Introduction to Generic Skills

Skills are the greatest concerns of today. A person may be educated, but without skill he/ she are not able to deliver whatever is expected from him. Therefore, many talented people are Unsuccessful in life due to poor skills but people comparatively less efficient are more successful due to good skills. Skills are broadly classified into two categories.

1. Basic educational skills (Technical skills)
2. Generic skills.

The term ‘generic skills’ is widely used to refer to the qualities and capacities that are viewed as important in industrial environment. These include thinking skills such as logical and analytical reasoning, problem solving and intellectual curiosity; effective communication Skills, teamwork skills, and capacities to identify, access and manage knowledge and information Personal attributes such as imagination and creativity and values such as ethical practice, Persistence, integrity and tolerance. While, some of the ‘skills’ listed above have significant physical components. For example, body language in interpersonal communication, others are mainly mental.

The difference between the skills needed on the job and those possessed by applicants, Sometimes called skills-gap. Today employers are looking for the employees having minimum skill-gap.

Skill is defined as the learned ability to bring about pre-determined results with maximum certainty, often with the minimum outlay of time or energy or both.

The generic skills are typically associated with high level skills in:

1. Communication skills
2. Team working
3. Problem solving
4. Adaptability
5. Lifelong learning
6. Self esteem
7. Ethics and integrity etc.

Generic skills are not only limited to employment but are also essential to personal and Social success.

 

IMPORTANCE OF GENERIC SKILLS DEVELOPMENT 

There is a high demand for skills in the workplace. Employers seek to ensure business success by recruiting and retaining employees, who have a variety of generic skills and technical skills.

Today’s engineering graduates are not lacking in technical competency. These graduates lack competency in the generic skills that enable them to use their technical skills most effectively. Generic skills enable them to use their technical abilities as a part of a team, to understand conflict as a means for discussion instead of an angry confrontation and to respect difference as a creative opportunity rather than an obstacle.

With the help of generic skills employees demonstrate teamwork, problem-solving and the capacity to deal with non-routine processes. They should also be able to make decisions, take responsibility and communicate effectively. Employers seek to recruit and retain employees with these skills; thus, education providers are also interested in generic skills because they encourage learners to be more reflective and self-directed.

Various lists of generic skills reviewed collectively having focus on adaptation, cost reduction,

Increased productivity, new markets, products and services are outlined as:

• Basic/Fundamental skills – such as literacy, using numbers and using technology.
• People-related skills – such as communication, interpersonal, teamwork and customer-service skills.
• Conceptual/Thinking skills – such as collecting and organizing information, problem-

Solving, planning and organizing, learning-to-learn skills, thinking imitatively and creatively.

and systems thinking.

• Personal skills and attributes – such as being responsible, resourceful, flexible, able

to manage own time and having self esteem.

• Skills related to the business world – such as innovation skills and enterprise skills.
• Skills related to the community – such as civic or citizenship knowledge and skills.

The reasons given by employers for not hiring young people for entry-level jobs, Include the following:

• Low grades and low levels of academic accomplishments.
• Poor attitudes, lack of self confidence.
• Lack of goals, poorly motivated
• Lack of enthusiasm, lack of drive, little evidence of leadership potential (Lack of preparation for the interview.
• Excessive interest in security and benefits, unrealistic salary demands and expectations
• Inadequate preparation for type of work, inappropriate background.
• Lack of extracurricular activities.
• Inadequate basic skills (reading and writing).

GLOBAL AND LOCAL SCENARIO OF GSD

(a) Global Scenario: Generic skills are also known by different names in different countries. In some countries they are specifically employment related, while in others greater emphasis has been placed on their social relevance.

Considerable attention has been paid in recent years to the proposition that several identifiable generic skills have grown in importance in the modern workplace.

Different countries define generic skills differently, as given below:

This presumed importance has led the governments of many industrialized countries to attempt to improve the delivery of certain generic skills, which it was felt were lacking in some sections of the workforce.

In Australia the focus on generic skills first began in the 1980s and was re-invigorated in the late 1990s due to industry-led initiatives.

The committee articulated principles that would guide whether proposed specific skills were accepted as key competencies. Proposed skills had:

• To be essential for the preparation for employment.
• to be generic to the kinds of work and work organization emerging in the range of

Occupations at entry levels within industry rather than occupation or industry-specific.

• To equip individuals to participate effectively in a wide range of social settings.

Including workplaces and adult life more generally.

• To involve the application of knowledge and skill.
• To be able to be learned.
• To be amenable to credible assessment.

Key developments in defining generic skills in the United Kingdom have been similar to those in Australia. Initially, they were called ‘core skills’ and following their revision, ‘key skills’. Employers have since added other skills and referred to them as ’employability skills.

In the United Kingdom. Key skills are defined as those relevant to a person’s learning, career and to personal life, with a strong emphasis on their application to employability. They comprise a list of skills similar to Australia’s key competencies, and are divided into a core set of three basic skills and three wider key skills.

The three basic skills, which comprise National Key Skills Qualification, include:

• Communication
• Numeracy or the application of numbers
• Use of information technology.

The three wider key skills are:

• Working with others
• Improving own learning and performance
• Problem-solving.

Canada has also had generic skills programmers since the 1970s and like many countries the early programmed produced a set of essential skills similar to the United Kingdom’s key skills and Australia’s key competencies. In the 1990s, employers became more involved and the

Conference Board of Canada, a peak industry body, developed an alternative more extensive scheme and introduced the term employability skills.

The recently revised Employability Skills 2000 + Scheme include:

• Fundamental skills (communicate, manage information, use numbers and think/solve problems).
• Personal management skills (demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviors be responsible, To be adaptable, learn continuously and work safely).
• Teamwork skills (work with others, participate in projects and tasks).
• An orientation to values and attitudes with references to self esteem, integrity and responsibility.

In the United States, the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) Project was the major generic skills scheme of the early 1990s.

• Basic/Foundation skills (literacy, numeracy and communication).
• Higher order thinking skills (adapting to change problem-solving, creativity, decision
• Making and learning how to learn).
• Interpersonal and team skills (communication, co-operation, negotiation/conflict
• Resolution, leadership and dealing with diversity).
• Personal characteristics and attitudes (including politeness, perseverance, goal-setting and positive self-worth).

(b) Local Scenario: Generic skills can be used at many levels as local national) scenario.

• Governmental level
• Regional level
• Sectors level
• Single institution level
• MNCS
• Small/Medium enterprises etc.

LIFE LONG LEARNING (LLL)

It is the process of keeping mind and body engaged at any age by activity pursuing experience and knowledge.

Lifelong learning recognizes that learning is not confined to childhood or the classroom, but takes place throughout life and in a range of situations. Lifelong learning means learning resulting from integration of formal, non-formal and informal learning, so as to create ability for continuous lifelong development of quality of life. Learning is therefore part of life which takes place at all times and in all places. It is a continuous life long process, going on from birth to the end of our life, beginning with learning from families, communities, schools, religious institutions, workplaces, etc.

Learning of the 6 to 24 age group usually takes place in educational institutions, from primary and secondary to tertiary levels. The objective of learning in this period is the holistic development of learners in four aspects, namely: physical, intellectual, social capacity, emotional and mental development. Learning during the working life of the 25 to 60 age group can learn informally through the use of instructional media, mostly from their occupations, workplaces. Colleagues, touring, mass media, information technologies, environment and nature.

Importance of lifelong learning

1. To remain competent for the benefit of your employer.
2. To gain knowledge needed to move into a new area of business.
3. To develop a skill needed for promotion, such as management expertise.
4. To learn a new skill such as a new language.
5. To remain up-to-date with new developments in your area of expertise
6. To keep abreast of new advances in technology,
7. To help to adapt to change.
8. To be enriching life of self fulfillment.
9. To make world a better place.
10. To increase self confidence.

Knowing Self for Self Development

Self-awareness knows what makes you tick. It understands your own needs and desires, knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are, and being able to accurately assess your emotions. People who are self-aware know who they are at their core.

The way in which researchers determine whether babies and animals are self-aware is by putting a red dot on their forehead while they’re asleep or under anesthesia. They then place the animal or baby next to a mirror.  The researchers then wait to see what happens when the subject that they’re studying wakes up and looks in the mirror.

If they touch the dot on their forehead—instead of touching the dot on the face in the mirror—then it’s determined that they’re self-aware. This is because the action of touching the dot on their face suggests that they understand that they’re looking at an image of themselves.

What is Self-Concept?

Self-concept is an overarching idea we have about who we are—physically, emotionally, socially, spiritually, and in terms of any other aspects that make up who we are (Neill, 2005). We form and regulate our self-concept as we grow; based on the knowledge we have about ourselves. It is multidimensional, and can be broken down into these individual aspects.

PERSONALITY

The word ‘personality’ is derived from the Latin word ‘persona’ which means ‘mask’. The study of personality can be understood as the study of ‘masks that people wear. These are the personas that people project and display. “Personality is made up of the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that make a person unique”. In addition to this, personality arises from within the individual and remains fairly consistent throughout life which we collectively call our ‘self. “

Personality is the sum total of our character, emotions, intellect, behavior, capabilities, qualities etc. which includes conception of ourselves and also the estimate of outside people about us”. In total, personality means what we are, what we think and what we do. Our personality is operational in mainly in five dimensions, say physical, energical, mental, intellectual and blissful. Personality psychology is considered the study of individual differences in behavior-how individuals behave differently from one another in various situations.

Some of the fundamental characteristics of personality include:

(a) Consistency: There is generally a recognizable order and regularity to behaviors’. Essentially, people act in the same ways or similar ways in a variety of situations. (

1. b) Psychological and Physiological: Personality is a psychological construct, but research suggests that it is also influenced by biological processes and needs.

(c) Impact Behaviors’ and Actions: Personality does not just influence how we move and respond in our environment; it also causes us to act in certain ways.

(d) Multiple Expressions: Personality is displayed in more than just behavior. It can also be seen in our thoughts, feelings, close relationships and other social interactions.

Traits

A trait is defined as a quality of someone or something that is notable. Generally, the definition in English matches that of biology. This then brings up the question, what is a trait in biology? How does biology define “traits”? The trait definition in biology gives is a specific characteristic that an organism can hold or portray.

Types of Traits

There are many types of traits that an organism can portray. All traits are either genetic traits – which are those based on the genes of an organism – or behavioral traits – which are determined by environmental interaction with genes.

1. Genetic traits

How do genes determine the traits of an organism? The genetic traits are controlled by the genes that one inherits from both parents. Genes define our individual and independent characteristics as encoded by specific segments of our DNA.

These genes code for our genotype, which is the genetic make-up of an organism. Since the genotype determines the phenotype, the phenotypic traits are the physical traits that are displayed by an organism determined by the genetic traits they inherited.

2. Behavioral traits

Behavioral traits are those actions that are observed in organisms throughout their species. This is an observed or environmental trait and is inherited through learning or instinct. However, it must be noted that behavioral traits are a mixture of inherited behaviors based on genetics and learned behaviors from social cues and the immediate environment.

CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE

The word intelligence is derived from the Latin word “intellegere”, which means to understand”. Intelligence is arguably different from being “smart” (able to adapt to one’s environment) or being “clever” (able to creatively adapt). Intelligence (also called intellect) is an term used to describe a property of the mind that may relate many abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to solve problems, to think abstractly, to comprehend ideas, to use language and to learn. There are several ways to define intelligence. Intelligence may include traits such as creativity, personality, character, knowledge or wisdom in 1983, Dr. Howard Gardner developed the theory of multiple intelligence. Dr. Gardner proposes eight different ways to demonstrate intellectual ability.

1. Linguistic Intelligence (“word smart”): The “word smart” people learn best through language including speaking, writing, reading and listening. They use language to express what is on their minds and to understand other people. They are able to explain, convince and express themselves verbally or in writing. They enjoy writing and creating with words. This intelligence is high in writers, lawyers, philosophers, journalists, politicians and teachers.
2. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (“number/reasoning smart”): The “number/reasoning smart” people learn best through numbers, reasoning and problem solving. They are able to create and manipulate visuals and mental pictures from various perspectives. They like to weigh, measure, calculate and organize data. They are good at making an analogy or debating an issue. This area has to do with logic, abstractions, reasoning and numbers.
3. Spatial Intelligence (“picture smart”): The “picture smart” people have the ability to learn best visually and tend to organize their thinking spatially. They like to think and create pictures. They are also drawn to information that is presented in a visual form. These learners tend to think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information.
4. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence: The “body smart” people use their whole body or Parts of their body to solve a problem. They learn best through physical activity such as dance, 15 / Self Management and Development hand-on tasks, construction models and any kind of movement. They are able to manipulate and control objects, as well as express their ideas through movement. This area has to do with movement and doing. People are generally good at physical activities such as sports or dance.
5. Musical Intelligence (“music smart”) : The “music smart” people think in music, hearing patterns, recognizing, remembering and manipulating them. They learn best through sounds including listening and making sounds such as songs, rhythms, patterns and other types of auditory expressions. Those who have a high level of musical-rhythmic intelligence display greater sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, tones and music. They normally have good pitch and may even have absolute pitch and are able to sing, play musical instruments and compose music. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include instrumentalists, singers, conductors, disc-jockeys and composers.
6. Interpersonal Intelligence (“social smart”): The “social smart” people learn best through interaction with other people through discussions, co-operative work or social activities. They can be excellent leaders because they enjoy being part of a group. This area has to do with interaction with others.
7. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“self smart”): The “self smart” people have a good understanding of themselves. Because they know who they are, what they can do and what they want to do, they tend not to screw up. They learn best through getting in touch with their feelings and self motivation. They are able to concentrate and be mindful.
8. Naturalist Intelligence (“nature smart”): The “nature smart” people have sensitivity to other features of the natural world. So, they learn best through the interactions with the environment including outdoor activities, field trips and involvement with plants and animals. They see the subtle meanings and patterns in nature and the world around them.

Managing Self – Physical

Self-management skills allow people to control and regulate their emotions, thoughts and behavior effectively in different situations. Employees with strong self-management skills can set independent goals and do everything possible to achieve them. Such employees know the importance of controlling emotions and behavior at the workplace.

Developing these skills not only helps you speed up your career graph, but they are helpful throughout your life. Here are a few reasons why you should master these skills:

• Make you more organized
• Boost confidence as you know things are in your control
• Increase accountability and responsibility
• Prepare you to face any situation in the workplace
• Help you set goals and priorities things to achieve the best possible results at the workplace

1. Stress management

Stress not only shows in your physical appearance but adversely affects the way you function at your workplace. With stress hampering logical thinking and rational decision-making, it is essential to manage workplace stress proactively. Often, employees under stress are incapable of achieving their goals because they constantly worry about things. This reduces productivity and affects mental health. Coping up with stress helps you self-manage your emotions. For de-stressing,

Follow these simple tactics:

• Surround yourself with high-spirited people
• Practice meditation
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Take power naps in your lunch break

2. Time management

Everyone has the same 24-hours. The way you manage your day-to-day activities decides your ability to meet deadlines. With strong time management skills, you priorities tasks, maintain focus, work in an organized manner and avoid potential distractions. Always remember that your time belongs to you; make the best use of it. For effective time management,

Follow these simple tactics:

• Create and implement a time management plan
• Set time limits for every task
• Create daily work routines and stick to them
• Priorities tasks
• Delegate responsibilities
• Reduce the use of your phone and social media at the workplace
• Use time management tools

3. Organizational skills

Organizational skills help create a structure, boost productivity and help priorities tasks requiring immediate completion against those you can postpone. Maintaining organizational skills at the workplace ensures you do not develop poor work habits like clutter, inefficiency and miscommunication. From planning a project to keeping your workstation free from piles of documents, organizational skills help you achieve workplace responsibilities. For exceptional organizational skills,

Follow these simple tactics:

• Create a to-do-list
• Set up calendar reminders for deadlines
• Set a routine and stick to it
• Ensure your computer and workstation are free from clutter
• Plan your time

4. Self-motivation

Self-motivation is the ability to encourage yourself to achieve a goal, even when it feels challenging. Once you achieve the goal, it gives a sense of satisfaction and pride. It helps to develop the determination to complete various tasks and achieve goals in the workplace. External factors do not affect self-motivated employees as they are driven by their desire to excel. Self-motivation at the workplace results in promotions, builds trusting relationships with colleagues and increases chances of working on projects of your choice. To self-motivate yourself,

Follow these simple tactics:

• Set goals and build a plan
• Develop a reward system for yourself
• Challenge yourself to learn new things
• Think positively
• Surround yourself with motivated and high-spirited people
• Come out of your comfort zone

5. Accountability

Accountability is about employees taking ownership of their thoughts, actions and behavior. Mastering this skill ensures you do not blame others for mistakes you commit in your work. It empowers you to trust yourself. Accountability in the workplace is about building trust and staying committed to doing the right things to achieve a common business goal. Employees with this skill set are more committed to their work, are high on morale and deliver exceptional results.

6. Adaptability

Adaptability means learning new skills, policies, procedures and behaviors in response to changing work environments. The more you can adapt to changing circumstances, the better employee you will be. Adaptability also drives productivity and showcases your ability to be resourceful. Adaptable employees are flexible and effectively respond to their work conditions even when things do not go as planned. Moreover, adaptability is a critical leadership skill and mastering it would make you better equipped to face challenges.

Self-management skills at the workplace

Here are a few self-management skills at the workplace that allow you to strive for your goals and build a healthy work environment:

• Be punctual and prepare for your meetings in advance. Every time you have a meeting coming up, ensure to prepare a day or two in advance. This ensures you understand the purpose of the meeting and you know why you are attending it. Collect information, write notes and pen down questions you want to ask in the meeting.
• Have a schedule for each day. Maintain a calendar detailing information on your schedule, meetings and deadlines. Furthermore, map out your tasks and priorities based on the time left for completion. At the end of each day, assess what you need to complete the following day. Having a schedule for each day lets you efficiently manage your time, ensuring you do not miss deadlines.
• Set project-specific goals. Setting your workplace goals helps you manage your time and ensure that the project completes on time. When creating your own goals, follow the SMART goal method. This means your goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.
• Assess projects early. Ask questions before working on a project or task. It serves two purposes. First, it ensures you understand the project requirements. Second, you complete the task accurately on time.
• Have control over your emotions. When discussing projects with colleagues and managers, control your emotions and avoid giving hurtful responses. Share your thoughts productively and professionally.

Personal Grooming

Personal Grooming is essential to enhance our overall image. It helps us to feel confident, look sharp and establish a lasting first impression. Here is an informative list of various types of personal grooming routines along with personal grooming tips and benefits.

These five different types of personal grooming help us understand why personal grooming is important for everyone:

1. Personal Hygiene

2. Dental Care

3. Skin Care

4. Hair Care

5. Nail Care

Personal Hygiene

• Here are 10 tips to practice optimum personal hygiene:

1. Wash your hands frequently with clean water and apply soap.
2. Taking bath washes away dead skin cells and dirt.
3. Make sure you are brushing your teeth twice a day.
4. Floss your teeth once a day for optimal oral hygiene.
5. Cleaning your tongue once or twice a day may help you reduce bad breath.
6. Cleaning and trimming your nails reduces your chances of contracting an infection.
7. Wear always clean clothes, dirty clothes can lead to skin irritations.
8. Cover your mouth with a face mask; this is critical during Covid-19.
9. A good night’s sleep is essential for good health.
10. Visit the doctor for regular health check-ups before it becomes a problem.

Dental Care

In order to have healthy teeth and fresh breath, here are some personal grooming tips to help you achieve and maintain good oral hygiene:

1. Consume nutritious foods and avoid sugary snacks.
2. Tobacco products should be avoided.
3. After meals, rinse your mouth with water or chew sugarless gum.
4. Brush your teeth at least twice a day, preferably after each meal.
5. If you have a habit of grinding your teeth while sleeping, consider wearing a night guard.

Skin Care

Here is a basic recommended skin-care routine:

1. Wash face twice a day morning and night, follow up with a full-face gentle cleanse.
2. Apply toner after cleansing your face and before applying any other products.
3. Apply serum. Morning is an excellent time to apply an antioxidant serum, such as a brightening vitamin C serum.
4. Apply eye cream because eye creams are thinner than face moisturizers.
5. Spot treatment, it’s best to use acne spot treatments at night, when your body is resting and repairing itself.
6. Apply moisturize, lightweight lotion for the morning, ideally with SPF 30 or higher. In the evening, you can use a thicker night cream.
7. Apply Retinoid, Can be used to reduce dark spots, breakouts, and fine lines.
8. Apply sunscreen the most important aspect of any skin-care regimen is sun protection. Skin cancer and signs of ageing can be avoided by protecting your skin from UV rays.

 Hair Care

Following hair care routines provide numerous benefits:

1. Prevents hair loss– If you use natural products you are more likely to experience less hair loss. Moving on, it is critical to strengthen your hair from the roots up. It is possible if you take good care of your hair by oiling, shampooing, and conditioning it on a regular basis.
2. Increases hair volume– Hair volume is defined not only by the number of hair strands but also by the thickness of a hair strand. Thick hair is always appealing and impressive.
3. Boosts hair volume– Good hair care routine will help you get pleasant-looking hair from the outside and make them healthy from the inside.
4. Provides shine– The finest of hair creams and hair serums can help in putting on that shine on your hair, proper hair-maintenance can give way to frizz-free hair.
5. No dandruff-related problems– If you look after your hair and provide them with adequate moisture, then, you can easily get rid of dandruff-related issues.

Nail Care

There are two ways to care for your nails:

1. Manicure is a treatment for the hands and fingernails that includes nail trimming and polishing as well as cuticle removal. It has various advantages, including the prevention of infections, the promotion of healthy blood circulation, and the ability to make your hands and feet appear younger.
2. Pedicure is a therapeutic treatment for the feet that removes dead skin, softens hard skin, shapes and treats toenails, and so on. Pedicures not only keep feet looking nice, but they also keep nails trimmed, calluses under control, and skin moisturized. A foot massage also aids in the relief of tension and the stimulation of circulation.

