Graveyard...!

Bringing Concentration in Salaah

2011-07-14T00:45:00.000-07:00

Article by Maulana Yunus Patel (RA)
[Copied from: http://yunuspatel.co.za/articles-concentration-salaah.php]

A common complaint of many who seek reformation, is their lack of concentration in Salaah, and finding themselves wanting in the spirit of Salaah. They write or ask for some prescription to bring in that spirit and that love of Allah Ta’ala through Salaah.

The following guidelines will, Insha-Allah, assist in improving the quality of one’s Salaah :

Men should try and reach the Musjid before the Azaan, so that they may with etiquette and ease, read the Sunnat Salaah – and this should take them about 5 minutes.

In the remaining few minutes before the Fardh, make Istighfaar, Taubah, or Zikrullah, or think of the Aakhirah (the Hereafter) and accountability and presentation of one’s deeds in the Court of Allah Ta’ala. Reflect over one’s life : What if my death has to come now ? …Try and cut off from the business and worldly activities as much as possible through this little meditation and Zikr.

Now comes the Fardh Salaah : Insha-Allah, by this time, much of one’s heart will be in that Salaah. Insha-Allah, with a little effort and perseverance, there will be full attention and concentration.

Ladies should try and read Salaah in its early time, thus giving themselves the opportunity of making preparation for Salaah, without any haste. They too should make a little zikr before commencing with Salaah, to get into the right frame of mind.

Moreover, if we give priority status to fulfilling the Rights of Allah Ta’ala, then He will assist us in fulfilling our tasks. He will grant Barakah in time so that our undertakings are completed, Insha-Allah.

Condition the mind; address yourself – I am standing before the King of Kings. SubhanAllah. …I have been chosen, from millions, to converse with ‘Rabbul ‘Aalameen’ and I am being afforded the greatest honour and privilege (above millions of others), to make sujood to Allah Ta’ala… to be nearest to Allah Ta’ala. [ …If we could truly fathom the greatness of the gift, this ultimate honour, this good fortune – we would never want to leave the position of sujood.]

And whilst reading the Qur`aan Sharif in Salaah (and even outside Salaah) then think : This is the Kalaam (speech) of my Allah – of my Beloved. By contemplating the meaning of the verses that you are reading, think : I am listening to the speech of Allah Ta’ala.

And since you are reading His Speech, He is also listening to you … Therefore learn the meaning of the Surahs we normally recite in Salaah. It will not take long to do so, if a little is learnt every day.

And think : In this Salaah, in this Tilawat, in this Zikr, in this Hamd – I have the special attention of Allah Ta’ala. I have exclusive attention because this is my ‘Me`raj’; this is my conversation and communication with the Master of the Worlds. ….What a compounded bounty – SubhanAllah : So many gifts in the gift packaged as Salaah. How can any sane thinking Muslim ever refuse such a gift ?

In contemplating this, we will experience the beauty and sweetness and pleasure of Salaah … we will understand the Hadith in which Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) says that the coolness of his eyes is in Salaah. May Allah Ta’ala grant us the reality.

OTHER MODERN AND DISCREET FORMS OF GAMBLING

2011-04-02T04:15:00.000-07:00

Article copied from: http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.php?askid=6541bde1ab173b93dfd62f9a134169a3

Gambling basically refers to, when after paying for something there is still uncertainty in receiving the item paid for; one could either receive it or not. From the outset, understand that all types of gambling and betting are totally forbidden in Islam. This applies whether the gambling operates in the traditional forms or assumes any modern structure; both carry the same rule of prohibition. Simply changing the name of the gambling money and winnings to “entrance fees” in some cases and “prizes” in others will not change the ruling.

It is sad to note that there are numerous persons from all sectors of society that are duped into gambling without even knowing. Some of the modern forms of gambling are discreet are found almost everywhere waiting to seize the naïve public. Only a few examples will be highlighted to alert us from falling prey to these un-Islamic practices.

In the case of competitions and games, after paying the required fee, one is still doubtful of becoming the owner of the item paid for; one could either win or lose. Wherever there is the possibility of winning or losing and uncertainty of acquiring something paid for, is considered a gamble. Therefore, every such game, competition, etc. which carries this implication will be regarded as a gamble.

Ø Gambling in schools: Gambling has stealthily infiltrated schools where, oblivious kids are duped into games and competitions which seem ‘fine’, but are actually a gamble. Competitions, raffles, etc. are conducted in schools and engineered such that, the kids will have contribute a certain fee and then only be entitled to qualify the final draw, and having the chance to be a winner in it. Children are lured into these competitions wanting to win prizes. We should educate our children to abstain from such competitions.

Ø Commercial lotteries: also form part of this evil and are totally unjustifiable, even logically.

Ø Amusement Machines: Another example of gambling, is the amusement machines such as the crane toy machine, etc. that are commonly stationed outside shops with charming toys and ‘gifts’ enticing the naïve public into getting them. Again, money is paid, but one is still skeptical of owning the item already paid for; one could either lose or win.

Ø Playing card games: Teenagers and adults involve themselves in card games, cross word puzzles, etc. if conducted in a similar way; where money is pooled from each player and the winner alone is entitled to the sum, this too would not be permissible.

