Phone etiquette: Another reason why we fail in interviews

I am not sure whether we job seekers have ever realized the exact time when interview begins! I too don’t know whether we are aware that the interview begins when our applications drop in the company’s inbox. I have come to learn this from experience. For you to know why you have never been invited to any interview from the companies you had applied for jobs, ask yourselves the following questions: Have I ever received a phone call from an unknown number? How did I respond to the phone call? Did I respond rudely, though the caller was rude to me? Has someone ever called me and immediately ended the call, then on calling back, I was not picked or someone replied “wrong number”?

There is increased competition in the job market. It has come to the time when employers want to select the best from the rest. Likewise, there is a realization that many people pretend to be saints when they face interview panels. Behavioural psychologists have argued that it is not easy to identify someone’s behaviour when he or she is conscious. These are some of the ways through which prospective employers test prospective employees.

I remember one day, during my aggressive search for jobs when I found a missed call. It was a new number. I called in the evening to find out who was this calling me at around 2 pm. The phone was busy. Two minutes later, the same number called. “Hello, who is it?” the caller asked me.

“I found your missed call; I wanted to know who you are.” I answered.

“Who are you in the first place?” he asked.

“I am Wycliffe, and you?”” I replied hastily.

“Why do you want to know me?” he asked

“Ok, where are you then?”

“Why do you want to know where I am?”

“Perhaps I can recall if there is someone who knows me in that place.”

“There is no one who knows you here!” he answered

I clicked and hang up the call.

The following day I was directed by a lady whose mother gave me her number. She was working in a tile company at Sameer Business Park. I reached there in time and welcomed to the reception. When my turn for interview came, the HR reminded that he called me and I responded rudely. In fact, I have never received a formal call from that company.

I am sure, they just did a favour to call me, at least to remind me that I should be careful in the future. In most cases, I am sure job seekers are not called again because of this behaviour. This reminds us that we job seekers should handle our phones very careful and avoid any negative replies even when we are abused by callers. An employer would be testing our patience. This is because almost all companies are dealing with businesses, and customers are sometimes rude, it is crucial for us to know how to control our emotions and responses. Likewise, we should be always alert with our phone calls to avoid any missed call.

Another major problem with phone calls is this thing call “Skiza tunes”. Most of us subscribe to Skiza tunes that we love most, and forget that we don’t hear those tunes; it is our callers who listen to them. In fact, I have two of them; I even don’t know when I subscribed to them until recently my caller told me that my tune is very melodious. I have tried to call Safaricom to help me delete these tunes, but they also make me listen their skiza tune all day long without receiving my call. The Skiza tune you subscribe can easily identify what kind of a person you are. The moment a prospective employer listens to your Skiza tune, he/she imagines who you are before meeting you in person. This can lead to a conclusion of either not calling you at all, or just call you to look at you. Therefore, before you subscribe to any Skiza tune, give it time and try to figure out whether it is something to build your name or taint it. In fact, when actively searching for jobs, it is important to avoid such small mistakes that can make you lose a life-time opportunity.

Additionally, the social media is another source of disqualification. Some employers may search you in the social sites. The kind of messages you post and the pages you have liked are the easiest indicators of your likes and dislikes. Imagine a prospective employer finding that you have liked pages like the ones I usually see in my friends’ Facebook accounts. These pages usually have hundred thousands of likes. I wonder why most people hate liking educative and socially moral pages, and develop interest in those evil pages. I don’t say they are evil as such because we have different tastes and preferences, but I mean they are not pleasing in the eyes of our seniors. Recently, I began Operation Eliminate Friends (OEF) who have liked these dirty pages. Before I accept a friend request, I must stock you first to know what kind of a person you are.

Conclusively, let handle our mobile phones carefully always by being humble to whoever who calls. We should also check our skiza tunes to ensure that they send the right message to our seniors. Finally, let us not like dirty pages in the social media that can taint our public image in the face our prospective employers.

Addressing the Education Problem in the System of Federalism

Federalism gives the executive government its power and allows the states to run their own education systems. Federalism enables local people to retain their pride, traditions, and power in their academic institutions while allowing the central government to handle common problems (Bruns, Fimer & Patrinos 12). Solving the education problem require the environment that is dedicated to quality, promotes efficiency and provides for participative decision-making. The education problem should be addressed at the state level because decentralization of education ensures democracy, improve efficiency and enhance the quality of schooling.

