Message from Chairman

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER

Volu me : 1

Nu mber : 1 Jan – Mar 2015

Engineer Bhawan, Ranchi – 834 002, Jharkhand Land Line: 0651-2491344 e-mail: ieiranchi@yahoo.co.in website: www.ieijsc.org

The Institution of Engineers (India)

Jharkhand State Centre

CHAIRMAN Er Shivanand Roy FIE

HONY. SECRETARY Er Manik Mukhopadhyay FIE

EDITORIAL BOARD

Air Vice Mshl (Retd) Yash Kumar AVSM FIE

Er MR Kumar MIE

Er Shivachandra Prasad MIE

Er Prashant Deva MIE

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Water Resources Day

National Technology Day

World Telecom & Information Society Day

World Environment Day

(Contact JSC for Details)

In this Issue … Message from Chairman Membership data Create your own happiness Reports on various events Reports on technical talk How you can being used Value every team members Customer service – accept blame own the problem Engineers Wives’ Association (EWA)

|EDITOR’S NOTE|

Publishing a magazine is an onerous task. More so if it is being done by an in-house production team. The challenge to start an e-magazine was however so inviting that the new Editorial team did not want the opportunity to slip by. Just to think of saving so much of paper was the biggest reward for all of us in the Editorial Board.

This is the first e-Disha being published. The shape and form of this magazine will evolve as we go along. We need your full support – in terms of articles, stories, letters to editor, your comments on quality of form and contents, your criticism and of course your appreciation where due.

I promise you that we will not lack in our effort to meet your aspirations.

In this issue, we have left the space for “Letter to Editor” column blank. It is our hope that we will get many many letters from the members which will appear in this column. Please do encourage your family members to contribute to this magazine.

With best wishes Jai Hind

Air Vice Mshl (Retd) Yash Kumar

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Message from Chairman

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ELECTED MEMBERS SESSION 2014 – 16

Name Designation / Elected Branch Er Shivanand Roy FIE Chairman Er Manik Mukhopadhyay FIE Honorary Secretary Er Chandrakant Raipat FIE Immediate Past Chairman Er Subrata Mukherjee FIE Immediate Past Honorary Secretary Er AK Saxena Council Member Er BD Kataruka FIE Past Chairman Dr Niranjan Kumar MIE Agricultural Engineering Er MS Jaruhar FIE Architectural Engineering Er Manoj Kumar MIE Civil Engineering Er PK Gupta MIE Civil Engineering Er Abhik Bhowmic FIE Electrical Engineering Er MA Gaffar Nadeem MIE Electrical Engineering Er RK Kanshi MIE Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering Er Sanjay Sen FIE Environment Engineering Er KC Padhy MIE Marine Engineering Er MR Kumar MIE Mechanical Engineering Er Amit Pal FIE Mechanical Engineering Er AK Mishra MIE Mechanical Engineering (co-opted) Er SC Roy FIE Metallurgy & Material Engineering Dr Rajeev Agrawal MIE Production Engineering

I, Er. Shivanand Roy - C h a i r m a n of I E (I), JSC for the sessions 2014-16 has taken over the rein from the out-going Chairman Er. Chandrakant Raipat. On my new assignment as Chairman of IE(I), JSC, I thanked all my new Committee members including the Hony. Secretary for electing me as the Chairman for the session 2014-16. I also thank the new Council M e m b e r Er AK Saxena and all P a s t - Chairman, Past H o n y . Secretary a n d all other invitee members for their support and co-operation to show their confidence in me to assign for the chair. I welcome all the elected members from each Engg. Divn. Board, who have joined in this committee. I a l s o w e l c o m e t h o s e

invitee members who have shown their Interest to work for this institution’s wellbeing. I hope that I shall get everybody’s co-operation and guidance to lead this Institution to work jointly for development of this state as well as for the nation. It gives me a great pleasure to announce that Jharkhand State Centre is publishing its first copy of e Disha from January-March 2015. I thank the editorial team for the same. With best wishes, Shivanand Roy – Chairman, IE(I), JSC, Ranchi

