RIGHT TO INFORMATION - PRIVATE FIRMS NOT EXEMPTED

Well this is really a welcome news in India , if your bank; ICICI or HDFC , your telecome service provider ; hutch or airtel were thinking that they need not worry about RTI act , they are wrong .

Mint ( http://www.livemint.com) - newspaper reports that these private organisations can be approached thru thier regulators for information of public interest .

"Thus, information on telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, the largest mobile telephonyfirm, can be accessed through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India; that on banks throughtheReserveBank of India; and on brokerages and foreign investors active in stockmarkets fromthe Securities and Exchange Board of India".

“Applicants have every right to seek information on a private company even though it is in the private sector, if it reports to a government body,” Ansari says,citing sections of the Act that made this possible.Only applications that served public interest would be dealtwith, not those that sought to erode a company’s competitive position, M.M Ansari , Information Commissioner says.

Themessage: you can ask a cola company for details on how much water it used and where the water camefrom, but not the formula of its fizzy drink"

So I think , private companies better be prepared and soon we may witness some interesting applications , Wanna know how your bank calculates that penalty / charges / late fees etc on your credit card ?

Message : Be transparent , clear , honest & true ; Be Great place to work for .

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MICHAEL DELL IS BACK..IT'S DELL 2.0

First of all let me aplogise for putting this internal mail of an organisation on my blog , as it's available all over ( net , newspapers , even ET ) so thought let me also share this .

So Michael is back , taking some really hard decisions including " No Bonus" still he might make Dell a great place to work , enjoy the message .

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Subject: Leadership Message from our Chairman and CEO
To: Dell Team Members Worldwide
From: Michael

We held a meeting this morning with our Vice Presidents and Directors. I'd like to share the highlights of this meeting with all of you.
I told our team that I remember the great times and many successes with Kevin Rollins, but now it's time for a change. We are not doing a COO or CEO search. I plan to be CEO for the next several years.
I remember what it's like to start a company. We're moving fast. There is no luxury of time. The competitors are fierce. The difference is this time we have many new assets and some hidden ones that can be brought out.
We have great people . . . but we also have a new enemy: bureaucracy, which costs us money and slows us down. We created it, we subjected our people to it and we have to fix it!

The #1 Tell Dell issue is bureaucracy and getting cooperation from other organizations.

I am asking each of you to look across your organizations and eliminate redundancies, think about what is best for Dell, and provide the clarity and focus of leadership that we need.

Last year, we worked really hard and there were many sacrifices. Thanks!

We had great efforts, but not great results. This is disappointing and it is unacceptable.

The result is that there will be no bonus this year. I know this is a big deal for you and your teams. We're going to fix that so that our efforts translate into great results and success for our teams.

But we still have great people who made great efforts. It's important to recognize your hard work, though our results fell short. Limited discretionary awards will be available to all but the most senior people. We can't cover everyone, but it will be a tool you can use.

And we are also budgeting for above-market raises this year.

For stock awards, we will shorten the vesting period from five to three years for future grants and move to restricted stock units.
And we're going to set the annual bonus plan against realistic targets.
We have a tough couple of quarters ahead. We didn't get here overnight and we won't fix things overnight either.

OPEX (operating expense) grew too fast. We need to grow into what we have, hold cost and eliminate marginal activities. If you have some, please stop them now and if you're not sure, bring them forward. We must focus and wring out savings.
Long-term, we will be the technology leader known for strong operating performance, a great experience for our customers and a great place to work!

We will have clear priorities and a focused strategy. ............

When I started in 1984, it was just me. But now we are blessed to have an awesome team, many great assets and $11 billion or so. It won't be easy, we'll have to make some tough decisions and we won't be shy about those. Our focus will be on building Dell into the company we all know it can be for our customers, our people and our shareholders.

To summarize, we will differentiate with CE (customer experience); deliver value, but go beyond this with our unique understanding of customers; move to Solutions and Services; use database marketing and targeting for smaller customers; leverage our unique supply chain; regain our cost position; and build some new sources of sustainable profit including using intellectual property to differentiate.

It's all part of Dell 2.0.

We will unify our leadership structure, from well more than 20 direct reports to 12. I'll be decisive, but also push many decisions to our leaders. We will speed decision-making and make decisions closer to our customers and have clear responsibility and accountability.

I ask you to commit with me to the future of Dell. Show confidence with your teams and our customers. We will fix this business and take it to new heights!

