we do not manage human resources adequately.
References
1. They myth of working from home, available [online] at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21588760.
2. Stress and distress in public life, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131017/business-comment/Stress-and-distress-in-public-life.490760#.UmfLeXAbCUM.
3. Wang, R. & Strong, D. (1996) "Beyond Accuracy: What Data Quality Means to Data Consumers". "Journal of Management Information Systems", 12(4), p. 5-34., as quoted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_quality, last updated on 4th October 2013.
4. Employee Subcontracts Own Work to China, Collects Full Salary, Watches Cat Videos available [online] at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/blog/2013/01/17/employee-subcontracts-own-work-to-china-collects-full-salary-watches-cat-videos/, updated on 17th January 2013.
5. 2012: The year when Franco Debono ‘went the distance’, available [online] at http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/2012-The-year-when-Franco-Debono-went-the-distance-20121230 6. The principles of scientific management, available [online] at http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/taylor/principles/ch02.htm.
7. Debono denies ‘taunting’ Gonzi with SMSes at all hours, available [online] at http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Gonzi-claims-Franco-Debono-taunted-him-with-SMSs-at-all-hours-20130421.
8. Anti-cyber harassment alliance setup, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130810/local/anti-cyberharassment-alliance-set-up.481552#.Umfdo3AbCUM.
9. How X-Rays Work?, available [online] at http://science.howstuffworks.com/x-ray3.htm. 10. IPV6 Address Space, available [online] at http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv6-address-space/ipv6-address-space.xhtml.
11. 5600 new broadband connections thanks to Blue Skies, available [online] at http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2008-04-25/news/5600-new-broadband-internet-connections-thanks-to-blueskies-206728/.
12. Vodafone brings 4G to Malta, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131010/local/Vodafone-brings-first-4G-network-to-Malta.489665#.Umfi7HAbCUM.
13. Banking at your fingertips, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131017/technology/Banking-at-your-fingertips.490774#.Umfi5XAbCUM.
14. Major step for EU Telecoms Single Market, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130919/technology/Major-step-forward-for-EU-telecoms-single-market.486843#.Umfj6nAbCUM.
15. Ronald Aquilina, Innovation of e-Business Lectures (IS3167).
16. BMW Bluetooth Kit, available [online] at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlXznTtucSc.
Internet
(webopedia.com)
Teleworking brings about the added benefit to employees, to be able to work from locations without having to travel long distances to their workplace. It also brings us closer to clients and business partners while we are travelling, because we can simply use information provided by the information systems of a company and showcase it there and then, rather than having to come back "later" with information.
Time to respond, can be an effective competitive advantage in a highly competitive business world.
For example, insurance representatives are usually armed with laptops and presentations demonstrating the forecasts of life policy returns instantly, and, they have been using remote means of working for over a decade, in the author's experience. Mobile working may also give the impression of flexibility, in that employees are given the option to work from any location or from locations where connectivity is securely allowed, for example over a virtual private connection between the head office and the branch office. Nevertheless, one needs to appreciate the fact that mobile working is limited by the availability and reputation of the underlying technologies, particularly the Internet infrastructure - which is running out of static IPv4 addresses - and, the connection speed, on which there have been complaints recently.
Whilst this practice seems to have been widely adopted, due to the perception that most persons can access their web-based email and avail from smartphones and other devices, Marissa Meyer, CEO of Yahoo Inc. (2013) decided to do away with teleworking connections after finding out that some of the teleworking employees were found to have been "tele-slacking" i.e. the employees were not actually logging on to work, and, Ing. Meyer felt that she had to take a drastic decision, asking them to return to the office to work.
"The come-to-work order was first reported when a leaked memo from Yahoo's human resources director was published by a tech blog in February." Sourced from http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/19/marissa-mayer-telecommuting/. This practice was not completely agreed with by magnate Richard Branson, who seems to favour teleworking as today's way of working. Nevertheless, the risk of abuse still exists:
Bob had simply outsourced his own job to a Chinese consulting firm. Bob spent less that one fifth of his six-figure salary for a Chinese firm to do his job for him. Authentication was no problem, he physically FedExed his RSA token to China so that the third-party contractor could log-in under his credentials during the workday. It would appear that he was working an average 9 to 5 work day. Investigators checked his web browsing history, and that told the whole story.
Sourced from http://jerz.setonhill.edu/blog/2013/01/17/employee-subcontracts-own-work-to-china-collects-full-salary-watches-cat-videos/ Ryan seems to corroborate that speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. How does this influence productivity?
Within the Republic of Malta, teleworking is regulated by subsidiary legislation 452/104, which defines telework as "a form of organising and, or performing work, using information technology, in the context of an employment contract or relationship, where work, which could also be performed at the employer’s premises, is carried out away from those premises on a regular basis".
This indicates that the legal definition of teleworking allows for working at a branch office, and, this form of teleworking is adopted by real estate entrepreneurs, who prefer to recruit sales agents on a self-employed (sub-contracting) basis, and, offering the services of providing office equipment including a company telephone in order to carry out prospecting and sales duties from the branch office. The employer has the legal right to accept or refuse duties carried out over a teleworking connection.
Broadband connection problems, and, other Internet connection problems were common in the Maltese islands since the introduction of Internet service as commercially available to personal and corporate customers. 77.5% of households in Malta and Gozo had access to the internet last year (2012), according to NSO figures reported by timesofmalta.com.
Unfortunately more recent statistics were not available at the time of writing. The Government of Malta, had in the past introduced schemes such as Blue Skies to encourage third age citizens in buying broadband connection at subsidized rates, however, there is no guarantee that this was taken up by all the members of the ageing population, and, this leaves them at the risk of being marginalized.
Does this meant that the remaining 22.5% would not be familiar with using internet to carry out business, or attend to their day to day shopping needs?
