vishwa nath

Contrary to what you may believe, you can improve your personality.

The "personality" is the typical pattern of thinking, feeling, and behaviors that make a person unique.

When we say that someone has a "good personality" we mean that they are likeable, interesting and pleasant to be with.

Everyone wants to be attractive to others. Having a good personality helps - probably even more so than good looks.

While we can improve our looks to only a certain extent, we can work on improving the personality as much as we want.

Here are some ways in which we can accomplish this:

Be a better listener.
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was considered one of the most charming women in the world because she cultivated the skill of being an exceptional listener. She was known for the way she would look a person in the eyes, hang on their every word, and make them feel important. There is nothing more appealing than having someone listen to you intently making you feel like you're the only person in the world.

Read more and expand your interests.
The more you read and cultivate new interests, the more interesting you are to others. When you meet new people it gives you the opportunity to share what you know and to exchange your views with them.

Be a good conversationalist.
This relates to how much you read and know. Once you have much to contribute, learn how to talk about it with others. No one can read about or know everything, so it's refreshing to learn from others those things we don't have the time to about read ourselves. If you happen to be shy, join a group like Toastmasters that encourages you to talk about what you know.

Have an Opinion.
There is nothing more tiresome than trying to talk to someone who has no opinion on anything. A conversation has nowhere to go if you have nothing to expound on. If, however, you have an uncommon point of view or differing opinion, you are more interesting and stimulating to be in the company of (unless you're a know-it-all, of course). A unique outlook expands everyone's perspective.

Meet New People.
Make the effort to meet new people especially those unlike you. It not only exposes you to different cultures and alternative ways of doing things, it broadens your horizons.

Be yourself.
The next most tiresome thing after having no opinions is trying to be something you're not. Molding yourself in order to fit in, or be accepted, usually backfires. Since each of us is unique, expressing that uniqueness is what makes us interesting. Attempting to be a carbon copy of someone else not only falls flat, but reveals a lack of authenticity.

Have a positive outlook and attitude.
Who wants to be around people who are negative, complain a lot, or have nothing good to say? In fact, most of us run when we see them coming. Instead, be the kind of upbeat person who lights up a room with your energy when you enter it. Do it by looking for the best in people and things. Smile warmly, spread good cheer, and enliven others with your presence.

Be fun and see the humorous side of life.
Everyone enjoys the company of someone who makes them laugh or smile. Look for the humorous or quirky side in a situation - there always is one. When you are fun and lighthearted people are naturally attracted to you.

Be supportive of others.
Being supportive is probably the most endearing quality you can integrate into your personality. Just as you yourself welcome it, be the support for others when they need it. We all love a cheerleader in our corner; someone who is encouraging, believes in us and helps pick us up when we're down.

Have Integrity and treat people with respect.
Being honest and true to your word will bring you the admiration, respect and gratitude of others. Nothing improves a person's personality more than integrity and respect - respect for others, as well as respect for yourself.
We humans have the power and ability to shape our personalities however we wish. When we develop ourselves to be all that we can be, we contribute to our own, as well as, to the happiness of others.

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How to attend a interview

Thursday, June 10, 2010 8:14:56 AM

1. Research the company on the internet, understand their financial stability, key office holders, mission statement, and viewpoints on their product or services. Bring along to interview with highlighted elements for questions at a later time.

2. Be sure your resume is up-to-date and current with contact details and current career status.

3. Decide the corporate culture, and dress appropriately for the interview. A suit (navy or charcoal preferred,whether male or female) should be the outfit of choice. Shined shoes, manicure (male or female, $10.00 at most nail salons), hair should be up if below shoulders and styled appropriately if above.

4. Take a pen and paper in a portfolio for note taking and follow-up. Ask questions. Do not be a sitting duck, the interview should be a dialogue.

5. You are under observation, have a great handshake, stand tall, eye contact, smile, and speak clearly and confidently. Confidence is very important. Know yourself, do not stumble when questioned about your background. Be professional.

I hope these simple reminders are the start to a wonderful finish (getting the job!). Good luck! Denise Anne Taylor

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How to improve self confidence

Thursday, June 10, 2010 7:59:12 AM

1. Work on your body language.

We've all been at places where someone quite ordinary strides into a room, makes eye contact and starts impressing the socks off everybody. Or where you think somebody's at least 6 feet tall because of their bearing and the way they carry themselves and then later you realize they're quite average.

