Participant Handbook

Sector
IT-ITES

Sub-Sector
Business Process Management
Occupation
Customer Relationship Management
Reference ID: SSC/Q2212, Version 1.0
NSQF Level 4

Domestic Data
Entry Operator
Participant Handbook

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Copyright © 2016
IT – ITES Sector Skill Council NASSCOM
Plot No – 7,8.9 & 10,
Sector – 126 , Noida,UP-201303
T: 0120 4990111
E:[email protected]
www.sscnasscom.com/www.nasscom.in

Disclaimer
The information contained herein has been obtained from sources reliable to NASSCOM. NASSCOM
disclaims all warranties to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. NASSCOM shall
have no liability for errors, omissions, or inadequacies, in the information contained herein, or for
interpretations thereof. Every effort has been made to trace the owners of the copyright material included
in the book. The publishers would be grateful for any omissions brought to their notice for
acknowledgements in future editions of the book.

No entry in NASSCOM shall be responsible for any loss whatsoever, sustained by any person who relies on
this material. The material in this publication is copyrighted. No parts of this report can be reproduced either
on paper or electronic media, unless authorized by NASSCOM.

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Skilling is building a better India.

If we have to move India towards
development then Skill Development
should be our mission.

Shri Narendra Modi

Prime Minister of India

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Acknowledgements
The Indian IT-BPM industry has built its reputation in the global arena on several
differentiators, chief among them being the availability of quality manpower. Organizations
across the world recognize the value India brings to every engagement with its vast and
readily available pool of IT professionals. Global entities have found it extremely effective to
leverage this critical resource as a way to realize competitive edge.
In order to capitalize on the same, it is crucial to develop and be prepared with a pool of
skilled talent that surpasses global standards. It is to this end that the IT-ITeS Sector Skills
Council NASSCOM (SSC NASSCOM) has been mandated with the objective of facilitating the
creation of such a workforce, by building employment related standards for the IT-BPM
industry as well as to keep track of changing scenario of talent demand and supply in the
industry.
Courseware development is one of several efforts by which SSC NASSCOM aims to develop
ready-to-deploy talent for the IT-BPM Industry. This Student Handbook is designed to
support students undertaking training for the Data Entry Operator job role. It is aimed at
equipping learners with the required competencies at the entry level within the larger
occupation of Customer Relationship Management in the BPM sub-sector of the industry.
In addition to the core knowledge and skills pertinent to the job role, the handbook acts as
a guide for professional and employability skills.
We extend our thanks to Wipro Limited, and Tata Communications for producing this
course publication.

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About This Book

The Book will be based on a Qualification Pack which contains National Occupational Standards
(NOSs). Each NOS will be taken up as a ‘UNIT’ which will cover all the Performance Criteria and
relevant knowledge and skills with respect to the performance criteria covered.
The UNITs will further be divided into ‘TOPICS’ which will further be divided into SUB TOPICS as
follows:

The Trainer’s guide contains a facilitator’s guide, overview of the various Topics and Sub-topics, the
lesson plan, suggested delivery, suggested time and resources required for delivering a competency
based training as per the requirements laid out in the Qualification Pack and the National
Occupational Standards mentioned at the start of each Unit.

Symbols Used

Key Learning Steps Time Tips Notes Unit

Outcomes Objectives

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Table of Contents
S. No Units and Topics Page No

1 Introduction 1
Unit 1.1 - Introduction to IT/ITeS Industry 3
Unit 1.2 –Understanding of Computers 13
Unit 1.3 – M.S Office & Data Confidentiality 34
Unit 1.4 –Enhance Typing Skills 51

2 Undertake Data Entry Services (SSC/N3022) 57

Unit 2.1 - Job Responsibilities of a Data Entry Operator 59
Unit 2.2: Customer Orientation in Data Entry Roles 66
Unit 2.3: Performance Measures 71

3 Manage Your Work to Meet Requirements (SSC/N9001) 75

Unit 3.1 -Time Management 77
Unit 3.2 -Work Management and Prioritization 81
Unit 3.3 -Quality and Standard Adherence 84

4 Maintain a Healthy, Safe and Secure Working Environment (SSC/N9003) 87

Unit 4.1 -Workplace Safety 89
Unit 4.2 -Report Accidents and Emergencies 92
Unit 4.3 -Protect Health and Safety at Work 99

5 Employability and Entrepreneurship Skills 109

Unit 5.1 – Personal Strengths & Value System 113
Unit 5.2 –Digital Literacy – A Recap 132
Unit 5.3 – Money Matters 137
Unit 5.4 – Preparing for Employment & Self Employment 148
Unit 5.5 –Understanding Entrepreneurship 157
Unit 5.6 – Preparing to be an Entrepreneur 184

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 1. Introduction

Unit 1.1 Understand the IT/ITeS Industry

Unit 1.2 –Understanding of Computers
Unit 1.3 – M.S. Office & Data Confidentiality
Unit 1.4 – Enhance Typing Skills

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Key Learning Outcomes

At the end of the Introduction you will be able to:

1. Know about information technology enabled services ( ITeS).

2. Explain growth of IT/ITeS industry in India.
3. Identify government initiatives in India.
4. Learn about the fundamentals of computer systems.
5. Demonstrate MS-office and data confidentiality.
6. Examine your typing skills.

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1.1 IT-ITeS Industry an introduction

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Explain the evolution of the BPM Industry
2. Understand the structure of the IT-BPM industry
3. Resonate with the key trends in the BPM sector 4

1.1.1 Evolution and history of outsourcing

Pen down thoughts on:
 Their understanding of the concept of outsourcing
 What enabled the organizations to outsource

The concept of outsourcing started with the automobile industry, which outsourced component
manufacturing to a number of suppliers and concentrated on in-house manufacturing for only a few
high-value products and components. Since then, a number of other industries have started
depending on vendors for various products.
Another trend that emerged in the late 1980s was that of corporate outsourcing. A number of
noncore business processes, such as accounts, Human Resources (HR), and finance, were
outsourced to vendors. This resulted in the emergence of the BPO or the IT-Enabled Services (ITeS)
industry.

BPM Industry in India - The IT BPM industry has been fueling India’s growth story. In addition to
contributing to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and exports, the growth of the IT BPM
industry has provided India with a wide range of economic and social benefits which includes
creating employment, raising income levels, promoting exports. It has placed India on the world
map with an image of a technological advanced and knowledge based economy. This sector attracts
amongst the largest investments by venture capitalist and has been credited with enabling the
entrepreneurial ventures of many in the country. The IT-BPM industry has almost doubled in terms
of revenue and contribution to India’s GDP over the last six years (2008-2013).

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1.1.2 : Structure of the IT BPM Industry

The organizations within the IT-BPM Industry are categorized along the following parameters
 Sector the organization is serving
 Type as well as range of offering the organization provides
 Geographic spread of operations and
 Revenues and size of operations
1. Multi-national Companies (MNCs): MNCs organizations have their headquarters outside
India but operate in multiple locations worldwide including those in India. They cater to
external clients (both domestic and/or global).
2. Indian Service Providers (ISP): ISPs are organizations that have started with their operations
in India. Most of these organizations would have their headquarters in India while having
offices at many international locations
3. While most have a client base, which is global as well as domestic, there are some that have
focused on serving only the Indian clients.
4. Global In-house Centers (GIC): GIC organizations cater to the needs of their parent
company only and do not serve external clients. This model allows the organization the
option to keep IT Operations in - house and at the same time take advantage of expanding
their global footprint and offering opportunities for innovation in a cost effective manner.
Sub-sectors within the IT-BPM Industry
The IT-BPM industry has four sub-sectors. The subsequent sections provide information and insights
for a career in the Business Process Management sub-sector.

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IT Services (ITS)
Business Process Management (BPM)

Custom Application Development (CAD)

Customer Interaction and Support (CIS)
Hardware Deployment and Support
Finance and Accounting (F&A)
Software Deployment and Support
Human Resource Management (HRM)
IT Consulting
Knowledge Services
System Integration
Procurement and Logistics
Information Systems(IS) Outsourcing
Software Testing
Network Consultation and Integration
Education and Training IT-BPM Industry

Engineering and R&D (ER&D) Software Products (SPD)

Embedded Services Offshore Product Development

Engineering Services Onshore Product Development

Fig: 1.1.1: Structure of the IT BPM Industry

1.1.3: What is the BPM sub-sector

Indian Business Process Management (BPM) sub-sector of Indian IT-BPM industry has crossed
significant growth milestones in FY2013 i.e. revenue generation of USD19 Billion and providing
direct employment to nearly 1 million people. The Indian BPM sub-sector has not only fuelled
Indian economic growth but also helped transform the image of India from a rural agrarian
economy to a dynamic knowledge-based economy.
This faith in the Indian BPM sub-sector was reaffirmed through testing times at the end of the last
decade, where despite global uncertainties and economic gridlock, the demand for global
outsourcing for BPM in India remained strong. The positioning of BPM established as different from
business process outsourcing has created a broad client impact. There is a transition from merely
being a cost saving option to being a service delivery leader that enhances competitiveness, drives
business productivity and impacts outcomes.
Thus the industry is moving away from positioning itself only as cost and labor arbitrage for its
customers to providing transformational services and strategic value creation. As a result, it is
creating on-demand future-ready solutions by deep-diving to create vertical specific offerings and
capabilities and also focusing on standardizing customer delivery excellence.

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NASSCOM estimates that the BPM sub-sector, which is potentially pegged as a USD65 billion
industry by 2020, will contribute up to 9 per cent of India’s GDP and 30 million employment
opportunities (direct and indirect).

Fig: 1.1.2: What is the BPM sub-sector

Source: The IT –BPM Sector in India – Strategic Review 2013, NASSCOM

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1.1.4 Key Trends in the BPM sub-sector

The key trends observed in the BPM sub sector are summarized in the figure below and then
explained in detail within the section.

Fig 1.1.3: BPO Strategy Summit, 2012; Delhi

Verticulization: With the maturity of the BPM sub-sector, the focus of organizations has now
shifted to verticalized offerings with end to end solutions across standardized platforms in major
industries. As a result of this, there is a lot of Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) activity in the
industry, where organizations are aiming to acquire these verticalized skills and integrate them into
their own offerings.
Emergence of Big Data: The emergence of big data is characterized by technological
advancements, large number of mergers and acquisitions and firms venturing into integrated
solutions including IT and analytics. Therefore, value creating business driven offerings, is seen as a
major emerging trend in the BPM sub-sector. Armed with long term client relationships and
transactional data warehouses coupled with talent expertise, these service providers are embarking
on creating sustainable value addition for their clients. Big data/analytics presents a USD 25 billion
opportunity by 2015, a CAGR of 45 per cent (2011-2015).
Continued locational advantage: India leads the way as the most lucrative location for the global IT
industry performing well on various parameters like financial attractiveness, skill availability and
business environment. While traditionally, 70% of the industry is located in Tier I cities, focus on
controlling costs has created a gradual move to have centers in Tier II cities as well, thus widening
the talent pool and spread.

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Emergence of Knowledge Services specialization: Knowledge Services Outsourcing is seen as the

next big thing and the fastest growing domain in the BPM sub-sector based on its revenue
contribution. It accounts for about 18% share of BPM exports, close to USD3.2 Billion in FY2013. As
worldwide markets become more knowledge intensive, India becomes a preferred destination to
outsource these core elements based on its abundance of talent pool. Legal Process Outsourcing
(LPO), Data Analytics, and Risk Management are some of the fastest growing KPO segments. There
is also a growing recognition of Indian Service Providers (ISPs) being able to provide such value-add
services.
Increasing use of Social Media and Internet for Customer Relationship Management (CRM): With
the emergence of new technology platforms, unified communications systems, collaboration and
social networking, multiple channels of integrated communications are now changing the rules of
communicating with the customers, especially with the emergence of channels like email, web
chats and social media sites. Social media interactions are gaining importance as many
organizations look to engage with their customers through platforms like Facebook, Twitter and
Ingrown social media sites.

1.1.5 Exercise

1. What are the four main sub sectors in the IT BPM industry?

2. Which one of the following is NOT a key trend in the BPM industry?
a. Verticulization
b. Knowledge service specialization
c. Emergence of big data
d. Saturation

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1.1.6 : Summary
 The IT BPM industry has not only contributed to India’s GDP and exports but has also provided
a wide range of socio-economic benefits such as creating employment, raising income
levels,and promoting exports, etc.
 Business Process Management (BPM) sub-sector of Indian IT-BPM industry has generated
revenues of USD19 Billion in FY2013 and providing direct employment to nearly 1 million
people.
 NASSCOM estimates that the BPM sub-sector, which is potentially pegged as a USD65 billion
industry by 2020, will contribute up to 9 per cent of India’s GDP and 30 million employment
opportunities.
 The organizations within the IT-BPM Industry are categorized along the following parameters
o Sector the organization is serving
o Type as well as range of offering the organization provides
o Geographic spread of operations and
o Revenues and size of operations
 The four main sub-sectors within the IT BPM industry are:
1. IT Services (ITS)
2. Business Process Management (BPM)
3. Engineering and R&D (ER&D)
4. Software Products (SPD)
 The key trends in the BPM subsector are as below:
o Verticalization
o Emergence of big data
o Continued locational advantage
o Emergence of knowledge services specialization
o Increasing use of social media and internet for CRM

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1.1.7 : Glossary of terms

Keywords /Terms Description

Scope Scope is the set of statements specifying the range of variables that an
individual may have to deal with in carrying out the function which have a
critical impact on the quality of performance required.
Definitions

Knowledge and Knowledge and Understanding are statements which together specify the
Understanding technical, generic, professional and organizational specific knowledge that
an individual needs in order to perform to the required standard.

Organizational Context Organizational Context includes the way the organization is structured and
how it operates, including the extent of operative knowledge managers
have of their relevant areas of responsibility.

Technical Knowledge Technical Knowledge is thespecificknowledgeneededto accomplish specific

designated responsibilities.

Core Skills/Generic Core Skills or Generic Skills are a group of skills that are key to learning and
Skills working in today's world. These skills are typically needed in any work
environment. In the context of the OS, these include communication related
skills that are applicable to most job roles.

Helpdesk Helpdesk is an entity to which the customers will report their IT problems.
IT Service Helpdesk Attendant is responsible for managing the helpdesk.

IT-ITeS Information Technology - Information Technology enabled Services

BPM Business Process Management

BPO Business Process Outsourcing

KPO Knowledge Process Outsourcing

LPO Legal Process Outsourcing

IPO Information Process Outsourcing

BCA Bachelor of Computer Applications

B.Sc. Bachelor of Science

OS Occupational Standard(s)

NOS National Occupational Standard(s)

QP Qualifications Pack

UGC University Grants Commission

MHRD Ministry of Human Resource Development

MOLE Ministry of Labor and Employment

NVEQF National Vocational Education Qualifications Framework

NVQF National Vocational Qualifications Framework

NSQF National Skill Qualification Framework

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Nomenclature for QP & NOS

Qualifications Pack
9 characters
SSC/Q0101

SSC denoting Software &Services

Companies (IT-ITeSindustry)
QP number (2 numbers)
Q denoting Qualifications Pack

National Occupational Standard

9 characters
SSC/N0101

SSC denoting Software &Services

Companies (IT-ITeSindustry)
NOS number (2 numbers)
N denoting National Occupational
Standard

Occupational Standard
9 characters
SSC/N0101

SSC denoting Software &Services

Companies (IT-ITeSindustry)
OS number (2 numbers)
O denoting Occupational
Standard

Nomenclature for QP & NOS UNITS

It is important to note that an OS unit can be denoted with either an ‘O’ or an ‘N’.
 If an OS unit denotes ‘O’, it is an OS unit that is an international standard. An example of OS
unit denoting ‘O’ is SSC/O0101.
 If an OS unit denotes ‘N’, it is an OS unit that is a national standard and is applicable only for
the Indian IT-ITeS industry. An example of OS unit denoting ‘N’ is SSC/N0101

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The following acronyms/codes have been used in the nomenclature above:

Sub-Sector Range of Occupation numbers

IT Service(ITS) 01-20
Business Process Management (BPM) 21-40
Engg. and R&D(ERD) 41-60
Software Products(SPD) 61-80

Sequence Description Example

Industry name
Three letters SSC
(Software&Service Companies )
Slash / /
Next letter Whether QP or NOS N
Next two numbers Occupation Code 01
Next two numbers OS number 01

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1.2 Understanding of Computers

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1.Expain the history and Generation of Computer
2.Know about the basic terminologies of Computer
3.Explain the Architecture of computer
4. Types of Computer
5.Advantages & Disadvantages of Computer

1.2.1 History of Computers

The word ‘computer’ is an old word that has changed its meaning several times in the last few
centuries. Originating from the Latin, by the mid-17th century it meant ‘someone who computes’.
The American Heritage Dictionary (1980) gives its first computer definition as “a person who
computes.” The computer remained associated with human activity until about the middle of the
20th century when it became applied to “a programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve,
and process data.
Functions of Computer
A computer has four functions:

a. Accepts data - Input

b. Processes data - Processing

c. Produces output - Output

d. Stores results - Storage

Input (Data):
Input is the raw information entered into a computer from the input devices. It is the collection of
letters, numbers, images etc.

Process:
Process is the operation of data as per given instruction. It is totally internal process of the computer
system.

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Output:
Output is the processed data given by computer after data processing. Output is also called as
Result. We can save these results in the storage devices for the future use.

Computer System
All of the components of a computer system can be summarized with the simple equations.
COMPUTER SYSTEM = HARDWARE + SOFTWARE+ USER

• Hardware = Internal Devices + Peripheral Devices

All physical parts of the computer (or everything that we can touch) are known as Hardware.
• Software = Programs
Software gives "intelligence" to the computer.
• USER = Person, who operates computer.

1.2.2Generations of Computers
First Generation (1940-56):
The first generation computers used vacuum tubes & machine language was used for giving the
instructions. These computers were large in size & their programming was difficult task. The
electricity consumption was very high. Some computers of this generation are ENIAC, EDVAC,
EDSAC & UNIVAC-1.

Second Generation (1956-63):

In 2nd generation computers, vacuum tubes were replaced by transistors. They required only
1/10 of power required by tubes. This generation computer generated less heat & were reliable.
The first operating system developed in this generation.

The Third Generation (1964-71):

The 3rd generation computers replaced transistors with Integrated circuit known as chip. From
Small scale integrated circuits which had 10 transistors per chip, technology developed to MSI
circuits with 100 transistors per chip. These computers were smaller, faster & more reliable.
High level languages invented in this generation.

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The fourth Generation (1972- present):

LSI & VLSI were used in this generation. As a result, microprocessors came into existence. The
computers using this technology known to be Micro Computers. High capacity hard disk were
invented. There is great development in data communication.

The Fifth Generation (Present & Beyond):

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development,
though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use
of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.
Quantum computation and molecular and nanotechnology will radically change the face of
computers in years to come.

1.2.3Architecture of Computers

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Input Devices: Those devices which help to enter data into computer system. Eg. Keyboard,
Mouse, Touch screen, Barcode Reader, Scanner, MICR, OMR etc.

Fig 1.2.1 Bar code Reader Fig 1.2.2 MICR used in Bank Fig 1.2.3 OMR(Used for answer sheet evaluation)

Output Devices: Those devices which help to display the processed information. Eg. Monitor,
Printer, Plotter, Projector

Fig 1.2.4 Printer Fig 1.2.5 Plotter Fig 1.2.6 Projector

CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU)

The main component to make a computer operate is the computer chip or microprocessor. This
is referred to as the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and is housed in the computer case. Together,
they are also called the CPU. It performs arithmetic and logic operations. The CPU (Central
Processing Unit) is the device that interprets and executes instructions.

Fig 1.2.7 Processor

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1.2.4 Windows and its components

The main components of Windows when you start your computer are the Desktop, My
Computer, Recycle Bin, Start Button, Taskbar, and shortcuts to applications.

After opening an application, you will also have a window with an active application which will
appear in your desktop and taskbar.

Fig 1.2.8

Desktop

The Desktop is the very first screen you see after Windows starts. There you find the folders: My
Documents, My Computer, the Recycle Bin and any Shortcuts for applications and files that you
have created.

My Computer

When you double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop, it will open a window similar to
the one shown below, where you can navigate between the computer's drives and Control Panel
tools.

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Fig 1.2.9

Recycle Bin

When you delete a file from your computer's hard drive, it is removed to the folder called
Recycle Bin. Files deleted from your hard drive are still available for restoring if needed, unless
you empty your Recycle Bin.

To restore the files, open the Recycle Bin folder by double-clicking the icon on your desktop,
select the file and then select Restore.

Fig 1.2.10

 To clear the Recycle Bin, select Empty Recycle Bin and the files will be permanently
removed from your computer.

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Fig 1.2.11

Note that the recycle bin does not apply to the contents of a floppy disk. If you delete a file from
a floppy disk, it is permanently deleted, and you cannot restore it.

Minimize/Maximize/Close Buttons

In the top-right corner of your document are the Minimize/Maximize/Close buttons.

The first one when clicked minimize your screen, sending it to the taskbar. The second one
maximize your screen, filling all desktop with the document you are working with.The last button
is used to close your document.

It is best practice to work with your document window maximized.

Start Menu

By clicking the Start button, in the very bottom-left corner of the screen, a vertical window will
come up with the Start Menu.

The list of submenus in the pop-up window let you navigate and select the application you want
to run.

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Fig 1.2.12

Taskbar

The Taskbar is the row at the bottom of the Windows screen where all currently open
applications or files are listed.

The taskbar is used to select a file or application that is already opened or to put an application in
the foreground.

To put an application in the foreground, just click on the icon of the application in the taskbar.
Another way to put an application in the foreground when more than one is in use is to hold the
ALT button and then click TAB on your keyboard to see all the open applications; you will need to
hold the ALT button and continue pressing TAB to go through each application until you come to
the one you want to use.

Shortcut

A shortcut creates a button or icon which typically stays on the desktop and when clicked, quickly
allows you to start a program or open a file without having to go to its permanent location on
your computer.

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To create a shortcut, open the Windows Explorer or go to the Start menu, select the file or
program you want to create a shortcut for, place the cursor on the icon for the file, then right-
click and select Create Shortcut from the menu that pops up. The shortcut file will be created.
After that, you drag the shortcut file to the desktop and whenever you click on it, it will open the
application or document related to the shortcut.

Fig 1.2.13

Right and Left Click

To use the mouse, usually you click the left button. However, you can also right-click to display a
hidden menu related to the object you are in when clicking. This menu can vary depending on
which application you are using.

With right-clicking, you can operate different functions such as:

Copy/cut or paste a text, file, or folder.

Rename or delete a file or folder.

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Fig 1.2.14

Multitasking

The term multitasking means to be running or working in two or more applications at the same
time. You can be more productive by multitasking. For instance, you can download files from the
Internet while managing your files or word processing.

In order to switch between the applications you can use the Taskbar, clicking on the icon of the
application you want to have in the foreground.

Fig 1.2.15

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Highlight

Put your cursor at the beginning of a word or sentence you want to highlight, then click and drag
your mouse to the end of the selection.

Fig 1.2.16

Copy/Cut and Paste Text

Copy is used when you want to have an area of text from a document twice at the same
document or in another document. You first select the area of the text by highlighting it
and then press CTRL+C, or go to Edit menu and select Copy.

Fig 1.2.17

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Cut is used to delete an area of text from a document. You first select the area of the text
by highlighting it and then press CTRL+X, or go to Edit menu and select Cut.

Fig 1.2.18

Standard and Formatting Toolbars

Toolbars are rows of buttons and boxes. When you click on a button or box, an application opens
or a task is performed. Toolbars normally appear at the top of an application's window. The
Standard Toolbar shown in the image below is from Windows Explorer; the standard toolbars in
other applications may have buttons that allow you to open a new document, save, print, and
spell check.

The Formatting Toolbar is used to format a text using alignments, font type, font size, bold, italic,
and lists. It is provided in most applications. The image below shows the Formatting Toolbar from
Netscape Composer.

Save and/or Save As

Save is used when:

 It is the first time you are saving a file.

 You want to keep saving an existing file in different moments that you are working on it.
 It is the end of a working period.

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Fig 1.2.19

Note that clicking Save will replace whatever file you were working on.

Go to File menu and select Save or use the combination keys CTRL+S.

Fig 1.2.20

Save As is used when you want to save a file with a different name to create backups of a file in
the creation process. In that way, you can have different versions of the same document and can
return to a previous stage.

Go to File menu and select Save As or use the combination keys CTRL+SHIFT+S.
Rename/Delete a Folder or File

Using Windows Explorer, you can rename or delete a file or folder.

To Rename a file or folder:

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1. Navigate and select the file or folder you want to rename from the proper drive (c:, a:).
2. Go to the File menu and select Rename.
3. The file name will be highlighted and blinking in the right corner waiting for you to type
the new file name.

Fig 1.2.21

To Delete a file or folder:

1. Navigate and select the file or folder you want to delete.

2. Go to the File menu and select Delete.

Fig 1.2.22

Another way of renaming or deleting a file or folder is using the right-click button of your mouse.
After highlighting the file or folder, you right-click and a menu will appear where you can select
Rename or Delete

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1.2.5 Types of Computers

1. PC

Fig 1.2.22
The personal computer (PC) defines a computer designed for general use by a single person.
While a Mac is a PC, most people relate the term with systems that run the Windows operating
system. PCs were first known as microcomputers because they were a complete computer but
built on a smaller scale than the huge systems in use by most businesses.

2. Desktop

Fig 1.2.23

A PC that is not designed for portability is a desktop computer. The expectation with desktop
systems are that you will set the computer up in a permanent location. Most desktops offer more
power, storage and versatility for less cost than their portable brethren.

3. Laptop

Also called notebooks, laptops are portable computers that integrate the display, keyboard, a
pointing device or trackball, processor, memory and hard drive all in a battery-operated package
slightly larger than an average hardcover book.

4. Netbook

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Fig 1.2.24
Netbooks are ultra-portable computers that are even smaller than traditional laptops. The extreme
cost-effectiveness of netbooks (roughly $300 to $500) means they're cheaper than almost any
brand-new laptop you'll find at retail outlets. However, netbooks' internal components are less
powerful than those in regular laptops.

PDA

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are tightly integrated computers that often use flash memory
instead of a hard drive for storage. These computers usually do not have keyboards but rely on
touch screen technology for user input. PDAs are typically smaller than a paperback novel, very
lightweight with a reasonable battery life. A slightly larger and heavier version of the PDA is the
handheld computer.

Workstation

Fig 1.2.25

Another type of computer is a workstation. A workstation is simply a desktop computer that has a
more powerful processor, additional memory and enhanced capabilities for performing a special
group of task, such as 3D Graphics or game development.

Server

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Fig 1.2.26

A computer that has been optimized to provide services to other computers over a network.
Servers usually have powerful processors, lots of memory and large hard drives. The next type of
computer can fill an entire room.

8. Mainframe

In the early days of computing, mainframes were huge computers that could fill an entire room or
even a whole floor! As the size of computers has diminished while the power has increased, the
term mainframe has fallen out of use in favor of enterprise server. You'll still hear the term used,
particularly in large companies to describe the huge machines processing millions of transactions
every day.

9. SuperComputer

Fig 1.2.27

This type of computer usually costs hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Although
some supercomputers are single computer systems, most are composed of multiple high
performance computers working in parallel as a single system. The best known supercomputers
are built by Cray Supercomputers.

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10. Wearable Computer

Fig 1.2.28

The latest trend in computing is wearable computers. Essentially, common computer applications
(e-mail, database, multimedia, calendar/scheduler) are integrated into watches, cell phones,
visors and even clothing. For more information see these articles on computer clothing, smart
watches and fabric PCs.

1.2.6 Computer Hardware and Software

Computer hardware includes all the electrical, mechanical, and the electronic parts of a
computer. Any part that we can see or touch is the hard ware.

Fig 1.2.29

Computer hardware includes

1. System Unit
2. Peripheral devices
3. Input devices i.e. keyboard, mouse etc.
4. Output devices i.e. Display Unit, printer etc.
5. Storage devices like hard disk, floppy disks etc.

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Software:
The functioning of the computer is not dependent on hardware alone. So, what else is required?
It requires a set of instructions that tells the computer what is to be done with the input data. In
computer terminology, this set of instructions is called a program and one or more programs is
termed as software.

Let us understand hardware and software with an example. An audio cassette when played gives
you some sound. Here, the tape recorder and the audio cassette can be compared to hardware.
The sound which comes from the tape recorder can be compared to software.
Software used for computers may be of different types. Some of which are:
Application Software
System Software

Application Software
Software specially suited for specific applications for example, railway and airline reservation,
billing, accounting or software which enables creation and storage of documents are termed as
application software.