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WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY

Er Brij Kishore Sharma, FIE Er Sati Nandan Majumdar, FIE Er Shiv Kumar Singh, FIE

Dr Gopal Mohammad Chowdhary, MIE Er Nagesh Mishra, MIE Er Vinod Tripathy, AMIE

Er Ashutosh Kumar Das,AMIE Er Arbind Kumar Singh, AMIE

NEW APPLICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP

Er Alok Kumar, FIE Er Suman Kumar, FIE Er M Islam Nayyer, AMIE

Er Mahesh Poddar, FIE Er Pradip Kumar Gupta, MIE Er Satyendra Kumar, AMIE

Er Rajat Kumar, AMIE Er Kamal Deo Singh, FIE Er Ajai Singh, FIE

Er Kamal Deo Singh, FIE Er Ajai Singh, FIE Er Mahesh Poddar, FIE

Eratyendr Sa Kumar, AMIE Er Satish Chandra Choudhary, FIE Er Ram Kripal Singh, MIE

Er Sunil Kumar Sinha, MIE Er Subhash Kumar Singh, FIE Er Rahul Anand, AMIE

Er Kamlesh Chauhan, AMIE Eer Maneesh Kumar, AMIE

MEMBERSHIP UPGRADATION APPLICATIONS

Er Vinod Tripathi AMIE to MIE Er Shiva Shankar Mishra AMIE to FIE

Er Manda Rajananda Kumar AMIE to FIE Er Shashi Bhushan Kumar AMIE to MIE

GROWTH OF MEMBERSHIP – JHARKIHAND : Oct – Dec 2014

Centre 30 Sep 2014 31 Dec2014 Growth Corporate Non-Corporate Total Corporate Non-Corporate Total Total % Increase Ranchi State Cenre 1837 4095 5932 1859 4215 6074 142 2.39 Bokaro Steel City 512 1262 1774 525 1286 1811 37 2.09 Dhanbad 657 2919 3576 664 2994 3658 82 2.29 Jamshedpur 1515 6697 8212 1522 6766 8288 76 0.93

MEMBERSHIP STATUS – ALL INDIA : 31 MAR 2015 Division F/M/AM Total GROWTH

Aerospace 269/113/118 500 30 Sep 2014 31 Dec 2014 Agriculture 309/440/505 1254 Architectural 148/189/121 458 Corporate Chemical 918/1399/2075 4392 Civil 10552/26218/21282 58052 Fellow 29,587 30,097 Computer 409/846/4603 5858 Member 59,990 60,500 Electrical 5735/9891/13971 29597 Associate Member 82,419 82,956 Elect & Telecom 1385/2974/14185 18544 Environmental 521/547/197 1265 Total 1,72,266 1,73,553 Marine 356/811/661 1828 Mechanical 7544/14617/21980 44141 Non Corporate Met & Mat 606/561/452 1619 Mining 562/556/1198 2316 Senior Technician (ST) 5,12,475 5,16,867 Production 558/966/1133 2657 Technician (T) 95,811 96,160 Textile 225/372/475 1072

Total 30097/60500/82956 173553 Total 6,08,286 6,13,027

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16 WAYS TO CREATE YOUR OWN HAPPINESS AT WORK