Yet, technology moves on and awaits us, consumers to jump on the bandwagon and buy in to the latest technologies, such as the latest iPhone, or other smartphones available. Vodafone (Malta) have recently inaugurated the first 4G network in Malta. Will this bring about more options for mobile working, or are we feeling like we have more options than we might need? Do you still have a single mobile phone, or do you carry about a laptop, a smartphone, a tablet, and, a few other devices as part of your daily carrybag?
Worksmart.org.uk clarifies that teleworking can be required as part of a job description for new starters, but if an existing office-based job is to be changed to teleworking, it should be a voluntary arrangement for both the worker and the employer. In either case, prospective employees being offered a job need to read the terms and conditions of the contract of employment and reflect how this will affect their work-life balance, particularly if they have parenthood responsibilities.
This essay does not attempt to understand whether this is perceived as fair or not considering the different forms of employment options available, but nevertheless provides evidence that teleworking has been adopted for over a decade that seems to have provided employers with the benefit of asking employees to access information hosted on companies' servers remotely, thus being able to read and reply their emails promptly, or even accessing the information systems used within the organization.
Employees may feel that they can never leave the workplace when teleworking, given the pervasive manner technologies such as smartphones, tablets and other devices surround us whilst we are trying to find some private space of our own. The boss might call and ask questions even though you are not meant to be working at 01:00 AM, because he is aware you read your emails till late morning. Does this create any stress related issues?
The author has been through burn down stress and other adverse health conditions that to date have benefited nobody, not even the author himself, who has been left to the consequences of his misfortune by the executives who once brandished their business suit as if it was the Knight's armor. You would not even imagine the costs in terms of health and recovery, not to mention the family related problems that stress may bring upon the dependants of the victim. Dr. Debono, a previous Member of Parliament also complained of health issues during 2012-2013, and, farcically, the people he represented perceived him as a rebel, and, at times as "weak".
After his public political feud between Dr. Franco Debono and ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, the latter had publicly complained to have been flooded with numerous SMSs by Dr. Debono. This is a fierce showcase of mobile telephony misused, since it alienated Dr. Gonzi from what might have been clarified in a face-to-face meeting, however, we do not intend to debate the personal issues between politicians, but merely to illustrate how mobile devices can be misused.
As a matter of fact, cyber-stalking is being currently debated by a prominent politician in order to protect the interests of individuals whose private lives might have been damaged with the influx of social media and the excessive use of mobile phones and social media to share our personal lives with the public. It is known that some software engineers have revealed company secrets over social media, and, other persons have had their employment terminated over improper conduct published on social media, through the careful prying eyes of modern day human resources practitioners who protect the interests of the employing organization, at times by prying into the employees' private lives, and, ensuring that the code of conduct has not been breached. At this point, some employees may feel that their privacy is being invaded. Similarly, for the purposes of security we have to undergo numerous checks such as checks at the airport, and, when one has to travel regularly, these checks may become a nuisance, and at times might be a valid question whether they are a health hazard. For example, the author tends to question airport staff whether X-Ray spot checks at Heathrow Airport, London will have negative side effects on one's health, since it is not healthy to expose oneself to too many X-Rays within a defined period of time. Unfortunately the staff handling the equipment are not usually qualified radiologists and tend to give 'white lies' encouraging the individual to undertake such tests.
Now this might not have happened to anyone else, so you would not even have an idea what it means to the victim, and, it would seem that few people do actually, according to research. Most people see stress-related symptoms as 'alien' until it hits them and they actually have to go through the side-effects of such symptoms.
This leads us to understand that publicly acknowledging stress can have a negative effect on the reputation of an individual, and, even, though prejudice is - strictly speaking - against the basic right to be respected, some employers and people who lack awareness of such rights prefer to follow their instincts and prejudices rather than understand what stress means for its victims.
Again, this brings about a perceived demand for professional human resources management, and, in understanding what empathy is about. Unfortunately, it would seem that managers who seem to have been educated by F.W. Taylor have little awareness of the basic needs around managing human beings. Indeed, sometimes we need to remind our managers that we are only human beings, because their expectations are as ambitious as the ways they organize to ensure that employees never actually 'leave the workplace'. Is there a need to force the state of being a workaholic upon employees, or is it just adrenalin that drives scientifically-driven managers?
White (2013), clearly states that when the spotlights are switched off most public figures have to manage the same debilitating effects of being human.
Not "being seen in the office" may affect a person's chances of promotion, result in a smaller pay rise than office-based peers and lower performance evaluations, according to research by the London Business School and the University of California. Sourced from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21588760, written by M. Ryan. This issue seems to have been confirmed as a negative perception by other employers as well (Theuma/Aquilina 2012/2013).
Nevertheless, teleworking brings about advantages, including technology at your fingertips. News feeds (e.g. RSS Feeds), email, and, information systems can be accessed from any device which connects to the world wide web, and, nowadays that includes laptops at WiFi spots, smartphones, tablets, and, even nifty devices such as Google Glass, useful contextual information on the locality being visited, or translations on the fly displayed through a tiny screen that is bundled along with in the form of a reading glass.
Mobile working has speeded up and has had an obvious impact on electronic commerce. We can download mobile applications instantly, and, read our emails from just about everywhere. We are so flooded by emails, that the Data Protection Legislation protects our privacy by requiring the explicit consent of the data subject prior to being provided with promotional information. Nevertheless, this regulation is not strictly adhered to, especially as Maltese political parties are approaching election time, and, they feel the urge to reach out to potential voters with their multi-channelled marketing campaigns that take the form of digital marketing, direct marketing and the most extroverted of public relations that rises to the level of a rock concert. Ironically, the politicians then complain about running out of funds when they are required to feed the needy, or to run campaigns for the socially disadvantaged, and, the layman would probably ask whether budgets are being allocated in a socially responsible manner, rather than being driven by "election fever". Does this happen in your country as well? One this is for sure, mobiles do not even leave politicians at rest, because they answer at every hour, and, publish campaigns on social media. This is an advantage given that up to a few years ago we accused politicians of being too secretive and lacking transparency. Liberalism and the need for transparency may have forced the politician to act more responsibly in the public interests, thanks to evolving technologies and mobile working.