Health

Health is a dynamic process because it is always changing. We all have times of good health, times of sickness and may be even times of serious illness. As our lifestyles change, so does our level of health. Those who participate in regular physical activities, do so partly to improve the current and future level of our health. As our lifestyle improves, our health also improves and we experience less disease and sickness. Physical health is only one aspect of our overall health.

The other components of health (Greenberg. 2004) that are just as important as physical health include the following:

1. Social health: The ability to interact well with people and the environment and to have satisfying personal relationships.
2. Mental health: The ability to learn and grow intellectually. Life experiences as well as more formal structures (e.g., school) enhance mental health.
3. Emotional health: The ability to control emotions, so that you feel comfortable in expressing them and can express them appropriately,
4. Spiritual health: A belief in some unifying force. It varies from person to person but has the concept of faith at its core.

Hygiene

Hygiene is a set of practices performed for the preservation of health. Keeping a good standard of hygiene helps to prevent the development and spread of infections, illnesses and bad xours. While, in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between different cultures. Genders and etarian groups.

Different types of Hygiene’s

1. Medical hygiene
2. Home and everyday life hygiene

(i) Hand hygiene

(i) Respiratory hygiene

(iii) Food hygiene at home

(iv) Household water treatment and safe storage

(v) Hygiene in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet

(vi) Laundry hygiene

(vii) Medical hygiene at home

(viii) Home hygiene in low-income communities

(ix) Disinfectants and antibacterial in home hygiene

3. Personal hygiene

4. Culinary (food) hygiene

5. Personal service hygiene.

Importance of Hygiene

1. Keeping a good standard of hygiene helps to prevent the development and spread of infections, illnesses and bad odors.
2. Keeping body clean is vital in combating and preventing illness – both for yourself and for those around you.
3. Flossing and brushing teeth can reduce the likelihood of oral and other diseases
4. Good hand hygiene will reduce the risk of things like flu, food poisoning and healthcare associated infections being passed from person to person.

Teaching the correct principles of hygiene should begin at an early age as possible. It will help to prevent the spreading of infections and diseases that can damage the digestive tract respiratory tract and the external features of the body.

Time Management

We all have heard the saying “time is money” and that phrase is essentially true. Unfortunately, time doesn’t always equal money. Time is continually passing but that doesn’t mean you are continually making money, this depends on how you manage your time and what you do with it.

Time management is a broad subject taking control over many different areas, from our day to day actions to our long term goals

Time management refers to increase in productivity, effectiveness and efficiency.

Time management is a set of skills and use tools and techniques to aid you when accomplishing tasks, projects or are working towards goals and deadlines,

Time management is about effective scheduling of time, goal setting, prioritizing and choosing what to do and what not to do, delegating tasks, analyzing and reviewing spent time. Organizing workspace, keeping concentration and focus at work, motivating self to work towards a goal

Importance of Time Management

Time management is not optional. It is something that everyone who wants to work virtually, practices time management to some degree: the question is how well they do it and how it affects what they do. Time management must be seen as synonymous with self management: it demands discipline, but discipline is reinforced by habit. Here are eight reasons, which explains

Why time management is important

1. Time is limited. Everyone gets the same amount of time each day and it’s limited, therefore, it’s important to manage the most of the time effectively, if someone wants to be more than average at the workplace.

2. Accomplish more with less effort. By taking control of time, one can able to stay focused on the task at hand. This leads to higher efficiency.

3. Make better decisions. There are many choices in life and often times we are faced with many choices to choose from at the same time. When practicing good time management, we have more time to breathe: this allows determining which choices are the best to make. When we feel pressed for time and have to make a decision, we are more likely to jump to conclusions and not fully consider the different options: this leads to poor decision making.

4. be more successful. Time management is the key to success; it allows taking control of life rather than following the flow of others. One can accomplish more, make better decisions and work more efficiently: this leads to a more successful life.

5. Learn more. When one can control time and work more efficiently, he will be able to learn more and increase his experience faster. This the reason why some students graduate earlier than others

6. Reduce stress. One of the main causes of stress is due to people feeling rushed.

7. Higher quality work. We all need some free time to relax and unwind but, unfortunate many of us do not get much free time because we are too busy trying to keep up with our activities and work load. By implementing time management skills, we are able to get done in a shorter period of time leading to more free time.

8. Creates discipline. Time management leads to higher productivity and leads to a disciplined life.

Time itself cannot be managed. It is constant and it always goes forward, never backwards. Everyone has the same amount of time in a day. Therefore, if you are managing time, you are not trying to manipulate time; you are trying to make the best use of your time.

Intellectual development

Intellectual is defined as the ability to think, question and evaluate to acquire knowledge; to process and use information; to be creative and open to new ideas. These enable one to learn from life experience, make judgment, solve problem and cope with difficulties.

Reading Skills

Reading is a tool of learning. It is the one of the most important skills. It makes a relation between writer and leader. “The way of increasing the knowledge base is called leading”. “Reading is also a means of communication and of sharing information and ideas”.

Readers use variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (to translate symbols into sounds or visual representation of language) and comprehension.

1. Systematic Reading: The systematic reading method is completed in the following steps:

(a) Survey (Simple View): This is not actually the reading of whole chapter. It involves reading only the chapter title, sub-titles, italicized terms, boldface type and introductory or summary sections.

(b) Question: Go to the first major heading. Anticipate what will be in that section. Using the interrogatives who, what, where, when and why, turn heading into a question. Then, write the question down.

(c) Read: Read the chapter section by section for the purpose of answering the question.

There are different types of reading skills.

(i) Skimming: Reading rapidly for the main points.

(ii) Scanning: Reading rapidly to find a specific piece of information.

(iii) Extensive Reading: Reading a longer text, often for pleasure with emphasis on meaning

(iv) Intensive Reading: Reading a short text for detailed information

(d) Record: In the reader’s own words and without looking at the text, write down very short cue phrases. Think about the meaning, making certain what you write is noteworthy. Use key words, key phrases or numbering systems for parts of your answer.

(e) Recite: Cover your answer and recite it from memory. (Repeat: Repeat steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 for each section in the entire chapter.

(f) Review: Recite all answers from memory. If you can’t recite all of the answers from memory, keep studying until you can. Then, go to question number two.

2. Skimming: Skimming is a method used to quickly gather the most important information or gist. An individual that is skimming is not actually leading the material very carefully. It is just searching for the main idea of each paragraph. It is not essential to understand each word, when skimming.

Examples of skimming:

(a) The newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day).

(b) Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more detail).

(c) Business and travel brochures (quickly to get information).

3. Scanning: Scanning is a method used to find a particular piece of information. Scanning is not reading the material; it is just searching the material for particular information quickly. Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans etc. in order to find the specific details that are required.

Examples of scanning:

(a) “What’s on TV” section of the newspaper.

(b) Train Airplane schedule.

(c) A conference guide.

4. Extensive Reading: Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books. Use extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business procedures.

Examples of extensive reading:

(a) The latest marketing strategy book.

(b) A novel you read before going to bed.

(c) Magazine articles that interest you.

5. Intensive Reading: Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract specific information. It includes very close and accurate reading for details. Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of a specific situation. In this case, it is important that you understand each word, number or fact.

Examples of intensive reading:

(a) A book-keeping report.

(b) An insurance claim.

(c) A contract

Speaking Skills

Tarigan (1990) defines that speaking is a language skill that is developed in the life, which is produced by listening skill and at that period speaking skill is learned. It has an important role in communication. In carrying out speaking, students face some difficulties one of them is about language itself. Infact, most of the students get difficulties to speak, even though they have a lot of vocabularies and have written them well. The problems are afraid for students to make mistakes. Speaking is the productive skill. It could not be separated from listening. When we speak we produce the text and it should be meaningful.

The Importance of Speaking Skills

A person who communicates well and has good speaking skills does not necessarily use big words and elaborate jargon. In fact those things can serve to turn a listener off. They feel inadequate and frustrated if someone is using fancy language.

1.Communicating, to whatever size of audience, requires the speaker to encourage people to listen, engage, take on board what is being said and process that information with a view to do something with it. People will only listen if they feel that the speaker is talking to them, interested in them, is speaking their language. Using the type of language they feel comfortable with, is the key.

2. Giving something away is important. Giving them insights, an advantage, information is an important part of speaking skills. Establishing what the audience wants to hear is crucial.

3. Encouraging people to communicate back is equally important. Good speaking skills are about encouraging people to share, to give information that will enable the relationship to progress. If only one person speaks it is a one-way exchange. In a smaller environment it is Oiten important to have feedback so that the conversation progresses in a satisfactory manner.

4. Humor is a good tool in speaking skills. It keeps the situation light and helps everyone relax a little. Also, not being too perfect in delivery can be a skill. If someone seems very polished and smooth he seems to be removed from audience. But if he seems to be unpolished he can be regarded as unprofessional and disrespectful. Getting the balance right is a skill in itself.

5. The use of inclusive language is important. Talking about ‘us’ and giving instructions and directives demonstrates respect and teamwork.

6. Demonstrating interest in the listener is key. A good salesperson will talk to customer first to establish what he is looking for. Building a connection with custom relationship to be established to offer alternatives, discuss requirements in more data begin to trust each other.

Speaking skills are important whether it be communicating one on one or to a larger audience. Building rapport, a connection with the audience allows them to feel part of the relationship, valued and considered. When that occurs they engage and respond, it allows positive two-way communication to begin to develop.

Listening Skills

People probably spend more time in listening than any other kind of skill. Like other skills, listening takes practice. Listening is so important that many top employers provide listening skills training to their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to better customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, increased sharing of information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work. Many successful leaders and entrepreneurs credit their success to effective listening skills.

What does listening means?

Real listening is an active process that has three basic steps:

(a) Hearing

(b) Understanding

(c) Judging.

Tips for being a Good Listener

(a) Give your full attention on the person who is speaking. Don’t look out and in the room.

(b) Make sure listeners mind is focus too

PSYCHOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT

Stress

Although stress has been defined in many ways, a common ground of most definitions is that stress is caused by a stimulus, that the stimulus can be either physical or psychological and that individual respond to the stimulus in some way. Here, then we define stress as a person’s adaptive response to a stimulus that places excessive psychological or physical demands on that person. That is, a stressor is anything that induces stress. Some of us can tolerate a great deal of stress, while others can handle much less, but everyone has a basic threshold at which stress starts to affect us. The first stage is called alarm. At this point, the person may feel some degree of panic. For example, suppose a manager is assigned a lengthy report to write overnight. His first reaction may be, “How will I ever get this done by tomorrow?” If the stressor is too extreme, the person may simply be unable to cope with it at first. In most cases, however, the individual gathers his or her strength (physical or emotional) and resists the negative effects of the stressor.

According to Cooper

“Everything that deprives the person of purpose and zest, that leaves him with negative feelings about himself, with anxieties, tensions, a sense of lostness, emptiness and futility.”

Types of stresses

Stress is highly individualistic in nature. It varies from person to person. Some people have high tolerance for stress and some people have low tolerance of stress and it creates problem if there routine was interfered with undesirable factors. Stress can be broadly divided into two types:

(a) Positive stress (Eustress)

(b) Negative stress (Distress).

