Parody of “Someone Like You” by Adele.

I heard that you

Settled down-payments

Found a girl with some

Really rich parents.

I heard that her dreams came true.

Guess she gave you things my father didn’t give to you.

Old friend, why are greedy?

Ain’t like you to hold back financial aid from the needy!

I hate to turn up in my maroon uninvited, but I

Couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it I’d

Hoped you’d see my grades, and that you’d be reminded that for me,

THE WORLD IS OVER!!

Nevermind! I’ll find somewhere like you!

I’ll do nothing but my best for them, too!

Don’t forget me, I begged. I remember you said,

“Sometimes we let you in, and screw you with tuition instead.”

You know how the money flies

Only yesterday, it was fifty-five.

We were born and raised with a single tip

“Don’t save anything. You’ll get scholarships.”

I hate turn up in my maroon uninvited but

I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it

I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded that for me,

This isn’t over, yet.

NEVERMIND! I’ll find somewhere like you!

I’ll do nothing but my best for them, too!

“Don’t forget me!” I begged. I remember you said,

“Sometimes we let you in, and screw you with tuition instead…”

Nothing compares to your tuition and fares,

The room and the board and new computer cords.

Who would have known how bittersweet acceptance would be?

<3

If you’ve decorated your house and lawn with enough lights to land an airplane at night time, your electric bill is likely to take a big jump. To avoid a huge bill, turn Christmas lights on only for a few hours each evening–not too many people will enjoy them after 11 p.m. or so. Also, remember to turn them off when leaving the house or going to bed, not only to save on your electric, but also for safety reasons.  Apply these same rules to your Christmas tree and other indoor decorations.

Avoid the high cost of travelling to deliver gifts.

If your friends and family live out of town and you won’t see them at Christmas, considering shipping gifts instead of delivering them in person. USPS offers flat rate prices for priority mail packages.  Just remember to mail early, as the mail can get backed up during the holiday season and take additional time for delivery.

Make your own giftwrap.

Instead of buying expensive gift bags and rolls of paper, get creative and make your own. Look around the house for pretty ribbons, fabric and paper scraps, including unused wallpaper and posters. Make your own gift bags using paint, crayons, magic markers or stickers. Use small scraps of colorful paper to make gift tags.

Send online Christmas cards.

Save on postage by sending online cards.  Many sites have free online greeting cards, while some charge a small fee, normally less than $5.00. If you sign up and pay a fee, you can always cancel the service once you’ve finished sending your cards.

Trade babysitting services with a friend or family member.

Instead of hiring a babysitter or taking the kids to daycare while you shop, trade with a friend or family member. Watch their kids while they shop, and they can watch yours while you shop.

Resist temptation of buying for yourself.

With so many cool items in the stores at Christmas time, it’s hard to resist buying things for yourself that you really don’t need. Put off the urge to buy items for yourself until after the holidays. Who knows, you may get whatever you wanted so desperately as a gift. Or, you might receive a gift card or some Christmas cash to buy exactly what you want.

While it might not seem like much, all these expenses really do add up. Follow these tips and you’ll have a truly jolly holiday!

We’ve all been there and done this as we make plans to meet our friends or family members at a casual restaurant to share a meal.  Usually, when deciding upon which type of food or restaurant we will select, we have a general idea of the menu prices and know the range in which we want to stay within.

Many restaurants, their managers and owners alike, have ways or even some schemes to boost their profits and your meal bills by using some strategies which can make you and those in your group spend more money! 

I am sure it is easy for you to see yourself having a great time, catching up with your friends, laughing and enjoying experiences and past memories, current events taking place in your lives and low and behold, before you know it, your server or waiter has come by offering a great new wine they are introducing and asking if your party would like to try it.  Sure, someone says why not.   In no time at all your table has wine flowing like water, appetizers which were suggested as another “super idea” and now all is taking up the remaining space of the table.   These items which were “offered as great selections” were those tasty daily specials and now your plans are totally blown and your bill is exorbitant and you didn’t even realize it!   Can you relate?

By the time your selected entree has arrive, you are probably too full to consume that delicious lunch or dinner and now what are you going to do?  Ask to take it home?  Sure, why not!  But, what about the bill for this fare? If you were planning to pay cash and had just enough to cover your splurge, you may be in trouble here.  Did you bring your credit card and does this particular restaurant take credit cards?  More worries.  What about the others in your group? Do they have concerns of how to pay their share?  How do you divide the tab? 

