Utilizing Social Media

A good and interesting article.

Utilizing Social Media in a Small Business

by Leo Sun

Social media – led by Facebook and Twitter – has revolutionized the way we communicate with one another. Just as e-mails and instant messages changed social interactions in the 1990s, social media, combined with smartphones, tablets and netbooks, now makes communication instantaneous. Posting status updates, sharing photos and creating events has now become so simple that any other method seems archaic. As a small business owner, how can you utilize social media in your business, both within your business and as a tool for product promotion?

Within Your Company

We’ve all heard every employee’s nightmare – their boss “friending” them on Facebook. While everyone is entitled to their own carefully constructed online persona, you can request employees to connect to you via a limited profile, which blocks off their private photos and comments. If you manage to get all your co-workers connected via Facebook, creating a private group for your office can be a remarkably efficient and fun way to keep things organized. Here are some things you can do with a private work group in Facebook.

Schedule events

Use the Facebook group to “invite” people to meetings or events. You can include the agenda and details in the invitation or event details. Facebook’s events are conveniently organized into “Attending”, “Not Attending” and “Maybe”, so it is easy for everyone to see who else will be in attendance. Encourage your co-workers to also create social events within the group to boost company morale. Having a shared calendar on Facebook keeps everyone on the same page at all times.

Create a repository of shared documents

Upload meeting minutes, company policies, or important notes to a cloud-based documents storage service, such as Microsoft’s SkyDrive or Google’s Google Docs, and post the link in your Facebook group. Make sure everyone has access to these documents, and you will instantly cut down on lots of wasted time and paper.

Share important company updates and memos instantly

Facebook groups allow you to post messages on the group wall, which can serve as a bulletin board for all work-related (or non-work related) issues. In addition, members can also “tag” other members in “Notes” to insure that company memos are received instantly. No more post-its on people’s desks and monitors!

Use it as an instant company phone book

If your employees have their phone number or e-mail addresses visible in Facebook, creating a workplace Facebook group will also create an instantly shared employee phonebook, which can be invaluable for employees needing to get in touch with each other.

As a Promotional Tool

Big companies constantly tap into YouTube, Twitter and Facebook for free, viral advertising. Create a customer-based front-end on Facebook, with its “Business Page”, which can increase your company’s visibility for free. This page should contain basic information – contact numbers, addresses and websites, as well as recent product information. Note that this is not the internal Facebook group mentioned in the previous part.

If your company has dedicated online customer service representatives, they can also staff the Facebook page and answer questions in real time via Facebook chat. Here are some other ideas to increase the visibility of your Facebook page.

Take advantage of the “Like” button

Place it your company website as well as under your popular products. Encourage visitors to share your products with their Facebook friends. On your Facebook business page, offer raffles and rewards for group members whom join and “like” your page.

Keep updates frequent

Once members join your page, your updates will appear instantly in their news feeds, which will bring them back if you post an interesting product or discount. Many video game companies and movie studios post teasers on their Facebook pages, which in turn gets shared to an exponential amount of users.

Use Facebook and Twitter in unison

Linking both pages to each other can double your audience instantly by driving traffic both ways. A number of applications currently allow cross-posting across both platforms.

Make sure your Facebook and Twitter pages are clearly printed on your business card and other promotional items.

These are some simple ideas to help you get started in integrating your business into the fast-paced world of social media, both internally and externally.

English Comprehension - 1

My advice to readers would be to mark your answers first and then refer the answers. Comprehension passages in the competitive exams will be of these types.

English Comprehension – 1

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow in accordance with the context of the passage.

The eighteenth century saw the emergence of a number of radically different types of social theories which had one feature in common, an emphasis on spontaneous forms of social organization and a corresponding stress on the autonomy of the social sphere from political direction. Within this broad assumption, three distinct modes of theorizing developed. The first, embodied largely in contract, utilitarian and classical economic theories, sought to explain society in terms of individual intentions and w social coherence as emerging from the willingness of individuals to serve the needs of the others in order to satisfy their own. The second, taking shape in what might be called cultural sociology, derived social coherence from the shared values of a society, varying from community to community but in all constituting severe limits to political action. The third, expressed in various historicist philosophies, asserted the patterning of social development over time and the possibility of predicting as well as retrofitting this patterning, thus again setting bounds to political possibilities. The political uses f these varieties of social analysis have been complex, but again, broadly, the first has been identified with classical laissez faire liberalism, the second has been developed by and supported conservative thought of one kind or another, while the third has been peculiarly although not exclusively associated with Marxist socialism. Whatever their political applications, these theories have in common,  served the purpose of underlining the limited efficacy or even the positive disutility of political intervention in social arrangements, the marginal use of politics.   

