Human Behavior- A Psychodynamic Approach In any organization, utmost importance is given to human resource management. Handling or manipulating other resources like physical, financial or production is at your discretion. When it comes to managing your employees, there you go! You start feeling the pinch. Man is like a “live wire” and if you don’t possess the mastery to understand and utilize the power behind his psyche, then you are at a loss and you are not capable of what is called “the wizard touch”. Maintaining the Employee Morale: The main problem with your subordinates or even with yourself might be boosting up of morale. Always keeping yourself in a cheerful proposition will take you to greater heights, as it helps you to achieve your goals faster. Human strength lies in self belief which is his reserved store of strength, the one which he never utilizes or not allowed to utilize to the fullest extent possible. A bureaucratic or autocratic manager should understand the fact that when human mind is given a chance to explore with full freedom instead of following orders it comes out with the greatest ideas; which may prove fruitful to your organization in a big way. Make Your Work-force Dynamic: If a person wants to become successful in a business venture, he should possess the fire of unfailing enthusiasm and the nerve to face the adversities that come in his way. Life is a game and so is business. You can play the game fearlessly when you are backed up by like minded individuals who will carry on your fire to the next level. So it is important on your part to prepare your subordinates to adapt to the different dimensions of the business atmosphere and make them more dynamic. Human mind has the power to grasp things faster than what we assume it to be. Even average performers can be transformed into star performers when, The work itself is appealing, yielding and useful The work has scope for independent activities The Work defines goals or targets The social atmosphere created by the manager is warm Innovative ideas are welcome Empathy on part of the manager The Power of Relaxation: Another important aspect for the betterment of human psyche is relaxation. A relaxed mind can achieve things hundred times better. People who are always on the run have the feeling that they have not accomplished much. If you keenly observe, only 8 hours of productive work is done every day. In order to accomplish whatever you have in your agenda, you definitely need to relax and plan. The art of resting the mind and the power to dismiss all worries and exhaustion is probably the winning formula. The employer who secures the goodwill of his employees can accomplish more with less effort and exhaustion. Try to bring out the creativity of your subordinates to make the climate of your firm cordial and the attitude...

CSR – An Image or Ethos A company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment in which it functions is known as corporate social responsibility.The object of social responsibilities of business has become the hot topic for discussion. Let’s not forget that really big companies are into the process of service benefiting economically backward population. It is widely accepted that accountability to owners is too narrow a concept for today’s business and that there is no reason why owner’s interests should take precedence over the interest of other claimants-employees, consumer community and the society at large. Responsibilies of Business Concerns: There is no definition of the concept of social responsibility which is valid for all business concerns and for all times. This is because responsibilities of business should be related to the changing societal expectations, which is dependent upon the social, cultural, political and other environmental forces, which are dynamic too. Business responsibility to the society goes beyond simply assuming the profit-making role. It implies that the management has to protect and improve the welfare of the society as a whole along with its own interest. What is the primary objective of a business? One common misunderstanding about the concept of social responsibility has to be clarified here. It does not challenge the primary objectives of business. It does not say that “to make profit is to sin.”Profiteering is different from profit making. Selfish interest is different from self-interest. Social responsibility is against profiteering and selfish business behavior. But profit making and self interest should be the basic elements of corporate responsibilities. Economic concerns and social concerns need not be viewed as opposite ends. They are complementary to each other. They are consistent with one another. Thus the nature and content of business responsibilities depend upon societal expectations placed on organizations which include invariably the economic performances and legal obligations, and go beyond them. How far it goes beyond depends on the economic, social and political environment in which the business and society operates. Arguments against social responsibility: The arguments against social responsibility are based on the belief that the society assigns a strictly economic role to the organizations and the concept dilutes the primary purpose of the business. Business should mind its business and business persons don’t have the right attitude to serve the society. Let it be the responsibility of government and social service organizations. Business has already enough economic and social power and no more concentration of power is necessary to business circles. Service to society is undoubtedly an important objective of business. It can render service to society by providing quality goods and services to the community; it can provide adequate opportunities to the members of the society; provide goods and services at reasonable price. Another important aspect would be to ensure control of pollution towards air, water and soil. Showing concern for the well -being of other constituencies of the society is a good gesture that helps the business to earn goodwill and support of the society as a...