Like it or not - first impressions do count. So stand tall and practise good posture. Imagine that you're being pulled by a string going all the way from your toes to the top of your head. And whenever you enter a room, don't walk in almost apologetically. Stride in, make eye contact and be the first to introduce yourself.

2. Get involved in a physical activity - walking, swimming, etc.

Any physical exercise like walking, running, dancing, etc. will make you feel better about yourself. Firstly, exercising releases all those good hormones and then your body image will improve the fitter you get.

3. Wear clothes that fit you correctly.

In the past, I've made the mistake of trying to disguise my body flaws by wearing baggy clothes. Have you? The truth is that wearing ill-fitting clothes only serves to accentuate the very areas you're trying to cover up. Those big, baggy T-shirts don't do any favours for most women. In fact, they make you look even bigger.

Sometimes we squeeze ourselves into a pair of jeans (in the correct size) but they look terrible because of the cut. It is much better to buy a larger size and be comfortable. It's the fit not the size that matters.

4. Be kind to yourself.

Think about the things you tell yourself when you make a mistake. Would you say those same things to your friends? Probably not. When we make mistakes, we are often very hard on ourselves. Yet we treat other people much, much better. Next time this happens, stop and start talking to yourself as you would talk to a friend.

5. Remind yourself often of your good qualities.

Do you know what your best qualities are? Are you kind and compassionate? Do you treat people fairly? Are you a friendly person? Do you like to help people?

Make a list of at least five good qualities and remind yourself of them daily, but especially when you're having a bad day.

6. Don't dwell on your past mistakes.

Recognise that the mistake does not define who you are. You can fail an exam without being a failure. Your relationship might have gone off in the ditch but that does not mean you are a failure.

Keep things in perspective. It just means that you failed the exam or that the relationship failed.

7. Surround yourself with supportive people.

The last thing you need when you feel down or less-than-fabulous is to be surrounded by naysayers and negative people telling you that "all men suck" or "it's impossible to get that job you're after".

Choose carefully who you share your heart with and surround yourself with people who will encourage and motivate people. If you don't have many of those in your life, then contact me and I will be your cheerleader!

8. Keep learning new skills

Aside from keeping your mind sharp (and preventing Alzheimer's), be a life-long learner. I'm not necessarily talking about formal education.

What's stopping you from learning a new language, taking a dance class, learning some new computer skills, taking up blogging, etc. Learning will improve your confidence by leaps and bounds.

9. Take the time to reach out to other people through community programmes, etc.

If ever you feel down, there's no better upper than helping other people. Volunteer your services at a children's orphanage or an old aged home.

My challenge to you is this - next time you eat out at a restaurant, instead of sending half your meal back to the kitchen, get a doggie bag and give it to the beggar on the nearest corner. His appreciation will melt the hardest of hearts.

10. Learn to stand up for yourself

Your soul dies a tiny little bit every time you keep quiet when you should speak up for yourself. Being a doormat is not attractive and will get you nowhere in the long run.

If haven't had much practice before, start with small things. Insist on low-fat milk in your coffee. Return the milk that went sour before the due date. Write a letter of complain if you get bad customer service. And only when you're feeling more confident, then tackle bigger issues like speaking to your boss about overloading you with work or your friends about relationship issues.

Learn to say no. It's not a swear word - I promise.

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corporate fraud

Monday, October 19, 2009 9:57:18 AM

The history of corporate fraud is banal

Recent history is replete with examples of corporate fraud, with little to tell them apart. Each instance has a new set of victims – who else, but the investors.

Here’s a look at some of the corporate fraud that stole headlines in the past decade.

Comverse Technology

In 2006, Comverse's founder and former Chairman and CEO, Jacob "Kobi" Alexander and two other former executives, former chief financial officer David Kreinberg and lawyer William Sorin reported manipulated stock options for their personal gain and operated slush funds. As part of the scheme, the former executives misguided investors about New York-based Comverse's stock option grants. The result, Comverse, a maker of software, systems and related services for multimedia communication and information processing applications overstated its net income and earnings per share between 1991 and at least 2002.

The three former executives allegedly earned millions of dollars and face multiple charges of conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering and making false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Back dating of stock options is reported to have victimised Comverse shareholders and prospective investors.

Alexander, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Namibia in September 2006. He is free on bail while the US awaits his extradition to try him on account of 35 criminal counts related to securities fraud, including stock-option backdating. Alexander reportedly plans to plead “not guilty'' to these charges. He recently won a Namibian court bid to postpone an extradition hearing until March 4, 2009.