I am concerned here with the first of these modes of theorizing, exchange theory. The central assumptions of exchange theory, necessarily postulates about individual psychology or motivation, have been egoism, the self-interest axiom and rationality – the capacity and inclination of men to choose appropriate means for the ends they have in mind. The central assertion of the theory has been that social cohesion may be achieved through (if men are egoistic and can be taught to be rational) or, is based on (if men are both egoistic and rational) the adaptation of individual actions to the needs of others  and to general social ends in the course of their pursuit of their own interests, and without any appeal to cohesive values other than those involved in the acceptance of common media of exchange. The central intellectual construct of the theory has been the notion of the market(or, as Hayek has called it, in order to free the term of its narrowly economic implications, a catallaxy), the notion of a spontaneous and self-adjusting order which emerges from the mutual exchange of benefits between self-interested individuals.    

The political requirement seen as necessary to sustain, such a catallaxy were minimal. One arose from the need to enforce agreements. Rational egoists in a world of rational egoists had to have some insurance against the excesses of egoism and some assurance therefore that promises and bargains would be enforced. The other problem demanding a political solution was the need to prevent monopoly and perhaps to stimulate competition, so as to maintain sufficient alternatives for the individual, either as supplier or demander meaningfully to measure opportunity costs. Another political problem that might seem to present itself – that different individuals carry different resources into the market – was ignored, or rather, it was ignored as a moral problem requiring perhaps a political solution, while it was explained as a social fact in exchange terms through the division of labour, inequality of capacities, demand differentials and thus exchange inequalities. The moral problem of inequality was avoided by insisting on the moral neutrality of the market and also on the claim that inequalities in the distribution of resources derived from exchange inequalities.

There have thus been two analytical thrusts in catallactics or exchange theory: firstly and primarily to explain and predict the behaviour of individuals or groups engaged in exchange within a given distribution of resources; secondly and secondarily to describe how differentials emerge, are maintained and may change, primarily through division of labour explanations. Used ideologically, as a justification of a particular type of political system or programme, the theory has claimed some moral superiority for the spontaneous order of a catallaxy over an order decided on politically and maintained by political power. One basis for such a claim has been utilitarian form, but most of the weight of justification has rested ion the supposed voluntary character of entry into and agreement within exchange relationships in contrast for example with the coercive character of power relationships. Bargains are freely arrived at, political obedience is essentially unfree; and thus the prima facie prferabiliy of the first is obvious.

1.    Utilitarian theory has been associated with

    

a)    Conservative thought                    b) Marxist socialism

c)    Historicist philosophies                d)  Laissez faire philosophy

2.    The central assumption of exchange theory is

a)    Social cohesion         b)  predicted patterning       c)  Self-interest axiom   

d)    positive disutility

 

3.    One of the most important assumptions of the exchange theory has been

 

a)    Rational egocentrism     b)  self-adjusting order   c)   laissez faire     

d)    moral non-neutrality

4.    Cultural sociology is associated with

a)    Willingness of individuals to serve the needs of others

b)    Patterning of social development

c)    Capacity of men to achieve their ends

d)    None of the above

 

5.    Under laissez faire, political interference was considered necessary in all the following cases except in case of

a)    Enforcing agreements    b) correcting exchange inequalities   c) preventing monopolies       d) maintaining competition

6.    The supposed superiority of the exchange theory primarily rested on the fact that

a)    It helped to predict individual behaviour fairly accurately

b)    The division of labour explanations offered by the theory were correct to a point

c)    The exchange relationships were entered into voluntarily

d)    It required minimal political interference

7.    The term “positive disutility” in the context (last sentence, para 1) means

a)    Violation of the principles of utilitarianism

b)    Dangerous inadequacy

c)    Abnormal excess

d)    Clearly harmful potential 

8.    Which of the following statements is true?

a)    Exchange theory is clearly morally superior, just and fair

b)    All social arrangements other than laissez faire leaned heavily on governmental intervention

c)    The marked similarity among the social theories emerging in the 18^th century was their aversion to the moral problem of inequality.