Should this principle occur in any other practice, where a fee is charged to entitle one to win (or lose), this too will fall within the ambit of gambling.

American Killer - Killing 3 and Injuring 2

2011-01-27T20:20:00.000-08:00

27th January 2011, an employee of US Consulate in Lahore killed three people in Lahore. According to details, US national named Raymond David shot at 2 persons at Qartaba Chowk and hit another bike rider while driving rashly, in an attempt to to escape the scene. The motorcyclist Ubaidur Rehman was killed on the spot while other two injured

I must say, after drone attacks, this is another gift from the government of US; they are trying to test our patience. May Allah help us in differentiating between enemies and friends.

I don't understand, under such security situation where we had a blast in the city just couple of days back, why this official was wandering near Mozzang? Was he planning to eat fish and nehari or he must be visiting a grave in Miani sb.

According to a statement that he did that in self defence.....now if we do it in self defence, we are terrorist.... but if an Amerian does this.... then its self defence.

By the way, who will be the first one to protect him? After all its a huge opportunity to please our masters.

May Allah help us.

Answers Wanted? Killing of Salman Taseer

2011-01-04T21:34:00.001-08:00

Salman Taseer, Governor of the Punjab Province, was shot dead by his security guard, an Elite force commando named Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri on Tuesday 4th January 2010 in Islamabad.

The media “Lion” has a new story to eat and digest for at least three or four days and almost every channel is now discussing Salman Taseer, Toheen-e-Risalat, etc. keeping the media injected views aside, I have a few simple questions:

1. Why the Governor passed such blunt remarks regarding a law which was passed by the parliament “unanimously” in 1985?

2. Why the Governor intervened in Aasia’s case which was already in court?

3. The Governor kept on taking Aasia’s name, but why didn’t he ever make a similar plea for Aafia Siddiqui?

4. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think there are a lot people in Jails suffering the same death penalty under a different section, the famous “dafa 302”; why no government official is sending letters to the President to waive of their penalties?

5. If there is a flaw in the court procedure, why there is a need to “change” the law?

6. In the proposed amendment of the law, why there is a focus on removing the death penalty? Will this mean more violation because now the accused can wander more freely hearting the feelings of the majority?

7. We respect the rights of minorities in Pakistan….what about the respect for the rights of majorities?

May Allah help us all!

Why it only happens in Pakistan?

2010-09-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

1. Immediately after suicide bombing, how quickly the identity of the person/party is established after the blast and most of the time some suspicious people are also captured from the site. But to-date, we haven't seen a public investigation report. Keeping the AZAD media in mind, its a surprise to me that no report is made public.

2. Nowadays multiple parties are claiming responsibility for a single event. So you get Threek e Taliban, Saphe Sahaba, Laskre Jhangvi, lashkarey Taiba etc... all in for a single event. Imagine all these organizations operating in such close coordination whereas our authorities are totally clueless.

3. When claiming the responsibility of an attack the offender actually mentions its division e.g. Threek e Taliban (Punjab)

On a personal level, I have seen enough rubbish from our beloved media. I still remember 10^th Moharram Karachi incident and how the whole story was developed only to find out that It was not a suicide attack at all. Then there is the Benazir murder case, where I think our authorities did capture some telephonic conversation regarding the culprits but still no one is charged with the murder.

The moral of this story is, don’t believe ANYTHING the news channels in Pakistan tell you because none of their information is verified and they are there to sell ads and make money, they do not have the people’s interest at heart.

Totally unacceptable!

2010-09-07T22:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-koran-burning-20100908,0,1812151,print.story

and those who still thinks that only a few people are doing this and the US government has nothing to do with it.... then why they have not taken that "maloon" behind bars. whereas on the other side, Only “denying” holocaust is explicitly or implicitly illegal in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. E.g. in Austria, you can be punished with imprisonment up to twenty years.

http://send2mjk.blogspot.com/2008/04/freedom-of-speech.html

Avoid Provident Fund

2010-06-20T04:43:00.000-07:00

The provident fund is a kind of an investment fund maintained by the employer (provident fund trustees, which are nominated by the employer, are responsible for provident fund management). Provident fund generates its revenue from the contribution made by employee and employer.

At the end of a given month, a percentage amount (normally 6% of the basic employee’s salary) is deducted from the employee’s pay cheque and the same amount is contributed by the employer. The total of the contribution from all employees is then deposited in a profit generating activity. Here comes the problem, generally this amount is deposited in a bank or other “interest” oriented activity and the interest collected is then distributed equally among all the employee on proportionate basis.

