Addicted Articles

Weight Gain Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:34:00 -0800

In today's health conscious world, it would be hard to find people searching for weight gain powders and supplements, however, there are many who rely on these products. Our lifestyle has evolved and changed leaps and bounds leading to changes in the diet plans and related health problems like vitamin deficiencies. Not only for general weight gain, but these weight gain powders are used over and over by weightlifters and bodybuilders as a part of their workout regime.

When one thinks of a weight gain powder, it should be such so as to provide adequate and satisfactory amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and mainly fats which would result in weight gain. The main principle involved here is weight gain through muscle mass and not body mass. A proper diet supplemented with weight gain powders helps preserve the body mass and not the fats. So let's get into the details of some best weight gain powders and see how effective they have been.

Best Weight Gain Powder
Most of these weight gain powders are precisely made up of protein weight gain supplements like the whey proteins or casein proteins and sometimes, mixture of both along with creatine monohydrate, glutamic acid and maltodextrin as other supplements. Whey protein powders have been seemingly popular due to their faster absorption rate in the body tissues and thus being highly effective for gaining weight in a shorter time span. On the other hand, casein requires longer time to get well absorbed in the body. The protein absorption is different for different individuals and the efficiency of each can be termed as the biological value (BV). In plain words, higher the biological value, faster the absorption of proteins and the resultant weight gain. An alternative to this would be animal protein powders or cooked animal proteins which are amongst the richest sources of proteins which help weight gain. The best weight gain powder fat content should be low though since too much of it is not advisable. Let's take a look at the table depicted below to understand the biological values of these protein powder forms.

Neck Pain and Headaches

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 22:28:00 -0800

Neck pain, in itself, can cause a lot of discomfort. When it is accompanied by headache, then it becomes quite unmanageable. Stiffness and heaviness can be felt in the entire neck area and it makes neck and head movements very difficult. Its intensity often varies from mild to severe, and it may last for just a few hours or may continue for some weeks. If neck pain and headaches bother you persistently, then it can disrupt your normal life activities. You cannot focus on your work at hand.

Neck Pain and Headaches: Causes

The most common cause has been found to be strain or sprain in the neck muscles. These muscles are attached to the base of the skull. As a result, pain in these muscles often get referred to the head and causes headache. The neck muscles have high mobility and they do not get rest throughout the day. So, they suffer strain due to overuse. Injuries may occur during twists and turns of the neck. Traumatic injuries to the head or neck can lead to stiff neck and headache.

If you experience headache and neck pain together, after working for long hours in front of computer, then it is associated with poor posture while sitting. Sleeping in a wrong position can also cause this problem. Mental stress may tense up the muscles in the neck area and give you a headache. It can be a symptom of a serious infectious disease named meningitis. However, in that case, it is accompanied by fever and you will be unable to touch the chest with your chin. Those who are dealing with sinusitis often complain about sore neck and headache. A herniated disc in the cervical spine can exert pressure on the surrounding soft tissues, resulting in chronic neck pain and headaches. Neck arthritis, migraine and fibromyalgia can be other causes of headaches and neck pain.

Neck Pain and Headaches: Treatment

When there is constant headaches and neck pain, then its cause is first diagnosed with the help of laboratory tests like x-rays, MRI, CT scan, etc. Any kind of muscle injury is treated with the help of anti-inflammatory medicines which can bring down the inflammation and ease off the pain. Other suitable medicines are also prescribed for headache cure. Application of ice on the neck can provide a soothing relief from the painful symptoms. A gentle massage of the neck muscles also proves to be useful.

However, pain relieving medicines cannot be taken for a long time as they have adverse side effects on your health. So, as soon as the pain subsides a bit, doctors recommend some neck pain exercises. Such exercises are effective, not just for neck pain but also for headache. There are two different types of neck pain and headaches exercises. One of them is stretching exercises and the other one is the muscle toning exercises. Bend the head on any one side and hold the position for a few seconds. Then repeat the same on the other side. This will stretch the neck muscles and release the stiffness. Rotating the head slowly, from one side to another in clockwise and anti-clockwise direction, is a simple exercise that can add strength and flexibility to the neck muscles.

In cases where there is an indication of some underlying health problems, then that has to be treated properly, in order to get relief from neck pain and headache. Sinus infection needs to be treated with antibiotics, decongestants and antihistamines. Meningitis is a serious disease and it requires immediate medical intervention.

Neck pain and headaches is one such problem that you should never neglect, in order to avoid any future complications. It can be prevented, to a large extent, by maintaining good posture while sitting, standing or sleeping and leading a healthy stress free life.

Stop a Migraine Headache With Stress Reduction Techniques

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:47:00 -0700

Stress can be a big contributing factor to migraine headache conditions. By decreasing stress migraine headache relief or prevention can often be achieved. Discover a handful of useful stress reduction techniques that can help reduce the frequency or severity of your headache symptoms.

Migraine headache pain can thoroughly disrupt a person's life. Along with terrible headache pain they can additionally involve nausea, vomiting, neck pain, light sensitivity (photophobia), visual instability, vertigo, diarrhea, speech troubles, and lots of other unpleasant conditions.

Fortunately, there are lots of good natural therapy methods available that can frequently be more successful than doctor-prescribed or over-the-counter pain relieving medications. One of the greatest methods to alleviate or end the pain is utilizing stress reduction approaches.

Stress is considered one of the most typical triggers of migraine headache pain in addition to being a critical factor concerning a large number of other health disorders. This makes alleviating stress an essential factor in eliminating pain and improving health. Most professionals concur that migraine headache victims don't cope as well in nerve-racking situations as other folks.

Every person experiences stress and anxiety at some point in their lifetime. As soon as a nerve-racking event occurs we immediately create chemical substances that are supposed to help us cope to the condition. Our body's reaction will most likely dilate the blood vessels encircling our brain which can result in a migraine attack. Mental stress and anxiety can build up gradually or materialize unexpectedly. Stress-related chronic migraine attacks are generally triggered by problems such as occupational pressure, relationship spats, health troubles, pregnancy, money issues, and numerous other troubles.

When searching for temporary pain relief countless folks consider pain relieving medications. Additional kinds of treatment, such as a variety of stress management techniques, are intended for long term help. Knowing that constant stress is a major contributing cause of migraine attacks can help a migraine headache sufferer discover useful methods to treat their condition.

Developing good sleeping habits is a great technique to relieve stress since research has proven that folks with bad sleeping habits become more stressed. Along with improving sleep, you can find a large number of other methods to relieve stress and anxiety. Taking a catnap, getting regular exercise, and hopping into a warm bath are all easy strategies for decreasing stress and tension. It should be noted that working out during a migraine episode will make the headache and other symptoms worse, so this should be avoided.

Another strategy to lessen stress is through massage. Gently rub painful areas, in particular the temples, neck muscles, and facial area, using the pads of your first two fingers in a smooth circular movement. Making use of a cold compress to the back of the neck can decrease the amount of blood flow to the head which can lessen pressure and stress.

Additional techniques for lessening stress might necessitate modifications in an individual's customary routine. These may consist of asking other individuals for help in demanding situations, sustaining emotionally supporting family relationships, avoiding the source of tension, educating yourself on the best way to remain calm and cool during upsetting conditions, eating more healthy foods, and working out daily.

If getting migraine headache relief is the aim, you'll find lots of methods to succeed through stress reduction strategies. By paying close attention to tense situations and changing several of your habits, it's possible for you to decrease the intensity and frequency of your migraine headaches.

Find out more concerning safe and proven migraine headache pain treatment and discover additional details regarding chronic migraine treatment.

Getting Rid of Frequent Migraine Headache Attacks

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:47:00 -0700

Countless migraine sufferers are shopping for successful treatment methods to reduce their frequent migraine attacks. There are actually lots of safe and natural options that have proved to be successful, but lots of approaches aren't as well recognized as others. Learn about an unheard of safe and effective treatment approach that will be able to reduce unending migraine attacks in some individuals.

Frequent migraine pain can be disabling and painful. To be called chronic they need to be seen no less than 15 days each month for 3 straight months. When they strike fewer than 15 days each month they're not called chronic, but are called episodic. Around 3% to 5% of the population across the globe suffers with migraine, and that is roughly 300,000,000 or 400,000,000 people.

Migraines are generally unilateral throbbing and pulsating headaches which are moderate to severe in intensity. They are typically accompanied by other pain symptoms which will strike prior to, with, or subsequent to the headache. Approximately two out of every three migraine headache sufferers will have some kind of symptoms prior to the headache pain. These pre-headache symptoms and warning signs can be nausea, visual troubles, hypersensitivity to sounds and loud noises, mood alterations, depressive disorders, and a great number of others.

Auras appear in about one out of 4 or 5 migraine headache sufferers and generally include visual disturbances, but can additionally include increased sensitivity to loud noises or strong smells. Whenever symptoms occur prior to a migraine headache it can alert the migraine sufferer to an approaching headache. With this warning it's frequently possible to start treatment early on and avert a big migraine attack.