Sadly, quite a few restaurants are utilizing these ways to raise the bills on those eating out and one surefire way to do this is to distract you when you are busy chatting up with your friends, colleagues and most of the time you and your group do not pay enough attention to what is happening before it is too late.   Servers and waiters are very convincing in their offerings of “suggestion” and at times, someone will say let’s try this, and there you are – a huge bill for food and drinks in which you initially had no desire for. Be careful you know what your limits are and what exactly you and your group are going to order.  Perhaps a short conversation with your friends as to what everyone is interested in (a full entree, appetizers, etc.) is the best way to keep you on track and not break the bank with your restaurant bill.

The rioting and looting in August 2011, sent shockwaves of horror and fear throughout the country. The chaos was televised and broadcast to countries all over the world.  The effect of this anarchy has been devastating for so many people, with the loss of property, possessions, homes, and even the loss of lives.

Just like an earthquake, the devastation has caused aftershocks to ripple throughout the country.

Shock! The entire world gasped, disbelieving such mayhem could happen in England; civilised, first-world England.

Shock! Looters and rioters, were surprised to see their photos in the newspapers or on the news. Some, on seeing their images publicised so widely, even gave themselves in to the police.  A few parents knowing their children were involved and so sickened by the crime waves, handed their children over to the authorities for questioning and/or punishment.

Shock! Judges astounded at the age of some of the perpetrators. Children as young as 11,  one case featured a NINE year old child! Judges were just as surprised to find very few parents had accompanied their children to the court hearings, and had literally abandoned the minors to face the consequences of their actions, alone. One judge famously asked: “Where are the parents?”

Shock! The government is sending waves of terror throughout the country with their ‘get tough’ tactics by saying they will evict convicted looters and rioters from their council homes, stop any benefits they may be receiving and in bowing to ‘public pressure’, give long jail sentences to all involved in the destruction. This method of ‘one-sentence-fits-all’ is for everybody regardless of the circumstances or situation.   This includes the rioters; organised gangs of looters; opportunistic looters; arsonists and those who tried to incite others to riot. Even a girl who stole a bottle of Lucozade from an already ransacked Poundstretchers had been told by a judge to ‘expect a lengthy jail sentence’.  There was also the case of a woman who was jailed because she had accepted a looted pair of shorts!  This woman has since been freed.

Could this  irrational behaviour being displayed by the government be just one of the reasons for the civil unrest? The law is the law and we should all live by it. However, if someone chooses to break the law, there are specific set penalties in place to correct, punish and rehabilitate the offender.  Circumstances or situation are usually taken into consideration.

However, there have been reports of judges, who in responding to ‘public pressure’, are being encouraged to disregard usual sentencing guidelines and jail everybody involved in the riots.

Isn’t this unlawful behaviour too? Or at the very least shifting the goalposts and using a double-standard?  Which in effect prevents the law from being applied and followed effectively and fairly for all?

And hold on!  What about the scandal regarding MP’s expenses? Wasn’t there instances of MP’s buying houses, paying their bills, even buying their furniture from  ‘expense accounts’, even down to one Government official whose husband hired a film using her expense account?! Wasn’t that also stealing? Weren’t these people looting, and robbing their own country and hard-working tax-payers, but in a more subtle way? Wasn’t there a huge public outry and demand for justice to be served then? Indeed, there was.

So, following the public outcry, did all those MP’s go to jail regardless of circumstances? Did the government ‘respond to public pressure’ then? Was every single MP warned that they will serve a ‘lengthy jail sentence’ because they were in positions of leadership and great responsibility? No, they were not.

As a mother, I know that two of the worst things I can do whilst disciplining my children, is to get them to live by rules that I am not living by myself, or  change the rules that we live by; just because I am angry or emotional. These irrational behaviours make children and young people feel insecure, confused, cheated and unsure of what’s expected of them. Worse, still,  it leaves them frustrated and with a sense of injustice. It is this frustration and sense of injustice that they will eventually rebel against.

In order for our children to be disciplined, have self-respect and a healthy respect for authority, all authority figures must be consistent, act with fairness and justice, and be an example of what they want the children and young people to be.  The old African proverb: “If the children aren’t initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel it’s warmth”, is a very appropriate reminder of how we need to take the time to nurture, guide and set a good example for our children and young people, in order for them grow up and become responsible, productive citizens that we can be proud of.