(a) Positive Stress (Eustress) : Receiving a bonus and then having to decide what to do with the money can be stressful. So, too can getting a promotion, gaining recognition, getting married and similar “good” things. This type of stress is called Eustress.

(b) Negative Stress (Distress) : There is also a negative stress, called distress, this is what most people think of when they hear the word stress. Excessive pressure, unreasonable demands on our time, bad news, so on and so forth, all fall into this category.

Stressor can be either positive or negative. It can motivate and stimulate us or it can lead to any number of dangerous side effects.

Symptoms of Stress

The symptoms of stress are many and varied, such as:

(i)Irritability(ii) Headaches(ii) Illness (particularly at weekends or during holidays)(iv) Insomnia(v) Tiredness/lethargy(vi) And many more….

Sometimes, you can be experiencing stress but without any effect on mind and body. In such cases the symptoms might be more subtle and therefore, difficult to recognise, such as:

• Working endlessly without tiring
• Little feeling or emotion (except the occasional outburst of anger)
• Increased use of alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes or other drugs (which may suppress feelings of stress)

(iv) Behavior that is out of character

(v) An inability to relax.

If you are under a lot of stress for a prolonged period of time, but do not feel stressed, eventually it may catch up with you and cause more serious symptoms, such as:

• Stomach ulcers
• Heart problems
• Minor illness (allergies, skin disorders, migraine)
• Serious illness (e.g., arthritis, cancer, diabetes)
• Mental problems (e.g., depression).

Emotions

The word “Emotion” is derived from the Latin word “Emovere”. Where, e-means ‘out’ and movere means ‘move’.

An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts and behavior, our emotions control how we feel, our behaviours, thoughts and affects our bodies. Emotions are the feelings that are experienced from the interpretation.

Types of Emotions Researchers on emotions mostly agree on the existence of two types of human emotions:

1. Primary emotions
2. Secondary emotions.

Primary human emotion is the one triggered in response to an event, for example, anger.

Secondary human emotions are the group of emotions that follow that type of emotion. If we experience fear, the secondary emotions would be : feel threatened or feel anger, depending on the situation we are experiencing.

William James for example considers primary human emotions types such as love, fear, grief and rage.

List of Human Emotions List of negative human emotions:

1. Fear
2. Anger
3. Guilt
4. Depression
5. Pride
6. Jealousy
7. Self-pity
8. Anxiety
9. Resentment
10. Envy
11. Frustration
12. Shame
13. Denial
14. Offended
15. Negative
16. Regret
17. Resentful
18. Sad
19. Worried
20. Grief.

List of positive human emotions:

1. Love
2. Appreciation
3. Happiness
4. hope
5. Enthusiasm
6. Vitality
7. Confidence
8. Gratitude
9. Patient
10. Trust

Techniques to Manage Emotions The following techniques were used to manage emotions:

(a) Use Humor: You have heard that humor is the best medicine. You have undoubtedly experienced humor’s decent effects on such negative emotions as anger, depression, sadness and anxiety. There’s actually a scientific explanation for this phenomenon. Laughter, a byproduct of humor, stimulates the release of protein substances called endorphins. As the level of endorphins in the brain increases, the perception of pain whether physical or emotional decreases. Essentially, laughter causes the body to produce its own pain killer.

(b) Redirect Your Emotional Energy: As you experience an intense emotional, energy is being expanded. You tend to tense muscles and move your body more. Your circulatory and respiratory systems work much faster. Your mind goes at a quicker pace, with those automatic thoughts.

(c) Take Time Out: In the same way that relaxation techniques can calm down your excitement level, taking a break from an emotionally difficult situation can slow down your emotional responses. Sometimes the time out can be almost momentary: You take three deep breaths before responding to your angry boss. A brief time-out gives you the moment you need to keep yourself from saying something you might regret. Deep breaths are the first form of time-out you should practice

In order to create the healthy, happy and harmonious reality we all desire, we will need to create emotional harmony.

Anxiety

Anxiety is usually generated by an unconscious response to the ‘misuse of the imagination. Basically, the ‘back part of the mind is getting the message from the imagination that something bad is going to happen and so creates a state of readiness in the mind and body, anxiety. This can partly be due to experiences in the past, lack of an ability to tolerate uncertainty. And this is how this anxiety session works. Anxiety consists of two components: worry and emotionality. Emotionality refers to physiological symptoms such as sweating, increased heart beat and raised blood pressure. Worry refers to negative self-talk that often distracts the mind from focusing on solutions to the problem at hand. For example, when students become anxious during a test, they may repeatedly tell themselves they are going to fail or they cannot remember the material or that their teacher will become angry with them if they perform poorly. This thinking interferes with focusing on the test as the speech areas of the brain that are needed to complete test questions are being used for worrying.

Anxiety is a physiological and psychological state characterized by cognitive, somatic, emotional and behavioral components. These components combine to create an uncomfortable feeling that is typically associated with uneasiness, apprehension or worry. It is a generalized mood state that occurs without an identifiable triggering stimulus. It is a normal reaction to stress. It may help a person to overcome a difficult situation, for example at work or at school. by prompting one to cope with it. But when anxiety is excessive it becomes a disorder. it falls under the classification of an anxiety disorder.

People who suffer from anxiety disorder are always expecting the worst and can’t stop worrying about health, money, family, work, problems or daily issues. Anxiety often concerns the factors of time and results. Anxiety problems affects the way a person think because of the way they view their problems. People with anxiety problems suffer irritability. Tension and sleeping problems. They can also be paralyzed because they are constantly worrying and can’t think clearly.

It is normal to feel anxiety in unfamiliar or challenging situations. The gift of anxiety is to make a person alert and focused to face problems but when this emotion is so strong that it interferes the performance, it becomes a negative emotion that is no longer serving anybody

Managing in Team

According to Katzenbach and Smith, a team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they are mutually accountable.

According to Kyle Lewis-McClear, a group in which members work together intensively to achieve a common group goal.

Teams are created for both long term and short term interactions. A product development team, an executive leadership team and a departmental team are long lasting planning and operational groups. Short term teams might include a team to develop an employee on boarding process, a team to plan the annual company party or a team to respond to a specific customer problem or complaint.

Three common types of teams include functional or departmental, cross-functional and self managing teams.

(a) Functional or departmental teams: Groups of people from the same work area or

Department who meet on a regular basis to analyze customer needs, solve problems,

Provide members with support promote continuous improvement and share information.

(b) Cross-functional teams: Groups of people who are pulled together from across

Departments or job functions to deal with a specific product, issue, customer, problem

Or to improve a particular process.

(c) Self-managing teams: Groups of people who gradually assume responsibility for

Self-direction in all aspects of work.

Characteristics of Effective Teams:

• There is a clear unity of purpose.
• The group is self-conscious about its own operations.
• The group has set clear and demanding performance goals.
• The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable and relaxed.
• There is a lot of discussion in which virtually everyone participates.
• People are free in expressing their feelings as well as their ideas.

Team dynamics

Team dynamics are the unseen forces that operate in a team between different people or groups. Team dynamics can strongly influence how a team reacts, behaves or performs. Suppose in a small team of six people working in one office there are two people who have a particularly strong friendship. This friendship is a “natural force” that may have an influence on the rest of the team and can be manifest in various ways, either positively or negatively Sometimes, an “absence of a natural force can also be a team dynamic. For example, if the leader or manager is permanently removed from the office, the group may be drawn into change of behavior.

Functions of a Team

The various functions of a team are as given below:

(a) Planning (annual, monthly, adhoc, ASAP).

(b) Resourcing (planning, analyzing, training etc.), limited human resources.

(c) Decision-making, deadlines.

(d) Leading

(e) Motivating, supporting.

(f) Solving problems and conflicts.

Benefits of Teams

(a) Productivity increases.

(b) Quality improvements,

(c) Cost reductions.

(d) Earlier commercialization

 (e) Improved supplier relationships.

(f) Enhanced customer satisfaction.

(g) Changed management systems.

(h) Cultural enhancements.

(i) Employee satisfaction.

(j) Creativity and innovation.

(k) Strategic initiatives.

(l) Stakeholder image.

(m) After-sales service improvements.

(n) Development of management potential.

(0) Development of leadership potential.

(p) Reduction of parochialism and provincialism.

 (q) Improved product, service and process development.

(r) Greater use of knowledge, skills and attitudes.

(s) Organizational design changes.

(t) Profitability increases.

 (u) Ability of teams to make and execute managerial decisions.

Team Related Skills

Various team related skills are as the following:

(a) Sympathy

(b) Empathy

(c) Co-operation

(d) Leadership

(e) Negotiation

(e) Synergy

(a) Sympathy: The simple meaning of sympathy is “the relation of brotherhood derived from the Greek word “Sympatheia”. Syn-together + Pathos – feeling.

Sympathy means to share the same feeling as another. Apathy is the absence of feeline one cannot relate to or care about the suffering of another person. To illustrate, if there is man drowning in a pond and an apathetic man happens to pass by, he would simply notice and then continue on his way. A sympathetic person would immediately feel as panicked and desperate as the victim and rush in to save him, probably drowning along with him.

(b) Empathy : The ability to co-experience and relate to the thoughts, emotions or experience of another without them being communicated directly by the individual. Empathy is the ability to imagine being in another person’s situation and therefore understand his/her feelings. This way of relating allows one to know the essence of suffering without taking it on as one’s own. Empathy can be employed as a communication skill. A lack of empathy involves a poor sense of communication that fails to understand. To illustrate, if there is a man drowning in a pond and an apathetic man happens to pass by, he would simply notice and then continue on his way. A sympathetic person would immediately feel as panicked and desperate as the victim and rush in to save him, probably drowning along with him. An empathetic passerby would neither ignore the man nor lose his own footing, but instead would come close enough to hand something (a rope, stick, etc.) to the man and together with the man’s efforts, return to dry land. In the last scenario, there is just the right amount of distance between the two people, so that they can talk.

They are separated but connected to one another through a tool.

(c) Co-operation: Co-operation is the process of working or acting together, which can be accomplished by both intentional and non-intentional agents. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side. People from families, gangs, cities and nations are the examples of co-operation.

(d) Leadership: It is the ability to motivate a group of people towards a common objective. It is a critical management skill and will help to develop skills as a leader.

(e) Negotiation: The dictionary meaning of negotiation is “bringing something about by discussion”.

According to Neals and Bazerman, “Negotiation is a decision making process among interdependent parties, who do not share identical preference. It is through negotiation that the parties decide what each will give and take in this relationship.”

Negotiation is a method by which people settle differences. It is a process by which compromise or agreement is reached, while avoiding argument.

It involves three basic elements – process, behaviour and substance.

Synergy: The term synergy comes from the Greek word synergia from synergos aning “working together”. It is the interaction of multiple elements in a system to produce effect different from or greater than the sum of individual effects.