System software
In the above airline reservation ex System software ample, the clerk types your name and other
details through the keyboard. But how does this go to the system unit? This activity is done by a
set of instructions called the Operating Systems.
The Operating System manages the various 1/0 devices of the computer and enables the user to
interact with the machine.
The computer understands only machine language i.e. O’s and 1’s. In the above example how do
you think it understands the reservation clerk’s query in English? There has to be a software
which translates the user language into machine language.
The software which does this translation is known as the support software. Examples of support
software are compilers and interpreters

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1.2.7Advantages and disadvantages of computers

Fig 1.2.30

1.2.8Applications of Computers

Fig 1.2.31

1.Business: Businesses use computers for communications across a number of types of

people, such as between employees, between the business and its customers, and
between a business and its suppliers. One major advantage of computer communication
is that it is often asynchronous, which means that communication can happen even if
one person is not available by telephone

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2.E-Commerce: E-commerce (electronic commerce) describes the

buying, selling, and exchanging of products, services, and
information via computer network. The term e-commerce as
describe transactions, conducted between business partners.
There are many applications of e-commerce, such as home
banking, shopping in electronic malls, buying stocks, finding a job,
conducting an auction, collaborating electronically with business
partners around the globe, marketing and providing customer
service.
Fig 1.2.32

3. Education: The computer technology has a deep impact

on education. Computer education forms a part of the
school and college curriculum, as it is important for every
individual today, to have the basic knowledge of computers.
The advantages of computers in education include an
efficient storage and performance of information, quick
information processing and very importantly the saving of
paper. Know more about the importance of computer
education. Computer teaching plays a key role in the
modern systems of education.
Fig 1.2.32

4. Medical: Computers play an indispensable role in the medical field, and without them,
proficiency and productivity would decline markedly. Computers assist with
organizational, administrative duties, patient records, and a number of medical technologies
that are an absolute necessity in today’s world. Every hospital now incorporates computers into
the framework of its everyday responsibilities and duties, and this technology has become an
invaluable asset in virtually every medical facility. Generally speaking, many medical screening
methods hinge largely on computer technology, including x-rays. Furthermore, various surgical
procedures require computers as well, including heart surgeries. Computers can streamline the
efficiency of many medically related duties.

5. Science: As much as computers have become a part of our daily lives, they have also become
an integral part of modern science. They are essential in helping scientists to understand the
world around us. Computers have changed the face of science so that scientists are no longer
constrained to doing just experiment-based or theoretical research. Now scientists can enter
results and data into a computer and the computer, utilizing mathematics and abiding by the
physical laws, can recreate a virtual physical world right on the computer screen

6. Communication: Computers are critical for communication and are the center piece of

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information technology. The early 1990s saw the emergence of household Internet use, which
eventually spurred common use of email, websites, blogs, social networking, video chat and
Voice-Over-Internet Protocol. Today, many traditional communication modes including postal
mail and landline phones seem obsolete.

1.3 M.S. Office& Data Confidentiality

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Know about MS office and its components
2. Be able to explore and use the basic features of the above mentioned components
3. Learn how to add header, footer, and page number in MS Word.
4. Have an understanding about Data Confidentiality

1.3.1 Introduction to M.S.Office

Fig 1.3.1

It was first announced by Bill Gates on 1 August 1988. Office is produced in several versions
targeted towards different end-users and computing environments. The original, and most widely
used version, is the desktop version. The first version of Office contained Microsoft
Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Finally, with the rise of cloud computing,
Microsoft also produces and runs Office Online, a web-based version of core Office apps, which is
included as part of a Microsoft account. Let us now one by one take every component that makes
MS office.

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1.3.2Microsoft Word and its working

In basic terms, MS word can be explained as a word processor. Microsoft Word is a full-featured
word processing program for writing and editing text documents. Word includes tools that let
multiple users share information and collaboratively edit documents. Word is included in every
edition of Microsoft Office2007.

The aim of the MS-Word is to permit the users to type as well as save documents. Comparable to
other word processors, Word has useful tools to prepare documents.

Word 1.0 could be purchased with a bundled mouse, though none was required. Following the
precedents of Lisa Write and MacWrite, Word for Macintosh attempted to add
closer WYSIWYG features into its package. Word for Mac was released in 1985. Word for Mac was
the first graphical version of Microsoft Word.

The basic window to understand various essential parts which we get when we start word
application is given below:

Fig 1.3.2

File Tab -The File tab substitutes the Office button from Word. By clicking it to check the Backstage
view, which is the place to come when we need to save or open files, print a document, create new
documents, and do other file-related operations.
Quick Access Toolbar -You will find it just above the File tab and its objective is to give a suitable
resting place for the utmost repeatedly used commands of Words. We can modify this toolbar as per
our comfort.

Ribbon holds commands organized in the following three components:

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Fig 1.3.3

1. Tabs: They appear through the top of the Ribbon and comprise a group of related commands like
Insert, Home, Page Layout and so on.

2. Groups: They organize related commands and each group name appears below the group on the
Ribbon, such as group of commands related to group of commands or fonts, and commands
related to alignment, and so on.

3. Commands: They appear within each group such as group of commands or fonts as mentioned
above.

Title bar: Title bar lies in the middle and at the top of the window. It shows the document and
program titles.

Rulers: Ms-Word has two rulers as follows:

1. The horizontal ruler: It appears just beneath the Ribbon and is used to tab stops and set margins.
2. The vertical ruler: It appears on the left edge of the Word window and is used to gauge the
vertical position of elements on the page.

Help: The Help Icon can be used to get word related any help anytime we like.

Zoom Control: It let us zoom in for a closer look at the text. It consists of a slider that we can slide
right or left to zoom out or in and we can click - and + buttons to decrease or increase the zoom
factor.

View Buttons: View buttons are the group of five buttons located near the bottom of the screen and
left of the Zoom control, with the help of view buttons we can switch among many document views
of Words. These five view buttons are as follows:

1. Print Layout View: This view displays pages exactly as they will appear when printed.
2. Full Screen Reading View: This view gives a full screen look of the document.
3. Web Layout View: This view displays how a document appears when viewed by an Internet
browser, such as Google Chrome.
4. Outline View: This view used to work with outlines established using Word’s standard heading

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styles.
5. Draft View: This view formats text as it appears on the printed page with little exceptions. For
instance, headers and footers are not shown. Most of the individuals prefer this draft View
mode.

Document Area: It is the space where you type something. In the document area there is a flashing
vertical bar that is known as the insertion point. Insertion point signifies the location where text will
appear when we type.

Status Bar: Status bar shows the insertion point location and document information. From left to
right, this bar comprises the words in the document, total number of pages, language, and so on. We
can manage the status bar by right-clicking anywhere on the document and by selecting or
deselecting options from the given list.

Dialog Box Launcher: Dialog Box Launcher appears like a small arrow in the lower-right corner of
several groups on the Ribbon. By clicking Dialog Box Launcher opens a task pane or dialog box that
gives much more options about the group.

1.3.3Microsoft Excel and its working

Microsoft Excel2007 is a spreadsheet program used for tasks such as creating budgets, tracking
data, and creating charts and graphs. With Excel, you create what Microsoft calls a Workbook,
which can contain any number of individual worksheets. Users can copy or export the graphs and
charts created in Excel to Word, PowerPoint, or Publisher or OneNote. Excel is included in every
edition of Microsoft Office2007.
MS excel originally competed with the dominant Lotus 1-2-3, and eventually outsold it. It is
available for the Windows and OS X platforms. Microsoft released the first version of Excel for the
Mac OS in 1985, and the first Windows version (numbered 2.05 to line up with the Mac and
bundled with a standalone Windows run-time environment) in November 1987.

Now let us see how easy it is to enter text in an excel sheet. when you start a sheet, it displays a
new sheet by default as shown below:

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Fig 1.3.4

Sheet area is the area where you can type your text. The flashing vertical bar is known as the
insertion point and it indicates the location where text will appear when you type.

When we click on a box then box becomes highlighted. When we double click the box flashing
vertical bar will appear and we can start entering data then.

The three points to remember which would help you while typing are as follows:

1. Press Tab to go to next column

2. Press Enter to go to next row
3. Press Alt + Enter to enter a new line in the same column

Movement Using Keyboard

Excel can be excellently used using a keyboard,here are some of the basics followed by important
shortcuts.

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Shortcuts

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Movement using Scroll Bars: moving vertically within the sheet.

Using the vertical scroll bar, we can:

1.Move downward by one line by clicking the downward-pointing scroll arrow.

2.Move upward by one line by clicking the upward-pointing scroll arrow.
3.Move one previous page, using previous page button.
4.Move one next page, using next page button.
5. Use Browse Object button to move through the sheet and going from one object to the next.

NOW let us finally finish by understanding a few tricks, these are sure to save a lot of time and
even more energy.

First one is locating single cell, although seems like not a very useful thing to know, but is
INCREDIBLY time saving when working on a big project

In Microsoft Excel, to locate a particular cell, you can use the Go to dialog box. This dialog box
identifies cell names by applying the identical conventions used by Microsoft Excel. Under Edit from
the main menu, you can get the Go to dialog box. Ctrl + G or F5 is the shortcuts to access the Go to
dialog box.

The Replace dialog box permits you to identify a word or group of words and to change it with a
new word or group of words. Both ‘Find and Replace’ dialog boxes are available from the main
menu under Edit. Ctrl + H is the shortcut for the Replace dialog box ‘

Next, also the last step, spell checking.

The check spelling is done with the help of a spelling dialog box that will take us step by step to every
word that is debateable. Moreover, the computer will point out certain suggested words that we can
use in place of the one at fault. We can check out worksheet’s spelling after or during editing, though
the latter is better. To Check Spelling in the document:

On the Ribbon, click Review;

go to the Proofing section, and then click the Spelling button

NOTE: Shortcut key for spelling check is F7

1.3.4Microsoft Access
Microsoft Access has the look and feel of other Microsoft Office products, including its layout and
navigational aspects. That is where the similarity ends. Microsoft® Access is a database and, more
specifically, a relational database.

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The Microsoft Access Database is made up of 7 major components:

1. Table-The tables are the backbone and the storage container of the data entered into the
database. If the tables are not set up correctly, with the correct relationships, then the
database may be slow, give you the wrong results or not react the way you expect.
2. Relationships-Relationships are the bonds you build between the tables. They join tables
that have associated elements. To do this there is a field in each table, which is linked to
each other, and have the same values.
3. Queries-Are the means of manipulating the data to display in a form or a report. Queries
can sort, calculate, group, filter, join tables, update data, delete data, etc. Their power is
immense.
4. Forms-Forms are the primary interface through which the users of the database enter data.
The person who enters the data will interact with forms regularly. The programmer can set
the forms to show only the data required.
5. Reports-Reports are the results of the manipulation of the data you have entered into the
database. Unlike forms, they cannot be edited. Reports are intended to be used to output
data to another device or application, i.e. printer, fax, Microsoft® Word or Microsoft® Excel.
6. Macros-Macros are an automatic way for Access to carry out a series of actions for the
database. Access gives you a selection of actions that are carried out in the order you enter.
7. Modules-Modules are the basis of the programming language that supports Microsoft®
Access, The module window is where you can write and store Visual Basic for Applications
(VBA).

1.3.5Microsoft Outlook and One Note

Microsoft Outlook is a personal information manager from Microsoft, available as a part of
the Microsoft Office suite. Although often used mainly as an email application, it also includes a
calendar, task manager, contact manager, note taking, journal, and web browsing. Outlook is an E-
mail software program by Microsoft that enables users to send and receive e-mail on their
computer.

Microsoft Outlook may be used as a standalone application, but is also part of the Microsoft Office
suite. Outlook’s current version is Microsoft Outlook 2010. Outlook is also available for the Apple
Mac; its current version is Outlook 2011.

Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote is a computer program for free-form information gathering and multi-user
collaboration. It gathers users' notes (handwritten or typed), drawings, screen clippings and audio

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commentaries. Notes can be shared with otherOneNote users over the Internet or a network.

In simpler words,organize all your class notes and ace that exam. OneNote is a digital notebook.
Whether you’re at home, in school, or in the office, use OneNote to take notes wherever you go.
And OneNote automatically saves and synchronizes your notes so you can focus on your thoughts
and ideas.

1.3.6 Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a complete presentation graphics package. It gives you everything you need to
produce a professional-looking presentation. PowerPoint offers word processing, outlining, drawing,
graphing, and presentation management tools- all designed to be easy to use and learn.

The following gives you a quick overview of what you can do in PowerPoint:
 When you create a presentation using PowerPoint, the presentation is made up of a series
of slides. The slides that you create using PowerPoint can also be presented as overhead
transparencies or 35mm slides.
 In addition to slides, you can print audience handouts, outlines, and speaker's notes.
 You can format all the slides in a presentation using the powerful Slide Master which will be
covered in the tutorial.
 You can keep your entire presentation in a single file- all your slides, speaker's notes, and
audience handouts.
 You can import what you have created in other Microsoft products, such as Word and Excel
into any of your slides

Fig 1.3.5

Taking about movement, three movements provided by Microsoft PowerPoint are as follows:

1. Entrance, emphasis, and exit of elements on a slide itself are controlled by what PowerPoint

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defines Custom animations.

2.On the other hand, transitions are movements between slides. These can be animated in many
ways.

3.Custom animation can be used to create small story boards by animating pictures to enter, exit or
move.

Now let’s finish by learning a few small but extremely useful things:

First, how to create a power slide.

1. Choose a theme

When you open PowerPoint, you’ll see some built-in themes and templates. A theme is a slide
design that contains matching colors, fonts, and special effects like shadows, reflections, and more.

Choose a theme.

Click Create, or pick a color variation and then click Create.

Fig 1.3.6

2. Insert a new slide

On the Home tab, click New Slide, and pick a slide layout.

Fig 1.3.6

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3. Save your presentation

On the File tab, choose Save.

Pick or browse to a folder.
In the File name box, type a name for your presentation, and then choose Save.

NOTE: If you frequently save files to a certain folder, you can ‘pin’ the path so that it is always
available (as shown below).

TIP: Save your work as you go. Hit Ctrl+S often.

Select a text placeholder, and begin typing.

4. Format your text

Select the text.

Under Drawing Tools, choose Format.

Fig 1.3.7

Do one of the following:

To change the color of your text, choose Text Fill, and then choose a color.
To change the outline color of your text, choose Text Outline, and then choose a color.
To apply a shadow, reflection, glow, bevel, 3-D rotation, a transform, choose Text Effects, and then
choose the effect you want.

5. Add pictures

On the Insert tab, do one of the following:

To insert a picture that is saved on your local drive or an internal server, choose Pictures, browse for

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the picture, and then choose Insert.

To insert a picture from the Web, choose Online Pictures, and use the search box to find a picture.

Choose a picture, and then click Insert.

6. Add speaker notes

Slides are best when you don’t cram in too much information. You can put helpful facts and notes in
the speaker notes, and refer to them as you present.

To open the notes pane, at the bottom of the window, click Notes .
Click inside the Notes pane below the slide, and begin typing your notes!

Add speaker notes to your slides

Print slides with or without speaker notes

7. Give your presentation

On the Slide Show tab, do one of the following:

To start the presentation at the first slide, in the Start Slide Show group, click from Beginning.

If you’re not at the first slide and want to start from where you are, click from Current Slide.

If you need to present to people who are not where you are, click Present Online to set up a
presentation on the web, and then choose one of the following options:

Present online using the Office Presentation Service

Start an online presentation in PowerPoint using Skype for Business

TIP: For information about viewing your notes as you give your presentation without the audience
seeing them, see View your speaker notes as you deliver your slide show.

Secondly, steps for copying and pasting an existing slide:

Step 1: Open both the presentation — the presentation having the slide master that one wants to
copy and the presentation that one will paste the slide master to.
Step 2: On the View tab, in the Master Views group, click Slide Master, in the presentation having
the slide master that one wants to copy.

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Step 3: Right-click the slide master that one wants to copy, and then click Copy in the slide
thumbnail pane
Step 4: On the View tab, in the Window group, click Switch Windows, and then select the
presentation that we want to paste the slide master to.
Step 5: In the presentation that we want to paste the slide master to, on the view tab, in the master
views group, click slide master.
Step 6: In the slide thumbnail pane, to click the location where we want the slide master to reside,
perform a right-click on the blank slide master, and then click paste.

1.3.7 Data Confidentiality

Data Confidentiality is whether the information stored on a system is protected against unintended
or unauthorized access. Since systems are sometimes used to manage sensitive information, Data
Confidentiality is often a measure of the ability of the system to protect its data.

Fig 1.3.8

Confidentiality is roughly equivalent to privacy. Measures undertaken to ensure confidentiality are

designed to prevent sensitive information from reaching the wrong people, while making sure that
the right people can in fact get it: Access must be restricted to those authorized to view the data in
question. It is common, as well, for data to be categorized according to the amount and type of
damage that could be done should it fall into unintended hands. More or less stringent measures
can then be implemented according to those categories.

Sometimes safeguarding data confidentiality may involve special training for that privy to such
documents. Such training would typically include security risks that could threaten this information.
Training can help familiarize authorized people with risk factors and how to guard against them.
Further aspects of training can include strong passwords and password-related best practices and
information about social engineering methods, to prevent them from bending data-handling rules
with good intentions and potentially disastrous results.

A good example of methods used to ensure confidentiality is an account number or routing number
when banking online. Data encryption is a common method of ensuring confidentiality. User IDs
and passwords constitute a standard procedure; two-factorauthentication is becoming the norm.
Other options include biometric verification andsecurity tokens, key fobs or soft tokens. In addition,

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users can take precautions to minimize the number of places where the information appears and
the number of times it is actually transmitted to complete a required transaction. Extra measures
might be taken in the case of extremely sensitive documents, precautions such as storing only on air
gappedcomputers, disconnected storage devices or, for highly sensitive information, in hard
copyform only.

Fig 1.3.9

Steps to protect Confidential Data

 Identify The Confidential Information. Before a business can protect its confidential
information, or expect someone else not to disclose it, the business must be able to
specifically identify what the information is that it considers to be confidential. The more
specific a business is in identifying the confidential information, the better chance it has of
protecting it.
 Be Realistic inIdentifying the Confidential Information. Obviously not all information can be
classified as confidential. Generally, confidential information is information that is known
only within the business and is not publically available. Narrowly and specifically identifying
the confidential information allows a business to support its determination that the
information is confidential.
 Make Sure All Employees Understand What Information Is Confidential. Once a business
has identified what information it believes to be confidential, it is essential that its
employees understand what information the business considers to be confidential. The
precise nature of the confidential information does not need to be revealed to the
employees, but they must be told enough so that they know that the particular information
is confidential and not to disclose it to others. For example, employees may be told that the
pricing formula for Product X is confidential, without telling them the pricing formula.

 Include A Confidentiality Statement in Your Employee Handbook. An Employee Handbook

sets forth, among other things, an employer's expectation of its employees. The Employee
Handbook should also identify what a business considers to be confidential and inform

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employees of his/her obligation not to disclose that information. It is hard for an employee
to claim that he/she was unaware that certain information was confidential if language to
that effect is in the Employee Handbook and the employee has acknowledged receipt of
that handbook.
 Use Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreements with People Who Have Knowledge ofand
Access to The Specifics ofthe Confidential Information. Certain people within a business,
and consultants or others outside of a business will have access to confidential information.
In such cases, a business should have those individuals and/or entities sign
Confidentiality/Non-Disclosure Agreements to put them on specific notice that the business
considers certain information to be confidential and to give the business certain remedies
against them should they disclose the confidential information.
 Protect Confidential Information. It almost goes without saying that a business should not
leave confidential information in the open. There are different steps a business can take to
prevent others from gaining access to the information. For a smaller company, these steps
might involve keeping the information under lock and key, while for a larger company, it
might mean keeping the information in a password protected database.
 Limit Access to The Confidential Information to Those with A Need to Know. Depending on
the size of a business and the nature of your confidential information, not everyone should
be given access to the confidential information. Access to this confidential information
should be on a need-to-know basis. For example, a nationwide sales company may want to
allow only its sales people to access its customer lists for that sales person's territory, as
opposed to allowing access to customer lists for all territories.
 Protect Computerized Confidential Information with Advances in Technology. More and
more confidential information is being stored on computers. At a minimum, access to
confidential information on these computers should be password protected with the
password being changed at regular intervals, i.e. every 3-6 months. In addition, you might
consider a confidentiality "reminder" pop-up on the computer screen before the
confidential information can be accessed reminding employees that the information is
confidential.
 Label The Information as Confidential. Consider placing labels on confidential information
that clearly states that the information is "confidential." This label can appear on the
information itself and or on the container in which it is kept. It is yet another reminder to
employees and others that information is considered to be confidential.
 Conduct Employee and Consultant Exit Interviews. Exit interviews are generally important
to remind departing employees and consultants of their obligations to the company, and to
make sure that the employee's departure or termination of a business relationship is
smooth. An exit interview also presents an opportunity to reiterate to the employee and/or
consultant his/her obligation to keep information confidential.
The steps outlined above are all fairly easy to implement. The more of these steps that a business
undertakes, the more likely its employees will understand that certain information is confidential,
and the more likely a court will help a business protect the confidential information.

Protecting confidential information assets throughout an enterprise is a journey rather than a one-
time event. It fundamentally requires a systematic way to identify sensitive data; understand

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current business processes; craft appropriate access, usage and distribution policies; and monitor
outgoing and internal communications. Ultimately, what is most important to understand are the
potential costs and ramifications of not establishing a system to secure non-public information from
the inside out.

1.4 Enhance Typing Skills

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Demonstrate and know the correct way and advantages of typing
2. Know the concept of touch typing.
3. Identify the shortcuts to increase your typing speed.
4. Consider errors as opportunities for improvement.
5. Know the correct posture to sit and practice!

1.4.1 Secrets to fast typing

The ability to type quickly, accurately and without seeing at the keyboard is a huge advantage
beside the nature of your work at computer system.Having good typing skills is essential in today’s
society where almost everything is computer based and hence requires typing on a keyboard to
input texts and messages frequently. This is even more critical for Data Entry Operator role.

Fig 1.4.1

Below are a few perks of being able to type faster:

1. Fast touch typing can save a lot of time at school and colleges when taking notes, writing
assignments and chatting with friends online.
2. In the workplace, people who type quickly have a natural edge to get more things done and win
the acceptance.
3. If you like chatting and communicating in forums, typing fast will save you a lot of time and allow

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you to say more.

4. For journalists, blogger and writers, skilled typing abilities will help you in your day to day job.

5.For secretaries and administrators, typing is a fundamental job requirement. This is also true for a
range of other typing related jobs such as for data entry operators and LDC.

Touch Typing

Basically, Touch typing is typing without looking at the keyboard. The idea is to teach your fingers the
location of each key. Typing Speed is measured in Words Per Minute (WPM), commonly used in typing
test examination and recruitment. For the purposes of WPM measurement a word is standardized to
five characters or keystrokes. Therefore, “write” counts as one word, but “understand” counts as two
words and blank space also count as one character

1.4.2Tips to increase typing speed

To make things simpler will break down each tip as a subpart of the above topic. Lets dive Right Into
It.
1.4.2.1 Correct Body Posture

Fig 1.4.2
All the above mentioned points make the basic of learning the typing skills. You have to sit straight
with a comfortable height of the chair from where you can see to your monitor. Your end of the palm
must be grounded to the end of the keyboard or surface where your keyboard is placed. Place your
fingers correctly on the keyboard. Never try to type with your fingertips or nails.

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1.4.2.2 Placement of fingers on Keyboard :

The F and J keys have a raised bar or a dot allowing your finger to identify them. Once you have placed
your two indexes on those keys, the other fingers are placed on the keys next to them. 'A' 'S' 'D' 'F'
and 'J' 'K' 'L' ';' are the base positions for your fingers. Your fingers go from the base position to the
key that you want to press and after pressing the key it backs at base position.

In order to type fast you have to be careful about which finger to use to press a key. Take a look at
the drawing below.

Fig 1.4.3

Each color matches a finger. For example the right index is pink and has to type only the pink keys.
Always try to type with both hands. Divide groups in the keyboard for both hands. Always use
thumb of any hand for press the space bar.

1.4.2.3 :Memorize the position of Keys :

To become a good typist you have to memorize the keyboard and create a mental map of the
associated fingers. You have to be able to press any key without even thinking. For example if I say
'E' you have to think move the middle finger up and press 'E' instantly. You can only achieve this
through practice. You have to build up the muscle memory of each finger.

Fig 1.4.4

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You can type with much more speed without seeing to the keyboard. It is very easy if you practice
daily for it. In initial few days let there be mistakes in typing but don't look towards keyboard,
instead try to remember the keys.

1.4.2.4 Use of Shortcut Keys :

Fig 1.4.5

Shortcut keys are very handy for computer users. Shortcuts keys help provide an easier and usually
quicker method of navigating and using computer applications. While writing content you can easily
format the text if you make use of shortcut keys, which will save your further time of formatting the
document. Maximize use of keyboard shortcut's instead of using mouse because when you move
your hand form keyboard to mouse and again set's to the right key position consumes much time

1.4.2.5 Practice makes man perfect : Without practice no one can be a good typist. Try to give an
hour daily as practice session for Typing. You can use online websites IndiaTyping, typingtest.com
for practice. They will show you real time accuracy, speed statics and it never allows you go further
without type correct character for your typing speed improvement.
The best way to enhance your typing speed is through good old practice. While practice is not
certainly a shortcut and requires faithful effort, it really is the best way to see the results. Even if
you practice your typing skills for 30 minutes every day at least for a month, you will see an
improvement that can help you in getting your dream job.
1.4.2.6 Key Tips
1) Place your indexes on 'F' and 'J'.
2) Use same finger all time to type each key.
3) Don't look at the keyboard, your eyes should always look at the screen

4) Practice more!

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Notes

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2. Undertake Data
Entry Services

Unit 2.1 - Job Responsibilities of a Data Entry Operator

Unit 2.2 - Customer Orientation in Data Entry Roles
Unit 2.3 – Performance Measures

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The Key Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. Explain various types of data entry services and job responsibilities of a data entry operator.
2. Obtain sufficient information from customer and check customer’s account details for
accuracy.
3. Assist customer in providing right information and provide the customer with a reasonable
estimated time.
4. Prioritize service requests according to organizational guidelines.
5. Analyse queries/complaints of customers in CRM, Register or MS Excel.
6. Identify first level complaints at front end and customer query resolution.
7. Know about escalation matrix to resolve customer issues.
8. Seek advice and guidance from line manager.

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2.1 Job Responsibilities of a Data Entry Operator

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Understand the role of a Data Entry Operator
2. Success factors in the job role of Data Entry Operator
3. Identify the skills required for Data Entry Operator job role

2.1.1. Who is a Data Entry Operator?

Data entry operators take written information from forms, applications, or company files and enter
the information into computer system databases, or applications for business use. Some positions
deal mostly with typing, such as word processing or computerized customer files. People in these
jobs handle letters, documents, and mailing lists. Other positions feature heavy emphasis on
numerical data entry, such as accounting, banking, and mortgage, or loan information. Data entry
operators work in marketing, accounting, human resources, or healthcare, and many work hours
are spent seated at a computer.

Data entry operators need only a high school diploma or equivalent. Excellent keyboarding skills are
beneficial and learned in a variety of contexts. Related work experience gives applicants an edge
when applying for jobs.

Brief Job Description Individuals are responsible to provide daily work reports and work
on daily hour bases. The individual is responsible for electronic entry of data from the
client side to the office site or vice‐versa. Individual tasks vary depending on the size and
structure of the organization.

Personal Attributes: This job requires the individual to have thorough knowledge of
various technology trends and processes as well as have updated knowledge about
database management systems and IT initiatives. The individual should have fast and
accurate typing / data encoding. This job involves working in a personal computer, and
appropriate software to enter accurate data regarding different issues like retrieving
data from a computer or to a computer

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Responsibilities of Data Entry Operator

The data entry operator is responsible for performing data entry work using a personal computer
and appropriate software; entering, updating, researching, verifying and/or retrieving data
into/from various systems; and ensuring the accuracy and confidentiality of information recorded.

Essential Functions

Enters, updates and verifies data into various systems for use by all personnel.

1. Reviews and verifies data entered into database to ensure accuracy.

2. Tracks documents received and completion dates.
3. Assists and trains employees and new data entry operators on software programs.
4. Provides assistance to technical staff to resolve computer and software problems.
5. Runs and distributes reports.
6. Creates back up files for all data.

Fig 2.1.1

Responsibilities

 Insert customer and account data by inputting text based and numerical information from
source documents within time limits
 Compile, verify accuracy and sort information according to priorities to prepare source data
for computer entry
 Review data for deficiencies or errors, correct any incompatibilities if possible and check
output
 Apply data program techniques and procedures
 Generate reports, store completed work in designated locations and perform backup
operations
 Keep information confidential

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Ensuring the Accuracy of the Data

As a data entry operator, you are responsible to make sure that the data entered in a system or
software must be accurate and up to date. As a data entry operator, you have to enter various types
of information in the system, and keeping the quality of the work is extremely important. Whether
you are working as a freelance operator, or you are associated with an organization, it is your primary
objective to enter the accurate information for the users. In this regard, you have to double check
the information to avoid any kind of typing errors, and achieving the higher standards of the work.

