PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT: Essentials You Always Wanted To Know:

PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT: Essentials You Always Wanted To Know:
Publisher: Vibrant Publishers, USA; Author: Name not given, Pp: 162, Price: Rs. 499/=, Language: English, First Edition: May 2018, ISBN-10: 1946383-93-7, ISBN-13: 978-1-946383-93-8, 
   Basically in this world, at all times, all of us have to complete some work or the other, either ourselves or through somebody else, who may be a person, a team or an organization. On the face of it, it looks very easy and simple, meaning that that you just tell the other party and the job will be done. But in practice, it is far from the real truth. Getting the job done is said to be the most difficult assignment. Sometimes the person In-charge gets so much fed up that he says to himself that it would have been better, if he would have done the work himself. However, since it is not possible for one person to complete all works by himself, the same have to be allocated or delegated. But it is very difficult for the common man to understand and appreciate this point of view, due to lack of awareness of the intricacies involved. Management guides and coordinates the activities of a group/team of people working in the organization for achieving the desired objectives efficiently, through optimal utilization of 5M’s, viz. men, machine, material, money and methods. Accordingly, Management has four basic functions viz. Planning, Organizing, Leading & Controlling. Managers need a large number of skills, which are essential to get the jobs done e.g. building a Team, guiding & monitoring the employees for obtaining the achievements, maintaining good relations with everybody in & outside the organization, dealing with Customer Complaints & feedback from employees etc.  Each one is a special skill by itself.  
  After providing the initial information by the publishers, the book presents systematically organized Table of Contents, which is followed by A letter to the Reader, Books in Self-Learning Management Series (giving the titles and ISBN numbers of six books) and Preface. There are in all 17 Chapters in the book, which cover the following  fundamental and important concepts/topics: Introduction to Management, Functions of Management, Planning & Decision Making, Leaders Vs. Managers, Organizational Charts & Structure, Budgeting, Problem Solving, Group Dynamics, Converting a group to a successful team, Conflict Resolution, Communication, Change, Organizational Culture, Total Quality Management, Operations, People Management, Customer Relationship Management. After a study of this book, one is expected to understand the functions of management at various levels in the organization, responsibilities of a manager, managing employees,  team relationships, customer relationships and learn the tools such as decision making, conflict management, problem solving  etc. to help in management.
This book presents a broad overview and deals with (a) Core elements of Management and (b) ways of supporting various activities of Management. Chapter 3 discusses the basic steps for decision making. Chapter 7 explains the basic steps and tools for solving a problem. Chapter 10 explains the types of Conflicts and the methods for resolving them. Chapter 11 covers the types of Communication, listening and managerial communication. Change being the law of nature, Chapter 12 explains the tools for managing Change in an Organization. Chapter 16, on People Management rightly has the maximum number of pages in the book. This is the largest role as a Manager, including all the stages for staff requirements, recruitment, selecting right employees, their orientation, reviews, performance reviews etc.  Chapter 17 provides the features for Customer Relations Management, types of Customers, Customer Orientation and Satisfaction score.
In all there are 43 Figures/Charts/Tables in the book, which are spread over all the Chapters, except Chapter No. 1, 3, 4, 6 and 13. Number of pages in the Chapters, vary from 3 to 16. The Cover design is simple. The language is also easy to understand. The book provides accurate, authoritative and relevant information/explanation on the various subjects and the tools needed in practice. By and large, most of the essential topics have been included. For the prospective or upcoming managers, there is a lot to learn from the book to get better performance, without stress. In actual life, managers are directly recruited, as well as promoted from the employees from the line job. The latter is generally based on their performance in the line job and their overall assessment. But the skills required for the managers are very much different. When promoted, one should read books such as this one, for learning and understanding the essentials of management, preparing for new roles and getting a grip on the functions of a manager for long term career growth. This book is considered very useful for studies for the self-learners, trainees & newcomers seeking a career in management, trainers, working individuals, as well as the old timers of this profession.