The primary principle of education in the Unites States is to ensure that democracy prevails in all institutions of learning. Educational stakeholders should be allowed to participate in administrative decision making in managing the systems of education. The central government cannot provide a forum where all concerned stakeholders can contribute in making critical decisions. The problem of education should be decentralized to the states since they can let involvement of parents, students, teachers and funders in decision-making. Another potential benefit of decentralization is improved efficiency, which arises from increased accountability (Bruns, Fimer & Patrinos 24). The services provided by the education system match with the needs and desires of the local people. Educational administrators at the local level understand the exact needs of the public; they design educational curricula and systems that have the potential of meeting the utility of the public. The relevance of education systems enhances the quality of knowledge and skills that the citizens acquire (Bruns, Fimer & Patrinos 19). The United States is the best example illustrating the benefits of education decentralization in addressing the education system as it observes the democratic principles in administration.  

Decentralization of education to the state level is the best way through which the education problem can be solved. Decentralization of education ensures democracy, efficiency and quality, which are crucial elements in resolving the education problem.    

Works Cited

Bruns, Barbara, Deon Filmer, and Harry A. Patrinos. Making Schools Work: New Evidence on Accountability Reforms. Washington D.C: World Bank, 2011. Print.

Models of Institutional Control

Models of institutional control refer to non-engineered instruments applied by administrators to minimize the chances of human resource conflicts. The primary goal of institutional control models is enhancing performance of the organizational publics. Institutional control models include the control model, the responsibility model, and the consensual model. Each of these models can be used to handle various issues in the organization; however, some models are more suitable in managing particular tasks than others.

The control model deals with the regulation and monitoring of activities and the institutional publics. Administrators develop goals of performance and direct the employees to work towards the achievement of those goals (Jones, Andrew & MacColl, 2006).  Employees may have diverse viewpoints on proper approaches to tasks. Institutional administration institutes the elements of control in the organisation in order to seek the equilibrium between conflicting viewpoints while providing for each stakeholder’s interests (Lane, 2009). The responsibility model requires the institutions to specify parties who are accountable to particular tasks. This model separates the performance tasks and allocates each to the specified performers. For example, a typical institutional structure of a university identifies holders of the offices of the Chancellor, Vice-chancellor, Deputy Vice-chancellors and the heads of departments (Jones, Andrew & MacColl, 2006). Each of these parties has specific responsibilities to handle within the institution. The responsibility model helps to eliminate possible role conflicts in the organization. The consensual model aims at promoting consensus democracy in the institutions. This model creates opportunities for all institutional stakeholders to participate in management decision making. The consensual model reduces the adversities of autocracy and promotes unit among the institutional publics. For example, most institutions have adopted bottom-up approach in their administrative practices to seek consensus from all workers during the process of decision making.

Effective institutionalization results from application of proper models of institutional control (Lane, 2009). The models of institutional control include the control model, the responsibility model and the consensual model. The consensual model is the most effective in institutional administration because it guarantees prevalence of democratic elements. Presence of democracy in institutions ensures proper control of the institution and promotes responsibility among the institutional publics.

References

Jones, R., Andrew, T., & MacColl, J. (2006). The institutional repository. Oxford: Chandos Publishing.

Lane, J. E. (2009). State management: An enquiry into models of public administration. London: Routledge.

Public School Offices: Where have you hidden your humanity?

         Someone must have begun to shake thinking that this attack is directed to him or her. No, it is not. Do you belong to the class of officers and secretaries that are excellent in customer mistreatment? Certainly not. I worked as an untrained teacher in a local school after my secondary education. A few months later, I found myself at loggerheads with the deputy principal and principal. I worked there for less than six months before I resigned. If I wanted to stay there for long, I would have remained blind for whatever way they wasted parents’ time outside their offices. Remember this is a local area. A parent has a case in the school concerning the son or daughter. People in this locality depend on farming, especially tea for their income. A parent passes by the school in the morning on the way to the farm, just to stay outside the principal’s office until evening when students are going home. Reason: the deputy keeps lying, “he is coming”-8:45 am, “he did not report that he is not coming today”-11:05 am, “let me try calling him and inform you”-1:30 pm, “his mobile phone is not going through, but I hope he could be on the way coming”-3:55 pm. What annoys me most is the fact that the deputy knew from yesterday that Mr. Tembo will not be in school today.

I remember the events that took place one day when the deputy called the mkubwa, who told him that he was not coming to school. The deputy, however, kept lying to parents who were outside the office to keep waiting, “he could be on the way coming, it is rare for him to miss school.” Considering the crucial time the two moms were wasting outside the office with their jembes hidden somewhere near the gate, I asked the deputy why it was too hard to release the parents so that they can come again tomorrow. His response to me turned to be a source of quarrel, hatred and enmity.