EASING THAT DREADED BUDGET CRUNCH

We all need to tighten up our budget these days and our grocery budget is no exception but it is probably one of the most difficult areas in our budget to keep under control.  We have to eat and we need to eat healthy but how when the money just isn’t there.  Even as a single household I find buying good, healthy food becoming more and more of a challenge in today’s economy but I still need to eat healthy and I still want to enjoy the foods I really like.  It is still possible but it does take some doing and a bit of a change in habit.  It has taken learning some new living skills or exercising those I already know and have let slide. 

You have the rent or mortgage to pay, utilities, taxes, insurance payments, probably other bills as well; fuel for your vehicle and that is another nightmare.  Just getting to and from work is beginning to be a major challenge for many of us.  You have medical expenses, educational expenses and maybe pets to care for; you still need to try and put at least a little aside for the unexpected like the water pipe that breaks or the window that gets broken, and the kids need a new shoes:  And you still have to buy groceries, not only the food you will eat but personal care and home care items.  You want the meals to be healthy and appealing so your family will eat them and you want them to have enough.  It is a problem.  How on earth are we going to make ends meet and hold our life together?  It is becoming a major problem that is probably going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.  How can you handle and solve this ever growing problem and avoid the budget crunch?

We all have to eat but it doesn’t have to break the bank to enjoy good meals that everyone likes; still and all, going to the grocery market lately with the prices soaring almost daily up and up can be frustrating and stress you out.  Shopping and staying within our budget is not always easy but it can be done.  Here are a few suggestions that may help you avoid that dreaded budget crunch.

Buy only what you really need and stay within your budget.  Take a calculator or a small notepad with you and keep a running total.  Buy on sale when possible but only those items you need and the brands that you like best.  If you don’t like the taste you aren’t going to eat it and it is a waste; and you have to pay someone to haul the rubbish away.  And remember, a sale is not a sale unless you are profiting by the purchase, unless it is something you really need, like and will use within a reasonable amount of time.  The same item will be on sale again in approximately two weeks.  That is how the market works.  They are out to get your money and they do; so if you don’t need it and you aren’t going to need to use it within a two week time frame, leave it on the shelf.

Avoid impulse buying.  When it comes to buying groceries, don’t go shopping when you are hungry.  Before you go shopping have a little something to eat or go right after you have just eaten a meal.  You will put less in your shopping cart.  All those things that have been arranged on the shelves to be eye catching, tempting and ever so appealing won’t be as appealing or tempt you as much if you aren’t hungry.  You won’t be so quick to toss them in your shopping cart. 

We Americans in particular love to shop, well, it seems most of us do and a day at the mall is considered a fun outing, even if it is meant to be just a day of browsing and dreaming.  We wander the stores and the next thing you know we have a cart half full of items we never went with the purpose of buying; we buy on impulse. 

Maybe it is a good buy but it isn’t if it just busted your budget and you just robbed Peter to pay Paul.  You still have to come up with the funds to pay all those other bills.  Ask yourself before you make the purchase.  Can it wait?  Is this something I really need now because I assure you that same item will be on sale again in two to three weeks?  Is it something you can hold off on, put some money aside this week, next week and the week after and then buy it?  Don’t get caught in the impulse buying trap.  Maybe it is time not to spend so much time in the mall.

Avoid temptation.  When you go shopping, go in, buy what you need to buy and get out.  The longer you wander the isles and hang around the store the more tempted you will be to buy things you don’t need and didn’t come shopping for.  Avoid impulse buying.  It will cost you.

Use cents off coupons where you can but only use coupons on items that you would normally buy and use.  Saving ten cents or even a dollar off a box or bottle of laundry soap just because it saves you a few cents is foolish if that brand doesn’t do the job or leaves you feeling itchy.  Stick with the coupons for the brands that work best for you and don’t buy items you don’t need right now just because they are on sale and you think you might use them later.  They will go on sale again later and maybe at an even better price. 

Be careful of those two for one sale; buy one get one free sales.  Check the label.  You may not really be saving ounce for ounce or pound for pound.  Check the weight and check the ingredients.  Be sure it is what you really need and want.  If it is not, leave it on the shelf.  It is not a good deal.  Don’t buy it.  Be careful not to get brainwashed by advertising.  You’re smarter than that.  Those ads are meant to trap you into buying something whether you need it or not.  That is how they make their money, convincing you to buy, buy, buy whether or not you really need it, can really afford it or even really want it.