People Management and Trade Unions Need for Trade Unions Why do employees join trade unions is an important question. Most of the workers are members of any one of the trade unions. One of the major objectives of trade unionism is to promote industrial democracy. This objective is achieved when trade union is an organization of the workers, for the workers and by the workers”. In practice this rarely happens and instead unions become an oligarchy. Union leaders by and large, show authoritative  behavior with less participation, openness and transparency. Decision-making is centralized, elections are often postponed and positions are filled repeatedly by nominations. Rank and file is pampered with promises and seldom gets near to decision-making process. Positions get worse when unions are guided by outside leaders and regulated by the policies of political parties.   Ideology of Trade Unions Absence of democratic leadership reduces the effectiveness of trade unions and prevents the development of trade union leadership from among the workers within the industries. In due course, trade unions become obsessed with political ideology or personal interest ousting the welfare of the workers. Before we move on to the functions of trade unions, let us understand the reasons for the existence of such organizations. To get a common platform to air ones views, aims, ideas and feelings and obtain recognition and status among fellow workers. Make use of the principle of unity for the purpose of securing good working conditions, higher economic compensations, better career prospects and welfare needs. Security of employment and protection against calamity of accident, death and social security after retirement. Restrict management action which is against the interest of the workers. Functions of a Trade Union The internal functions of a labor union includes better wage claim, to ensure better working conditions, reasonable work etc.,The external functions include conducting night school, games, sports and other recreational activities. These two functions may be grouped as economic and social functions. Many unions try to capture political power through election, so that they can influence upon the programmes and policies of government in favor of labor. This function is known as political function. Under the legal functions, the interpretation of law takes the major share. A jist of the main purpose of trade organizations: To improve the standard of living and working condition of the workers. To protect the security of workers’ employment. To ensure better health, reasonable working hours and welfare measures. To improve the political status. To raise the vocational status. To bring better participation in the management. To inculcate the feeling of self respect and confidence among worker force. To bring industrial peace and harmony. As long as unionism is considered as an anathema by the management, there will be lack of harmony and mutual trust between the management and labor force. Management must not consider labor unions as a legal obligation as it does not develop faith and goodwill. Instead the union has to be viewed as a partner in trade to live with and work with. Union must also recognize that work is worship and the survival and success of organization depends on the very survival and success of the workforce. Once the team spirit is built up no unreasonable demands will be raised and union leaders must view strikes and lock outs as last resorts to put pressure on management. The Trade Unions Act, 1926– An act to provide for the registration of Trade Unions and in certain respects to define the law relating to registered Trade...

Before embarking on the subject let us find out what delegation is and how the process occurs in an organization. What is Delegation: A manager or a superior cannot think of doing all the jobs by himself. It becomes therefore necessary to delegate some of the jobs to his subordinates to ease the pressure and assign the required authority to carry on with those tasks. This downward pushing of authority is called delegation of authority. Art of Delegation Delegation takes place when one person gives another person the right to perform work on his behalf and in his name. It is the process of entrusting part of the work by the superior to his subordinates. How to Master the Art of Delegation? PROCESS OF DELEGATION 1. Step one is Assigning Responsibility: The superior directs the subordinate to perform a task with due assistance and training. 