Confidentiality of the Data

Another key responsibility is to keep the confidentiality of the data. In some cases the nature of the
work assigned to you is extremely sensitive. Just like data entry operators working in a bank or
working as a freelance for a bank. In that case, your duty is to keep the confidentiality of the data.
Keeping the quality of the data may be the basic responsibility of a data entry operator, but often it
is equally important to keep the data confidential.

Communicating with the Other Staff

As a data entry operator, you have to communicate with other colleagues, and high ups on a daily
basis to verify or update the information. As a punctual and accurate data entry operator, you have
to know the art of communication so that you can easily ensure the quality of the work.

Concentration and Focus

Often you have to spend long hours on the computer in order to complete your tasks, and in this
situation it becomes extremely hard to keep the same concentration level. As a professional, you
have to make sure that your concentration level does not affect because of the late sitting. You have
to work on tight time deadlines for long working hours with same concentration in order to become
a professional data entry operator.

Ready to Make Corrections

As human beings we all make mistakes, and as a data entry operator, making errors is a normal thing.
You have to be ready for the necessary corrections all the time. Whether it is a typo, or change in the
information, you should never say “No” to any change.

Above are just a few roles and responsibilities of a data entry operator. There are various duties that
you need to perform as a data entry operator on the daily basis.

Challenges Faced by Data Entry Operators

Owing to the low skill requirement for the job and the easily replaceable workforce, data entry
experts are hired on a temporary basis. Very few companies take the pain of hiring full time data
entry operators. This makes it all the more important for people to adhere to strict quality

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parameters. Once you have the right connections and leads, you can easily get round the year work
and easily finish it by working from your home. The versatility and freedom associated with this job
makes it quite attractive for home based workers and people who hate the office work culture. By
constantly improving your knowledge and upgrading your skills, you can evolve as a specialized
professional, thereby increasing you chances of getting hired for high paying jobs.

Data entry operators are going to be in high demand over the next decade or so because of the need
to updates regularly and the cheap labour that is very much required in research projects. With most
aspects of health care going into the electronic format, data entry operators can easily find jobs in
such fields.

Competencies

1. Communication Proficiency.
2. Ethical Conduct.
3. Organizational Skills.
4. Technical Capacity.
5. Time Management.
6. Thoroughness.

Steps to Become a Data Entry Operator

Step 1: Gain Data Entry Skills

Employers train data entry operators, but good typing and numeric key entry skills are a common
prerequisite. Knowledge of database software, spreadsheets, and word processing is helpful. Good
spelling, grammar, and punctuation skills are also necessary, as well as strong reading
comprehension. Data entry operators must be familiar with basic office equipment like computers,
scanners, copiers, and calculators. Training is available at the high school level, and there are online
tutorials as well. Employment agencies, temporary agencies, public libraries, and community
colleges also offer courses in keyboarding skills and data entry.

Success Tips

Obtain a data entry certificate. Many community colleges offer one to two semester certificate
programs in basic office skills or clerical data entry preparing applicants for entry-level data entry
positions. This certificate makes a high school graduate more competitive in this career field.

Practice data entry skills. Data entry operators must be fast and accurate. You should practice their
new data entry skills to increase your speed and reduce errors. Some employers require applicants
to pass a keyboard speed and accuracy test before hiring.

Step 2: Gain Experience

Related entry-level positions, such as a word processor or typist, can help you to gain the
experience required by most employers. In these positions, you'll learn how to check for spelling
and punctuation, organize page reports, and sort data.

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Step 3: Gain Employment for Advancement

High schools and colleges, as well as online job boards, have local job listings. Careful attention
should be paid to the requirements of each job listing. Some jobs require typing skills of a certain
amount of words per minute, and some positions require aptitude with specific software.

To become a data entry operator, you'll need to gain experience to improve your typing and office
skills. You may consider some formal training to help you develop these skills

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2.1.2 Activity
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
1What is the role of a Data Entry Operator?
……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………
……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………
…………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….……
………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………
…………….……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………
2. What are skills required for a Data Entry Operator?
……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………
……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………
…………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………

3. What are three critical responsibilities of a Data Entry Operator

……………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………
………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………………
……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………
…………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………
…………………………………………………………….…………………………………………………………………………………..
3. Open word document and type the following text:

The Indian BPM industry has grown leaps and bounds in the last decade. The value proposition of
the industry has moved to value beyond cost and today the Industry is providing end to end,
Business transformation and platform based solutions. The industry has adopted a truly global
delivery model and has grown in strength to strength not only in Voice processes but also in
Analytics based solution, Supply chain management and proving business transformation services.
The BPM Industry has set a vision of delivering USD 50 Bn of revenue by 2020. Interestingly, the total
IT exports from India in 2009 was USD 50 Bn and within a span of one decade, the BPM Industry has
matured to assume a prominent role in the total growth of IT Industry in the country.

As per the NASSCOM–Mckinsey Perspectives 2020 report, the Indian BPM market is expected to
reach USD 50 billion by 2020, driven by an increase in global consumer spends. India has been a
frontrunner in the outsourcing industry. What started out as the BPO industry - delivering simple,
mostly voice-based processes to global businesses is today a far more mature and sophisticated
industry that delivers high-end solutions for managing key aspects of businesses. Transformation in
the kind of services and value delivered to global clients today are powered by a number of factors

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such as higher emphasis on developing domain expertise, availability of highly skilled talent and
enhanced use of cloud and mobility technologies. According to the present landscape, the total BPM
Export from India is ~USD 18 billion. BPM growth has been driven by several factors - the primary
ones being accelerated deployment of the Platform- based delivery models and building capabilities
to deliver business transformation services.
4. Open Excel Spreadsheet and enter the following data
Order Date Region Rep Item Units Unit Cost Total
06-01-15 East Jones Pencil 95
1.99 189.05
23-01-15 Central Kivell Binder 50
19.99 999.50
09-02-15 Central Jardine Pencil 36
4.99 179.64
26-02-15 Central Gill Pen 27
19.99 539.73
15-03-15 West Sorvino Pencil 56
2.99 167.44
01-04-15 East Jones Binder 60
4.99 299.40
18-04-15 Central Andrews Pencil 75
1.99 149.25
05-05-15 Central Jardine Pencil 90
4.99 449.10
22-05-15 West Thompson Pencil 32
1.99 63.68
08-06-15 East Jones Binder 60
8.99 539.40
25-06-15 Central Morgan Pencil 90
4.99 449.10
12-07-15 East Howard Binder 29
1.99 57.71
29-07-15 East Parent Binder 81
19.99 1,619.19
15-08-15 East Jones Pencil 35
4.99 174.65
01-09-15 Central Smith Desk 2
125.00 250.00
18-09-15 East Jones Pen Set 16
15.99 255.84
05-10-15 Central Morgan Binder 28
8.99 251.72
22-10-15 East Jones Pen 64
8.99 575.36
08-11-15 East Parent Pen 15
19.99 299.85
25-11-15 Central Kivell Pen Set 96
4.99 479.04

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2.2Customer Orientation in Data Entry Jobs

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Understand the need to have customer focus in Data Entry jobs
2. Criticality of accuracy and comprehensiveness of responses
3. Accurate time estimation for responses

2.2.1. Data Entry is important for businesses

Data entry is the most powerful tool for managing information in any business. It is considered to
be an important task for the growth of business. It requires feeding data into the computer. There
are various forms of data such as handwritten documents, sequence of numbers, information off
spreadsheets etc. No matter what type of business you are running, there is always a need of
entering data in forms, documents, databases and records.

Handling data entry requires a skilled professional who has the ability to enter the data quickly.
Another important requirement is the knowledge of computer. Data entry services are important to
businesses because of the following reasons:

 It helps in organizing the information which plays an important role in the growth of
business. There are many factors that are responsible for affecting data such as time,
availability, duplication etc. With the help of entry service you can organize orderly and
update the information as and when it is required.

 The employee efficiency is another factor which is necessary for handling business. The non
availability of data affects the performance of the employee. As executives do not have
enough time to spend on data entry, there is an increase in the efficiency of the employees.

 It can help to reduce the infrastructure cost as less space is required to manage the files.

 It makes sure that the information entered in the computer is well secured.

 As the information is in the digital format, there is no need to waste money on taking print
outs.

 The data can be stored accurately.

 It can help to enhance the productivity of the business.

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Offline data entry helps to organize the information. It is used to convert a paper document into a
digital format. The digital format requires less space and is easy to manage. Offline data entry
requires high typing speed and accuracy. It also requires the necessary computer tool to convert
image files into MS Word. Nowadays almost every business has offline data entry projects. They
hire skilled persons for administrative and clerical jobs. One of the advantages of this job is that you
can do the work right from your home but you have to stick to the deadlines and payments for
these jobs are done after the completion of project through Paypal or money order. You generally
get paid for the number of pages that you have completed accurately and often the payment will be
delayed if your work contains errors.

Offshore data entry is becoming a preferred option for business today. It requires computer
professionals who provide accurate information. The employees of this type of data entry usually
have the task of data conversion, data processing and keyboarding. These services are offered by
many countries. The job requires high information content which can be transmitted by the
telephone and the internet. Advantages of using offshore data entry services include low cost,
accurate services, data security, excellent training facility and focus on core activities.

Thus data entry services are important for the growth of any business organization.

To accomplish this as a data entry operator, you need to know the following:
1. How to work efficiently in a client confronting environment;
2. The rule-based transactions in line with customer-specific guidelines/procedures/rules
and service level agreements;
3. To make sure that your work and that of your associates fulfil the client requirements;
4. To deliver steady and dependable service to the clients and to focus on building and
maintaining a healthy and positive relation with them.

Competencies for good customer Service

 Communication
 Customer Sensitivity
 Decisiveness
 Energy
 Flexibility
 Job Knowledge
 Motivation to serve
 Persuasiveness/Sales
 Planning
 Situation Analysis
 Work Standards

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 Follow – up
 Impact
 Initiative
 Integrity
 Communication
 Customer Sensitivity
 Decisiveness
 Energy
 Flexibility

2.2.3. Workflow management

In today’s environment most of the jobs are done through a workflow. All the requests for data
entry will flow in through the documents workflow.
As there are many users who may be working on similar requirements it is important that a very
good understand of the workflow allocation is done by the associate. It is critical to monitor all the
documents allocated to the associate so that no documents are missed from the deliverables
standpoint.

2.2.4. Database of issues

It is critical that Data entry operator understand the importance of managing the various
service requests that are received from businesses. It is even more important to know the
types of issues that are typically faced and their appropriate line of resolution. This
database of typical problems faced by the clients and their resolutions, time to resolve and
appropriate workarounds will help deliver good customer service to the clients.
An example would be for a data entry operator for processing of housing loan application for a
bank. Typical problems include
Illegible handwriting
Fields incomplete in forms
Missing address proof

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2.2.5. Exercises
1. Refer to the guidelines for handling service requests.

Guidelines:
1. If there are three or more pending requests, the operator should first complete all the
pending requests.
2. The operator should complete all the 'ADD' service requests, if there are not more than
two pending requests.
3. The 'VERIFY' service requests should be completed only after the 'ADD' service requests.
4. The 'ADD' service requests should be completed after 'MODIFY' service requests.
5. If there are no pending service requests, UPDATE the database and then complete all
'ADD' service requests.

When should the database be updated?

a. When there are two 'ADD' service requests
b. When there are five pending requests
c. When there are no 'VERIFY' service requests
d. When there are no pending requests

2. The table shows a status report showing the deliveries made in the month of May. Who was the
first client to whom the delivery was made?

Fig 2.2.1

a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
e. E

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3. If the operator has any confusion while entering the customer's personal details, what should be
the first step to be taken by the operator?

a. Inform the supervisor

b. Ask help from colleagues
c. Interrogate the customer
d. Do what he thinks is right

4. You work in department A of a company. You receive a service request from a customer which
has to be handled by department B as per the company guidelines. What should you do in this
case?
a. You should ask the customer not to send such requests to department A
b. You should forward the service request to your manager
c. You should handle the request and meet the customer's requirement
d. You should inform the head of department B and ask him as to why your department is getting
such requests

5. What does "F" mean on the F1, F2, F3, F4, etc. keyboard keys?
a. Find
b. File
c. Format
d. Function

6. You have completed the worksheet and want to make certain that you have not made spelling or
grammar errors. Which button will you select?

a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D

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2.3Performance Measures

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Understand the Performance Measures in Data Entry Jobs
2. Relate to impacts of missing performance measures

2.3.1 Service Level Agreements

Data Entry Operator needs to be aware of the service level agreements basis which not only the
operator’s performance but the performance of the organization is measured. Delays, errors and
hold up in volumes can have a significant impact on business performance. Here lets evaluate what
the critical service level expectations from data entry roles. This can vary from business to business
but are generic guideliness to understand expectations better.

Turnaround time (TAT):This is the time it takes to deliver on a request onces it reaches the business
for processing. For example there is a new application of credit card that has reached your desk.
There is an expections from the business that each such application is processed within 24 hours or
48 hours of their receipt. This is called the turn around time metrics in the Data Entry Operator
role.

Further, some businesses also have different turn around times basis business criticality. For
instance an urgent requirement may have a expected turnaround time of 4 hours or 8 hours.
Which means for request marked as urgent the business cannot wait for 24 hours or 48 hours to
process. They expect such requests to turnaround within 4 hours or 8 hours.

Accuracy:One important metrics business measure the performance of the data entry operator is
the accuracy levels. This is how many data entry requests have been processed accurately.
Meaning without any errors or incorrect entry. Typical expectation is no error or 100% accuracy but
to account for some human error the expectation is that 99% or 99.5% accuracy levels are
maintaitned. This is calculated as

Number of data entry requests processed accurately / Total data entry requests

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Timeliness:This is an extention of turnaroudnd time. Timeliness measures the overall performance

on turnaround time on all the requests processed by the data entry operator. Timeliness is
depicted as a percentage showing of the total data entry requests processed how many requests
met the turn around time expected.
Timeliness = Number of data entry request met expected TAT / Total number of Data entry
requests

2.3.2 Impact of SLA misses

It is critical to understand the impact of SLA misses on the business. As you would expect the Data
entry operator is processing critical business documents. This updated data is required for taking
further business decisions or executing on various business requirement. Examples would be

1. A credit card application is being entered to make a decision on approving a credit card to a
customer who has made the application
2. Data entry is done for a Bank account opening form to ensure that required details are there for
opening a savings or current bank account for a customer
3. A New business order data entry is done to ensure the order is processed and delivered to the
customer who has made an order with you.

If the data entry is not done in a timely manner or is done inaccurately it will have an adverse effect
on the business. In above example the impacts could be
1. A dissatisfied customer who was expecting a credit card
2. Delay in opening a bank account or application declined due to incorrect data entered
3. Lost customer order due to delay or a dissatisfied customer who received a wrong order
delivered (ordered a I phone 6S while was delivered Iphone6 for example.
It is critical that all the performance measure are delivered strong to meet the business
requirements effectively.

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Notes

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3. Manage Your Work

to Meet Requirement
Unit 3.1 - Time Management
Unit 3.2 - Work Management and Prioritization
Unit 3.3 - Quality and Standard Adherence

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The Key Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, you will be able to:
1. Establish and agree your work requirements with appropriate people
2. Keep your immediate work area clean and tidy
3. Utilize your time effectively
4. Use resources correctly and efficiently
5. Treat confidential information correctly
6. Work in line with your organization’s policies and procedures
7. Work within the limits of your job role
8. Obtain guidance from appropriate people, where necessary
9. Ensure your work meets the agreed requirements

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3.1 Time Management

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
3. Discuss the significance of time management
4. Create awareness on basic time management techniques
5. Summarize the appropriate discussion points from the breakout sessions

3.1.1. Importance of Time Management

The first part of this session discusses the following:
 “Plan better avoid wastage”
 Understanding the timelines of the deliverables. Receiving the hand off from upstream teams at
right time is critical to start self contribution and ensure passing the deliverables to
downstream team.
 It is important to value others’ time as well to ensure overall organizational timelines are met
 Share the perspective of how important is time specifically in a global time zone mapping
scenario

Fig 3.1.1.

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3.1.2. Why Time Management?

Discuss your responses with the larger group to explain the significance of time management.
Discuss the Shared Services Outsourcing model and how working along several time zones is
important for the Shared Services Center.
Prompt participants to come up with some aspects and relate them back to here.
 Planning and goal setting
 Managing yourself
 Dealing with other people
 Your time
 Getting results

The first 4 Interconnect and Interact to give the 5th one – Results
Differentiate between Urgent and Important task
Urgent task
 Assume importance as they demand immediate attention
Important Task
 May become urgent if left undone
 Usually have a long term effect

To judge importance vs. urgency, gauge tasks in terms of

 Impact of doing them
 Effect of not doing them
Main aim of prioritization is to avoid a crisis

We must Schedule our Priorities

as opposed to
Prioritizing our Schedule

Time Management quadrants

1. Urgent and Important – Do Now
2. Not Urgent and Important – Schedule on your calendar
3. Urgent and Not Important – Delegate, Automate or Decline
4. Not Urgent Not Important – Delegate, Automate or Decline

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Urgent Not Urgent

These activities usually get done These activities are high impact.
 Crises Make them a priority
Important

 Pressing problems  Preparation Activities

 Deadline – driven projects  Relationship Building
 Recognizing new activities
 Planning, Recreation
These activities are deceptive – Wastages
don’t confuse urgent and  Trivia
Not Important

important. Minimize these

 Time asters
 Interruptions  Pleasant activities
 Adhocs
 Proximate, pressing matter
 Popular activities

Urgent Not Urgent

Fig: 3.1.2. Why Time Management?

3.1.3: Check Your Understanding

1. True or False? Time can be stored.
a. True
b. False

2. True or False? Time is perishable

a. True
b. False

3. True or False? Time management is required both at individual level and organizational level.
a. True
b. False

4. True or False? Activities should be judged basis Urgency and Importance

c. True
d. False

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Team Exercise
Categorize the below items in the Time Management Quadrant
1. Wildly important goal
2. Last minute assignments from boss
3. Busy work
4. Personal health
5. Pressing problems
6. Crises
7. Planning
8. Time wasters
9. Professional development
10. Win-win performance agreement
11. Too many objectives
12. Vital customer call
13. Major Deadlines
14. Unimportant pre scheduled meetings
15. Meaningless management reports
16. Coaching and mentoring team
17. Low priority email
18. Other people’s minor issues
19. Workplace gossip
20. Exercise
21. Needless interruptions
22. Defining contribution
23. Aimless Internet surfing
24. Irrelevant phone calls

3.1.4 Summary
 It is important to manage time.
 To manage time one must:
- Prioritize
- Define Urgency
- Define Importance

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3.2. Work Management and Prioritizing

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Discuss importance prioritization and planning
2. Operationalize the plan
3. Create awareness on how to monitor performance

3.2.1: Work Management

Six steps for expectation setting with the stakeholders
1. Describe the jobs in terms of major outcomes and link to the organization’s need
The first step in expectation setting is to describe the job to the employees. Employees need to
feel there is a greater values to what they do. We need to feel out individual performance has
an impact on the organization’s mission.
Answer this question: My work is key to ensuring the organization’s success because…
While completing the answer link it to
- Job Description
- Team and Organization’s need
- Performance Criteria
2. Share expectations in terms of work style
While setting expectation, it’s not only important to talk about the “what we do” but also on
“how we expect to do it”. What are the ground rules for communication at the organization?
Sample ground rules
- Always let your tam know where are the problems. Even if you have a solution, no one likes
surprises.
- Share concerns openly and look for solutions
- If you see your colleagues doing something well, tell them. If you see them doing something
poorly, tell them.
Sample work style questions
- Do you like to think about issues by discussing them in a meeting or having quite time
alone?
- How do you prefer to plan your day?

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3. Maximize Performance - Identify what is required to complete the work: Supervisor needs /
Employee needs. Set input as well as output expectations
In order to ensure employees are performing at their best, the supervisor needs to provide not
only the resource (time, infrastructure, desk, recognition etc.) but also the right levels of
direction (telling how to do the task) and support (engaging with employees about the task).
4. Establish priorities. Establish thresh holds and crisis plan
Use the time quadrant to establish priorities. Refer to earlier session.
5. Revalidate understanding. Create documentation and communication plan to establish all
discussion
When you are having a conversation about expectations with stakeholders, you’re covering lot
of details so you’ll need to review to make sure you both have a common understanding of the
commitments you have made.
6. Establish progress check
No matter how careful you have been in setting expectations, you’ll want to follow up since
there will be questions as work progresses.
Schedule an early progress check to get things started the right way, and agreed on
scheduled/unscheduled further checks. Acknowledge good performance and point your ways
to improve

3.2.2: Check Your Understanding

1. True or False? Setting expectations is best done after the employee has worked for 6 months.
a. True
b. False

2. True or False? Do not provide too many details when setting expectations.
a. True
b. False

3. True or False? Always check to make sure there is a common understanding of expectations.
a. True
b. False
4. True or False? Try not to ask too many questions while setting expectations.
a. True
b. False

5. True or False? Employees need to know what tasks to do and how to communicate, appreciating
work styles.

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a. True
b. False

6. True or False? Employees do not need to know how their work contributes to organizational
results.
a. True
b. False

7. True or False? Employees need to know what their team members performance problems are.
a. True
b. False

8. True or False? Employees how have work style different from the Boss/Peers need to change.
a. True
b. False

3.2.3: Summary
 Define work and activities:
- What
- How
 Define Stakeholders and participants:
- Whom to serve
- Who all are serving
 Plan, Execute and Monitor

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3.3 Quality and Standards Adherence

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Discuss importance of expectation setting
2. Develop understanding on defining activities to be performed, deliverables and yardsticks of
measuring output
3. Create awareness on the common Service Level Agreements

3.3.1: Goals and Objectives

A
Specific
Work activities
should be
specific. Why
Measurable
and How to be The output
defined metrics and
yardsticks should Achievable
be defined. Should be
assigned to
those
Realistic
responsible for
Should be
achieving it.
challenging
yet Time bound
attainable. Time period
Have a for
motivational achievement is
clearly stated

Fig: 3.3.1: Goals and Objectives compliant to SMART

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3.3.2: Effectiveness Vs. Efficiency

In efficient Efficient

Pursuing right goals but in Pursuing right goals and efficient

t
Effective
Pursuit of Appropriate

i
h efficient
g
R
e
th
ign
o Pursuing wrong goals and Pursuing Wrong goals but is Efficient
In Effective

/
D

sl inefficient.
a
o
G

In efficient Efficient

Use of Resources / Doing Things Right

Fig: 3.3.2: Effectiveness Vs. Efficiency

3.3.3: Summary
Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a contract between a service provider and its internal or external
customers that documents what services the provider will furnish
SLA measures the service provider’s performance and quality in a number of ways.
Some sample metrics SLAs may specify or include
 Availability and uptime – the percentage of the time services will be available
The no of users being served, the bandwidth or volume being addressed or the quantum f work
being performed in work units
Specify performance benchmarks to which actual performance will be periodically compared
Turnaround time

In addition to establishing performance metrics, an SLA may include a plan for addressing downtime
and documentation for how the service provider will compensate customers in the event of a
contract breach. SLAs, once established, should be periodically reviewed and updated to reflect
changes in technology and the impact of any new regulatory directive

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3.3.4: Service Level Agreements

 Every activity must have defined goals and objectives. These goals and objectives should be
SMART complaint (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound).
 One must balance the efficiency and effectiveness while performing the tasks to achieve the
desired objectives.
 The Service Level Agreements should be clearly laid out to measure the quality and
performance.

Notes

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4. Maintain a Healthy,
Safe and Secure
Working Environment
Unit 4.1 - Workplace Safety
Unit 4.2 - Report Accidents and Emergencies
Unit 4.3 - Protect Health and Safety at Work

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Key Learning Outcomes

At the end of the Introduction, the trainer will be able to:
PC1. Comply with your organization’s current health, safety and security policies and procedures
PC2. Report any identified breaches in health, safety, and security policies and procedures to the
designated person
PC3. Identify and correct any hazards that you can deal with safely, competently and within the
limits of your authority
PC4. Report any hazards that you are not competent to deal with to the relevant person in line with
organizational procedures and warn other people who may be affected
PC5. Follow your organization’s emergency procedures promptly, calmly, and efficiently
PC6. Identify and recommend opportunities for improving health, safety, and security to the
designated person
PC7. Complete any health and safety records legibly and accurately

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4.1 Workplace Safety

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the significance of work place safety
2. Create awareness on basic safety guidelines

4.1.1 Prevention of disasters/risk events

What are some of the basic safety rules that you follow at your workplace.

Fire Safety
Employees should be aware of all emergency exits, including fire escape routes, of the office
building and also the locations of fire extinguishers and alarms.
Falls and Slips
To avoid falls and slips, all things must be arranged properly. Any spilt liquid, food or other
items such as paints must be immediately cleaned to avoid any accidents. Make sure there is
proper lighting and all damaged equipment, stairways and light fixtures are repaired
immediately.
First Aid
Employees should know about the location of first-aid kits in the office. First-aid kits should be
kept in places that can be reached quickly. These kits should contain all the important items for
first aid, for example, all the things required to deal with common problems such as cuts, burns,
headaches, muscle cramps, etc.
Security
Employees should make sure that they keep their personal things in a safe place.
Electrical Safety
Employees must be provided basic knowledge of using electrical equipment and common problems.
Employees must also be provided instructions about electrical safety such as keeping water and
food items away from electrical equipment. Electrical staff and engineers should carry out routine
inspections of all wiring to make sure there are no damaged or broken wires.

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4.1.2 Check your understanding

1. True or False? The employer and employees are responsible for workplace safety.
a. True
b. False

2. True or False? Any injury at work should be reported to the supervisor immediately.
a. True
b. False

3. True or False? No matter how big or small the injury; the injured person should receive medical
attention.
a. True
b. False

4. True or False? While working with machines and equipment, employees must follow the safety
guidelines set by the company.
c. True
d. False

5. True or False? At any office, the first-aid kit should always be available for use in an emergency.
a. True
b. False

6. True or False? It is optional to participate in the random fire drills conducted by the Offices from
time-to-time.
a. True
b. False

7. True or False? The "Wet Floor" sign is not needed and causes problems for people. Wet floor can
be identified easily, without the signs.
a. True
b. False

8. True or False? It is okay to place heavy and light items on the same shelf.
a. True
b. False

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9. True or False? There is no need to train employees on how to use the fire extinguisher. They can
operate extinguishers following the instruction written on the extinguisher case, when needed.
a. True
b. False

10. True or False? The cleaning supplies, especially chemical products, can be left in the bathrooms
or in any of the cupboards in the office.
a. True
b. False

4.1.3: Summary
 It is important to follow safety rules to prevent accidents and protect workers.
 Employees must follow safety guidelines for the following:
- Fire safety
- Falls and slips
- Electrical safety
- Use of first aid

4.1.4: Case Studies of hazardous

Case 1: On Friday, June 13, 1997 a fire broke out at Uphaar Cinema, Green Park, Delhi, while the
film Border was being shown. The fire happened because of a blast in a transformer in an
underground parking lot in the five-organization building which housed the cinema hall and several
offices.59 people died and 103 were seriously hurt when people rushed to move out of the exit
doors. Many people were trapped on the balcony and died because the exit doors were locked.

Case 2: 43 people died when fire broke out on the fifth and sixth floors of the Stephen Court
building in Kolkata.

Case 3: 9 people were killed and 68 hurt when a fire accident took place in a commercial complex in
Bangalore.

Case 4: In Kolkata, more than 90 people were killed when a fire broke out at the Advanced
Medicare and Research Institute (AMRI) Hospitals at Dhakuria.

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4.2 Prevent Accidents and Emergencies

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Define the terms accident and emergency
2. Explain how to find identify and report accidents and emergencies
3. Explain how to address security threats and risks
4. Describe how to handle accidents
5. Describe types of emergencies
6. Explain how to handle general emergencies

4.2.1 Accidents and emergencies

An accident is an unplanned, uncontrolled, or unforeseen event resulting in injury or harm to
people and damages to goods. For example, a person falling down and getting injured or a
glassware item that broke upon being knocked over. Emergency is a serious or crisis situation that
needs immediate attention and action. For example, a customer having a heart attack or sudden
outbreak of fire in your organization needs immediate attention.
Each organization or chain of organizations has procedures and practices to handle and report
accidents and take care of emergencies. Although you will find most of these procedures and
practices common across the industry, some procedures might be modified to fit a particular type
of business within the industry. For example, procedure to handle accidents caused by slipping or
falling will be similar across the industry. You need to be aware of the general procedures and
practices as well as the ones specific to your organization.
The following are some of the guidelines for identifying and reporting an accident or emergency:
Notice and correctly identify accidents and emergencies: You need to be aware of what constitutes
an emergency and what constitutes an accident in an organization. The organization’s policies and
guidelines will be the best guide in this matter. You should be able to accurately identify such
incidents in your organization. You should also be aware of the procedures to tackle each form of
accident and emergency.
Get help promptly and in the most suitable way: Follow the procedure for handling a particular
type of accident and emergency. Promptly act as per the guidelines. Ensure that you provide the
required help and support as laid down in the policies. Do not act outside the guidelines and
policies laid down for your role even if your actions are motivated by the best intention. Remember
that only properly trained and certified professionals may be authorized to take decisions beyond
the organization’s policies and guidelines, if the situation requires.