You will discover a great number of ways to put an end to migraine pain utilizing safe and natural strategies, but locating the treatment option that works best for your circumstances may not be as easy as you would believe. Just because one particular treatment option helps your coworker doesn't suggest it may decrease the pain for you. If a more popular approach doesn't provide the effects you expect you may have to search harder for an answer to your problem. A possible resolution may be to check your tap or drinking water.

Drinking lots of clean filtered water may possibly be helpful. If water is at fault for your migraine pain it may not be what is present in the water, but the amount you consume. Not consuming enough water can lead to dehydration relatively quickly in a large number of individuals, triggering a migraine. The answer is to consume ample amounts of water. If you're consuming enough water your urine will generally be a pale color and you might be urinating roughly one time every 4 hours. What's more, you should try going no more than 3 hours between drinking a glass a water.

Besides dehydration, particular substances in the water can trigger migraine pain, and specifically, never-ending migraine pain. There are a great number of chemical compounds in drinking water that can result in migraine pain, but nitrates are almost certainly the most commonly seen. Nitrates are inorganic minerals that are present in considerable amounts all over the planet. They are seen in the sea, freshwater, ground, and air.

Animal manure contains extreme amounts of nitrates which eventually can find their way into tap or drinking water. Elevated amounts of nitrates in tap or drinking water can set off migraine pain. To learn if you have high quantities of nitrates you can obtain an inexpensive test kit at the local hardware store. When you find large amounts of nitrates in your drinking water you can either start consuming bottled water or better yet, use a filter to remove them from your drinking water.

Nitrates are present in a great number of types of food, but chiefly in cured meats such as hot dogs, ham, salami, bacon, and others. Simply put, this indicates if you see large amounts of nitrates in your drinking water and then filter the water, you might still get migraines due to the nitrates in your food. If you wish to confirm that nitrates aren't producing your migraine symptoms you may have to steer clear of foods that include nitrates as well.

Learn more concerning natural migraine headache pain treatment and find additional information about acute migraine headaches.

Cellulite Cream - The Best Overall Treatment for Cellulite

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:46:00 -0700

Currently, regarding 85% regarding present day young young ladies as well as ladies have to encounter this kind of problem since cellulite. Despite the typical idea which cellulite is really a curse associated with simply overweight women, extremely often very thin as well as youthful ladies have to battle against that issue. Cellulite localizes below top of the tiers of our skin which is formed involving body fat tissues, adipocytes, accountable regarding fat sourcing as well as metabolic rate. In addition they provide our entire body using necessary energy. However, in the event that you will find certain irregularities as well as more fat can be created, we begin recognizing those unsightly lumps and bumps about our pores and skin.

Therefore, cellulite can be created by simply excessive body fat cells located below the top of layers of our pores and skin. The idea usually appears about each of our body, rear, knees, hands and also tummy areas. Can it be feasible to obtain eliminated that as soon as and forever? Based on numerous modern day women, the idea can be feasible simply through utilizing the complicated approach, which may include leading an active life-style, eating a new wholesome diet plan, doing special anti-cellulite deep massages as well as exercises, determining your tensions, letting go of using tobacco and other effective actions. During this, anti-cellulite creams could assist an individual significantly in fighting towards cellulite.

Numerous experts acknowledge about the fact that currently Revitol Cellulite Answer ought to be regarded the particular greatest cellulite cream. This kind of plastic product can be designed particularly for that needs regarding modern women to create their skin appear flexible and also younger looking. That lotion offers unique nourishing and moisturising results, that stimulates metabolic processes in the higher cellular levels in our skin and aids throughout fat burning. In addition, that stimulates blood flow to the problematic areas from the body where usually cellulite is actually created. Concentrated amounts regarding plants and herbs enhance the texture of the skin, allow it to be much more supple along with company.

Every woman who has experimented with Revitol Cellulite Solution could discover positive effects of utilizing this particular lotion merely in couple of several weeks. Distinctive formula of this plastic item includes simply natural components, vitamins and also nutrients, including ingredients involving Aloe vera, Ginkgo Biloba, Horse Proverb, too because Retinol as well as organic Nutritional vitamins. That's why utilizing Revitol isn't associated with any kind of unwanted side results or perhaps allergy symptoms. Try Revitol, your best cellulite cream in our periods, and also remember that it's feasible to optimize their results by using this particular lotion together with anti-cellulite workouts and also massages.

Cellulite isn't any life-long problem, although the idea may get lots of endeavours for you to eliminate it. There are many effective options, along with using since many of which since feasible may be the only way to looking great again along with getting ideal skin. If you need much more information with regards to Revitol Cellulite Solution, your greatest cellulite cream obtainable at the market.

Having a Hard Time with Cellulite?

Health Care Staffing Agencies

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:45:00 -0700

Health care staffing agencies can be of great help to both professionals and organizations. With the help of such agencies graduates in medical assisting program can look forward to temporary, permanent, long-term and short-term and long-term positions in public or private organizations. These organizations include, home healthcare agencies, nursing homes, hospices, health care centers etc. In the same way, organizations can get important positions filled by availing the services of health care staffing agencies. And such assistance can be sought by both domestic and international candidates and organizations. Thus health care staffing agencies benefit all the major players in the health care industry.

Health Care Staffing Agencies are adept in delivering needed industry recruitment solutions. For organizations, they have a huge database of skilled professionals and for the skilled professionals they have a huge list of vacancies from various organizations. Staffing agencies are run by a staff of skilled professionals. These professionals are skilled in the process of recruiting candidates and entertaining the needs of organizations. Their job role involves sourcing the right candidates, followed by the first round of employee qualifying test and interviewing. They perfectly match a candidate's qualifications with the requirements of a job position and thereby help organizations get the best candidates.

The presence of such an effective direct hiring agencies enables employers get rid of worries caused due to attritions. These agencies have also helped the organizations in other ways. They have enabled the organizations, save on time and money by eliminating expensive recruiting efforts without quite compromising on their exact needs. With reduced bottom line expenditures health organizations can focus on quality service as well as save a fraction of their profits. In other words health care staffing agencies provide a pool of industry ready candidates for organizations at all levels and whenever the need arises.

Staffing agencies enable certified medical graduates to gather valuable experience as well as hone their skills by getting the right chance to work with experienced and knowledgeable experts from other medical disciplines. The agencies give them a chance to get into some prestigious organizations easily. In other words, healthcare staffing agencies help qualified candidates get the job they deserve.

Why the services of dentist Manhattan Beach are extremely important?

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:44:00 -0700

It is better to visit a dentist sooner than you call for one, particularly prior to a gum or tooth emergency. If you don't yet have a particular professional dentist, to whom you can go at any time you call for common care for your gums and teeth, in that case, it will be a first-class plan to pick one. Beginning a connection with a good dentist is purely superior. You are more at ease when looking for high quality cure for your gum and teeth; also it lends a hand to the specialized dentist Manhattan Beach, dentist Redondo Beach and Torrance dentist to present you good care when he sees you on a regular basis.
It is not tough to be aware that generally individuals really are not fond of seeing the dentist, especially in Manhattan Beach where the asking price is high. A dentist Manhattan Beach, dentist Redondo Beach and Torrance dentist is your medicinal relationship where both, your trust and comfort level are of absolute high value. You may like to go for a dentist who is going to perform exactingly in your interest & will not carry out actions on you that are probably not required for a general dental vigor. If you are seeking the best dentist one can hit upon these are some practices you have to consider.

Looking for dentist Manhattan Beach, dentist Redondo Beach and Torrance dentist might be a complicated task, particularly if one is new to Manhattan Beach. You might not be well-known with the neighborhood or barely know a person, which will create more trouble in locating a dentist. In such a condition, you might require to make use of web to seek a new dentist in your new vicinity.
One can also look into one of the several dentist directories to check out for the services of dentist Manhattan Beach in his neighborhood. One might check out countless phone numbers and addresses which will be valuable to you. Subsequent to picking some you may make inquiry calls to these addresses to have a proposal of dentist Manhattan Beach service presented, the cover they take, and also their prices.

Call dentist Manhattan Beach for dental treatment. Visit http://newsmilesdentistry.com to know more about tooth care procedures and treatments.

What Do I Seem For In A House I?m Purchasing Now, If I Want To Resell It Later?

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:43:00 -0700

What Do I Look For In A Residence I?m Getting Now, If I Want To Resell It Later on?

That?s a great query! You want to buy a residence that will give you a great resell worth later on. To do this, appear at the type of home you?re preparing to buy that might be interesting to long term customers. When you?re seeking to obtain a residence, check to see if some or all of these features are presented:

one. Place of the house. Is the residence situated in a excellent neighborhood that is close to colleges, shops, freeways, and so forth...

a couple of. Verify the crime rate for the region you?re considering about buying in. What are the crime rate statistics. Is the neighborhood safe?

several. Is there anticipated growth for the places such as: new educational institutions, shops, long term planned houses, etc... How will this impact you in the long term?

four. Attempt to make certain the square footage of your house is at minimum 1200, in order to improve the likelihood of becoming capable to resell.

five. Appear for houses that have at least 3 bedrooms as component of your future home buy. This will be beneficial in reselling your house in the future.