Let’s face it; happiness and work do not tend to go hand in hand. Just 13% of us consider ourselves to be “happily engaged at work”. Those who do rate themselves as happy are 36% more motivated, six times more energized, and twice as productive as their unhappy counterparts. The good news is that just 50% of happiness is influenced by genetics – the rest is up to you. When it comes to making yourself happy, you need to learn what works for you. Once you discover this, everything else tends to fall into place. And making yourself happy doesn’t just improve your performance; it is also good for health. A critical skill set that happy people tend to have in common is emotional intelligence (EQ). Here are 16 great ways that emotionally intelligent people create their own happiness at work. 1. You are in charge of your own happiness. You have two choices in any dead-end job; find another one or make the most of the one you are stuck with. Either way, your happiness is up to you and no one else. Remind yourself if you are feeling stuck. 2. Don’t obsess over things you can’t control. It is good to know how Greece’s economic troubles might affect US markets or that your company merge with its largest competitor, but there is a big difference between understanding these larger forces and worrying about them. Happy people are ready and informed, but they do not allow themselves to fret over things that are beyond their pay grades. 3. Don’t compare yourself to other people. When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself to others, you are no longer master of your own happiness. When you feel good about something that you have done, do not allow anyone’s opinions or accomplishments take that away from you. 4. Reward yourself. Working hard is important, but never allowing yourself to take break is detrimental to your happiness. Small “thrills” make people more productive and accurate in their work. Rewards activate the pleasure pathway in your brain, even if they are self-induced. 5. Exercise during work week. Getting your body moving for as little as 10 minutes releases GABA, a soothing neurotransmitter that also limits

impulsivity. People who exercised on workdays reported improvements in time management, mood, and performance. The benefits of exercise always outweigh the time lost in its pursuit. 6. Don’t judge and gossip. Judging other people and speaking poorly of them is a lot like overindulging in a decadent dessert; it feels good while you’re doing it, but afterwards, you feel guilty and sick. When you’re tempted to speak of someone else in a way that might be negative, just ask yourself if you’d want someone saying the same about you. 7. Choose your battle wisely. Emotionally intelligent people know how important it is to live to fight another day. In conflict, unchecked emotion makes you dig your heels in and fight the kind of battle that can leave you severely damaged and unhappy for some time to come. When you read and respond to your emotions, you’re able to choose your battles wisely and only stand your ground when the time is right. 8. Stay true to yourself. Crossing moral boundaries in the name of success is a sure-fire path to unhappiness. Violating your personal standards creates feelings of regret, dissatisfaction, and demotivation. Know when to stand your ground and express dissent when someone wants you to do something that you know you shouldn’t. When you’re feeling confused, take some time to review your values and write them down. This will help you to locate your moral compass. 9. Clear the clutter. I don’t need to remind you of how much time you spend at work. Take a good look at your workspace. You should create a space that’s soothing and uplifting. Whether it’s a picture of your family, a plant, or an award that you’re proud of, display them prominently to keep them on your mind. Get rid of the junk and clutter that hold no significance and do nothing positive for your mental state. 10. Give someone a hand. Taking the time to help your colleagues not only makes them happy, but it also makes you happy. Helping other people gives you a surge of oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine, all of which create good feelings. Employees who helped others were 10 times more likely to be focused at work and 40% more likely to get a promotion. People who consistently provided social support were the most likely to be happy during times of high stress. As long as you make certain that

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you aren’t overcommitting yourself, helping others is sure to have a positive influence on your happiness. 11. Let your strengths flow. People who were able to reach an intense state of focus, called flow, reaped massive benefits. Flow is the state of mind in which you find yourself completely engrossed in a project or task, and you lose awareness of the passage of time and other external distractions. Flow is often described as an exhilarating state in which you feel euphoria and mastery simultaneously. The result is not just happiness and productivity but also the development of new skills through a heightened state of learning. The key to reaching flow lies in organizing your tasks such that you have immediate and clear goals to pursue that play to your strengths. As you begin working on these tasks, your focus increases along with your feelings of adequacy. In time, you reach a flow state, in which productivity and happiness flourish. Set clear goals each day and experiment with task order until you find the secret formula that gets you flowing. 12. Smile and laugh more. We can actually manipulate our emotions by changing our facial expressions. It doesn’t matter if your smile is genuine because your facial expression can precede the feeling. If you find yourself in a negative spiral at work, slow down and smile or watch a funny video on YouTube. This mood boost can turn your day around. 13. Stay away from negative people. Complainers and negative people are bad news because they wallow in their problems and fail to focus on solutions. They want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves. People often feel pressure to listen to complainers because they don’t want to be seen as callous or rude, but there’s a fine line between lending a sympathetic ear and getting sucked into their negative emotional spirals. You can avoid getting drawn in only by setting limits and distancing yourself when necessary. Think of it this way: If a person were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the second-hand smoke? You’d distance yourself, and you should do the same with negative people. A great way to set limits is to ask them how they intend to fix their problems. The complainer will then either quiet down or redirect the conversation in a productive direction. 14. Laugh at yourself. When you take yourself too seriously at work your happiness and performance suffer. Don’t be afraid to show a little vulnerability. Something as simple as laughing at yourself draws people to you because it