Technologies have created thousands of jobs, and, the IT industry has not been seen any decrease in demand for integrated technologies, mobile applications, websites and all sorts of technologies that bring about convenience at anyone's fingertips. All this started with a few 'garage-bred' ideas of a few American and British entrepreneurs on the likes of Bill Gates, Sir Tim Berners Lee, and, others, and, technology is around us nowadays, looking at us with its prying eyes. Does this give you a sense of security or does it invade your privacy? It depends how you look at it, some people have nothing to hide, others cannot state the same. One man's meat is another man's poison, as the saying goes.
In the Maltese islands, if you are caught talking on your handheld mobile phone by a traffic policeman, you are liable for a fine, because, they assume that the human mind cannot focus on driving and on handling the phone. In fact, some people wish that managers had the same lines of thought before putting pressure on surrealistic commercial deadlines that must be met, and, in both cases you get penalized for breaching a rule that someone else has created. Therefore technology has brought about the added source of revenue for Transport Malta, to help Malta out of its public debt by giving hefty fines to people who are unaware of the use of mobile phones with "handsfree" earpieces or sets that can be integrated to the car speakers and microphone without distracting the driver of a recent BMW from keeping his or her eyes on the wheel.
Wang and Strong outline the following dimensions by which quality of information can be analysed including intrinsic, contextual, representational and accessibility of information. These dimensions bring about the importance of coding standards to be adhered to when engineering an application for mobile phones or for other mobile devices. How does this influence the importance of quality management upon the profession of software engineering, and, the need for coherence when displaying information required for productive use, and, for public scrutiny? What is the cost of an error nowadays in terms of rework and reputation?
Mobile working can be an advantage in the sense that it connects people in faraway places and allows managers not to worry about having to pay for travelling and work-permits since employees and sub-contractors can work remotely at a lower cost than an air-ticket and accomodation. Mobile working takes advantage of the Internet infrastructure to allow people to collaborate through various technologies, such as Skype and social media, and, shared applications. On the other hand, mobile working can result in information overload, undue stress, and, surreal expectations, if we do not manage human resources adequately.
References
1. They myth of working from home, available [online] at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21588760.
2. Stress and distress in public life, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131017/business-comment/Stress-and-distress-in-public-life.490760#.UmfLeXAbCUM.
3. Wang, R. & Strong, D. (1996) "Beyond Accuracy: What Data Quality Means to Data Consumers". "Journal of Management Information Systems", 12(4), p. 5-34., as quoted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_quality, last updated on 4th October 2013.
4. Employee Subcontracts Own Work to China, Collects Full Salary, Watches Cat Videos available [online] at http://jerz.setonhill.edu/blog/2013/01/17/employee-subcontracts-own-work-to-china-collects-full-salary-watches-cat-videos/, updated on 17th January 2013.
5. 2012: The year when Franco Debono ‘went the distance’, available [online] at http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/2012-The-year-when-Franco-Debono-went-the-distance-20121230 6. The principles of scientific management, available [online] at http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/taylor/principles/ch02.htm.
7. Debono denies ‘taunting’ Gonzi with SMSes at all hours, available [online] at http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/Gonzi-claims-Franco-Debono-taunted-him-with-SMSs-at-all-hours-20130421.
8. Anti-cyber harassment alliance setup, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130810/local/anti-cyberharassment-alliance-set-up.481552#.Umfdo3AbCUM.
9. How X-Rays Work?, available [online] at http://science.howstuffworks.com/x-ray3.htm. 10. IPV6 Address Space, available [online] at http://www.iana.org/assignments/ipv6-address-space/ipv6-address-space.xhtml.
11. 5600 new broadband connections thanks to Blue Skies, available [online] at http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2008-04-25/news/5600-new-broadband-internet-connections-thanks-to-blueskies-206728/.
12. Vodafone brings 4G to Malta, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131010/local/Vodafone-brings-first-4G-network-to-Malta.489665#.Umfi7HAbCUM.
13. Banking at your fingertips, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131017/technology/Banking-at-your-fingertips.490774#.Umfi5XAbCUM.
14. Major step for EU Telecoms Single Market, available [online] at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20130919/technology/Major-step-forward-for-EU-telecoms-single-market.486843#.Umfj6nAbCUM.
15. Ronald Aquilina, Innovation of e-Business Lectures (IS3167).
16. BMW Bluetooth Kit, available [online] at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlXznTtucSc.
Internet
Saturday, October 31, 2015
How to defend yourself
Yesterday, I went to the Courts of Law,at Republic street, Malta, and, having a basic knowledge of legal training, I socialize with people and help them with their presentation skills in the case of witness and defence, in preparation for a trial:
a) Find a story that makes the accused person appear to breach the law e.g. if your neighbour says that you have thrown dust in their private property, ask them whether the dust is then arising and invading the open air that forms part of your airspace within your private property if you have an apartment above your neighbour and your neighbour is so perfectionist that he sues you for improper civil behaviour of some sort. That is, if honesty is not the best policy, as some might argue, it is sometimes a good and ethical approach to a defence argument, based on the notion that common sense and the interrogations will theoretically be in place to reduce the incidence of untruthful narrations, usually under oath, remaining credible. Some persons lose their identity documents, this can delay the proceedings when you have little to add to the statements, unless you want to make questions. I find litigation a good example of explaining conflicts, it makes people appear to feel confused and I do write about some of these on my wall, on my social media page where I have a fake name, because I do not like people snooping on my private posts, in a country where everyone minds your business. This is one of my preferred socially acceptable replies to antipatique interview questions about employment gaps for example, it is available online.AArguments based on notions of socialism, commonly accepted norms of behavior, science and knowledge that can have a positive tone or a concilatory one if it is evident that you are admitting guilt are a good way to compromise. Procedural errors are a common way of nitpicking on perceived lack of fairness in the processing of an accusation, with human rights being a commonly cited text. Nevertheless what might be socially acceptable and what is legally acceptable as an excuse for bending the rules, are different and you might find that there is a conservative legal interpretation of laws.