6. You may possibly want to appear at regardless of whether or not the house must have 1 or two testimonies. Most individuals paying for households are fascinated in two stories. However, the elderly or people with selected disabilities may well want to purchase a house that is a single story.

7. If the residence you?re thinking about buying has a pool, retain in mind this may limit the quantity of potential customers if you determine to offer your residence. Pools don?t necessarily add a lot worth to the house and can be high-priced to sustain!

8. You might want to take into account possessing a garage which can accommodate a bare minimum of two vehicles. This is typically an appealing and expected characteristic for purchasers.

9. The quantity of bathrooms is also critical. Obtaining a residence with at bare minimum of two bathrooms is a must when buying a residence for long term resell.

10. Make positive the home you?re considering has a fireplace, air conditioning and heating method.

When you buy a residence, just believe of becoming ready to get a great return on your purchase if you had to resell. In most situations at a bare lowest you want to get the funds you have invested in your house out of it, if you had to offer for some reason. It?s even greater if you can make a profit on you sale isn?t it? I believed so, just be wise when you?re purchasing your house, it?s an purchase in your long term!

The Responsiveness Paradigm

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:40:00 -0700

We call this approach The Responsiveness Paradigm.

The Responsiveness Paradigm is a way of looking at how people influence and get along with each other. Based on our work in defusing hostility, it suggests that a primary characteristic of successful and respected people, be they leaders, managers or line employees, is that they have an ability to respond to others in a way that takes into account the needs of both people.

You Can Preview our help card on Responsive Managers by clicking here

What Is Responsiveness?
We characterize responsiveness in the following ways:

An individual (or organization) can be considered responsive if:

s/he identifies both the explicit (clearly stated), and implicit (unstated or below the surface) needs of another person or people s/he interacts with.

s/he uses the understanding of those needs to fulfil those needs when possible.

s/he acknowledges and works in partnership with other parties to find some means of fulfilling needs that IS possible, even if only partial fulfilment results.

s/he uses a family of communication techniques and skills (cooperative communication techniques) that serves the following functions:

indicates interest and concern for others
indicates willingness to work together and not in opposition
indicates acceptance of responsibility for communication and follow-up behaviour

The Responsiveness Skill Set

Your work success hint! Did you know that a high percentage of conflict at work and at home is a result of ineffective use of language? It's true. The best part is that you can learn to alter your communication and language so that what you say is perceived as more cooperative, and less confrontational.
The result? Less conflict incidents, and less severe conflicts. More info...

In terms of learning how to be responsive, we need to translate the above into a set of skills that people can learn. After all, it isn't helpful to know about successes if we have no means of making more successes. The Responsiveness skill set is a collection of elements, that when learned and applied, make people more able to meet the needs of others, and to be perceived as helpful, supportive, accomplished, etc.

First, the responsiveness skill set is composed primarily of thinking and emotional type skills. Second responsiveness requires a set of language/communication skills. We are going to state both types in terms of competencies we believe can be developed in most people.

Competencies
Active/reflective listening (communication skill)
Empathetic and acknowledging communication (communication skill)
Use of cooperative language (communication skill set) eg. use of non-confrontational ques tions to build understanding
use of qualifiers as opposed to absolute statements
focus on problem solving vs. blame
consistency between talk and behaviour (walking the talk) (thinking/emotional skill)
ability to extract other person's needs from the interactions (communication skill)
problem-solving skills (thinking skill)
These competencies give us a good starting point to look at some case situations that will illustrate the difference between responsiveness and unresponsiveness. This month we are going to look at responsive and non-responsive managers.

The Effects of Change On The Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:38:00 -0700

One of the least mentioned effects of change relates to how it affects the manager leading that change, and his or her ability to undertake the leadership role. We have already talked about the effects of change on the individual employee, and of course managers are subject to the same reactions, resistances and strains. Some types of change, such as restructuring, or downsizing can put considerable strain on the leaders of an organization.

Stress, Stress & More Stress
One primary concern regarding change is the stress it imposes on those undergoing the change. Managers, because they have obligations to their staff, not only have to deal with change as employees but also need to carry some of the concerns of their staffs. In the case of downsizing, the stress levels can be extremely high, because the manager is charged with conveying very upsetting information.

Stress is part of the job, but in times of change, it is critical that you recognize that it may cause you to act in ways that are less effective than usual. As with anything connected with change, the major concern is not short term but long term. If your stress levels result in marked loss of effectiveness, the risk is that a vicious cycle will be set up, where ineffective leadership results in creating more long term problems, which increases your stress, which reduces your effectiveness even more.

Avoidance -- A Common Response

Your work success hint! Did you know that a high percentage of conflict at work and at home is a result of ineffective use of language? It's true. The best part is that you can learn to alter your communication and language so that what you say is perceived as more cooperative, and less confrontational.
The result? Less conflict incidents, and less severe conflicts. More info...

A common response to unpleasant change is to ignore the situation. Avoidance can take many forms. Most commonly, the avoiding manager plays only a minimal role in moving the organization through the swamp. After announcing the change and doing the minimum required, the manager "hides" from the change, through delegation, or attending to other work. This tactic involves treating things as "business as usual".

The outcomes of this tactic can be devastating. By avoiding situations, the manager abdicates any leadership role, when staff needs it most, during and after significant change. In addition, the avoidance results in the manager becoming out of touch with the people and realities of the organization.

While avoidance serves a need for the manager in the short run, it destroys the manager's credibility, and results in poor decisions. The long term consequence of such action is that the organization tends to deteriorate in terms of morale, effectiveness and productivity. Sometimes this deterioration is irreversable.

Denial -- Another Ineffective Tactic
Sometimes the manager deals with change by denying its impact. Usually, the denying manager takes a very logical approach to change. Decisions get made, systems are put in place, or new procedures are developed. Unfortunately, this "logical" approach denies the impact of change on the people in the organization.
The denying manager tends to refuse to understand "what the big deal is", and shows little empathy with employees in the organization.

As with avoidance the denying tactic tends to drop the manager's credibility and destroy any personal loyalty on the part of employees.

Key Points

1) Managers are put under stress by change, and that stress, if mishandled can result in loss of managerial effectiveness. Managers need to be alert to the signs of stress upon their performance.

2) A common management tactic is to avoid involvement in change when that involvement is unpleasant. The affects of this withdrawal can be lethal to the organization and to the manager.

3) Another common tactic is denial of the effects of change. Managers who do this tend to under- estimate the impact of the change, and demonstrate an inability to respond to employees' emotional reactions to change.

Turning Around Negative Attitudes

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:37:00 -0700

At one time or another, organizations develop an over-abundance of "negative energy" or attitudes. Sometimes they can be linked to organizational trauma, like down-sizing, budget restraints or workload increases, but sometimes they evolve over time with no apparent triggering event. The negative organization is characterized by increased complaining, a focus on reasons why things can't be done, and what seems to be a lack of hope that things will get better. It feels like the organization in stuck in treacle. And, it's contagious. Negativism can affect even the most positive employees.

What can you do? Based on an article by Arthur Beck and Ellis Hillmar, professors in organization development at University of Richmond, we suggest the following:

Model Positive Behaviour
It is obvious that if management is walking negative and talking in a negative way, staff will follow. Don't do it. More than that, take a positive approach with staff by showing confidence in their abilities. Expect a lot, support staff, hold them accountable, confront them and be clear and honest. Set standards for your own work and relations with employees, and work towards meeting them to set an example of positive behaviour.

Acknowledge Negativity
You can't ignore negativity and expect it to go away. If you do not acknowledge it, then staff will feel that you are out of touch, and will not be confident in your abilities. Acknowledge the frustration negative feelings, and do not try to convince the person or people that they shouldn't have their negative feelings. However, when acknowledging employees' negative feelings, try asking for suggestions regarding what to do about them.

Look For And Identify The Positives In All Situations
Sometimes we forget to find positives. When an employee makes an impractical solution, we are quick to dismiss the idea. We should be identifying the effort while gently discussing the idea. Look for small victories, and talk about them. Turning a negative organization into a positive one is a result of thousands of little actions.

Give Positive Recognition Often
Pretty straight-forward. Provide positive recognition as soon as you find out about good performance. Do not couple positive strokes with suggestions for improvement. Separate them. Combining them devalues the recognition for many people.

Refrain From Collusion On Negativity
It is easy to get caught in the general complaining and bitching, particularly in informal discussions. When faced with negative conversations, consider changing the subject, comment on the negative content ("Let's talk about something more pleasant"), or ask what can be done about the situation (move from negative to positive slant).

Your work success hint! Did you know that a high percentage of conflict at work and at home is a result of ineffective use of language? It's true. The best part is that you can learn to alter your communication and language so that what you say is perceived as more cooperative, and less confrontational.
The result? Less conflict incidents, and less severe conflicts. More info...

A Few More Quick Tips:
Hold a strategic planning session to focus on a positive future (but make sure it is well facilitated).

Encourage staff to find creative ways to make the work environment more enjoyable.