Cooperation

Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English) is the process of groups of organisms working or acting together for common, mutual, or some underlying benefit, as opposed to working in competition for selfish benefit.[1] Many animal and plant species cooperate both with other members of their own species and with members of other species (symbiosis or mutualism)

Work well with people from culturally diverse background here are our top ten tips for effective cross-cultural communication:

1. Maintain etiquette. Many cultures have specific etiquette around the way they communicate. …
2. Avoid slang.
3. Speak slowly.
4. Keep it simple.
5. Practice active listening.
6. Take turns to talk.
7. Write things down.
8. Avoid closed questions.

Task Management

Task management is the process of monitoring your project’s tasks through their various stages from start to finish. This involves actively making decisions for your tasks to accommodate changes that can occur real-time, with your end goal being the successful completion of your tasks

Task Initiation

• Task initiation involves a child’s ability to initiate and independently start a task. It can include various skills, including independently generating ideas, solving problems, and responding to instructions without needing others’ support.
• Along with time management and planning, task initiation is considered one of the core executive functioning skills and can be problematic for many children with ASD and attention-related diagnoses.
• Teens and young adults with task initiation issues might:
• Need many reminders from adults to start a task.
• Delay chores and homework until they need to rush to finish on time.
• Frequently ask for help, even with simple tasks.
• Engage in problem behavior to escape or avoid tasks.

Planning

Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is considered to have been a prime mover in human evolution.

Execution

The execution of a plan is when you put it into effect, like the execution on the field of a football team’s game plan. It can also mean the style in which a project is carried out, like a ballet’s creative execution. Execution can also refer to the death of a person, either a prisoner who’s been sentenced to death by a court of law, or a deliberate, targeted murder, especially when it’s done for political reasons.

Closeout

Project closeout is the successful completion of a project and the final transfer of assets to the client. It includes heavy oversight to ensure the project is ready, like checking specifications, collecting documents and closing out existing contracts for equipment rentals or subcontractors. The practice of project close-out finalizes all project activities completed across all phases of the project to formally close the project and transfer the completed or cancelled project as appropriate. Closeout is important because it contributes to an effortless financial process that enables you to provide final payments to your team and resources. Additionally, when your project is ending, another is likely to begin, so it is crucial to ensure everybody involved has a good transition process

Exercises/case studies on task planning towards development of skills for task management

(a) Project Initiation: An idea for a project will be carefully examined to determine

Whether or not it benefits the organization. During this phase, a decision making team will identify if the project can realistically be completed.

(b) Project Planning: A project plan, project charter and/or project scope may be put in writing, outlining the work to be performed. During this phase, a team should prioritize the project, calculate a budget and schedule and determine what resources are needed.

(c) Project Execution: Resources’ tasks are distributed and teams are informed of responsibilities. This is a good time to bring up important project related information.

(d) Project Performance and Control: Project managers will compare project status and progress to the actual plan, as resources perform the scheduled work. During this phase, project managers may need to adjust schedules or do what is necessary to keep the project on track.

(e) Project Close: After project tasks are completed and the client has approved outcome, an evaluation is necessary to highlight project success and/or lean project history.

Projects and project management processes vary from industry to industry; no these are more traditional elements of a project.

Problem Solving

We all spend a lot of our time solving problems, both at work and in our personal lives. Some problems are small, and we can quickly sort them out ourselves. But others are complex challenges that take collaboration, creativity, and a considerable amount of effort to solve.

At work, the types of problems we face depend largely on the organizations we’re in and the jobs we do. A manager in a cleaning company, for example, might spend their day untangling staffing issues, resolving client complaints, and sorting out problems with equipment and supplies. An aircraft designer, on the other hand, might be grappling with a problem about aerodynamics, or trying to work out why a new safety feature isn’t working. Meanwhile, a politician might be exploring solutions to racial injustice or climate change. But whatever issues we face, there are some common ways to tackle them effectively. And we can all boost our confidence and ability to succeed by building a strong set of problem-solving skills.

Prerequisites of problem solving

• In order to be effective at problem solving you are likely to need some other key skills, which include:
• Creativity. Problems are usually solved either intuitively or systematically. Intuition is used when no new knowledge is needed – you know enough to be able to make a quick decision and solve the problem, or you use common sense or experience to solve the problem. More complex problems or problems that you have not experienced before will likely require a more systematic and logical approach to solve, and for these you will need to use creative thinking. See our page on Creative Thinking for more information.
• Researching Skills. Defining and solving problems often requires you to do some research: this may be a simple Google search or a more rigorous research project. See our Research Methods section for ideas on how to conduct effective research.
• Team Working. Many problems are best defined and solved with the input of other people. Team working may sound like a ‘work thing’ but it is just as important at home and school as well as in the workplace. See our Team-Working page for more.
• Emotional Intelligence. It is worth considering the impact that a problem and/or its solution have on you and other people. Emotional intelligence, the ability to recognize the emotions of yourself and others, will help guide you to an appropriate solution. See our Emotional Intelligence pages for more.
• Risk Management. Solving a problem involves a certain amount of risk – this risk needs to be weighed up against not solving the problem. You may find our Risk Management page useful.
• Decision Making. Problem solving and decision making are closely related skills, and making a decision is an important part of the problem solving process as you will often be faced with various options and alternatives. See Decision Making for more.

5-steps to Problem Solving

1. Define the problem.
2. Gather information.
3. Generate possible solutions.
4. Evaluate ideas and then choose one.
5. Evaluate.

What are problem solving skills?

• Identify and define the problem.
• Come up with possible solutions.
• Evaluate the options.
• Choose the best solution.
• Implement the solution.
• Evaluate the outcome.

What is the ability of problem-solving?

When employers talk about problem-solving skills, they are often referring to the ability to handle difficult or unexpected situations in the workplace as well as complex business challenges. Organizations rely on people who can assess both kinds of situations and calmly identify solutions.

Different approaches for problem solving.

A problem-solving approach is a technique people use to better understand the problems they face and to develop optimal solutions. They empower people to devise more innovative solutions by helping them overcome old or binary ways of thinking.

• Problem-solving approaches help people to resolve any problem efficiently and systematically, making them essential for productive employees. Employees who utilize problem-solving approaches are more likely to devise creative solutions that address the root of the problem, so that they can perform previously tricky tasks with greater ease in the future. Employees can then use the time they’ve saved to accomplish more during the workday.
• To ensure their businesses run smoothly, executives make decisions regarding higher-order problems and sometimes provide guidance to employees encountering problems in fulfilling their own responsibilities. Similarly, entrepreneurs must be able to troubleshoot problems with new products, services and business strategies to achieve or increase profitability.

Twelve approaches to problem-solving

Rational

One of the most common problem-solving approaches, the rational approach is a multi-step process that works well for a wide range of problems. Many other problem-solving techniques mirror or build off of its seven steps, so it may be helpful to begin with the rational approach before moving on to other techniques.

Here are the seven steps of the rational approach:

1. Define the problem.
2. Identify possible causes.
3. Brainstorm options to solve the problem.
4. Select an option.
5. Create an implementation plan.
6. Execute the plan and monitor the results.
7. Evaluate the solution.

• Collaborative

This approach involves including multiple people in the problem-solving process. Brainstorming should include a diverse group of stakeholders: people who are affected by the problem and/or may be affected by any changes made in an attempt to solve it. Seek continuous feedback from these stakeholders as you monitor the implementation of your solution to make sure it works well for everyone.

• Creative

The creative approach mirrors the rational approach but places greater emphasis on the brainstorming phase. People using the creative approach utilize ideation techniques such as mind mapping, storyboards and analogies.

• Historical

The historical approach is helpful when the problem you’re facing has precedent within your field or industry. Researching how others have solved the problem can guide you as you develop your own solution.

• The Simplex Process

The Simplex Process is an eight-step approach similar to the rational approach, but tailored for situations in which you are unsure of what the problem actually is. It begins with problem-finding and research, where users collect the information necessary for defining the problem. Users then move through idea-finding, evaluation and selection and planning. They then encourage their peers and stakeholders to take active roles in implementing their plan, to soften any resistance to change. Finally, users execute their plan and monitor the results.

• Issue-Based

A five-step approach often employed in consulting firms, the issue-based approach is useful when helping another person solve a problem they’re facing. The user first creates a proposal that defines the problem and inventories the client’s expectations. Next, the user diagrams the smaller issues that comprise the problem, then uses this diagram to help them design a solution. The user then conducts extensive research and synthesizes their data into a revised solution. Finally, they present their materials to the client and demonstrate why their solution is effective.

• SCAMPER

SCAMPER is an acronym for substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to another use, eliminate and reverse—terms that represent options for improving a problematic product or service:

1. Substitute: Consider substituting elements of the product or service for something else.
2. Combine: Ask yourself whether you could improve it by combining it with another product or service.
3. Adapt: Consider whether the product or service would be more effective if you adapted it to another target audience.
4. Modify: Ask yourself which features it might be beneficial to modify.
5. Put to another use: Determine whether your product or service would be more effective if put to another use.
6. Eliminate: Identify any unnecessary features you might eliminate to improve the product or service.
7. Reverse: Imagine what would happen if you reconfigured the product or reversed the process of producing it.

• Organic

The organic approach provides an alternative perspective on the nature of problems. It assumes many problems are too intricate to fix by following a set of linear, generic steps. Instead, the organic approach calls for users to identify their visions and values, as well as identify actions they can take to realize them. In this way, the organic approach places importance on the problem-solving process rather than its results.

• Hybrid

This approach involves combining two or more of the previous problem-solving approaches. Doing so prompts you to examine the problem from multiple angles, helping you to arrive at the most effective solution possible.

• Tips for better problem-solving

In addition to the approaches listed above, here are some quick tips for better problem-solving:

• Take your time

When faced with a stressful problem, many people reflexively scramble to solve it as quickly as possible. However, developing a lasting solution usually takes deliberate research and planning. Unless a problem is urgent, you can usually take the time necessary to develop a strong solution and still meet your deadlines.

• Develop your personal problem-solving skills

Problem-solving engages multiple skills, such as active listening, research and communication. Regularly exercising these skills, regardless of whether or not you’re facing an immediate problem, can prepare you to problem-solve more effectively when issues arise. For example, you can try scheduling team-building activities to facilitate communication during later brainstorming sessions.

• Write things down

We’ve all come up with great ideas only to forget them when distractions arise. You can avoid this problem by documenting ideas as people bring them up. Doing so leaves you with a complete catalog of options once the brainstorming phase ends. As you advance through the problem-solving process, you can also write out all the possible effects of each option, the resources it will require and any feedback you receive regarding that option. That way, you can see all the merits and shortcomings of each option side by side and more easily select the best solution.

• Get diverse input

When brainstorming or gathering feedback on a potential solution, it is beneficial to seek input from every type of stakeholder in the problem. People with different roles and expertise are often able to contribute insights that others cannot. Furthermore, any change you make to correct a problem will have a unique impact on each person the problem affects. By getting diverse input before making a decision, you can ensure that the solution you choose benefits all parties involved—otherwise, implementing your solution may generate a new set of problems.

• Speak to people in groups and one-on-one

Brainstorming in groups is productive because participants can build off one another’s ideas, yielding a solution that no one participant could have created on their own. However, some people might be hesitant when in the presence of their peers to offer suggestions or to identify what they believe is causing the problem—especially if that cause implicates another employee. A good way to ensure diverse and honest input is to discuss the problem both in groups and one-on-one.