shows them that you’re humble and grounded (it also keeps them from laughing behind your back). Happy people balance their self-confidence with a good sense of humor and humility.

15. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. It’s all too easy to get caught up in things that could have been different or didn’t turn out the way you wanted them to. Sometimes the best way to pull your mind away from negativity is to step back and contemplate what you’re grateful for. Taking time to reflect on the good in your life improves your mood because it reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23%. People who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood, energy, and physical wellbeing.

16. Believe the best is yet to come. Don’t just tell yourself that the best is yet to come—believe it. Having a positive, optimistic outlook on the future doesn’t just make you happier; it also improves your performance by increasing your sense of self-efficacy. The mind has a tendency to magnify past pleasure to such a great degree that the present pales in comparison. This phenomenon can make you lose faith in the power of the future to outdo what you’ve already experienced. Don’t be fooled. Believe in the great things the future has in store.

Bringing It All Together

Applying these strategies won’t just improve your happiness at work; most of them will also improve your emotional intelligence. Pick those that resonate with you and have fun with them.

Author: Dr Travis Bradberry

Who says Engineers don’t have a sense of Humor

An engineer was crossing a road one day, when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess." He bent over, picked up the frog and

put it in his pocket.

The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you for one week and do

ANYTHING you want."

Again, the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket.

Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess and that I'll stay with you for one week and do anything you want. Why won't you

kiss me?" The engineer said, "Look, I'm an engineer. I don't have

time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."

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REPUBLIC DAY 16 JAN 2015

Like every year, the Institution of Engineers (India), Jharkhand State Centre, Ranchi celebrated the 66th Republic Day at Engineer Bhawan, Doranda, on 26th January 2015.

Many members with their family and friends gathered at the Institution premises by 1100h for flag hoisting ceremony. The Chairman of IE(I), JSC Er. Shivanand Roy and the Hony. Secretary Er. Manik Mukhopadhyay hoisted the flag. After Hoisting of National Flag, the National Anthem was sung by all the members with their families & friends. Sweets and toffees were

distributed to children. After flag hoisting ceremony, all were invited to the auditorium for the cultural programmes. The Chairman in his brief speech thanked all the members and their families and expressed his views on the importance to observe this day.

The convener programme of the Er. Abhik Bhowmic also welcomed all the guests and dignitaries and gave a short massage on Republic day. A very patriotic and entertaining Cultural Programme was presented by the little children and family members of engineering fraternity. Prizes were distributed to all participants by Chairman, Hony. Secretary, Past Chairman Er A.P. Roy, Council Member Er. A.K.Saxena. At the end, the Hony. Secretary delivered vote of thanks. The programme ended with light refreshment for all.

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EVENTS HELD DURING JAN – MAR 2015

1. 11 Jan 2015 Technical Talk – Bridge Construction and Supervision.

2. 26 Jan 2015 Republic Day Celebration.

3. 01 Feb 2015 Technical Tour cum Annual Picnic at Macluskiganj and Piparwar Open Cast Mines.

4. 15 Feb 2015 Technical Talk - Precision Manufacturing.

5. 15 Mar 2015 Technical Talk – Modern Trends of Loading & Unloading of Materials in Industrial Premises.

