Business Communication: SMART Goals

 

1st use of Term SMART:

The SMART acronym was used by George t. Doran in 1981 for a magazine named as: there is a smart way to write the management's goals & objectives.

SMART is an acronym that stands for:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Time-bound

SMART Goal – Specific

Specific goals have a significantly greater chance of being accomplished. To make a goal specific, the five “W” questions must be considered:

1. Who: Who is involved in this goal?
2. What: What do I want to accomplish?
3. Where: Where is this goal to be achieved?
4. When: When do I want to achieve this goal?
5. Why: Why do I want to achieve this goal?

SMART Goal – Measurable

A SMART goal should have criteria for measuring progress. If there are no criteria, you will not be able to determine your progress and if you are on track to reach your goal. To make a goal measurable, ask yourself: 

1. How many/much?
2. How do I know if I have reached my goal?
3. What is my indicator of progress?

SMART Goal – Achievable

A SMART goal must be achievable and attainable. This will help you figure out ways you can realize that goal and work towards it. The achievability of the goal should be stretched to make you feel challenged, but defined well enough that you can actually achieve it. Ask yourself:

1. Do I have the resources and capabilities to achieve the goal? If not, what am I missing?
2. Have others done it successfully before?

SMART Goal – Realistic

A SMART goal must be realistic in that the goal can be realistically achieved given the available resources and time. A SMART goal is likely realistic if you believe that it can be accomplished. Ask yourself:

1. Is the goal realistic and within reach?
2. Is the goal reachable, given the time and resources?
3. Are you able to commit to achieving the goal?

SMART Goal – Timely

A SMART goal must be time-bound in that it has a start and finish date. If the goal is not time-constrained, there will be no sense of urgency and, therefore, less motivation to achieve the goal. Ask yourself:

1. Does my goal have a deadline?
2. By when do you want to achieve your goal?

Why the smart goals are so Important?

Smart is one of the most useful tools that provide the focus, clarity & the motivation that you need to achieve your desired goals. It can also improve your abilities to reach them by encouraging you to define your objectives and set a completion date beforehand.

Another thing that is very important when setting smart goals, is formulating it positively. Always remember that what you focus on, increases. Hence when you focus on not doing something, all you think about is that thing and it will increase. So you don't 'stop procrastinating', but 'achieve a daily discipline'.

Shanti Mantra: How to practice it?

                                                

Shanti Mantra

    ॐ सह नाववतु ।

    सह नौ भुनक्तु ।

    सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।

    तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ।

    ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

    Om Saha Naav[au]-Avatu |

    Saha Nau Bhunaktu |

    Saha Viiryam Karavaavahai |

    Tejasvi Naav[au]-Adhiitam-Astu Maa Vidvissaavahai |

    Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Shanti means peace and a Shanti mantra chant is a way to achieve peace. Shanti mantra has its origins in the Upanishads – the ancient Vedic scriptures. The Vedics had very intricate knowledge about how the mind works and they had well-established methods to achieve a meditative state. 

In our Business communication class, our Prof. T. Prasad taught us about the meaning and importance of Shanti Mantra which is as follows. 

1: Om, Together may we two Move (in our Studies, the Teacher and the Student),
2: Together may we two relish (our Studies, the Teacher and the Student),
3: Together may we perform (our Studies) with vigor (with deep Concentration),
4: May what has been Studied by us be filled with the brilliance (of Understanding, leading to Knowledge); May it not give rise to hostility(due to lack of Understanding),
5: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

How to practice it?

One of the significant uses that the Om Shanti mantra has is the power to put your mind at ease state. It prepares you for meditation. If you are feeling troubled, confused by anything, or want to achieve calmness & peace, you can start by chanting this mantra.

Have a relaxed position & keep your spine straight & aligned with your body. Take a deep breath & say, “Om Shanti…Shanti…Shanti…”

Chant the mantra, most preferably early in the morning (between 6 am to 8 am), so that you can stay calm throughout the entire day. Meditate for some time & feel the positivity inside in you.

