Communication has been derived from the Latin word “communis” which means

“common” which subsequently indicates the common understanding. Common

Understanding is usually the prime focus for the accomplishment of any task in an
organisation. Let us look at some common definitions of communication.

Communication has been defined differently in various ways by different people.

1. According to Louis Allen, “Communication is the sum of all things one person
does when he wants to create understanding in the mind of another. It involves
a systematic and continuous process of telling, listening, and understanding.”

Elements of Communication
Communication is an entire process. It also has its elements which are listed below with
explanations:

1. Senders: Sender means a person who initiates the communication and conveys
its ideas to the receiver. It is the source of the process.
2. Message: The content, ideas, emotions, suggestions, order all fall under this
element of communication.
3. Encoding: The method to convert the message into communication syllables like
picture, word, gestures, etc.
4. Media: The trail along which the encoded message is transmitted to the receiver.
The channel could be written, face-to-face, calls or any suitable manner.
5. Decoding: The opposite of the encoding process, the conversion of the encoded
syllables is done by the receiver.
6. Receiver: The last person in the chain who finally receives the message from the
sender and takes an action as per requirement.
7. Feedback: It cumulatively involves all the actions of the receiver indicating that
he received and understood the message by senders.
8. Noise: The obstruction or hindrance in the entire process in the communication.
This hindrance might be caused by the sender, receiver or the message.
9. The whole communication process is more efficiently explained by the following
flow chart:

COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Noise: The hindrance can be caused by various factors in the communication process.
Few examples are as listed below:

1. Ambiguous symbols causing a fault in code

2. An inattentive receiver
3. Poor connection over phones
4. Fault during decoding
5. Prejudices obstruct the poor understanding
6. Gestures and postures might lead to confusion

Process of Communication: Step-Wise Explanation

Step 1: Formulate the message:

Sender sends the message initiating the process by sudden impulse

Step 2: Encoding of the message:

Every human language can be considered as a code. All we need is a code to communicate
with the receiver.
Step 3: Choosing the medium of transmission:

The next step will be choosing the method via transmission that needs to be carried out
whether it’s over-call, face to face, e-mails, or letter as suitable.

Step 4: Decoding the message:

The prime focus is that the receiver understands the message as sent by the sender’s side.
Any fault may result in hindrance.

Step 5: Successful receiving:

The message is successfully received and understood.

Step 6: Feedback:

As soon as the receiver receives the message and understands it, an expected action is needed
to be taken. And the sender is to be informed by the receiver regarding something similar, it
is called feedback.

Importance of Communication
For managerial activities, communication is the most central aspect. Effectiveness of a
manager depends predominantly on his ability to carry out the communication process.
The importance of communication in management can be judged from the following:

1. Act as foundations of coordinations: The communication lays foundation

providing the coordination among departments, activities, and persons in the
organisations.
2. Enables in smooth working of an Enterprise: It unrestricted working of the
enterprise. All organisational interactions depend upon communications.
Communication is basic to an organisation’s existence – right from its
beginning . When communication stops, organised activity ceases to exist.
3. Foundation of decision making: In this absence, it maynot be possible for the
managers to take any decision. Only on the basis of communication of relatable
information one can make the right decision.
4. Increases managerial efficiency: The management conveys the objectives and
targets, issues instructions, finding jobs and responsibilities and analyses the
performance of subordinates. Communication facilitates fine working of the
organizations.
5. Established effective leadership: It instigates the subordinates which influences
them and leaders (manager) have to have good communication skills.
6. Boosting the morale: An effective implementation of communication process
among the subordinates and superiors enables management to boost the
confidence of their employees. Communication helps to boost morale of
employees and managers.
7. Promotes cooperation & industrial peace: Efficient communication aims to
provide finest management. Communication is a bi- way for promotion i.e.
cooperation and mutual understanding between the management and
employees.

Functions of Communication
1. The informative function is to provide the knowledge to the employee as a
guidance for the actions taken by them. It fulfills the need of the worker’s
awareness.
 2. The persuasion function (called motivational function) encourages the individual
to exhibit a certain level of working behaviour. It is made sure that their
messages are beneficial for the organisation.
3. The integrative function provides the employees with appropriate norms for
carrying out their responsibilities and their obligations toward the firm.
4. The command and instructive function abides the employees with the norms of
the working method with due awareness.

Communication: Formal & Informal

Classifying broadly communication is mainly two types;

1. Formal Communication
2. Informal Communication

Formal Communication
Flowing through official channels designed especially for the organisations. It can occur between
superior and subordinates vice versa and same hierarchy employees. Further diversified vertical
and horizontal communication.

Vertical Communication

In which the information (message) flows in vertically either upwards or downwards.

Upward communication – from subordinate to superior

Downward communication – from superior to subordinate.

Horizontal communication

Also known to be lateral communication is used to carry out discussion among the people in
the same or similar hierarchy.

It goes on in the entire pattern of communication through indicating the working.

Types of formal communication

1. Single chain
2. Wheel
3. Circular.
4. Inverted V
5. Free Flow

Informal Communication

The communication that does not follow the specialised norms for communicating in
organization. Generally, it can be referred to as “grapevine” as it is spread within the entire
organization irrespective of the authority level. Employees easily can share and discuss their
views, which was not possible in formal channels.

Types of Informal Communication:

 1. Gossip.
2. Cluster.
3. Single Strand.
4. Probability .

Comparison of Formal & Informal

Communication
Advantages

FORMAL COMMUNICATION INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

Systematic and ensure order Cuts down hierarchy

Source of information is known Emotional relief for employees

Easy to fix responsibility Easy flow of information

Easy to exercise control No fear, eco friendly relations with employees

Disadvantages

FORMAL COMMUNICATION INFORMAL COMMUNICATION

Delay in information Unsystematic manner, responsibility not fixed

Impersonal manner of communication Helps in spreading rumors

Maynot transfer the properly Leakage of confidential information.

Again, the communication is vividly divided into two grounds;

1. Verbal Communication
2. Written Communication
3. Non- Verbal Communication

Feedback in Management
Meaning
Feedback is the backbone of communication, it strengthens the communication and
increases the effectiveness of the worker and enhances the achievement of the
company.

The “Glossary of Training terms” defines feedback as : “The process by which

information about the result of an action is communicated to the source of the action.”

Characteristics
 1. Intention
2. Specificity
3. Description
4. Usefulness
5. Timelines
6. Clarity
7. Validity
8. Readiness

Feedback should be an ongoing process as the audience and communicators are neither
always the same persons, nor they are interacting. It is most important to increase the
effectiveness of working. If there has been no responses from the audience, which may
be positive, negative or no response.

Listening in Communication
Types Of Communication

Barriers To Communication
Managers face several problems due to communication breakdowns or barriers. Barriers
may prevent a communication or filter part of it carry incorrect meaning due to which
misunderstandings may be created. Therefore, it is important for a manager to identify
such barriers and take measures to overcome them.

These barriers are briefly discussed below:

Semantic Barriers:
1. Badly expressed message
2. Symbols with different meanings
3. Faulty transactions
4. Unclarified assumptions
5. Technical jargon

Psychological Barriers:
1. Premature evaluation
2. Lack of attention
3. Loss by transmission and poor retention
4. Distrust

Organisational Barriers:
1. Organisational policy
2. Rules and regulations
3. Status
4. Complexity in organisational structure
5. Organisational facilities

Personal Barriers:
1. Fear of challenge to authority
2. Lack of confidence of superior on his subordinates
3. Unwillingness to communicate
4. Lack of proper incentives
View Test Series
The concept of personality - Dimensions of personality – Theories of Freud & EricksonSignificance of
personality development. The concept of success and failure: What is success? - Hurdles in achieving
success - Overcoming hurdles - Factors responsible for success – What is failure - Causes of failure -
SWOT analysis. 1.

1 THE CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY- DEFINITION: “Personality is that pattern of characteristic

thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that distinguishes one person from another and that persists over
time” “It is the sum of biologically based and learnt behaviour which forms the person's unique
responses to environmental stimuli”

1.2 DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY: The Big Five personality traits, also known as the five factor
model (FFM), is a model based on common language descriptors of personality (lexical hypothesis).
These descriptors are grouped together using a statistical technique called factor analysis (i.e. this
model is not based on scientific experiments). This widely examined theory suggests five broad
dimensions used by some psychologists to describe the human personality and psyche. The five
factors have been defined as openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion,
agreeableness, and neuroticism.

Dimension of Personality High Level Low level Openness to experience Inventive, Curious Cautious,
Conservative Conscientiousness Efficient, Organised Easy going, Careless Extraversion Outgoing,
Energetic Solitary, Reserved Agreeableness Friendly, Compassionate Competitive, Outspoken
Neuroticism Sensitive, Nervous Secure,

THE FIVE DIMENSIONS OF PERSONALITY: (THE FIVE FACTOR MODEL)

a. Openness to experience: (inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious): Openness to experience

describes a person's degree of intellectual curiosity, creativity, appreciation for art, emotion,
adventure, unusual ideas, curiosity, and variety of experience. It is also described as the extent to
which a person is imaginative or independent, and depicts a personal preference for a variety of
activities over a strict routine. High openness can be perceived as unpredictability or lack of focus.
Moreover, individuals with high openness are said to pursue self-actualization specifically by seeking
out intense, euphoric experiences, such as skydiving, living abroad, gambling, etc. Conversely, those
with low openness seek to gain fulfilment through perseverance, and are characterized as pragmatic
and datadriven—sometimes even perceived to be dogmatic and closed-minded. Some disagreement
remains about how to interpret and contextualize the openness factor. b. Conscientiousness
(efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless): Conscientiousness is a tendency to show self-discipline,
act dutifully, and aim for achievement. Conscientiousness also refers to planning, organization, and
dependability. High conscientiousness is often perceived as stubbornness and obsession. Low
conscientiousness is associated with flexibility and spontaneity, but can also appear as sloppiness
and lack of reliability. c. Extraversion: (outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved): Extraversion
describes energy, positive emotions, assertiveness, sociability, talkativeness, and the tendency to
seek stimulation in the company of others. High extraversion is often perceived as attentionseeking,
and domineering. Low extraversion causes a reserved, reflective personality, which can be perceived
as aloof or self-absorbed. d. Agreeableness: (friendly/compassionate vs. analytical/detached):
Agreeableness is a tendency to be compassionate and cooperative rather than suspicious and
antagonistic towards others. It is also a measure of one's trusting and helpful nature, and whether a
person is generally well-tempered or not. High agreeableness is often seen as naive or submissive.
Low agreeableness personalities are often competitive or challenging people, which can be seen

e. Neuroticism: (sensitive/nervous vs. Secure/confident). Neuroticism is a tendency to experience

unpleasant emotions easily, such as anger, anxiety, depression, and vulnerability. Neuroticism also
refers to the degree of emotional stability and impulse control and is sometimes referred to by its
low pole, "emotional stability". A high need for stability manifests as a stable and calm personality,
but can be seen as uninspiring and unconcerned. A low need for stability causes a reactive and
excitable personality, often very dynamic individuals, but they can be perceived as unstable or
insecure. 1.3 PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT:  Personality development includes activities that
improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitate
employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. 
When personal development takes place in the context of institutions, it refers to the methods,
programs, tools, techniques, and assessment systems that support human development at the
individual level in organizations.  Personality development includes activities that develop talents,
improve awareness, enhances potential and looks to improve the quality of life. It involves formal
and informal activities that put people in the role of leaders, guides, teachers, and managers for
helping them realize their full potential.  Hence, it can be concluded that the process of improving
or transforming the personality is called personality development.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OR IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT: Most people underestimate

the importance of having a pleasing personality. Majority think it just means being born good-
looking, that there isn’t anything much to do about it. But this is not true. The scope of personality
development is quite broad. It includes knowing how to dress well, social graces, grooming, speech
and interpersonal skills. Whatever your career, these are very important skills that will promote your
objectives. To better appreciate its importance, some of the key benefits of developing your
personality include the following:

a. Confidence: Personality development gives more confidence to people. When you know you are
appropriately attired and groomed, this makes you less anxious when meeting a person. Knowing
the right things to say and how to conduct yourself will increase your confidence.