Be fair and do not take advantage of your own knowledge as a source of power, every legal person has equal rights before the law. Privacy is generally a good argument if you are a person who seeks to mind your own business, you can refrain from answering and change subject if you do not wish to reply. You can also use an argument that is based on case law, a precedent, consequence/risk and that based on humanitarian basis. It is only human to make a mistake after all and it is only moral to ask for forgiveness. The past is not necessarily a reflection of the future, but nobody knows the future this is a known philosophical fact. At times it is good to delay stating the obvious, it makes people feel ashamed of themselves if it is a very sensical argument or a reasonable explanation for the events where you are made to feel under the blade or within the accusation pitch as I like calling the prosecution lawyer's introductory speech. Ask for evidence when you know there is none. Plead guilty if you are guilty, however you can always try making a false statement, just be aware that you might be accused of taking a false oath or perjury. Psychological arguments are sensical when you are explaining what happened in the context that you feel is a reasonable action taken in the circumstances where certain matters were not within your control. Some propose a counter-accusation, however be careful of reading too much between the lines, it makes prosecution lawyers feel angrier and they might retaliate with stronger evidence if they had the intention of being polite to you initially. Lawyers are polite people they make a statement and they usually follow up with evidence in a subtle fashion, sometimes even joking about it. They are really close to putting a rope around your neck awaiting for the Inquisitor to hang you after the magistrate or judge has no option but to find you guilty. I would daresay this is a form of pleasure in inflicting emotional pain upon others which can be compared to sadism, an unethical form of sexual activity and in this case, you should quote your rights and the code of ethics to make the prosecution lawyer appear mean and disgraceful in the eyes of the jury, if there is one. Shaming and naming is thought to be an interesting way of convincing people, but it can also fire back as there can be accusations of libel, verbal harassment, slander, defamation out of making untrue or exagerrated statements, therefore one has to careful distinguish between facts, arguments, and, emotional cues, preferably sticking to factual arguments if you fall short of evidence. A friend once had a personal issue against me, and, I realised this through the repeated number of phone calls on my mobile phone, so immediately I wanted to setup a traceable log of events that would lead me to file lawsuit back if he continued to threaten with personal direct or indirect libellous charges, the main trick to use here is heftiness and neatness in writing out complaints on nuisances, and, avoiding mention of identifiable names as investigations can be done by legal professionals thereafter. Let's say you want to use an accusation as a form of defense, this is a negotiation tactic, where you no longer take the vests of the innocent lamb, but take on the role of the devil and start firing back accusations based on what you know about the other party, the party that you want to annihilate in front of a judge, with the just intention to avail from justice so that you do not lose. Life is an auction, you might think, so you place the bid on the table, like you do when you are playing poker. If you are innocent and you are sure that there is no strong evidence, ask for evidence, so the argument falls back on their feet. It is useful and rewarding to ask for compensation if you are the injured party bearing in mind that injury can be physical, psychological, consequential and assuming that in the area of civil litigation everything has a penalty, the higher you pitch your accusation the stronger your argument appears to be in its presentation, so you feel that you are more convincing as you hit more penalty points and these may increase your chances and those of your attorney of scoring points leading to earning money for compensation, after all, you badly need that payment, and, so does your lawyer, his performance depends on how his influencing skills fare in the courtroom and if we read codes of ethics even outside of the courtroom. Finally, renegation, silence, and, right to not incriminate yourself are valid principles by which to defend yourself. One can resort to privacy when your back is against the wall, and, unless you receive an order, you can drag your feet in defense of your own stance. This is called the lion's approach. Another socially acceptable excuse is the time saving disclaimer, that is, you are always busy and you do not like to lose time therefore you seek the most efficient means to an end, however, the counter-argument would be that you might not have done enough diligence in your approach in this manner, as there is a rapid and a less-than rapid route to litigation, and, both appear to be in use in litigation as communication and presentation approaches. Nevertheless diligent commercial procedures are a way of presenting yourself as a professional to the courts of law and this is usually seen in better light as is the way you present yourself, the clothes you wear and so on. Socially acceptable does not mean that it will be acceptable by the magistrate or the judge, it just means that it is a way of beating around the bush. Reneging and delaying can be useful time-saving procedures, however be aware that procedures are in place to administer diary notes as they are scheduled by the Courts of Law. Sometimes you can find instances where you feel you have been treated unfairly and therefore the charter of fundamental human rights, is a good line of thought in your appeals, which have to be presented as a recourse through a private or a state-appointed lawyer. Privacy is another good line of defense, as is a personal need for security or safety, thus this is a good excuse not to pick up a phone call when you are not sure you can identify the caller, are unsure what to expect from the telephone call, or is expected to cause disruption which is unplanned for and is not within your responsibilities or your immediate control. There are many circumstances which are beyond your control, including the weather. Technology is inherently difficult to troubleshoot you can shift the blame upon the person to whom you communicated or ought to have communicated the issue as they should be aware of how to monitor their own infrastructure and to poll for information accordingly, you might argue. Technology includes computers, cars, electronic devices and anything else you might have paid for or acquired which you have not manufactured yourself, basically. b)find a strong argument e.g. do research and find similar cases and see how others have defended themselves. I prefer arguments based on science and those based on social sciences such as economics or normative rules of behaviour, which does not mean that someone who is normative is guilty by our own perception. One should also be aware of the possibility of emotional blackmail, it is observed on persons of the female gender who rely on their ability to use their weakness as a strong argument. Downplaying and rationalizing does give rise to lack of objectivity as we tend to forget our own assumptions as the brain is thought to process around 70,000 thoughts per day. c)gather witness e.g. more people who can provide objective reasoning to the argument you are making would give rise to increased perception of credibility so that you do not feel that you are a minority in a system that is ruled by a majority. We must not confuse democracy with justice, justice is meant to render