Shop in more than one store, if the stores are within a reasonable proximity to each other, and buy where you can get the best deal but it is only a good deal if you aren’t spending all you might save in gas money to get there.  If you have to travel 20 or 30 miles to go shopping for a good deal you will probably save more by shopping close to home.  No matter how fine tuned your vehicle may be it is chomping a whole lot of bucks out of your budget unless you need to go the distance for other reasons as well.

When it comes to food, plan your meals ahead for the week or the month, however you shop and buy only that which will fill the needs for that planned venue.  Remember you will still have to have enough left over after your major shopping to buy more of the real perishables like milk, fresh produce and bread; foods that get used up quickly and spoil quickly if bought in large quantities.  You aren’t saving anything if it spoils before you use it. Make a list and discipline yourself to stick to that list.  You can do it and you will be avoiding getting caught in that budget crunch.  Make it a habit to shop wisely. 

When it comes to food, try to buy in bulk when possible but only if you have enough and the right storage space to prevent spoilage.  It is not a good deal if you have to throw out half of what you purchased because it spoiled before you could use it up. Shop wisely.  Buying in bulk will usually save you a few cents or even a few dollars but only if you have proper storage.  Quality over quantity is still a good rule of thumb in most cases.

When you have finished shopping take a minute to check your receipt before you leave the store.  Be sure you haven’t been charged twice for an item, scanners and people make mistakes.  Check that you were really credited for the cents off coupons you used and that items purchased on sale really rang up on sale.  If there is a mistake fix it right then.  It only takes a few minutes but it could save your food budget and a lot of stress later.    

When you get home take proper care of your food.  Don’t freeze in bulk and re-wrap.  Don’t freeze in the wrappers you purchased your food in.  Your food will keep longer and those wrappers weren’t meant for food to be frozen in.  Once you thaw that ten pounds of ground beef or chicken, fish or hot dogs, you need to use it all then.  You can’t refreeze it and it will spoil overnight even in the refrigerator once it has been thawed.  You need to cook it, all of it.  So, when you get home divide your bulk purchase into portions you will use at one time before you freeze it.

Plan a cooking day.  You can make it a family project and it can be fun.  Today so many of us end up eating in shifts because of our work schedules or other schedules that have to be met.  Instead of buying the pre-packaged meals in the grocery store that are very expensive per serving and loaded with all kinds of preservatives including lots of salt and sugar and will in time make you sick, make your own and package them up into individual meals and then freeze them.  Be creative and make it a fun day.  Your meals will be healthier for you and gee-whiz; it is a home cooked meal even if you thaw and reheat it or zap it a week from now.  And, you will actually be saving money and time and be eating healthier.  Learn to cook.

There are a lot of ways you can save on that food budget and keep it under control.  Cook only what you are going to eat so there is not a lot of food left over to be shoved back into the refrigerator and then tossed out because no one bothered to finish it up and it spoiled.  You can even make your own snacks and a lot cheaper than you can buy them pre-packaged.

And one more hint; cut down on the portions.  We all eat more than we need.  Learn what a portion is and cut back on those in-between meal munchies.  Most of the time when we think we are hungry what we probably really are is thirsty and bored from doing the same thing for too long a period of time.  Take a break, get a drink of water and move around for a few minutes, get some fresh air.  You will eat less so you will spend less and you will be healthier for it.

Shopping these days isn’t easy and grocery shopping is no exception but it can be done and we do have to eat.  No one likes to have to give up quick and easy or pass up those special fun foods we all toss in our shopping cart and pay way too much for.  None of us like having to wait or settle for less or make do but life isn’t always fair or right.  That is just a fact of life but we can beat it if we try and in the mean time we are learning some very wise living skills that we have ignored for way to long.  These skills become habits and if and when the economy does turn itself around we will be better off for the lessons learned and we will have survived the tough times.   

The times are tough.  We are living in tight times, face it.  Tight times means we need to use tight measures.  We can do it.  It is all a matter of making a few adjustments, changing some not so good habits for better ones and learning to use some good old common sense.  You know what you have that you can spend.  You know what you need to buy.  Plan ahead and plan wisely and then stick with the plan.  You can avoid the budget crunch.  We will get through these tight times if we act wisely now.