b. Credibility: Personality development makes people more credible. Despite the saying that you
don’t judge a book by its cover, people do tend to judge people by their clothing and how it is worn.
This does not mean buying expensive clothes. We all know people who look shabby in expensive
clothes. There are also people who look great even if their attire is inexpensive. Because of this, you
must know what to wear and you must be aware of other aspects of enhancing your physical
features.

c. Interaction: Personality development encourages people to interact with others. Studies have
consistently shown that people communicate more openly with people they are comfortable with. If
your hygiene and social graces are unrefined, then expect to have a much harder time connecting
with people.

d. Leading and Motivating: Personality development enhances the capacity to lead and motivate. A
person with a winning personality will be able to motivate better. People are less likely to get bored,
and our ideas will have more credibility. We can lead better if we project an aura of confidence and
credibility

. e. Curiosity: A single wrong word can destroy a business relationship. Knowing the right things to
say shows both respect and intellectual sophistication. This is especially the case if you are dealing
with foreigners or if you conduct business outside the country. The right thing to do in our country
could be horrible blunders in a different culture. These are the soft skills that may break or make a
deal.

f. Communication skills: It improves your communication skills. People are more receptive to what
you say if they are impressed with your personality. Verbal communication skills are also part of
personality development; improving your speech will strengthen the impact of your message. You
cannot win by talent and hard work alone. Personality development is a crucial ingredient that you
must obtain. Most of the people you see as models of great personality have taken a lot of effort in
developing their natural features.

1.5 THEORIES OF PERSONALITY: Many psychologists have developed theories about personality—
how to describe it, how it emerges, what influences it, how it changes, and what constitutes a
healthy or an abnormal personality. Here you will learn about the three most important personality
theories: psychoanalytic theory, behaviourism and humanism. The first of the modern personality
theories was developed by Sigmund Freud and is known as psychoanalytic theory. The psychiatric
practice of this theory is called psychoanalysis. Freud’s ideas were plentiful, profound, and often
controversial. His theory about personality has had tremendous influence on societies around the
world through many different disciplines. Not only psychology has been influenced and informed by
the ideas of Freud, but also literature, art, philosophy, cultural studies, film theory, and many other
academic subjects. Freud’s theory represents one of the major intellectual ideas of the modern
world. Right or wrong, these ideas have had a lasting and enormous impact.

1.5.1 FREUD THEORY: Freud theorized that personality contains three structures—the id, ego, and
superego—and that the mind is like an iceberg, the unconscious making up 90% while the conscious
(like the tip of the iceberg floating above water) makes only 10% of the mind. Freud suggested an
analogy about the mind. He said that the mind is like an iceberg in the ocean, floating 10% above the
water and 90% below. The unconscious, Freud proposed, makes up the vast majority of our mind. In
Freud’s view, only about 10% of our behaviours are caused by conscious awareness—about 90% are
produced by unconscious factors. According to psychoanalytic theory, most of what controls our
behaviours, thoughts, and feelings is unknown to our aware minds. Normally, the unconscious
guides us. Freud said that the mind could be divided into three abstract categories. These are the id,
the ego, and the superego.

1. The id: Latin for the term “it,” this division of the mind includes our basic instincts, inborn
dispositions, and animalistic urges. Freud said that the id is totally unconscious, that we are unaware
of its workings. The id is not rational; it imagines, dreams, and invents things to get us what we want.
Freud said that the id operates according to the pleasure principle—it aims toward pleasurable
things and away from painful things. The id aims to satisfy our biological urges and drives. It includes
feelings of hunger, thirst, sex, and other natural body desires aimed at deriving pleasure.
 2. The ego: Greek and Latin for “I,” this personality structure begins developing in childhood and can
be interpreted as the “self.” The ego is partly conscious and partly unconscious. The ego operates
according to the reality principle; that is, it attempts to help the id get what it wants by judging the
difference between real and imaginary. If a person is hungry, the id might begin to imagine food and
even dream about food. (The id is not rational.) The ego, however, will try to determine how to get
some real food. The ego helps a person satisfy needs through reality.

3. The superego: This term means “above the ego,” and includes the moral ideas that a person
learns within the family and society. The superego gives people feelings of pride when they do
something correct (the ego ideal) and feelings of guilt when they do something they consider to be
morally wrong (the conscience).

The superego, like the ego, is partly conscious and partly unconscious. The superego is a child’s
moral barometer, and it creates feelings of pride and guilt according to the beliefs that have been
learned within the family and the culture. Conclusion: Although these are known as structures, do
not take the term literally.

Freud did not mean that these are physical parts of our bodies or our brains. He coined these terms
and proposed this division of the mind as abstract ideas meant to help us understand how
personality develops and works, and how mental illnesses can develop. Freud theorized that healthy
personality development requires a balance between the id and the superego. These two divisions
of the mind are naturally at conflict with one another: The id attempts to satisfy animal, biological
urges, while the superego preaches patience and restraint. The struggle between these two is an
example of intrapsychic conflict—conflict within the mind. According to psychoanalytic theory,
defense mechanisms are automatic (unconscious) reactions to the fear that the id’s desires will
overwhelm the ego. Freud believed that a healthy personality was one in which the id’s demands are
met but also the superego is satisfied in making th

overwhelmed by guilt. If the id is too strong, a person will be rude, overbearing, selfish, and
animalistic. If the superego is too strong, a person is constantly worried, nervous, and full of guilt
and anxiety and is always repressing the id’s desires. An overly strong id makes one a psychopath,
lacking a conscience, or an ogre, selfishly meeting one’s needs without concern for others. An overly
strong superego, on the other hand, makes one a worrier, a neurotic, so overwhelmed by guilt that it
is difficult to get satisfaction. 1.5.2 ERIKSON THEORY: Erikson converted Freud’s emphasis to a focus
on social relationships into eight psychosocial stages. These stages became known as the Eight Ages
of Man. (As y

CONCEPT OF SUCCESS: 1.6.1 DEFINITION: What makes a person successful? How do we recognize
success? To some people, success might mean wealth. To others, it is recognition, good health, good
family, happiness, satisfaction, and peace of mind. What this really tells us is that success is
subjective. It can mean different things to different people. The best definition for success is
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal” Let's look at these definitions carefully. 
"Progressive" means that success is a journey, not a destination. We never arrive. After we reach
one goal, we go on to the next and the next and the next.  "Realization" means it is an experience.
Outside forces cannot make me feel successful. I have to feel it within myself. It is internal not
external.  "Worthy" refers to our value system. Which way are we heading? Positive or negative?
Worthiness determines the quality of the journey. That is what gives meaning and fulfilment.
Success without fulfilment is empty.  "Goals" are important. Because they give us a sense of
direction. 1.6.2 GOALS: Why Goals are important? In a study conducted on students in the 1979
Harvard MBA program, only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent
had goals, but they were not in writing; and 84 percent had set no goals at all. Ten years later, the
findings revealed that 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning up to 84 percent
compared to those who had not set any. For the three percent who defined their goals and wrote
them down, they were earning on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.
Goal Setting: Most People don't know how to set goals. Some set goals that are too general. These
are, in reality, fantasies common to everyone. Goals, on the other hand, are clear, written, specific,
and measurable. Most People fear failure. Failure hurts, but it is often necessary to experience
failure in order to achieve the greatest success. Do not unconsciously sabotage yourself by not
setting any goals in which you might fail. They fear rejection. People are often afraid that if they are
unsuccessful at achieving a goal, others will be critical of them. This is remedied by keeping your
goals to yourself at the outset; let others see your results and achievements once you've
accomplished your goals. Some goals are called away from goals. These are usually framed in the
negative. Here are a few examples. • I don’t want to smoke anymore • I don’t want to be unfit • I
don’t want to be overweight • I don’t want to be broke Now let’s reframe them in the positive • I am
a non smoker • I am fit and healthy • I am at my ideal weight • I can cover my bills Notice the
difference. They are stated in the positive and take on the assumption that you have achieved it
already. By assuming “as if” your behaviour changes so that you are acting like to have already
achieved what you wanted to do. What a great feeling to have even before you have got there. It
also bolsters your motivation. So now we have determined if our goal is towards something, or away
from something. We have now stated it in the positive. This however is still not a very well detailed g