Encourage staff to be involved in decision-making and delegate where possible.

Introduce a "work-smart" program to dehassle the workplace.

Conclusion
It is not uncommon for organizations to go through periods of negativity. Managers play important roles in determining if that negativity will increase, or whether the trough is relatively short. Above all, remember that it is the little things that you do, day in and day out, that make the difference.

Based on "What Managers Can Do To Turn Around Negative Attitudes" (Beck & Hillmar), published in "Performance (A. Dale Tempe, Editor), Facts On File Publications, 1988.

Leadership - The Link Between Planning & Doing

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:36:00 -0700

If you have read the preceding articles in this section on strategic planning, YOU will have a sense that strategic planning involves more than getting together for one day a yearto develop a strategic planning document. Strategic planning is both a logical, rational process, and a process that involves people. It takes more than developing a plan for that plan to be implemented. In this article, we consider that the critical link between planning and doing is leadership.
Traditional Planning Methods
The traditional way for government organizations to plan is for a group of people, usually executives/management, but sometimes including employees, to get together for some period of time each year. Generally, inadequate time is allocated to the exercise, but if it is completed, it results in a document that contains a mission statement, broad organizational goals, and other elements as is deemed appropriate. Then, the plan is usually hidden away somewhere, never to be seen again. Traditional methods yield traditional results. As a wise man once said "If you keep doing what you have been doing, you will get what you have always got".

It needn't be this way.

Reconceptualizing Strategic Planning
Planning should be considered as a blueprint for change. The plan should be the basis for introducing controlled change into an organization so it can adapt to changing times. By anticipating shifting demands, the plan serves the purpose of allowing the organization to control its own direction, rather than waiting until political forces demand change (and demand change NOW). In addition, the plan allows for consistent monitorin~ofsuccess,~nd re-examination of the degree to which organizational resources should be structured and allocated to achieve future goals.

But, if we look at strategic planning in this light, as a blueprint for change, we also need to consider that any organization has built-in inertia.. the tendency to keep on doing what one has been doing. On its own, the strategic planning process, as traditionally undertaken, is insufficient to overcome this inertia. Other forces need to come into play if the plan, and proposed changes get implemented.

Leadership - The Key Force
In the context of strategic planning, leadership means a number of things. We can outline the role of leadership in the following ways, keeping in mind that leadership may come from appointed leaders (management and executive) and from the ranks

. 1.Those in leadership roles ensure that as many members of the organization as possible buy into the values, mission, and broad organizational goals. There are two components to this function. First, leaders manage the perceptions of staff with respect to the planning process. Remember that most people have experienced the "plan-in-the-drawer" syndrome, where effort expended in planning is seen as wasted when the plan is ignored. Prior to the planning process, leaders must emphasize that THIS TIME, things will be different.

Second, leaders manage the planning process so that staff feel that they have adequate input into the process, that they are heard, and their values and visions are incorporated into the final plan and its implementation. Specifically, leaders arrange things so that the process is open, and conforms to accepted rules of communication. That may mean hiring an external consultant to orchestrate the planning sessions. It will certainly mean that rules get established to guide participation. Everyone who wants to participate should have the opportunity, and even reticent staff should be gently encouraged to involve themselves.

2. While managing perceptions of the planning process is important, the critical role of leadership occurs after the plan has been completed. Leaders must treat the planning results as the "organizational signposts that guide behaviour and decision making". After all, nobody is going to take a plan seriously if the formal leaders ignore it, or never refer to it again.

If you are serious about using strategic planning as a tool for organizational success, consider some of the following actions. A. When working with staff to set individual objectives, be sure to mention how the individual objectives will contribute to the achievement of the mission and organizational goals as outlined in the strategic plan. Make sure that the employee is familiar with the plan when individual objectives are set.

In addition, at each meeting with each employee, work with the employee to help him/her determine how the values outlined in the strategic plan apply to them. In other words, given the particular values, strategic goals and mission statement how is the employee to behave or make decisions.

B. Once the strategic plan has been completed, the formal leader of the organization (and perhaps others) should present and discuss the plan with the up-line manager or executive. It is NOT sufficient to send a copy. Because you will need up-line support to implement the plan, you will need their commitment, and commitment will only come from discussion and explanation of the plan.

C. At staff meetings, when decisions are required, explain how the strategic plan is used, or is to be used to make decisions. If you are the manager communicating a decision you have made, explain your rationale in light of the mission, values and goals expressed in the plan. If you are using a participative decision making process, help staff refocus on these components of the plan, so that they can be used to guide decision making

D. When doing performance reviews with staff, ask the individual to explain how his or her actions are consistent with the elements of the plan. How has their action contributed to organizational goals? Has their behaviour been consistent with organizational values? What needs to change so that the individual can further contribute to implementing the plan? Consider recognizing contributions to achievement of the plan, even if the individual did not have specific responsibility as outlined in their individual objectives. And, when setting future objectives, consider writing an objective that refers to the values expressed in the plan. For example: "Will act in accordance with the organizational values expressed in the strategic plan". If you go this route, make sure -that~the implications of these values are clear to the employee in terms of his or her behaviour.

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3. A final role of leadership is to create more leaders. One goal that formal leaders (executives, managers) can set for themselves is to encourage down-line employees to take on some of the leadership roles outlined above. This can be particularly effective in decision making. The ideal situation is for staff to internalize the plan to the extent that some take on the role of reminding people of the plan, and its relevance to any given decision-making process. Cultivate leaders in your organization by giving increased responsibility, and encouraging this kind of leadership behaviour.

Conclusion
Leadership, regardless of when it comes from formally appointed leaders, or Informal leaders, provides the link between planning and doing. Leadership, regardless of when it comes from formally appointed leaders, or informal leaders, provides the link between planning and doing. Effective leadership helps alter perceptions about strategic planning, and the organization itself, helping to overcome inertia, the tendency to keep things the same.

Without leadership, most strategic plans will end up as dead pieces of paper. Most importantly, when planning occurs without leadership, cynicism increases when staff see that the plan is being ignored, or even violated. The outcome of this is that formal leaders suffer a loss of credibility.

Critical Factors For Dealing With Downsizing

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:35:00 -0700

1) Timing is critical. What is appropriate when people are upset and emotional is not as effective six months later.

2) The ability of leaders to "read" the feelings and perceptions of staff members is critical to making appropriately timed decisions.

3) Leaders who are able to accept without judgement staff's emotional reactions to downsizing will enhance their own ability to lead, and staff's willingness to follow.

4) Leaders need to help staff refocus their attention on getting the job done, and making the organization better in the future.

5) Leaders also need to deal with their own emotional reactions to downsizing, so that they keep themselves healthy and productive.

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6) Leaders should prepare for downsizing before it is announced. In other words, there should be some strategy for helping staff, addressing practical issues that arise, and moving the organization into the future.

7) The most common mistake managers make regarding downsizing is to under-manage. By assuming that it will all work itself out, the manager spends too little time dealing with important issues, and loses the respect and trust of staff.

Introduction to The Link Between Leadership, Change Management, and Communication

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:34:00 -0700

Leadership has as its corner stone, the ability to communicate. When we use the word communicate, we are referring not only to the words one uses to transfer factual information to others, but also to other "messages" that are sent and received.

What might these other messages be? Related to change the leader sends a good number of messages. These are listed below.

The leader communicates:

A) a sense of confidence and control (or lack thereof) to employees.
B)his or her own feelings about the change.
C) the degree to which he/she trusts the abilities of the employees to get through the change.
D) a sense of purpose and commitment (or lack thereof).
E) the degree to which he/she accepts the reactions and feelings of employees.
F) expectations regarding behaviour that is seen as appropriate or inappropriate (ie. rumour-mongering, back-room meetings).
G) the degree to which he/she is "connected to" employees situations and feelings or is "in-touch" with them.
It is clear that if the leader communicates effectively, he or she will be sending messages that decrease resistance, and encourage moving through the change more effectively and positively. The bottom line with all of this is if you screw up communicating with employees, even the smallest changes can result in ugly problems.

What Is Communication?
There are all kinds of models of communication, some basic and some complex. For our purposes communication can be described as CREATING UNDERSTANDING.

Through words, actions, body language, voice tone, and other processes you send many messages about yourself, the changes, and your organization. This constitutes precisely one-half of the communication process. The second half consists of verifying that the message you intended to send was actually received and interpreted the way you intended. The only way that you can be sure you have created understanding is to listen to the people you are communicating with, and make special effort to encourage them to reflect back to you what they have heard (and what they make of it).

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Remember:

A) Although you communicate in a way that seems clear to you, the receiver of the communication, filters the information through a very complicated set of pre- conceptions, that can function to distort the message received.

B) Receivers listen selectively. They hear and process some things and gate out other things. That means that while you may have explained the "whole picture", is it likely that the whole thing wasn't received.

C)The ONLY way you can ensure that you have created common understanding is by asking the other people what they have heard, and what their reactions are to it.