Follow company policies and procedures for preventing further injury while waiting for help to
arrive: If someone is injured, do not act as per your impulse or gut feeling. Go as per the procedures
laid down by your organization’s policy for tackling injuries. You need to stay calm and follow the

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prescribed procedures. If you panic or act outside the prescribed guidelines, you may end up
further aggravating the emergency situation or putting the injured person into further danger. You
may even end up injuring yourself.
Act within the limits of your responsibility and authority when accidents and emergencies arise:
Provide help and support within your authorized limit. Provide medical help to the injured only if
you are certified to provide the necessary aid. Otherwise, wait for the professionals to arrive and
give necessary help. In case of emergencies also, act within your authorized limits and let the
professionals do the task allocated to them. Do not attempt to handle any emergency situation for
which you do not have formal training or authority. You may end up harming yourself and the
people around you.
Promptly follow instructions given by senior staff and the emergency services: Provide necessary
services as described by the organization’s policy for your role. Also, follow the instructions of
senior staff who are trained to handle particular situations. Work under their supervision when
handling accidents and emergencies.

4.2.2 Types of Accidents

The following are some of commonly occurring accidents in organizations:

Trip and fall: Customers or employees can trip on

carelessly left loose material and fall down, such as
tripping on loose wires, goods left on aisles, elevated
threshold. This type of accident may result in simple
bruises to serious fractures.

Slip and fall: People may lose foothold on the floor and
stairs resulting in injuries. Slips are mainly due to wet
floors. Other causes: spilling of liquids or throwing of
other slip-causing material on floors, such fruit peels.
Tripping and slipping is generally caused by negligence,
which can be either from the side of organization employees Fig 4.2.2
or from the side of customers. It can also be due to broken or uneven walking surface, such as
broken or loose floor tile. However, you should prevent any such negligence. In addition, people
should be properly cautioned against tripping and slipping. For example, a “wet floor” sign will warn
people to walk carefully on freshly mopped floors. Similarly, “watch your steps” signs can prevent
accidents on a staircase with a sharp bent or warn against a loose floor tile.
Injuries caused due to escalators or elevators (or lifts): Although such injuries are uncommon, they
mainly happen to children, ladies, and elderly. Injuries can be caused by falling on escalators and
getting hurt. People may be injured in elevators by falling down due to sudden, jerking movement of
elevators or by tripping on elevators’ threshold. They may also get stuck in elevators resulting in
panic and trauma. Escalators and elevators should be checked regularly for proper and safe
functioning by the right person or department. If you notice any sign of malfunctioning of escalators
or elevators, immediately inform the right people. If organization’s procedures are not being
followed properly for checking and maintaining these, escalate to appropriate authorities in the
organization.

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Accidents due to falling of goods: Goods can fall on people from shelves or wall hangings and injure
them. This typically happens if pieces of goods have been piled improperly or kept in an
inappropriate manner. Always check that pieces of goods are placed properly and securely.
Accidents due to moving objects: Moving objects, such as trolleys, can also injure people in the
organization. In addition, improperly kept props and lighting fixtures can result in accidents. For
example, nails coming out dangerously from props can cause cuts. Loosely plugged in lighting
fixtures can result in electric shocks.
Workplace Safety Rules
# Workplace Safety Rules

1 Keep the floor dry all the time.

2 Regularly check safety equipment such
as fire extinguishers to make sure they
are in working condition.
3 Mark fire exit doors clearly.
4 Know where fire extinguishers and fire
alarms are kept.
5 Conduct mock drills regularly.
6 Find out the fire escape routes in a
building.
7 Keep first-aid kits where they can be
easily found.
8 Make sure that first-aid kits are stocked
with all necessary things.
9 Check and service all electrical
equipment regularly.
10 Repair faulty machinery immediately.
11 Make sure there is proper lighting in all
areas.
12 Make sure that the office layout and
furniture are designed and arranged so
that they do not cause injury to
workers.

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Vocabulary Words
Mock Drill/Fire Drill
Practice how to respond/react in case of an emergency, such as a fire
Fire Extinguisher
A small container usually filled with special chemicals for putting out a fire.
Exit
The way to go out of a building or room
First Aid Kit
A container, which has medicines and ointments
Fire Escape Route
The way out in case of a fire
Emergency
A sudden, urgent and unexpected event
Spilt Liquid
Soft drink/water/coffee/tea etc. that has fallen on the floor
Routine inspections –
Regular checking
Damaged equipment
Torn wires or broken plugs
Stairways
Staircase/ stairs to go to the next floor
Light fixtures
Bulbs, tube lights etc.
Injury
Getting hurt/bleeding
Kitchen equipment
Vessels used in the kitchen, such as wok, knives, cutting board etc.
Cleaning Supplies
Liquid soap, dish washing liquid etc.

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4.2.3 Handling Accidents

Try to avoid accidents in your organization by finding out all potential hazards and eliminating them.
If a colleague or customer in the organization is not following safety practices and precautions,
inform your supervisor or any other authorized personnel. Always remember that one person’s
careless action can harm the safety of many others in the organization. In case of an injury to a
colleague or a customer due to an accident in your organization, you should do the following:
Attend to the injured person immediately. Depending on the level and seriousness of the injury,
see that the injured person receives first aid or medical help at the earliest. You can give medical
treatment or first aid to the injured person only if you are qualified to give such treatments. Let
trained authorized people give first aid or medical treatment.
Inform your supervisor about the accident giving details about the probable cause of accident and
a description of the injury.
Assist your supervisor in investigating and finding out the actual cause of the accident. After
identifying the cause of the accident, help your supervisor to take appropriate actions to prevent
occurrences of similar accidents in future.

4.2.4 Types of Emergencies

It is important to have policies and procedures to tackle the given categories of emergencies. You
should be aware of at least the basic procedures to handle emergencies. The basic procedures that
you should be aware of depend on the business of your organization. Typically, you should seek
answers to the following questions to understand what basic emergency procedures that you
should be aware of:
What is the evacuation plan and procedure to follow in case of an emergency?
Who all should you notify within the organization?
Which external agencies, such as police or ambulance, you should notify in which emergency?

Fig 4.2.4

What all services and equipment should you shut down during which emergency?
Here are some general emergency handling procedures that you can follow:
Keep a list of numbers to call during emergency, such as those of police, fire brigade, security,

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ambulance etc. Ensure that these numbers are fed into the organizations telephone program
and hard copies of the numbers are placed at strategic locations in the organization.
 Regularly check that all emergency handling equipments are in working condition, such as the
fire extinguisher and fire alarm system.
Ensure that emergency exits are not obstructed and keys to such exists are easily accessible. Never
place any objects near the emergency doors or windows

4.2.5 Check Your Understanding

1. True or False? An accident is a serious or crisis situation that needs immediate attention and
action.
a. True
b. False

2. Which of the following are appropriate actions for handling accidents and emergencies? Select
the two correct actions.
a) You should give medical treatment or first aid to the injured even if you are not properly
trained in such procedures because such treatments should be given promptly.
b) Take decisions beyond the organization’s policies and guidelines, if the situation requires.
c) Get help promptly and in the most suitable way.
d) Follow instructions given by senior staff and the emergency services.

3. Match each type of emergency with its corresponding example.

Type of Emergency Example

A. Medical I. Earthquake

B. Substance ii. Power failure

C. Structural iii. Armed robbery

D. Security iv. An expectant mother in labor

E. Natural Disaster v. Chemical spills

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4.2.7: Summary
Identify and report accidents and emergencies:

- Notice and correctly identify accidents and emergencies.

- Get help promptly and in the most suitable way.
- Follow company policy and procedures for preventing further injury while waiting for help
to arrive.
- Act within the limits of your responsibility and authority when accidents and emergencies
arise.
- Promptly follow the instructions given by senior staff and the emergency services
personnel.
Handling accidents:

- Attend the injured person immediately.

- Inform your supervisor about the accident giving details.
- Assist your supervisor in investigating and finding out the actual cause of the accident.
General emergency handling procedures:

- Keep a list of numbers to call during emergencies.

- Regularly check that all emergency handling equipment is in working condition.
- Ensure that emergency exits are not obstructed.

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4.3 Protect Health & Safety at your work

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Understand what is meant by hazards
2. Identify different types of potential health and safety hazards that can be found in the
workplace
3. Create a workplace safety checklist
4. Understand the common safety signs used
5. Identify the problems related to safety in the given situations

4.3.1 Hazards and sources of Hazards

What are hazards?

In relation to workplace safety and health, hazard can be defined as any source of potential harm or
danger to someone or any adverse health effect produced under certain condition.
A hazard can harm an individual or an organization. For example, hazard to an organization include
loss of property or equipment while hazard to an individual involve harm to health or body.
A variety of sources can be potential source of hazard at workplace. These hazards include practices
or substances that may cause harm. Here are a few examples of potential hazards:
Material: Knife or sharp edged nails can cause cuts.
Substance: Chemicals such as Benzene can cause fume suffocation. Inflammable substances like petrol
can cause fire.
Electrical energy: Naked wires or electrodes can result in electric shocks.
Condition: Wet floor can cause slippage. Working conditions in mines can cause health hazards.
Gravitational energy: Objects falling on you can cause injury.
Rotating or moving objects: Clothes entangled into ratting objects can cause serious harm. Similarly,
moving objects can hit you and injure you if you are not careful.

Fig 4.3.1

Potential Sources of Hazards in an Organization

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Using computers: Hazards include poor sitting postures or excessive duration of sitting in one
position. These hazards may result in pain and strain. Making same movement repetitively can also
cause muscle fatigue In addition, glare from the computer screen can be harmful to eyes. Stretching
up at regular intervals or doing some simple yoga in your seat only can mitigate such hazards.
Handling office equipment: Improper handling of office equipment can result in injuries. For
example, sharp-edged equipment if not handled properly can cause cuts. Staff members should be
trained to handle equipment properly. Relevant manual should be made available by administration
on handling equipment.
Handling objects: Lifting or moving heavy items without proper procedure or techniques can be a
source of potential hazard. Always follow approved procedure and proper posture for lifting or
moving objects.
Stress at work: In today’s organization, you may encounter various stress causing hazards. Long
working hours can be stressful and so can be aggressive conflicts or arguments with colleagues.
Always look for ways for conflict resolution with colleagues. Have some relaxing hobbies for stress
against long working hours.
Working environment: Potential hazards may include poor ventilation, inappropriate height chairs
and tables, stiffness of furniture, poor lighting, staff unaware of emergency procedures, or poor
housekeeping. Hazards may also include physical or emotional intimidation, such as bullying or
ganging up against someone. Staff should be made aware of organization’s policies to fight against
all the given hazards related to working environment.

4.3.2 : General Evacuation Procedures

Each organization will has its own evacuation procedures as listed in its policies. An alert employee,
who is well-informed about evacuation procedures, can not only save him or herself, but also helps
others in case of emergencies. Therefore, you should be aware of these procedures and follow
them properly during an emergency evacuation. Read your organization’s policies to know about
the procedures endorsed by it. In addition, here are a few general evacuation steps that will always
be useful in such situations:
Leave the premises immediately and start moving towards the nearest emergency exit.
Guide your customers to the emergency exits.
If possible, assist any person with disability to move towards the emergency exit. However, do not try to
carry anyone unless you are trained to do so.
Keep yourself light when evacuating the premises. You may carry your hand-held belongings, such as bags
or briefcase as you move towards the emergency exit. However, do not come back into the building to
pick up your belongings unless the area is declared safe.
Do not use the escalators or elevators (lifts) to avoid overcrowding and getting trapped, in case there is a
power failure. Use the stairs instead.
Go to the emergency assembly area. Check if any of your colleagues are missing and immediately inform
the personnel in charge of emergency evacuation or your supervisor.
Do not go back to the building you have evacuated till you are informed by authorized personnel that it
is safe to go inside.
After discussing the course content, ask candidates to prompt the key points on their understanding
of the evacuation procedures at their current organization.

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4.3.3 Safety Signs

Fig
4.3.3. Some of the common safety signs are given below. Note down the labels for each sign.

Review: Safety Guidelines Checklist

1. Store all cleaning chemicals in tightly closed containers in separate cupboards.
2. Keep the kitchen clean and dry all the time.
3. Throw away rubbish daily.
4. Make sure all areas have proper lighting.
5. In case of any injury or fracture, do not move the person until he or she has received medical
attention.
6. Do not wear loose clothing or jewelry when working with machines. It may catch on moving
equipment and cause a serious injury.
7. Never distract the attention of people who are working near fire or with some machinery,
tools or equipment.

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8. Where required, wear protective items, such as goggles, safety glasses, masks, gloves, hair
nets, etc.
9. Shut down all machines before leaving for the day.
10. Do not play with electrical controls or switches.
11. Do not operate machines or equipment until you have been properly trained and allowed to
do so by your supervisor.
12. Do not adjust, clean or oil moving machinery.
13. Stack all shelves in an orderly way.
14. Stack all boxes and crates properly.
15. Never leave dishrags, aprons and other clothing near any hot surface.
16. Repair torn wires or broken plugs before using any electrical equipment.
17. Do not use equipment if it smokes, sparks or looks unsafe.
18. Cover all food with a lid, plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
19. Do not smoke in “No Smoking” areas.
20. Report any unsafe condition or acts to your supervisor. These could include:
 Slippery floors
 Missing entrance and exit signs
 Poorly lighted stairs
 Loose handrails or guard rails
 Loose, open or broken windows
 Dangerously piled supplies or equipment
 Unlocked doors and gates
 Electrical equipment left operating
 Open doors on electrical panels
 Leaks of steam, water, oil or other liquids
 Blocked aisles
 Blocked fire extinguishers.
 Blocked fire doors
 Smoke in non-smoking areas
 Roof leaks
 Safety devices not operating properly

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4.3.4 : Find the Hazard Risk in pictures

In this activity, you will be shown some pictures. Observe the displayed pictures carefully and
identify the problems in each of the pictures that could cause accidents.

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4.3.5 : Healthy Living

Healthy Living

What constitutes healthy living?

Fig 4.3.5

Eating a balanced diet: A balanced diet is a meal that provides you the right amount of
carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals. A balanced diet helps to keep you physically fit
and provides stamina to work.
Having proper sleep: Good sleep reduces stress, reduces risk for developing diseases, and keeps you
alert. You need to get 6 or 7 hours of sleep each night. Lack of sleep increases the chances of high
blood pressure and cholesterol, and stroke.
Exercising regularly: Exercise is a physical activity that keeps your body fit. Exercising helps prevent
development of disease conditions and makes you energetic.
Avoiding bad habits, such as smoking and drinking: It's not too late to identify and change bad
habits such as smoking, drinking, over-eating, and more. Understanding the harmful routines is the
first step to reversing these. The next step is realizing ways correct them and embracing new ones,
which help adopt healthier behaviors and start living a happier, healthier life.
Ergonomics: Ergonomics is the science concerned with designing and arranging things so that
people can use them easily and safely. Applying ergonomics can reduce the potential for accidents,
potential for injury and ill health, and improve performance and productivity.

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4.3.6: Summary

 Hazards can be defined as any source of potential harm or danger to someone or any adverse
health effect produced under certain condition.

 Some potential sources of hazards in an organization are as follows:

- Using computers
- Handling office equipment
- Handling objects
- Stress at work
- Working environment
 Every employee should be aware of evacuation procedures and follow them properly during an
emergency evacuation.

 Follow all safety rules and warning to keep your workplace free from accidents.

 Recognize all safety signs in offices.

Report any incidence of non-compliance to safety rules and anything that is a safety hazard.

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Notes

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5. Employability and
Entrepreneurship Skills

Unit 5.1 – Personal Strengths &Value Systems

Unit 5.2 – Digital Literacy: A Recap
Unit 5.3 – Money Matters
Unit 5.4 – Preparing for Employment &Self Employment
Unit 5.5 – Understanding Entrepreneurship
Unit 5.6 – Preparing to be an Entrepreneur

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Key Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

1. Explain the meaning of health
2. List common health issues
3. Discuss tips to prevent common health issues
4. Explain the meaning of hygiene
5. Discuss the purpose of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan
6. Explain the meaning of habit
7. Discuss ways to set up a safe work environment
8. Discuss critical safety habits to be followed by employees
9. Explain the importance of self-analysis
10. Discuss motivation with the help of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
11. Discuss the meaning of achievement motivation
12. List the characteristics of entrepreneurs with achievement motivation
13. List the different factors that motivate you
14. Discuss the role of attitude in self-analysis
15. Discuss how to maintain a positive attitude
16. List your strengths and weaknesses
17. Discuss the qualities of honest people
18. Describe the importance of honesty in entrepreneurs
19. Discuss the elements of a strong work ethic
20. Discuss how to foster a good work ethic
21. List the characteristics of highly creative people
22. List the characteristics of highly innovative people
23. Discuss the benefits of time management
24. List the traits of effective time managers
25. Describe effective time management technique
26. Discuss the importance of anger management
27. Describe anger management strategies
28. Discuss tips for anger management
29. Discuss the causes of stress
30. Discuss the symptoms of stress
31. Discuss tips for stress management
32. Identify the basic parts of a computer
33. Identify the basic parts of a keyboard
34. Recall basic computer terminology

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Recall the functions of basic computer keys

36. Discuss the main applications of MS Office
37. Discuss the benefits of Microsoft Outlook
38. Discuss the different types of e-commerce
39. List the benefits of e-commerce for retailers and customers
40. Discuss how the Digital India campaign will help boost e-commerce in India
41. Describe how you will sell a product or service on an e-commerce platform
42. Discuss the importance of saving money
43. Discuss the benefits of saving money
44. Discuss the main types of bank accounts
45. Describe the process of opening a bank account
46. Differentiate between fixed and variable costs
47. Describe the main types of investment options
48. Describe the different types of insurance products
49. Describe the different types of taxes
50. Discuss the uses of online banking
51. Discuss the main types of electronic funds transfers
52. Discuss the steps to prepare for an interview
53. Discuss the steps to create an effective Resume
54. Discuss the most frequently asked interview questions
55. Discuss how to answer the most frequently asked interview questions
56. Discuss basic workplace terminology
57. Discuss the concept of entrepreneurship
58. Discuss the importance of entrepreneurship
59. Describe the characteristics of an entrepreneur
60. Describe the different types of enterprises
61. List the qualities of an effective leader
62. Discuss the benefits of effective leadership
63. List the traits of an effective team
64. Discuss the importance of listening effectively
65. Discuss how to listen effectively
66. Discuss the importance of speaking effectively
67. Discuss how to speak effectively
68. Discuss how to solve problems
69. List important problem solving traits
70. Discuss ways to assess problem solving skills

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71. Discuss the importance of negotiation

72. Discuss how to negotiate
73. Discuss how to identify new business opportunities
74. Discuss how to identify business opportunities within your business
75. Explain the meaning of entrepreneur
76. Describe the different types of entrepreneurs
77. List the characteristics of entrepreneurs
78. Recall entrepreneur success stories
79. Discuss the entrepreneurial process
80. Describe the entrepreneurship ecosystem
81. Discuss the purpose of the Make in India campaign
82. Discuss key schemes to promote entrepreneurs
83. Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship and risk appetite
84. Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship and resilience
85. Describe the characteristics of a resilient entrepreneur
86. Discuss how to deal with failure
87. Discuss how market research is carried out
88. Describe the 4 Ps of marketing
89. Discuss the importance of idea generation
90. Recall basic business terminology
91. Discuss the need for CRM
92. Discuss the benefits of CRM
93. Discuss the need for networking
94. Discuss the benefits of networking
95. Discuss the importance of setting goals
96. Differentiate between short-term, medium-term and long-term goals
97. Discuss how to write a business plan
98. Explain the financial planning process
99. Discuss ways to manage your risk
100. Describe the procedure and formalities for applying for bank finance
101. Discuss how to manage your own enterprise
102. List important questions that every entrepreneur should ask before starting an enterprise

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5.1 Personal Strengths & Value System

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

1. Explain the meaning of health

2. List common health issues
3. Discuss tips to prevent common health issues
4. Explain the meaning of hygiene
5. Discuss the purpose of Swacch Bharat Abhiyan
6. Explain the meaning of habit
7. Discuss ways to set up a safe work environment
8. Discuss critical safety habits to be followed by employees
9. Explain the importance of self-analysis
10. Discuss motivation with the help of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
11. Discuss the meaning of achievement motivation
12. List the characteristics of entrepreneurs with achievement motivation
13. List the different factors that motivate you
14. Discuss the role of attitude in self-analysis
15. Discuss how to maintain a positive attitude
16. List your strengths and weaknesses
17. Discuss the qualities of honest people
18. Describe the importance of honesty in entrepreneurs
19. Discuss the elements of a strong work ethic
20. Discuss how to foster a good work ethic
21. List the characteristics of highly creative people
22. List the characteristics of highly innovative people
23. Discuss the benefits of time management
24. List the traits of effective time managers
25. Describe effective time management technique
26. Discuss the importance of anger management
27. Describe anger management strategies
28. Discuss tips for anger management
29. Discuss the causes of stress
30. Discuss the symptoms of stress
31. Discuss tips for stress management

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5.1.1 Health, Habits, Hygiene: What is Health

As per the World Health Organization (WHO), health is a “State of complete physical, mental,
and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This means being
healthy does not simply mean not being unhealthy – it also means you need to be at peace
emotionally, and feel fit physically. For example, you cannot say you are healthy simply because
you do not have any physical ailments like a cold or cough. You also need to think about
whether you are feeling calm, relaxed and happy.

Common Health Issues

Some common health issues are:
 Allergies
 Asthma
 Skin Disorders
 Depression and Anxiety
 Diabetes
 Cough, Cold, Sore Throat
 Difficulty Sleeping
 Obesity

Common Health Issues

Taking measures to prevent ill health is always better than curing a disease or sickness. You can
stay healthy by:
• Eating healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts
• Cutting back on unhealthy and sugary foods
• Drinking enough water everyday
• Not smoking or drinking alcohol
• Exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week
• Taking vaccinations when required
• Practicing yoga exercises and meditation

How many of these health standards do you follow? Tick the ones that apply to you.

1. Get minimum 7-8 hours of sleep every night.

2. Avoid checking email first thing in the morning and right before you go to bed at night t.
3. Don’t skip meals – eat regular meals at correct meal times.
4. Read a little bit every single day.
5. Eat more home cooked food than junk food.

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6. Stand more than you sit.

7. Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning and have at least 8 glasses of water
through the day.
8. Go to the doctor and dentist for regular checkups.
9. Exercise for 30 minutes at least 5 days a week.
10. Avoid consuming lots of aerated beverages

What is Hygiene


As per the World Health Organization (WHO), “Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that
help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases.” In other words, hygiene means
ensuring that you do whatever is required to keep your surroundings clean, so that you reduce
the chances of spreading germs and diseases.
For instance, think about the kitchen in your home. Good hygiene means ensuring that the
kitchen is always spick and span, the food is put away, dishes are washed and dustbins are not
overflowing with garbage. Doing all this will reduce the chances of attracting pests like rats or
cockroaches, and prevent the growth of fungus and other bacteria, which could spread disease.
How many of these health standards do you follow? Tick the ones that apply to you.
1. Have a bath or shower every day with soap – and wash your hair with shampoo 2-3 times a
week.
2. Wear a fresh pair of clean undergarments every day.
3. Brush your teeth in the morning and before going to bed.
4. Cut your fingernails and toenails regularly.
5. Wash your hands with soap after going to the toilet.
6. Use an anti-perspirant deodorant on your underarms if you sweat a lot.
7. Wash your hands with soap before cooking or eating.
8. Stay home when you are sick, so other people don’t catch what you have.
9. Wash dirty clothes with laundry soap before wearing them again.
10. Cover your nose with a tissue/your hand when coughing or sneezing.

See how healthy and hygienic you are, by giving yourself 1 point for every ticked statement!
Then take a look at what your score means.
Your Score
0-7/20: You need to work a lot harder to stay fit and fine! Make it a point to practice good
habits daily and see how much better you feel!
7-14/20: Not bad, but there is scope for improvement! Try and add a few more good habits to
your daily routine.
14-20/20: Great job! Keep up the good work! Your body and mind thank you!

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Swacch Bharat Abhiyan

We have already discussed the importance of following good hygiene and health practices for
ourselves. But, it is not enough for us to be healthy and hygienic. We must also extend this standard
to our homes, our immediate surroundings and to our country as a whole.

The ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ (Clean India Mission) launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi
on 2nd October 2014, believes in doing exactly this. The aim of this mission is to clean the streets
and roads of India and raise the overall level of cleanliness. Currently this mission covers

4,041 cities and towns across the country. Millions of our people have taken the pledge for a clean
India. You should take the pledge too, and do everything possible to keep our country clean!

What are Habits?

A habit is a behavior that is repeated frequently. All of us have good habits and bad habits. Keep in
mind the phrase by John Dryden: “We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” This is
why it is so important that you make good habits a way of life, and consciously avoid practicing bad
habits.

Some good habits that you should make part of your daily routine are:
Always having a positive attitude
Making exercise a part of your daily routine
Reading motivational and inspirational stories
Smiling! Make it a habit to smile as often as possible
Making time for family and friends
Going to bed early and waking up early
Some bad habits that you should quit immediately are:
Skipping breakfast
Snacking frequently even when you are not hungry
Eating too much fattening and sugary food
Smoking, drinking alcohol and doing drugs
Spending more money than you can afford
Worrying about unimportant issues
Staying up late and waking up late

Tips
Following healthy and hygienic practices every day will make you feel good mentally and
physically.
 Hygiene is two-thirds of health – so good hygiene will help you stay strong and healthy!

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5.1.2: Safety: Tips to Design a Safe Workplace

Every employer is obligated to ensure that his workplace follows the highest possible safety
protocol. When setting up a business, owners must make it a point to:

• Use ergonomically designed furniture and equipment to avoid stooping and twisting
• Provide mechanical aids to avoid lifting or carrying heavy objects
• Have protective equipment on hand for hazardous jobs
• Designate emergency exits and ensure they are easily accessible
• Set down health codes and ensure they are implemented
• Follow the practice of regular safety inspections in and around the workplace
• Ensure regular building inspections are conducted
• Get expert advice on workplace safety and follow it

Non Negotiable Employee Safety Habits

Every employee is obligated to follow all safety protocols put in place by the employer. All
employees must make it a habit to:
• Immediately report unsafe conditions to a supervisor
• Recognize and report safety hazards that could lead to slips, trips and falls
• Report all injuries and accidents to a supervisor
• Wear the correct protective equipment when required
• Learn how to correctly use equipment provided for safety purposes
• Be aware of and avoid actions that could endanger other people
• Take rest breaks during the day and some time off from work during the week

Tips
• Be aware of what emergency number to call at the time of a workplace emergency

• Practice evacuation drills regularly to avoid chaotic evacuations

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5.1.3: Self Analysis – Attitude, Achievement Motivation: What

is Self Analysis
To truly achieve your full potential, you need to take a deep look inside yourself and find out
what kind of person you really are. This attempt to understand your personality is known as
self-analysis. Assessing yourself in this manner will help you grow, and will also help you to
identify areas within yourself that need to be further developed, changed or eliminated. You
can better understand yourself by taking a deep look at what motivates you, what your attitude
is like, and what your strengths and weaknesses are.

What is Motivation
Very simply put, motivation is your reason for acting or behaving in a certain manner. It is important
to understand that not everyone is motivated by the same desires – people are motivated by many,
many different things. We can understand this better by looking at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

What is Motivation
Famous American psychologist Abraham Maslow wanted to understand what motivates people. He
believed that people have five types of needs, ranging from very basic needs (called physiological
needs) to more important needs that are required for self-growth (called self- actualization needs).
Between the physiological and self-actualization needs are three other needs – safety needs,
belongingness and love needs, and esteem needs. These needs are usually shown as a pyramid with
five levels and are known as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

Fig 5.1.3

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As you can see from the pyramid, the lowest level depicts the most basic needs. Maslow believed
that our behaviour is motivated by our basic needs, until those needs are met. Once they are
fulfilled, we move to the next level and are motived by the next level of needs. Let’s understand this
better with an example.
Rupa comes from a very poor family. She never has enough food, water, warmth or rest. According
to Maslow, until Rupa is sure that she will get these basic needs, she will not even think about the
next level of needs – her safety needs. But, once Rupa is confident that her basic needs will be met,
she will move to the next level, and her behaviour will then be motivated by her need for security
and safety. Once these new needs are met, Rupa will once again move to the next level, and be
motivated by her need for relationships and friends. Once this need is satisfied, Rupa will then focus
on the fourth level of needs – her esteem needs, after which she will move up to the fifth and last
level of needs – the desire to achieve her full potential.