                                                                                    ------------Reviewer: vijaiksharma  

THE MODERN DAY HINDU

THE MODERN DAY HINDU,     

Surviving Twenty -first Century through Hindu way of living,

by Dr. Nikhil Chandwani, Publisher: WRC Publishers, part of Raindrops Publishers, Year of publication  2018, No. of Pages 141, Price : Rs. 299/=, $ 10, ISBN:  978-93-88259-22-4,

This book is an abstract work of fiction and imagination. According to the author, he has not taken any thing from what is existing. He has written based on his experience in imagining and organizing the things for this topic. It has references to Hollywood movies, music and social media.  It explains Hinduism with the help of Science. Many of the Indians are under the influence of the western world, but it makes efforts to keep the Indian culture alive. In all, there are 14 Chapters in the book. Almost all Chapters contain one or more colourful figures, except Chapters 1, 3, and 11. Total number of figures in the book is 35. Chapter 2 also contains two tables, one flow chart and one sketch. Being based in USA, the author has generally used American terminology and spellings. About the author has been provided in detail & is impressive enough. The author has also given Acknowledgement in the beginning of the book, for the help, assistance and cooperation given, mostly by his parents & family members, in writing this book.

The author indicates inclinations towards creativity and positivity with the pictures of "connecting the dots". New things bring new experiences. We get ideas from nothing and then proceed from imagination to physical realization. He discusses about two laws of Creation, solitude, loneliness, free will and Cosmos. The author depicts seven spheres to define concepts and evolving of the models of items of use. A problem solving flow chart is depicted as a typical way of dealing with the world. Author discusses about cycle of life, changes, evolution and revolution and observation of data and finding meaning in it. There can be several options in life, including reactions from the environment and things may be bad. Author talks about Common Consensus Reality and Personally Experienced Reality. Some of us inflate our balloon of reality. Our education is continuous and we learn from each other. Everything is a system, which consists of sub-systems. Interfaces allow for exchanges between inside of the system and the environment. Roles exist in many areas and are like opposite ends of an interface. He continues to discuss about positive thinking, positive vibrations, our connections in a matrix, thinking and feeling, love and lust, giving and accepting and aspects of freedom.  A system has boundary on the inside as well as on the outside, which work together to interface the system. Further discussion takes place about desire, destiny and fate etc.  Life is a set of never ending set of semicircles and bubbles connected, not fully spherical and that interfaces affect our behaviour.  With computer generated animations, it is difficult to differentiate between tricks and the real movie, leading to fear in our mind. Neutrality is close to observation. We should think that all things happen for the good.  He discusses about our having set of preferences and dislikes and clash of preferences. A question is also posed as to whether everything is fixed and whether we are driven by fate. He talks of hotness, temperature and absolute zero etc. Science appears to have become complex. We need adapting in life and we could be happy even without having anything. He discusses about the keyboard as an interface, recycling for better work, miniaturization, intelligence and consciousness.  Concluding, he states that triangle or trinity embodies stability. In the same vein, he mentions about bubbles, spirals and gravity.

The design of the Cover of the book is colourful and appealing. About the book has been given on the back cover of the book. He has used several abbreviations and coined new explanations for some words. This book is insightful and gives inspiration to live the life.  It has narration in simple language which is easy to understand.  Though one may be curious to know, about the contents of the book, but for an orthodox Hindu, it is a difficult effort.  It differentiates between the modern days and the olden days. People in the modern world are very busy and are unable to find time for such things. Choosing this topic for writing this book is courageous. The book can be considered to be of interest to those who have neutral considerations, like imaginations, new perspectives on existence and out of the box discussions.  

                                                                              ------------------Reviewer: vijaiksharma

KILL CODE: A DYSTOPIAN SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Kill Code: A Dystopian Science Fiction Novel,

Author: Clive Fleury, Publisher: Tck Publishing ( Dec. 2018), Paperback: 148 pages,  ISBN-10: 1-63161-056-2, ISBN-13: 978-1-63161-056-1, Price: Rs. 1202/=

This book is an unusual work of fiction, totally based on the fertile imagination of the author. All names and incidents etc. are fictitious. It is said to be a Dystopia novel, which means an imagined state or society, in which there is great suffering or injustice. In the beginning, one is unable to anticipate about the many terrible and terrifying events which follow. Catastrophe is said to be due to climate changes. Temperatures are high and turbulence in the ocean is terrible, leading to ocean water rising and creating havoc frequently. The world scenario appears to be dark, with poor economy and high unemployment. Therefore loss of a job may lead to loss of food and even to loss of life. The rich and corrupt become powerful, do not allow general people to come up and may even starve them and thus dictate and rule the world. In future, due to climate change & overpopulation, a large number of the inhabitants of the earth, may struggle to earn a living, scavenge for food from the waste of the rich & get oppressed by corrupt and rich people, since they feel that with the survival of starving people becoming a serious problem, it is easier to control the world.