justice down to the individual case level and can indicate that people would feel that their privacy is no longer a civil right therefore questions have to be relevant and appropriate, even in an interrogation. c) avoid using in-ethical practices as a litmus test. e.g. the element of surprise can be difficult to handle to some people and although researchers might be aware of overt and covert research methods, covert research methods might appear to come across as rude which may have a negative impact on the mood of the authority involved. People do not enjoy being used as guinea pigs of experiments. Avoid being caught in the act, but if you are, my suggestion is to be honest and open about your reasoning, however this my personal philosophy, based on the tenet that people tend to dislike liars as they find that liars are a waste of time. There are also legal consequences for being dishonest or lying under oath, in countries where religion appears to have an influence over popular culture. Nevertheless basic presentation, and, negotiation skills might help you prepare your argument in an educated fashion. Moreover, experience indicates that people who have authority tend to be strict or understanding as the propensity of their interest to make a buck through penalizing citizens appears to be obvious in the eyes of the public. d) Silence is the answer, when you know they have nothing against you, or else, when you have nothing to add as adding more information might inflict more grievous accusation against you. The chairperson (magistrate or judge) may order you to speak, but you can remain tight lipped, and, the police should have read out your rights to yourself in the first place, if they did not they disregarded the procedure and one should notify the defense lawyer about it or else you clarify your complaint succinctly. Some people use martial arts, and know when kicks, punches, and, use of a baseball bat can be claimed to be a legitimate act of self-defence. It is also possible to get a license for a firearm, such as a pistol, the police of Malta even organize ceremonial auctions of weapons that are no longer considered modern. e) Keep moving, for example, when you are heading straight into a parking lot you realize you have taken up the parking reserved for handicap, and, you might not have realized or might have ignored this because you were late for a meeting, you can keep moving on, and, await the parking ticket. Next time round, find a parking space that is not reserved for persons with a handicap though, once bitten, twice shy! Further reading 1. Criminal Code available online here. 2. Civil Code available online here. 3. Courts of Law, Malta available online here. 4. Commonlii.org available online here. 5. Right of self-defense available online here. 6. Sun Tzu, The Art of War, available online here. 7. Times of Malta, available online here, the news from the Courts of Law are usually posted under National news. A print edition is also available. 8. Malta Today, available online here. 9. Huffington Post Crime, available online here. 10. Copblock.org available online here. 11. The politics of victimization, available online here. 12. Administrating Victimization: The Politics of Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Crime Policy, available online here. 13. Crime Today, online social media page available here. 14. Huffpost Crime, online social media page available here. 15. Machine Learning Forensics for Law Enforcement, Security, and Intelligence, available online here. 16. Malta Today, Court and Police Section, available online here. 17. Mirror (UK), Crime section, available online here. 18. Al Jazeera, Human Rights Section, available online here. 19. Amnesty International, available online here. 20. European Court of Human Rights, available online here. 21. United Nations, available online here. 22. Investopedia, available online here. Internet
Be fair and do not take advantage of your own knowledge as a source of power, every legal person has equal rights before the law. Privacy is generally a good argument if you are a person who seeks to mind your own business, you can refrain from answering and change subject if you do not wish to reply. You can also use an argument that is based on case law, a precedent, consequence/risk and that based on humanitarian basis. It is only human to make a mistake after all and it is only moral to ask for forgiveness. The past is not necessarily a reflection of the future, but nobody knows the future this is a known philosophical fact. At times it is good to delay stating the obvious, it makes people feel ashamed of themselves if it is a very sensical argument or a reasonable explanation for the events where you are made to feel under the blade or within the accusation pitch as I like calling the prosecution lawyer's introductory speech. Ask for evidence when you know there is none. Plead guilty if you are guilty, however you can always try making a false statement, just be aware that you might be accused of taking a false oath or perjury. Psychological arguments are sensical when you are explaining what happened in the context that you feel is a reasonable action taken in the circumstances where certain matters were not within your control. Some propose a counter-accusation, however be careful of reading too much between the lines, it makes prosecution lawyers feel angrier and they might retaliate with stronger evidence if they had the intention of being polite to you initially. Lawyers are polite people they make a statement and they usually follow up with evidence in a subtle fashion, sometimes even joking about it. They are really close to putting a rope around your neck awaiting for the Inquisitor to hang you after the magistrate or judge has no option but to find you guilty. I would daresay this is a form of pleasure in inflicting emotional pain upon others which can be compared to sadism, an unethical form of sexual activity and in this case, you should quote your rights and the code of ethics to make the prosecution lawyer appear mean and disgraceful in the eyes of the jury, if there is one. Shaming and naming is thought to be an interesting way of convincing people, but it can also fire back as there can be accusations of libel, verbal harassment, slander, defamation out of making untrue or exagerrated statements, therefore one has to careful distinguish between facts, arguments, and, emotional cues, preferably sticking to factual arguments if you fall short of evidence. A friend once had a personal issue against me, and, I realised this through the repeated number of phone calls on my mobile phone, so immediately I wanted to setup a traceable log of events that would lead me to file lawsuit back if he continued to threaten with personal direct or indirect libellous charges, the main trick to use here is heftiness and neatness in writing out complaints on nuisances, and, avoiding mention of identifiable names as investigations can be done by legal professionals thereafter. Let's say you want to use an accusation as a form of defense, this is a negotiation tactic, where you no longer take the vests of the innocent lamb, but take on the role of the devil and start firing back accusations based on what you know about the other party, the party that you want to annihilate in front of a judge, with the just intention to avail from justice so that you do not lose. Life is an auction, you might think, so you place the bid on the table, like you do when you are playing poker. If you are innocent and you are sure that there is no strong evidence, ask for evidence, so the argument falls back on their feet. It is useful and rewarding to ask for compensation if you are the injured party bearing in mind that injury can be physical, psychological, consequential and assuming that in the area of civil litigation everything has a penalty, the higher you