Steps followed in problem solving

1. Define the problem

Diagnose the situation so that your focus is on the problem, not just its symptoms. Helpful problem-solving techniques include using flowcharts to identify the expected steps of a process and cause-and-effect diagrams to define and analyze root causes.

The sections below help explain key problem-solving steps. These steps support the involvement of interested parties, the use of factual information, comparison of expectations to reality, and a focus on root causes of a problem. You should begin by:

• Reviewing and documenting how processes currently work (i.e., who does what, with what information, using what tools, communicating with what organizations and individuals, in what time frame, using what format).
• Evaluating the possible impact of new tools and revised policies in the development of your “what should be” model.

2. Generate alternative solutions

Postpone the selection of one solution until several problem-solving alternatives have been proposed. Considering multiple alternatives can significantly enhance the value of your ideal solution. Once you have decided on the “what should be” model, this target standard becomes the basis for developing a road map for investigating alternatives. Brainstorming and team problem-solving techniques are both useful tools in this stage of problem solving.

Many alternative solutions to the problem should be generated before final evaluation. A common mistake in problem solving is that alternatives are evaluated as they are proposed, so the first acceptable solution is chosen, even if it’s not the best fit. If we focus on trying to get the results we want, we miss the potential for learning something new that will allow for real improvement in the problem-solving process.

3. Evaluate and select an alternative

Skilled problem solvers use a series of considerations when selecting the best alternative. They consider the extent to which:

• A particular alternative will solve the problem without causing other unanticipated problems.
• All the individuals involved will accept the alternative.
• Implementation of the alternative is likely.
• The alternative fits within the organizational constraints.

4. Implement and follow up on the solution

Leaders may be called upon to direct others to implement the solution, “sell” the solution, or facilitate the implementation with the help of others. Involving others in the implementation is an effective way to gain buy-in and support and minimize resistance to subsequent changes.

Regardless of how the solution is rolled out, feedback channels should be built into the implementation. This allows for continuous monitoring and testing of actual events against expectations. Problem solving, and the techniques used to gain clarity, are most effective if the solution remains in place and is updated to respond to future changes.

 

Exercises/case studies on problem solving.

What is case study in problem solving?

Case studies are used in many professional education programs, primarily in business school, to present real-world situations to students and to assess their ability to parse out the important aspects of a given dilemma.

What are Case Studies?

1. Determine the research question and carefully define it. …
2. Choose the cases and state how data is to be gathered and which techniques for analysis you’ll be using. …
3. Prepare to collect the data. …
4. Collect the data in the field (or, less frequently, in the lab). …
5. Analyze the data.
6. Prepare your report.

Entrepreneurship

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.

Examples of Entrepreneurs

• Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.
• Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple computers, which produce Macs, iPods and iPhones, as well as Apple TV.
• Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.
• Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay.
• Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, a well-known online news site.

What are the 4 Types of Entrepreneurship?

It is classified into the following types:

Small Business Entrepreneurship-

These businesses are a hairdresser, grocery store, travel agent, consultant, carpenter, plumber, electrician, etc. These people run or own their own business and hire family members or local employee. For them, the profit would be able to feed their family and not making 100 million business or taking over an industry. They fund their business by taking small business loans or loans from friends and family.

Scalable Startup Entrepreneurship-

This start-up entrepreneur starts a business knowing that their vision can change the world. They attract investors who think and encourage people who think out of the box. The research focuses on a scalable business and experimental models, so, they hire the best and the brightest employees. They require more venture capital to fuel and back their project or business.

Large Company Entrepreneurship-

These huge companies have defined life-cycle. Most of these companies grow and sustain by offering new and innovative products that revolve around their main products. The change in technology, customer preferences, new competition, etc., builds pressure for large companies to create an innovative product and sell it to the new set of customers in the new market. To cope with the rapid technological changes, the existing organizations either buy innovation enterprises or attempt to construct the product internally.

Social Entrepreneurship-

This type of entrepreneurship focuses on producing product and services that resolve social needs and problems. Their only motto and goal is to work for society and not make any profits.

Concept of Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the ability and readiness to develop, organize and run a business enterprise, along with any of its uncertainties in order to make a profit. The most prominent example of entrepreneurship is the starting of new businesses.

In economics, entrepreneurship connected with land, labour, natural resources and capital can generate a profit. The entrepreneurial vision is defined by discovery and risk-taking and is an indispensable part of a nation’s capacity to succeed in an ever-changing and more competitive global marketplace.

Meaning of Entrepreneur

The entrepreneur is defined as someone who has the ability and desire to establish, administer and succeed in a startup venture along with risk entitled to it, to make profits. The best example of entrepreneurship is the starting of a new business venture. The entrepreneurs are often known as a source of new ideas or innovators, and bring new ideas in the market by replacing old with a new invention.

It can be classified into small or home business to multinational companies. In economics, the profits that an entrepreneur makes are with a combination of land, natural resources, labour and capital.

In a nutshell, anyone who has the will and determination to start a new company and deals with all the risks that go with it can become an Entrepreneur.

Why its needs

• Creation of Employment- Entrepreneurship generates employment. It provides an entry-level job, required for gaining experience and training for unskilled workers.
• Innovation- It is the hub of innovation that provides new product ventures, market, technology and quality of goods, etc., and increases the standard of living of people.
• Impact on Society and Community Development- A society becomes greater if the employment base is large and diversified. It brings about changes in society and promotes facilities like higher expenditure on education, better sanitation, fewer slums, a higher level of homeownership. Therefore, entrepreneurship assists the organization towards a more stable and high quality of community life.
• Increase Standard of Living- Entrepreneurship helps to improve the standard of living of a person by increasing the income. The standard of living means, increase in the consumption of various goods and services by a household for a particular period.
• Supports research and development- New products and services need to be researched and tested before launching in the market. Therefore, an entrepreneur also dispenses finance for research and development with research institutions and universities. This promotes research, general construction, and development in the economy.

Qualities of an entrepreneur

The concept of entrepreneurship is very simple; it is to start one’s own business. However, some economists think it is more than that. They think that a person who takes chances to create profit is an entrepreneur and possibly the simplest definition of entrepreneurship is a novice who wants to invent something new and wants to market their innovations for profit.

So, while everyone can become an entrepreneur — it is not defined by race, age, gender, financial position, experience or education — the most prominent entrepreneurs of past and present have had certain personal qualities.

Willpower

Willpower is key to success. It is a strong longing to achieve success. Despite many failures, the entrepreneur never loses their will to achieve.

Management

Management is the ability to make plans, devise targets, and then execute!

Obsession

The entrepreneur who is obsessed with their goals and ultimate vision will make others believe in them too.

Smarts

An entrepreneur must have old-fashioned common sense and be able to make good decisions and deal competently with others.

Self-assurance

The entrepreneur is self-assured, confident in their abilities and knows how to look into the future and plan well. A self-assured person instills further confidence in themselves.

Devotion

The entrepreneur is devoted to their goals, working long and hard, day and night to achieve them.

Inspiration

Building a business requires an inspiration and the creativity which will lead to a better product and excellent results,. An entrepreneur thinks outside of the box.

Flexibility

Creating a product that meets the needs of the market requires flexibility. This quality is very important. Stubborn, inflexible people will not make good entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurial Support System

Entrepreneurial support systems generate community-wide benefits. These systems have a transformative impact on economic development, by promoting collaboration, improving productivity, and increasing effectiveness. Other outcomes include: increased job creation, development of new businesses, growth of existing businesses, and improved overall quality of life. Entrepreneurial communities work to develop local entrepreneurs and to attract new entrepreneurs.

• Components of an entrepreneurial support system:
• Networking and mentoring opportunities
• Educational programs and local knowledge base
• Access to financing and capital
• Recognition and support of entrepreneurial pursuits
• Public policy that encourages innovation and new enterprises

What is a district industries Centre?

District Industries Centre (DIC) is a central sector scheme with the objective of promoting small village and cottage industries in a particular area. The DICs have been established in various districts of India at varying times since 1978 when it was launched

What Is a Commercial Bank?

 The term commercial bank refers to a financial institution that accepts deposits, offers checking account services, makes various loans, and offers basic financial products like certificates of deposit (CDs) and savings accounts to individuals and small businesses. A commercial bank is where most people do their banking.

Commercial banks make money by providing and earning interest from loans such as mortgages, auto loans, business loans, and personal loans. Customer deposits provide banks with the capital to make these loans.

How Commercial Banks Work

Commercial banks provide basic banking services and products to the general public, both individual consumers and small to mid-sized businesses. These services include checking and savings accounts, loans and mortgages, basic investment services such as CDs, as well as other services such as safe deposit boxes.

Banks make money from service charges and fees. These fees vary based on the products, ranging from account fees (monthly maintenance charges, minimum balance fees, overdraft fees, non-sufficient funds (NSF) charges), safe deposit box fees, and late fees. Many loan products also contain fees in addition to interest charges.

Banks also earn money from interest they earn by lending out money to other clients. The funds they lend come from customer deposits. However, the interest rate paid by the bank on the money they borrow is less than the rate charged on the money they lend. For instance, a bank may offer savings account customers an annual interest rate of 0.25%, while charging mortgage clients 4.75% in interest annually.

State Financial Corporation

 There are 18 State Financial Corporations in India at present, from which 17 are established in accordance with the State Financial Corporation Act 1951 and the eighteenth Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Ltd was formed according to Companies Act 1949. The State Financial Corporation of Punjab was the first Financial Corporation to be set up in the country in 1953.

The Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises are of increased importance in India. They form a large part of rural and Semi-Urban industries and provide employment opportunities to a large number of people. The number of people employed in Small and Medium industries is more as the technique of production is labor-intensive than capital intensive. Due to the high number of employees needed, the SMEs have a huge need for working capital and also fixed capital for installing machinery and such. The State Financial Corporations are set up to meet these requirements of Small and Medium Industries and to provide thrust to the rural economy.

Functions of State Financial Corporations

The State Financial Corporations are established by the respective state governments aimed at assisting Small and Medium industries. The major functions of State Financial Corporations are-

1. Long Term Financial Assistance:

Providing long term financial assistance to finance small and medium industries is the prominent function for which the State Financial Corporations are set up. These enterprises may be in the form of individual proprietorships, partnership firms, private or public companies and the maximum tenure of the loan is twenty years.

2. Guarantee for Loans:

The State Financial Corporations also stand guarantee for loans taken by small and medium business concerns from cooperative banks, commercial banks, or any other banking financial institution for tenure of up to 20 years.

3. Acts as Agents of Government:

The State Financial Corporation also acts as an agent of the state as well as the central government when it comes to implementing government schemes related to small and medium industries financing. The SFCs also disburse loans as per different schemes of the governments.

4. Underwriting and Subscription:

The State Financial Corporation also functions as an underwriter by underwriting the shares of small and medium public companies. The SFCs also subscribe to debentures of these small and medium firms which are of tenure of fewer than 20 years.

5. Credit and Guarantee for Purchases:

The State Financial Corporation also provides loans and guarantees deferred payment for purchases for the industry like machinery, plant, or any other fixed expenditure.