I am not saying that all provident funds are invested in a similar manner BUT one should check with their respective HR/Accounts department to know how their provident fund is generating the profit. If its banks or other interest oriented activities, then please decide based on the following verdict of Allah Almighty:

"Allah decreases interest and increases sadqah"

Interest (usury)‏

2010-06-10T20:01:00.000-07:00

"Those who devour usury will not stand except as stands one whom the Satan by his touch has driven to madness. That is because they say, "trade is like usury", but Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden usury" -- (Surah Al-baqarah verse no.275)

"Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, and will give increase for deeds of charity, for he does not love any ungrateful sinner." -- (Surah Al-baqarah verse no.276)

"Oh you who believe! Fear Allah and give up what remains of your demand for usury if you are indeed believers." -- (Surah Al-baqarah verse no.278)

Hazrat Jabir radiyallahu anhu has reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wasallm cursed the devourer of usury, its payer, its scribe and its two witnesses. He also said that they were equal (in sin) -- (Muslim)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wasallm said : Usury has got seventy divisions. The easiest division of them is a man marrying his mother. -- (Ibn Majah)

Hazrat Abu Hurairah radiyallahu anhu reported that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihe wasallm said: I came across some people in the night in which I was taken to the heavens. Their stomachs were like houses wherein there were serpents, which could be seen from the front of their stomachs. I asked: O Gabriel! Who are these people? He replied these are those who devoured usury. -- (Ahmed, Ibn Majah)

Conclusion:
The summary of the matter is that interest is hazardous and should be abstained from in all manners. If anybody has a case they wish to solve then they should contact a Mufti and present their problem as it is. It’s not worth destroying the eternal life of the hereafter, just so that we may have a few more comforts in a life which can come to an end any moment. If for a moment, we think of worldly benefits alone then the following statement is the final verdict:

"Allah decreases interest and increases sadqah"

Let's all review our daily transactions and try to avoid all such matters which are considered interest/usury.

May ALLAH help us all!

Contradiction - A good example

2009-09-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Quoting from BBC’s online article:
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1162668.stm)

“Afghanistan's drugs industry makes up around 60% of the economy. The trade has boomed since the fall of the Taliban and the country supplies 93% of the world's opium, the raw ingredient of heroin.

International bodies and governments say the drugs trade is helping to fuel the Taliban insurgency, which is estimated to receive up to US$100m a year from the trade.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime has called on Afghanistan to target the major traffickers and corrupt government officials, who it says operate with impunity in the country.”

Now in the first para, the author is claiming that the drug industry has boomed since the “FALL” of Taliban (this means that this trade was not booming under Taliban)….. but in the second para, the author is quoting international bodies and governments that the drug industry is helping Taliban and they are actually receiving around US $100m.

NOW IF THE TALIBANS IN AFGHANISTAN WERE SO CONVINCED ABOUT RECEIVING CASH FROM DRUG INCOME, THEN WHY THEY DID NOT ALLOW THIS INDUSTRY TO FLOURISH UNDER THEIR OWN REGIME???

<<<>>>>
You people must be thinking why I am circulating this article…… so that we don’t just blindly believe what media is telling/showing us! (so don’t even believe me, see the article online and judge yourself)

Geo TV...not again!

2009-05-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

I was watching a program on Geo TV titled “Hum Sub Umeed Say Hain” on this Saturday and was shocked to see the way it was humiliating Islamic Law. A dummy newspaper advertisement was shown stating that Taliban is hiring people for executing Islamic law and the job description was like “Qasai”, “Kochwan”, etc…

In my point of view, we can argue about whether a punishment given to an individual is right or wrong but as far as the method of punishment is concerned there should not be any doubt in our minds; and we should respect the method as it is not created by any human being (for immediate reference, please refer to Surah Noor)

I was also thinking about the disrespect for our beloved Prophet (SAW) by European newspapers…..is this of the same category???

Job satisfaction

2008-09-08T20:49:00.001-07:00

People often talk about job satisfaction. There seems to be another job/position somewhere else in this world which is better than the one you are currently working with and if you manage to get hold onto that job, another job/position pops up and you find yourself in the very same situation. It seems like a never ending cycle searching for job satisfaction.

How to avoid this…. well one needs to consider that every job is satisfying provided you think like that. Every job has problems and probably there is no job in this world which is problem free. The problem category might vary but problems never vanish. So one needs to be optimistic about the way a person approaches his/her job.

Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3.0 - A brief introduction

2008-07-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

ITIL v3.0 Introduction

A set of books that describes best practices for IT management
It provides body of knowledge useful for achieving ISO/IEC 20000
ITIL is developed by OGC (Office of Government Commerce), an independent Office of the Treasury reporting to the Chief Secretary, previously known as CCTA (Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency)

ITIL v3.0 Components

ITIL Core

Service Strategy
Service Design
Service Transition
Service Operation
Continual Service Improvement

ITIL Complementary Guidance

1. ITIL v3.0 - Service Strategy

Focuses on the identification of market opportunities for which services could be developed in order to meet a requirement on the part of internal or external customers
The output is a strategy for the design, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of the service as an organizational capability and a strategic asset

2. ITIL v3.0 - Service Design

Focuses on the activities that take place in order to develop the strategy into a design document which addresses all aspects of the proposed service, as well as the processes intended to support it

3. ITIL v3.0 - Service Transition

Focuses on the implementation of the output of the service design activities and the creation of a production service or modification of an existing service
There is an area of overlap between Service Transition and Service Operation

4. ITIL v3.0 - Service Operation

Focuses on the activities required to operate the services and maintain their functionality as defined in the Service Level Agreements with the customers