d)    Along with Marxism, there are other schools of thought which are associated with historicist thinking 

9.     Which of the following is not necessarily one of the psychological assumptions of the classical economic theory?

a)    Men are basically egoistic

b)    Men are motivated by self-interest

c)    Cohesive social values can be attained without any conscious effort to attain them

d)    Only egoistic men who are motivated by self-interest can act rationally.

Answers:

1.    (d)    2.   (c)    3.   (b)    4.  (d)      5.   (b)      6.   (c)    7.   (d)     8.   (d)      9.  (d)

 

--- x ---

 

Emotional Intelligence

A good article worth reading.

Emotional Intelligence and its Impact on Leadership

by Ryan May

Defined as the skills or ability necessary to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself, other people or entire groups, emotional intelligence is a concept that has become widely popular in management texts and related literature for its ability to enhance and capitalize on the human potential of an organization.

Seeking to support a leader’s cognitive, emotional and physical resources, the use of emotional intelligence is a modern tool of effective management, enabling the individual to manage a wide range of employees that are often performing in a unique set of roles. In addition, emotional and personal competencies are two primary factors that are shown to be directly linked to performance within a work environment, making their identification and analysis essential for effective management as well as the increased development of the organization’s human capital.

It Pay’s to be ‘Likeable’

In part, emotional intelligence is a response to the problems businesses face in the modern world. With tighter budgets, escalating costs and the continuous demand to produce more for less, there’s a need to develop a higher standard for leadership skills, ones that will effectively address the challenges of high employee turnover, a rapidly changing business environment and the ever-increasing demand for improved products and services. And at least in part, the solution to these problems is found in a leader who possesses technical knowledge as well as the social and emotional abilities that will enable them to meet and beat the afore mentioned challenges and maximize the human potential of their organization while achieving their own personal agenda.

Any organization at the forefront of its industry needs to retain the best employees to remain competitive. And if you take a look at the factors that contribute to the highest levels of creativity and effectiveness in the workplace within these types of businesses, you’ll find components of emotional intelligence 9 out of 10 times.

That’s because duration of employment is directly linked to an individual’s relationship with their immediate supervisor, with some figures reporting that only 11 percent of employees who rated their boss as ‘excellent’ would consider looking for a new job. This figure is in comparison to the 40 percent who would consider leaving after rating their boss ‘poor’.

Moving Up Requires More Than Just Technical Capability

Your skills can land you a great job but emotional intelligence is what enables you to keep it and, more importantly, get promoted and motivate those around you. In fact, some psychologists believe that emotional intelligence matters twice as much as both technical and analytic skills combined. And the higher the individual moves up within an organization, the more crucial emotional intelligence becomes – not really a surprise given the high degree of loyalty required to inspire people toward achieving an expansive, complex or long-term goal.

To climb the modern corporate ladder, a leader must be competent within their chosen field but also have a finely-tuned sense of emotional intelligence. Specifically, they are typically expected to be more positive, approachable, warm, empathetic and optimistic, traits many believe to be more important than traditional cognitive intelligence in the successful achievement of workplace goals. The reason for this may be due to the fact that a focus on emotional intelligence often includes the ability to contain any negative feelings and focus instead on a positive outcome – a capability that is vital for high-reaching leaders and executives.

A.A.A.D.D

A.A.A.D.D (Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder) Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder! This is how it manifests: I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing. As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier. I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car. I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full. So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first. But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first. I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left. My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking. I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over. The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water. I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning. I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers. I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen table. I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers. I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill. Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do. At the end of the day: The car isn't washed The bills aren't paid There is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter The flowers don't have enough water There is still only 1 check in my check book I can't find the remote I can't find my glasses I don't remember what I did with the car keys. Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day, and I'm really tired.  I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail.  Do me a favor. Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to. Don't laugh - if this isn't you yet, your day is coming! P.S : I don't remember who sent this to me. So, if it was you... ~~~

Aptitude Questions - 2

Aptitude Questions - 2

1.    Two boats are sailing in the sea on the two sides of a light house. The height of the light house is 100 meters. The angle of elevation to the top of the light house was observed by one boat as 30° and by the other boat as 45°. What is the distance between the two boats?