Important Messages Regarding Changes
Since we have indicated that communication involves sending a variety of important messages, it is important that when you communicate about change you know what kind of messages you wish to send, and the what you want people to take away from your communication.

Whenever you communicate to employees about change, you should be striving to convey the following position.

A) that you are personally committed to the change, and seeing it through, even if it has negative consequences.

B) that you recognize that the change negatively impacts upon some people.

C) that you are open to discussion of the feelings of employees regarding the change.

D) that you are confident that the "team" can make it through the changes.

E) that you want and need input to make the changes work.

Sometimes you won't be committed to the change, or you won't be very confident that you and your staff can pull it off, particularly when the change is imposed from above. While some may disagree, it is important that you still convey an image of strength and commitment despite your own misgivings. The change leader has a role to play, and if you have mis-givings or strong negative emotional reactions of your own it may be more effective if you underplay them. If you show anger about a change, you may legitimize the same kind of negative behaviour in your staff.

While you shouldn't hide your own negative reactions completely, it is probably wise to keep them in the background by stating them in a matter of fact way and moving on.

Communication and Change -- Who, What, When, How?
As a change leader you need to make decisions about who you must communicate with, what needs to be communicated, when you will communicate and how you will do it. We will take a look at each of these in turn.

Who?

Managers sometimes have a tendency to communicate about change on a "need to know basis". However, effective change leaders recognize that almost any change will have effects on most people in an organization, no matter how removed they are from the change.

The basic rule of thumb is that communication should take place directly between the manager and employees when employees NEED TO KNOW OR WANT TO KNOW.

Except for situations that involve confidentiality, even those who are indirectly affected will likely want to know what is going on, and how it may affect them. This applies to your own staff, and those organizations that are related to you (ie. other branches within a division or department, client organizations, etc).

You are better off over-including people in your communication, than leaving people out.

What?

If you need to determine what to communicate, keep in mind what you are trying to accomplish through your communication about change. When you communicate you are trying to:

A) give information that will reduce uncertainty and ambiguity regarding the change.

B) Pre-empt the hidden information system of the grapevine, so you can ensure that incorrect anxiety provoking information is not spreading.

C) Provide forums for employees to communicate their reactions and concerns to you.

If you would like another rule of thumb, when deciding what should be communicated, communicate as much information about the change as is available to you. Obviously, you need to exercise judgement where there is confidential and/or sensitive information involved, or where your information may be unreliable.

Be aware that if you only have a small amount of information about a negative change, communicating it may increase anxiety levels and rampant speculation. You should also be aware that if you have preliminary information about a change, that others do also, and that it is likely that your employees will hear rumours regardless of what you disclose.

Finally, keep in mind that you are communicating messages about the facts of the change, and also about your own reactions to it. As a change leader, you must be aware that your staff will watch you carefully to guess how you are feeling about the change, and they will draw their own conclusions based on your behaviour. Sometimes these conclusions will be wrong and destructive.

If you choose to state your own reactions to the change, state them quickly (particularly if they are negative).

When?

The longer you wait to communicate details of change, the more likely you are to extend the period of adjustment. This is because it is very difficult to "keep a lid" on anything in government, and even if you are silent, your staff will likely hear vague things through the grapevine. Grapevine information tends to be sketchy enough that it creates a high degree of anxiety, and also a high degree of mistrust of management.

So, the earlier you communicate the less likely erroneous or upsetting information will come through the grapevine. Communicate as early as possible about change, but do not assume that once you have done this the job is over.

Communication should occur in anticipation of change, during the implementation, and after the change has been stabilized.

How?

Issue #1: Group or Single Meetings
Another decision you need to address is what needs to be communicated in group settings, and what needs to be addressed in one-on-one meetings with employees. What are the advantages of each approach?

Communicating in groups ensures that each person present is hearing the same information at the same time. Group communication also allows people to interact with each other about the changes and can help people develop a sense of team, particularly in a climate of adversity.

Communicating in groups also has some disadvantages. In many organizations there will be people who will not feel comfortable talking in a group context. The more "personal" the effects of the change, the more likely people will withdraw from the group process.

A second danger of group communication is that one or two particularly vocal and negative people can set the tone for the group, and foster unproductive negative discussion. While expression of concerns about change are healthy, the "doom- sayer" can cause this process to become destructive. For this reason, group communication needs to be managed with skill and expertise. Sometimes an external facilitator is necessary.

Finally, there are some issues that cannot be discussed within a group. For example, in downsizing situations, it is inappropriate to announce to a group that John and Mary are losing their jobs. When changes are likely to create a high degree of upset to individuals, they must be dealt with in private.

Communicating on a one-to-one basis has the advantage of privacy. When bad news is communicated, the person receiving the news is less pressured to withhold their reactions. One-to-one communication also allows more in-depth exploration of the person's feelings, ideas and reactions to the change.

A disadvantage to using one-to-one communication is that it may fragment your team. There is also a possibility that you will send slightly different messages to different staff members.

Prescription:

Most situations require both group communication and one-to-one communication. They compliment each other. Using only one or the other will create problems.

Below are some guidelines.

Use group communications if:

A)You need to ensure everybody hears the news at the same time.

B)You want to encourage group discussion to generate ideas and the problem solving process.

C)You want to increase the sense of team.

D)You wish to set the stage for individual meetings. For example, in a lay-off situation, you can call a short group meeting to announce the lay-offs generally, then immediately meet individually with each staff member to inform them of their status.

Use individual meetings if:

A)The changes are likely to cause a high degree of emotionalism that is better dealt with in private.

B)You want to ensure that shyer people have a chance to express themselves.

C)The changes involve elements that should remain confidential (pay or classification changes, employment status, etc).

D)You need to have detailed discussion about the change with specific people.

Issue #2: Written Or Oral
There is a tendency for people to avoid unpleasant interactions, and sometimes managers will use written communication to avoid the discomfort of dealing face to face with staff. While written communication can play an important role in communicating about change, it should not be used for this reason alone. Below are some guidelines regarding the use of written versus oral communication.

Oral communication is more appropriate when:

A) Receiver is not very interested in getting the message. Oral communication provides more opportunities for getting and keeping interest and attention.

B)Emotions are high. Oral communication provides chances for both you and the other person to let off steam, cool down, and create a climate for understanding.

C)You need feedback. It's easier to get feedback by observing body language and asking questions.

D)The other person is too busy or preoccupied to read. Oral communication provides better opportunities to gain attention.

E)You need to convince or persuade. Oral communication provides more flexibility, opportunity for emphasis, chances to listen to and remove resistance, and is more likely to affect people's attitudes.

F)The details and issues are complicated, and cannot be well expressed on paper.

Written communication is appropriate if:

A)You require a record of the communication for future reference.

B)Your staff will be referring to details of the change later.

C)You are communicating something with multiple parts or steps and where it is important that employees understand them.

Generally, it is wise to use both written and oral communication. The more emotional the issues, the more important it is to stress oral communication first. Written communication can be used as backup.

Concluding Comments On Change Leadership

As a change leader, communication is your primary and most important tool. We have attempted to outline some of the important parts of the communication process, but short of writing an entire book on the subject, it is difficult to discuss all the subtleties and issues about human communication.

There is no substitute for good judgement, and change leaders need to be reflective and thoughtful about the ways they communicate. There is also no substitute for LISTENING, and receiving feedback from your staff and colleagues about how you communicate. You may make communication mistakes, but the mark of an effective change leader is that these mistakes are quickly identified through feedback and discussion, and corrective action is taken.

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Look Over Yonder Wall - Managing Change

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:33:00 -0700

One of my favorite blues songs is called "Look Over Yonder Wall", and while the song carries no sublime messages, the title provides good advice for managers. If present information is any indication, it appears that there will be continued fiscal restraint, cutbacks and possible layoffs for next fiscal year, This indeed creates some "walls" that managers need to "look over".

Changes of this nature pose difficult challenges for managers. It is a time of great stress, not only for employees but also for managers and executives. Unfortunately, because of the degree of stress there is a tendency to focus on the event, or "the wall", with insufficient attention paid to what comes before the wall, and what is to come after. It is important to understand that changes such as downsizing do not consist of an event isolated in time. Downsizing occurs within a flow of events which precede and occur after the actual change announcement.

An organization's ability to deal with drastic negative change will depend primarily on the degree to which management has demonstrated its competence in the past. If management has fostered a sense of trust and credibility, has communicated effectively, and has demonstrated effective planning and decision making skills, the change adjustment period will be shortened, and the organization will have a much easier time of normalizing what it does after the change implementation. If these and other components are not in place before major change, there is going to one heck of a bumpy ride.

It is important that management begin to lay the foundation for negative changes in advance. It is also important that managers be very clear what will be required of them in helping their organizations, and their staff, move beyond events like budget cuts, and staff losses. The stakes are high. Without adequate preparation and planning your organization can be put into a tailspin that can last for years.

In this issue, and over the next few months The Public Sector Manager will be concentrating on managing change. More specifically, we will deal with the high impact kinds of changes that will face all of us in the next 18 months. Much of the material you see is based upon the content of a course we are developing, called "Leading The Elephant Through The Swamp -- Managing Change Through Leadership".