5. ITIL v3.0 - Continual Service Improvement

Focuses on the ability to deliver continual improvement to the quality of the services that the IT organization delivers to the business

ITIL v3.0 - Certification

ITIL Foundation Certification
ITIL Practitioner Certification
ITIL Service Manager Certification

References:
http://www.ogc.gov.uk/
http://www.itil-officialsite.com/
http://www.itil.co.uk/
http://itservicemngmt.blogspot.com/2007/12/itil-v3-qualification-scheme.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL (PMP) EXAM - LESSON LEARNED

2008-06-27T00:15:00.000-07:00

1. My exam preparation was not continuous as I had to do the exam preparation with my job. So the time span for the preparation was from 5-7 months. Initially it was roughly one hour per day including gaps between days.

2. My initial plan was to learn different concepts presented in PMBOK so for some topics I was going into a bit of detail which later helped me in the exam preparation.

3. It is recommended that you should try to implement what PMBOK is saying at your workplace as it was quite easy for me to remember earned value/planned value and performance reporting as I was involved in preparing monthly progress reports for three projects at my work place.

4. If you have not done your training yet, make sure you schedule the training after going through the course once. As five days are quite hectic and one can easily lose way in the middle of the training. Remember training is important.

5. Regarding Input/T&T/Output; rather than learning by heart just try to understand the concept.

6. Sample questions are VERY important, make sure you understand and theme behind your incorrect answers. Free sample questions are available from different website (Google will help you in this).

7. Joining different groups on yahoo also help a lot as some the material there is quite helpful especially the lesson learned from those who have appeared in the exam.

8. Make sure you visit the exam site once before your exam. Even the exam center was in my city, it took me some time to find the site on my first visit.

9. Four hours is quite ample time for answering 200 questions. So don’t worry if some questions are taking a bit more time. I recommend you to take at least one break (I personally took two breaks).

10. I tried to answer almost all the questions in my first attempt. If I was 80% sure about the answer I still marked that answer for later review.

11. PRAYERS; the most influential ingredient for my exam success. I did not have the expected build-up to my exam. Two-Three days before the exam my grandfather was quite sick and I even though about rescheduling my exam. Last day before exam, the electricity went off for four hours. BUT ALLAH ALMIGHTY HELPED ME AND I MANAGED TO PASS THE EXAM.

Measuring Customer Response for Process Improvement

2008-05-08T02:36:00.000-07:00

In a rapidly changing competitive environment, the importance of information gathering and analysis cannot be underestimated as famously quoted “You Cannot Manage That Which You Cannot Measure”.

The best source of information in any industry are the customers and the employees in the customer service department, especially those who are receiving customer complaints via UAN number or helpline email, can be the source of some very valuable information that is required for effective process management and improvement. The information received can uncover issues which may not even be on the executive agenda.

It is important to plan this initiative as carrying out this initiative on ad hoc basis can lead to undesirable outcomes including unexpected process variations, low staff morale, etc. It is also important to define broad categories or areas that you want to concentrate on. Mostly technical complaints are received via UAN number or emails so your need to take this factor into account.

For an ISP, typical technical categories will include:

Connection Setup Problem

Internet Speed Problem

Disconnection Problem

In addition to technical categories, the general categories can include:

Accessibility Problem

Support Staff Behavior Problem

Once the categories are defined, the next step is to collect data based on the categories defined above. The customer service representative can perform this data categorization. If a software solution is not available, a simple excel sheet can be used.

Once the data is categorized the next step is to do the data analysis. The most suitable technique might be to use Pareto chart to identify major problem areas as it is not feasible to resolve all the problems at the same time. There are software programs available that can draw a Pareto chart based on the available information (As a sample I have shown the extract from MINITAB).

Now at this point in time you will have an idea about the areas you need to focus on for improvements. It is important to realize that one should look at this information in totality (e.g. if you have 1,000,000 subscribers then receiving around 80 internet speed complaints is not a major issue as opposed to having 200 corporate customers out which 80 of them are complaining about the internet speed).

In case of corporate customers (which are an important source for maintaining cash flow), one needs to be proactive so a regular survey should be conducted to listen from those customer which, despite having problems, are not willing to tell them to their service providers.

By doing such activities, it will be much easier to justify the need for improvement projects as it directly relates to the main source of revenue i.e. the customers.

Freedom of Speech

2008-04-19T02:21:00.000-07:00

The twofold policy of the West on the subject of “freedom of speech” is quite visible in their law making. One example is the holocaust (term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II) and its related legislation in the West.

It is quite surprising to know that the so called “freedom of speech” is quite restricted when it comes to holocaust. Only denying holocaust is explicitly or implicitly illegal in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland. E.g. in Austria, you can be punished with imprisonment up to twenty years.