Understand Achievement Motivation

We now know that people are motivated by basic, psychological and self-fulfillment needs.
However, certain people are also motivated by the achievement of highly challenging
accomplishments. This is known as Achievement Motivation, or ‘need for achievement’.
The level of motivation achievement in a person differs from individual to individual. It is important
that entrepreneurs have a high level of achievement motivation – a deep desire to accomplish
something important and unique. It is equally important that they hire people who are also highly
motivated by challenges and success.

What Motivates You?

What are the things that really motivate you? List down five things that really motivate you.
Remember to answer honestly!
I am motivated by:

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Characteristics of Entrepreneurs with Achievement

Motivation
Entrepreneurs with achivement motivation can be described as follows:

What is Attitude
Now that we understand why motivation is so important for self-analysis, let’s look at the role our
attitude plays in better understanding ourselves. Attitude can be described as your tendency
(positive or negative), to think and feel about someone or something. Attitude is the foundation for
success in every aspect of life. Our attitude can be our best friend or our worst enemy. In other
words:
“The only disability in life is a bad attitude.”
When you start a business, you are sure to encounter a wide variety of emotions, from difficult
times and failures to good times and successes. Your attitude is what will see you through the tough
times and guide you towards success. Attitude is also infectious. It affects everyone around you,
from your customers to your employees to your investors. A positive attitude helps build
confidence in the workplace while a negative attitude is likely to result in the demotivation of your
people.

How to cultivate a Positive

The good news is attitude is a choice. So it is possible to improve, control and change our attitude,
if we decide we want to! The following tips help foster a positive mindset:
 Remember that you control your attitude, not the other way around
 Devote at least 15 minutes a day towards reading, watching or listening to something
positive
 Avoid negative people who only complain and stop complaining yourself
 Expand your vocabulary with positive words and delete negative phrases from your mind
 Be appreciative and focus on what’s good in yourself, in your life, and in others
 Stop thinking of yourself as a victim and start being proactive
 Imagine yourself succeeding and achieving your goals

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What is your strength and weakness?

Another way to analyze yourself is by honestly identifying your strengths and weaknesses. This will
help you use your strengths to your best advantage and reduce your weaknesses.
Note down all your strengths and weaknesses in the two columns below. Remember to be honest
with yourself!

Tips

Achievement motivation can be learned.

• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
• Train yourself to finish what you start.
• Dream big.

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5.1.4 Honesty and work Ethics: What is Honesty

Honesty is the quality of being fair and truthful. It means speaking and acting in a manner that
inspires trust. A person who is described as honest is seen as truthful and sincere, and as someone
who isn’t deceitful or devious and doesn’t steal or cheat. There are two dimensions of honesty –
one is honesty in communication and the other is honesty in conduct.
Honesty is an extremely important trait because it results in peace of mind and builds relationships
that are based on trust. Being dishonest, on the other hand, results in anxiety and leads to
relationships full of distrust and conflict

Qualities of Honest People

Honest individuals have certain distinct characteristics. Some common qualities among honest
people are:
1. They don’t worry about what others think of them. They believe in being themselves –
2. they don’t bother about whether they are liked or disliked for their personalities.
3. They stand up for their beliefs. They won’t think twice about giving their honest opinion,
even if they are aware that their point of view lies with the minority.
4. They are think skinned. This means they are not affected by others judging them harshly for
their honest opinions.
5. They forge trusting, meaningful and healthy friendships. Honest people usually surround
themselves with honest friends. They have faith that their friends will be truthful and
upfront with them at all times.
6. They are trusted by their peers. They are seen as people who can be counted on for truthful
and objective feedback and advice.

Importance of Honesty in Entrepreneurs

One of the most important characteristics of entrepreneurs is honesty. When entrepreneurs are
honest with their customers, employees and investors, it shows that they respect those that they
work with. It is also important that entrepreneurs remain honest with themselves. Let’s look at how
being honest would lead to great benefits for entrepreneurs.
 Honesty and customers: When entrepreneurs are honest with their customers it leads to
stronger relationships, which in turn results in business growth and a stronger customer
network.
 Honesty and employees: When entrepreneurs build honest relationships with their
employees, it leads to more transparency in the workplace, which results in higher work
performance and better results.
 Honesty and investors: For entrepreneurs, being honest with investors means not only
sharing strengths but also candidly disclosing current and potential weaknesses, problem
areas and solution strategies. Keep in mind that investors have a lot of experience with
startups and are aware that all new companies have problems. Claiming that everything is
perfectly fine and running smoothly is a red flag for most investors.
 Honesty with oneself: The consequences of being dishonest with oneself can lead to dire
results, especially in the case of entrepreneurs. For entrepreneurs to succeed, it is critical that
they remain realistic about their situation at all times, and accurately judge every aspect of
their enterprise for what it truly is.

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What are work Ethics?

Being ethical in the workplace means displaying values like honesty, integrity and respect in all your
decisions and communications. It means not displaying negative qualities like lying, cheating and
stealing.

Workplace ethics play a big role in the profitability of a company. It is as crucial to an enterprise as
high morale and teamwork. This is why most companies lay down specific workplace ethic
guidelines that must compulsorily be followed by their employees. These guidelines are typically
outlined in a company’s employee handbook.

Elements of Strong Work Ethics

Honest individuals have certain distinct characteristics. Some common qualities among honest
people are:
 Professionalism: This involves everything from how you present yourself
in a corporate setting to the manner in which you treat others in the
workplace.
• Respectfulness: This means remaining poised and diplomatic regardless
of how stressful or volatile a situation is.
• Dependability: This means always keeping your word, whether it’s
arriving on time for a meeting or delivering work on time.
• Dedication: This means refusing to quit until the designated work is done,
and completing the work at the highest possible level of excellence.
• Determination: This means embracing obstacles as challenges rather
than letting them stop you, and pushing ahead with purpose and
resilience to get the desired results.
• Accountability: This means taking responsibility for your actions and the
consequences of your actions, and not making excuses for your mistakes.
• Humility: This means acknowledging everyone’s efforts and had work,
and sharing the credit for accomplishments.

How to foster a good work ethic

As an entrepreneur, it is important that you clearly define the kind of behaviour that you expect
from each and every team member in the workplace. You should make it clear that you expect
employees to display positive work ethics like:
 Honesty: All work assigned to a person should be done with complete honesty, without any
deceit or lies.
 Good attitude: All team members should be optimistic, energetic, and positive.
 Reliability: Employees should show up where they are supposed to be, when they are
supposed to be there.
 Good work habits: Employees should always be well groomed, never use inappropriate
language, conduct themselves professionally at all times, etc.
 Initiative: Doing the bare minimum is not enough. Every team member needs to be proactive
and show initiative.
 Trustworthiness: Trust is non-negotiable. If an employee cannot be trusted, it’s time to let
that employee go.

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 Respect: Employees need to respect the company, the law, their work, their colleagues and
themselves.
 Integrity: Each and every team member should be completely ethical and must display above
board behaviour at all times.
 Efficiency: Efficient employees help a company grow while inefficient employees result in a
waste of time and resources.

Tips

 Don’t get angry when someone tells you the truth and you don’t like what you hear.
 Always be willing to accept responsibility for your mistakes.

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5.1.5 Creativity & Innovation: What is creativity?

Creativity means thinking outside the box. It means viewing things in new ways or from different
perspectives, and then converting these ideas into reality. Creativity involves two parts: thinking
and producing. Simply having an idea makes you imaginative, not creative. However, having an
idea and acting on it makes you creative.

Characteristics of Highly Creative People

Some characteristics of creative people are:

• They are imaginative and playful • They detest rules and routine
• They see issues from different angles • They love to daydream
• They notice small details • They are very curious
• They have very little tolerance for boredom

What is Innovation?
There are many different definitions of innovation. In simple terms, innovation means turning an
idea into a solution that adds value. It can also mean adding value by implementing a new product,
service or process, or significantly improving on an existing product, service or process.

What is Innovation?
Some characteristics of highly innovative people are:
• They embrace doing things differently
• They don’t believe in taking shortcuts
• They are not afraid to be unconventional
• They are highly proactive and persistent
• They are organized, cautious and risk-averse

Tips
 Take regular breaks from your creative work to recharge yourself and gain
fresh perspective.

 Build prototypes frequently, test them out, get feedback, and make the required changes

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5.1.6 Time Management: What is Time Management?

Time management is the process organizing your time, and deciding how to allocate your time
between different activities. Good time management is the difference between working smart
(getting more done in less time) and working hard (working for more time to get more done).

Effective time management leads to an efficient work output, even when you are faced with
tight deadlines and high pressure situations. On the other hand, not managing your time
effectively results in inefficient output and increases stress and anxiety.

Characteristics of Highly Creative People

Time management can lead to huge benefits like:
• Greater productivity • Higher efficiency
• Better professional reputation • Reduced stress
• Higher chances for career advancement • Greater opportunities to achieve goals
Not managing time effectively can result in undesirable consequences like:

• Missing deadlines • Inefficient work output

• Substandard work quality • Poor professional reputation
• Stalled career • Increase in stress and anxiety

What is Innovation?
Some traits of effective time managers are:

• They begin projects early • They break tasks into steps with specific
Deadlines
• They set daily objectives • They continually review long term goals
• They modify plans if required, to achieve • They think of alternate solutions if and
better results when required
• They are flexible and open-minded • They ask for help when required
• They inform people in advance if their • They create backup plans
help will be required
• They know how to say no

What is Innovation?
You can manage your time better by putting into practice certain time
management techniques. Some helpful tips are:
Plan out your day as well as plan for interruptions. Give yourself at least 30 minutes to
figure out your time plan. In your plan, schedule some time for interruptions.
 Put up a “Do Not Disturb” sign when you absolutely have to complete a certain amount
of work.
 Close your mind to all distractions. Train yourself to ignore ringing phones, don’t reply to
chat messages and disconnect from social media sites.
Delegate your work. This will not only help your work get done faster, but will also show
you the unique skills and abilities of those around you.

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 Stop procrastinating. Remind yourself that procrastination typically arises due to the fear
of failure or the belief that you cannot do things as perfectly as you wish to do them.
 Prioritize. List each task to be completed in order of its urgency or importance level. Then
focus on completing each task, one by one.
 Maintain a log of your work activities. Analyze the log to help you understand how
efficient you are, and how much time is wasted every day.
 Create time management goals to reduce time wastage.

Tips
Always complete the most important tasks first.
 Get at least 7 – 8 hours of sleep every day.
Start your day early.
 Don’t waste too much time on small, unimportant details.
Set a time limit for every task that you will undertake.
Give yourself some time to unwind between tasks.

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5.1.7 Anger Management: What is Anger Management?

Anger management is the process of:
 Learning to recognize the signs that you, or someone else, is becoming angry
 Taking the best course of action to calm down the situation in a positive way
Anger management does not mean suppressing anger.

Importance of Anger Management

Anger is a perfectly normal human emotion. In fact, when managed the right way, anger can
be considered a healthy emotion. However, if it is not kept in check, anger can make us act
inappropriately and can lead to us saying or doing things that we will likely later regret.

Extreme anger can:

 Hurt you physically: It leads to heart disease, diabetes, a weakened immune system,
insomnia, and high blood pressure.
 Hurt you mentally: It can cloud your thinking and lead to stress, depression and mental
health issues.
 Hurt your career: It can result in alienating your colleagues, bosses, clients and lead to the
loss of respect.
 Hurt your relationships: It makes it hard for your family and friends to trust you, be
honest with you and feel comfortable around you.
This is why anger management, or managing anger appropriately, is so important.

Anger Management Strategies

Here are some strategies that can help you control your anger:

Strategy 1: Relaxation
Something as simple as breathing deeply and looking at relaxing images works wonders in
calming down angry feelings. Try this simple breathing exercise:
1. Take a deep breath from your diaphragm (don’t breathe from your chest)
2. Visualize your breath coming up from your stomach
3. Keep repeating a calming word like ‘relax’ or ‘take it easy’ (remember to keep
breathing deeply while repeating the word)
4. Picture a relaxing moment (this can be from your memory or your imagination)

Follow this relaxation technique daily, especially when you realize that you’re starting to feel angry.
Strategy 2: Cognitive Restructuring
Cognitive restructuring means changing the manner in which you think. Anger can make you
curse, swear, exaggerate and act very dramatically. When this happens, force yourself to replace
your angry thoughts with more logical ones. For instance, instead of thinking ‘Everything is
ruined’ change your mindset and tell yourself ‘It’s not the end of the world and getting angry
won’t solve this’.

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Strategy 3: Problem Solving

Getting angry about a problem that you cannot control is a perfectly natural response.
Sometimes, try as you may, there may not be a solution to the difficulty you are faced with. In
such cases, stop focusing on solving the problem, and instead focus on handling and facing the
problem. Remind yourself that you will do your best to deal with the situation, but that you will
not blame yourself if you don’t get the solution you desire.

Strategy 4: Better Communication

When you’re angry, it is very easy to jump to inaccurate conclusions. In this case, you need to
force yourself to stop reacting, and think carefully about what you want to say, before saying it.
Avoid saying the first thing that enters your head. Force yourself to listen carefully to what the
other person is saying. Then think about the conversation before responding.
Strategy 5: Changing Your Environment
If you find that your environment is the cause of your anger, try and give yourself a break from
your surroundings. Make an active decision to schedule some personal time for yourself,
especially on days that are very hectic and stressful. Having even a brief amount of quiet or alone
time is sure to help calm you down.

Tips for Anger Management

The following tips will help you keep your anger in check:
• Take some time to collect your thoughts before you speak out in anger.
• Express the reason for your anger in an assertive, but non-confrontational manner once you
have calmed down.
• Do some form of physical exercise like running or walking briskly when you feel yourself
getting angry.
• Make short breaks part of your daily routine, especially during days that are stressful.
• Focus on how to solve a problem that’s making you angry, rather than focusing on the fact that
the problem is making you angry.

Tips

 Try to forgive those who anger you, rather than hold a grudge against them.
 Avoid using sarcasm and hurling insults. Instead, try and explain the reason for your frustration
in a polite and mature manner.

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5.1.8 Stress Management: What is Stress

We say we are ‘stressed’ when we feel overloaded and unsure of our ability to deal with the
pressures placed on us. Anything that challenges or threatens our well-being can be defined as
a stress. It is important to note that stress can be good and bad. While good stress keeps us going,
negative stress undermines our mental and physical health. This is why it is so important to
manage negative stress effectively.

Causes of Stress
Stress can be caused by internal and external factors.
Internal causes of stress

• Constant worry • Pessimism

• Rigid thinking • Negative self-talk
• Unrealistic expectations • All in or all out attitude
External causes of stress
• Major life changes • Difficulties at work or in school
• Difficulties with relationships • Financial difficulties
• Having too much to do • Worrying about one’s children and/or family

Symptoms of Stress
Stress can manifest itself in numerous ways. Take a look at the cognitive, emotional, physical
and behavioral symptoms of stress.

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Tips to Manage Stress

The following tips can help you manage your stress better:
• Note down the different ways in which you can handle the various sources of your stress.
• Remember that you cannot control everything, but you can control how you respond.
• Discuss your feelings, opinions and beliefs rather than reacting angrily, defensively or
passively.
• Practice relaxation techniques like meditation, yoga or tai chi when you start feeling
stressed.
• Devote a part of your day towards exercise.
• Eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Avoid unhealthy foods especially those
containing large amounts of sugar.
• Plan your day so that you can manage your time better, with less stress.
• Say no to people and things when required.
• Schedule time to pursue your hobbies and interests.
• Ensure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
• Reduce your caffeine intake.
• Increase the time spent with family and friends.

Tips
 Force yourself to smile even if you feel stressed. Smiling makes us feel relaxed and happy.
 Stop yourself from feeling and thinking like a victim. Change your attitude and focus on being
proactive.

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5.2 Digital Literacy: A Recap

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

Identify the basic parts of a computer

Identify the basic parts of a keyboard
Recall basic computer terminology
Recall the functions of basic computer keys
Discuss the main applications of MS Office
Discuss the benefits of Microsoft Outlook
Discuss the different types of e-commerce
List the benefits of e-commerce for retailers and customers
Discuss how the Digital India campaign will help boost e-commerce in India
Describe how you will sell a product or service on an e-commerce platform

5.2.1 Computer & Internet Basics: Basics Parts of Computers

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Basics of a Keyboard

Basic Internet Terms

Force yourself to smile even if you feel stressed. Smiling makes us feel relaxed and happy.

 The Internet: A vast, international collection of computer networks that transfers information.
 The World Wide Web: A system that lets you access information on the Internet.
 Website: A location on the World Wide Web (and Internet) that contains information about a
specific topic.
 Homepage: Provides information about a website and directs you to other pages on that
website.
 Link/Hyperlink: A highlighted or underlined icon, graphic, or text that takes you to another file
or object.
 Web Address/URL: The address for a website.
 Address Box: A box in the browser window where you can type in a web address.

Tips
• When visiting a .com address, there no need to type http:// or even www. Just
type the name of the website and then press Ctrl + Enter. (Example: Type ‘apple’
and press Ctrl + Enter to go to www.apple.com)
• Press the Ctrl key and press the + or - to increase and decrease the size of text.
• Press F5 or Ctrl + R to refresh or reload a web page.

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5.2.2 M.S. Office and Email: About M.S.Office

MS Office or Microsoft Office is a suite of computer programs developed by Microsoft. Although
meant for all users, it offers different versions that cater specifically to students, home users
and business users. All the programs are compatible with both, Windows and Macintosh.

Most Popular MS Office Products

Some of the most popular and universally used MS Office applications are:
• Microsoft Word: Allows users to type text and add images to a document.
• Microsoft Excel: Allows users to enter data into a spreadsheet and create calculations and
graphs.
• Microsoft PowerPoint: Allows users to add text, pictures and media and create slideshows
and presentations.
• Microsoft Outlook: Allows users to send and receive email.
• Microsoft OneNote: Allows users to make drawings and notes with the feel of a pen on paper.
• Microsoft Access: Allows users to store data over many tables.

Why Choose Microsoft Outlook

A popular email management choice especially in the workplace, Microsoft Outlook also includes
an address book, notebook, web browser and calendar. Some major benefits of this program are:
• Integrated search function: You can use keywords to search for data across all Outlook
programs.
• Enhanced security: Your email is safe from hackers, junk mail and phishing website email.
• Email syncing: Sync your mail with your calendar, contact list, notes in OneNote and…your
phone!
• Offline access to email: No Internet? No problem! Write emails offline and send them
when you’re connected again.

Tips

• Press Ctrl+R as a shortcut method to reply to email.

• Set your desktop notifications only for very important emails.
• Flag messages quickly by selecting messages and hitting the Insert key.
• Save frequently sent emails as a template to reuse again and again.
• Conveniently save important emails as files.

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5.2.3 E-Commerce: What is E-Commerce?

E-commerce is the buying or selling of goods and services, or the
transmitting of money or data, electronically on the internet. E-Commerce is
the short form for “electronic commerce.”

Examples of E-Commerce
Some examples of e-commerce are:
• Online shopping • Electronic payments
• Online auctions • Internet banking
• Online ticketing

Types of E-Commerce
E-commerce can be classified based on the types of participants in the transaction. The main
types of e-commerce are:
• Business to Business (B2B): Both the transacting parties are businesses.
• Business to Consumer (B2C): Businesses sell electronically to end-consumers.
• Consumer to Consumer (C2C): Consumers come together to buy, sell or trade items to
other consumers.
• Consumer-to-Business (C2B): Consumers make products or services available for purchase
to companies looking for exactly those services or products.
• Business-to-Administration (B2A): Online transactions conducted between companies
and public administration.
• Consumer-to-Administration (C2A): Online transactions conducted between individuals
and public administration.

Benefits of E-Commerce
The e-commerce business provides some benefits for retailers and customers.
Benefits for retailers:
• Establishes an online presence
• Reduces operational costs by removing overhead costs
• Increases brand awareness through the use of good keywords
• Increases sales by removing geographical and time constraints
Benefits for customers:
• Offers a wider range of choice than any physical store
• Enables goods and services to be purchased from remote locations
• Enables consumers to perform price comparisons

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Digital India Campaign

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Digital India campaign in 2015, with the objective
of offering every citizen of India access to digital services, knowledge and information. The
campaign aims to improve the country’s online infrastructure and increase internet
connectivity, thus boosting the e-commerce industry.

Currently, the majority of online transactions come from tier 2 and tier 3 cities. Once the Digital
India campaign is in place, the government will deliver services through mobile connectivity,
which will help deliver internet to remote corners of the country. This will help the e- commerce
market to enter India’s tier 4 towns and rural areas.

E-Commerce Activity
Choose a product or service that you want to sell online. Write a brief note explaining how
you will use existing e-commerce platforms, or create a new e-commerce platform, to sell your
product or service.

Tips
• Before launching your e-commerce platform, test everything.
• Pay close and personal attention to your social media.

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5.3: Money Matters

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
Discuss the importance of saving money
Discuss the benefits of saving money
Discuss the main types of bank accounts
Describe the process of opening a bank account
Differentiate between fixed and variable costs
Describe the main types of investment options
Describe the different types of insurance products
Describe the different types of taxes
Discuss the uses of online banking
Discuss the main types of electronic funds transfers

5.3.1 Personal Finance: Why to Save:

Importance of Saving
We all know that the future is unpredictable. You never know what will happen tomorrow,
next week or next year. That’s why saving money steadily through the years is so important.
Saving money will help improve your financial situation over time. But more importantly,
knowing that you have money stashed away for an emergency will give you peace of mind.
Saving money also opens the door to many more options and possibilities.

Benefits of Savings
Inculcating the habit of saving leads to a vast number of benefits. Saving helps you:
• Become financially independent: When you have enough money saved up to feel secure you
can start making your choices, from taking a vacation whenever you want, to switching
careers or starting your own business.
• Invest in yourself through education: Through saving, you can earn enough to pay up for
courses that will add to your professional experience and ultimately result in higher paying
jobs.
• Get out of debt: Once you have saved enough as a reserve fund, you can use your savings to
pay off debts like loans or bills that have accumulated over time.
• Be prepared for surprise expenses: Having money saved enables you to pay for unforeseen
expenses like sudden car or house repairs, without feeling financially stressed.
• Pay for emergencies: Saving helps you deal with emergencies like sudden health issues or
emergency trips without feeling financially burdened.

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• Afford large purchases and achieve major goals: Saving diligently makes it possible to place
down payments towards major purchases and goals, like buying a home or a car.
• Retire: The money you have saved over the years will keep you comfortable when you no
longer have the income you would get from your job.

Tips
• Break your spending habit. Try not spending on one expensive item per
week, and put the money that you would have spent into your savings.
• Decide that you will not buy anything on certain days or weeks and stick to your word.

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5.3.2 Types of Bank Accounts, Opening a Bank

Account: Types of Bank Accounts
In India, banks offer four main types of bank accounts. These are:
• Current Accounts
• Savings Accounts
• Recurring Deposit Accounts
• Fixed Deposit Accounts
Current Accounts
Current accounts offer the most liquid deposits and thus, are best suited for businessmen and
companies. As these accounts are not meant for investments and savings, there is no imposed
limit on the number or amount of transactions that can be made on any given day. Current
account holders are not paid any interest on the amounts held in their accounts. They are
charged for certain services offered on such accounts.
Savings Accounts
Savings accounts are meant to promote savings, and are therefore the number one choice for
salaried individuals, pensioners and students. While there is no restriction on the number and
amount of deposits made, there are usually restrictions on the number and amount of
withdrawals. Savings account holders are paid interest on their savings.
Recurring Deposit Accounts
Recurring Deposit accounts, also called RD accounts, are the accounts of choice for those who
want to save an amount every month, but are unable to invest a large sum at one time. Such
account holders deposit a small, fixed amount every month for a pre-determined period
(minimum 6 months). Defaulting on a monthly payment results in the account holder being
charged a penalty amount. The total amount is repaid with interest at the end of the specified
period.
Fixed Deposit Accounts
Fixed Deposit accounts, also called FD accounts, are ideal for those who wish to deposit their
savings for a long term in return for a high rate of interest. The rate of interest offered depends
on the amount deposited and the time period, and also differs from bank to bank. In the case
of an FD, a certain amount of money is deposited by the account holder for a fixed period of
time. The money can be withdrawn when the period expires. If necessary, the depositor can
break the fixed deposit prematurely. However, this usually attracts a penalty amount which also
differs from bank to bank.

Opening a Bank Account

Opening a bank account is quite a simple process. Take a look at the steps to open an account
of your own:
Step 1: Fill in the Account Opening Form
This form requires you to provide the following information:
• Personal details (name, address, phone number, date of birth, gender, occupation, address)
• Method of receiving your account statement (hard copy/email)
• Details of your initial deposit (cash/cheque)
• Manner of operating your account (online/mobile banking/traditional via cheque, slip books)
Ensure that you sign wherever required on the form.

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Step 2: Affix your Photograph

Stick a recent photograph of yourself in the allotted space on the form.
Step 3: Provide your Know Your Customer (KYC) Details
KYC is a process that helps banks verify the identity and address of their customers. To open an
account, every individual needs to submit certain approved documents with respect to photo
identity (ID) and address proof. Some Officially Valid Documents (OVDs) are:
• Passport
• Driving License
• Voters’ Identity Card
• PAN Card
• UIDAI (Aadhaar) Card
Step 4: Submit All your Documents
Submit the completed Account Opening Form and KYC documents. Then wait until the forms
are processed and your account has been opened!

Tips
• Select the right type of account.
• Fill in complete nomination details.
• Ask about fees.
• Understand the rules.
• Check for online banking – it’s convenient!
• Keep an eye on your bank balance.

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5.3.3 Costs: Fixed Vs. Variable: What are Fixed

and Variable Costs
Fixed costs and variable costs together make up a company’s total cost. These are the two
types of costs that companies have to bear when producing goods and services.
A fixed cost does not change with the volume of goods or services a company produces. It
always remains the same.
A variable cost, on the other hand, increases and decreases depending on the volume of goods
and services produced. In other words, it varies with the amount produced.

Difference between Fixed and Variable Costs

Let’s take a look at some of the main differences between fixed and variable costs:

Criteria Fixed Variable Costs

Meaning A cost that stays the same, A cost that changes when
regardless of the output produced. the output changes.
Nature Time related. Volume related.
Incurred Incurred irrespective of units Incurred only when units are
being produced. produced.
Unit cost Inversely proportional to the number Remains the same, per unit.
of units produced.
Examples Depreciation, rent, salary, Material consumed, wages,
insurance, tax etc. commission on sales, packing

Tips
• When trying to determine whether a cost is fixed or variable, simply ask
the following question: Will the particular cost change if the company
stopped its production activities? If the answer is no, then it is a fixed cost. If
the answer is yes, then it is probably a variable cost.

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5.3.4 Investments, Insurance and Taxes: Investments

Investment means that money is spent today with the aim of reaping financial gains at a
future time. The main types of investment options are as follows:
• Bonds: Bonds are instruments used by public and private companies to raise large sums of
money – too large to be borrowed from a bank. These bonds are then issued in the public
market and are bought by lenders.
• Stocks: Stocks or equity are shares that are issued by companies and are bought by the
general public.
• Small Savings Schemes: Small Savings Schemes are tools meant to save money in small
amounts. Some popular schemes are the Employees Provident Fund, Sukanya Samriddhi
Scheme and National Pension Scheme.
• Mutual Funds: Mutual Funds are professionally managed financial instruments that invest
money in different securities on behalf of investors.
• Fixed Deposits: A fixed amount of money is kept aside with a financial institution for a fixed
amount of time in return for interest on the money.
• Real Estate: Loans are taken from banks to purchase real estate, which is then leased or sold
with the aim of making a profit on the appreciated property price.
• Hedge Funds: Hedge funds invest in both financial derivatives and/or publicly traded
securities.
• Private Equity: Private Equity is trading in the shares of an operating company that is not
publicly listed and whose shares are not available on the stock market.
• Venture Capital: Venture Capital involves investing substantial capital in a budding
company in return for stocks in that company.

Insurance
There are two types of insurance – Life Insurance and Non-Life or General Insurance.
Life Insurance
Life Insurance deals with all insurance covering human life.
Life Insurance Products
The main life insurance products are:
• Term Insurance: This is the simplest and cheapest form of insurance. It offers financial
protection for a specified tenure, say 15 to 20 years. In the case of your death, your family is
paid the sum assured. In the case of your surviving the term, the insurer pays nothing.
• Endowment Policy: This offers the dual benefit of insurance and investment. Part of the
premium is allocated towards the sum assured, while the remaining premium gets invested in
equity and debt. It pays a lump sum amount after the specified duration or on the death of
the policyholder, whichever is earlier.
• Unit-Linked Insurance Plan (ULIP): Here part of the premium is spent on the life cover, while
the remaining amount is invested in equity and debt. It helps develop a regular saving habit.