pitch your accusation the stronger your argument appears to be in its presentation, so you feel that you are more convincing as you hit more penalty points and these may increase your chances and those of your attorney of scoring points leading to earning money for compensation, after all, you badly need that payment, and, so does your lawyer, his performance depends on how his influencing skills fare in the courtroom and if we read codes of ethics even outside of the courtroom. Finally, renegation, silence, and, right to not incriminate yourself are valid principles by which to defend yourself. One can resort to privacy when your back is against the wall, and, unless you receive an order, you can drag your feet in defense of your own stance. This is called the lion's approach. Another socially acceptable excuse is the time saving disclaimer, that is, you are always busy and you do not like to lose time therefore you seek the most efficient means to an end, however, the counter-argument would be that you might not have done enough diligence in your approach in this manner, as there is a rapid and a less-than rapid route to litigation, and, both appear to be in use in litigation as communication and presentation approaches. Nevertheless diligent commercial procedures are a way of presenting yourself as a professional to the courts of law and this is usually seen in better light as is the way you present yourself, the clothes you wear and so on. Socially acceptable does not mean that it will be acceptable by the magistrate or the judge, it just means that it is a way of beating around the bush. Reneging and delaying can be useful time-saving procedures, however be aware that procedures are in place to administer diary notes as they are scheduled by the Courts of Law. Sometimes you can find instances where you feel you have been treated unfairly and therefore the charter of fundamental human rights, is a good line of thought in your appeals, which have to be presented as a recourse through a private or a state-appointed lawyer. Privacy is another good line of defense, as is a personal need for security or safety, thus this is a good excuse not to pick up a phone call when you are not sure you can identify the caller, are unsure what to expect from the telephone call, or is expected to cause disruption which is unplanned for and is not within your responsibilities or your immediate control. There are many circumstances which are beyond your control, including the weather. Technology is inherently difficult to troubleshoot you can shift the blame upon the person to whom you communicated or ought to have communicated the issue as they should be aware of how to monitor their own infrastructure and to poll for information accordingly, you might argue. Technology includes computers, cars, electronic devices and anything else you might have paid for or acquired which you have not manufactured yourself, basically. b)find a strong argument e.g. do research and find similar cases and see how others have defended themselves. I prefer arguments based on science and those based on social sciences such as economics or normative rules of behaviour, which does not mean that someone who is normative is guilty by our own perception. One should also be aware of the possibility of emotional blackmail, it is observed on persons of the female gender who rely on their ability to use their weakness as a strong argument. Downplaying and rationalizing does give rise to lack of objectivity as we tend to forget our own assumptions as the brain is thought to process around 70,000 thoughts per day. c)gather witness e.g. more people who can provide objective reasoning to the argument you are making would give rise to increased perception of credibility so that you do not feel that you are a minority in a system that is ruled by a majority. We must not confuse democracy with justice, justice is meant to render justice down to the individual case level and can indicate that people would feel that their privacy is no longer a civil right therefore questions have to be relevant and appropriate, even in an interrogation. c) avoid using in-ethical practices as a litmus test. e.g. the element of surprise can be difficult to handle to some people and although researchers might be aware of overt and covert research methods, covert research methods might appear to come across as rude which may have a negative impact on the mood of the authority involved. People do not enjoy being used as guinea pigs of experiments. Avoid being caught in the act, but if you are, my suggestion is to be honest and open about your reasoning, however this my personal philosophy, based on the tenet that people tend to dislike liars as they find that liars are a waste of time. There are also legal consequences for being dishonest or lying under oath, in countries where religion appears to have an influence over popular culture. Nevertheless basic presentation, and, negotiation skills might help you prepare your argument in an educated fashion. Moreover, experience indicates that people who have authority tend to be strict or understanding as the propensity of their interest to make a buck through penalizing citizens appears to be obvious in the eyes of the public. d) Silence is the answer, when you know they have nothing against you, or else, when you have nothing to add as adding more information might inflict more grievous accusation against you. The chairperson (magistrate or judge) may order you to speak, but you can remain tight lipped, and, the police should have read out your rights to yourself in the first place, if they did not they disregarded the procedure and one should notify the defense lawyer about it or else you clarify your complaint succinctly. Some people use martial arts, and know when kicks, punches, and, use of a baseball bat can be claimed to be a legitimate act of self-defence. It is also possible to get a license for a firearm, such as a pistol, the police of Malta even organize ceremonial auctions of weapons that are no longer considered modern. e) Keep moving, for example, when you are heading straight into a parking lot you realize you have taken up the parking reserved for handicap, and, you might not have realized or might have ignored this because you were late for a meeting, you can keep moving on, and, await the parking ticket. Next time round, find a parking space that is not reserved for persons with a handicap though, once bitten, twice shy! Further reading 1. Criminal Code available online here. 2. Civil Code available online here. 3. Courts of Law, Malta available online here. 4. Commonlii.org available online here. 5. Right of self-defense available online here. 6. Sun Tzu, The Art of War, available online here. 7. Times of Malta, available online here, the news from the Courts of Law are usually posted under National news. A print edition is also available. 8. Malta Today, available online here. 9. Huffington Post Crime, available online here. 10. Copblock.org available online here. 11. The politics of victimization, available online here. 12. Administrating Victimization: The Politics of Anti-Social Behaviour and Hate Crime Policy, available online here. 13. Crime Today, online social media page available here. 14. Huffpost Crime, online social media page available here. 15. Machine Learning Forensics for Law Enforcement, Security, and Intelligence, available online here. 16. Malta Today, Court and Police Section, available online here. 17. Mirror (UK), Crime section, available online here. 18. Al Jazeera, Human Rights Section, available online here. 19. Amnesty International, available online here. 20. European Court of Human Rights, available online here. 21. United Nations, available online here. 22. Investopedia, available online here. Internet
Saturday, June 6, 2015
[behavior blog] Dealing with a toxic person or an abusive person...