It is even more surprising to know that the word denial means denying the following major claims:

The Nazis had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews.
Nazis did not use gas chambers to mass murder Jews.
The figure of 5-6 million Jewish deaths is a gross exaggeration, and the actual number is an order of magnitude lower.
Stories of the Holocaust were a myth initially created by the Allies of World War II to demonize Germans. Jews spread this myth as part of a grander plot intended to enable the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine, and now to garner continuing support for the state of Israel.
Documentary evidence of the Holocaust, from photographs to the Diary of Anne Frank, is fabricated.
Survivor testimonies are filled with errors and inconsistencies, and are thus unreliable.
Nazi confessions of war crimes were extracted through torture.
The Nazi treatment of Jews was no different from what the Allies did to their enemies in World War II.

Now if someone says any of the following, he/she can be jailed in many of the European countries:

It was not an official policy of the Hitler to exterminate Jews.
The figure of 5-6 million Jewish deaths is questionable.
Holocaust is propaganda for the creation of a separate state of Israel.
Some of the images of the holocaust are fabricated.
The survivors of the holocaust are exaggerating the matter.
And the most fascinating of them all is that if I only say that Hitler did this to everyone without specifically targeting Jews.

Now when the Muslims say that stop making fun of our beloved prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) the west claims that it freedom of the speech. But in case of holocaust denial…. It’s highly illegal and there are legislations available in many of the European countries.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_against_Holocaust_denial

Key Performance Indicators for Job Description

2008-04-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

Imagine you are being offered a new job with a lucrative salary and fringe benefits; when you ask for a job description, the human resource department provides you a single page stating KPIs along with their current values, target values and the time frame. Surprised??

In a rapidly changing business world, one should not be surprised to see such kind of an attitude from organizations striving towards business excellence. As process management and improvement is making more inroads in daily operations of organizations, the need to measure and improve processes is very tempting.

There are advantages for using this approach:

One can eliminate biasness as now everything is quantified and if you are doing well it is visible to everyone.

By using this approach one can provide a consistent interface to employees so incase of promotion, the human resource department can add one or more KPIs to the employee portfolio of KPIs.

Now days the process management and improvement is a buzzword so by having such a distinctive job descriptions you can use that to attract potential clients.

But this approach can also have potential drawbacks:

The cost could be the primary factor as measuring each and every aspect of your organization can be costly and time consuming.

The data collection can be at the center of conflict as promotions are now tied to the results from the data collection and analysis process.

“How much you love your company or how loyal you are to your company”… try quantifying this! Sometime it’s very hard to quantify everything.

So probably, a mixture of qualitative and quantitative criteria is the ideal formula for effective job descriptions.

Balance Scorecard for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Companies in Pakistan

2008-04-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Business Process Outsourcing in Pakistan

The phenomenon of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is growing at a rapid pace. As the profit margins are squeezing and the competitive dynamics are changing rapidly in the developed countries, more and more companies are looking to outsource their business processes to countries like India and Pakistan.

According to Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB):

Pakistan IT Industry exports are estimated at US$ 1.4billion while the industry size is estimated at US$ 2.8 billion. It is significant to note that Pakistan IT exports growth in each of the last few years has been more than 50%

The above statement is a clear indication that the business process outsourcing industry growing at a rapid pace. Initially, the primary outsourcing activity in Pakistan was software development (As the name “Pakistan Software Export Board” suggests itself) but now more and more companies are focusing their attentions to other areas like customer service, medical transcriptions, financial services and many more.

In order to sustain this growth of the BPO industry in Pakistan, we need to take a holistic approach towards BPO management. An approach which is linked with the vision and strategy of the company; an approach which not only concentrate on the financial perspective of the company (as most of the times the short term financial benefits are the driving force in company policy making decisions) but also concentrates on customer, internal business processes and employee perspectives; An approach which provides a rational ground for decision making.

The Balance Scorecard Approach

The balance scorecard provides the framework to make sure that you are measuring and improving the Critical to Quality (CTQ) aspects. It ensures that people and procedures within the organization are aligned with the both the short term and long term objectives of the company. By doing this, everyone in the organization is more aware of his/her responsibilities and contribution thus the motivation level is higher as compared to organizations where ad-hoc and short term decision making is part of the daily grind.

The balance scorecard concept was introduced by Robert S. Kaplan (Professor at Harvard Business School) along with David P. Norton in 1992. Since then the concept has gained a lot of popularity in the developed countries and more and more companies are implementing this as a mean to gain competitive advantage. This concept mainly focuses on the following four perspectives:

Financial

Customer

Internal Business Process

Learning and Growth

The financial perspective concentrates on shareholder wealth maximization after all that is the main reason for setting up a company. The customer perspective is concerned with the image of the company in heart and minds of its customers. The internal business process perspective is concerned with efficiency of the company’s internal business processes and the learning and growth perspective is concerned with continuously improving the intangible asset of the company (i.e. the employees) so that the company is always providing value for money to its customer and shareholders.

The above mentioned perspectives are generic and can be customized to the needs of the BPO organization but for now let’s assume the above mentioned perspectives.

Once you have outlined the perspectives, the next step is to identify leading and lagging indicator which will be used to measure these four perspectives. Leading indicators are those which provides an early indication while the lagging indicator are those which provides the information about the past performance e.g. increase in customer satisfaction index could mean rise in the company profitability. Here customer satisfaction index will act as a leading indicator for company profitability. Most of the financial measures (e.g. profit margin, sales growth) are lagging indicators as they report on past performance of the company.