The main narrator in this novel is Hogan Duran, who is a painstaking person. At first, he was in the army, then became a police person and then resigned. He too is one, struggling to earn a living and adding income by obtaining things free from the garbage. National Security Council (NSC) is an elite and secret special force, which was formed to protect the rich, privileged and powerful. Entrance into this force depends upon passing a series of potential deadly entrance tests. Added to the location is a rebel group known as Krails. Hogan gets an invitation for joining NSC along with others, for which all of them are subjected to several rigorous, challenging and deadly tests one after the other. If he clears the hard process of competition with other candidates, he is likely to be selected. Being a former police person, Hogan was hopeful to pass the tests based on his experience and thus improve his life. But the things are not that straight forward. He faces many difficulties, but keeps his integrity. The other characters in the novel are Captain Beecham and General Stoker of NSC, Ms. Ruby, who was also in Army, Jake etc. There are several incidents which cannot be forgotten easily, e.g. shooting of his friend Max Creeling, which led to his paralyzed leg and living on wheelchair. While being escorted back to the Base, they are attacked by Krails. But with the earlier experience in the Army, Duran and Ruby escape from Krails. General negotiates with Krails. Later on, Hogan and Max live in a small apartment. But ultimately Duran gets disappointed to observe that both NSC and Krails are together in enjoying wealth and power.

There are 21 Chapters in this book. In the end, Photo of the author and About the author have been provided, followed by “Connect with Clive Fleury”, “Other books by Clive”, “Get Book Discounts and Deals”, and “One last thing”. In the last note, the author is requesting readers to post brief comments/reviews on the relevant page of the book on Amazon. It is a relatively short, well written, thrilling science fiction novel. It has several combinations of climate change, injustice, survival, life threatening competitions, individual strength, feelings, simulation etc. While going through the book, it appears that the whole action drama is taking place in front of us. The characters are strong and clear cut, who play their parts well and action is adequately fast paced. The well thought out plot of the author has many catastrophic events having turns & surprises, against which the people must fight. It is interesting, entertaining and exciting and the reader gets engrossed into the incidents. The journey of reading this novel takes the reader on a futuristic ride. But question that arises is whether it is possible that such a position may arise in future on earth. This is the first book in the series of three being written by the author. The readers have to keep their fingers crossed, about the plots and nature and turn of the events in the next two books in the series. Concluding, it can be stated that this science novel will be found interesting and suitable by all those who like excitement and thrill.

                                                                                                       ------------------vijaiksharma

SALES PEOPLE—DON’T--LIE

Sales People –don’t- Lie,

Author Roshan L. Joseph, Publisher Sage, Response Business Books, Pp 179,  Price Rs. 395/=, Year of publication 2018, ISBN-978-93-528-0712-3(PB)

Customer is the King, should be the guiding spirit in selling, which is a very important but difficult facet of the activities in any organization. To convince & motivate prospective buyers to clinch the deal, some salespersons present a distorted picture. However, the public perception is that salespersons do lie, assuming that deception is a necessary practice by salespersons, otherwise their careers would be short lived. But there are many salespersons who perform well, without resorting to lying. The book mentions about the heroes known for their professionalism and also about those who brought this disgrace to the profession.

This book has been written by Mr. Roshan L. Joseph, the Managing Partner of B-More Consulting. Contents page is followed by Foreword (written by CEO and MD, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.), Preface, 49 Chapters, Epilogue and About the Author. Each of these Chapters is having only 2 or 3 (and in one case 4) pages. All the Chapters have illustrations having humourous sales background and narrate about real life incidents/events/situations/instances for aspects of selling and salespersons. About seventy percent of salespersons are said to think only of their quota and not the customers and their wanting to “sell like hell”. But some Chapters discuss various aspects of “lying” as a tool by the salespersons. The author states that all the salespersons do not use it, but some use it basically to complete the targets. Salespersons of certain types of products e.g. old used cars are reputed to tell untruths. Actions like misrepresentation of facts, bullying, aggression, & dumping cause damages in the long run. People decide to lie, as it is easier to lie than to work hard. However, winners have no need to lie. Some bosses as real leaders develop their teams while others follow the path of fear. Salespersons should help consumers in buying instead of selling.

According to the author, the basic premise for this unfair image is the lack of professional sales training. Necessary skills and qualities should be arranged through adequate training in the sales process to do the ‘whole job’, taking special care to train a sales team to be professional, powerful and ethical. Training should also include outlining the proper way to meet the consumers, ascertaining their particular needs, handling their objections and complaints and maintaining relationships in all cases. Relationships thrive on trust. If trust is broken, business takes a beating. Salespersons have problems like not fitting into their jobs, inability to stand tremendous pressure, not having rapport with new boss, having health problems etc. But, honestly telling true points will improve the sales results and also be more consistent. In many professions, they go by system, training & goal, with less scope for lying. The salesperson should suggest solutions after study of the problems of customer and help them to take right decisions.