Answer: 273 meters.

                                                            A                                 Let B and D be the two

                                                                                                Boats and AC the Light

                                                                                                house. The height of AC

                                                is 100 meters. Angle

                                                                                                ABC is 30° and Angle

                        B                                 C                     D         ADC is 45°

Now we have two information, namely Sine angle ABC  = 30° = 100 / x  = 1 / 2. (where x is the length of AB)  Hence x = 200.

AB^2 = AC62 + BC^2           200^2 = 100^2 + x^2     x^2 = 200^2 – 100^2 = 30,000

X = √30,000 = 173.20 meters.

Similarly, Sine ADC = 45° = 100 / y =  1 / √2   Hence  y = 100 x √2  (where y is the length AD.    

Now,  we have   y^2 = 100^2 x 2 = 20000

Thus AD^2 = AC^2 + CD^2     ie    20000 = 10000 + CD^2.  CD^2  = 10000

CD = 100

Hence the distance between the two boats ie B and D is 173.20 + 100 = 273.20 meters or say 273 meters.

2.    A businessman has fixed the selling price of his goods at 30% over his cost price. He sells half of his goods at this price. One quarter of his goods he sells at a discount of 15% to this selling price and the remaining he sells at a discount of 30% to the selling  price. What is his percentage gain or loss in the transaction?

Answer: Gain 15.375%

Let us assume the trader had 100 articles purchased at a cost of Rs 100 each.

His total cost price is 100 * 100  =   10,000

50 of these he sells at Rs 130.00              Amount realised                  Rs 6500.00

25 of these he sells at Rs  110.50   

(after allowing discount of 15%)                Amount realised                   Rs 2762.50

Remaining 25 he sells at Rs 91.00

After allowing discount of 30%                  Amount realised                   Rs 2275.00

Total realization                                                           Rs 11537.50

Total cost of purchase                                                Rs 10000.00

Net gain                                                                       Rs    1537.50

Percentage of gain               15.375%             

3.    A train moves 50% faster than a car. Both starts from a place X at the same time and reach place Y, 75 km away at the same time. The train however loses 15 minutes due to stoppages at stations en-route. What is the speed of the car?

Answer: 100 kmph.

Let x be the speed of the car. Then time taken by the car to reach Y is 75 / x.

The speed of the train is 3x/2.  The time taken by the train to reach Y is (75 / 3x/2) – ¼ hour.

So we have an equation  75/x – 150/3x = ¼   Solving, we get x = 100 kmph.

4.    In a 50 over cricket match the run rate in the first 15 overs was only 4.2. What should be the run rate in the remaining overs to reach the target of 298 runs?

Answer: 6.7

Total runs in the first 15 overs          4.2 * 15 = 63

Remaining runs to reach the target                235

Remaining overs to achieve the target             35

Required run rate is   235 / 35  =  6.71 or say 6.7

5.    Atal bought an article and spent Rs 110 on its repair and sold the same to Behari at a profit of 20%. Behari sold it to Chauhan at a loss of 10%. Chauhan finally sold the article for Rs 1188 making a profit of 10% in the deal. At what price did Atal purchase the article?

Answer: Rs 890

For Chauhan:   If the cost price was 100 with the profit of 10% the sale price was 110%. He sold the article for Rs 1188.

Hence Chauhan’s purchase price was    1188 * 100/110  =  1080.

 For Behari: He sold the article for 10% loss. His sale price is Chauhan’s purchase price ie 1080.

Hence, Behari’s purchase price was 1080 * 100 / 90 = 1200

For Atal: He sold the article for 20% profit. Behari’s purchase price is Atal’s Sale price ie 1200.

Atal’ purchase price inclusive of repair charges was 1200 * 100 / 120 = 1000

Excluding the repair charges of 110, the purchase price of the article for Atal was Rs 890.00

                                                            --- x ---