So, for now, "look over yonder wall" to the future, and start planning for it. Begin to assemble the pieces you will need to manage this kind of change effectively.

Robert Bacal, Editor

Seven Dynamics of Change

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 23:32:00 -0700

Whatever the kinds of change that people encounter, there are certain patterns of response that occur and re-occur. It is important that change leaders understand some of these patterns, since they are normal outcomes of the change process. Understanding them allows leaders to avoid over-reacting to the behaviours of people who, at times, seem to be reacting in mysterious, non-adaptive ways.

Ken Blanchard, well known management consultant, has described seven dynamics of change designed to help managers better address employee reactions to change. They are worth summarizing here.

People will feel awkward, ill-at-ease and self-conscious
Whenever you ask people to do things differently, you disrupt their habitual ways of doing things. This tends to make people feel awkward or uncomfortable as they struggle to eliminate the old responses and learn the new. Think back to your own experience and you will discover this theme. Whether it be learning to use a computer, the first time picking up your infant, or dealing with a new reporting relationship, recall the self-consciousness that you probably felt. People want to get it right, and fear that they will appear inadequate.

People initially focus on what they have to give up
Even for positive changes such as promotions, or those that result in more autonomy or authority, people will concentrate on what they will be losing. As a change leader you need to acknowledge the loss of the old ways, and not get frustrated at what may seem to be an irrational or tentative response to change.

People will feel alone even if everyone else is going through the same change

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Everyone feels (or wants to feel) that their situation is unique and special. Unfortunately, this tends to increase the sense of isolation for people undergoing change. It is important for the change leader to be proactive and gentle in showing that the employee's situation is understood. If employees see YOU as emotionally and practically supportive during the tough times your position will be enhanced and the change will be easier.

People can handle only so much change
On a personal level, people who undergo too much change within too short a time will become dysfunctional, and in some cases may become physically sick. While some changes are beyond our control, it is important not to pile change upon change upon change. While changes such as downsizing bring opportunity to do other positive things, the timing of additional changes is important. If you are contemplating introducing changes (that are under your control), it may be a good idea to bounce your ideas off employees. A good question to ask is "How would you feel if....."

People are at different levels of readiness for change
Some people thrive and change. It's exciting to them. Others don't. It's threatening to them. Understand that any change will have supporters and people who have difficulty adapting. In time many people who resist initially will come onside. Consider that those people who are more ready for the change can influence others who are less ready. Open discussion allows this influence process to occur.

People will be concerned that they don't have enough resources
People perceive that change takes time and effort, even if it has the long term effect of reducing workload. They are correct that there is a learning time for most change, and that this may affect their work. It is important for change leaders to acknowledge that this may occur, and to offer practical support if possible. In the downsizing scenario this will be even more crucial, since resources themselves are cut. Consider following the downsizing with a worksmart process, whereby job tasks are
reviewed to examine whether they are still necessary.

If you take the pressure off, people will revert to their old behaviour
If people perceive that you are not serious about doing things the new way, they will go back to the old way. Sometimes this ill be in the open, and sometimes this will be covert. While Blanchard uses the word pressure, I prefer to think of it in terms of leadership role. The leader must remind people that there is a new course, and that the new course will remain. Coaching towards the new ways is also important.

Business pleads for 2010 trade deal amid scepticism

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:20:00 -0700

Global business leaders appealed to governments on Thursday to make good on their commitment to conclude stalled trade liberalization talks this year and boost a world economic recovery. But trade negotiators were skeptical of the political will to overcome disputes between the United States and key emerging nations that thwarted a deal in 2008.

2010 Will Be a Stock Picking Market

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:18:00 -0700

Stock picking in 2009 was a year when even monkeys could have made a lot of money in the stock market.

Maybe you've heard the story from the 1980s, which was argued in a popular investing book, that a bunch of monkeys throwing darts at a list of stocks could make stock picking that would beat those of investment professionals.

Last year, as the considerable stock rally lifted all boats, everyone from the professionals to those who didn't have a clue (including monkeys) did quite well for themselves as long as they were invested in equities.

Stock picking in 2010 is shaping up to be quite a different stock picking market. It's rare to see two consecutive years of huge gains, which means 2010 will likely see a modest, if any, return. 2010 is going to be a stock picker's market. Those in certain sectors, and stocks, will perform better than others.

3 Ways for Stock Picking That Could See Upside in 2010

1) Look For Growth Overseas

Yes, international investing has been hot. In 2009, emerging market stocks soared on hopes of the recovery. However, there is always a concern that this trade is getting overplayed.

But stock picking has an advantage over those who simply buy an index or a basket of stocks from a particular country. They can choose companies that have a growth story and attractive valuations. There are plenty of Chinese companies that are not connected to the overheating real estate market and that are even considered value stocks, with low price-to-earnings ratios. For instance, China will soon surpass the United States as the largest car market. What Chinese companies are poised to benefit from automobile demand?

Investors can also play the international growth story by choosing American companies that have a large international presence. Many multinational companies with famous brand names do 50% or more of their business in international markets.

2) Commodities Have Made a Comeback

Commodities were the big story of 2008 as crude oil hit an all-time record. Commodities prices were crushed in the global recession. But in 2009, a slow comeback began that appears to be continuing into 2010.

As the recovery takes hold, commodities will be one of the first areas to show a turnaround as manufacturers ramp up production to meet growing demand.

Investors can invest in the area through any number of commodities and commodities-related stocks, including energy companies, oil services companies, miners and agriculture businesses.

3) Don't Forget the Building Blocks

While the recovery appears to be taking hold, the companies that supply the building blocks are still in a good position to benefit from it, especially as government stimulus programs continue to wind their way through the global economy.

Look at machinery companies, construction firms, equipment manufacturers, and chemical companies. We've already seen earnings jump in the chemical sector, which is a reflection of growing demand.

Putting it All Together to Make an Exciting Stock Picking Portfolio for 2010

We used all 3 of these strategies at Zacks to formulate our Top 10 Stocks for 2010. We started with a large universe of stocks and used both Zacks Rank and Zacks Recommendations to narrow the list.

But then the arduous part began. We used our stock picking talents to put together 10 stocks that, for the first time, are heavily weighted towards international stocks and American companies that have substantial international business. We weren't afraid of the emerging markets. We ended up stock picking several companies that we hope will continue to grow as the living standards rise in those countries.

Stock picking in 2010 will be an interesting year to be an investor. The rising tide has lifted all the boats. Hopefully, you can tap into those areas that are poised to benefit from the recovery and growth in the global economy.

In Iraq's troubles, an exchange eyes growth

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:18:00 -0700

In rows of black chairs, elderly men sit chatting, casting the occasional glance at projection screens displaying the latest market movements on the Iraq Stock Exchange. Occasionally, one gets up and wanders to the back of the darkened room, by the glass divider behind which the brokers sit. There's no one screaming orders or waving a fistful of tickets.

The relative inactivity stands in stark contrast to the hopes Iraqi and American officials had when the U.S.-backed exchange was reborn in 2004. Back then, expectations were that the toppling of Saddam Hussein a year earlier and the country's reabsorption into the international community would bring with it an economic reflourishing — and the bourse was touted as a tool to tap into the country's potential.

Instead, political deadlock and security fears have left foreign investors skittish about pumping money into Iraq, even though tens of billions of dollars are needed to rebuild everything from a dilapidated infrastructure to the private sector. Unemployment remains high, as does inflation, though it is far below the over 60 percent level seen just a few years ago.

And the stock market, a key economic engine in most major economies, remains another item in a list of postwar Iraq's unrealized hopes.

At the time of its launch, just over a dozen companies were listed on white boards hanging on the trading floor, located in a Baghdad hotel restaurant. Officials at the time projected that within a month, it would have 120 companies listed.

Six years later, only 85 companies are listed.

Its successes have been relative. It has moved into its own building. Instead of two trading sessions per week, it's up to a full five days. Most importantly, an electronic trading system has replaced the white boards.

"Every night, before I go to sleep, I thank God that I managed ... for the first time in the history of the Iraqi exchange, to introduce electronic trading," said Taha Abdulsalam, the ISX's chief executive.

And even amid the worst of Iraq's violence, in 2006 and 2007, when car bombings, assassinations and kidnappings were rife, investors came to every session. "We didn't suspend operations a single day," Abdulsalam said.

But it's clear much remains to be done if the exchange is to meet the hopes of its founders.

In its heady early weeks of trading in 2004, about $10 million in shares changed hands per session and share prices surged by as much as 600 percent. Now, with over three times the number of companies listed, the value of average daily trading is about $1 million, Abdulsalam said, adding that the market capitalization of the companies listed on the exchange stands at about $3 billion.

That's a level which Jan Randolph, director of sovereign risk analysis at IHS Global Insight, describes as "comparable to a medium sized supermarket" chain in the West.

"It's still very much of a frontier market," said Randolph. "The lack of data and liquidity means they ... wouldn't normally be included in any portfolio index of emerging markets."

