How are you doing?  Here I found very good article regarding managing finance during slowdown. I hope it this will help you in to manage future decade for your career and finances. Also, Let’s hope Indian economy will continue performing good and survive with global economy crisis.

We’ve learnt our lessons the hard way. But rather than wait for the next
recession blow, one can play it safe.   Sanjeev Sinha  ( The Economic Times)

10 points that can equip you to deal with similar situations

THE OVERALL impact of the financial meltdown, which is certainly huge, is
now evident across the world. Particularly, the pain of job losses and drop
in savings is being felt everywhere. This, in turn, has instilled a sense of
fear and cynicism in the minds of investors globally. Still, while we are
making vast efforts to extricate ourselves from the current crisis, little
effort is being made to prevent the next one. Rather than wait, however,
there are many things which can be done now to avoid another crisis, or at
least cushion the blow when it comes. Listed below are 10 personal finance
lessons we can and should learn from the meltdown:

CONTROL EXPENSES & STICK TO THE BUDGET

You are more likely to face financial problems, if you have been extravagant
in your expenses. However, in a bid to tide over the current crisis and also
avoid such crises in future, you need to adhere to some financial
disciplines, and making a budget and sticking to it is one of them. Sticking
to the discretionary budgets, in fact, can help you handle the uncertainty
in the non-discretionary expenses.

DON’T COUNT ON TOMORROW’S INCOME

Counting on tomorrow’s income to spend today is one of our greatest
mistakes, which has already been proved by the current crisis. In fact, up
until the financial meltdown hit us, the spending levels of individuals,
especially in the 25-35-year age group, have been almost equal to their
income, if not more. “With the easilyavailable loans and credit cards they
were tempted to indulge even without being able to afford the expense. Now
with pay cuts and job losses, they are facing the worse. However, even if
you keep your job now, the prevalence of pay cuts makes it clear that you
can’t count on an ever-expanding paycheck to make up for your spending,”
says Lovaii Navlakhi, managing director & chief financial planner of
International Money Matters.

MAINTAIN LOW DEBT

Prioritise your debts. Pay off your loans with the highest interest rate
first. Basic advice, right? “The problem is that people have been
reiterating this theory for years, but most do not put it into practice.
This step requires one to plan out one’s debts and then follow through by
reducing it regularly and systematically. True, paying off debt can be a
difficult task, but it can also be quite rewarding as it gives you peace of
mind,” says Navlakhi.

GO FOR STRATEGIC ASSET ALLOCATION

Time and again we will hear from the so-called experts that there is a
paradigm shift in the market dynamics and that investors need to revise
asset allocations more aggressively to meet the impending demands of their
future lifestyles. “But one should strictly avoid falling for such traps.
Though temporarily the portfolio may appear underperforming, sticking to
fundamentals of strategic asset allocation would always help investors come
out of such temporary market mishaps,” says Ramesh Patibanda, director -
financial planning, Advice America, world’s leading provider of financial
advisor software solutions.

HAVE EMERGENCY FUND IN PORTFOLIO

Having an emergency fund in your portfolio is an ideal way to tide over a
family crisis or meet unexpected expenses. Therefore, the need for
maintaining emergency funds has always been emphasized by our forefathers.
“Even standard financial principles suggest that you should keep aside cash
to cover three to six months of living expenses, which would also be able to
cover most emergency expenses. Your emergency funds can also come handy in
case of a job loss,” says Ashish Kapur, CEO of Invest Shoppe.

ORGANISE YOUR FINANCES

To those who are not used to monitoring and managing their finances closely,
this may sound like a lot of work. But once you get a system in place, it
should only take a bi-monthly monitoring to stay on top of everything.
Ensure that you maintain sufficient liquid funds for emergencies. Also,
monitor your loans and ensure that you make credit card payments before the
due date.

LEARN TO PLAN AHEAD

It’s no secret that poor planning contributed to why so many people are
currently in weak financial situations. However, don’t panic. Figure out
where you are, where you want to be and put in place a realistic plan for
getting there. Unique circumstances will come up and cause you to stray from
your plans temporarily, but structure is necessary in order to monitor your
progress and stay focused.

INVEST SLOWLY & SYSTEMATICALLY

The problem for many people is that they live month to month and don’t
develop healthy saving habits until they are in their thirties or forties.
“Contributions to a savings plan should be recognised as the first of your
necessary monthly expenses, so that money saved will never be thought of as
money that can be spent. Even if you start saving in small amounts now, you
can always increase in the future,” says Navlakhi.

TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR INVESTMENTS

The worst thing you can do in a slow economy? Panic and pull all of your
money out of your investments! Therefore, resolve to protect your finances
as the market storm rages on. Take this time to build up your emergency
fund, and set reminders to regularly review your portfolio’s asset
allocation. “Try to align the same with your mid-term and long-term goals.
Do not get distracted by the usual city traffic jams when your final
destination is miles away,” advises Atul Surana, certified financial
planner, Catalyst Financial Planning.

HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

There’s nothing wrong with hoping for the ‘best’ from your investments, but
you could be heading for trouble if your financial goals are based on
unrealistic assumptions. Therefore, when Warren Buffett says that earning
more than 12% in stock is pure dumb luck and you laugh at it, you’re surely
in for trouble!

Source: Economic Times, Sunday, 28 June 2009

//

Interpersonal conflicts occur from time to time in every organization. If left unresolved, they can result in lower productivity, employee turnover, morale problems and sometimes lawsuits. Early intervention and clear communication are two key factors in addressing interpersonal conflicts. It is also important to acknowledge emotional issues surrounding the conflict and to ensure that the way work duties are organized is not contributing to the problem.  

Any official city actions (e.g., discipline) must be based on the work-related behavior of the employees involved in the conflict, not on the thoughts, beliefs or feelings that they express. Generally, the best results are obtained when a solution is negotiated with all of the parties involved, rather than dictated from the top-down. Unfortunately, some conflicts cannot be resolved and in those cases, the goal may be to minimize the city’s liability and any other “fallout” from the conflict.

 Why get involved?

Interpersonal conflict is involved to one degree or another with almost every type of employment claim or grievance. Even if there is no formal complaint, it can result in lower productivity, employee turnover, and morale issues (gossip, backstabbing, e-mail wars, physical altercations, competing “camps” of employees). In some situations, interpersonal conflict has resulted in the loss of key employees. Interpersonal conflict is also sometimes associated with absenteeism, workers’ compensation claims, and group health insurance costs. Employees who are involved in an interpersonal conflict may take “mental health” days off, be more likely to get injured at work, become clinically depressed or develop stress-related medical issues.

Why are people unable to constructively resolve conflict between them?

There are many reasons why conflicts don’t get resolved immediately:

1. Incompatible interests (e.g. both parties want the same job assignment).

2. A fundamental difference in values or a fundamental disagreement about “how” to resolve the conflict (“I’m the boss; therefore, I win.”).

3. Different versions of the “truth” about the cause of the initial conflict (“You stole that job assignment from me” vs. “You dropped the ball on that assignment.”)

4. Both parties are too angry to speak constructively to each other.

5. One or both parties deny responsibility for the conflict and expect a higher authority to resolve it by telling the other party he or she was wrong.

6. Different views or desires about the nature of their relationship (e.g., “We’re basically ‘equals’.” vs. “I’m the boss.”)

Resolving Conflict/Solving the Problem

How to resolve the conflict depends to some extent on your role. If you are in a position of authority (City Administrator or elected official), it may be your responsibility to make sure conflicts are resolved so employees can get their work done. A co-worker who really isn’t involved in the conflict may have little or no role. Regardless of your role, there are some basic methods and ideas that are common to most conflicts:

1. Acknowledge the emotions of the parties involved and address their fears. If a conflict

occurs between the City Clerk and the Deputy Clerk over duties, there may be some

emotional baggage that needs to be addressed. The Clerk may fear the Council is thinking

about forcing him out and giving the job to the Deputy Clerk. In this case, the Council

may need to find a way to address the Clerk’s fear of losing his job before they can

resolve the conflict.

2. Communicate Clearly. Sometimes conflicts can be alleviated by clear communication.

Consider a situation where the City Council doesn’t feel that the Administrator is keeping

them informed and the Administrator feels the Council is micro-managing. Clear

communication about the expectations of both parties is crucial to resolving this type of

conflict. Holding annual performance evaluations and quarterly “check-in” sessions

provides scheduled opportunities for communication and may help resolve or avoid the

conflict.

3. Take Action Based on Behavior. In all conflicts, there is a great temptation to react to the

emotional component of the conflict. However, it is important that any official actions

taken by the city or its supervisors are based on behavior. An organization cannot control

what people think and feel; it can only control what they do. If one employee states that

he really dislikes a coworker, the city should probably not take action based on that

statement alone. On the other hand, if the employee refuses to talk to the co-worker even

when it is necessary to get job assignments completed, then the city can take action based

on the refusal to communicate on work-related matters.

4. Intervene Early. It is a very human tendency to want to minimize and ignore conflicts.

However, this sometimes allows a conflict to fester and grow until it becomes

unmanageable. As a guideline, it is better to address a small conflict directly and

immediately.