Small Industries Service Institute (SISIs)

Small Industries Service Institutes, a constituent of small industries development organization within Ministry of Small Scale Industry, Government of India, has been playing a key role for the development of small scale industries through counseling, consultancy and training. It was originally known as Central Small Industries Organization (CSIO). The small industries service institutes (SISI’s) are set-up one in each state to provide consultancy and training to small and prospective entrepreneurs. The activities of SISIs are coordinated by the industrial management training division of the DC, SSI office (New Delhi), in all there are 28 SISI’s and 30 Branch SISI’s set up in state capitals and other places all over country. SISI has wide spectrum of technological, management and administrative tasks to perform Functions of SISIS

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)

Small Industries Development Bank of India is a non-independent financial institution. Development Bank of India (SIDBI), set up on April 2, 1990 with its head office at Lucknow under an Act of Indian Parliament, is the Principal Financial Institution for the Promotion, Financing and Development of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector and for co-ordination of the functions of the institutions engaged in similar activities.

As per the May 2001 SIDBI retained its position in the top 30 Development Banks of the World (25th both in terms of Capital and Assets) in the issue of The Banker, London, and SIDBI ranked. SIDBI is headed by the Chairman and Managing Director. In Himachal Pradesh SIDBI has an office in Shimla.

NATIONAL BANK FOR AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development is an apex development bank in India having headquarters based in Mumbai and other branches are all over the country. The NABARD was established in 1982.

NABARD operates throughout the country through its 28 Regional Offices and one Sub office, located in the capitals of all the states/union territories. Each Regional Office [RO] has a Chief General Manager (CGM) as its head, and the head office has several top executives like the Executive Directors (EDS), Managing Directors (MDs), and the Chairperson. It has 336 district offices across the country, one sub-office at Port Blair and one special cell at Srinagar. It also has 6 training establishments.

NABARD’s affairs are governed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is appointed by the Government of India in consonance with NABARD Act.

NATIONAL SMALL INDUSTRIES CORPORATION (NSIC)

National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC), is an ISO 9001 – 2008 certified Government of India Enterprise under Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). NSIC has been working to fulfill its mission of promoting, aiding and fostering the growth of small industries and industry related micro, small and medium enterprises in the country. Over a period of five decades of transition, growth and development, NSIC has proved its strength within the country and abroad by promoting modernization, up gradation of technology, quality consciousness, strengthening linkages with large medium enterprises and enhancing exports-projects and products from small enterprises. NSIC operates through countrywide network of offices and technical centers in the country. The head office of NSIC is situated at New Delhi with four regional offices at New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai and 6 zonal offices, 26 branch offices, 15 sub offices, 5 technical service centers, 3 extension centers and 2 software technology parks supported by a team of over 500 professionals spread over the country. To manage operations in African Countries, NSIC operates from its office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

NSIC carries forward its mission to assist small enterprises with a set of specially tailored Schemes designed to put them in a competitive and advantageous position. The schemes comprise of facilitating marketing support, credit support, technology support and other support services.

MARKET STUDY

Accurate information is the foundation of all successful business ventures. Market study allows business owners to determine the feasibility of a business before committing substantial resources to the venture.

The process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a market, about a product or service to be offered for sale in that market and about the past, present and potential customers for the product or service : research into the characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of the business’s target market, the industry as a whole and the particular competitors.

Market study provides relevant data to solve marketing challenges that small and medium enterprises will most likely face an integral part of the business planning process. In fact, strategies such as market segmentation (identifying specific groups within a market) and product differentiation (creating an identity for a product or service that separates it from those of the competitors) are impossible to develop without market study,

Types of Market Study

(a) Primary information: Primary information is collected from a first-hand experience and is reliable and authentic.

Sources of Collecting Primary Information

(i) Interview

(ii) Observation

(iii) Action research

(iv) Case studies

(v) Questionnaires,

Advantages of Primary Information

(i) Quick and cheap if sample is small

(ii) The investigator collects information specific to the problem under study

(iii) There is no doubt about the quality of the information collected (for the investigator).

What is market survey and opportunity identification?

Market survey is the survey research and analysis of the market for a particular product/service which includes the investigation into customer inclinations. Market surveys collect data about a target market such as pricing trends, customer requirements, competitor analysis, and other such details.

What is market survey in business Plan?

It looks into the size of the market both in volume and in value, the various customer segments and buying patterns, the competition, and the economic environment in terms of barriers to entry and regulation.

How to Start a Small Scale Industry in India?

How to Start a Small Scale Industry in India?

Small scale industries are very labor-intensive, yet they require limited capital. Therefore a large number of people want to start their small-scale industry. In this article, we will discuss what a small scale industry is and how to start a small scale industry in India.

What are small scale industries?

Small scale industries are those industries that are labour-intensive yet require less or limited capital. These industries are also characterized by the use of smaller machines and fewer employees. Small scale industries have thrived and flourished in the Indian economy in the last three decades. About 95 per cent of the industrial units in India are small-scale industries. There are three types of small scale industries which are as follows:

Manufacturing industries: The industries that produce finished goods either for consumption or other industries are manufacturing industries. These are generally owned by a single individual. One such example of a small scale manufacturing business is the food processing industry.

Ancillary Industries: These industries help the big or multinational companies manufacture finished goods by providing them with some of the parts necessary for manufacturing the finished goods. These industries can be identified as those industries which make machines for those multinational companies. Service industry: the industry that helps repair and maintain a product is classified as the service industry. Since we discussed earlier that the small scale industries require less capital. Therefore small business owners and entrepreneurs are always willing to start their own small scale industry business. So here are few tips for those who wish to start their small-scale industry business.

Tips to start a small scale industry in India

1. Product Selection

The first and foremost step which should be taken while launching a small scale industry is to choose a product to be produced. Before choosing that product, one must also conduct market research on various products and then only choose to produce it. Some factors which must be kept in mind while researching on the market are:

• The product must be unique.
• The product must have little or low competition from its competitors in the market.
• The product should be new and innovative.
• The raw materials needed to produce these products must be readily available.
• The production of the product must be in the budget.
• The product should be easily accessible in the market

The potential business entrepreneur must have clear small scale industry ideas before production because the product is the core of the business. Some small scale industries examples are producing handmade chocolates, making handmade soaps, producing spices, papad, and other dry food items, producing hair oil, etc.

2. Location of the Enterprise

Location is a crucial factor while setting up a small scale industry. Location affects a lot of other important factors such as transportation costs, availability of raw materials, and availability of land at low rates. Suppose the location of the production unit is in the proximity of the source of raw materials. In that case, the transportation costs reduce and it maximizes the profit. In India, the government also offers pre-built areas or developed plots to develop small scale industries. So if a person wants to start a small scale manufacturing business, he/she can easily start one by registering with the government.

3. The pattern of the Organization

Small scale industries can be chosen to be in three main forms of ownership. These are Proprietary, Partnership, and Company.

Proprietary implies all the rights that the proprietor or the property owner can exercise and all the items or products produced and marketed under exclusive rights. By exclusive right, we mean that those rights are to be exercised only by the proprietor.  The proprietary also has a registered trade name. This trade name also protects the business from unethical works such as copying.

A partnership is an association of two or more people. The individuals involved in the small scale industry business invest their money together in the partnership and carry on the company as a joint venture. While being in a joint venture, the benefits and the losses are immense because of the profits, losses, and risks shared by all the individuals involved. The partnership is also characterized by the fact that the business gets the combined capital and managerial skills of all the individuals involved. There the “partners” get a mutual benefit.

A company abbreviated as co. is a legal entity that is created by the state whose liabilities and assets are separate from its owner. A company represents an association of people who may be natural legal or a mixture sharing a specific objective.

Therefore according to the above guide, a person can decide the pattern of his organization.

4. Project Appraisal

Project appraisal signifies the analysis of a scheme or project that has to be prepared according to all the aspects such as financial aspect, technical aspect, marketing, and management. This is done so that it will become the most feasible enterprise. It also helps the entrepreneur to acquire data that will help him in the future. This will help it to become one of the best small scale industries.

Analysis of the project is done by researching the product’s performance in the market, its demands, and consumption. One can also analyze a certain idea by researching it, just like it was stated above. So that if the idea about a certain product works and helps in more sales, it will be incorporated by the company or enterprise for a long period. But if the idea doesn’t work, it can be discarded as soon as possible.

5. Registration with Authorities

After all the above steps are done, the small scale industry should be registered with higher authorities like DGSD, RBI, RLA and State Directorate of India. This should be done so as the government will recognize one’s industry. Small scale industry registration has become hassle-free as, under the Udyog Aadhar scheme, one can easily fill the online registration form to get the registry done. It is free of cost one doesn’t even need to pay for the processing. After registration, one will get the registration certificate on the email id only after the documents verification is completed. Some information that is compulsory to be shown is contact details, bank details, and business details, number of employees. An Aadhar card is also one of the mandatory documents to be shared.

Procedures for registration of small-scale industry

Eligibility for MSME Registration

All Micro & Small Enterprises which are registered with the Director of Industries (DI)/District Industries Centre (DIC) as manufacturing/service enterprises or having Acknowledgement of Entrepreneurs Memorandum (EM Part-II) are eligible for registration with NSIC under its Single Point Registration Scheme (SPRS).

Procedure:

Step 1: Provisional Small Scale Industry (SSI) Registration

To obtain SSI registration you must apply for provisional SSI registration certificate. This certificate is given when the unit is in pre-operative stage and helps SSI unit obtain term loans and working capital. This license is given for five years.

One could apply for this certificate online through the state website or by applying in the concerned zonal department.

Important Documents for Provisional SSI registration:

Three passport size photographs of proprietors/partners/directors, as the case may be.

Photocopy of the partnership deed in case of a partnership unit. It is not necessary that the partnership should be registered under the Partnership Act. Copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association in case of Private Company along with a certificate of incorporation. Copy of the resolution of the company authorizing one of the Directors of the company to sign the application form and also appear for the interview. Proof of legal possession i.e. rent receipt, NOC from the landlord with proof of ownership, the power load authorized by the connection holder to the applicant Provisional Registration would be allowed in approved Industrial areas only after the Unit has obtained consent to establish from Delhi Pollution Control Committee Some of the documents may differ because each state has different requirements for documents. Above given documents are minimum required documents that are to be submitted.

Benefits of Provisional SSI registration

Material for construction of factory building: The material which is needed for construction of the factory or building would be available to the factory at subsidized rates from government Apply for Municipal Corporation License & power connection. With the provisional registration the company would be able to get all the clearances from the concerned authorities.

Step 2: Start the Business

The next step towards having a permanent license is to start the business with SSI certificate. The owner should start the production in the factory so that permanent license could be given.

Step 3: Apply for Permanent SSI registration

After you have started the business you should apply for permanent SSI registration. This could be done by applying online through state website or through the Zonal office or district office of the department.