An ideal goal should be expressed in the positive, be time bound and specific. You may also like to
consider, how will you know when you have achieved it, what will it feel like, what will the people
around you be like? What will you do to celebrate it? A goal must be time bound. When do I want to
have achieved it? If that’s when I want to achieve it, then when must I start? What is the first step I
need to take? Who should I tell? Should telling that person be the first step? What skills or
knowledge do I need to acquire along the way? Goal size, is the goal too big to achieve? If so then
breaking it down into smaller bite sized pieces may be the right approach. 1.6.2 FACTORS
RESPONSIBLE FOR SUCCESS: 1. Desire: The motivation to success comes from the burning desire to
achieve a purpose. Napoleon Hill wrote, "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the
mind can achieve." A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man
to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with
him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise
and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him
there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing
the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, 'What did you want
the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success.
When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other
secret. A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give
much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results. 2. Commitment: Integrity and wisdom are
the two pillars on which to build and keep commitments. This point is best illustrated by the
manager, who told one of his staff members, "Integri
"Integrity is keeping your commitment even if you lose money and wisdom is not to make such
foolish commitments." Prosperity and success are the result of our thoughts and decisions. It is our
decision what thoughts will dominate our lives. Success is not an accident. It is the result of our
attitude. There is a big difference between playing to win and playing not to lose. When we play to
win, we play with enthusiasm and commitment; whereas when we play not to lose, we are playing
from a position of weakness. When we play not to lose, we are playing to avoid failure. We all want
to win, but very few are prepared to pay the price to prepare to win. Winners condition and commit
themselves to winning. Playing to win comes out of inspiration, whereas playing not to lose comes
out of desperation. There are no ideal circumstances. There will never be. To reach anywhere we
cannot just drift nor lie at anchor. We need to sometimes sail with the wind and sometimes against
it, but sail we must. Ask any coach or athlete what the difference between the best and the worst
team is. There would be very little difference in their physique, talent and ability. The biggest
difference you will find is emotional difference. The winning team has dedication and they make the
extra effort. To a winner, the tougher the competition 3. Responsibility A duty which becomes a
desire will ultimately become a delight. --George Gritter People with character accept
responsibilities. They make decisions and determine their own destiny in life. Accepting
responsibilities involves taking risks and being accountable which is sometimes uncomfortable. Most
people would rather stay in their comfort zone and live passive lives without accepting
responsibilities. They drift through life waiting for things to happen rather than making them
happen. Accepting responsibilities involves taking calculated, not foolish, risks. It means evaluating
all the pros and cons, then taking the most appropriate decision or action. Responsible people don't
think that the world owes them a living. 4. Hard Work: Success is not something that you run into by
accident. It takes a lot of preparation and character. Everyone likes to win but how many are willing
to put in the effort and time to prepare to win? It takes sacrifice and self-discipline. There is no
substitute for hard work. Henry Ford said, "The harder you work, the luckier you get." The world is
full of willing workers, some willing to work and the others willing to let them. “I like to work half a
day. I don't care if it is the first 12 hours or the second 12 hours.” --Kammons Wilson, CEO of Holiday
Inn One cannot develop a capacity to do anything without hard work, just as a person cannot learn
how to spell by sitting on a dictionary. Professionals make things look easy because they have
mastered the fundamentals of whatever they do. “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my
mastery, it wouldn't seem wonderful at all.” --Michaelangelo An executive called a company to
check on a potential candidate. He asked the candidate's supervisor, "How long has he worked for
you?" The man replied, "Three days." The executive said. "But he told me he was with you for three
years." The man replied, "That is right, but he worked three days." 5. Character Character is the sum
total of a person's values, beliefs and personality. It is reflected in our behavior, in our actions. It
needs to be preserved more than the richest jewel in the world. To be a winner takes character.
George Washington said, "I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what
I consider the most valuable of all titles, the character of an honest man." It is not the polls or public
opinions but the character of the leader that determines the course of history. There is no twilight
zone in integrity. The road to success has many pitfalls. It takes a lot of character and effort not to
fall into them. It also takes character not to be disheartened by critics. How come most people love
success but hate successful people? Whenever a person rises above average, there will always be
someone trying to rip him apart. Chances are pretty good when you see a person on top of a hill,
that he just didn't get there, but had to endure a tough climb. It's no different in life. In any
profession, a successful person will be envied by those who are not. Don't let criticism distract you
from reaching your goal. Average people play it safe to avoid criticism, which can be easily avoided
by saying, doing or being nothing. The more you accomplish, the more you risk being criticized. It
seems there is a relationship between success and criticism. The greater the success, the more is the
criticism. Critics have always been sitting at the sidelines. They are underachievers who shout at
doers, telling them how to do it right. But remember critics are not the leaders or doers and it is
worthwhile asking them to

ome down to where the action is. “The critic is one who knows the price of everything and the value
of nothing.” 6. Positive Believing: What is the difference between positive thinking and positive
believing? What if you could actually listen to your thoughts? Are they positive or negative? How are
you programming your mind, for success or failure? How you think has a profound effect on your
performance. Having a positive attitude and being motivated is a choice we make every morning.
Living a positive life is not easy; but then neither is negative living. Given a choice, I would go for
positive living. Positive thinking is better than negative thinking and it will help us use our abilities to
the fullest. Positive believing is a lot more than positive thinking. It is having a reason to believe that
positive thinking will work. Positive believing is an attitude of confidence that comes with
preparation. Having a positive attitude without making the effort is nothing more than having a
wishful dream. The following illustrates positive believing. 7. Give More Than You Get It is easy to
succeed today. We have no competition. If you want to get ahead in life, go the extra mile. There is
no competition on the extra mile. Are you willing to do a little more than you get paid for? How
many people you know are willing to do a little bit more than what they get paid for? Hardly any.
Most people don't want to do what they get paid for and there is a second category of people who
only want to do what they can get by with. They fulfil their quota just to keep their jobs. There is a
small fraction who are willing to do a little bit more than what they get paid for. Why do they do
more? If you fall into the last category, then where is your competition? The advantages of doing
more than you get paid for are:  You make yourself more valuable, regardless of what you do and
where you work.  It gives you more confidence.  People start looking at you as a leader.  Others
start trusting you.  Superiors start respecting you.  It breeds loyalty from both your subordinates
and your superiors.  It generates cooperation. 8. The Power of Persistence Nothing will take the
place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not: Unrewarded genius is a proverb. Education will not: The world is full of educated
derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. --Calvin Coolidge The journey to
being your best is not easy. It is full of setbacks. Winners have the ab

The journey to being your best is not easy. It is full of setbacks. Winners have the ability to overcome
and bounce back with even greater resolve. Fritz Kreisler, the great violinist, was once asked, "How
do you play so well? Are you lucky?" He replied, "It is practice. If I don't practice for a month, the
audience can tell the difference. If I don't practice for a week, my wife can tell the difference. If I
don't practice for a day, I can tell the difference." Persistence means commitment and
determination. There is pleasure in endurance. Commitment and persistence is a decision. Athletes
put in years of practice for a few seconds or minutes of performance. Persistence is a decision. It is a
commitment to finish what you start. When we are exhausted, quitting looks good. But winners
endure. Ask a winning athlete. He endures pain and finishes what he started.

1.6.3 HURDLES IN ACHIEVING SUCCESS: Although there are lot of potential obstacles, the following
hurdles are mo
Lack of information 2. Lack of skill 3. Limiting beliefs 4. Well being 5. Other people 6. Own motivation