5. Organize the Workflow. While overlap of duties and cross-training is generally good for

the organization, it may not feel good or “comfortable” for the individual. Most of us feel

secure when we have job duties that are unique to our position; this makes us feel

“needed” by the organization. When others are given overlapping assignments or crosstrained in our jobs, we feel less secure and more expendable. Analyzing workflow and duties to determine ways to address “security needs” vs. the needs of the organization for back-up and cross-training may alleviate the source of some conflicts. Another related issue is unclear reporting structures. An employee who has to keep more than one boss happy is likely to run into conflicts when the bosses disagree with each other. This type of supervision is generally challenging and should probably be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

6. Negotiate Solutions. Basically there are three ways to resolve a conflict:

a. Compromise;

b. Win/Lose; or

c. Win/Win.

While it is sometimes necessary to use the first two methods, the third method is the only

one that meets the needs of both parties. There are several ways to employ the third

method (i.e., find a mutually acceptable solution):

• Expand the Pie. Find ways to create more of the resource that the parties are fighting over.

For example, if two employees are having a conflict because both want to use the same

funding to attend a conference, one way to resolve the conflict is to “expand the pie” by

finding additional funds so both can attend.

• Compensation. Find a way to compensate one of the parties for yielding on an issue. In the above conference-funding example, perhaps the employee who “yields” and lets the other employee attend the conference gets to attend their conference in the next fiscal year.

• Goodwill-Building. Each side concedes on issues of lesser importance to build goodwill, trust and agreement. In any conflict, there are usually a few issues of central importance and a few “kitchen sink” types of issues. If the two parties can find agreement on the smaller issues, it can build the foundation for agreement on the central issues. This can work well in negotiating a labor contract. For example, if health insurance contribution is a big source of disagreement, the two sides may be able to agree on smaller issues in order to build trust and goodwill. This may make it easier to tackle the health insurance contribution issue later.

• Bridging. Create new options that satisfy critical underlying interests/needs. Consider a

Councilmember who is at odds with the City Clerk. In this situation, the underlying issue

may be the Councilmember’s need for more information than the Clerk has been providing.

The conflict may be resolved by requiring the Clerk to provide weekly updates to the City Council on various aspects of the city’s management.

What if we’ve tried everything?

Some conflicts cannot be resolved or at least cannot be resolved given the amount of time, money or effort the city can afford to expend. In this case, the focus may switch from resolving the conflict to minimizing liability or other issues. If two employees cannot seem to work together despite the city’s best efforts, the city may decide to establish “ground rules” for the employees’ behavior towards each other and then closely supervise the interactions between the two employees to enforce those ground rules. Or, the city may rearrange work duties and assignments to minimize the interaction of the two employees. These “work-arounds” are not ideal and usually will not solve the problem in the long term, but at times may be the only realistic option available to the city. Sometimes, the only answer to an interpersonal conflict involves removing one party from the workplace. Determining how to do this and when it is appropriate probably should not be attempted without substantial legal advice and input.

source : www.lmcit.lmnc.org

 Identify the type of the conflict – this first step is very important because each type of conflict (interpersonal conflicts, intergroup conflicts, interest conflicts, value conflicts, relationship conflicts, emotional conflicts) needs a certain strategy.

 Be aware of the aggressive responses and their consequences, also of the alternatives – aggressiveness generates just aggressiveness, only finding out alternative ways to react to the violence you can stop the boomerang effects of the violence.

 Face up the conflict rather than avoid it – you have to be aware of the negative consequences such as irritability, tension and the persistence of the problems, if you avoid the conflict.

  Respect yourself and your interests, but also the other and his interests – everyone must have a positive self-image and the proper respect so the insights on the conflict to be realistic. The approach based on respect always eliminates inappropriate tactics.

Accept and understand cultural differences – people around you are from various cultures which imply different ways of thinking, dressing, beliefs and values. So something that is obvious and right to some of us could be otherwise for other ones.

 Make the difference between interests and “taking stands” – the positions of some people could be opposite even if their interests are not. For example, two people want the same object but each one is interested on some part or advantage of it.

 Explore personal and other’s interests to identify common ideas and compatibilities – when you analyze not only your but also other’s attitudes, it increases the empathy between you and the probability to find out a solution to the problem.

 Consider conflict interests as a mutual problem that can be solved by cooperation – if you can’t identify a way to the mutual gain, at least set up some rules for the mutual understanding.

 Communicate and listen to the other – try to put yourself in his position, efficient communication is an important element for finding a constructive solution. Active listening has to be the primary and only behavior in a conflict because it helps to find out other’s opinion.

 Be careful to elements like subjectivity, subjective perception of reality, thinking stereotypes present in a conflict – generally, subjective perceptions and judgments make hard to reach the empathy. Further on, there is an obvious tendency to assign aggressive intentions to the other.

Psychologist, Nicoleta Cramaruc