Unfortunately the human is a toxic being, so here are some smart ways to get around people's bad moods:
a) Try to be polite to the police - even though this can be thought provoking at times considering the bad experiences different people have had dealing with someone shouting in their face for whatever reason they deem necessary as our friends at - or someone with authority even when they sound like they are being arrogant, abusive and rude, they still have a right to give you a fine, which you can contest and disagree with in the Courts of Law. Court decisions vary from magistrates reprimanding police for breaches of procedure, "copy and paste" action which fall short of holistic investigation practices, and, a sloppy way of interpreting ethics, amidst other issues that are not worthy mentioning here. These were reported on independent newspapers such as The Malta Independent, and, Times of Malta, although there were allegations of financial scandals recently involving various persons including notorious managers within some of these newspapers.
Bear in mind that the police conduct is one that can make you lose a job opportunity so it is good to protect your own interest by being as diplomatic and as polite as possible. You can claim retaliation but in Malta this claim is not very strongly supported by authorities, boards and committees as there is a very conservative and authority-centred structure within bureaucracy itself.
This is expected to be provided, but nonetheless nobody can force you to provide this information without your consent and even though conditions are stipulated in a sequential fashion you can still persist in your rightful position of a human rights activist, hoping not to suffer from retailation or bureaucracy.
b) try not to break the rules, if you know you have a problem, let them know in advance it avoids surprises for some people particularly those who are low on emotional quotient or else have a different political or business agenda that does not necessarily include your well-being as their topmost priority. Managers tend to use management by objective abbreviated to MBO or MBR their main way of asking people to do their job, and, generally one should not take this personally, but understand that they have expectations, perhaps taking legal advice from workers' union in the process to cover your interests are being advocated. However on the other hand when an expectation cannot be met due to risks and problems, such issues are to be communicated diligently, at least to avoid leaving managers surprised of outcomes, and, also to keep an audit trail of the communication.
c) people are stressed and busy, they make errors of judgment, and, tend to ignore a lot of ideals, particularly when they are at the workplace where they are protected by a policy which covers their actions, powers and where they are regulated by procedures. We never know all of them and most of the time neither do they. For years I have worked with managers with short temperaments, and, managers who liken themselves to soccer managers in their performance management, then they called their boss to convince them to label people into performers and persons who perform less well, we are little beyond pigs on the production line in this contorted view of management. This is a reflection of Max Weber's theory underlying bureaucracy.
d) avoid trying to confuse them or extensive social engineering, most people realize you are trying to trick them as soon as you open your mouth. Reactions can vary from anger, to retaliation to disciplinary actions sometimes leading to dismissal on trivial grounds and with legitimacy due to flaws in employment regulations, to a simple word of caution, depending on the personality of the person, usually the more ego-centered they are they more aggressive they come across and the more they want to fight back and cause damage through politics. Some people will use all their influence or authority to make you look weak and bad, and, this form of bullying is not only found at the school unfortunately. One should seek to report such issues to bodies and authorities and to avoid confronting the person directly after providing them with a warning, preferably in writing and in diplomatic form, hoping for suitable arbitration prior to legal litigation. Mobbing is a problem commonly encountered at the workplace, but it is hard to manage every psychological issue without undergoing therapy and some managers just don't have the time to understand your personal grievances. It is time not to take it personally and to take the right decision about your life and your relationship with the people around you. Finally, if you go beyond your way and take a strict interpretation of a policy that was written unilaterally, and, influence the committees formed to uphold your accusation, then some form of abuse of authority might have been perceived to have occurred, although, by the procedure diligence was effectively carried out. Human behaviour is by far and large erratic, and, as a matter of fact a politician has categorized it as schizophrenic. It would appear that people who are more easily angered tend to attempt to control the behavior of others through discipline, as the driving management/leadership philosophy. A software engineer typically minimizes unwanted correspondence as "spam", whilst an executive appears to make a mountain out of a molehill to push her inethical disciplinary agenda, indicating that small office politics and politics in the wider context play a considerable role in decision making, making decisions made by humans questionable and falsifiable. Disclaimers are induced from the philosophy of minimalism, and this can lack fairness. Legal terminology around unsolicited or unwanted advertising can be used unfairly if you are a small fish trying to compete in a bigger pool of contractors, job-seekers, or other humans just hoping to win that competition, people can be very political in throwing mud at each other and very able in covering their legal responsibilities through renegation when questioned thus appearing to trick the judicial system in this manner, which should take the rights and duties of all parties involved in a disagreement, not just voice your concern as it aims to reach a legally valid reason for establishing a grave or serious breach of law, one that has had consequences, preferably ones that can be quantified as material damages in terms of legitimate currency if we were to resort to the lawyer asking for compensation.
Cutajar (2000s) had discussed the Russian roulette effect, where managers appear to selectively pick their subjects of audits in a unilateral and collective fashion, thus giving rise to questions about groupthink and its bias as an error of judgment and appearing to come across as a group of people who arrogantly take decisions that influence the lives of others without appropriate consultation and participation, thus giving rise to the notion of organizational democracy becoming a necessity in the first quarter of 2000s when we should have learnt the lessons after years of colonialism, barbarism and other forms of pre-ponderance ironically coming from a minority group, which is probably paid a much higher wage than the average slave-employee-class is.
Bureaucracy through its unnatural way of making unilateral statements and decisions that affect the other stakeholders does give rise to another form of unfair negotiation, through the unnatural selection and judgment of the other human being, and, what gives us the legal right to form a judgment that can be considered to be discriminatory remains a valid philosophical argument on reasoning that favors objectivity, with an understanding of emotional bias, as an influencing factor, that is not necessarily reduced by elimination, although participation and dialogue are not necessarily always possible and realistic to achieve in every executive decision as there are time bound decisions to take, in our day to day operations. Further reading at http://higherperspectives.com/toxic-people/ and at this link. Corruption Today, social media page available online. Internet
Bureaucracy through its unnatural way of making unilateral statements and decisions that affect the other stakeholders does give rise to another form of unfair negotiation, through the unnatural selection and judgment of the other human being, and, what gives us the legal right to form a judgment that can be considered to be discriminatory remains a valid philosophical argument on reasoning that favors objectivity, with an understanding of emotional bias, as an influencing factor, that is not necessarily reduced by elimination, although participation and dialogue are not necessarily always possible and realistic to achieve in every executive decision as there are time bound decisions to take, in our day to day operations. Further reading at http://higherperspectives.com/toxic-people/ and at this link. Corruption Today, social media page available online. Internet
Monday, May 25, 2015
Reflect before you fire, stoopid!