All the Best,
Michael

Source & Complete email at : http://www.statesman.com/news/content/business/stories/other/02/03/3dellemail.html

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PLANNING HOLIDAYS - 2007

It always pays to plan your holidays in advance . Most of the organisations especially MNCs have a culture of mandatory leaves ( 10 -15 leaves in a stretch ) , otherwise also you always get around 25- 30 leaves a year . Plan wisely to make them look longer .

This would certainly help you , ( assuming five day week , saturday -sunday off )

Apply for Leave from 26-Dec-06 till 29-Dec-06 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 10 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 16-Jan-07 till 19-Jan-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 9 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 16-Jan-07 till 25-Jan-07 ( a total of : 8 days ) and you are going to get a total of 16 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 20-Mar-07 till 23-Mar-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 9 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 02-Apr-07 till 05-Apr-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 9 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 31-Apr-07 till 04-May-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 9 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 13-Aug-07 till 17-Aug-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 9 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 01-Oct-07 till 05-Oct-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 9 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 29-Oct-07 till 09-Nov-07 ( a total of : 4 days ) and you are going to get a total of 16 holidays.

Apply for Leave from 24-Dec-07 till 04-Jan-08 ( a total of : 8 days ) and you are going to get a total of 17 holidays.Tweet

THE JOB OFFER

I must say that after doing jobs for a couple of years or more , we all realize that all that matters to make any place a “great place to work” is the job itself . What you are doing is what matters . If you get a job that entices you , even if it’s not exactly your hobby but you enjoy doing it , you’ll call any place a Great place to work.

Let me caveat this , do ensure that you check out for these things before you take up any new job.

Job Description
It’s the brief of your job containing your key responsibilities , key relationships and at times even authorities . It’s the brief which is given to the consultants by the organizations for hiring . Do ask for it , this is what would constitute your core job. Once you get this , make sure to discuss the same with HR or the Functional Managers to ensure that your understanding is correct. It’s never guaranteed that you’ll do exactly as the written thing but your job would certainly revolve around this.

Organization Structure
The corporate web you need to know . Ask clearly where do you fit in the organization chart . Be clear on your supervisor (s) , direct reports , indirect reports , people you need to have working relationship . Gather details about their scope of job & their grades

Designation / Hierarchy
Nothing is more confusing in life that this , there are internal designations , functional designations , bands , grades and what not .

Example : One person could be Deputy Vice President at Grade 3A and his business card reading as Director – Procurement .

Well you need to check what would be your functional designation ( usually what appears on your business card or to external world ) , your internal designation & your position in the hierarchy ( band or grade ).

Always consult people to find contacts in the organization you are planning to join , ask questions , ask more questions and then take your own call , All the best
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CEEEEE TEEEE CEEEE ( CTC ).. Myth you are living with

Cost to Company or CTC as it's popularly called , amazing word it is . Mere use of this word inflates your salary ( may be ego , status & respect also) . We love to flaunt this , be it ex - colleague , relatives , friends , family or any body on the street . How far this is from reality is known to ; your spouse ( it's difficult to hide your salary from them ) or your account where your salary is getting credited .

My idea of this post is that you may keep happily using this word till you are not fooling your self or getting fooled by your employer ( present or prspective ).

Actually when it comes to salary truth can be divided in two :

Monthly : Right side bottom of your salary slip i.e what get's credited

Annually / Half Yearly : Bonus as credited in your account .

What bloats CTC artificially ? Let's study some of these factors , you must know this . Check out your offer letter / appointment letter or promise of your placement consultant

House Rent Allowance ( HRA ) :
Check the finer print , it varies from location to location . You might get transferred to Indore and your package may mention your HRA as per Mumbai . See how your real salary reduces .

Interest on Loans :
You may be offered a subsidised loan and the difference would be added to your package aka CTC . Check out for :

1. What's the difference in the rate of interest calculation ?
2. When you'll be elligible for this loan?
3. Any clause that says that in case you leave with 2/3/4 years this portion would be reversed

Bonus :
Biggest of myths , your package may include performance bonus at a certian rate , check out for :

1. When you'll be elligible for this ?
2. How this has been calculated ? Average , At least or Maximum Elligible

Allowances :

At times you may find whole lot of allowances included in your package , Beware and check out for :

1. Whether payable monthly or annually?
2. Any elligibility condition?
3. Any expenditure proof required ?

These some of the artificial inflationers , do check out for the complete offer carefully ask questions ( as many times as you want ) and then decide .

Till then keep quoting your CTCs happilly to the world ( Indian government or thier employees are still happy quoting their basic salary scales and actually their take home is much more than that including DA etc )

Must say that some organisations have started simplifying this CTC concept and are quoting what can be actually called WYSIWYG.

What you see is what you get , Can you say this for your salary and appointment letter ?

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