Siemens
In 2006, Reinhard Siekaczek, a former senior manager of the German group Siemens received a two-year suspended prison sentence and was fined $128,349 for creating slush funds and companies to acquire contracts abroad.

Siemens accepted that the scandal involved nearly $1.8 billion described as unclear payments. Siekaczek admitted to his crime and told the court that although he tried to stop the organised bribery, top managers did not take action. The judge said it was not clear whether those executives were also involved or had received the payments.

Heinrich von Pierer, the former chairman, and Klaus Kleinfeld, who took office as chief executive, lost their jobs following the scandal, which surfaced in November 2006. However, they denied any involvement and were not charged with any misappropriation.

Computer Associates
In 2004, Sanjay Kumar, former CEO of Computer Associates was found guilty of being part of a $2.2 billion accounting scandal. He was tried for charges including conspiracy, securities fraud and hindering justice.

Kumar was accused of developing a company practice called the "35-day month", in which the sales people were asked to complete the deals after the quarter and take out the timestamp from papers. This was done with the intention of inflating the company's software sales figures to meet analyst expectations. According to charges against Kumar, he also encouraged the company’s employees to misinform the prosecutors and the SEC lawyers when the government began the investigations in 2002.

Kumar was sentenced to 12 years and was fined $8 million for false reporting software licence revenues and for lying to investors. Five other former executives of the company also pleaded guilty to charges of fraud. Computer Associates entered into a deal between Computer Associates and government investigators to protect the company against prosecution.

WorldCom

The former CEO of WorldCom, Bernard Ebbers, was found guilty of the $11 billion scam that led to the fall of the company in 2002. This is considered the biggest corporate fraud and bankruptcy in the history of the US.

Ebbers was blamed for being over-enthusiastic about maintaining the company’s share price high. According to the US government, Ebbers instructed chief financial officer Scott Sullivan to conceal billions of dollars in unmanageable expenses and recognize illegal revenue from 2000 to mid-2002.

Ebbers faces charges of securities fraud, conspiracy and charges of making false filings to the SEC, which can bring imprisonment of up to 85 years.

According to a KPMG survey, India Fraud Survey 2008, the trend of corporate fraud and misconduct is likely to continue.

The respondents of the survey believed that the maximum potential of committing fraud existed within the organizations including the senior management and the employees. According to the survey, the inherent responsibilities and trust associated with senior positions, ability to override internal controls, internal knowledge and access to confidential company information that came with managerial position created a risk that of fraud. The survey found that the most prevalent form of theft would be IP or frauds related to e-commerce and IT.

These events in history show a deceitful tendency spurred by excessive pressure to meet "analyst expectations". The question is whether the Satyam episode will make other executives focus on productivity rather than resorting to such malpractices, or whether stringent regulations are required to protect investors. all

Recently satyam Fraud

Here is the letter written by Mr. Raaju

Following is the text of the letter Raju wrote to the Satyam board:

"It is with deep regret and tremendous burden that I am carrying on my conscience, that I would like to bring the following facts to your notice:

1. The Balance Sheet carries as of September 30, 2008,

a) Inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances of Rs 5,040 crore (as against Rs 5,361 crore reflected in the books);

b) An accrued interest of Rs 376 crore, which is non-existent

c) An understated liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of funds arranged by me;

d) An overstated debtors' position of Rs 490 crore (as against Rs 2,651 reflected in the books);

2. For the September quarter(Q2) we reported a revenue of Rs 2,700 crore and an operating margin of Rs 649 crore(24 per cent of revenue) as against the actual revenues of Rs 2,112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs 61 crore (3 per cent of revenues). This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up by Rs 588 crore in Q2 alone.

The gap in the balance sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance).

What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years.

It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of the company operations grew significantly (annualised revenue run rate of Rs 11,276 crore in the September quarter, 2008, and official reserves of Rs 8,392 crore).

The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify a higher level of operations thereby significantly increasing the costs.

Every attempt made to eliminate the gap failed. As the promoters held a small percentage of equity, the concern was that poor performance would result in the takeover, thereby exposing the gap. It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten.

The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas' investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and a strategic fit.

One Satyam's problem was solved, it was hoped that Maytas' payments can be delayed. But that was not to be. What followed in the last several days...