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• Money Back Life Insurance: While the policyholder is alive, periodic

payments of the partial survival benefits are made during the policy tenure.
On the death of the insured, the insurance company pays the full sum
assured along with survival benefits.
• Whole Life Insurance: It offers the dual benefit of insurance and
investment. It offers insurance cover for the whole life of the person or up
to 100 years whichever is earlier.

General Insurance
General Insurance deals with all insurance covering assets like animals,
agricultural crops, goods, factories, cars and so on.
General Insurance Products
The main general insurance products are:
• Motor Insurance: This can be divided into Four Wheeler Insurance and Two Wheeler
Insurance.
• Health Insurance: The main types of health insurance are individual health
insurance, family floater health insurance, comprehensive health insurance
and critical illness insurance.
• Travel Insurance: This can be categorized into Individual Travel Policy, Family
Travel Policy, Student Travel Insurance and Senior Citizen Health Insurance.
• Home Insurance: This protects the house and its contents from risk.
• Marine Insurance: This insurance covers goods, freight, cargo etc. against
loss or damage during transit by rail, road, sea and/or air.

Taxes
There are two types of taxes – Direct Taxes and Indirect Taxes.
Direct Tax
Direct taxes are levied directly on an entity or a person and are non-transferrable.
Some examples of Direct Taxes are:
• Income Tax: This tax is levied on your earning in a financial year. It is applicable to both,
individuals and companies.
• Capital Gains Tax: This tax is payable whenever you receive a sizable amount of money. It
is usually of two types – short term capital gains from investments held for less than 36
months and long term capital gains from investments held for longer than 36 months.
• Securities Transaction Tax: This tax is added to the price of a share. It is levied every time
you buy or sell shares.
• Perquisite Tax: This tax is levied is on perks that have been acquired by a company or used
by an employee.
• Corporate Tax: Corporate tax is paid by companies from the revenue they earn.

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Indirect Tax
Indirect taxes are levied on goods or services. Some examples of Indirect Taxes are:
• Sales Tax: Sales Tax is levied on the sale of a product.
• Service Tax: Service Tax is added to services provided in India.
• Value Added Tax: Value Added Tax is levied at the discretion of the state government. The
tax is levied on goods sold in the state. The tax amount is decided by the state.
• Customs Duty & Octroi: Customs Duty is a charge that is applied on purchases that are
imported from another country. Octroi is levied on goods that cross state borders within India.
• Excise Duty: Excise Duty is levied on all goods manufactured or produced in India.

Tips
• Think about how quickly you need your money back and pick an investment option
accordingly.
• Ensure that you are buying the right type of insurance policy for yourself.
• Remember, not paying taxes can result in penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.

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5.3.5 Online Banking, NEFT, RTGS, etc.:

What is Online Banking
Internet or online banking allows account holders to access their account from a laptop at any
location. In this way, instructions can be issued. To access an account, account holders simply
need to use their unique customer ID number and password.
Internet banking can be used to:
• Find out an account balance
• Transfer amounts from one account to another
• Arrange for the issuance of cheques
• Instruct payments to be made
• Request for a cheque book
• Request for a statement of accounts
• Make a fixed deposit

Electronic Fund Transfer

Electronic funds transfer is a convenient way of transferring money from the comfort of one’s
own home, using integrated banking tools like internet and mobile banking.
Transferring funds via an electronic gateway is extremely convenient. With the help of online
banking, you can choose to:
• Transfer funds into your own accounts of the same bank.
• Transfer funds into different accounts of the same bank.
• Transfer funds into accounts in different banks, using NEFT.
• Transfer funds into other bank accounts using RTGS.
• Transfer funds into various accounts using IMPS.

NEFT
NEFT stands for National Electronic Funds Transfer. This money transfer system allows you to electronically
transfer funds from your respective bank accounts to any otheraccount, either in the same bank or belonging to
any other bank. NEFT can be used by individuals, firms and corporate organizations to transfer funds between
accounts.
In order to transfer funds via NEFT, two things are required:
• A transferring bank
• A destination bank
Before you can transfer funds through NEFT, you will need to register the beneficiary who will be receiving the
funds. In order to complete this registration, you will require the following information:
• Recipient’s name • Recipient’s bank’sname
• Recipient’s accountnumber • Recipient’s bank’s IFSC code

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RTGS

RTGS stands for Real Time Gross Settlement. This is a real time funds transfer system which
enables you to transfer funds from one bank to another, in real time or on a gross basis. The
transferred amount is immediately deducted from the account of one bank, and instantly
credited to the other bank’s account. The RTGS payment gateway is maintained by the Reserve
Bank of India. The transactions between banks are made electronically.
RTGS can be used by individuals, companies and firms to transfer large sums of money. Before
remitting funds through RTGS, you will need to add the beneficiary and his bank account details
via your online banking account. In order to complete this registration, you will require the
following information:
• Name of the beneficiary • Beneficiary’s account number
• Beneficiary’s bank address • Beneficiary’s bank’s IFSC code

IMPS
IMPS stands for Immediate Payment Service. This is a real-time, inter-bank, electronic funds
transfer system used to transfer money instantly within banks across India. IMPS enables users
to make instant electronic transfer payments using mobile phones through both, Mobile Banking
and SMS. It can also be used through ATMs and online banking. IMPS is available 24 hours a day
and 7 days a week. The system features a secure transfer gateway and immediately confirms
orders that have been fulfilled.
To transfer money through IMPS, the you need to:
• Register for IMPS with your bank
• Receive a Mobile Money Identifier (MMID) from the bank
• Receive a MPIN from the bank
Once you have both these, you can login or make a request through SMS to transfer a particular
amount to a beneficiary.
For the beneficiary to receive the transferred money, he must:

1. Link his mobile number with his respective account

2. Receive the MMID from the bank
In order to initiate a money transfer through IMPS, you will need to enter the following
information:

1. The beneficiary’s mobile number 2. The beneficiary’s MMID

3. The transfer amount 4. Your MPIN
As soon as money has been deducted from your account and credited into the beneficiary’s
account, you will be sent a confirmation SMS with a transaction reference number, for future
reference.

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Difference Between NEFT, RTGS & IMPS

Criteria NEFT RTGS IMPS
Settlement Done in batches Real-time Real-time
Full form National Electronic Real Time Gross Immediate Payment
Fund Transfer Settlement Service
Timings 8:00 am – 6:30 pm 9:00 am – 4:30 pm 24x7
on
Timings on 8:00 am – 1:00 pm 9:00 am – 1:30 pm 24x7
Saturday
Minimum `1 `2 lacs `1
amount of
money transfer
Maximum `10 lacs `10 lacs per day `2 lacs
amount of
money transfer
Maximum Upto 10,000 – `2.5 above 2 – 5 lacs – Upto 10,000 – `5
charges as above 10,000 – 1 lac `25 above 10,000 – 1 lac
per RBI – `5 – `5
above 5 – 10 lacs –
above 1 – 2 lacs – above 1 – 2 lacs –
`50
`15 `15
above 2 – 5 lacs –
`25
above 5 – 10 l acs –
`25

Tips
• Never click on any links in any e-mail message to access your online banking website.
• You will never be asked for your credit or debit card details while using online banking.
• Change your online banking password regularly.

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Unit 5.4: Preparing for Employment & Self Employment

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
Discuss the steps to prepare for an interview
Discuss the steps to create an effective Resume
Discuss the most frequently asked interview questions
Discuss how to answer the most frequently asked interview questions
Discuss basic workplace terminology

5.4.1 Interview Preparation: How to Prepare

for an Interview
The success of your getting the job that you want depends largely on how well your interview
for that job goes. Therefore, before you go in for your interview, it is important that you prepare
for it with a fair amount of research and planning. Take a look at the steps to follow in order to
be well prepared for an interview:
1. Research the organization that you are having the interview with.
• Studying the company beforehand will help you be more prepared at the time of the
interview. Your knowledge of the organization will help you answer questions at the time of
the interview, and will leave you looking and feeling more confident. This is sure to make you
stand out from other, not as well informed, candidates.
• Look for background information on the company. Ty and find an overview of the
company and its industry profile.
• Visit the company website to get a good idea of what the company does. A company website
offers a wealth of important information. Read and understand the company’s mission
statement. Pay attention to the company’s products/services and client list. Read through
any press releases to get an idea of the company’s projected growth and stability.
• Note down any questions that you have after your research has been completed.
2. Think about whether your skills and qualifications match the job requirements.
• Carefully read through and analyze the job description.
• Make a note of the knowledge, skills and abilities required to fulfill the job requirements.
• Take a look at the organization hierarchy. Figure out where the position you are applying for
fits into this hierarchy.
3. Go through the most typical interview questions asked, and prepare your responses.
• Remember, in most interviews a mix of resume-based, behavioral and case study
questions are asked.
• Think about the kind of answers you would like to provide to typical questions asked in
these three areas.
• Practice these answers until you can express them confidently and clearly.

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4. Plan your attire for the interview.

• It is always safest to opt for formal business attire, unless expressly informed to dress in
business casual (in which case you should use your best judgment).
• Ensure that your clothes are clean and well-ironed. Pick neutral colors – nothing too bright
or flashy.
• The shoes you wear should match your clothes, and should be clean and suitable for an
interview.
• Remember, your aim is to leave everyone you meet with the impression that you are a
professional and highly efficient person.
5. Ensure that you have packed everything that you may require during the interview.
• Carry a few copies of your resume. Use a good quality paper for your resume print outs.
• Always take along a notepad and a pen.
• Take along any information you may need to refer to, in order to fill out an application
form.
• Carry a few samples of your work, if relevant.
6. Remember the importance of non-verbal communication.
• Practice projecting confidence. Remind yourself to smile and make eye contact. Practice
giving a firm handshake.
• Keep in mind the importance of posture. Practice sitting up straight. Train yourself to stop
nervous gestures like fidgeting and foot-tapping.
• Practice keeping your reactions in check. Remember, your facial expressions provide a good
insight into your true feelings. Practice projecting a positive image.
7. Make a list of questions to end the interview with.
• Most interviews will end with the interviewer(s) asking if you have any questions. This is your
chance to show that you have done your research and are interested in learning more about
the company.
• If the interviewer does not ask you this question, you can inform him/her that you have some
queries that you would like to discuss. This is the time for you to refer to the notes you made
while studying the company.
• Some good questions to ask at this point are:
o What do you consider the most important criteria for success in this job?
o How will my performance be evaluated?
o What are the opportunities for advancement?
o What are the next steps in the hiring process?
• Remember, never ask for information that is easily available on the company website.

Tips
• Ask insightful and probing questions.
• When communicating, use effective forms of body language like smiling, making eye contact,
and actively listening and nodding. Don’t slouch, play with nearby items, fidget, chew gum,
or mumble.

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5.4.2 Preparing an Effective Resume: How to

Create an Effective Resume
A resume is a formal document that lists a candidate’s work experience, education and skills. A
good resume gives a potential employer enough information to believe the applicant is worth
interviewing. That’s why it is so important to create a resume that is effective. Take a look at the
steps to create an effective resume:

Step 1: Write the Address Section

The Address section occupies the top of your resume. It includes information like your name,
address, phone number and e-mail address. Insert a bold line under the section to separate it
from rest of your resume.
Example:

Khyati Mehta
Breach Candy, Mumbai – India
Contact No: +91 2223678270
Email: [email protected]

Step 2: Add the Profile Summary Section

This part of your resume should list your overall experiences, achievements, awards,
certifications and strengths. You can make your summary as short as 2-3 bullet points or as
long as 8-10 bullet points.
Example:

Profile Summary
• A Floor Supervisor graduated from University of Delhi having 6 years of experience in
managing a retail outlet.
• Core expertise lies in managing retail staff, including cashiers and people working on the
floor.

Step 3: Include Your Educational Qualifications

When listing your academic records, first list your highest degree. Then add the second highest
qualification under the highest one and so on. To provide a clear and accurate picture of your
educational background, it is critical that include information on your position, rank,
percentage or CPI for every degree or certification that you have listed.
If you have done any certifications and trainings, you can add a Trainings & Certifications section
under your Educational Qualifications section.
Example:

Educational Qualifications

• <Enter qualification> <enter date of qualification> from <enter name of institute> with
<enter percentage or any other relevant scoring system>.

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Step 4: List Your Technical Skills

When listing your technical skills, start with the skills that you are most confident about. Then
add the skills that you do not have as good a command over. It is perfectly acceptable to include
just one skill, if you feel that particular skill adds tremendous value to your résumé. If you do
not have any technical skills, you can omit this step.
Example:

Technical Skills
• <Enter your technical skill here, if applicable>

Step 5: Insert Your Academic Project Experience

List down all the important projects that you have worked on. Include the following information
in this section:
• Project title • Organization • Platform used
• Contribution • Description
Example:

Academic Projects
Project Title: <Insert project title>
Organization: <Insert the name of the organization for whom you did the project>
Platform used: <Insert the platform used, if any> Contribution: <Insert your contribution
towards this project> Description: <Insert a description of the project in one line>

Step 6: List Your Strengths

This is where you list all your major strengths. This section should be in the form of a bulleted list.
Example:

Strengths
• Excellent oral, written and presentation skills
• Action-oriented and result-focused
• Great time management skills

Step 7: List Your Extracurricular Activities

It is very important to show that you have diverse interests and that your life consists of more
than academics. Including your extracurricular activities can give you an added edge over
other candidates who have similar academic scores and project experiences. This section
should be in the form of a bulleted list.
Example:

Extracurricular Activities
• < Insert your extracurricular activity here. E.g.: Member of
, played (name
of sport) at level, won (name of prize/award) for __ >

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Step 8: Write Your Personal Details

The last section of your résumé must include the following personal information:
• Date of birth • Gender & marital status
• Nationality • Languages known
Example:

Personal Details
• Date of birth: 25th May, 1981
• Gender & marital status: Female, Single
• Nationality: Indian
• Languages known: English, Hindi, Tamil, French

Tips
• Keep your resume file name short, simple and informational.
• Make sure the resume is neat and free from typing errors.
• Always create your resume on plain white paper.

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5.4.3 Interview FAQs

Take a look at some of the most frequently asked interview questions, and some helpful tips on
how to answer them.

Q1. Can you tell me a little about yourself? Tips to answer:

• Don’t provide your full employment or personal history.
• Offer 2-3 specific experiences that you feel are most valuable and relevant.
• Conclude with how those experiences have made you perfect for this specific role.

Q2. How did you hear about the position? Tips to answer:
• Tell the interviewer how you heard about the job – whether it was through a friend
(name the friend), event or article (name them) or a job portal (say which one).
• Explain what excites you about the position and what in particular caught your eye
about this role.

Q3. What do you know about the company? Tips to answer:

• Don’t recite the company’s About Us page.
• Show that you understand and care about the company’s goals.
• Explain why you believe in the company’s mission and values.

Q4. Why do you want this job? Tips to answer:

• Show that you are passionate about the job.
• Identify why the role is a great fit for you.
• Explain why you love the company.

Q5. Why should we hire you? Tips to answer:

• Prove through your words that you can not only do the work, but can definitely deliver
excellent results.
• Explain why you would be a great fit with the team and work culture.
• Explain why you should be chosen over any other candidate.

Q6. What are your greatest professional strengths? Tips to answer:

• Be honest – share some of your real strengths, rather than give answers that you think
sound good.
• Offer examples of specific strengths that are relevant to the position you are applying for.
• Provide examples of how you’ve demonstrated these strengths.

Q7. What do you consider to be your weaknesses? Tips to answer:

• The purpose of this question is to gauge your self-awareness and honesty.
• Give an example of a trait that you struggle with, but that you’re working on to improve.

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Q8. What are your salary requirements? Tips to answer:

• Do your research beforehand and find out the typical salary range for the job you are
applying for.
• Figure out where you lie on the pay scale based on your experience, education, and skills.
• Be flexible. Tell the interviewer that you know your skills are valuable, but that you want the
job and are willing to negotiate.

Q9. What do you like to do outside of work? Tips to answer:

• The purpose of this question is to see if you will fit in with the company culture.
• Be honest – open up and share activities and hobbies that interest and excite you.

Q10. If you were an animal, which one would you want to be? Tips to answer:
• The purpose of this question is to see if you are able to think on your feet.
• There’s no wrong answer – but to make a great impression try to bring out your strengths or
personality traits through your answer.

Q11: What do you think we could do better or differently? Tips to answer:

• The purpose of this question is to see if you have done your research on the company, and
to test whether you can think critically and come up with new ideas.
• Suggest new ideas. Show how your interests and expertise would help you execute
these ideas.

Q12: Do you have any questions for us? Tips to answer:

• Do not ask questions to which the answers can be easily found on the company website or
through a quick online search.
• Ask intelligent questions that show your ability to think critically.

Tips
• Be honest and confident while answering.
• Use examples of your past experiences wherever possible to make your
answers more impactful.

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5.4.4 Work Readiness – Terms & Terminologies:

Basic Workplace Terminology
Every employee should be well versed in the following terms:
• Annual leave: Paid vacation leave given by employers to employees.
• Background Check: A method used by employers to verify the accuracy of the information
provided by potential candidates.
• Benefits: A part of an employee’s compensation package.
• Breaks: Short periods of rest taken by employees during working hours.
• Compensation Package: The combination of salary and benefits that an employer provides to
his/her employees.
• Compensatory Time (Comp Time): Time off in lieu of pay.
• Contract Employee: An employee who works for one organization that sells said employee’s
services to another company, either on a project or time basis.
• Contract of Employment: When an employee is offered work in exchange for wages or
salary, and accepts the offer made by the employer, a contract of employment exists.
• Corporate Culture: The beliefs and values shared by all the members of a company, and
imparted from one generation of employees to another.
• Counter Offer/Counter Proposal: A negotiation technique used by potential candidates to
increase the amount of salary offered by a company.
• Cover Letter: A letter that accompanies a candidate’s resume. It emphasizes the important
points in the candidate’s resume and provides real examples that prove the candidate’s ability
to perform the expected job role.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)/Resume: A summary of a candidate’s achievements, educational
background, work experience, skills and strengths.
• Declining Letter: A letter sent by an employee to an employer, turning down the job offer
made by the employer to the employee.
• Deductions: Amounts subtracted from an employee’s pay and listed on the employee’s
pay slip.
• Discrimination: The act of treating one person not as favorably as another person.
• Employee: A person who works for another person in exchange for payment.
• Employee Training: A workshop or in-house training that an employee is asked to attend
by his or her superior, for the benefit of the employer.
• Employment Gaps: Periods of unemployed time between jobs.
• Fixed-Term Contract: A contract of employment which gets terminated on an agreed-upon
date.
• Follow-Up: The act of contacting a potential employer after a candidate has submitted his or
her resume.
• Freelancer/Consultant/Independent Contractor: A person who works for him or herself
and pitches for temporary jobs and projects with different employers.
• Holiday: Paid time-off from work.
• Hourly Rate: The amount of salary or wages paid for 60 minutes of work.
• Internship: A job opportunity offered by an employer to a potential employee, called an
intern, to work at the employer’s company for a fixed, limited time period.

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• Interview: A conversation between a potential employee and a representative of an

employer, in order to determine if the potential employee should be hired.
• Job Application: A form which asks for a candidate’s information like the candidate’s name,
address, contact details and work experience. The purpose of a candidate submitting a job
application, is to show that candidate’s interest in working for a particular company.
• Job Offer: An offer of employment made by an employer to a potential employee.
• Job Search Agent: A program that enables candidates to search for employment
opportunities by selecting criteria listed in the program, for job vacancies.
• Lay Off: A lay off occurs when an employee is temporarily let go from his or her job, due to
the employer not having any work for that employee.
• Leave: Formal permission given to an employee, by his or her employer, to take a leave of
absence from work.
• Letter of Acceptance: A letter given by an employer to an employee, confirming the offer of
employment made by the employer, as well as the conditions of the offer.
• Letter of Agreement: A letter that outlines the terms of employment.
• Letter of Recommendation: A letter written for the purpose of validating the work skills of a
person.
• Maternity Leave: Leave taken from work by women who are pregnant, or who have just given
birth.
• Mentor: A person who is employed at a higher level than you, who offers you advice and
guides you in your career.
• Minimum wage: The minimum wage amount paid on an hourly basis.
• Notice: An announcement made by an employee or an employer, stating that the
employment contract will end on a particular date.
• Offer of Employment: An offer made by an employer to a prospective employee that
contains important information pertaining to the job being offered, like the starting date,
salary, working conditions etc.
• Open-Ended Contract: A contract of employment that continues till the employer or
employee terminates it.
• Overqualified: A person who is not suited for a particular job because he or she has too many
years of work experience, or a level of education that is much higher than required for the
job, or is currently or was previously too highly paid.
• Part-Time Worker: An employee who works for fewer hours than the standard number of
hours normally worked.
• Paternity Leave: Leave granted to a man who has recently become a father.
• Recruiters/Headhunters/Executive Search Firms: Professionals who are paid by employers to
search for people to fill particular positions.
• Resigning/Resignations: When an employee formally informs his or her employer that he or
she is quitting his or her job.
• Self-Employed: A person who has his or her own business and does not work in the capacity
of an employee.
• Time Sheet: A form that is submitted to an employer, by an employee, that contains the
number of hours worked every day by the employee.

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5.5: Understanding Entrepreneurship

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Discuss the concept of entrepreneurship
2. Discuss the importance of entrepreneurship
3. Describe the characteristics of an entrepreneur
4. Describe the different types of enterprises
5. List the qualities of an effective leader
6. Discuss the benefits of effective leadership
7. List the traits of an effective team
8. Discuss the importance of listening effectively
9. Discuss how to listen effectively
10. Discuss the importance of speaking effectively
11. Discuss how to speak effectively
12. Discuss how to solve problems
13. List important problem solving traits
14. Discuss ways to assess problem solving skills
15. Discuss the importance of negotiation
16. Discuss how to negotiate
17. Discuss how to identify new business opportunities
18. Discuss how to identify business opportunities within your business
19. Explain the meaning of entrepreneur
20. Describe the different types of entrepreneurs
21. List the characteristics of entrepreneurs
22. Recall entrepreneur success stories
23. Discuss the entrepreneurial process
24. Describe the entrepreneurship ecosystem
25. Discuss the purpose of the Make in India campaign
26. Discuss key schemes to promote entrepreneurs
27. Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship and risk appetite
28. Discuss the relationship between entrepreneurship and resilience
29. Describe the characteristics of a resilient entrepreneur
30. Discuss how to deal with failure

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5.5.1 Concept Introduction, (Characteristic of an

Entrepreneur, types of firms / types of enterprises):
Entrepreneurs and Entrepreneurship
Anyone who is determined to start a business, no matter what the risk, is an
entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs run their own start-up, take responsibility for the
financial risks and use creativity, innovation and vast reserves of self-
motivation to achieve success. They dream big and are determined to do
whatever it takes to turn their idea into a viable offering. The aim of an
entrepreneur is to create an enterprise. The process of creating this enterprise
is known as entrepreneurship.

Importance of Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is very important for the following reasons:
1. It results in the creation of new organizations
2. It brings creativity into the marketplace
3. It leads to improved standards of living
4. It helps develop the economy of a country

Characteristics of Entrepreneurs
All successful entrepreneurs have certain haracteristics in common. They are all:
• Extremely passionate about their work
• Confident in themselves
• Disciplined and dedicated
• Motivated and driven
• Highly creative
• Visionaries
• Open-minded
• Decisive
Entrepreneurs also have a tendency to:
• Have a high risk tolerance
• Thoroughly plan everything
• Manage their money wisely
• Make their customers their priority
• Understand their offering and their market in detail
• Ask for advice from experts when required
• Know when to cut their losses

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Examples of Entrepreneurs
Some famous entrepreneurs are:
• Dhirubhai Ambani (Reliance)
• Dr. Karsanbhai Patel (Nirma)
• Azim Premji (Wipro)
• Anil Agarwal (Vedanta Resources)

Types of Enterprises
As an entrepreneur in India, you can own and run any of the following types of enterprises:
Sole Proprietorship
In a sole proprietorship, a single individual owns, manages and controls the enterprise. This
type of business is the easiest to form with respect to legal formalities. The business and the
owner have no separate legal existence. All profit belongs to the proprietor, as do all the losses
- the liability of the entrepreneur is unlimited.
Partnership
A partnership firm is formed by two or more people. The owners of the enterprise are called
partners. A partnership deed must be signed by all the partners. The firm and its partners have
no separate legal existence. The profits are shared by the partners. With respect to losses, the
liability of the partners is unlimited. A firm has a limited life span and must be dissolved when
any one of the partners dies, retires, claims bankruptcy or goes insane.
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
In a Limited Liability Partnership or LLP, the partners of the firm enjoy perpetual existence
as well as the advantage of limited liability. Each partner’s liability is limited to their agreed
contribution to the LLP. The partnership and its partners have a separate legal existence.

Tips
• Learn from others’ failures.
• Be certain that this is what you want.
• Search for a problem to solve, rather than look for a problem to attach to your idea.

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5.5.2 Costs: Leadership & Teamwork: Leadership & Leaders

Leadership means setting an example for others to follow. Setting a good example means not
asking someone to do something that you wouldn’t willingly want to do yourself. Leadership is
about figuring out what to do in order to win as a team, and as a company.
Leaders believe in doing the right things. They also believe in helping others to do the right
things. An effective leader is someone who:
• Creates an inspiring vision of the future.
• Motivates and inspires his team to pursue that vision.

Leadership Qualities That All Entrepreneurs need

Building a successful enterprise is only possible if the entrepreneur in charge possesses excellent
leadership qualities. Some critical leadership skills that every entrepreneur must have are:
Pragmatism: This means having the ability to highlight all obstacles and challenges, in order
to resolve issues and reduce risks.
Humility: This means admitting to mistakes often and early, and being quick to take
responsibility for your actions. Mistakes should be viewed as challenges to overcome, not
opportunities to point blame.
Flexibility: It is critical for a good leader to be very flexible and quickly adapt to change. It is
equally critical to know when to adapt and when not to.
Authenticity: This means showing both, your strengths and your weaknesses. It means being
human and showing others that you are human.
Reinvention: This means refreshing or changing your leadership style when necessary. To do
this, it’s important to learn where your leadership gaps lie and find out what resources are
required to close them.
Awareness: This means taking the time to recognize how others view you. It means
understanding how your presence affects those around you.

Benefits for Effective Leadership

Effective leadership results in numerous benefits. Great leadership leads to the leader successfully:
• Gaining the loyalty and commitment of the team members
• Motivating the team to work towards achieving the company’s goals and objectives
• Building morale and instilling confidence in the team members
• Fostering mutual understanding and team-spirit among team members
• Convincing team members about the need to change when a situation requires adaptability

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Team Work and Teams

Teamwork occurs when the people in a workplace combine their individual skills to pursue a
common goal. Effective teams are made up of individuals who work together to achieve this
common goal. A great team is one who holds themselves accountable for the end result.

Importance of Teamwork in Entrepreneurial Success

For an entrepreneurial leader, building an effective team is critical to the success of a venture.
An entrepreneur must ensure that the team he builds possesses certain crucial qualities,
traits and characteristics. An effective team is one which has:
Unity of purpose: All the team members should clearly understand and be equally committed
to the purpose, vision and goals of the team.
Great communication skills: Team members should have the ability to express their
concerns, ask questions and use diagrams, and charts to convey complex information.
The ability to collaborate: Every member should feel entitled to provide regular feedback on
new ideas.
Initiative: The team should consist of proactive individuals. The members should have the
enthusiasm to come up with new ideas, improve existing ideas, and conduct their own
research.
Visionary members: The team should have the ability to anticipate problems and act on these
potential problem before they turn into real problems.
Great adaptability skills: The team must believe that change is a positive force. Change
should be seen as the chance to improve and try new things.
Excellent organizational skills: The team should have the ability to develop standard work
processes, balance responsibilities, properly plan projects, and set in place methods to
measure progress and ROI.

Tips
• Don’t get too attached to your original idea. Allow it to evolve and change.
• Be aware of your weaknesses and build a team that will complement your shortfalls.
• Hiring the right people is not enough. You need to promote or
incentivize your most talented people to keep them motivated.
• Earn your team’s respect.

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5.5.3 Communication Skills: Listening & Speaking:

The Importance of Listening Effectively
Listening is the ability to correctly receive and understand messages during the process of
communication. Listening is critical for effective communication. Without effective listening
skills, messages can easily be misunderstood. This results in a communication breakdown and
can lead to the sender and the receiver of the message becoming frustrated or irritated.
It’s very important to note that listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing just refers to sounds
that you hear. Listening is a whole lot more than that. To listen, one requires focus. It means not
only paying attention to the story, but also focusing on how the story is relayed, the way
language and voice is used, and even how the speaker uses their body language. The ability to
listen depends on how effectively one can perceive and understand both, verbal and non-verbal
cues.