Your Country is at war with two Countries of the Arab World, with no real end to the fighting, while tens of thousands of jobs each month are “Out Sourced” to Foreigners within Foreign Countries. About 100,000 homes were repossessed the prior month and you too must live as cheaply as possible, in order to make your monthly mortgage payment on time.

You suddenly realize that you have very little to celebrate. To make matters worse, your Christmas bonus is about half of what you got the prior year. Than again, you consider yourself lucky that you still have a job and your desire to keep that job is as strong as it ever was.

It is no surprise to me that your New Year Resolution is to live within your means and not to spend money that you did not as yet earn. Your charge card balances are costing you a whole lot of interest expense, the money for which can, most likely, be used for the continuation of your well being.

You come to the realization that your generosity at Christmas time did nothing more than put you deeper into debt within the short term. Your only desire right now is to file your Federal Income Tax Return so that you will get that long awaited tax refund as soon as you can.

You tell yourself that the sooner you can resolve those problems the better off you will be. Suddenly, the viewing of those football games is not the most important thing that you resolve to do today. You believe that it might be possible that you spent more money than you earned for the prior year.

The last thing that you want to happen is to end up on the street with nothing to eat. As a matter of fact, you would rather be dead than homeless. Now is no better time to make a budget for the coming year so that you can take a good look at how you can reduce some of those living expenses and reduce the balances due on those charge cards as soon as you can.

How much money did you spend last year just to remain healthy and alive? How much money will it cost this year without having to file for bankruptcy? You might have to get a part time job to keep your life running as smooth as possible.

Like it or not, the “Depression of 2008” has caused you to lose more than a few nights sleep, knowing full well that you can also lose your job or be unable to work, due to an injury or some such health problem.

The preparation of your Federal Income Tax Return is no better way to estimate your living expenses for the coming year. For once, you want to get a good night sleep and the sooner you complete your income tax return the better you will be able to sleep. 

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I was outraged about Lady Ashton paying only £40,000 in tax, from her huge salary £230,000.(Daily Express Tuesday 25th)I was also infuriated, by other MEPs, saying that they have to pay as much tax as everyone else in their constituencies. This is in respect that they are earning around £80,000 per year and Westminster MPs £63,000.With Lady Ashton, MEPs and Westminster MPs on such high earnings, this must surely put into question, what are we doing in the EU? As a teenager when we joined in 1971, I thought it would benefit us. But no, is the answer to that and had I been the age I am now at that time, I would have expressed myself strongly against it.

I haven’t seen any benefits except for a drain on resources of the tax-paying public. We have been governed by stupid Euro policies, ordering us to do such crazy things, as giving criminals human rights to vote, while their victims have had to suffer the torment. It is time we got rid of the EU, instead of wasting money paying stupid Banker sized salaries to those who do very little for our country and possibly to many of the other Euro states.If we were to keep it, the whole EU Parliament would have to be replaced by a more economically sensible staff and people who will practice fainess to the population of Europe who work and pay their taxes. There would have to be more stringent laws on countries who do not run their economies to a certain standard. It appears that time and time again we have to bail out others who seem not to have any assets and I wonder why they are in the EU in the first place.As for the UK who have had the misfortune to have a Government of the last 13 years and led this country near bankruptsy. If we didn’t pay so much into the EU, this may have helped give this country and others a chance to be more economically independent.Now the new coalition has to put things right. But they will find the job daunting if we keep bowing to those EU Bureaucrats with their Socialist manners by ordering us what to do while claiming extortionate wages.

In the UK, the average price of petrol is currently about £1.19 per litre, but could be as high as £1.31 in some places. 

Ways to Reduce the Cost

One way to reduce the cost is to look out for any special offers and subscribe to online petrol price comparison websites. In the UK, a website called Petrol Prices.com (http://www.petrolprices.com/) has a wealth of information about the cost of petrol.  If you enter your postcode, it will tell you how much petrol costs at your nearest station, and if you register with them you can receive information about where to find the cheapest petrol in your area.

You could also make lists of all the errands you need to run and group them so that you reduce the number of trips you make.