Remember these Dates

26th January Republic Day 15th August Independence Day January – February Technical Tour cum Picnic 15th September Engineers’ Day 6th April Water Resource Day 1st Monday of October World Habitat Day April Foundation Day 1st December World Computer 11th May National Technology Day Literacy Day 17th May17 World Telecommunication & 14th December National Energy Information Society Day Conservation Day 5th June World Environment Day

TECHNICAL TOUR CUM ANNUAL PICNIC

01 FEB 2015

More than 270 persons including family members joined the technical tour cum annual picnic program on 01 Feb 2015. The convener of this program was Er MR Kumar with full support from Er Shivanand Roy, Chairman of Jharkhand State Centre. Six buses and one Sumo were hired to pick up participating members and their family from different locations in the city like NIFFT gate, HEC Vidhan Sabha gate, Satellite Township gate, MECON stadium gate, and Engineer Bhawan. The gathering left for Mcluskiganj at 0930h. The breakfast packets and mineral water bottles were served in different buses

during the journey to the picnic spot.

After an hour stay at Mcluskiganj where tea and snacks were served, courtesy Er Chandrakant Raipat, the group left for Piparwar Open Cast Mines. It wsa an hour journey from Mcluskiganj to Piparwar. The Project manager and Engineers from CCL gave demonstration of excavation of coal from mines and its process. It was an excellent experience for the members particularly for family members to witness the live operation of open cast mining. The members and their families took lunch in GM office Community hall which was arranged by CCL.

A cultural program was organized by EWA members. The group finally returned back to Ranchi which took two hours. The day was very well spent.

Letters to Editor

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Technical Talk : Construction Supervision for Bridge Works (Er Abhinendra Kumar, AE RCD NH Division Ranchi) A technical talk on “Construction Supervision of Bridge Works” was organized by the Jharkhnad State Centre of The Institution of Engineers (India) on 01 Feb 15.

The talk included the topics like construction management, monitoring of planning and progress, contract management, quality management, environmental management, safety management, material management, quantity survey, cost control, design modification as per varying site condition, modification in quantity due to design modification, as built documentation, inspection and approval, commissioning, adoption of proper construction methodology / techniques and adherence to specified time limit.

The talk was well received by the audience.

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How You Can Stop being Used

It’s important to say "yes" to things that happen to us in our lives, good and bad. Saying "no" is just as important... and maybe even more so.

I won’t go into people feel compelled to take on tasks and responsibilities that stretch their patience, their health and their time. If knowing your "why" is important, and something that keeps you stuck, I recommend that you find a licensed therapist who can help you figure it out so you can move forward.

For others, however, the "why" isn't as important as knowing they need to make changes, and they are willing and able to take action, to take back control of their lives.

Setting Boundaries

Saying "no" is a vital part of setting boundaries, which leads to good mental and emotional health. You know this because you feel resentful even as you agree to do things that are not in your own best interest. Your problem is that you don't know how to say "no" without being a bitch and without feeling guilty.

A couple of points:

• You are not responsible for how others feel about you. Just because someone calls you selfish or worse doesn't mean you are. It's not what someone calls you -- it's what you answer to. People who will call you names for saying "no" are the same ones who will call you weak, wishy-washy and a doormat if you give in all the time. And they will continue to prey on you because you’re an easy mark.

• You cannot win people’s love or affection by what you do for them -- and if you can, then you are in an unhealthy relationship. Love is un-conditional. You are not lovable because of what you do, but

because of who you are. And if someone tells you that you must earn their love by doing what they want, run away. Fast.

The same holds true in a professional capacity: You cannot -- and will not -- earn the respect of your employees, peers or bosses if you let people get away with unacceptable behavior. You teach people how to treat you by what you tolerate from them.

You may think you are being kind by letting other people dump their work on you, but all you're doing is encouraging them to take advantage of you. And that will negatively impact all areas of your life: You will get stressed out through overwork, which affects your health (physical, mental and emotional) and your relationships. Once the light bulb goes off in your head, and you realize you're being used, you'll get resentful about the way people treat you.