Bank shares are the most actively traded, accounting for between 40 to 75 percent of the daily activity.

On Aug. 12, for example, about 564.2 million dinars ($505,109) worth of bank shares changed hands out of a total trading value of 921 million dinars ($824,300). There were a total of 230 trades executed on the market.

Mohammed Jamali, a 60-year-old investor and analyst, points to the rows of seats where the elderly men stare at projection screens. The large screens were installed because many complained their failing vision made it hard for them to read the flat screen TVs suspended from the wall in the back of the trading hall.

"About 10 percent of them are actively trading — and they do about 90 percent of the business," said Jamali. "The rest are just waiting around."

"Sometimes, they see an opportunity and they take it. They're being cautious."

Overall, the ISX's benchmark index is at around 92 points, down about 7.9 percent on a year-to-date basis. In relative terms, that's still better than the performance of the Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi's exchange, regionally — though both are far larger markets.

The same security and political issues that have stunted development in much of the country weigh on the ISX's growth.

Foreign investors account for about four percent of daily trading in the market, Abdulsalam said. Officials hope the to see that number grow as major investment funds enter the market once a custodian bank is eventually set up.

But such changes need political decisions — slow in the best of times, and worse with the deadlock over forming a new government since March 7's inconclusive elections.

Investors want to see "the new government's economic face — it's economic policies," said Ali Jamal, a manager with brokerage firm Jawhara. The delay in a new government "directly affects the trading."

Infrastructure issues also hurt. Abdulsalam describes the notoriously spotty electricity service as Iraq's "fatal problem," raising costs for companies and households.

For now, Abdulsalam is looking ahead at what can be done. He wants to gradually have all 45 licensed brokerage houses work from their offices more and have the investors conduct their business over the phone or outside the exchange.

"This is the civilized thing (to do) ... It will reduce the security and other risks," he said.

Leading Those That Remain

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:12:00 -0700

Downsizing...Right-sizing, lay-offs or workforce adjustment, whatever the current "correct" terminology, the fact remains that it is the most difficult thing that managers will deal with in their careers.

There are two (only two?!) issues regarding downsizing. First, the period of downsizing brings with it incredible anxiety for everyone. Both managers and employees have to "get through" this period where downsizing is announced and individuals are notified. While this is the period of greatest short term stress, it is an acute situation.

The second problem, and one of much more long term significance is the issue of those that remain. Somehow managers have to deal with the fall-out from the downsizing process, and move their organizations beyond the grief, the anger and the loss of morale that characterizes these major organizational events. It is those that remain that will determine what happens to the organization. We are going to talk about the long term issues here.

The First Few Weeks
In the first few weeks after downsizing even those who still have jobs will feel a lot of difficult things. Grief, anger, sense of betrayal, and depression are common "normal" reactions. Typically productivity drops as people work through their feelings by talking with each other.

This applies to you as the leader of your organization. However, as a leader you have an important role to play in helping employees get past the initial reactions.

During this time, it is important that you do not pressure employees unduly, either in the areas of increasing productivity, or in expressing feelings about the change. Some people want to talk, others not. Some will work harder and some will not. Your job is to help by gently talking to them, both in group settings and individually about their reactions, and how you can help.

Listening is key here. Ask questions and keep your own comments to a minimum, and don't exhort or pressure people. By showing concern and interest, you will be working towards repairing the sense of broken trust that accompanies downsizing.

During this period, you need to take stock of your own emotional situation. Your ability to lead people through the tough times will depend on your own physical and emotional health. Try not to cut yourself off. Talking to colleagues outside your organization is a good idea, or at least, venting your own feelings with someone unconnected with your organization. If you find yourself plagued by sleeplessness, mood swings and depression and guilt, don't hesitate to take advantage of support services that are available.

Normalizing
The initial shock of downsizing is likely to linger for some time, certainly for more than the two weeks mentioned. Unfortunately, you and your staff have goals to accomplish, people to serve. At some point there is a need to get on with it, to normalize the situation.

It is difficult for leaders to determine when it is time to start sending the message that "business as usual" must prevail. Too early and you alienate and anger staff...too late and you end up wallowing. It is best to start normalizing slowly and gently.

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The situation in your organization can be helped if you start to address any operational problems that might have been caused by the downsizing. Any shifting in staff will result in new challenges in terms of doing business, and there can be some confusion and chaos regarding how you are going to go about doing "business" with a smaller staff complement.

It is important that the chaos be reduced. Normally this will mean clarifying with staff any concerns they have about getting the business done, and problem-solving around the issues. The longer that there is confusion, the more likely there will be permanent effects on organizational health and morale.

During this period, both group problem solving meetings and individual discussions are appropriate and recommended. Bring ALL staff into the discussion, and make sure everyone is clear what they should be doing.

While the feelings of employees are important during this phase, staff need to be slowly moved back to getting the job done. By getting clear understandings of the changes, you will create a climate of stability, which is necessary for the "recovery" of people in the organization.

Futuring
The first part of adjusting to downsizing is to address the feelings of those that remain. The second is to focus on dealing with the operational problems stemming from the changes, and the third step deals with the future.

People need a vision of the future, a sense of what they are trying to achieve, and they also need to know that they are part of a goal-oriented team pulling in the same direction. While we have talked above about "getting through", futuring involves people in trying to create (or confirm) a vision of the organization, and it's goals, values, purpose, etc. It is the creation and commitment to these things that will work to revitalize an organization that has been downsized.

The futuring process is usually a group process, and can extend to undertaking strategic planning, re-examination of priorities, operational planning, and review of role and mission. By doing these kinds of things you promote a sense that the future will bring positive, exciting things. Organizations that have lost staff need to have that sense if they are to rebuild.

Recap
Leading staff through downsizing requires the leader to exercise superior judgement and decision-making. It's a complicated task that involves the leader in recognizing the natural reactions of those that remain in the organization, and determining the right timing for moving the organization from the emotional reactions to a focus on the present and future. While it is difficult, the consequences of mis-managing or under-managing the situation are severe. Both management and staff will suffer if the timing is wrong, or managers deny or avoid dealing with the fall-out from downsizing.

Front and Center - Leadership Critical To Managing Change

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:11:00 -0700

When change is imposed (as in downsizing scenarios), clearly the most important determinant of "getting through the swamp", is the ability of leadership to...well, lead. The literature on the subject indicates that the nature of the change is secondary to the perceptions that employees have regarding the ability, competence, and credibility of senior and middle management.

If you are to manage change effectively, you need to be aware that there are three distinct times zones where leadership is important. We can call these Preparing For the Journey, Slogging Through The Swamp, and After Arrival. We will look more carefully at each of these.

The Role of Leadership

In an organization where there is faith in the abilities of formal leaders, employees will look towards the leaders for a number of things. During drastic change times, employees will expect effective and sensible planning, confident and effective decision-making, and regular, complete communication that is timely. Also during these times of change, employees will perceive leadership as supportive, concerned and committed to their welfare, while at the same time recognizing that tough decisions need to be made. The best way to summarize is that there is a climate of trust between leader and the rest of the team. The existence of this trust, brings hope for better times in the future, and that makes coping with drastic change much easier.

In organizations characterized by poor leadership, employees expect nothing positive. In a climate of distrust, employees learn that leaders will act in indecipherable ways and in ways that do not seem to be in anyone's best interests. Poor leadership means an absence of hope, which, if allowed to go on for too long, results in an organization becoming completely nonfunctioning. The organization must deal with the practical impact of unpleasant change, but more importantly, must labor under the weight of employees who have given up, have no faith in the system or in the ability of leaders to turn the organization around.

Leadership before, during and after change implementation is THE key to getting through the swamp. Unfortunately, if haven't established a track record of effective leadership, by the time you have to deal with difficult changes, it may be too late.

Preparing For The Journey

It would be a mistake to assume that preparing for the journey takes place only after the destination has been defined or chosen. When we talk about preparing for the change journey, we are talking about leading in a way that lays the foundation or groundwork for ANY changes that may occur in the future. Preparing is about building resources, by building healthy organizations in the first place. Much like healthy people, who are better able to cope with infection or disease than unhealthy people, organization that are healthy in the first place are better able to deal with change.

As a leader you need to establish credibility and a track record of effective decision making, so that there is trust in your ability to figure out what is necessary to bring the organization through.

Slogging Through The Swamp

Leaders play a critical role during change implementation, the period from the announcement of change through the installation of the change. During this middle period the organization is the most unstable, characterized by confusion, fear, loss of direction, reduced productivity, and lack of clarity about direction and mandate. It can be a period of emotionalism, with employees grieving for what is lost, and initially unable to look to the future.

During this period, effective leaders need to focus on two things. First, the feelings and confusion of employees must be acknowledged and validated. Second, the leader must work with employees to begin creating a new vision of the altered workplace, and helping employees to understand the direction of the future. Focusing only on feelings, may result in wallowing. That is why it is necessary to begin the movement into the new ways or situations. Focusing only on the new vision may result in the perception that the leader is out of touch, cold and uncaring. A key part of leadership in this phase is knowing when to focus on the pain, and when to focus on building and moving into the future.