Block Chain in Government Services

  

BLOCKCHAIN in Government Services 

Blockchain technology is a distributed database structure that stores transactional records, also known as the block, of the public in several databases, known as the “chain,” in a network connected through peer-to-peer nodes. Typically, this storage is referred to as a ‘digital ledger. Blockchains offer the following advantages:

Greater Transparency: Blockchain’s greatest characteristic stems from the fact that its transaction ledger for public addresses are open to viewing.
 Increased Efficiency: Due to its decentralized nature, Blockchain removes the need for middlemen in many processes
Better Security: Every transaction in this ledger is authorized by the digital signature of the owner, which authenticates the transaction and safeguards it from tampering. Hence, the information the digital ledger contains is highly secure 
Improved Traceability: With the blockchain ledger, each time exchange of goods is recorded on a Blockchain, an audit trail is present to trace where the goods came from.

                                         

There are many different types of blockchains.

• Public blockchains: Public blockchains, such as Bitcoin, are large distributed networks that are run through a native token. They’re open for anyone to participate at any level and have open-source code that their community maintains.
• Permissioned blockchains: Permissioned blockchains, such as Ripple (Money Transfer), control roles that individuals can play within the network. They’re still large and distributed systems that use a native token. Their core code may or may not be open source.
• Private blockchains: Private blockchains tend to be smaller and do not utilize a token. Their membership is closely controlled. These types of blockchains are favoured by consortiums that have trusted members and trade confidential information.

Benefits of using block chain in government services are:

1.  Building Trust with Citizens: A key feature of blockchain-based solutions is transparency through decentralization, allowing participating parties to see and verify data. A blockchain solution for some citizen services could allow for independent verification of governmental claims. For example, European governments are already experimenting with blockchain-based land registries, enabling multiple parties to securely hold copies of the registry. This model could help quickly resolve property disputes or prevent them altogether. When citizens and governments share access to records, potential for distrust decreases.
2. Protecting Sensitive Data: Breaches of personal data have become a fact of life in today’s digital world. The full names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, and driver's license numbers of 143 million Americans were exposed in the 2017 Equifax database breach in US. Block Chain data structures harden network security by reducing single-point-of-failure risk and can make attempting a breach prohibitively challenging.
3. Reducing Costs & Improving Efficiency: Block Chain can be used along with Automation using smart contracts / algorithms. It provides traceability of all historical transactions. It improves the Speed and efficiency of transactions by eliminating intermediaries.

Cold Supply Chain : An Overview

 

The term cold chain or cool chain denotes the series of actions and equipment applied to maintain a  product within a specified temperature range from harvest/production to consumption. 

                        

Two enabling technologies behind this kind of supply chain are: 

• Internet of Things (IoT): Companies can monitor and change temperature settings when deemed necessary, react to local climate change, products damage, unexpected delays and even human error. The level of insight provided by IoT technologies enables companies to act sooner on potential issues before they become major disasters.
• RFID: A cold chain RFID system generally includes a sensor, a tag and a reader which communicates with each other via radio transmission. 

Implementing a connected the cold chain can be time- and effort-intensive and rolling out the technological infrastructure required for the connected supply chain implementation usually involves substantial investments. Therefore, the cost of products to track or the cold chain optimization potential should be high enough for the solution to pay off.​Some RFID tags may encounter collisions when scanned simultaneously. So, enterprises should carefully consider the conditions the tags will be used to choose the tags of optimal frequency, and deploy RFID readers with appropriate coverage and reading rate. 

 Cold Supply Chains in India

• India has a huge coastline that is exploited to get seafood. 
• Storing and transporting it from blood banks to hospitals etc. requires cold supply chains​
  
• India is having growth in organized food retails, supermarkets, packed, etc. 
• Due to increased risks and investments in grain crops, farmers are moving towards fruits and vegetables.