The Cover design is simple but colourful. The back of front cover page gives opinion of five and Advance Praise in subsequent pages, written by nine high ranking professionals, executives and authors. The author has dedicated this book to his wife. The back cover page gives brief ideas about the author, about the book & comments of another author about this book. The book is printed on good quality paper & is pleasing to read. However, Subject Index, References & Suggested Readings have not been provided. It presents a real picture in an effective and interesting manner, since it appears to have been written from the heart of a real salesperson. It examines how it is possible to be more successful if one stays with the truth. It makes a sincere effort to clear the unfair image salespeople have, that they need to lie to make a sale. The conclusion is that sales persons may lie but not all persons lie and that salespersons excellent in their work need not lie. The book presents a broad overview of the profession of selling, its ins and outs and ways to improve the things. For the salespersons, there is a lot to learn from the book with a view to better understand their profession and to get better performance, without resorting to lies and without stress. It is useful for the trainees, newcomers, old timers of this profession, as well as the general public.   

                                                                                         ------------Reviewer: vijaiksharma

#TrueBeing

#TrueBeing , 

By Sagar Datta, Publisher: Notion Press, Chennai, Pp 368, Price: Rs. 399, Year of publication: 2019, ISBN 978-1-68466-565-5.

In a way, the cover of this book briefly uncovers its contents viz. one book, three themes, many musings. We all human beings have thoughts about various issues, some of which we do express, but mostly we may not express openly. But there are individuals who feel strongly about certain points. These feelings may be based upon their own experience or of others or may even be their own abstract thinking. But this varies from person to person. This book has been written by Shri Sagar Datta. It appears that lot of thinking has been done by him, before carefully penning down the script, before or after deciding the titles of the Chapters. It does have personal touch from beginning to the end. The very important human topics viz. Love (33 Chapters), Life (57 Chapters) and Relationships (52 Chapters) have been discussed in three parts of the book. Each Chapter consists of poetic verses, musings, illustrations, four-liners etc. The book starts with Introduction, which states that poetry and prose have come from the soul.

First theme is Love. This most important emotion is very complex and can take extreme positions. Relationships of love also change with time and may even become unfavourable and in case of sufferings we may be forced to apply closure with hopes for a better future for both. An extract from the poem "Make me grow" is noteworthy (Quote) For I was just A diamond, Fresh uncut and unfinished, And you Made the world see my illumination"(Unquote) Relationships should be simple and clear about expectations, wants and sense of belonging to each other. Marriage is not of two persons but of two families, requiring understanding, balancing and adjustment. We cannot force someone to love us. Love should not just be physical but beyond, for the soul. There should be selfless concern. Detachment may be required at appropriate times. One odd mistake should not become centre-point of break-up. Healing also requires time and patience. Ending of relationship should be the last resort, since there is pain and poison in life when the partner leaves. It is difficult to forget her in case of break-up. When relationship ends, only good points should be remembered. The author goes deep into the aspects of love where we live for the other person, with commitment and we surrender to each other. Love is a meaningful journey and not a destination. Bonding between two persons is with some rules. Infidelity is an insult.  An extract from "Love needs effort" in the Chapter Difficult Love is relevant: (Quote) Obsession with someone should be without pain but one of pleasure"(Unquote). Love changes people, makes us grow and improve and should make us selfless.

The second theme is Life. The musings are based on author's observations of various kinds of people. Our beliefs are outcomes of agreement between our heart, mind and soul. We should think, dream and have vision differently in life and cut through the limitations. We realize the troubles and struggles of our parents, only when we become parents. We must know that life has a purpose and we have to make it beautiful. Problems in our life exhaust us and therefore we must also relax, and progress after pauses. For some time in life, we are single. It has its own good and bad perspectives. It is OK to be single till we find someone with whom we can share and spend life. We should improve continuously, assess our strengths and progress and excel in them. We should be close to the people who make us pleasant and energize us and avoid people who see only our shortcomings, without any solutions for them. Each one of us is a different, unique, imperfect & special person and we should take pride in being that special person.  Though it is very difficult to forget the past but still we have to try to avoid old toxic incidents and memories. We must know that nothing in this world is permanent. We need detachment but it does not mean that we should not care. Failure is not the end of the world. It gives lessons for future. We all have adequate strength to survive and progress.