1. Lack of Information: Information can have one of two effects. With too much you can be
overwhelmed, and can stop you from making a decision or taking the next steps. With too
little information you are not able to put things into perspective, or look at the bigger
picture. Identifying where you have gaps in your knowledge, and including this as part of
your goal will move you closer to achieving it. There are several ways to obtain new
information. Research, planned reading, listening to CD’s, DVD’s on a specific topic or
networking with individuals who have the knowledge to share with you. 2. Lack of Skill: In
order to move forwards you may have to pick up skills along the way. This need not be an
enormous challenge. As part of your goal setting, understanding what skills you need to
acquire, and how you will acquire them will form steps of your plan. This does not
necessarily mean that you need to enrol on a course, although that is a great idea. Other
alternatives such as on-line study, planned reading, shadowing a colleague in the workplace,
or seeking advice from a friend can also help you obtain the skills you need. 3. Limiting
beliefs: We all have a set of beliefs by which we live our lives. These are set in our
subconscious at an early age. Sometimes these beliefs can hold you back and limit your
ability to achieve you goals. Some common examples may be familiar to you. Indecision or
Procrastination- should I do one thing or another? This often results in you doing nothing.
The limiting belief manifests itself as “I am not able to make decisions”. Unable to make
progress or stuck – when a way of working is no longer effective, you continue to use it and
often forms a comfort zone, the limiting belief here could be “ I can’t/ won’t change”. Often
people will state that “I don’t deserve to be successful”, or “that shouldn’t work for me”.
Here we are seeing self sabotage and not valuing themselves and their own ability. 4. Well
being: Despite your best efforts, there may be times when you are simply not able to pursue
your goals. A sudden illness or injury can put set you back. When this happens you need to
be realistic. Beating yourself up will not help, nor simply giving up. Take a little time to re
assess your goal and consider what your options are now. How important is it that this goal
is achieved within the original timeframe. Also consider how else you goal can be pursued,
and who can help you during these times. 5. Other People: Quite often the people that are
closest to us fear us achieving our goals. For them this means that you may change and that
will also mean change for them. They may not be aware how important your goals are to
you. If the people you share your time with for example family, friends, colleagues to not
understand and support your goals, there is a chance that you may be influenced by this. If
these people are adverse to change then they may well sabotage you plans. 6. Own
Motivation: Although you may see out with the best intentions, after a while the novelty
may wear off or there are other distractions. This may be down to a number of factors.
Perhaps the goals that you set were too large, and needed to be broken down into smaller
manageable chunks. Perhaps you are not getting the results, and need to consider what you
doing that is are preventing you from moving forward. After continued effort you may feel
that the goal is now actually something that do don’t want, or at least the outcome. In this
case the goal needs to be reassessed. If it requires modification because circumstances have
changed, then change it. If it no longer serves you, then don’t waste your energy following
up on something just because you started it. 7. Time: We all live in a world where we don’t
seem to have enough time. Many of us are “time poor”, which means that we do not
manage our use of time to get the best results. Quite often I hear from the people around
me “I just don’t have time to do x”. How true is this statement really? Have we taken on too
much, overcommitted ourselves and are embarrassed to say no? Perhaps, but I have
another view. If we approach our use of time without any structure we may just leap from
one thing to another in no particular order. Without priority we will move from one thing to
the next urgent thing. There is also the aspect of distractions. This can be distraction from
others who do not have the same aspirations as you. There is the distraction of telephone
calls and emails. Quite often we busy ourselves with those things that are nice to do, but do
not take us any further forward to achieving our goals. 8. Money: Money is a common
reason for not pursuing your goal. Usually it is the lack of money that stops you. When you
hear someone say “I can’t afford it” or “I just don’t have the money”. These statements are
usually offered up without much hesitation. While I agree that it may well be true to some
extent, what alternatives have they really explored and how else could the money be found?
If you are really serious about achieving this goal, what lengths would you go to in order to
find the money (legally)! Let’s turn this around and look at it from another perspective. What
is it costing you to not have that goal in your life right now? For example being in that bad
relationship or enduring bad health. If in achieving this goal it was going to get you that next
job, or mean that you would get that 10% performance bonus at work, what efforts would
you go to? 9. Fear: What do I mean by fear? There are the more straightforward examples. If
you need to do something that takes you right outside of your comfort zone for the first
time, which may well install fear into you. Then there is the fear of failure. What will those
around you think if you don’t achieve you goal. How will you face them and maintain your
integrity. Better to quit now that to see it through right? That way no-one will be able to
judge me. Another type of fear is the fear of success. What if I actually do it, and people find
out I am a fraud? Is this goal something that I really want anyway? Self doubt comes into
play and you try to talk yourself out of it. 1.7 FAILURE: Failure can be defined as the state or
condition of not achieving a desirable or intended objective; it can be considered the
opposite of success. Failure is just a state of mind. You are a failure only if you think that you
failed. Your attitude towards a certain situation determines whether or not you have failed.
The fact is that everyone fails in something or the other at some point in their lives. It is easy
to think negatively when it seems that everything that you do is not good enough. Look at
the following failures and come to a conclusion yourself: 1. Only 400 Cokes were sold in its
first year of production. 2. Albert Einstein’s Ph.D dissertation was rejected. 3. Henry Ford
had two bankruptcies before his famous success. 4. Thomas Alva Edison, the inventor of the
electric bulb failed no less than 10000 times before succeeding. But he said “I have not
failed. I have just found 10000 ways that won’t work. Disappointments, Rejections,
Unsuccessful attempts were not failures to the successful people. They used them as
stepping stones to success. This is the difference between people who win and people who
don’t. Failure is not the lack of success. People are looking only the successes of others. They
are not seeing the struggles, frustrations and disappointments they faced. Ralph Waldo
Emerson who was a successful American essayist, lecturer and poet told “Men succeed
when they realise that their failures are the preparation for their victories” Successful people
don’t blame others for what has happened to them and they don’t use other people’s
definitions for success and failure. They use their own. They just change paths, re- assess
goals, try something new or adjust direction. To them, failure happens when they stop tryi
2. The following factors can be considered as causes of failure. The most common failure-
causing problems and their solutions: 1. Lack of Persistence: More people fail not because
they lack knowledge or talent but because they just quit. It’s important to remember two
words: persistence and resistance. Persist in what must be done and resist what ought not
to be done. Try new approaches. Persistence is important, but repeating the same actions
over and over again, hoping that this time you'll succeed, probably won’t get you any closer
to your objective. Look at your previous unsuccessful efforts and decide what to change.
Keep making adjustments and midcourse corrections, using your experience as a guide. 2.
Lack of Conviction: People who lack conviction take the middle of the road. But what
happens in the middle of the road? You get run over. People without conviction go along to
get along because they lack confidence and courage. They conform in order to get accepted,
even when they know that what they are doing is wrong. Decide what is important to you. If
something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right and doing well. Let your passion show even
in mundane tasks. It’s OK to collaborate and cooperate for success, but it’s not OK to
compromise your values—ever. 3. Rationalization: Winners might analyze, but they never
rationalize. Losers rationalize and have a book full of excuses to tell you why they couldn’t
succeed. Change your perspective. Don’t think of every unsuccessful attempt as a failure.
Few people succeed at everything the first time. Most of us attain our goals only through
repeated effort. Do your best to learn everything you can about what happened and why. 4.
Dismissal of Past Mistakes: Some people live and learn, and some only live. Failure is a
teacher if we have the right attitude. Wise people learn from their mistakes—experience is
the name they give to slipups. Define the problem better. Analyze the situation—what you
want to achieve, what your strategy is, why it didn’t work. Are you really viewing the
problem correctly? If you need money, you have more options than increasing revenue. You
could also cut expenses. Think about what you’re really trying to do. 5. Lack of Discipline:
Anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile has never done it without discipline.
Discipline takes self-control, sacrifice and avoiding distractions and temptations. It means
staying focused. Don’t be a perfectionist. You might have an idealized vision of what success
will look and feel like. Although that can be motivational, it might not be realistic.
Succeeding at one goal won’t eliminate all your problems. Be clear on what will satisfy your
objectives and don’t obsess about superficial details. 6. Poor Self-Esteem: Poor self-esteem
is a lack of self-respect and self-worth. People with low self-confidence are constantly trying
to find themselves rather than creating the person they want to be. Don’t label yourself. You
might have failed, but you’re not a failure until you stop trying. Think of yourself as someone
still striving toward a goal, and you’ll be better able to maintain your patience and
perseverance for the long haul. 7. Fatalistic Attitude: A fatalistic attitude prevents people
from accepting responsibility for their position in life. They attribute success and failure to
luck. They resign themselves to their fate, regardless of their efforts, that whatever has to
happen will happen anyway. Look in the mirror every day and say, I am in charge. You might
not have control over every phase of your life, but you have more control than you realize,
and you are responsible for your own happiness and success. Your attitude determines your
altitude, and you can turn “down” into “up”. 1.8 SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT stands for:
Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat. A SWOT analysis guides you to identify your
organization’s strengths and weaknesses (S-W), as well as broader opportunities and threats
(O-T). A SWOT analysis can offer helpful perspectives at any stage of an effort. You might use
 it to:  Explore possibilities for new efforts or solutions to problems.  Make decisions about
the best path for your initiative. Identifying your opportunities for success in context of
threats to success can clarify directions and choices.  Determine where change is possible. If
you are at a juncture or turning point, an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses can
reveal priorities as well as possibilities.  Adjust and refine plans mid-course. A new
opportunity might open wider avenues, while a new threat could close a path that once
existed.  SWOT also offers a simple way of communicating about your initiative or program
and an excellent way to organize information you've gathered from studies or surveys.
SWOT analysis can help the following people.  Students  Managers and Owners 
Professionals, Executives  Career Starters  Practitioners and HR  Doctors and Engineers
 Employees  Husband and Wife  Parents 1.8.1 THE ADVANTAGES OF CONDUCTING A
PERSONAL SWOT ANALYSIS: The main purpose of a SWOT is to promote the identified
strengths, reduce weaknesses, exploiting the opportunities and having contingency plans to
minimize threats. There are many benefits and advantages of using SWOT Analysis for
personal development. It is good for your success and betterment. Some of the most
common benefits of conducting a personal SWOT analysis have been mentioned below. 
Helps to develops strategies to attain your goals  You can be better than your friends and
colleagues  Shows where you currently stand on the path of success  Measures your
scopes of reaching desired goals  Boosts your career, life and personality  Helps to better
understand who you really are as a person  Maximizes your strengths and diminishes your
weaknesses  Explores and also enhances your soft skills and hard skills  It helps you
understand your preferences and personality traits.  Focuses on your attitudes, abilities,
skills, capabilities and capacities 1.8.2 USING THE SWOT ANALYSIS TOOL: Strengths: These
are the traits or skills that set you apart from others. Questions to ask include:  What
benefits do you have which others do not have? This could include skills, education, o
3. NEGATIVE ATTITUDE: People with negative attitudes will blame the whole world, their
parents, teachers, spouse, the economy and the government for their failures. Some people
criticize no matter what. It does not matter which side you are on, they are always on the
other side. They have made a career out of criticizing. They are "career critics." They criticize
as if they will win a prize at a contest. They will find fault with every person and every
situation. You will find people like this in every home, family, office. They go around finding
fault and telling everybody how bad things are and blaming the whole world for their
problems. All that they are doing is causing more tension for themselves and for others