Requirements for applying PRC(Permanent Registration Certificate

You may apply for the PRC without an industrial license in case your unit is listed in Schedule-III of the Industrial Licensing Exemption Notification. Other units must first acquire an industrial license. The unit should have obtained all clearances from the pollution control board, drug control board etc. The unit should not violate any location restriction. The original value of plant including machinery should be within prescribed limits for which you are applying. The unit should not be a subsidiary, owned or controlled by another industrial undertaking. Documents which are to be submitted for applying in Proof of ownership of premises i.e. allotment letter/possession letter/lease Deed/property tax receipt. If the unit has a municipal corporation license in its own name or in the name of its proprietor or one of the Partner/Directors as the case may be, then no other proof of legal possession is required.

In case premises are arranged on rental basis, unit should submit proof of Legal possession i.e. a rent receipt and/or NOC from the landlord supported by the proof of land lord’s ownership. For this purpose rent receipt/rent agreement with GPA (General Power of Attorney) is also accepted provided the GPA is appointed by the owner/lessee through a Regd. deed.

• One photo copy of sale bill of each end product applied for.
• One photo copy of purchase bill of each raw material.
• Copy of partnership deed in case of partnership unit (this need not be registered.)
• Copy of Memorandum of Articles of Association with certificate of incorporation in case of private limited company (in case of any change of Directors subsequently, copy of resolution and intimation in form No.32)along with copy of resolution authorizing one of the directors to sign the application for grant of permanent SSI registration.
• Copy of the industrial license from Govt. of India in case the end products require such license under Industrial Development and Regulation Act.1951.
• An affidavit on Rs.10/- Non judicial Stamp Paper duly attested by Notary Public affixed with proper notaries Stamp giving the status of the unit, machinery installed, power requirement etc. as per the prescribed format
• Purchase bill of machinery installed.
• Photo copy of valid consent letter from pollution control committee of that state

Benefits for having a permanent SSI registration

Tax Benefits: Depending on your business, you may enjoy Excise Exemption Scheme as well as exemption from certain Direct Taxes in the initial years of your business. Availability of raw material depending on existing policy: Raw material for production would be given by the government in the initial years at subsidized rates.

Benefits from Banks: All banks and other financial institutions recognize MSMEs and have created special schemes for them. This usually includes priority sector lending, which means that the likelihood of your business being sanctioned a loan is high and lower bank interest rates. There may also be preferential treatment in case of delay in repayment.

Benefits from State Governments: Most states offer those who’ve registered under the MSMED Act subsidies on power, taxes and entry to state-run industrial estates Assessment of demand and supply in potential areas of growth.

Supply’ and ‘demand’ are valuable concepts in both business and economics, in their own right. However, put the two together (as supply and demand, or The Law of Supply and Demand) and you now have a world-recognized economic model which defines price determination in a market. In this article, we’ll be introducing you to the terms ‘supply’, ‘demand’, and ‘supply and demand’ — as well as explaining the concepts to which they refer — in an approachable and informative way

What Is Supply?

Supply is the amount or quantity of something that providers are willing to bring to the market at a given price. The supply of a product can be determined by the following factors:

The willingness of the provider to take their product to market, influenced by:

• The demand for the product at a particular price point
• Forecasts for the future price of the product
• The ownership of the product
• The taxes that will be incurred

The physical availability of the product, influenced by:

• The speed at which the product can be produced
• The efficiency at which the product is created
• The availability of resources (physical and human) required to create the product

The ability to provide the market with the product, influenced by:

• The legality of the product
• Trade bans or sanctions
• The logistics involved in selling the product
• The supply of a product is an important quantity, because not only does it determine whether or not something can be bought, but also (at least partially) the price at which it can be bought.

What Is Demand?

Simply put, demand is the amount or quantity of something that consumers want to buy at a given price. As with supply, there are a number of factors than can influence the demand for a product:

• The appeal of the product
• The necessity of the product
• The price of the product
• The logistics involved in receiving the product
• Demand is also a very noteworthy quantity, as it can decide whether or not something will sell and influence the price at which it is bought.

Conclusion

Not only are supply and demand two very important factors in a competitive market, but they also make up one of the world’s most popular economic models. Supply is the amount of a good at a given price that can be provided to the market, while demand is the amount of a good at a given price that is desired by buyers in the market. Together, the two form the basis of The Law of Supply and Demand which states that products reach a stable price when the demand is equal to to the supply (known as economic equilibrium). In case of shortages and surpluses, the market is capable of self-correcting by price adjustment.

This can mean a number of different things for your business — including how you might have to adjust the prices of products, or how you should be prepared for particularly low or high volumes of sales. Understanding business opportunity

Four ways to identify more business opportunities

Flexible work

To be successful entrepreneurs, we need to be continually innovating and looking for opportunities to grow our startups. But how do you find new opportunities to take your startup to new markets and growth levels

Here are four ways to identify more business opportunities.

1. Listen to your potential clients and past leads

When you’re targeting potential customers listen to their needs, wants, challenges and frustrations with your industry. Have they used similar products and services before? What did they like and dislike? Why did they come to you? What are their objections to your products or services?

This will help you to find opportunities to develop more tailored products and services, hone your target market and identify and overcome common objections

2. Listen to your customers

When you’re talking to your customers listen to what they saying about your industry, products and services. What are their frequently asked questions? Experiences? Frustrations? Feedback and complaints?

This valuable customer information will help you identify key business opportunities to expand and develop your current products and services.

3. Look at your competitors

Do a little competitive analysis (don’t let it lead to competitive paralysis though) to see what other startups are doing, and more importantly, not doing? Where are they falling down? What are they doing right? What makes customers go to them over you?

Analyzing your competitors will help you identify key business opportunities to expand your market reach and develop your products and services.

4. Look at industry trends and insights

Subscribe to industry publications, join relevant associations, set Google alerts for key industry terms and news and follow other industry experts on social media.

Absorb yourself in your industry and continually educate yourself on the latest techniques and trends.

Identify new business opportunities

• Economic trends.
• Market trends.
• Shifting or expanding customer base.
• Changes in government or industry regulations.
• Changes in partnerships or relationships with suppliers, competitors, etc.
• new or changing funding prospects (eg increase in grant funding)
• Considerations in product selection

Criteria for Selection of Product

Mostly, it is preferred to select a bunch of criteria depending on which selection of the product could depend on. Ranks or costs or weights are allocated to each criterion to achieve an objective examination.

There are three basic stages or steps in selection of products or services. These are −

Idea Generation − Ideas or investment opening come from different sources, like business or economical newspapers, institutes for researches, consultation firms, natural resources, universities, competitors and many more. Idea generation begins from a simple examination of the business’s strengths and weakness. Ideas are also spawned through brainstorming, desk research and different types of management consensus procedures.

Evaluation − Screening or filtering of the product ideas is the initial stage of evaluation. They mark the potential value of a product, time, money and tools required, fitting of potential product into the business’s long range sales plan and availability of skilled people to monitor its marketability. Every product or asset that is identified should be modestly examined. A pre-feasibility study is expected at this stage in order to get a clear picture for different associated aspects like cost and benefit of the product market, technical and financial aspect, etc.

Choice − A product that is commercially viable, technically feasible and economically desirable is chosen and relevant machineries are set in motion.

What is project report in entrepreneurship?

A Project Report is a document which provides details on the overall picture of the proposed business. The project report gives an account of the project proposal to ascertain the prospects of the proposed plan/activity. Project Report is a written document relating to any investment

Tips for designing an effectual Project report for New Business

While designing a project report for new business it is vital to keep the following points in consideration:

Target Market:

While making a new business project report it is significant to keep in mind the target market. For instance, if you are preparing a report on debt financing, the focus should be on the assurance that the debt can be reimbursed by the company and not on the huge revenues that the firm has accrued.

Market approach:

The first approach towards preparing business report should be developing and assisting powerful business strategy. The report should describe the economic trends, clients and players. It should also explain on how to perform the chosen approach, the marketing of its products and functional competence.

Market Rivalry:

An industrialist should recognize at what point of time the firm will perform similar activities and when it will do things another way, in order to identify its strength and drawbacks. Concentrate on strategies which present you differently from your competitors, market products differently using various channels, etc.

Be practical:

Catalog realistic plans, for there are many unanticipated expenses, price overruns, issues that have been neglected, etc. Hence, predict future trends realistically to make a powerful project report.

What is preliminary section in report?

A preliminary report contains the conditions under which the title company will issue a particular type of title insurance policy. The report may then be reviewed and discussed by the parties to a real estate transaction and their agents.

Techno-Economic Feasibility Report

Objective of Techno-Economic Feasibility Studies/ Detailed Project Reports is to determine the technical feasibility and financial viability of the project assess the risks associated with the project and enumerate imminent actions that are required to be taken. It helps a client get a detailed evaluation of a project.

It helps a client make an investment decision based on:

• Technical feasibility of the project.
• Financial viability of the project.
• The risks associated with the project.
• Actions required for risk mitigation.

Meaning of detailed project report

After the planning and the designing part of a project are completed, a detailed project report is prepared. A detailed project report is a very extensive and elaborative outline of a project, which includes essential information such as the resources and tasks to be carried out in order to make the project turn into a success. It can also be said that it is the final blueprint of a project after which the implementation and operational process can occur. In this comprehensive project report, the roles and responsibilities are highlighted along with the safety measures if any issue arises while carrying out the plan.

 The following points play an essential role in deciding whether a project turns into success:

 Completion of the project within the stipulated period

Priority to client satisfaction by delivering quality product after the completion of the project

Completion of the project within the set limits of escalation of cost

Contents of a detailed project report

A detailed project report must include the following information:

Brief information about the project

• Experience and skills of the people involved in the promotion of the project
• Details and practical results of the industrial concerns of the promoters of the project
• Project finance and sources of financing
• Government approvals
• Raw material requirement
• Details of the requisite securities to be given to various financial organizations
• Other important details of the proffered project idea include information about management teams for the project, details about the building, plant, machinery, etc.

A detailed project report is extremely important in order to turn the idea of your project into a reality. A DPR acts as a ladder towards success to make your project reach great heights. If the project report is prepared by putting a tremendous amount of effort into details, you will surely get good results later.

1. Managing the budget – Managing the budget or expenditure is not an easy task, especially when you have to look at so many aspects of your project. Hence a DPR comes to your rescue and helps your plan and manage your budget in such a manner that you do not go over your set budget.
2. Minimizing risks – Sometimes, despite giving great attention to details, risks, and issues arise during the implementation of the project. Hence it is crucial to identify and reduce these risks as much as possible so that the project is implemented without any hassles. It is reporting the risks to the project manager before the implementation that makes room for improvement.
3. Project progress follows up – One of the most important aspects of a detailed project report is to have a control on the project progress. Accordingly, one can keep track of the schedule of the project and eliminate the problems, if any.
4. Holdover the project – Project reporting maintains hold of the higher authority, such as managers, over the project so that they can keep a check on progress and eliminate factors that cause a halt in the progress of the project. The performance of the team members and their quality of work is also checked.

A detailed project report has innumerable benefits in order to drive a project towards the path of success. Hence it is vital to get a DPR prepared from an experienced person/firm that holds relevant experience and skillset to leave no stone unturned. It is also important that the person who is a part of the team for the project has relevant expertise in the field so as to take up the task of handling the project. Putting the DPR’s preparation task into the hands of an inexperienced person can also cause you to lose a lot of money, so choose wisely.