In many cases, friendship lasts till purpose and benefits are taken. The love, connection and care remain for the time being. We should take it that we are being tested by God. We should not lose hope. We should know ourselves first, feel confident and not be afraid. We cannot always have true companions. We must forget and forgive and not think about revenge. We should see our own life and in no case we should hurt ourselves. We should get inspiration from successful persons. We should not take many responsibilities. The reality is that the world goes on with or without us.  We should learn from failures and losses. We may help others but not interfere in their affairs. We should be clear about our intentions and not worry much about opinion of others. We should not allow others to control our thoughts. Life is beautiful and creative. We must not fall prey to depression. We must thank God for what all he has given to us. God is doing what is due for us.

The third part is Relationships: Relationships with our partners and all others like friends, family, colleagues etc. involved in our life are important. Relationships should be created and allowed to grow. We should give credit to our parents for our present status in birth, nature, personality, growth and progress etc. In case of true love, distance is of no consequence but lack of communication or silence does matter. In a relationship, communication is very important. But our thoughtless actions may sometimes cause permanent loss of relationships. Generally others want only small things like partner wants love, parents want respect etc. It is said that our partners have been already matched and decided by God. It is very difficult to change a person. We have to accept her as she is. A bad relationship may also give positive results. In case of anger we should take it up with the person who caused it, otherwise just swallow it. Sometimes when one person apologizes for his past mistakes, then we should forgive him and move on. We should be away from persons who hate and harm us or make us feel small. We should not break somebody's heart and expect her to love us. It is better to let her do reasonable things which she wants to do. Everything has two sides, bright side and dark side. We should evaluate, realize and develop empathy. Before blaming others, we should look within ourselves first. We need not be dependent on anyone but this point does not arise in love.  Here an extract is relevant: (Quote) A real man is someone who can make a woman smile and be happy when she is with him (Unquote). It is a matter of loyalty, commitment, honesty, listening and understanding etc. Trusting and investing are very important. Our view must be straightforward and not one of pretending. When a person who belonged to us, is seen with someone else, it is time to move on. Cheating and lying are extremely harmful. Any relationship on the foundation of untruth cannot last.

We must have positive attitude for future but with caution, even with past bad relationships, since these also change with time and have ups and downs. Our partner also has some limitations. If one has problem with someone, we should resolve it by discussing it with him rather than broadcasting and involving others. We should not take anyone for granted since we may lose the person whom we love the most, in spite of good intentions. Perceptions vary from time to time and from person to person.  Maintaining bond is responsibility of both sides. People do not always present things correctly. We should try to keep relationships going even though these may be in troubled waters. There is no single theory for a successful relationship. People tend to remind our past to open old wounds. We may make mistakes but we should learn from them. People come back in cases of true love.

Conclusion: In the beginning of the book, the author provides dedication to all hearts and souls equally, a small tip from the author to read the book slowly in parts and not read it in one go and gives blessings,  my dear reader as a poem and then Introduction.  ECover design is colourful and appealing. Towards the end of the book is The Last Chapter, which tells us to rethink about our lives for love, relations and regrets. Author expresses his gratefulness for our reading the book till end, as it will help in forgiving and forgetting things. About the author has been provided at the end of the book. However, About the book and Subject Index have not been provided in the book. The illustrations provided in the book are in black and white and lack clarity and appear to be blurred or indistinct.

Summarizing it can be said that it is an emotional work and the author has poured his heart into the contents of this book and gives a real self-reflection of his own personal experiences of his life or of somebody too close to him or may be his own imagination, which has found expression in poems, illustrations and musings etc. The reader gets benefited and becomes a lot wiser by learning the intricacies of these three themes. It is said that an intelligent person learns from the experience of others. The most important learning in love and relationships is to forget and forgive. Of course, the reviewer agrees with the author that this book should be read slowly and in parts. The author expects feedback from the readers. Since this book provides some points for avoiding and resolving troubled relationships and finding peace in life it is considered satisfying, worth reading  and very useful for every one of us to make our love life, overall life and relationships best possible to lead to overall happiness in life. This book is having simple language, is easy to understand, has beautiful presentation and valuable lessons. It will help us to face various problems in life with strength, find their solutions and observe a change for the better.  According to the reviewer, this book will surely motivate and change the way we see and live our own life. It is a must read for everyone.

                                                                                   ------------Reviewer: vijaiksharma