around them. They spread negative messages like a plague and create an environment
conducive to negative results. Some people always look at the negative side. Who are
pessimists? Pessimists  are unhappy when they have no troubles to speak  feel bad when
they feel good, for fear they will feel worse when they feel better  spend most of their life
at complaint counters  always turn out the lights to see how dark it is  are always looking
for cracks in the mirror of life  stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in
bed than anywhere else  cannot enjoy their health because they think they may be sick
tomorrow  not only expect the worst but make the worst of whatever happens  don't see
the doughnut, only the hole  believe that the sun shines only to cast shadows  forget
their blessings and count their troubles  know that hard work never hurts anyone but
believe "why take a chanc
4. NEGATIVE ATTITUDE: People with negative attitudes will blame the whole world, their
parents, teachers, spouse, the economy and the government for their failures. Some people
criticize no matter what. It does not matter which side you are on, they are always on the
other side. They have made a career out of criticizing. They are "career critics." They criticize
as if they will win a prize at a contest. They will find fault with every person and every
situation. You will find people like this in every home, family, office. They go around finding
fault and telling everybody how bad things are and blaming the whole world for their
problems. All that they are doing is causing more tension for themselves and for others
around them. They spread negative messages like a plague and create an environment
conducive to negative results. Some people always look at the negative side. Who are
pessimists? Pessimists  are unhappy when they have no troubles to speak  feel bad when
they feel good, for fear they will feel worse when they feel better  spend most of their life
at complaint counters  always turn out the lights to see how dark it is  are always looking
for cracks in the mirror of life  stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in
bed than anywhere else  cannot enjoy their health because they think they may be sick
tomorrow  not only expect the worst but make the worst of whatever happens  don't see
the doughnut, only the hole  believe that the sun shines only to cast shadows  forget
their blessings and count their troubles  know that hard work never hurts anyone but
believe "why take a chanc
5. NEGATIVE ATTITUDE: People with negative attitudes will blame the whole world, their
parents, teachers, spouse, the economy and the government for their failures. Some people
criticize no matter what. It does not matter which side you are on, they are always on the
other side. They have made a career out of criticizing. They are "career critics." They criticize
as if they will win a prize at a contest. They will find fault with every person and every
situation. You will find people like this in every home, family, office. They go around finding
fault and telling everybody how bad things are and blaming the whole world for their
problems. All that they are doing is causing more tension for themselves and for others
around them. They spread negative messages like a plague and create an environment
conducive to negative results. Some people always look at the negative side. Who are
pessimists? Pessimists  are unhappy when they have no troubles to speak  feel bad when
they feel good, for fear they will feel worse when they feel better  spend most of their life
at complaint counters  always turn out the lights to see how dark it is  are always looking
for cracks in the mirror of life  stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in
bed than anywhere else  cannot enjoy their health because they think they may be sick
tomorrow  not only expect the worst but make the worst of whatever happens  don't see
the doughnut, only the hole  believe that the sun shines only to cast shadows  forget
their blessings and count their troubles  know that hard work never hurts anyone but
believe "why take a chanc
6. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE ATTITUDES. S.no Negative attitude
personality Positive attitude personality 1 They are always part of the problem They are
always part of the answer 2 They always has an excuse They always has a program 3 Sees a
problem for every answers Sees an answer for every problem 4 Says “It may be possible but
it is too difficult” Says “It may be difficult but it is possible” 5 Says “It was not my fault Says “I
was wrong” 6 Always apart from the team Always a part of the team. 7 Sees only problems
Sees all possibilities 8 Says “Life is hard” Says “Life is filled with experiences” 9 Thinks
“People are worst” Thinks “Good people are there” 10 Always hates the work place Always
work with lovely people 11 They are mostly losers They are mostly winners 12 Always looks
on the negative side Always looks on the positive side 13 They are always angry, frustrated
and stressed. They are always happier, polite and lovable 14. Always says “Impossible”
Always says “Possible” 15. Says “I can’t do” Says “I can do” 2.9 MOTIVATION 2.9.1 Concept
of Motivation:  Motivation is something that encourages action or feeling. To motivate
means to encourage and inspire. Motivation can also mean to turn on or ignite the feeling or
action.  Motivation is powerful. It can persuade, convince and propel you into action. In
other words, motivation can be defined as motive for action. It is a force that can literally
change your life.  Motivation is the driving force in our lives. It comes from a desire to
succeed. Without success there is little pride in life; no enjoyment or excitement at work and
at home. Often life becomes like a lopsided wheel giving a bumpy ride. The greatest enemy
of motivation is complacence. Complacence leads to frustration, and when people are
frustrated they give up because they cannot identify what is important. 2.9.2 Significance
and types: Once you understand the principle that motivates the motivator, you can proceed
to achieve your goal and can motivate others too. Your internal motivation is your drive and
attitude. It is contagious. Attitude is the key to getting the response you want from others.
How does a person stay motivated and focused? One important tool that has been used by
athletes for a long time is called auto-suggestion. Auto suggestions are positive statements
made in the present tense and repeated regularly. In other words it is positive self-talk.
Motivation is classified into two types: 1. External motivation and 2. Internal motivation.
2.10 EXTERNAL MOTIVATION External motivation comes from outside, such as money,
societal approval, fame or fear. Examples of external motivation are fear of getting spanked
by parents and fear of getting fired at work. A company wanted to set up a pension plan. In
order for the plan to be installed, it needed 100% participation. Everyone signed up except
John. The plan made sense and was in the best interest of everyone. John not signing was
the only obstacle. John's supervisor and other co-workers had tried to persuade him without
success. The owner of the company called John into his office and said, "John, here is a pen
and these are the papers for you to sign to enrol into the pension plan. If you don't enrol,
you are fired this minute." John signed right away. The owner asked John why he hadn't
signed earlier. John replied, "No one explained the plan quite as clearly as you did." 2.10.1
Fear Motivation The advantages of fear motivation are:  It gets the job done quickly.  It is
instantaneous.  It prevents loss, by meeting deadlines.  In the short run the person's
performance may improve. The disadvantages of fear motivation are:  It is external, which
means the motivation is there while the motivator is there. When the motivator goes, the
motivation also goes.  It causes stress. Performance is limited to compliance.  In the long
run, performance goes down. It destroys creativity.  They get used to the stick and then
need a bigger stick. Example: A customer asked an employee, "When did you start working
here?" He replied, "Ever since they threatened to fire me." 2.10.2 Incentive Motivation
External motivation can also take the form of incentives, bonuses, commission, recognition,
etc. What are the advantages of incentive motivation? The major advantage is that it can
work very well as long as the incentive is strong enough. Think of a donkey with a carrot
dangling in front and with a cart behind. Incentive motivation will only work if the donkey is
hungry enough, the carrot is sweet enough and the load is light enough. From time to time,
you have to let the donkey take a bite of the carrot; otherwise it is going to get discouraged.
 After the donkey takes a bite, its stomach is full, and you need to wait for the donkey to get
hungry again before it will pull the cart. This is typically seen in our business environment.
The moment sales people meet their quota, they stop working.
7. INTERNAL MOTIVATION Internal motivation is the inner gratification, not for success or
winning, but for the fulfilment that comes from having done it. It is a feeling of
accomplishment, rather than just achieving a goal. Reaching an unworthy goal does not give
the gratifying feeling. Internal motivation is lasting, because it comes from within and
translates into self-motivation. Motivation needs to be identified and constantly
strengthened to succeed. Keep your goals in front of you and read them morning and
evening. The two most important motivating factors are recognition and responsibility. 
Recognition means being appreciated; being treated with respect and dignity; and feeling a
sense of belonging.  Responsibility gives a person a feeling of belonging and ownership. He
then becomes part of the bigger picture. Lack of responsibility can become demotivating.
Monetary rewards are temporary and short-lived; they are not gratifying in the long run. In
contrast, seeing an idea being implemented can be emotionally gratifying by itself. People
feel that they are not being treated like objects. They feel part of a worthwhile team. The
reward of doing the right thing by itself is motivating. 2.12 THE FOUR STAGES FROM
MOTIVATION TO DEMOTIVATION 1. Motivated Ineffective This is the stage when the
employee is most open minded, receptive and easy to mold to the culture of the
organization. Training and orientation become imperative. Professional organizations, on the
other hand, take special care to induct people into their organizations. They explain to them,
among other things, the following:  the hierarchy  expectations of each other  do's and
don’ts  parameters and guidelines  what is acceptable and what is not  what are the
resources 2. Motivated Effective: This is the stage when the employee has learned what to
do and does it with drive and energy. He has learned the trade and it reflects in his
performance. Then he moves on to the next stage. 3. Demotivated Effective: After some
time the motivation level goes down and the employee starts learning the tricks of the
trade. This is the stage when the employee is not motivated. He continues doing just enough
so that the employer has no reason to fire him but he is really not motivated. This stage is
detrimental to growth--most people in organizations fall into this third stage. A motivated
professional learns the trade and leaves the tricks to cheats and crooks, but a demotivated
employee start sabotaging the company. His performance is marginal. He makes fun of the
good performers. He rejects new ideas and spreads the negativity all around. Our objective
is to bring them back to the second stage of motivated effective through training. An
employee ought not to stay in the third stage too long; because from here either they move
back to the second stage, which is being motivated and effective, or they move into the
fourth stage. 4. Demotivated Ineffective: At this stage, the employer does not have much
choice but to fire the employee, which may be the most appropriate thing to do anyway at
this point. Remember, employers want the same thing as employees do. They want to
succeed and improve business and if employees help in this objective, then they make
themselves valuable and achieve the
8. e of the demotivating factors are:  Unfair criticism  Negative criticism  Public humiliation 
Rewarding the non performer which can be demotivating for the performer  Failure or fear
of failure  Success which leads to complacence  Lack of direction  Lack of measurable
objectives  Low self-esteem  Lack of priorities  Negative self-talk  Office politics  Unfair
treatment  Hypocrisy  Poor standards  Frequent change  Responsibility without authority
2.14 MOTIVATING FACTORS: What we really want to accomplish is self-motivation, when
people do things for their own reasons and not yours. That is lasting motivation. Remember,
the greatest motivator is belief. We have to inculcate in ourselves the belief that we are
responsible for our actions and behaviour. When people accept responsibility, everything
improves: quality, productivity, relationships and teamwork. A few steps to motivate others:
 Give recognition  Give respect  Make work interesting  Be a good listener  Throw a
challenge  Help but don't do for others what they should do for themselves UNIT III SELF-
ESTEEM Term self-esteem - Symptoms - Advantages - Do's and Don’ts to develop positive
self-esteem – Low self- esteem - Symptoms - Personality having low self esteem - Positive
and negative self esteem. Interpersonal Relationships – Defining the difference between
aggressive, submissive and assertive behaviours - Lateral thinking. 3.1 DEFINITION: Self-
esteem is how we value ourselves; it is how we perceive our value to the world and how
valuable we think we are to others. Self-esteem affects our trust in others, our relationships,
and our work – nearly every part of our lives. 3.2 HIGH or POSTIVE SELF ESTEEM: Positive
self-esteem gives us the strength and flexibility to take charge of our lives and grow from our
mistakes without the fear of rejection. 3.2.1 Symptoms and Signs of High Self-Esteem: Some
of the outward signs of high self-esteem:  Confidence  Self-direction  Non-blaming
behaviour  An awareness of personal strengths  An ability to make mistakes and learn
from them  An ability to accept mistakes from others  Optimism  An ability to solve
problems  An independent and cooperative attitude  Feeling comfortable with a wide
range of emotions  An ability to trust others  A good sense of personal limitations  Good
self-care  The ability to say no 3.2.2 Advantages of High Self-Esteem There is a direct
relationship between people's feelings and their productivity. High self-esteem is evident in
respect for one's self, others, property, law, parents and one's country. The reverse is also