How to Listen Effectively

To listen effectively you should:
• Stop talking
• Stop interrupting
• Focus completely on what is being said
• Nod and use encouraging words and gestures
• Be open-minded
• Think about the speaker’s perspective
• Be very, very patient
• Pay attention to the tone that is being used
• Pay attention to the speaker’s gestures, facial expressions and eye movements
• Not try and rush the person
• Not let the speaker’s mannerisms or habits irritate or distract you

How to Listen Effectively

How successfully a message gets conveyed depends entirely on how effectively you are able to
get it through. An effective speaker is one who enunciates properly, pronounces words correctly,
chooses the right words and speaks at a pace that is easily understandable. Besides this, the
words spoken out loud need to match the gestures, tone and body language used.
What you say, and the tone in which you say it, results in numerous perceptions being formed.
A person who speaks hesitantly may be perceived as having low self-esteem or lacking in
knowledge of the discussed topic. Those with a quiet voice may very well be labeled as shy. And
those who speak in commanding tones with high levels of clarity, are usually considered to be
extremely confident. This makes speaking a very critical communication skill.

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How to Speak Effectively

To speak effectively you should:
• Incorporate body language in your speech like eye contact, smiling, nodding, gesturing etc.
• Build a draft of your speech before actually making your speech.
• Ensure that all your emotions and feelings are under control.
• Pronounce your words distinctly with the correct pitch and intensity. Your speech should
be crystal clear at all times.
• Use a pleasant and natural tone when speaking. Your audience should not feel like you are
putting on an accent or being unnatural in any way.
• Use precise and specific words to drive your message home. Ambiguity should be avoided at
all costs.
• Ensure that your speech has a logical flow.
• Be brief. Don’t add any unnecessary information.
• Make a conscious effort to avoid irritating mannerisms like fidgeting, twitching etc.
• Choose your words carefully and use simple words that the majority of the audience will
have no difficulty understanding.
• Use visual aids like slides or a whiteboard.
• Speak slowly so that your audience can easily understand what you’re saying. However, be
careful not to speak too slowly because this can come across as stiff, unprepared or even
condescending.
• Remember to pause at the right moments.

Tips
• If you’re finding it difficult to focus on what someone is saying, try repeating their words in
your head.
• Always maintain eye contact with the person that you are communicating with, when
speaking as well as listening. This conveys and also encourages interest in the conversation.

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5.5.4 Problem Solving & Negotiation Skills:

What is a problem?
As per The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1995), a problem is, “A doubtful or difficult matter
requiring a solution”
All problems contain two elements:
1. Goals 2. Obstacles
The aim of problem solving is to recognize the obstacles and remove them in order to achieve
the goals.

How to Solve Problems

Solving a problem requires a level of rational thinking. Here are some logical
steps to follow when faced with an issue:
Step 1: Identify the problem Step 2: Study the problem in detail
Step 3: List all possible solutions Step 4: Select the best solution
Step 5: Implement the chosen solution Step 6: Check that the problem has really been solved

Important Traits to Problem Solving

Highly developed problem solving skills are critical for both, business owners and their
employees. The following personality traits play a big role in how effectively problems are
solved:
• Being open minded • Asking the right questions
• Being proactive • Not panicking
• Having a positive attitude • Focusing on the right problem

How to Assess for Problem Solving Skills

As an entrepreneur, it would be a good idea to assess the level of problem solving skills of
potential candidates before hiring them. Some ways to assess this skill are through:
1. Application forms: Ask for proof of the candidate’s problem solving skills in the application
form.
2. Psychometric tests: Give potential candidates logical reasoning and critical thinking tests
and see how they fare.
3. Interviews: Create hypothetical problematic situations or raise ethical questions and see
how the candidates respond.
4. Technical questions: Give candidates examples of real life problems and evaluate their
thought process.

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What is Negotiation
Negotiation is a method used to settle differences. The aim of negotiation is to resolve
differences through a compromise or agreement while avoiding disputes. Without negotiation,
conflicts are likely to lead to resentment between people. Good negotiation skills help satisfy
both parties and go a long way towards developing strong relationships.

Why Negotiate
Starting a business requires many, many negotiations. Some negotiations are small while others
are critical enough to make or break a startup. Negotiation also plays a big role inside the
workplace. As an entrepreneur, you need to know not only know how to negotiate yourself, but
also how to train employees in the art of negotiation.

How to Negotiate
Take a look at some steps to help you negotiate:

Step 1: Pre-Negotiation Agree on where to meet to discuss the problem, decide who all
Preparation will be present and set a time limit for the discussion.
Step 2: Discuss the This involves asking questions, listening to the other side,
Problem putting your views forward and clarifying doubts.
Step 3: Clarify the Ensure that both parties want to solve the same problem and
Objective reach the same goal.
Step 4: Aim for a Try your best to be open minded when negotiating.
Win-Win Outcome Compromise and offer alternate solutions to reach an outcome
where both parties win.
Step 5: Clearly Define When an agreement has been reached, the details of the
the Agreement agreement should be crystal clear to both sides, with no scope
for misunderstandings.
Step 6: Implement the Agree on a course of action to set the solution in motion
Agreed Upon Solution

Tips
• Know exactly what you want before you work towards getting it
• Give more importance to listening and thinking, than speaking
• Focus on building a relationship rather than winning
• Remember that your people skills will affect the outcome
• Know when to walk away – sometimes reaching an agreement may not be possible

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5.5.5 Business Opportunity Identification:

Entrepreneurs and Opportunities
“The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity.”
Peter Drucker
The ability to identify business opportunities is an essential characteristic of an entrepreneur.

What is an Opportunity
The word opportunity suggests a good chance or a favorable situation to do something offered
by circumstances.
A business opportunity means a good or favorable change available to run a specific business in
a given environment, at a given point of time.

Common Questions faced by an Entrepreneur

A critical question that all entrepreneurs face is how to go about finding the business opportunity
that is right for them.
Some common questions that entrepreneurs constantly think about are:
• Should the new enterprise introduce a new product or service based on an unmet need?
• Should the new enterprise select an existing product or service from one market and offer it
in another where it may not be available?
• Should the enterprise be based on a tried and tested formula that has worked elsewhere? It
is therefore extremely important that entrepreneurs must learn how to identify new and
existing business opportunities and evaluate their chances of success.

When is an Idea an Opportunity

An idea is an opportunity when:
• It creates or adds value to a customer
• It solves a significant problem, removes a pain point or meets a demand
• Has a robust market and profit margin
• Is a good fit with the founder and management team at the right time and place

Factors to Consider when Looking for an Opportunity

Consider the following when looking for business opportunities:
• Economic trends • Market trends
• Changes in funding • Changes in political support
• Changing relationships between vendors, • Shift in target audience
partners and suppliers

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Ways to Identify New Business Opportunities

Identify Market Inefficiencies
When looking at a market, consider what inefficiencies are present in the market. Think
about ways to correct these inefficiencies.
Remove Key Hassles
Rather than create a new product or service, you can innovatively improve a product,
service or process.
Create Something New
Think about how you can create a new experience for customers, based on existing business
models.
Pick a Growing Sector/Industry
Research and find out which sectors or industries are growing and think about what
opportunities you can tap in the same.
Think About Product Differentiation
If you already have a product in mind, think about ways to set it apart from the existing ones.

Ways to Identify Business Opportunities within

Your Business
1. SWOT Analysis
An excellent way to identify opportunities inside your business is by creating a SWOT
analysis. The acronym SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
SWOT analysis framework:

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Consider the following when looking for business opportunities:

By looking at yourself and your competitors using the SWOT framework, you can uncover
opportunities that you can exploit, as well as manage and eliminate threats that could derail
your success.
2. Establishing Your USP
Establish your USP and position yourself as different from your competitors. Identify why
customers should buy from you and promote that reason.

Opportunity Analysis

Once you have identified an opportunity, you need to analyze it. To analyze an opportunity, you
must:
• Focus on the idea
• Focus on the market of the idea
• Talk to industry leaders in the same space as the idea
• Talk to players in the same space as the idea

Tips
• Remember, opportunities are situational.
• Look for a proven track record.
• Avoid the latest craze.
• Love your idea.

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5.5.6 Entrepreneurship Support Eco-System:

What is an Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is a person who:
• Does not work for an employee
• Runs a small enterprise
• Assumes all the risks and rewards of the enterprise, idea, good or service

Types of Entrepreneurs
There are four main types of entrepreneurs:
1. The Traditional Entrepreneur: This type of entrepreneur usually has some kind of skill – they
can be a carpenter, mechanic, cook etc. They have businesses that have been around for
numerous years like restaurants, shops and carpenters. Typically, they gain plenty of
experience in a particular industry before they begin their own business in a similar field.
2. The Growth Potential Entrepreneur: The desire of this type of entrepreneur is to start an
enterprise that will grow, win many customers and make lots of money. Their ultimate aim is
to eventually sell their enterprise for a nice profit. Such entrepreneurs usually have a science
or technical background.
3. The Project-Oriented Entrepreneur: This type of entrepreneur generally has a background in
the Arts or psychology. Their enterprises tend to be focus on something that they are very
passionate about.
4. The Lifestyle Entrepreneur: This type of entrepreneur has usually worked as a teacher or a
secretary. They are more interested in selling something that people will enjoy, rather than
making lots of money.

Characteristics of an Entrepreneur
Successful entrepreneurs have the following characteristics:
• They are highly motivated
• They are creative and persuasive
• They are mentally prepared to handle each and every task
• They have excellent business skills – they know how to evaluate their cash flow, sales and
revenue
• They are willing to take great risks
• They are very proactive – this means they are willing to do the work themselves, rather
than wait for someone else to do it
• They have a vision – they are able to see the big picture
• They are flexible and open-minded
• They are good at making decisions

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Entrepreneur Success Stories

Dhiru Bhai Ambani
Dhirubhai Ambani began his entrepreneurial career by selling “bhajias” to pilgrims in Mount Girnar on
weekends. At 16, he moved to Yemen where he worked as a gas-station attendant, and as a clerk in an oil
company. He returned to India with Rs. 50,000 and started a textile trading company. Reliance went on
to become the first Indian company to raise money in global markets and the first Indian company to
feature in Forbes 500 list.

Dr. Karsanbhai Patel

Karsanbhai Patel made detergent powder in the backyard of his house. He sold his product door-to-door
and offered a money back guarantee with every pack that was sold. He charged Rs. 3 per kg when the
cheapest detergent at that time was Rs.13 per kg. Dr. Patel eventually started Nirma which became a
whole new segment in the Indian domestic detergent market.

The Entrepreneurial
Ways to Identify NewProcess
Business Opportunities
Let’s take a look at the stages of the entrepreneurial process.
Stage 1: Idea Generation. The entrepreneurial process begins with an idea that has been
thought of by the entrepreneur. The idea is a problem that has the potential to be solved.
Stage 2: Germination or Recognition. In this stage a possible solution to the identified problem
is thought of.
Stage 3: Preparation or Rationalization. The problem is studied further and research is done to
find out how others have tried to solve the same problem.
Stage 4: Incubation or Fantasizing. This stage involves creative thinking for the purpose of
coming up with more ideas. Less thought is given to the problem areas.
Stage 5: Feasibility Study: The next step is the creation of a feasibility study to determine if the
idea will make a profit and if it should be seen through.
Stage 6: Illumination or Realization. This is when all uncertain areas suddenly become clear.
The entrepreneur feels confident that his idea has merit.
Stage 7: Verification or Validation. In this final stage, the idea is verified to see if it works and
if it is useful.
Take a look at the diagram below to get a better idea of this process.

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Introduction to Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

The entrepreneurship support ecosystem signifies the collective and complete nature of
entrepreneurship. New companies emerge and flourish not only because of the courageous,
visionary entrepreneurs who launch them, but they thrive as they are set in an environment
or ‘ecosystem’ made of private and public participants. These players nurture and sustain the
new ventures, facilitating the entrepreneurs’ efforts.

An entrepreneurship ecosystem comprises of the following six domains:

1. Favorable Culture: This includes elements such as tolerance of risk and errors, valuable
networking and positive social standing of the entrepreneur.
2. Facilitating Policies & Leadership: This includes regulatory framework incentives and
existence of public research institutes.
3. Financing Options: Angel financing, venture capitalists and micro loans would be good
examples of this.
4. Human Capital: This refers to trained and untrained labor, entrepreneurs and
entrepreneurship training programmers, etc.
5. Conducive Markets for Products & Services: This refers to an existence or scope of
existence of a market for the product/service.
6. Institutional & Infrastructural Support: This includes legal and financing advisers,
telecommunications, digital and transportation infrastructure, and entrepreneurship
networking programmers.

These domains indicate whether there is a strong entrepreneurship support ecosystem and
what actions should the government put in place to further encourage this ecosystem. The six
domains and their various elements have been graphically depicted.

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Fig 5.5.6

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Every entrepreneurship support ecosystem is unique and all the elements of the ecosystem are
interdependent. Although every region’s entrepreneurship ecosystem can be broadly described
by the above features, each ecosystem is the result of the hundred elements interacting in highly
complex and particular ways.
Entrepreneurship ecosystems eventually become (largely) self-sustaining. When the six domains
are resilient enough, they are mutually beneficial. At this point, government involvement can
and should be significantly minimized. Public leaders do not need to invest a lot to sustain the
ecosystem. It is imperative that the entrepreneurship ecosystem incentives are formulated to be
self-liquidating, hence focusing on sustainability of the environment.

Made in India Campaign

Every entrepreneur has certain needs. Some of their important needs are:
• To easily get loans
• To easily find investors
• To get tax exemptions
• To easily access resources and good infrastructure
• To enjoy a procedure that is free of hassles and is quick
• To be able to easily partner with other firms

The Make in India campaign, launched by Prime Minister Modi aims to satisfy all these needs of
young, aspiring entrepreneurs. Its objective is to:
• Make investment easy
• Support new ideas
• Enhance skill development
• Safeguard the ideas of entrepreneurs
• Create state-of-the-art facilities for manufacturing goods

Key Schemes to Promote Entrepreneurship

The government offers many schemes to support entrepreneurs. These schemes are run by
various Ministries/Departments of Government of India to support First Generation
Entrepreneurs. Take a look at a few key schemes to promote entrepreneurship:
Sl. Name of the Scheme
1. Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana - Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA),
2. STAND UP INDIA
3. Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP)
4. International Cooperation
5. Performance and Credit Rating
6. Marketing Assistance Scheme
7. Reimbursement of Registration Fee for Bar Coding
8. Enable Participation of MSMEs in State/District level Trade Fairs and Provide
Funding Support

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9. Capital Subsidy Support on Credit for Technology up gradation

10. Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro and Small Enterprise (CGFMSE)
11. Reimbursement of Certification Fees for Acquiring ISO Standards
12. Agricultural Marketing
13. Small Agricultural Marketing
14. Mega Food Park
15. Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana

1. Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, - Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency
(MUDRA),

Description
Under the aegis support of Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana, MUDRA has already created its
initial products/schemes. The interventions have been named ‘Shishu’, ‘Kishor’ and ‘Tarun’ to
signify the stage of growth/development and funding needs of the beneficiary micro
unit/entrepreneur and also provide a reference point for the next phase of graduation/ growth
to look forward to:
a. Shishu: Covering loans up to Rs.50,000/-
b. Kishor: Covering loans above Rs. 50,000/- and up to Rs.5 lakh
c. Tarun: Covering loans above Rs. 5 lakh to Rs.10 lakh

Who can apply?

Any Indian citizen who has a business plan for a non-farm sector income generating activity such
as manufacturing, processing, trading or service sector and whose credit need is less than Rs.10
lakh can approach either a Bank, MFI, or NBFC for availing of MUDRA loans under Pradhan
Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY).
2. Stand Up India
Description
The objective of the Standup India scheme is to facilitate bank loans between Rs.10 lakh and
Rs.1 crore to at least one Schedule Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one
woman borrower per bank branch for setting up a Greenfield enterprise. This enterprise may
be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector. In case of non- Individual enterprises at least
51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held be either an SC/ST or Woman
Entrepreneur.
Who can apply?
ST, SC &Women

3. Prime Minister Employment Generation Program (PMEGP) Description

The Scheme is implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), as the nodal
agency at the National level. At the State level, the Scheme is implemented through State
KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs) and District Industries
Centers (DICs) and banks. The Government subsidy under the Scheme is routed by KVIC
through identified banks for eventual distribution to the beneficiaries/entrepreneurs in
their bank accounts.

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Nature of assistance
The maximum cost of the project/unit admissible under manufacturing sector is Rs.25 lakh and
under business/service sector is Rs.10 lakh. Levels of funding under PMEGP
Categories of beneficiaries under PMEGP Beneficiary’s Rate of
contribution Subsidy
(of project (of project
Area (location of project/unit) Urban
Rural
General Category 10% 15%
25%
Special (including SC / ST / OBC / Minorities 05% 25%
/ Women, Ex-servicemen, Physically 35%
handicapped, NER, Hill and Border areas

The balance amount of the total project cost will be provided by Banks as term loan as well as
working capital.
Who can apply?
Any individual, above 18 years of age. At least VIII standard pass for projects costing above
Rs.10 lakh in the manufacturing sector and above Rs.5 lakh in the business/ service sector.
Only new projects are considered for sanction under PMEGP. Self Help Groups (including
those belonging to BPL provided that they have not availed benefits under any other Scheme),
Institutions registered under Societies Registration Act,1860; Production Co-operative
Societies, and Charitable Trusts are also eligible. Existing Units (under PMRY, REGP or any other
scheme of Government of India or State Government) and the units that have already availed
Government Subsidy under any other scheme of Government of India or State Government are
NOT eligible.
4. International Cooperation
Description
The Scheme would cover the following activities:
a. Deputation of MSME business delegations to other countries for exploring new areas of
technology infusion/upgradation, facilitating joint ventures, improving market of MSMEs
products, foreign collaborations, etc.
b. Participation by Indian MSMEs in international exhibitions, trade fairs and buyer- seller
meets in foreign countries as well as in India, in which there is international participation.
c. Holding international conferences and seminars on topics and themes of interest to the
MSME.
Nature of assistance
IC Scheme provides financial assistance towards the airfare and space rent of entrepreneurs.
Assistance is provided on the basis of size and the type of the enterprise.
Who can apply?
a. State/Central Government Organizations;
b. Industry/Enterprise Associations; and
c. Registered Societies/Trusts and Organizations associated with the promotion and
development of MSMEs

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5. Performance and Credit Rating for Micro and Small Enterprises

Description
The objective of the Scheme is to create awareness amongst micro & small enterprises
about the strengths and weaknesses of their operations and also their credit worthiness.
Nature of assistance

Turn Over Fee to be reimbursed by Ministry of MSME

Up to Rs.50 lacs 75% of the fee charged by the rating agency subject to a
ceiling
Above Rs.50 lacs to 75% of the fee charged by the rating agency subject to a
Rs.200 lacs ceiling of Rs.30,0001-
Above Rs.200 lacs 75% of the fee charged by the rating agency subject to a
ceiling of Rs.40,000/-

Who can apply?

Any enterprise registered in India as a micro or small enterprise is eligible to apply.
6. Marketing Assistance Scheme
Description
The assistance is provided for the following activities:
a. Organizing exhibitions abroad and participation in international exhibitions/trade fairs
b. Co-sponsoring of exhibitions organized by other organizations/industry associations/
agencies
c. Organizing buyer-seller meets, intensive campaigns and marketing promotion events
Nature of assistance
Financial assistance of up to 95% of the airfare and space rent of entrepreneurs. Assistance is
provided on the basis of size and the type of the enterprise. Financial assistance for co-
sponsoring would be limited to 40% of the net expenditure, subject to maximum amount of
Rs.5 lakh.
Who can apply?
MSMEs, Industry Associations and other organizations related to MSME sector.
7. Reimbursement of Registration Fee for Bar Coding
Description
The financial assistance is provided towards 75% reimbursement of only one-time
registration fee and 75% of annual recurring fee for first three years paid by MSEs to GS1
India for using bar coding.
Nature of assistance
Funding support for reimbursement of 75% of one time and recurring bar code registration fees.
Who can apply?
All MSMEs with EM registration.
8. Enabling Participation of MSMEs in State/District Level Trade Fairs and Provide Funding
Support
Description
Provide marketing platform to manufacturing MSMEs by enabling their participation in state/district

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level exhibitions being organized by state/district authorities/associations.

Nature of assistance
1. Free registration for participating in trade fairs
Note: The selection of participants would be done by the MSME-DIs post the submission of
application.
2. Reimbursement of 50% of to and fro actual fare by shortest distance/direct train (limited
to AC II tier class) from the nearest railway station/bus fare to the place of exhibition and 50%
space rental charges for MSMEs (General category entrepreneurs).
3. For Women/SC/ST entrepreneurs & entrepreneurs from North Eastern Region Govt. of
India will reimburse 80% of items listed above in Point (2).
Note: The total reimbursement will be max. Rs.30,000/- per unit for the SC/ST/Women/
Physically Handicapped entrepreneurs, while for the other units the max. limit will be
Rs.20,000/- per person per MSME unit.
Note: The participant is required to submit follow-up proofs post attending the event to claim
reimbursement. The proofs can be submitted after logging in online under the section “My
Applications” or directly contacting a DI office.
Who can apply?
All MSMEs with EM registration.
9. Capital Subsidy Support on Credit for Technology Upgradation
Description
MSMEs can get a capital subsidy (~15%) on credit availed for technology upgradation.
Nature of assistance
Financial assistance for availing credit and loan.
Who can apply?
1. Banks and financial institutions can apply to DC-MSME for availing support.
2. MSMEs need to directly contact the respective banks for getting credit and capital
subsidy.
How to apply?
If you are a financial institution, click on the “Apply Now” button or else you can also directly
contact the Office of DC-MSME. You can view the contact details of Office of DC- MSME. If you
are an MSME, directly contact the respective banks/financial institutions as listed in the scheme
guidelines.
10. Provision of Collateral Free Credit for MSMEs
Description
Banks and financial institutions are provided funding assistance under this scheme so that they
can in turn lend collateral free credit to MSMEs.
Nature of assistance
Funding support to banks and financial institutions for lending collateral-free credit to MSMEs.
Who can apply?
Banks and financial institutions can apply to office of DC-MSME/MSME-DIs for availing
support. MSMEs need to directly contact the respective banks for getting credit.
11. Reimbursement of certification fees for acquiring ISO standards
ISO 9000/ISO 14001 Certification Reimbursement.

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Description
The GoI assistance will be provided for one-time reimbursement of expenditure to such
MSME manufacturing units which acquire ISO 18000/ISO 22000/ISO 27000 certification.
Nature of assistance
Reimbursement of expenditure incurred on acquiring ISO standards.
Who can apply?
MSMEs with EM registration.
12. Agricultural Marketing
Description
A capital investment subsidy for construction/renovation of rural godowns. Creation of
scientific storage capacity and prevention of distress sale. Nature of assistance
Subsidy @ 25% to farmers, 15% of project cost to companies.
Who can apply
NGOs, SHGs, companies, co-operatives.
13. Small Agricultural Marketing
Description
Business development description provides venture capital assistance in the form of
equity, and arranges training and visits of agri-preneurs
Farmers’ Agriculture Business Consortium
Business development description provides venture capital assistance in the form of
equity, and arranges training and visits of agri-preneurs.
Nature of assistance
Financial assistance with a ceiling of Rs.5 lakh.
Who can apply
Individuals, farmers, producer groups, partnership/propriety firms, SGHs, agri-preneurs, etc.
14. Mega Food Park
Description
Mechanism to link agricultural production and market to maximize value addition, enhance
farmers income, create rural employment.
Nature of assistance
One-time capital grant of 50% of project cost with a limit of Rs.50 crore.
Who can apply
Farmers, farmer groups, SHGs.
15. Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana
Description
Concessional scheme for the economic development of ST women.
Nature of assistance
Term loan at concessional rates up to 90% of cost of scheme.
Who can apply
Scheduled Tribes Women.

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Tips
• Research the existing market, network with other entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel
investors, and thoroughly review the policies in place to enable your entrepreneurship.
• Failure is a stepping stone and not the end of the road. Review yours and your peers’ errors
and correct them in your future venture.
• Be proactive in your ecosystem. Identify the key features of your ecosystem and enrich
them to ensure self-sustainability of your entrepreneurship support ecosystem.

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5.5.7 Risk Appetite & Resilience: Entrepreneurship

and Risk
Entrepreneurs are inherently risk takers. They are path-makers not path-takers. Unlike a normal,
cautious person, an entrepreneur would not think twice about quitting his job (his sole income)
and taking a risk on himself and his idea.
An entrepreneur is aware that while pursuing his dreams, assumptions can be proven wrong and
unforeseen events may arise. He knows that after dealing with numerous problems, success is
still not guaranteed. Entrepreneurship is synonymous with the ability to take risks. This ability,
called risk-appetite, is an entrepreneurial trait that is partly genetic and partly acquired.

What is Risk Appetite

Risk appetite is defined as the extent to which a company is equipped to take risk, in order to
achieve its objectives. Essentially, it refers to the balance, struck by the company, between
possible profits and the hazards caused by changes in the environment (economic ecosystem,
policies, etc.). Taking on more risk may lead to higher rewards but have a high probability of
losses as well. However, being too conservative may go against the company as it can miss out
on good opportunities to grow and reach their objectives.
The levels of risk appetite can be broadly categorized as “low”, “medium” and “high.” The
company’s entrepreneur(s) have to evaluate all potential alternatives and select the option
most likely to succeed. Companies have varying levels of risk appetites for different objectives.
The levels depend on:
• The type of industry
• Market pressures
• Company objectives
For example, a startup with a revolutionary concept will have a very high risk appetite. The
startup can afford short term failures before it achieves longer term success. This type of
appetite will not remain constant and will be adjusted to account for the present circumstances
of the company.

Risk
Risk Appetite
Appetite Statement
Statement
Companies have to define and articulate their risk appetite in sync with decisions made about
their objectives and opportunities. The point of having a risk appetite statement is to have a
framework that clearly states the acceptance and management of risk in business. It sets risk
taking limits within the company. The risk appetite statement should convey the following:
• The nature of risks the business faces.
• Which risks the company is comfortable taking on and which risks are unacceptable.
• How much risk to accept in all the risk categories.
• The desired tradeoff between risk and reward.
• Measures of risk and methods of examining and regulating risk exposures.

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Entrepreneurship
Ways & Resilience
to Identify New Business Opportunities
Entrepreneurs are characterized by a set of qualities known as resilience. These qualities play
an especially large role in the early stages of developing an enterprise. Risk resilience is an
extremely valuable characteristic as it is believed to protect entrepreneurs against the threat
of challenges and changes in the business environment.

What is Entrepreneurship Resilience

Resilience is used to describe individuals who have the ability to overcome setbacks related to
their life and career aspirations. A resilient person is someone who is capable of easily and
quickly recovering from setbacks. For the entrepreneur, resilience is a critical trait.
Entrepreneurial resilience can be enhanced in the following ways:
• By developing a professional network of coaches and mentors
• By accepting that change is a part of life
• By viewing obstacles as something that can be overcome

Characteristics
Ways to IdentifyofNew
a Resilience
BusinessEntrepreneur
Opportunities
The characteristics required to make an entrepreneur resilient enough to go the whole way in
their business enterprise are:

• A strong internal sense of control • Ability to diversify and expand

• Strong social connections • Survivor attitude
• Skill to learn from setbacks • Cash-flow conscious habits
• Ability to look at the bigger picture • Attention to detail

Tips
• Cultivate a great network of clients, suppliers, peers, friends and family. This will not only help
you promote your business, but will also help you learn, identify new opportunities and stay
tuned to changes in the market.
• Don’t dwell on setbacks. Focus on what the you need to do next to get moving again.
• While you should try and curtail expenses, ensure that it is not at the cost of your growth.