After Arrival

In a sense you never completely arrive, but here we are talking about the period where the initial instability of massive change has been reduced. People have become less emotional, and more stable, and with effective leadership during the previous phases, are now more open to locking in to the new directions, mandate and ways of doing things.

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This is an ideal time for leaders to introduce positive new change, such as examination of unwieldy procedures or Total Quality Management. The critical thing here is that leaders must now offer hope that the organization is working towards being better, by solving problems and improving the quality of work life. While the new vision of the organization may have begun while people were slogging through the swamp, this is the time to complete the process, and make sure that people buy into it, and understand their roles in this new organization.

Conclusion

Playing a leadership role in the three phases is not easy. Not only do you have a responsibility to lead, but as an employee yourself, you have to deal with your own reactions to the change, and your role in it. However, if you are ineffective in leading change, you will bear a very heavy personal load. Since you are accountable for the performance of your unit, you will have to deal with the ongoing loss of productivity that can result from poorly managed change, not to mention the potential impact on your own enjoyment of your job.

Understanding The Cycle of Change, And How People React To It

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:10:00 -0700

Managers often make the mistake of assuming that once a change is started, that employees will see that it is going to take place, and get on side. This is rarely the case. Because change causes fear, a sense of loss of the familiar, etc., it takes some time for employees to a) understand the meaning of the change and b) commit to the change in a meaningful way. It is important to understand that people tend to go through stages in their attempts to cope with change. Understanding that there are normal progressions helps change leaders avoid under-managing change or over-reacting to resistance.

As we go through the stages, you will probably find many similarities with the process a person goes through with the loss of a loved one.

Stage I: Denial

An early strategy that people use to cope with change is to deny that it is happening, or to deny that it will continue or last. Common responses during this stage are:

"I've heard these things before. Remember last year they announced the new customer initiative? Nothing ever happened, and this will pass."

"It's just another hair-brained idea from the top."

"I bet this will be like everything else. The head honcho will be real gung-ho but in about six months everything will be back to normal. You'll see."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

People in the denial stage are trying to avoid dealing with the fear and uncertainty of prospective change. They are hoping they won't have to adapt.

The denial stage is difficult because it is hard to involve people in planning for the future, when they will not acknowledge that the future is going to be any different than the present.

People tend to move out of the denial stage when they see solid, tangible indicators that things ARE different. Even with these indicators some people can remain in denial for some time.

Stage II: Anger & Resistance

When people can no longer deny that something is or has happened, they tend to move into a state of anger, accompanied by covert and/or over resistance. This stage is the most critical with respect to the success of the change implementation. Leadership is needed to help work through the anger, and to move people to the next stage. If leadership is poor, the anger at this stage may last indefinitely, perhaps much longer than even the memory of the change itself.

People in this stage tend to say things like:

"Who do they think they are? Jerking us around"

"Why are they picking on us?"

"What's so damned bad about the way things are?

"How could [you] the boss allow this to happen?

Actually people say far stronger things, but we need to be polite.

Stage III: Exploration & Acceptance

This is the stage where people begin to get over the hump. They have stopped denying, and while they may be somewhat angry, the anger has moved out of the spotlight. They have a better understanding of the meaning of the change and are more willing to explore further, and to accept the change. They act more open-mindedly, and are now more interested in planning around the change and being participants in the process.

People in this stage say things like:

"Well, I guess we have to make the best of it."

"Maybe we can get through this."

"We need to get on with business."

This is the payoff stage, where people commit to the change, and are willing to work towards making it succeed. They know it is a reality, and at this point people have adapted sufficiently to make it work. While some changes will never get endorsement from employees (downsizing, for example) employees at this stage will commit to making the organization effective within the constraints that have resulted from the change.

Concluding Points

Let's conclude with some key points:

1) The change process takes a considerable amount of time to stabilize and to work. Don't undermanage by assuming it will "work itself out" and don't over-react when faced with reasonable resistance.

2) Worry if there is no resistance. If the change is significant it means that people are hiding their reactions. Eventually the reactions that are not dealt with will fester and can destroy the organization. Likewise with anger.

What is The Different Between Forex and Futures?

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:55:00 -0700

1. A Forex trader could trade more transaction compared to the futures market (the trading volume could be a times larger), and the risk will be strictly under control. The trading volume of the Forex market is 46 times larger compared to the futures market, moreover Forex traders could make more profit from the Forex market due to the larger trading volume (the transaction volume is a few times larger), the REFCO Switzerland rich transaction platform allowed transaction between 1-100 times to be carry on, moreover a Forex trader could decide his or her own transaction amount, for example: Your account has $30,000, the basic transaction unit is each $1,000 (which transaction amount in $1.00, million), namely, so the proportion of the margin of each transaction unit is 100:1.

2. The risk of the Forex trader is under control, such margin call will not happen compared to futures, through the Forex trading system, your risk will receive the strict limit, even if your margin if lower then the deposit required, the Forex trading system will automatically settle your position, this means even if a Forex trader suffered losses, moreover if the market is suffering from a disaster fluctuation, your loss could not surpass your account amount. In order to understand the advantages, please apply for the demo account to carry on the complete zero risk.

3. A Forex trader will receive a large limitation of liquidation and a relatively fair market because the trading volume of the Forex market is large and it is also the largest liquidation market in the world. At present the trading volume in the Forex market is 140 billion Dollars, such big market will completely digest your transaction cash.

4. A Forex trader may do 24 hours transactions and other markets are different, the Forex market is a 24 hour linkages market, it starts from every Sunday before dawn Australian Sydney market, substandard collect the transaction center Singapore, Tokyo, London, Frankfurt to New York continuously to open, such linkage market enable you to do 24 hours transactions, also provide flexibility for Forex trader to do transaction.

Forex Charts

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:55:00 -0700

Forex charts assist the investor by providing a visual representation of exchange rate fluctuations. Many variables affect currency exchange rates, such as interest rates, bank policies, geopolitics, and even the time of day may affect exchange rates.

In order to help the investor attempt to predict when or in what direction a rate may change, advisors provide forex charts. Quality forex websites provide subscribers with a daily newsletter that includes a forex chart, forex signals and a forex forecast.

There are a variety of forex charts available for the investor to use and study. Some are very simple using only a couple of forex signals or indicators and are ideal for beginners. Others include 30 or 40 forex signals or indicators and live on-line streaming data so that the investor may analyze trades quickly and accurately.

In order to make an accurate forex forecast, it would seem that the more indicators, the better, but some analysts prefer a simpler system.

The idea behind studying forex charts is that history repeats itself. Instead of trying to “see the future”, a forex forecast evaluates the past. That is to say that the analyst who is responsible for attempting to predict future currency moves analyzes what happened to an exchange rate yesterday, last week, last month or last year and uses this knowledge to the best degree he knows how.

Some people trade short term, some intermediate term, and some long term. All three types of traders may benefit from the use of forex charts, just adapted to their own trading time frame.

Investors also create their own forex charts to evaluate their own performance. Creating a forex strategy for oneself is the goal of many investors. Instead of looking to a professional to analyze forex signals, these investors choose to create their own forex forecast.

Others, however, create their own strategy but also follow the opinions of professional currency traders at the same time. It all depends on your personal preferences.

There are other forex charts that deal with known correlations between two currency pairs, that is, how they move in relation to each other. Some exchange rates are known to affect other exchange rates, either by moving in the same or the opposite direction depending on the correlation.

Charts are available that explain these correlations in detail and show which pairs have strong correlations or strong negative correlations, so that an investor can use the movement of the exchange rate of one currency as a signal to trade another currency. These correlations are also the basis for some forex forecasts.

It can be difficult and overwhelming to enter the world of forex trading alone. Experts recommend education, practice with a demo account and advice from a reputable broker who is backed by a quality institution. Learning to read forex charts and evaluate forex signals is a skill that comes with time, skills that are essential when an accurate forex forecast is the the goal.

Online Learning or Traning of Forex Trading

noreply@blogger.com (Read The Articles) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:54:00 -0700

To learn forex trading with full knowledge and techniques is said to be a good idea, because now a days many companies are providing online training and courses such like marketing and trading. Forex is now being taken too seriously as the largest financial market with the largest sales of more than one trillion U.S dollars per day.

forex is likely good platform for the people who are interested in trade or marketing. Forex trading is a knowledge about concepts and tools which are important for the right buyer and seller with fully understand steps, and if a new person enters the world of forex learning, forex trading is the best way to deal with.

Before taking a decision for choosing courses or companies for learning forex, you need to understand the role of these online courses or training player. If you are new to market economy or forex, you might make a mistake which might be dangerous for your investment. Online forex trading gives you a comprehensive understanding of the various technical and fundamental conditions that might be helpful and safer for your investment. You may know that the Forex is the buying and selling of currencies. But in the forex training you may get the right techniques about buying and selling of currencies.

Forex Learning also helps you use various tools such as Forex charts, forex quotes, research and analysis in a most efficient way to support the movement of your business, and they will also ensure that how to deal with your losses by applying specific tools