2. Step two is Granting Authority: To accomplish the task some authority has to be given to the subordinate to procure the essential resources from the organization like materials, equipment, labor etc., 3. Step three is Creating Accountability: The subordinate is expected to accomplish the task within the stipulated time period and report to the manager regarding the acquisition, use and replacement of resources. ADVANTAGES OF DELEGATION   It reduces the work pressure of the manager  Leads to better decisions  Speeds up decision making  It improves the morale of the employees  Creates a feeling of mutual trust between the superior and subordinates  Helps to create a formal organization structure BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE DELEGATION  Fear of being exposed: Some superiors fear that their weaknesses might be exposed Difficulty in briefing the actual requirement- depends on the quick wit of the employees Lack of confidence in subordinates Fear of loss of power“I am OK you are OK “ attitude of the managers PRINCIPLES OF DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY Principle of Delegation by Results Expected: The authority assigned to the subordinates should be sufficient enough to ensure their ability to accomplish the results expected.Principle of Absoluteness of Responsibility: One has to understand that responsibility can never be delegated and that the superiors are responsible for the activities of their employees and the performance of the employees has to be absolute towards their superior’s expectations.Principle of Parity for Authority and Responsibility: There should be a perfect balance between assigned authority and responsibility. One cannot be held responsible for a task where he has limited authority and too much of authority with too little responsibility can prove to be dangerous.Principle of Unity of Command: If there is a single superior to listen to, conflicts will be greatly reduced and it will be easy for the subordinate to have a personal rapport with the superior.Authority Level Principle: A manager who has the authority to make certain decisions must necessarily use his discretion and should not try to overlook or pass it on to the top management.Principle of Functional Definition: The objectives, tasks, responsibility and authority must be clearly stated to the individuals involved to facilitate improved performance to accomplish enterprise objectives. Managers fail because of poor delegation. Their personal attitude comes to the forefront which makes things quite difficult. Lack of receptiveness: Some managers are not open to ideas and suggestions from the other endWillingness to let go: A superior must have the willingness to delegate authority for positions which he had left long ago.Willingness to trust subordinates: A trustful attitude makes the proceedings smoothWillingness to establish and use broad controls: The superior must establish some standards to which the objectives or tasks can be compared to and control mechanisms must be installed for evaluation purposes. Feedback from subordinates is the most important criterion that determines the effective functioning of the organization. HOW TO MAKE DELEGATION EFFECTIVE? Right person for the right jobGive sufficient authorityFree flow of informationEstablish proper controlsReward the subordinatesMake the nature and scope of the tasks clearMake the subordinate understand...

Classification of Accounts Accounts are classified as follows:  •Accounts in the names of persons are known as “Personal Accounts” •Accounts in the names of assets are known as “Real Accounts” •Accounts in respect of expenses and incomes are known as “Nominal Accounts”     Personal Accounts: It deals with accounts relating to persons, firms, companies and man-made institutions. It is further classified into three categories as shown below. PERSONAL ACCOUNTS NATURAL PERSON’S A/C :   e.g- David, Customer ARTIFICIAL PERSON’S  A/C :   e.g- Banks, firms, companies REPRESENTATIVE’S A/C : e.g- Capital, Drawings Real Accounts These are accounts of assets or properties. Assets may be tangible or intangible. Real accounts are impersonal which are tangible or intangible in nature. Eg:- Cash a/c, Building a/c, etc are Real Accounts related to things which we can feel, see and touch. Goodwill a/c, Patent a/c, etc Real Accounts which are of intangible in nature. Nominal Accounts These accounts are impersonal, but invisible and intangible. Nominal accounts are related to those things which we can feel, but can not see and touch. All “expenses and losses” and all “incomes and gains” fall in this category. Eg:- Salaries A/C, Rent A/C, Wages A/C, Interest Received A/C, Commission Received A/C, Discount A/C, etc. DEBIT AND CREDIT Each accounts have two sides – the left side and the right side. In accounting, the left side of an account is called the “Debit Side” and the right side of an account is called the “Credit Side”. The entries made on the left side of an account is called a “Debit Entry” and the entries made on the right side of an account is called a “Credit Entry”.   Golden Rules of Book-Keeping Personal Accounts : DEBIT THE RECEIVER & CREDIT THE GIVER Real Accounts : DEBIT WHAT COMES IN & CREDIT WHAT GOES OUT Nominal Accounts : DEBIT ALL EXPENSES AND LOSSES & CREDIT ALL INCOME AND GAINS What is an accounting equation? It is a statement of equality between the debits and the credits. It explains that the assets of a business are always equal to the total of liabilities and capital. It is also called the  balance sheet eqaution. Assets = Liabilities + Capital A = L + C ASSETS ARE THE TOTAL VALUE OF PROPERTIES OWNED BY THE BUSINESS LIABILITIES ARE THE RIGHTS OF THE THIRD PARTIES TO THE PROPERTIES OF THE BUSINESS OR THE AMOUNT DUE BY THE BUSINESS TO THE THIRD PARTIES.  Basics of accounting – Accounting Equations Made Simple With Solid Clarity from Shyama...