Your colleagues will not take you seriously. Your employees will disrespect you. And your bosses will think -- at best -- that you can't handle more important responsibilities and at worst, that they've made a poor hiring decision.

You have no reason to be guilty for wanting what you want. You have the right to do what's best for you. Doing what's right for you makes you strong and healthy. Doing what's right for others, at your expense, makes you weak and sickly. And then you are no good at all to the important people in your life.

When someone tries to guilt you into doing something you don't want to, remember this:

"No" is a complete sentence

You don't have to offer reasons or excuses or otherwise justify your behavior. This is vital to remember, especially if you are prone to being manipulated by guilt -- because manipulators are extremely good at

using your weasel-words to get you to say yes.

Here are some examples:

• You: "Gee, I would love to help you out, but I just don't have the time right now."

• Him: "Hey, no problem! There's no rush. When do you think you could get to it?" _____

• You: "That's really beyond my area of expertise."

• Her: "Not at all! You are such a bright person; you'll be able to figure it out in no time." _____

• You: "I've already got too much to do."

• Him: "But you're so efficient; I'm sure you can squeeze it in."

If someone is trying to get you to do something you don't want to do, just say "no," all by itself or in one of these variations. And please note – none of these are bitchy. Just be clear, firm and unmistakably “no.”

• "Thank you, but no."

• "No, but I appreciate you thinking about me.”

• "No thank you."

• “That’s very nice, but no. I’m not interested.”

• “No, I can’t do that.”

• “No.”

If you try to apologize or explain, you open yourself up for continued pushing. Just say no. And keep repeating it until they either stop asking or you walk away.

Sometimes you need to say "no" to others in order to say "yes" to yourself. You're worth it.

Where do you have trouble drawing the line in the sand? Please share in the comments.

Courtesy: Linked in

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Technical Talk: Precision Manufacturing Prof G Rajmohan NIFT, Hatia

There is an increasing technical complexity of the products being manufactured today. This complexity is in terms of both the number of parts or components comprising a device as well as sophistication of device performance or operation. Excellent examples in small scale range from the ubiquitous personal computer with multi gigabytes hard drives to mobile phone. Examples in large scale are the space shuttles and large passenger aircraft both comprise of sophisticated propulsion systems, aerodynamic structures and control system. All these products require components with complex shapes and exacting tolerances. At the same time, the consumer is demanding these highly complex and sophisticated devices be built to high standards of quality so that they may operate with uncompromised reliability. They must also be affordable and usually are manufactured in relatively small lot sizes to reflect the product diversity offered to the consumers. The pressures of miniaturization and increasing complexity while maintaining high productivity and low cost are seen most in the manufacture of semi-conductor devices. The need for Precision Manufacturing (PM) can be justified by this segment alone.

PM is a subset of Precision Engineering (PE). The American Society of Precision Engineering (ASPE) defines PE as a discipline encompassing the design, development and measurement of and for high-accuracy components. The field also includes the design of system in which high dimensional accuracy is central concern, as well as design of machine tools and measuring machine to accomplish the necessary manufacture and measurement. PM has many applications, such as the semi-conductor manufacturing, micromachining, nanotechnology, micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), etc.

Achievement of PM relies on incorporating suitable concepts of design of PM machines considering the various sources of errors, which include mechanical errors, thermal errors and errors due to vibrations. The unique features of precision machines can be evaluated based on six major items, viz. dimensional precision, angular precision, form precision, surface roughness, kinematic precision, surface layer alterations. These are both elements that must be designed in to the machine as well as features of characteristics of machine performance that must be measured. The design principles resolve around the needs for precision machines to meet the four basic functional requirements of processing a perfect kinematic reference, possessing a perfect kinematic pair which execute perfect movement with respect to the

reference, being constructed so as to prevent noise or disturbances in operation and being able to detect movement accurately.