true. Self-esteem:  Builds strong conviction.  Creates willingness to accept responsibility.
 Builds optimistic attitudes.  Leads to better relationships and fulfilling lives.  Makes a
person more sensitive to others' needs and develop a caring attitude.  Makes a person self-
motivated and ambitious.  Makes a person open to new opportunities and challenges. 
Improves performance and increases risk-taking ability.  Helps a person give and receive
both criticism and compliments tactfully and easily. 3.3 LOW SELF ESTEEM: Low self-esteem
is a worst condition that keeps individuals from realizing their full potential. A person with
low self-esteem feels unworthy, incapable and incompetent. In fact, because the person
with low selfesteem feels so poorly about him or herself, these feelings may actually cause
the person’s continued low self-esteem. 3.3.1 Symptoms and Signs of Low Self-Esteem: 
Negative view of life  Perfectionist attitude  Mistrusting others – even those who show
signs of affection  Blaming behaviour  Fear of taking risks  Feelings of being unloved and
unlovable  Dependence – letting others make decisions  Fear of being ridiculed 3.4
INCREASING OUR SELF ESTEEM: Feelings of low self-esteem often build up over a lifetime,
and letting go of ingrained feelings and behaviours is not an easy task. It may take time, hard
work, and it may require professional counselling. But there are some simple, positive
thinking techniques that can be used to help improve self-esteem. These are called
affirmations. Using affirmations to stop negative self-talk is a simple, positive way to help
increase self-esteem. Affirmations are encouraging messages we can give ourselves every
day until they become part of our feelings and beliefs. Affirmations work best when a person
 is relaxed. But since people are often upset when they are giving themselves negative self-
messages, they may need to counter negative messages with positive ones. For example,
replace the message “I made a stupid mistake, and I am no good at this job,” with “Yes, I
made a mistake but I have learned from it, and now I can a better job.” Begin each day by
looking in the mirror and giving us a positive message. The following affirmations can help
you to work toward a positive self-image:  I respect myself and others  I am lovable and
likable  I am confident, and it shows  I am creating loving, healthy relationships  I am a
good friend to myself and others  I accept myself just as I am  I look great  Life is good,
and I like being a part of it 3
9. .5 PERSONALITY HAVING LOW SELF ESTEEM  They are generally gossip mongers.  They
have a critical nature. They criticize as if there is a contest going on and they have to win a
prize.  They have high egos they are arrogant and believe they know it all. People with low
self-esteem are generally difficult to work with and for. They tear down others to get a
feeling of superiority.  They are closed minded and self-centred.  They constantly make
excuses--always justifying failures.  They never accept responsibility--always blaming
others.  They have a fatalistic attitude no initiative and always waiting for things to happen.
 They are jealous by nature.  They are unwilling to accept positive criticism. They become
defensive.  They are bored and uncomfortable when a
10. BODY LANGUAGE: 4.1.1 Definition: "Body language is the unconscious and conscious
transmission and interpretation of feelings, attitudes, and moods, through: body posture,
movement, physical state, position and relationship to other bodies, objects and
surroundings, facial expression and eye movement, the process of communicating what you
are feeling or thinking by the way you place and move your body rather than by words” The
study of body language is known as kinesics, which is derived from the Greek word kinesis,
meaning motion. 4.1.2 Importance of Body Language: When one expresses his/her feelings,
it has been said that.  55% of the communication consists of body language.  38% is
expressed via the tone of voice or intonation and amazingly only  7% is communicated via
words. This means that we express most of our feeling (93%) in a non-verbal way and our
words only convey 7% of what we are saying or expressing. Body Language is a significant
aspect of modern communications and relationships. Body Language is therefore very
relevant to management and leadership, and to all aspects of work and business where
communications can be seen and physically observed among people. Body language is also
very relevant to relationships outside of work, for example, in families and parenting,
behaving with friends, etc Communication includes listening. In terms of observable body
language, non-verbal (nonspoken) signals are being exchanged whether these signals are
accompanied by spoken words or not. 4.1.3 Factors of Body Language: Body language is not
just about how we hold and move our bodies. Body language potentially (although not
always, depending on the definition you choose to apply) encompasses:  how we position
our bodies  our closeness to and the space between us and other people and how this
changes  our facial expressions  our eyes especially and how our eyes move and focus,
etc  how we touch ourselves and others  how our bodies connect with other non-bodily
things, for instance, pens, cigarettes, spectacles and clothing  our breathing, and other less
noticeable physical effects, for example our heartbeat and perspiration Body language tends
not to include the pace, pitch, and intonation, volume, variation, pauses, etc., of our voice.
Voice type and other audible signals are typically not included in body language because
 they are audible 'verbal' signals rather than physical visual ones, nevertheless the way the
voice is used is a very significant (usually unconscious) aspect of communication, aside from
the bare words themselves. Similarly breathing and heartbeat, etc., are typically excluded
from many general descriptions of body language, but are certainly part of the range of non-
verbal bodily actions and signals which contribute to body language in its fullest sense. More
obviously, our eyes are a vital aspect of our body language. Our reactions to other people's
eyes - movement, focus, expression, etc - and their reactions to our eyes - contribute greatly
to mutual assessment and understanding, consciously and unconsciously. Our interpretation
of body language, notably eyes and facial expressions, is instinctive, and with a little thought
and knowledge we can significantly increase our conscious awareness of these signals: both
the signals we transmit, and the signals in others that we observe. Doing so gives us a
significant advantage in life - professionally and personally - in our dealings with others.
Body language is not just reading the signals in other people. 4.2 PROBLEM SOLVING:
Problem Solving is a mental process wherein an individual analyzes interprets a task or a
problem at hand and chooses from a pool of possibilities to reach the simplest solution. It
involves an individual’s creativity and decision making abilities. Following steps should be
followed while solving a problem: 1. Identifying the problem: It is important to have clarity
about what the problem at ha
11. a) Conflict Management:  Conflict is a condition where there is opposition, disagreement
between two or more people. This may be due to lack of communication, differences over
certain issues and/or contradiction in ideas, beliefs and thoughts.  Conflicts at workplace
can hamper the progress of your work and in turn stunts the growth of the organization. 
Conflicts act as barriers to healthy organizational development. Sometimes, however, how
hard we try; we end up with conflicting thoughts with team members. Therefore it is
necessary to manage conflicts in a way such that it has minimum impact on our lives. 
Unresolved conflicts can be hazardous especially at work places. They can lead to
inappropriate behavior such as avoidance, inability to work in teams, verbal assaults, and
overall resentment. In worst cases, some of the employees in the organization become so
hostile that they eventually have to quit their work and separate from the organization. b)
Stress Management:  All of us are living a fast paced demanding life, dealing with work
pressure, home responsibilities, and other commitments all the time that leads to the stress.
This stress becomes a part and parcel of our life. However, managing stress is extremely
important.
12. People under stress often experience headaches, anxiety, depression, negative thoughts,
nausea, anger, frustration etc. Hence to avoid these problems, maintaining stress is
extremely important.. Regular Exercising, change the routine work, yoga, meditation and
breathing exercises are great ways to combat stress. The ultimate goal to manage stress is to
lead a balanced life.  Some people with stress is to smoke and consume large amounts of
alcohol. Also, avoid eating or sleeping too much when you are stressed because this will
make you lethargic. Relax, rejuvenate and recharge yourself so that you can function more
efficiently. 4.4 DECISION MAKING SKILLS: A Systematic Approach for Making Decisions In
real-life business situations, decisions can often fail because the best alternatives are not
clear at the outset, or key factors are not considered as part of the process. To stop this
happening, you need to bring problem-solving and decision-making strategies together to
clarify your understanding. A logical and ordered process can help you to do this by making
sure that you address all of the critical elements needed for a successful outcome. Working
through this process systematically will reduce the likelihood of overlooking important
factors. Our seven-step approach takes this into account: 1. Create a constructive
environment. 2. Investigate the situation in detail. 3. Generate good alternatives. 4. Explore
your options. 5. Select the best solution. 6. Evaluate your plan. 7. Communicate your
decision, and take action. Let’s look at each of these steps in detail. Step 1: Create a
Constructive Environment Decisions can become complex when they involve or affect other
people, so it helps to create a constructive environment in which to explore the situation
and weigh up your options. Step 2: Investigate the Situation in Detail Before you can begin to
make a decision, you need to make sure that you fully understand your situation. It may be
that your objective can be approached in isolation, but it’s more likely that there are a
number of interrelated factors to consider. Changes made in one department, for example,
could have knock-on effects elsewhere, making the change counter-productive. Step 3:
Generate Good Alternatives The wider the options you explore, the better your final decision
is likely to be. Generating a number of different options may seem to make your decision
more complicated at first, but the act of coming up with alternatives forces you to dig
deeper and look at the problem from different angles. Step 4: Explore Your Options When
you're satisfied that you have a good selection of realistic alternatives, it’s time to evaluate
the feasibility, risks and implications of each one. Almost every decision involves some
degree of risk. Use Risk Analysis to consider this objectively by adopting a structured
approach to assessing threats, and evaluating the probability of adverse events occurring –
and what they might cost to manage. Step 5: Select the Best Solution Once you’ve evaluated
the alternatives, the next step is to make your decision. If one particular alternative is clearly
better than the rest, your choice will be obvious. However, if you still have several
competing options, there are plenty of tools that will help you decide between them. Group
Decisions: If your decision is being made within a group, there are plenty of excellent tools
and techniques to help you to reach a group decision. If the decision criteria are subjective,
and it's critical that you gain consensus, Multi-Voting can help your team reach an
agreement. When anonymity is important, decision-makers dislike one another, or there is a
tendency for certain individuals to dominate the process, use the Delphi Technique to reach
a fair and impartial decision. This uses cycles of anonymous, written discussion and
argument, managed by a facilitator . Participants do not meet, and sometimes they don't
even know who else is involved. Step 6: Evaluate Your Plan With all the effort and hard work
you’ve already invested in evaluating and selecting alternatives, it can be tempting to forge
ahead at this stage. But now, more than ever, is the time to "sense check" your decision.
Before you start to implement your decision, take a long, dispassionate look at it to be sure
that you have been thorough, and that common errors haven't crept into the process. Step
7: Communicate Your Decision, and Take Action Once you've made your decision, you need
to communicate it to everyone affected by it in an engaging and inspiring way. Get them
involved in implementing the solution by discussing how and why you arrived at your
decision. The more information you provide about risks and projected benefits, the more
likely people will be to support your decision. 4.5 LEADERSHIP AND QUALITIES OF A
SUCCESSFUL LEADER: 1. A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost
importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be
known to live their life with honesty and integrity. A good leader “walks the talk” and in
 doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect
for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads. 2. A good leader is
enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will
respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a
source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause. Although the
responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part
of the team
13. TIME MANAGEMENT:  “Time management” is the process of organizing and planning how
to divide your time between specific activities. It is defined as the process of managing time
effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity.  Good time management
enables you to work smarter – not harder – so that you get more done in less time, even
when time is tight and pressures are high.  Failing to manage your time damages your
effectiveness and causes stress. 4.7.1 Steps in Time Management: Time Management
includes: 1. Effective Planning 2. Setting goals and objectives 3. Setting deadlines 4.
Delegation of responsibilities 5. Prioritizing activities as per their importance 6. Spending the
right time on the right activity 1. Effective Planning: Plan your day well in advance. Prepare a
to do List or a “Task Plan”. Sort down the important activities that need to be done in a
single day against the time that should be allocated to each activity. High Priority work
should come on top followed by those which do not need much of your importance at the