For financial perspective, the typical leading and lagging measures for a typical BPO could be:

Return on capital (lagging measure)

Cash flow (lagging measure)

Customer payment window (leading measure); measuring the payment delay from the customer side. It can be very important when you are receiving a Lumpsum payment at the end of your project as delay in receiving payments can impact the cash flow of the company.

Risk rating of Pakistan (leading measure); different websites like prsgroup.com, euromoney.com provides risk ratings (political, economic, etc...) for different countries. Any change (either positive or negative) can impact future business opportunities for the BPO companies in Pakistan.

For customer perspective, the leading and lagging measures could be:

Per service market share (lagging measure); one can use this to measure local as well international market share for each service category. By measuring both at local and international level it will give the company an idea about the nature and strength of competition in these two markets.

Per service customer satisfaction index (leading measure)

New customer acquisition rate (lagging measure)

For internal business process perspective, the leading and lagging measures could be:

Project turnaround time (lagging measure)

Number of complaints received from the customer (lagging measure)

Number of defects detected during review (leading measure); this will particularly be useful in service areas where the work done is reviewed internally before sending it for client review like software projects, financial outsourcing.

Service down time (leading measure for customer satisfaction index); e.g. call center operations

For learning and growth perspective, the leading and lagging measures could be:

Employee satisfaction index (lagging measure)

Number of employee training (leading measure)

Average number of complaints per employee (leading measure)

Average number of suggestions per employee (leading measure)

These are only selected set of measures as there can be many more which fits the particular needs of a BPO organization.

It is important to realize that a right order should be followed i.e. vision, mission, strategy and then performance measurement. Failing to follow the right order can result in poor post implementation performance of the balance scorecard initiative.

Quantity Improvements; the last resort for Software Development Projects

2008-03-24T02:27:00.000-07:00

Many of us agree that IT projects are more error prone than any other project category. This is quite visible by the success rate for these projects. Among the IT projects, software development projects receive the lowest ranking as far as success rate is concerned.

Even if some software development projects do receive the “distinction” of being successful, they end up being a burden in terms of high maintenance staff salaries and excessive payments for changes/improvements. After two to three years, these so called successful software development projects end up being a part of your IT data backup graveyard.

Why there is such a case for software development projects even though most of the times they cost a lot less than construction and manufacturing projects. One basic difference between the two types of project categories is the success criteria.

In construction and manufacturing projects, you surely can quantify the success criteria of your project e.g. a manufacturing plant improvement that will increase the throughput of plant by so and so. But is it the case for software development projects?? Probably not; because in case of software development, both the client and the solution provider are at fault for not “quantifying” the success criteria of the software development project e.g. when developing a human resource system, the client is stressing that he wants to improve to human resource department efficiency and the solution provider is claiming that by having the state of the art technology the efficiency of the human resource department will be improved.

Now what does the term “improvement” means is not clear until you are in the post deployment phase of your software development project. At this stage the client will start saying “previously it took three days to process hundred applications and now it’s taking more than ten days to do the same” or “our payroll processing is taking three days whereas previously it took just one day”. Would it be nice if these objective statements were known and agreed in advance at the start of the project? Would solution provider and its team be more focused once they had this information at the start of the project?

So it is important that you quantify your software project’s success criteria to avoid being part of the long list of un-successful projects.

Project “EVIL” Wish List

2008-02-04T03:46:00.000-08:00

Having a wish list in your project is a common phenomenon. Everybody wants more good things in the project with fewer resources and in a short span of time.

There is no clear cut difference between wish list and necessary changes. Generally wish list can be characterized as something which does not look harmful at the start and the project manager or his/her team thinks that they can accommodate the request without suffering any delay. On the other hand, Change requests means something that will surely affect your project. When you are working on projects where funds are not coming from your own organization’s pocket, then change request can be a very good source of income.

For any project, it’s up to the project manager that how he/she conceives the wish list. In many organizations (with very few exceptions) saying a “NO” to a stakeholder wish is like putting up your resignation. So people are always in an “Accepting Mode” i.e. any wish that comes from a stakeholder is welcome or in Urdu “sir-e-tasleem kham”.

What people don’t realize is that this attitude is adversely affecting your project. Many a time this attitude results when the project manager is working simultaneously on projects and operations (like handling a portion or complete human resource department) and he/she is unable to distinguish the meaning and consequences of wish list in these two different work scenarios.

In projects (as you have scope, cost, resource, quality and time constraints) wish lists tend to have a long term impact on the health of any given project and you don’t realize the impact until or after execution phase of the project and when you do realize the impact, its very hard to trace back to the exact wish list; at the end its bad project management on your part and good critical assessment on stakeholder part.

In operations you do have the flexibility as far as triple constraints are concerned and it’s comparatively easy to evaluate the impact in early stages.

So it is better to say one “NO” than to face one hundred embarrassments.