Car pooling is another option that might help save petrol.  If you don’t know anyone who regularly makes the same journey that you do, it might be worth advertising locally or online.  Locally: you can put a card up in nearby shops for a small fee, or insert a small ad in the local paper or newsletter. Often these are free.  Online: Gumtree.com is a good place to start (http://www.gumtree.com/?hp=1).  They have a section under Community called Rideshare and Pooling.

Be careful about parking in pay and display areas.  It’s cheaper to pay an extra £1 for those additional minutes you’re not sure that you’ll really need, than it is to pay £50 or more in fines.  This is a lesson that I learned the hard way.

Drive safely.  The costs of speeding and careless driving are high.  These involve not only a fine, but points on your license, which have the knock-on effect of raising your car insurance premium.  And never drive when intoxicated (see my article on how to calculate a unit of alcohol http://healthmad.com/health/how-to-calculate-a-unit-of-alcohol/ ).  There is a much higher price that may have to be paid for speeding, and careless and drunk driving.  A price that is sometimes paid, not just by the driver, but by totally innocent passengers, bystanders and other drivers.  It’s a price paid out in lost and ruined lives, and which no amount of money can compensate.

How to Calculate the Annual Cost

Filling my car costs around £50 a time at the moment.  A full tank will last for approximately 350 miles, meaning that it costs me about 14.29p per mile, or 7 miles per £1.  But that’s just the cost of petrol.

When you work out the cost of driving, you need to take into consideration the cost of insurance, road tax, maintenance, and if your car is 3 or more years old you need to factor in the cost of getting an MOT certificate each year. 

There are other incidental costs, such as paying to park in towns and train stations, and paying for optional things like car wash or valet cleaning.

So, to work out how much it costs to run a car, you need to add up all these costs over a period of one year. 

To calculate the cost per mile, divide the total by the number of miles driven.  This information will be on the paperwork you get from a garage when you take it in for servicing or repair.  Find the mileage between two points in time about 12 months apart, and subtract the earlier mileage from the later one.  If you have MOT certificates, these will give you accurate mileage exactly one year apart.

To calculate the cost per month, week, or day, divide the total annual cost by 12, 52 or 365(366) respectively.

If you live in a city with a good public transport network, it may not be cost effective to keep a car.  Once you’ve worked out the total cost per annum, it may be worth looking at how much it would cost to rent a car for the occasional week or weekend when you require one.  Add to that the cost of sometimes taking a cab instead of driving to nearby locations, and you may find that overall it would be cheaper for you to rent a car (Don’t forget to factor in the cost of petrol on top of the rental cost) or take a cab (Will you be leaving a tip? Factor that in.) whenever you need to, rather than keep and maintain a car of your own. 

For me, this will be a tough Christmas due to the mortgage mess, foreclosures and problematic financial sector. The effects from downsizing and higher mortgage payments may be worse in the coming months.

Under such circumstances, I will be prudent with my money. We had a sumptuous dinner every year but this year, I may cut out a lot of expenses have to be be more selective in the children gifts and dinner menu.

Maybe I will just take out my mother’s recipes with lots of yummy holiday appetizers. My husband loves my cooking, and in order to cut down on expenses, I guess I can’t afford to be lazy for this holiday season.

We had a sumptuous dinner every year but this year, I may cut out a lot of expenses have to be be more selective in the children gifts and dinner menu.

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ONE STOP ENTERTAINMENT

Professionally qualified engineer with a career success of 26 years in steering technical and administrative activities. Our company is a renowned manufacturing company. Our company was located in Tamil Nadu – India. Our company was in the business of manufacturing engineering products. It was exporting almost 95 % of its manufactured goods to many other European countries. It had flourished well with abundant orders. Ours was a family owned company with a total strength of 350 staffs. Our management normally adhered strictly to the traditional style of operating its business. Our management had very good understanding with its employees. In fact, during the last 11 years since its inception, it did not encounter any labour disputes. Our company had many professional demanding customers. However, style of operating their business was very conservative. 

Change of scene

Every thing was fine until January 2009. All of a sudden with no prior notice, management started cribbing about higher expenses of the company. They were also planning very seriously to cut down labour force. It had also mentioned that no much order is in the pipeline. The situation created before everyone was very unpleasant. Finally, our MD signaled that he is going to scale down all the persons in the management cadre. Our MD declared the objective was to slash down the mounting expenses in the company. Anticipating danger, many opted to quit the company without any hesitation. Definitely, at any moment fate might turn against any one. The decision to quit was the best option in spite of the fact that the record of accomplishment was good.