moment. 2. Setting Goals and Objectives: Working without goals and targets in an
organization would be similar to a situation where the captain of the ship loses his way in
the sea. Yes, you would be lost. Set targets for yourself and make sure they are realistic ones
and achievable. 3. Setting Deadlines: Set deadlines for yourself and strive hard to complete
tasks ahead of the deadlines. Do not wait for your superiors to ask you every time. Learn to
take ownership of work. One person who can best set the deadlines is you yourself. Ask
yourself how much time needs to be devoted to a particular task and for how many days.
Use a planner to mark the important dates against the set deadlines. 4. Delegation of
Responsibilities: Learn to say “NO” at workplace. Don’t do everything on your own. There
are other people as well. One should not accept something which he knows is difficult for
him. The roles and responsibilities must be delegated as per interest and specialization of
employees for them to finish tasks within deadlines. A person who does not have knowledge
about something needs more time than someone who knows the work well. 5. Prioritizing
Tasks: Prioritize the tasks as per their importance and urgency. Know the difference between
important and urgent work. Identify which tasks should be done within a day, which all
should be done within a month and so on. Tasks which are most important should be done
earlier. 6. Spending the right time on right activity: Develop the habit of doing the right thing
at the right time. Work done at the wrong time is not of much use. Don’t waste a complete
day on something which can be done in an hour or so. Also keep some time separate for
your personal calls or checking updates on Facebook or Twitter. After all human being is not
a machine. 4.7.2 Advantages of Time Management: 1. Reduction in stress level: The
reduction in stress level is main content of time management. If you follow time
management properly then you will get better result. Even you can relax yourself while
enjoying your work. Stress leads to spoiling of work schedule and distur1bed work schedule
can never provide best results. The result will come undoubtedly but no one can say it will
be best or worst. 2. Provides focus on the task: The time management initially provides relief
from stress and later helps you in focusing your target and performance in task. A focused
person becomes successful in less time as compared to those who do more struggle for
getting their target in life. The people always desire to have successful and enjoyable life and
that can be obtained by keeping a focused view about everything and every step. 3.
Decrease procrastination: There is much duration in life and it also brings fluctuation. The
particular point in adopting time management is the ability to predict the results and control
the situations. Managing time isn’t something that requires extra skills, the only need is to
have some knowledge about how to and be dedicated to implement it within your day to
day activities. 4. Gain self-confidence: Self-confidence plays a vital role in human life and
self-confident people always have better life than dependent persons. The feel usually
comes when you plan your work properly and take decisions on time for betterment. “Time
management never takes your time, rather provides you extra time.” A person can do
anything with confidence and self trust leads a human being to the next level. 5. A way to
the goal: Everybody has a desire to achieve his/her goal in life and dream to get a relaxing
future after attaining target. Managing time allots you time where it has the most impact.
Time management allows every human to spend time on the things that matter most to
them. In this process, time management has a positive aspect to perform and people
consider the scheduling a better option. 6. Challenge your productivity: The capacity of
everybody is similar just only habits differentiate in results. The people who score 100 out of
100 are also human not robots, the thing is that they follow their dreams. The condition
turns turtle with your determination when you are planning for your next meeting as all the
tasks are listed in to-do list. You can use priorities while setting up the task execution
sequence. Productivity is a challenge to face, as the process of productivity puts human
being on the heels. It’s a race which has to be won by all not by any single. In short, it is a
great thing to adopt but also demands the capacity to handle the pressure. 7. Have an
instinct for achievement: Achievement of a task is different whereas bang a series of success
is totally different task. A series of success falls in our kitty only then, when we make our
efforts in a predefined way. Discipline and self-improvement are mandatory. The
communication tools available in variety support, synchronous as fixing meeting time in
form of web conferencing and asynchronous with no fixed time to contribute as discussion
board in form of interaction. The achievement comes with hardworking and dedicated
behavior. Everyone has to adopt time management if they desire to have the taste of
success. 8. Time to relax and do recreational activities: Recreation in this era of rush is a
blessing and everybody wants it but only few can grab it. Never miss any event. No need to
worry about missing events as workday is scheduled with reminders and alerts for urgent
events. The blessed ones are those who do work on time and adopt a time table in their life
to do day-to-day chaos. The relaxed life gives motivation to human being and put them on
the way of success. The recreational activities also give family life a boost. People feel more
connected to their families. The one and the only thing to keep in mind is relations need
time and love to boom. 9. Financial Soundness: The success brings financial benefits with
itself. A human is always financially sound if he/ she have planned his/ her life properly and
they maintain a time table of their personal and professional life. The lifelong learning
experience promotes the empowerment of individuals with the knowledge. They can
research and find information. The interpretation in it with sharing provides students
opportunities to get network connectivity. 10. Become Healthy: The health is a blessing for
 human and it can be achieved by proper maintenance. Time management is also helpful in
making human life healthy; as if a person will adopt scheduling in his life then he will
definitely save sometime for doing exercise and other health related works. So, he/ she will
become healthy definitely. Once you have decided to plan your time, you have to discipline
yourself and work on self-improvement with health as a key factor. 4.7.3 Disadvantages of
Time Management: It can be pretty hard for someone who doesn’t embrace punctuality and
value time. There are very few downsides to time management. The main disadvantage is of
more consumption of time in making up plans which easily turns out to be against. It can
make human life mechanical too. 1. Non-clear Objectives: The productive behavior is
definitely
14. y one of the main goals in time management. Sometimes, it leads to non-clear objectives
which usually struck people for worse. An unaware person doesn’t know what to do? If you
are not being able to do better management of workload, you will get more struck in non-
done tasks in no time. 2. Mismanagement: Organized results to less rework and mistakes but
excess organizing craze leaves a person in blunder. The items, details, and instructions are if
forgotten then leads to extra work and a blame of mismanagement. A person has to do a
task more times if he forgets something. It will lead to fatigue and it happens because of
predictive behavior. 3. Can’t say “no”: You might have forgotten an appointment, or missed
deadline and all happened because of working on others task as saying ‘no’ will be tough for
you. Such crazy situations incline life friction. You can avoid creating such problems by
planning and preparing exactly. Nobody can create more time but it can be used in better
way by managing time undoubtedly. It’s always better to keep back because people simply
can’t say no to anyone. 4. Obstacles: Simple actions like shifting commute or getting a work
done early, produce more issues in life. The time management leads you towards an
obstacle. When you know what you need to do, you hate wasting time in idle activities and
that leads to disputes and disturbances. Instead of thinking what to do next, concentrate on
steps ahead of work, as anything can go wrong. The people face many problems due
15. Inactivity: The common misconception makes time management an extra effort. To the
contrary, proper time management makes a human life easier and inactive. If things are
asking for less effort than the usual time, then the consumption of time leads to dullness.
Manage time for Improving life, as time management is all about spending time in right
places, and on the right things but sometime the obsession for doing right makes your life
stagnant. 6. Load of different works at one time: When you work according to time
management, then sometimes in over confidence you take too many tasks in hand. That
particular condition leaves you in total blunder. The people keep too many expectations
from you just because of your flaunting behavior and at last you feel a load of work on your
shoulders. And such confusion creates a mismanagement situation. 7. Fatigue and stress
become part of life: Fatigue and stress is common problem that leads you to a tired phase.
The tiredness leads a human being to irritate and fed up of life. They also feel demoralized
because they again and again think about their unsuccessful attempt of adopting time
management in their life. They consider their unsuccessful attempt as halt in their way and
leave interest in all things. Majority of people make themselves prone to diseases. 4.8 WORK
ETHICS:  Work ethic is a value based on hard work and diligence.  The belief that work has
a moral benefit and an inherent ability to strengthen character. 4.8.1 Five Factors That
Demonstrate a Strong Work Ethic:  Integrity  Sense of Responsibility  Emphasis on Quality
  Discipline  Sense of Teamwork 4.9 GOOD MANNERS AND ETIQUETTES: Good manners
cost us nothing, but may win almost everything. They are the skills of making people feel
easy and comfortable. We can have better relationships with people we know and meet in
day to day life just by behaving well. Courtesy, politeness or having good manners are an
about respecting others and yourself. If you show good manners everywhere you go, then
you are more likely to encourage others to behave in the same way towards you. THINK -
How would you feel if someone?  Never says 'Please' or 'Thank You' when you help them? 
Shares your things but never shares anything of theirs?  Snatches the remote, while you are
watching TV? Good manners at home: Help others at home. Say 'please' and 'thank you'
whenever it is required.  Never read letters or messages that belong to others.  Never stay
in bathroom longer than time required.  Never talk back or put when scolded.
16. Never tease or tag other members of the family.  Feel and say sorry, in hurt anyone's
feeling.  Don't switch television programs to suit me.  Hold the door open for the person
coming in, especially if he is carrying something.  Knock at the door before entering the
home of others.  Share and not grab or keep good things for me.  Get up in morning as
soon as I am called.  Keep myself and my space/room clean.  Go for meals on time. UNIT V
EMPLOYABILITY QUOTIENT Resume building- The art of participating in Group Discussion –
Facing the Personal (HR & Technical) Interview -Frequently Asked Questions - Psychometric
Analysis - Mock Interview Sessions. 5.1 RESUME BUILDING: 5.1.1 Definition of Resume: A
resume provides a summary of your education, work history, credentials, and other
accomplishments and skills. There are also optional sections, including a resume objective
and career summary statement. Resumes are the most common document requested of
applicants in job applications. A resume should be as concise as possible. Typically, a resume
is one page long, although sometimes it can be as long as two pages. Often resumes include
bulleted lists to keep information concise. 5.1.2 Components of a Resume: 1. Contact details:
Name, address, email and telephone number, clearly displayed  Is email address
appropriate?  Is the message on mobile phone appropriate? 2. Career Objective: Only
include this if the job applying for  Is part of career plans? Example: To gain experience in
office administration prior to studying for a Bachelor of Business in 2012.  Is related to
something you are passionate interested in. Example: To use my many years of horse
management and riding experience to assist in the care of performance horses. Don’t
include a career objective if you just want to “get a job” which has no relation to your
interests, career plans or prior experience. 3. Education: Your school and current year level.
 If your grades are good include them. If they aren’t it is better to leave them out. 4.
Achievements: These important aspects of your life tell a prospective employer a lot about
you. This is not the time to be modest or to underestimate what you have achieved. Try to
write your achievement statements starting with a strong verb eg Achieved, Created, Lead,
Managed, Won, Assisted, and Awarded.  Awards  Leadership positions in school and sport
 Certificates  Special responsibilities  Membership of Associations, Choirs, Service Groups
eg lifesavers  Membership of sporting teams and years of involvement  Achievements in
the Arts – Music, Art, Drama 5. Skills  Languages  High level of mathematical ability 
Musical ability  Technology Skills  Basic computer use – Indicate the level  Advanced
computer skills. o Graphics o Photoshop o Video editing o Excel o Solving hardware
problems o Solving software problems o Programming  Other technology skills o Electronics
o Film making 6. Work Experience: a) Paid work: Any work that you have done for an
employer where you had to give them your tax file number. Include  Job title  Name and
address of employer  Dates that you worked for them eg Jan 2009 – April 2010 
Responsibilities b) Informal work: Helping in a family business, pet care or gardening, school
work experience. Include  Job title  Name and address of employer  Dates that you
worked for them. Example; Jan 2009 – April 2010  Responsibilities c) Volunteer work:
Fundraising, door-knocking for recognised charities such as Red Shield Appeal, caring for
elderly relative or neighbour, assisting at a school or church function. 7. Interests: Let them
know something about you as an individual. Example: singing with a band, running in fun
runs, surfing. - Modelling, fashion or shopping aren’t interests to list….unless you are looking