Selecting suitable manufacturing process is also vital in PM. PM processes in which there is a very small amount of material removal (per cutting edge, for example) and for which the surface or feature created can be characterized by stringent tolerances on form, dimension or surface characteristics. One way of classifying precision the removal of material from work manufacturing processes can be through uncut chip thickness. Alternatively, based on the energy source that drives piece, PM processes can be classified as mechanical, chemical, photochemical, electrochemical, electrical and optical processes. Often, two or more processes can be active in a particular precision material removal operation (chemical, mechanical, polishing, for example). The technical talk focus was on some of the traditional and non-traditional precision material removal processes and their application in the manufacture of miniaturized components.

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Value every team member In 1995, one futures trader, Nick Leeson, accumulated so much speculative losses that he toppled Britain's Barings Bank. One person is all it takes to do wonders to an organization. In 1986, the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated after liftoff and killed the entire crew because of a faulty O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster. A person or thing may play a minor role but his or its impact to the overall scheme may be enormous. A CEO should recognize and appreciate the work of everybody in the company, even those in the lowest rung of the organizational hierarchy. The moment an employee goes astray, the team may not function as smoothly and an alert manager should quickly bring him back into the line before the problem escalates. It is not merely disasters that we are concerned with. As this business fable shows, a small act of kindness extended to an insignificant member may one day reap huge benefits and rewards for the organization.

Story: The Lion and the Mouse

A Lion lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

“Spare me!” begged the poor Mouse. “Please let me go and someday I will surely repay you.”

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

“You laughed when I said I would repay you,” said the Mouse. “Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion.”

Moral:

Little friends may prove great friends. Never judge a book by its cover. No one is too weak to do good. A kindness is never wasted.

Quotable Quotes:

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” ... Henry Ford

“Too often we under estimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ... Leo Buscaglia

“One of the most important things about being a good manager is ... to know what's at the heart of the business and that's people.” ... Oprah Winfrey

Lessons in life:

Think of a lion, and you will invariably equate it to power and might. In the context of a country, the lion is the King or head of state, and the mouse is a little unknown citizen. Applying it to a corporate setup, the lion is the Boss, and the mouse is just a salaried employee. It is easy for the lion to trample on the mouse and ignore the contributions that the mouse may make. However, this does not do the lion any good. A good King is therefore one who values the work of each countryman as an essential part of nation building. It is like a gigantic jigsaw puzzle of a million pieces; one missing piece and the jigsaw will not be complete. A good Boss should treasure the services and opinions of each employee, right down to the cleaning lady. I mentioned “opinions” because it is common for a man at the helm to listen to advice from his trusted lieutenants, but not from the little minions. This approach can be costly. Now and then, you would have read stories of how staff suggestions save the companies millions of dollars, or avert certain plights. Do not underestimate a little mouse. After all, many unhappy mice may result in rebellions, revolts, or boycotts that will cripple even the mightiest lion. Er MR Kumar

Customer Service – accept blame, own the problem Er MR Kumar

When things go wrong, as they often do, what is your first reaction? Blame it on others. This blaming game is played even at the highest levels in the corporate offices and in our government. When complaints arise and it is obvious that the fault lies in a certain person, he gets the whole troop of officers in the department to share the blame. It sounds unfair, but it is a useful strategy. Here, the blame is not pushed away. If it had been that, it will leave a terribly bad impression and will not go well with the voting public. Instead, the perpetrator accepts the blame and in the process alludes to the fact that the blame ought to be shared among all the people involved. The outcome is that the impact of the error is diffused since everybody has a fraction of that responsibility, however remote. While this approach seems to have its merits, we should be cautious when using it on our customers and clients.

Story: The Rivers and the Sea

The Rivers joined together to complain to the Sea, saying, "Why is it that when we flow into your tides so potable and sweet, you work in us such a change, and make us salty and unfit to drink?" The Sea, perceiving that they intended to throw the blame on him, said, "Pray cease to flow into me, and then you will not be made briny."

Moral: Don't blame others for a situation caused by you.