Developing an Enterprise Resource Planning system using Six Sigma

2008-01-05T01:38:00.000-08:00

Six Sigma is characterized by DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control) approach. DMAIC refers to a data-driven quality strategy for improving processes. The steps defined by DMAIC can also serve as a guideline for developing an effective ERP system of an organization. As organizations are big in terms of their processes and sub-processes so it is important to realize that improvements will not come overnight and it require vision, and active top down leadership, to maximize their impact.

The process steps can be further elaborated as:

I) Define primary stakeholders, their Critical to Quality (CTQ) issues, and the core business processes and sub processes involved. It requires capturing the requirements and expectations of these stakeholders from an ERP system. Prioritizing activities is important as resource limitations might restrict the team to work on all the core business processes in parallel. It is also important to define the processes to be improved by mapping the process flow so that As Is scenario can be captured.

II) Measure the performance of the core business processes and sub processes involved. Here process priorities established in the Define phase must be observed. This phase requires developing a data collection plan for each individual process and sub process. We may have to collect data from different sources to determine types of defects. A good starting point would be to identify the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for each process with respect to its primary stakeholders. Finally we can compare our findings with the primary stakeholder requirements and expectations to determine the shortfall.

III) Analyze the data collected and process map to determine root causes of defects and opportunities for improvement. By doing this we can Identify gaps between current performance and goal performance. Many a times we can identify more than one area for improvement so it is important to prioritize opportunities. Those opportunities which are not selected for improvement in the 1st phase can be selected at a later stage. During this phase we should also identify sources of variation.

IV) Improve the target processes and sub processes by designing and implementing creative solutions to fix and prevent problems. This can be achieved by adding a new module(s)/sub module(s) or changing existing module(s)/sub module(s) in the ERP system. At times there is no need to introduce technology as the desired results can be achieved by only altering the flow within a particular process or sub process. So it is important to get to the root cause of the problem and then identify ways to fix that problem.

V) Control the improvements to keep the processes and sub processes on the new course. It will also prevent the concerned staff reverting back to the "old way" of doing things. It requires the development, documentation and implementation of an ongoing monitoring plan. We also need to institutionalize the improvements through the modification of systems and structures (staffing, training, incentives).

In the end it is important to realize that our goal should be to achieve results not to implement any technology or software.

Reference: www.isixsigma.com

Management reporting in the developing countries

2007-12-03T00:15:00.000-08:00

In the developing countries, the usages of computerized database management software are increasing in every day corporate life. More and more companies are trying to manage their data electronically. MRP, MRP II, ERP, etc… are the buzzword in the corporate circle of the developing countries. With the introduction of these applications, the amount of information available for analysis is growing exponentially but what is not growing is the style of reporting and we are still using the old “static” style of reporting i.e. somebody (typically an IT person) develop the reports and these reports are presented to the top management for review and decision making. Even if the reporting is available “online” the kind of reports available still depends on the capability of your technical staff. So if he/she e.g. understands marketing then he/she can give something which can be close to what the marketing team is expecting and if he/she does not understand marketing then… good luck!

What is missing is that the functional departments like Finance, Marketing, Human Resources, etc… are keeping the reporting at a safe distance. They don’t want to involve themselves in reporting as they think it’s not their job and someone in the IT department should be doing this. But they should realize that it’s their data and they are the one who should have the first right to dice and slice the information. Now days the reporting software are so user friendly that you don’t even have to acquire formal training to use them and there is so much help available on the internet in the form of articles, tutorials and forums that you can even surprise your own IT department (because these are the sources from which they are getting the information). Of course you would need the support from the top management otherwise all your efforts could go in vain. The top management should also realize that they need to arm their front line resources with the tools to support proactive decision making.

Going through your resignation notice

2007-11-15T03:04:00.000-08:00

Most of us come to this stage during their career where they are serving the notice period. The notice period duration tends to vary starting from 0 days to 30 days (in some case it even exceeds 30 days). If you are serving a standard thirty day notice then it can be divided into two major parts.

a. One where you are handing over your tasks;
b. And second where you are looking forward to your new job

The first part can be very busy depending upon the responsibilities or projects that you have with you at time it means spending late hours in the office to hand over your duties and the second part… well it can be very irritating.

Because you have already assigned your tasks to someone else and now you have nothing to do. Higher management will not involve you in key decisions and projects; your initiative fuel tank is almost empty. This is the time where you realize how long a single day in the office can be. Here you cannot leave the office because the management wants you to be there as “some” important tasks may require your input. In some cases even the charming internet browsing does have the same zest.

If you are serving a notice period for a week or two then you will be very lucky to avoid the second part of the notice period.

Hiring relatives… the downside for the HR

2007-10-30T03:24:00.000-07:00

When it comes to hiring relatives, there are a lot of advantages e.g. you don’t need to do extensive background and security checks, you get a person who already knows about your company and is mentally ready to accept the challenge. These people also get trained quickly because they are getting the best training from their relative who has already spent 2-3 or more years in that job.

But there are certain arguments which suggest that hiring relatives is not a good option:

1. People tend to cover the mistakes made by their relatives during the job. So you might see a situation where the deficiencies in resources are exposed when his/her relative go on a long leave.