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5.5.8 Success & Failures: Understanding Successes & Failures

in Entrepreneurship
Shyam is a famous entrepreneur, known for his success story. But what most people don’t
know, is that Shyam failed numerous times before his enterprise became a success. Read his
interview to get an idea of what entrepreneurship is really about, straight from an entrepreneur
who has both, failed and succeeded.
Interviewer: Shyam, I have heard that entrepreneurs are great risk-takers who are never afraid
of failing. Is this true?
Shyam: Ha ha, no of course it’s not true! Most people believe that entrepreneurs need to be
fearlessly enthusiastic. But the truth is, fear is a very normal and valid human reaction, especially
when you are planning to start your own business! In fact, my biggest fear was the fear of failing.
The reality is, entrepreneurs fail as much as they succeed. The trick is to not allow the fear of
failing to stop you from going ahead with your plans. Remember, failures are lessons for future
success!
Interviewer: What, according to you, is the reason that entrepreneurs fail?
Shyam: Well, there is no one single reason why entrepreneurs fail. An entrepreneur can fail due
to numerous reasons. You could fail because you have allowed your fear of failure to defeat you.
You could fail because you are unwilling to delegate (distribute) work. As the saying goes, “You
can do anything, but not everything!” You could fail because you gave up too easily – maybe you
were not persistent enough. You could fail because you were focusing your energy on small,
insignificant tasks and ignoring the tasks that were most important. Other reasons for failing are
partnering with the wrong people, not being able to sell your product to the right customers at
the right time at the right price… and many more reasons!
Interviewer: As an entrepreneur, how do you feel failure should be looked at?
Shyam: I believe we should all look at failure as an asset, rather than as something negative. The
way I see it, if you have an idea, you should try to make it work, even if there is a chance that
you will fail. That’s because not trying is failure right there, anyway! And failure is not the worst
thing that can happen. I think having regrets because of not trying, and wondering ‘what if’ is far
worse than trying and actually failing.
Interviewer: How did you feel when you failed for the first time?
Shyam: I was completely heartbroken! It was a very painful experience. But the good news is,
you do recover from the failure. And with every subsequent failure, the recovery process gets a
lot easier. That’s because you start to see each failure more as a lesson that will eventually help
you succeed, rather than as an obstacle that you cannot overcome. You will start to realize that
failure has many benefits.
Interviewer: Can you tell us about some of the benefits of failing?
Shyam: One of the benefits that I have experienced personally from failing is that the failure
made me see things in a new light. It gave me answers that I didn’t have before. Failure can make
you a lot stronger. It also helps keep your ego in control.
Interviewer: What advice would you give entrepreneurs who are about to start their own
enterprises?
Shyam: I would tell them to do their research and ensure that their product is something that is
actually wanted by customers. I’d tell them to pick their partners and employees very wisely and
cautiously. I’d tell them that it’s very important to be aggressive – push and market your product
as aggressively as possible. I would warn them that starting an enterprise is very
expensive and that they should be prepared for a situation where they run out of money.

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I would tell them to create long term goals and put a plan in action to achieve that goal. I would
tell them to build a product that is truly unique. Be very careful and ensure that you are not
copying another startup. Lastly, I’d tell them that it’s very important that they find the right
investors.
Interviewer: That’s some really helpful advice, Shyam! I’m sure this will help all entrepreneurs
to be more prepared before they begin their journey! Thank you for all your insight!

Tips
• Remember that nothing is impossible.
• Identify your mission and your purpose before you start.
• Plan your next steps – don’t make decisions hastily.

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5.6: Preparing to be an Entrepreneur

Unit Objectives
At the end of this unit, you will be able to:
1. Discuss how market research is carried out
2. Describe the 4 Ps of marketing
3. Discuss the importance of idea generation
4. Recall basic business terminology
5. Discuss the need for CRM
6. Discuss the benefits of CRM
7. Discuss the need for networking
8. Discuss the benefits of networking
9. Discuss the importance of setting goals
10. Differentiate between short-term, medium-term and long-term goals
11. Discuss how to write a business plan
12. Explain the financial planning process
13. Discuss ways to manage your risk
14. Describe the procedure and formalities for applying for bank finance
15. Discuss how to manage your own enterprise
16. List important questions that every entrepreneur should ask before starting an enterprise

5.6.1 Market Study / The 4Ps of Marketing / Importance

of an Idea: Understanding Market Research
Market research is the process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting market information on
a product or service that is being sold in that market. It also includes information on:
• Past, present and prospective customers
• Customer characteristics and spending habits
• The location and needs of the target market
• The overall industry
• Relevant competitors
Market research involves two types of data:
• Primary information. This is research collected by yourself or by someone hired by you.
• Secondary information. This is research that already exists and is out there for you to find
and use.

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Primary research
Primary research can be of two types:
• Exploratory: This is open-ended and usually involves detailed, unstructured interviews.
• Specific: This is precise and involves structured, formal interviews.
Conducting specific research is the more expensive than conducting
exploratory research.
Secondary research
Secondary research uses outside information. Some common secondary sources are:
• Public sources: These are usually free and have a lot of good
information. Examples are government departments, business
departments of public libraries etc.
• Commercial sources: These offer valuable information but usually require a fee to be paid.
Examples are research and trade associations, banks and other financial institutions etc.
• Educational institutions: These offer a wealth of information.
Examples are colleges, universities, technical institutes etc.

The 4Ps of Marketing

The 4 Ps of marketing are Product, Price, Promotion and Place. Let’s look at each of these 4 Ps
in detail.

Product
A product can be:
• A tangible good • An intangible service
Whatever your product is, it is critical that you have a clear understanding of what you are
offering, and what its unique characteristics are, before you begin with the marketing process.
Some questions to ask yourself are:
• What does the customer want from the product/service?
• What needs does it satisfy?
• Are there any more features that can be added?
• Does it have any expensive and unnecessary features?
• How will customers use it?
• What should it be called?
• How is it different from similar products?
• How much will it cost to produce?

• Can it be sold at a profit?

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Price
Once all the elements of Product have been established, the Price factor needs to be considered.
The Price of a Product will depend on several factors such as profit margins, supply, demand
and the marketing strategy.
Some questions to ask yourself are:
• What is the value of the product/service to customers?
• Do local products/services have established price points?
• Is the customer price sensitive?
• Should discounts be offered?
• How is your price compared to that of your competitors?

Promotion
Once you are certain about your Product and your Price, the next step is to
look at ways to promote it. Some key elements of promotion are
advertising, public relations, social media marketing, email marketing, search
engine marketing, video marketing and more.
Some questions to ask yourself are:
• Where should you promote your product or service?
• What is the best medium to use to reach your target audience?
• When would be the best time to promote your product?
• How are your competitors promoting their products?

Place
According to most marketers, the basis of marketing is about offering the right product, at the
right price, at the right place, at the right time. For this reason, selecting the best possible
location is critical for converting prospective clients into actual clients.
Some questions to ask yourself are:
• Will your product or service be looked for in a physical store, online or both?
• What should you do to access the most appropriate distribution channels?
• Will you require a sales force?
• Where are your competitors offering their products or services?
• Should you follow in your competitors’ footsteps?
• Should you do something different from your competitors?

Importance of Ideas
Ideas are the foundation of progress. An idea can be small or ground-breaking, easy to
accomplish or extremely complicated to implement. Whatever the case, the fact that it is an idea
gives it merit. Without ideas, nothing is possible. Most people are afraid to speak out their ideas,
out for fear of being ridiculed. However, if are an entrepreneur and want to remain competitive
and innovative, you need to bring your ideas out into the light.

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Some ways to do this are by:

• Establishing a culture of brainstorming where you invite all interested parties to contribute
• Discussing ideas out loud so that people can add their ideas, views, opinions to them
• Being open minded and not limiting your ideas, even if the idea who have seems ridiculous
• Not discarding ideas that you don’t work on immediately, but instead making a note of
them and shelving them so they can be revisited at a later date

Tips
• Keep in mind that good ideas do not always have to be unique.
• Remember that timing plays a huge role in determining the success of your idea.
• Situations and circumstances will always change, so be flexible and
adapt your idea accordingly.

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5.6.2 Business Entity Concepts: Basic Business Terminology

If your aim is to start and run a business, it is crucial that you have a good understanding of
basic business terms. Every entrepreneur should be well versed in the following terms:
• Accounting: A systematic method of recording and reporting financial transactions.
• Accounts payable: Money owed by a company to its creditors.
• Accounts Receivable: The amount a company is owed by its clients.
• Assets: The value of everything a company owns and uses to conduct its business.
• Balance Sheet: A snapshot of a company’s assets, liabilities and owner’s equity at a given
moment.
• Bottom Line: The total amount a business has earned or lost at the end of a month.
• Business: An organization that operates with the aim of making a profit.
• Business to Business (B2B): A business that sells goods or services to another business.
• Business to Consumer (B2C): A business that sells goods or services directly to the end user.
• Capital: The money a business has in its accounts, assets and investments. The two main
types of capital are debt and equity.
• Cash Flow: The overall movement of funds through a business each month, including
income and expenses.
• Cash Flow Statement: A statement showing the money that entered and exited a business
during a specific period of time.
• Contract: A formal agreement to do work for pay.
• Depreciation: The degrading value of an asset over time.
• Expense: The costs that a business incurs through its operations.
• Finance: The management and allocation of money and other assets.
• Financial Report: A comprehensive account of a business’ transactions and expenses.
• Fixed Cost: A one-time expense.
• Income Statement (Profit and Loss Statement): Shows the profitability of a business during a
period of time.
• Liabilities: The value of what a business owes to someone else.
• Marketing: The process of promoting, selling and distributing a product or service.
• Net Income/Profit: Revenues minus expenses.
• Net Worth: The total value of a business.
• Payback Period: The amount of time it takes to recover the initial investment of a business.
• Profit Margin: The ratio of profit, divided by revenue, displayed as a percentage.
• Return on Investment (ROI): The amount of money a business gets as return from an
investment.

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• Revenue: The total amount of income before expenses are subtracted.

• Sales Prospect: A potential customer.
• Supplier: A provider of supplies to a business.
• Target Market: A specific group of customers at which a company’s products and services
are aimed.
• Valuation: An estimate of the overall worth of the business.
• Variable Cost: Expenses that change in proportion to the activity of a business.
• Working Capital: Calculated as current assets minus current liabilities.
• Business Transactions: There are three types of business transactions. These are:
Simple Transactions – Usually a single transaction between a vendor and a customer.
For example: Buying a cup of coffee.
Complex Transactions – These transactions go through a number of events before they can
be completed. For example: Buying a house.
Ongoing transactions – These transactions usually require a contract. For example:
Contract with a vendor.
Basic Accounting Formulas
Take a look some important accounting formulas that every entrepreneur needs to know.
1. The Accounting Equation: This is value of everything a company owns and uses to conduct
its business.
Formula:
Assets = Liability + Owner’s Equity
2. Net Income: This is the profit of the company.
Formula:
Net Income = Revenues – Expenses

3. Break-Even Point: This is the point at which the company will not make a profit or a loss.
The total cost and total revenues are equal.
Formula:
Break-Even = Fixed Costs/Sales Price – Variable Cost per Unit

4. Cash Ratio: This tells us about the liquidity of a company.

Formula:
Cash Ratio = Cash/Current Liabilities

5. Profit Margin: This is shown as a percentage. It shows what percentage of sales are left
over after all the expenses are paid by the business.
Formula:
Profit Margin = Net Income/Sales

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6. Debt-to-Equity Ratio: This ratio shows how much equity and debt a company is using to
finance its assets, and whether the shareholder equity can fulfill obligations to creditors if
the business starts making a loss.
Formula:
Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities/Total Equity

7. Cost of Goods Sold: This is the total of all costs used to create a product or service,
which has been sold.
Formula:
Cost of Goods Sold = Cost of Materials/Inventory – Cost of Outputs

8. Return on Investment (ROI): This is usually shown as a percentage. It calculates the

profits of an investment as a percentage of the original cost.
Formula:
ROI = Net Profit/Total Investment * 100
9. Simple Interest: This is money you can earn by initially investing some money (the
principal).
Formula:
A = P(1 + rt); R = r * 100
Where:
A = Total Accrued Amount (principal + interest) P = Principal Amount
I = Interest Amount
r = Rate of Interest per year in decimal; r = R/100 t = Time Period involved in months or years
10. Annual Compound Interest: The calculates the addition of interest to the principal sum
of a loan or deposit.
Formula:
A = P (1 + r/n) ^ nt: Where:
A = the future value of the investment/loan, including interest
P = the principal investment amount (the initial deposit or loan amount)
r = the annual interest rate (decimal)
n = the number of times that interest is compounded per year
t = the number of years the money is invested or borrowed
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5.6.3 CRM & Networking: What is CRM

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Originally the expression Customer
Relationship Management meant managing one’s relationship with customers. However, today
it refers to IT systems and software designed to help companies manage their relationships.

The Need for CRM

The better a company can manage its relationships with its customers, the higher the chances
of the company’s success. For any entrepreneur, the ability to successfully retain existing
customers and expand the enterprise is paramount. This is why IT systems that focus on
addressing the problems of dealing with customers on a daily basis are becoming more and more
in demand.
Customer needs change over time, and technology can make it easier to understand what
customers really want. This insight helps companies to be more responsive to the needs of
their customers. It enables them to modify their business operations when required, so that
their customers are always served in the best manner possible. Simply put, CRM helps
companies recognize the value of their clients and enables them to capitalize on improved
customer relations.

Benefits of CRM
CRM has a number of important benefits:
• It helps improve relations with existing customers which can lead to:
Increased sales
Identification of customer needs
Cross-selling of products
• It results in better marketing of one’s products or services
• It enhances customer satisfaction and retention
• It improves profitability by identifying and focusing on the most profitable customers

What is Networking
In business, networking means leveraging your business and personal connections in order to
bring in a regular supply of new business. This marketing method is effective as well as low cost.
It is a great way to develop sales opportunities and contacts. Networking can be based on
referrals and introductions, or can take place via phone, email, and social and business
networking websites.

The Need for Networking

Networking is an essential personal skill for business people, but it is even more important for
entrepreneurs. The process of networking has its roots in relationship building. Networking
results in greater communication and a stronger presence in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
This helps build strong relationships with other entrepreneurs.

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Business networking events held across the globe play a huge role in connecting like-minded
entrepreneurs who share the same fundamental beliefs in communication, exchanging ideas
and converting ideas into realities. Such networking events also play a crucial role in connecting
entrepreneurs with potential investors. Entrepreneurs may have vastly different experiences and
backgrounds but they all have a common goal in mind – they all seek connection, inspiration,
advice, opportunities and mentors. Networking offers them a platform to do just that.

Benefits of Networking
Networking offers numerous benefits for entrepreneurs. Some of the major benefits are:
• Getting high quality leads
• Increased business opportunities
• Good source of relevant connections
• Advice from like-minded entrepreneurs
• Gaining visibility and raising your profile
• Meeting positive and enthusiastic people
• Increased self-confidence
• Satisfaction from helping others
• Building strong and lasting friendships

Tips
• Use social media interactions to identify needs and gather feedback.
• When networking, ask open-ended questions rather than yes/no type questions.

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5.6.4 Business Plan: Why Set Goals

Setting goals is important because it gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation.
Goals can be short term, medium term and long term.
Short-Term Goals
• These are specific goals for the immediate future.
Example: Repairing a machine that has failed.
Medium-Term Goals
• These goals are built on your short term goals.
• They do not need to be as specific as your short term goals.
Example: Arranging for a service contract to ensure that your machines don’t fail again.
Long-Term Goals
These goals require time and planning.
They usually take a year or more to achieve.
Example: Planning your expenses so you can buy new machinery

Why Create a Business Plan

A business plan is a tool for understanding how your business is put together. It can be used to
monitor progress, foster accountable and control the fate of the business. It usually offers a 3-5
year projection and outlines the plan that the company intends to follow to grow its revenues.
A business plan is also a very important tool for getting the interest of key employees or future
investors.
A business plan typically comprises of eight elements.

Elements of a Business Plan

Executive Summary
The executive summary follows the title page. The summary should clearly state your desires as
the business owner in a short and businesslike way. It is an overview of your business and your
plans. Ideally this should not be more than 1-2 pages.
Your Executive Summary should include:
• The Mission Statement: Explain what your business is all about.
Example: Nike’s Mission Statement
Nike’s mission statement is “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
• Company Information: Provide information like when your business was formed, the names
and roles of the founders, the number of employees, your business location(s) etc.
• Growth Highlights: Mention examples of company growth. Use graphs and charts where
possible.
• Your Products/Services: Describe the products or services provided.
• Financial Information: Provide details on current bank and investors.
• Summarize future plans: Describe where you see your business in the future.

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Business Description
The second section of your business plan needs to provide a detailed review of the different
elements of your business. This will help potential investors to correctly understand your
business goal and the uniqueness of your offering.

Your Business Description should include:

• A description of the nature of your business
• The market needs that you are aiming to satisfy
• The ways in which your products and services meet these needs
• The specific consumers and organizations that you intend to serve
• Your specific competitive advantages

Market Analysis
The market analysis section usually follows the business description. The aim of this section is to
showcase your industry and market knowledge. This is also the section where you should lay
down your research findings and conclusions.

Your Market Analysis should include:

• Your industry description and outlook
• Information on your target market
• The needs and demographics of your target audience
• The size of your target market
• The amount of market share you want to capture
• Your pricing structure
• Your competitive analysis
• Any regulatory requirements

Organization & Management

This section should come immediately after the Market Analysis. Your Organization &
Management section should include:
• Your company’s organizational structure
• Details of your company’s ownership
• Details of your management team
• Qualifications of your board of directors
• Detailed descriptions of each division/department and its function
• The salary and benefits package that you offer your people
• The incentives that you offer

Service or Product Line

The next section is the service or product line section. This is where you describe your service or
product, and stress on their benefits to potential and current customers. Explain in detail why
your product of choice will fulfill the needs of your target audience.

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Your Service or Product Line section should include:

• A description of your product/service
• A description of your product or service’s life cycle
• A list of any copyright or patent filings
• A description of any R&D activities that you are involved in or planning
Marketing & Sales
Once the Service or Product Line section of your plan has been completed, you should start
on the description of the marketing and sales management strategy for your business.
Your Marketing section should include the following strategies:
• Market penetration strategy: This strategy focuses on selling your existing products or
services in existing markets, in order to increase your market share.
• Growth strategy: This strategy focuses on increasing the amount of market share, even if
it reduces earnings in the short-term.
• Channels of distribution strategy: These can be wholesalers, retailers, distributors and
even the internet.
• Communication strategy: These can be written strategies (e-mail, text, chat), oral strategies
(phone calls, video chats, face-to-face conversations), non-verbal strategies (body language,
facial expressions, tone of voice) and visual strategies (signs, webpages, illustrations).
Your Sales section should include the following information:
• A sales force strategy: This strategy focuses on increasing the revenue of the enterprise.
• A breakdown of your sales activities: This means detailing out how you intend to sell your
products or services – will you sell it offline or online, how many units do you intend to sell,
what price do you plan to sell each unit at, etc.
Funding Request
This section is specifically for those who require funding for their venture. The Funding
Request section should include the following information:
• How much funding you currently require.
• How much funding you will require over the next five years. This will depend on your long-
term goals.
• The type of funding you want and how you plan to use it. Do you want funding that can be
used only for a specific purpose, or funding that can be used for any kind of requirement?
• Strategic plans for the future. This will involve detailing out your long-term plans – what
these plans are and how much money you will require to put these plans in motions.
• Historical and prospective financial information. This can be done by creating and
maintaining all your financial records, right from the moment your enterprise started, to
the present day. Documents required for this are your balance sheet which contains details
of your company’s assets and liabilities, your income statement which lists your company’s
revenues, expenses and net income for the year, your tax returns (usually for the last three
years) and your cash flow budget which lists the cash that came in, the cash that went out
and states whether you had a cash deficit (negative balance) or surplus (positive balance)
at the end of each month.

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Financial Planning

Before you begin building your enterprise, you need to plan your finances. Take a look at the
steps for financial planning:

Step 1: Create a financial plan. This should include your goals, strategies and timelines for
accomplishing these goals.

Step 2: Organize all your important financial documents. Maintain a file to hold your
investment details, bank statements, tax papers, credit card bills, insurance papers and any
other financial records.

Step 3: Calculate your net worth. This means figure out what you own (assets like your
house, bank accounts, investments etc.), and then subtract what you owe (liabilities like
loans, pending credit card amounts etc.) the amount you are left with is your net worth.

Step 4: Make a spending plan. This means write down in detail where your money will come
from, and where it will go.

Step 5: Build an emergency fund. A good emergency fund contains enough money to cover at
least 6 months’ worth of expenses.

Step 6: Set up your insurance. Insurance provides long term financial security and protects
you against risk.

Risk Management
As an entrepreneur, it is critical that you evaluate the risks involved with the type of
enterprise that you want to start, before you begin setting up your company. Once you have
identified potential risks, you can take steps to reduce them. Some ways to manage risks are:

• Research similar business and find out about their risks and how they were minimized.
• Evaluate current market trends and find out if similar products or services that launched a
while ago are still being well received by the public.
• Think about whether you really have the required expertise to launch your product or
service.
• Examine your finances and see if you have enough income to start your enterprise.
• Be aware of the current state of the economy, consider how the economy may change
over time, and think about how your enterprise will be affected by any of those changes.
• Create a detailed business plan.

Tips
• Ensure all the important elements are covered in your plan.
• Scrutinize the numbers thoroughly.
• Be concise and realistic.
• Be conservative in your approach and your projections.
• Use visuals like charts, graphs and images wherever possible.

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5.6.5 Procedure and Formalities for Bank Finance:

The Need of Bank Finance
For entrepreneurs, one of the most difficult challenges faced involves securing funds for
startups. With numerous funding options available, entrepreneurs need to take a close look at
which funding methodology works best for them. In India, banks are one of the largest funders
of startups, offering funding to thousands of startups every year.

What Information Entrepreneurs Offer Banks for Funding

When approaching a bank, entrepreneurs must have a clear idea of the different criteria that
banks use to screen, rate and process loan applications. Entrepreneurs must also be aware of
the importance of providing banks with accurate and correct information. It is now easier than
ever for financial institutions to track any default behavior of loan applicants. Entrepreneurs
looking for funding from banks must provide banks with information relating to their general
credentials, financial situation and guarantees or collaterals that can be offered.

General Credentials
This is where you, as an entrepreneur, provide the bank with background information on
yourself. Such information includes:
• Letter(s) of Introduction: This letter should be written by a respected business person who
knows you well enough to introduce you. The aim of this letter is set across your
achievements and vouch for your character and integrity.
• Your Profile: This is basically your resume. You need to give the bank a good idea of your
educational achievements, professional training, qualifications, employment record and
achievements.
• Business Brochure: A business brochure typically provides information on company
products, clients, how long the business has been running for etc.
• Bank and Other References: If you have an account with another bank, providing those bank
references is a good idea.
• Proof of Company Ownership or Registration: In some cases, you may need to provide the
bank with proof of company ownership and registration. A list of assets and liabilities may
also be required.

Financial Situation
Banks will expect current financial information on your enterprise. The standard financial
reports you should be prepared with are:
• Balance Sheet • Profit-and-Loss Account
• Cash-Flow Statement • Projected Sales and Revenues
• Business Plan • Feasibility Study

Guarantees or Collaterals
Usually banks will refuse to grant you a loan without security. You can offer assets which the
bank can seize and sell off if you do not repay the loan. Fixed assets like machinery, equipment,
vehicles etc. are also considered to be security for loans

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The Lending Criteria of Banks

Your request for funding will have a higher chance of success if you can satisfy the following
lending criteria:
• Good cash flow
• Adequate shareholders’ funds
• Adequate security
• Experience in business
• Good reputation

The Procedure
To apply for funding the following procedure will need to be followed.
1. Submit your application form and all other required documents to the bank.
2. The bank will carefully assess your credit worthiness and assign ratings by analyzing your
business information with respect to parameters like management, financial, operational and
industry information as well as past loan performance.
3. The bank will make a decision as to whether or not you should be given funding.

Tips
• Get advice on funding options from experienced bankers.
• Be cautious and avoid borrowing more than you need, for longer than
you need, at an interest rate that is higher than you are comfortable with.

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5.6.6 Enterprise Management – An Overview of How

to Manage an Enterprise
To manage your enterprise effectively you need to look at many different aspects, right from
managing the day-to-day activities to figuring out how to handle a large scale event. Let’s take a
look at some simple steps to manage your company effectively.
Step 1: Use your leadership skills and ask for advice when required.
Let’s take the example of Ramu, an entrepreneur who has recently started his own enterprise.
Ramu has good leadership skills – he is honest, communicates well, knows how to delegate work
etc. These leadership skills definitely help Ramu in the management of his enterprise. However,
sometimes Ramu comes across situations that he is unsure how to handle. What should Ramu
do in this case? One solution is for him to find a more experienced manager who is willing to
mentor him. Another solution is for Ramu to use his networking skills so that he can connect
with managers from other organizations, who can give him advice on how to handle such
situations.

Step 2: Divide your work amongst others – realize that you cannot handle everything yourself.
Even the most skilled manager in the world will not be able to manage every single task that an
enterprise will demand of him. A smart manager needs to realize that the key to managing his
enterprise lies in his dividing all his work between those around him. This is known as delegation.
However, delegating is not enough. A manager must delegate effectively if he wants to see
results. This is important because delegating, when done incorrectly, can result in you creating
even more work for yourself. To delegate effectively, you can start by making two lists. One list
should contain the things that you know you need to handle yourself. The second list should
contain the things that you are confident can be given to others to manage and handle. Besides
incorrect delegation, another issue that may arise is over-delegation. This means giving away too
many of your tasks to others. The problem with this is, the more tasks you delegate, the more
time you will spend tracking and monitoring the work progress of those you have handed the
tasks to. This will leave you with very little time to finish your own work.

Step 3: Hire the right people for the job.

Hiring the right people goes a long way towards effectively managing your enterprise. To hire the
best people suited for the job, you need to be very careful with your interview process. You
should ask potential candidates the right questions and evaluate their answers carefully. Carrying
out background checks is always a good practice. Running a credit check is also a good idea,
especially if the people you are planning to hire will be handling your money. Create a detailed
job description for each role that you want filled and ensure that all candidates have a clear and
correct understanding of the job description. You should also have an employee manual in place,
where you
put down every expectation that you have from your employees. All these actions will help
ensure that the right people are approached for running your enterprise.

Step 4: Motivate your employees and train them well.

Your enterprise can only be managed effectively if your employees are motivated to work hard
for your enterprise. Part of being motivated involves your employees believing in the vision and
mission of your enterprise and genuinely wanting to make efforts towards pursuing the same.
You can motivate your employees with recognition, bonuses and rewards for achievements. You
can also motivate them by telling them about how their efforts have led to the company’s
success. This will help them feel pride and give them a sense of responsibility that will increase
their motivation.

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Besides motivating your people, your employees should be constantly trained in new practices
and technologies. Remember, training is not a one-time effort. It is a consistent effort that needs
to be carried out regularly.
Step 5: Train your people to handle your customers well.
Your employees need to be well-versed in the art of customer management. This means they
should be able to understand what their customers want, and also know how to satisfy their
needs. For them to truly understand this, they need to see how you deal effectively with
customers. This is called leading by example. Show them how you sincerely listen to your clients
and the efforts that you put into understand their requirements. Let them listen to the type of
questions that you ask your clients so they understand which questions are appropriate.
Step 6: Market your enterprise effectively.
Use all your skills and the skills of your employees to market your enterprise in an effective
manner. You can also hire a marketing agency if you feel you need help in this area.
Now that you know what is required to run your enterprise effectively, put these steps into play,
and see how much easier managing your enterprise becomes!

Tips
• Get advice on funding options from experienced bankers.
• Be cautious and avoid borrowing more than you need, for longer than you need, at an
interest rate that is higher than you are comfortable with.

5.6.7 : 20 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Considering

Entrepreneurship
1. Why am I starting a business?
2. What problem am I solving?
3. Have others attempted to solve this problem before? Did they succeed or fail?
4. Do I have a mentor1 or industry expert that I can call on?
5. Who is my ideal customer2?

6. Who are my competitors3?

7. What makes my business idea different from other business ideas?
8. What are the key features of my product or service?
9. Have I done a SWOT4 analysis?
10. What is the size of the market that will buy my product or service?

11. What would it take to build a minimum viable product5 to test the market?
12. How much money do I need to get started?
13. Will I need to get a loan?
14. How soon will my products or services be available?

15. When will I break even6 or make a profit?

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16. How will those who invest in my idea make a profit?

17. How should I set up the legal structure7 of my business?

18. What taxes8 will I need to pay?
19. What kind of insurance9 will I need?
20. Have I reached out to potential customers for feedback?

Tips
• It is very important to validate your business ideas before you invest
significant time, money and resources into it.
• The more questions you ask yourself, the more prepared you will be to
handle to highs and lows of starting an enterprise.
Footnotes:

1. A mentor is a trusted and experienced person who is willing to coach and guide you.
2. A customer is someone who buys goods and/or services.
3. A competitor is a person or company that sells products and/or services
similar to your products and/or services.
4. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. To
conduct a SWOT analysis of your company, you need to list down all the
strengths and weaknesses of your company, the opportunities that are present
for your company and the threats faced by your company.
5. A minimum viable product is a product that has the fewest possible
features, that can be sold to customers, for the purpose of getting feedback
from customers on the product.
6. A company is said to break even when the profits of the company are equal to the costs.
7. The legal structure could be a sole proprietorship, partnership or
limited liability partnership.
8. There are two types of taxes – direct taxes payable by a person or a
company, or indirect taxes charged on goods and/or services.
9. There are two types of insurance – life insurance and general insurance. Life insurance
covers human life while general insurance covers assets like animals, goods, cars etc

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Notes

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Address: Plot 7,8,9, & 10, Sector 126

Noida, UP 201303
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sscnasscom.com / www.nasscom.in
Phone: 0120 4990111
CIN No.: 00000000

Price:
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