I have done some research, and, it seems evident to myself that a substantial number of managers think about discipline as soon as they feel angry. This is just psychology, and, this might indicate that a good number of business organizations lack management psychology mentoring, although associations such as the Malta Employers' Association would provide such common sense guidelines based on knowledge of management at least this is what they purport on social media.
Yet, there is the minority of cases which does not appear to go through this rational thought, and, some managers still stick to a very simplistic "firing strategy" when things get out of hand.
Is this management strategy too simplistic and liberal and how bad does it impinge on the reputation of an organization? Scaremongering is not in fashion, get out of the habit!
It is worth highlighting different measures in performance management that might be considered for regulation and discussion.
a) education has different terminology than managers of firms. Business tends to make the maximum use of flexibility, and, how is the social risk insured?
b) there is six months of probationary period, during which time the employee feels at the mercy of the employer. Training is not provided in 80% of the time even in knowledge-based jobs such as technology jobs and this appears unfair towards the employee. A manager had been interviewed in a research and offloaded the responsibility of training and education upon the employee, but this argument is not valid for company-specific knowledge as the interest of organizational knowledge bears upon the company, and, there is no transferable skill involved.
There is also cost and risk involved in firing (not to mention handovers, risk of retaliation from aggrieved employees and so on), and, does your organization provide severance packages or does it simply leave people out in the dark and how well does the social security mechanism protect the individual? It is strongly felt that the usual dealing based on sharing responsibility does not completely meet the social responsibilities of your decisions and although by no means should every manager commit to being socially responsible to the point of covering every financial aspect of the employee to have his employment terminated, there should be a social policy in place that permits some level of comfort. The risk of individual competition increases as people become more individualistic, possibly depressed and experience negative periods in life, where negative thoughts of revenge crop up to one's fears, and whether this is realistic or just a matter of projection, it is still a double-edged sword. In any case legal officers will find the first and easiest disclaimer, including those working for the public and private sector, this is why they hire lawyers.
Internet
Sunday, April 5, 2015
non-employment and the creation of the vicious cycle of dependence on institutions [addiction]
Is this legal, but is it also ethical and how far can power and influence continue to be acceptable, before we claim "psychological abuse"?
Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to act in an involuntary manner by use of intimidation or threats or some other form of pressure or force. It involves a set of various types of forceful actions that violate the free will of an individual to induce a desired response, usually having a strict choice or option against a person in such a way a victim cannot escape, for example: a bully demanding lunch money to a student or the student gets beaten.
Diplomacy (from the Greek δίπλωμα, meaning making a deal with other countries) is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states. It usually refers to international diplomacy, the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats with regard to issues of peace-making, trade, war, economics, culture, environment, and human rights. International treaties are usually negotiated by diplomats prior to endorsement by national politicians. In an informal or social sense, diplomacy is the employment of tact to gain strategic advantage or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge, one set of tools being the phrasing of statements in a non-confrontational, or polite manner.
Flexi Bundle
In its natural sense, discipline is systematic instruction intended to train a person, sometimes literally called a disciple, in a craft, trade or other activity, or to follow a particular code of conduct or "order". Often, the phrase "to discipline" carries a negative connotation. This is the case because enforcement of order is often regulated through the threat of punishment to ensure given instructions are carried out.
Sometimes power is used to the extend of making us feel "weak" or "strong" and at this point we should question whether our basic liberties are being threatened. We have the right to express ourselves, and, allowing for ethics and prudency that might avoid us being sued for libel, insults or other mannerisms that lack ethics, and, thus discipline can thus be seen as a latent influencing factor that induces fear and fear is the psychology of the hunter, terrorist and the tiger in the jungle as it eyes its prey before attacking it.
Once my boss told me I am not meeting his performance criteria over and over, and, albeit his argument was a valid criticism, I just said I will do my best given the situation and resources I have to work with, then he fired me because he figured out that he can get the job done from someone who had re-assured him he could do so within one or two days. Now I am confident that the boss does not believe anything I say, judging by his decisions, but, frankly, is this my fault? I am now free of his fears, at least.
I think there is a direct link between one's emotions and their actions and notwithstanding an academic principle echoes "objectivity" in my head, there is little evidence of objective decisions in the workplace, and, private life is much more idiosyncratic than the workplace. People gossip, lie and engage in politics, which include office politics and politics concerning the wider picture.
Sources of reference include www.wikipedia.org, and, the life story of an unfortunate guy based on a 1975 version of an Italian comedy around the life of a fictitious personality named "Ugo Fantozzi". I think that blaming and shaming tactics are warning signs of a toxic and negative person, and, thus I question, do I want to follow their footsteps or should I seek other role models in life, if I am in need of inspiration? Typical teamwork philosophy seems to assume that the word of the majority rule in an environment where decisions have to be discussed, however, sometimes, the particular situation has to be handled in the rise of valid reasons and objections raised by people if we were to be democratic and not simply remain expectant that our wish is everyone else's command. Sometimes "command theory" is not always practical and possible. I do feel guilty of being called a hypocrite or a "back stabber" sometimes, however, it seems that life has taught me to live in fear, insecurity and to try to negotiate for my individual interests first and foremost, since it is easily understood that most living beings are egoistic in their nature. Sometimes striving for collective benefit does not quite appease the majority in any case, so there is a limit on how far you can be altruistic. Some managers appear to be non-tolerant to the point of questioning whether they are psychotic, perfectionist, or typically "results-oriented" and non-caring towards people. It is commonly noticed that people use numbers to gain power, whether in office politics or in making decisions look legitimate even though they might not be ethical. Is society moving backwards in time in social sensitivity?
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