2. If one resource is under performing then you are not in a position to launch the firing orders.

3. If there is an off the job disagreement between the relatives then that will adversely affect their on job relationships.

4. Often when a relative is leaving the company he/she has the magical influence to take the other resource with him/her.

So the option is yours!

“IT” is all about empowerment for SME

2007-10-29T02:33:00.000-07:00

The word IT can be defined as "the study, design, development, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware (ITAA)” and now days the word IT is being replaced with ICT (Information and Communication Technology).

Whenever you heard these words you start thinking high tech people with lots of gadgets up their sleeves. In a typical SME (small and medium enterprise) environment these people are untouchable. They have the financial backing even in tough economic situations and total management support. They always suggest state of the art software and hardware which in their perspective will improve the business processes and will add value towards higher customer satisfaction.

The downside is that other “non IT” staff will start resisting any implementation suggested by the IT department. Even If does add some value they will start thinking that it’s not in their best of interest, and add the fear of loosing your job to a machine, it certainly blocks the improvements which can come due to presence of a proper information system.

How can we avoid this… simple! Empower your employee.

How… well this is a bit tricky question and will depend from situation to situation. In some SME you don’t even need a full fledge information system if we just train the staff to start “using” the applications they are already working with. Just to quote a personal example, in my company (dealing with accounting) there is extensive use of Microsoft Excel and the main stream resources that we have are all accountants and they use Microsoft Excel more than 60-70% of the time.

Now if we propose a new accounting system with all the management backing they will still revert back to Microsoft Excel in one way or the other. The best option here is to train the resources how to effectively use Microsoft Excel. One can really add value to this training by starting with Lean thinking and then training resources in MS Excel and asking them to apply and eliminate any waste which they see in their current workings.

I have seen companies having high tech applications but there staff still prefer to use the simple spread sheet application which they learnt 5 years back.

Be there when it really matters!

2007-09-29T00:17:00.000-07:00

As a Leader/Manager you are expected to lead from the front. And it’s very much true about your arrival or departure time in the office. One can afford slip ups during normal working days. But if you and your team have planned to work on an off day then IT’S ABSOLUTELY vital that you are there with your team. Your team will forgive you for occasional late arrivals and early departures but even the most loyal team will not forgive you if you come late or go early on off days working in the office. Trust me it will put your team off. They will feel like they have been betrayed even though they don’t discuss this publicly or among their peers but deep inside their hearts and minds it will stay like a bomb waiting for the right conditions to explode.

Take care...!

Software Piracy…. It’s all about loosing the worth

2007-09-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Software piracy is very much at the center stage when you visit your nearest CD shop. You can find almost any software by just only spending 50 to 100 rupees. Although the original cost of the software is in thousands, one can get hold of that software in a price where you can only imagine how to CD seller is making profit (considering the cost of material, shipping, shop rent, etc...). But it’s a fact that the software piracy is on the rise and I am not sure wheather the government can take any steps to stop this. Although there have been some raids on shops but still it is yet to put a slight dent on this piracy monster.

There are a lot of disadvantages which have been discussed on different forums but here I would like to mention a slightly an overlooked aspect i.e. you loose the worth of the software when you are using a pirated version. How?

Just do a simple cost and benefit analysis. E.g. If you have purchased a software say MS Office for only Rs. 50 then you only expect (or put some extra effort) to get a return of Rs. 100 or 200 where in fact the software can give you more then that.

This not only happens to individuals but to the companies as well. Even if your company is using is licensed copy the employee using the software still thinks that the software is worth Rs. 50 or 100.

So for me it’s about losing the worth of that software on which the software company has spent millions.

Take care....!

Outsourcing……. Are your customers with you?

2007-09-07T23:46:00.000-07:00

Outsourcing has been there since the old days where people used labour from countries with low average income and it worked for them.

According to Wikipedia:
“Outsourcing became part of the business lexicon during the 1980s and refers to the delegation of non-core operations from internal production to an external entity specializing in the management of that operation.”

Nowadays there is a boom in the outsourcing industry and it has become a fashion statement that whenever you are talking about cost saving then you should be considering outsourcing in one way or the other. The apparent advantages are cheap labour, low operational cost, etc…

In terms of the balanced scorecard perspective, outsourcing is now spanning all the four major focus areas Including the financial, customer, business processes and training & development. The impact on these areas has been different. E.g. on the business process and training & development side the impact of outsourcing is more significant as compared to the customer side.

Although there has been call centres operating in the sub-continent and other countries but companies using these facilities are reluctant to tell their customers that the person answering their call is some thousands miles away from them. One reason can be that a common citizen doesn’t want to share his/her information with a person from another country thus there is an implicit barrier already in place while outsourcing customer service operations.

On part of the internal customers, the feeling for outsourcing is mixed. It seems that when the internal customers are taken on board while planning for outsourcing they are more satisfied and they feel more involved in outsourcing. This action can minimize the resistance which is offered by the employees. Even if the resistance is not apparent, in general the employees still don’t like outsourcing.

So it is important to take your customers on board because if customers (either internal or external) see an advantage for themselves there will be more chances of making outsourcing a success.

Happy outsourcing…..!