Quotable Quotes:

“Positive feedback makes the strong grow stronger and the weak grow weaker.” ... Carl Shapiro

“Things that are done, it is needless to speak about ... things that are past, it is needless to blame.” ... Confucius

Lessons in life:

This brings to mind a very important lesson in the area of customer relationship – Never avoid blame. Recently I brought my notebook to Hewlett Packard (HP) service centre for servicing. I highlighted 3 problems. When it was supposedly serviced and ready for collection, I chose to collect it personally, instead of waiting an extra day for the set to be delivered to me. The moment I saw the notebook, I knew 1 of the problems was obviously not rectified. Instead of acknowledging that they had omitted it, the service staff went on to explain how there could be a miscommunication. At a certain point, he seemed to suggest that I had something to do with it

by referring to a tele conversation their staff had with me. I was obviously furious, and I could swear that at no time was that matter raised in the tele conversation. Neither had I given any instruction not to have the problem rectified. They were not apologetic about my time spent on the wasted trip to their centre. Also, they did not attempt to minimize further inconvenience by arranging for the set to deliver to me immediately after the servicing. I wrote a lengthy email to their Managing Director sharing with her views on how they could have improved their customer service.

Essentially, the golden rule of good customer service is to accept blame and own the problem. When a customer complains, your first response is usually a defensive stance, explaining why it happened. Never do that. Customers are not at all bothered why it happened. They are only interested that you own the problem and rectify it. Explaining, or blaming other people or processes, will only disclose the weaknesses in your system and undermine your integrity. Besides, explanations without actions will not solve the problem at hand. What you should do is to own the problem and not pass the buck to someone else (whether or not it is really a fault of yours). Start with a simple apology on behalf of the company. Next, convince the customer that you will do everything you can to correct the situation. You can either suggest the remedial steps you will take, or have the customer propose a solution. A reasonable customer will understand that mistakes are part and parcel of life, and should be pleased in the way you have handled them. Well, if it is of any interest to you, HP, as a true professional, subsequently did a good service recovery job in rechecking my notebook for the alleged problems.

A final point to note from this fable is the fact that the rivers and the sea are mutually dependent on each other. Without the rivers, there is no sea, and vice versa. Businesses and customers bear the same relationship. In my email to HP, I told them how a customer would benefit if their company thrives, and continues to deliver good products and services. A customer can play his part by giving constructive feedback. The company in turn should welcome feedback, and strive to change and improve. The ideal business relationship is forged when customers care for the company as much as the company cares for the customers.

EWA – ENGINEERS WIVES’ ASSOCIATION (AN ASSOCIATION TO PROMOTE SOCIO-CULTURAL EXCELLENCE)

Kiran Singh Sushmita Mukherjee Poonam Priya President Secretary Treasurer

Mala Kumar Papiya Mitra Mazumdar Vice President Joint Secretary

Engineers Wives’ Association (EWA) is a socio-cultural organization, catering to the needs of the depressed and socially handicapped people, as well as fulfilling the cultural tastes of the Indian community.

EWA cordially INVITES YOU to join as a Member to the ever- growing and active Association. The Secretary (Contact Nos. 2410875 / 9431583057) is always available to give any information and answer any enquiry.

Eligibility: Wives of those Engineers, who are member of the Institution of Engineers (I). A lady, who herself is a member of the Institution of Engineers (I).

Subscription: Annual subscription of Rs. 500/- only.

Some of the programmes celebrated in recent past: • New Yaers’ day• EWA Picnic• Holi Mian

Forthcoming Programmes: • Annual Day / Foundation Day• Hair Dressing Demo

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IN YOUR OWN INTEREST

If you wish to receive the information regarding all the Technical / Social Activities of your Centre (JSC) through e mail or SMS, you should furnish the following information:

Name: ………………………………… Division: ………………………… Membership No.: ……………………….

e- mail ID: ……………………………………. Mobile No.: ………………………………….

Address for Correspondence: ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………………………………………….

By email to ieiranchi@yahoo.co.in

Note: Your e-mail id and Mobile No. will be used ONLY for such information sharing.

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