Suggestions for waste elimination

It was pathetic, but having been in the industry for the past 25 years, this would be a good opportunity to express ones opinion clearly. This was a drastic measure to put the salaried class of people in jeopardy. With exposures in several companies in Bumbag and now in Tamil Nadu, there are a few general points, which some companies normally tend to ignore. This leads to targeting employees during a crisis like this. It is always better to sit back and decide corrective measures to overcome crisis. You can judge the quality of managing a business the way a company survives amidst a crisis.     

• Management should consider cutting down operating cost rather than downsizing staff. In fact, during good times the Management should entrust compulsory cost reduction initiatives at all levels. This should be a mandatory measurable during every increment process. The need for cost reduction from day one an employee inducted in the company inculcated. A very glaring cost reduction would be in the energy consumption area. In some companies, ceiling fans and office lighting never switched off. An employee taking a little pain to switch off these appliances when not required could save the company overheads cost. Similarly, air conditioning expenses, transportation expenses, repairs, reworks maintenance expenses are some of the areas of gross money waste unknowingly. If such good practice imposed in industries, companies would not have faced the pinch during the current slow down. In fact, adopting various cost reduction initiatives the company would be in a position to tide over difficult situations with ease. Mainly because the employees would have got themselves trained and the work culture in the company would be more conducive. Finally, management should train, and demand from all the functional heads constructive ways of eliminating waste full expenditure, preventing the company take drastic steps of suddenly paralyzing their employees incomes.   

• Management while recruiting should be in a position to justify the need for an additional person. Right candidate in the right place recruited. Instead of recruiting people, just to provide employment. These people as time passes indulge in activities that disturb the top performers in the company, leading to resignations. Thus for the sake of few elements the entire work culture of the organization will get affected. Ultimately, the company is at loss.

• This point mainly refers to small and medium sized engineering companies. One of the major areas where hidden cost occurs is their inspection departments. This is one of the highest non-value adding areas. Companies many a times inspect and re-inspect their components just to ensure that the right quality goes to the customer. It forgets that the customer is not going to pay any additional penny for inspections carried out before dispatching the products. Who has to bear the cost of employing such people as quality controllers? Is it not the company? Instead, if the company had a few quality assurance engineers, he could train and equip the concerned workers producing the component to develop quality ownership amongst the workers.

• Many companies out source their parts to outside vendors in order to save time for processing or in most of the cases to meet the customers On Time delivery ratings. However, many times the internal capacities not fully utilized. This is due to the slackness of the management to monitor how well the actual capacities utilized against the installed capacities. In the absence of this most management tend to outsource their parts taking some ad hoc decision. This results in criminal waste of internal capacities. In addition, in most cases where outsourcing  done ad hoc, the supply chain manager over looks the cost involved in outsourcing i.e. processing cost and related cost of transportation. All this adds to the direct expense of the company. Who is going to bear this cost of the lost capacity of the machines and excessive outsourcing cost?        
• Human Resource Department departments in some companies are a misnomer. These companies use their staff mainly as time office personnel. Never have they thought in real sense as to how a HR department should function. Performance appraisals schemes designed to keep the employees driven towards the company goals. Individual department goals should be congruent to the company goals charted out by the management. The MD/CEO and Human Resource department  of the company discretely set targets (That are measurable) of individual departments to meet the company goal. Once done the respective department heads, can evaluate their subordinates in a fixed period. Again, since the increments are turnover based, such practices are more use full during recession. Wherein, HR department can justify and explain the high/low/no increment cases to their employees.

• One of the most important instruments implemented in order to launch above-mentioned point is a company wide transparent system. A system that can provide effective supervision, hold meetings or handle productivity issues. Most top class professional companies revolve around such work culture that makes it possible to handle any issues with relative ease. If work measured and if there are good reporting systems in place, a boss can track the progress even remotely.   

Finally, to reiterate during a recession, slow down, melt down there is absolutely no sense in down sizing the staff. Instead, the management should wisely thing measures to curtail waste full expenses. (few like above) arising out of slackness on the part of key managers to strategically decide options that best suit the business. This would help the company in future. Such measures will not only maintain motivation levels but will give the employees that vital sense of comfort, stability, and confidence. These are so important in these tough times. This will enhance the employee-employer relations and ensure a smooth transition to better times.