         I cannot condone this medieval way of doing things. Parents have spent days and weeks following and begging uncooperative head teachers. The head teachers have their businesses somewhere in town that they attend to when not in school. They are earning double in days when poor parents are losing double. Why don’t you be clear and inform the parents that the truth is, “the head teacher is away, when he comes, I shall call you,” (this is truly possible with today’s mobile world). Or if calling is hard, why are principles not able to communicate in time and parents be informed in time of their absence instead of keeping them waiting like slave things. This extreme immoral act that frustrates parents, if you are not aware. You need to repent and sympathize with our poor parents. This is one factor contributing to poor performance in our public schools.

        The 21^st century has new form offices. I propose offices where even a madman can go and be attended with excellent regard. By the time this insane person is leaving the office, he or she is healed and smiling away. That is what I propose and I am sure beyond measure that it is possible.

       

Survival for Insurance Companies-Alternative Mechanisms under Cutthroat competition

          Competition stiffens. Customers get scarce. The rule of the jungle holds: survival for the fittest. This is the time most insurance firms begin to ask themselves, “how else can we survive.” Decision-making on this, of course, requires the rational process: problem identification, problem definition, formation of tentative solutions, selection of the most appropriate solution, implementation and evaluation. The only mistake that managers will commit in their search for an effective mechanism to counteract competition is to result into price reductions. Instead, insurance stakeholders should consider other positive mechanisms to foster their businesses instead of embarking into this loss making alternative.

The law of demand states clearly that supply and price are inversely proportional under the normal demand curve. Insurance services obey the normal demand curve, but do not have all the characteristics of other goods and services. What I know from observation and knowledge of great works is that this inverse proportionality spurs price wars, which are the worst enemies of the business arena. Mwaniniki Wahome, in his article, contends that cutthroat competition in the insurance industry is resulting in under-pricing tactics, thereby affecting performance of the firms, as they have to squeeze thin the margins from their deals.

It is worth noting that increase in supply of maize is seasonal; sugarcane, wheat, oil exhibits some seasonality characteristics too. These products will decrease somewhere in the region; clever customers stores them for future use since they are durable. Insurance services, however, are highly perishable; they cannot be stored for future use. This is what forced Mr. Robert Kuloba, the policy, research and development manager at IRA to argue that competition in the insurance industry has gone to pricing and the issues of undercutting are coming up. Kuloba added that when the undercutting gets severe, it goes down with many.

The number of customers available for insurance services were 38 million in the year 2009. Taking even half of this, there are approximately 20 million customers with more than 70 % probability of seeking insurance services. This is a huge catch for insurance companies! The main problem is could be there is a possibility that a larger proportion of these (including myself) are not aware of the benefits of insurance except the microseconds advertisements they view somewhere in between the news. Until recently, I used to hear the word insurance near accident scenes or after a relative has been involved in a motor accident. In fact, I was certain that insurance belonged to vehicle owners. One of the competition counteract mechanism, thus, is to educate the public about the existence and necessity of insurance covers in order to attract them into the industry.

Another milestone for insurance companies’ survival is through taking advantage of regional integration. The East Africa region is rapidly undergoing integration, and will soon have a common government. The population of more than 120 million will become one bloc. The company to put up enough infrastructures in the region will have the highest number of customers. An established business promises proximity and accessibility, the basic ingredients of business success. Therefore, instead of planning how to reduce premium prices, plan how to exploit these opportunities.

I do not see any reason for the reduction of prices. Firms should spend these finances to acquire technological advancements that can enable them to survive in the face of cutthroat competition. Advanced machinery and highly professional employees will ensure total quality management focused to customer satisfaction. This will build an empire of loyal customers, who will never leave even if the competitor offers free services. Take the example of Safaricom in its earlier stages of development. The competitors of Safaricom have even paid people to use their services, but none has succeeded to win it. In fact, Safaricom continues to raise its prices and people still stick to it. This is one of the examples that illustrate the wastefulness of excessive price reduction in the competition arena.

I am not against price reductions with the objective of accommodating the less fortunate in society. I am only concentrating on those price wars in the competitive market that are aimed at driving out competitors. At the end of the day, we shall realize that we wasted huge amounts of resources and we are out of business, courtesy of unregulated price wars. That is the time when we shall gnash our teeth and say, “we wish we could have collaborated as one industry for business survival.”