for work in a fashion retail store and then it would be important to mention these interests!
5.2 GROUP DISCUSSION: 5.2.1 Definition: Group discussion is an important activity in
academic, business and administrative spheres. It is a systematic and purposeful interactive
oral process. Here the exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings take place through oral
communication. The exchange of ideas takes place in a systematic and structured way. The
participants sit facing each other almost in a semi-circle and express their views on the given
topic/issue/problem. 5.2.2 Differences between Group Discussion and a Debate: Debate is
competitive in nature while group discussion is a co-operative group process. In a debate, a
speaker can speak either ‘for’ the topic or ‘against’ the topic whereas in a GD, the speaker
can express both. The final decision or result in a debate depends on voting while in a GD,
the group reaches generally accepted opinion. 5.2.3 Expectations of the Panel conducting
Group Discussion: The following qualities of the candidates who are participating in Group
discussion are tested. • Team player • Reasoning • Leadership • Flexible • Assertiveness •
Initiative • Creativity (out of the box thinking) • Inspiring ability • Listening 5.2.4 Phases in a
GD: • Initiation/introduction • The central group discussion • Summarization/conclusion
5.2.5 What to do in a GD? • Speaking is important; do not sit silently. Speak freely. • Do not
monopolize the conversation or talk too much. • Give everyone a chance to speak. •
Maintain eye contact with everyone in the group. • Show active listening skills. • Do not
interrupt anyone while they are speaking. • Keep the topic on track and don’t be irrelevant.
• Encourage someone who is silent to talk. • Do not argue with anyone. • Do not debate
with anyone, while the group looks on. • Do not repeat what has been said; be attentive; try
to develop on ideas expressed or give out new ideas. • Clarify your doubts and then
proceed. • Be brief. • Do not commit grammatical errors while talking. 5.2.6 Some topics for
Group Discussion: • Terrorism in India • Religion should not be mixed with politics • Morals
& Values among Indians is Degenerating 5.3 FACING THE PERSONAL (HR & TECHNICAL)
INTERVIEW: An interview is a physical interface between the interviewer and the
interviewee with the objective of assessing the interviewee's potential for a purpose.
Remember that your interaction with the company official is a formal one. This should be
evident in your manner and clothes. One should not show a sloppy attitude or try to be
humorous. In terms of knowledge, you should show your awareness of your field (make sure
you revise your text-books) and awareness about the world (by reading newspapers and
magazines). Be thorough in your approach and make sure you prepare for the interview in a
comprehensive manner. Start preparing for your interviews well in time so that you have
enough time to review your subject knowledge and increase general awareness. The degree
or the level to which you are prepared is an important factor. A compromise on this front
could mean a lifetime compromise on your career. Recruitment processes generally follow
 two rounds of interviews. These two interview rounds are as follows: 5.3.1 Technical Round:
Technical interviews go beyond personal interviews as they test the subject learning of the
candidate. What have you learnt during the four years in an engineering college? Can you
clearly explain some important concepts? Can you apply these concepts in the practical
world? These are some of the questions that are tested in the technical part of the interview
process. Interviewers will try to ascertain the level of your seriousness during the technical
interview. You may be asked to explain certain things you have learnt during college. At
times, you may be even asked to draw diagrams or solve questions during the interview. It is
a viva where you have to demonstrate your learning. Go over your text-books carefully and
revise the concepts that you may have learnt in the first or second year. Do not leave out
anything. Or at least some common concepts must be absolutely clear. If you are a
mechanical engineer, for example, make sure you know all the ratios correctly. Carry copies
of your project work that you may have done and also show your comfort level in the work
done. Do not, if asked, say that you did not know much about the project or that it was just a
theoretical one and that there are no applications of it. In case you have not taken it
seriously, take a look now. Demonstrate that what you have done was important to you and
it also has wider application. But then also keep in mind that if you do not know an answer,
do not bluff. Accept your shortcoming and simply say, “I don't know sir.” 5.3.2 HR Round: In
the HR Interview, many students face difficulties, simply because they have not thought
about their ambitions and about themselves. Before you appear for campus placement
interviews, it is advisable that you introspect and know yourself. Be articulate as to where
you see yourself in 10-20 years. Describe your dream and ambition clearly. Do not show that
you are taking up the job merely to gain experience and will shift as soon as you get a better
one. Give a thought to your goals and be clear in your mind .If you are not convinced about
these, how will you convince anyone else about your future? An interviewer generally tests
your communication & interpersonal skills, your intelligence, enthusiasm, maturity,
flexibility, and leadership skills. He/she can also test your problem solving skills. Also, an
interviewer wants to know how much knowledge you possess beyond your respective core
field. 5.4 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS IN INTERVIEW: 1. What are your strengths? 2.
What are your weaknesses? 3. Why you are interested in working for our company ? 4.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? 5. Why do you want to leave your current
company? 6. Why was there a gap in your employment between [insert date] and [insert
date]? 7. What can you offer us that someone else can not? 8. What are three things your
former manager would like you to improve on? 9. Are you willing to relocate? 10. Are you
willing to travel? 11. Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of. 12. Tell me
about a time you made a mistake. 13. What is your dream job? 14. How did you hear about
this position? 15. What would you look to accomplish in the first 30 days/60 days/90 days on
the job? 16. Discuss your resume. 17. Discuss your educational background. 18. Describe
yourself. 19. Tell me how you handled a difficult situation. 20. Why should we hire you? 21.
Why are you looking for a new job? 22. Would you work holidays/weekends? 23. How would
you deal with an angry or irate customer? 24. What are your salary requirements? 25. Give a
time when you went above and
17. PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS: Psychometric tests are a standard and scientific method used to
measure individuals' mental capabilities and behavioural style. Psychometric tests are
designed to measure candidates' suitability for a role based on the required personality
characteristics and aptitude (or cognitive abilities). They identify the extent to which
candidates' personality and cognitive abilities match those required to perform the role.
Employers use the information collected from the psychometric test to identify the hidden
aspects of candidates that are difficult to extract from a face-to-face interview. Once the
Human Resources manager, or person/s in charge of hiring, ascertains that you have fulfilled
the initial requirements for the position by reviewing your resume, they will then send out a
letter with specific instructions for sitting the psychometric test. The prime objective of this
is to identify at an early stage those job applicants who are unlikely to fill the requirements
of the position on offer and consequently narrow the applications further. Some job
applicants believe that the psychometric test is not a good measure to assess their real
abilities, personality traits, and suitability for the job. However, the psychometric tests are
statistically examined, and are constructed to be objective and unbiased. This is done by
using standard methods of assessment so that everyone is presented with the same
questions and instructions for completing them. Psychometric tests are very reliable in
predicting candidates' performance, and in most cases the test report provides an accurate
evaluation of the applicant. However, this doesn't say that with a good preparation you can't
improve your suitability for a job. 5.6 MOCK INTERVIEW: 5.6.1 Definition: Mock Interview is
an imitation interviewing session of an actual interview, which can be conducted by anyone
who has little knowledge about the respective industry of candidate’s interest. The interview
tries to emulate an actual interview as closely as possible and aims to provide the candidate
with relevant experience. With such a session, the candidate can learn and react to
situations that are expected to happen during the real interview. Generally, these sessions
are videotaped, as the candidate is shown with the tape once the interview is completed.
Such interviews can be organized by career services for freshers, or by alumni, or even by
friends and relatives. 5.6.2 Importance of Mock Interview: The main focus of the mock
interview is to figure out self-knowledge, industry knowledge, behavioural competencies,
skills proficiency, and more such aspects of the candidate. It is an excellent tool to practice
for an interview for freshers, due to its worth even few experienced professionals prefer a
mock interview before they finally go for the genuine interview round. Mock interviews
present the candidates with a fair idea of things and elements that they are going to
experience during an actual interview round. Being a fresher, attending such an interview
program can provide you with more other benefits as follow: 5.6.3 Advantages of Mock
Interview: 1. Helps in reducing anxiety and stress related to the interview: Interview is
almost similar to an exam. And, the fear of answering unknown questions and meeting
unfamiliar faces, normally generate lots of stress. The mock interview offers you a great
opportunity to test your responses to such questions. You can even opt to hire skilled
interviewer if you wish to secure feedback that is precise yet friendly. If you have someone
experienced in the same industry in which you hold interest, then hiring him as an
interviewer can be really fruitful for you. 2. Greatly supportive in boosting candidate’s
confidence: The main aim of mock interviewers is to focus and highlight the candidate’s
strength. They also focus towards correcting the candidate’s weakness or weak points. As a
result to this, candidates get familiar with their strengths and skills and able to secure high
confidence level. They, therefore, perform well in their actual interview, keeping in
consideration the fails during the mock interview session. 3. Offers you with constructive
feedback in a friendly manner: No candidate is absolutely perfect, but a mock interview can
help you to comprehend suitable responses to vital questions and also work on your weak
areas. In a real interview, there is no feedback given for your interviewing, but the mock
interview can be your best opportunity to get prepared for your first ever job interview. If
you have given a couple of interviews previously, then such a session can help you
understand your flaws that are coming in between of your path to your dream job. 4.
Excellent way to get prepared for behavioural based interview sessions: Even if you are a
fresher, it might happen that the company outlines a behavioural based interview session
for you. Most of the time, company judge behavioural skills of a fresher through their body
language. So, as a fresher it becomes extremely vital that you learn the right way to behave
and react in an interview. Conducting a mock interview will also help you to learn basic
practices and ways that are expected by the interviewer during the actual round. 5.6.4 Some
Mock Interview Questions and Answers for Freshers: 1. How do you manage stress while you
are working? Or, have you ever handled a stressful situation? Answer. Stress is a vital
element on which most freshers are tested. It is because, most of the times, freshers are not
able to cope up with stress and, therefore, deliver unproductive results. So when you are
asked such a question, it is very much essential that you are prepared in advance for your
own, unique stress management techniques. A good answer can be, you speaking about
your any past experience during which you effectively managed stress and deliver same or
high productive end results. 2. Have you ever worked with a team or do you always prefer to
work alone? Answer. Being a fresher, you might not have got enough chances to work with a
team, but make sure you have at least one experience to share when you worked and
performed well with a team. It would be great if you were the team leader, but even if you
were a resourceful team member, then it will impress the interviewer. Make sure that you
portray to the interviewer that you are a good team player. You should also convey that you
are equally comfortable working with a team or working alone. 3. If the job requires
travelling to distant locations, then will you be able to manage it? Answer. Since you are a
fresher, so the possibility is that you will have fewer responsibilities to look after. For this
reason, the interviewer is always expecting a ‘YES’ to the answer for this question. In case
you are not willing to travel due to any personal reason, so it is better that you clear this out
during your interview session only. 4. Do you think you are a successful person? If yes, then
why, and if no, then also give us a reason? Answer. The answer to this question must always
be a positive one. You should always consider yourself successful, and this is what that the
interviewer is interested to listen. A good explanation for this can be your goals that you
have achieved. You can even talk about upcoming goals which you will achieve soon as you
are moving on the right track. It is because a person who is able to achieve his goal within his
assigned time frame is considered successful by others. 5. What major accomplishments did
you achieve during your course study program? Answer. Since you are a fresher, so
definitely you won’t possess any prior work experience. But surely you must have some
accomplishments from your course program to discuss with others. You can speak about any
successfully completed project or when you were being awarded for excel performance in a
specific field and more such events. It is because, the interviewer just want to have a