It is very difficult for a job applicant to judge a prospective employer for adhering to ethical standards and providing a positive working environment. Especially, since, an interview, most questions are being asked by the future employer.This article lists the two extremes types, at opposite ends of the psychological scale, with most superiors and bosses placed somewhere between. Like in most facets of life, nobody is entirely bad or good – most are somewhere between.THE BENEVOLENT EMPLOYER.There is a group of bosses who resume a fatherly and benevolent position towards those who work for them. Work is fairly distributed and the boss himself does not mind pitching-in and helping out. The tempo of work is guided by his own good example, as is quality, and the general prevalent mood in the workplace.Should there be a sudden over-demand or a surge of workload, this employer will recognise this and take steps that nobody overworks and that the workload is evenly and fairly distributed with the boss himself sharing an extra duty. His temper is very even, with a reassuring calmness that uplifts everybody working around him. He has no sanctuary that is off-limits to employees and his own office or workplace would not be distinguishable from that of his co-workers.He is genuinely concerned for his staff and workers and, should some body be ill, the pay cheque gets delivered home punctually and regardless of the length of illness. In one case I know of personally, an employee had a heart-bypass operation with a lengthy stay in hospital and the boss himself called on the wife regularly with the pay and enquired whether she would need anything else done around her house.For the duration of this employee’s sick-leave, this boss worked on the shop floor in person, mingling with the other employees and being practically indistinguishable in work and manners from anybody else.All this is done with the before-mentioned even temper and an air of teamwork. When this employee finally returned from his long sick leave, he resumed his position with ease, whilst the boss returned into his office to resume his task of running his business. Little weaknesses and transgressions are overlooked or, at it’s worst, the person is reprimanded a day later in a fatherly fashion.They do not seem to have the misfortune of employing a bad worker as they either instinctively select the right person or simply lead with positivism and good example. There is a noticeable absence of fear or working-anxiety as each employee knows that he or she is a member of a smooth-running team!THE IMTIMIDATORThis type of person is basing the smooth-running of his business on fear. His demeanour is reserved to the point of haughtiness, his appearance is impeccable, his voice is artificially low andstentoric. He has an on-stage personality, geared to impress. His common phrases are peppered with ‘however’, ‘furthermore’, ‘if you only knew what we know!’ ‘I thought of that!’ is the common reply to a valuable suggestions put forward by a willing employee. Reports by an employees are interrupted with: ‘I know exactly what you want to say!’ or a ‘We know all about that!’ are uttered with a reprimanding stare.When real problems arise, he would give the harbinger of bad news a penetrating look and bark: ‘I thought that has been taken care of!’ When in a difficult situation, he has the habit of staring straight ahead, at a spot on the opposite wall as if in deep concentration and utters words like: ‘that is not on!’ ‘No, we don’t do that!’ instilling fear and intimidation in his workers.Without the presence of the fear factor, he believes, an organisation has no incentive to work efficiently and to achieve things for him. He feels, he must constantly instil this anxiety by destabilising people around him!For example, when conversing with people who speak fast and have a quick mind, he slows down in his speech to the point of unnerving the other person. This is done with the help of slowly uttered phrases like: ‘What I said was…’ when, in fact, he had said nothing before on this particular subject. Therefore, this sentence is invariable followed-up by the biggest lie possible, putting the other person hopelessly in a depressed mood and increasing his fear of working for him.Alternatively, with people who are taciturn in their speaking manner, he rattles-off his question fast and furiously. By the time this good worker answered one question, he has already asked him two more, throwing that person out of his concentration and ending with stammering and stutter. Upon which this employer leaves with an attitude of total satisfaction of having fear and the feeling of inadequacy re-enforced in a worker.Should such an employer meet with an employee who is not afraid of him or at least an honest worker with a clean conscience, this is unacceptable to him. A situation will then have to be created where this decent worker becomes afraid of something……In one case, such a worker received the constant warning: ‘If you make us the slightest trouble……’ Often this tactic is then perpetuated by the top boss’ immediate underlings who then continue to talk to this person in a manner of ‘If you think you can get away with……’ There are other repercussions for honest persons. When it is found out that an employee, for example, studies evenings, he is then considered an open threat. ‘You are wasting your time….’ He is then told often.Alternatively, high achievements are being downgraded with disparaging remarks till such a person feels totally inadequate despite his achievements whilst the instilled fear keeps him in excellent performance. We have now dealt with two diametrically opposite type of employers and in subsequent articles more and different bosses and their operations will be illuminated.By researching the company we are trying to join, a lot of shortcomings are being identified and frustration, hardship and overwork can be avoided.Peter Frederick
Successful Digital Photography SLR Tips
If you are interested in digital photography and want top quality photographs you could do worse than look at purchasing a single lens reflex (SLR) camera. Successful digital photography with SLR cameras is achievable even by those relatively new to the medium. Firstly you should understand how this type of camera operates and how you can influence the outcome by choosing the exposure rather than using the auto function. It may take a little more work at first but the images that a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) can produce far outweigh those produced by a point and shoot compact digital camera.A DSLR has a mirror that directs the light entering the lens up onto a prism for you to view the image. Once you press the shutter release the mirror pivots up out of the way just as the exposure is made. This is the same movement used in a traditional film SLR. To aide viewing the image the aperture remains at its maximum, for example f2.8 this allows the maximum amount of light to enter the lens. However, when you press the shutter the aperture will stop down to the required calibration (pre-adjusted) so that the combination of the aperture and the amount of time the shutter is open (speed) is combined to make the exposure. You have control over how the image will be recorded. for example, a larger aperture in combination with the required speed may throw the background out of focus and make the main subject of the shot more prominent.The different camera manufacturers provide a wide variety of interchangeable lenses from which to choose. However, it is not usually possible to use a lens from one manufacturer on a different camera. There are lens manufacturers that do produce different fittings for various cameras. A dedicated lens from a specific manufacturer such as Canon or Nikon will usually be more expensive than a lens from this type of manufacture but the quality is often comparable today.With an SLR you are easily able to view the scene in front of you as is. This means that if you place a filter over the front of the lens you will be able to view how this alters the image, you will also be able to see if you have left the lens cap on!There are some disadvantages to using a single lens reflex camera, notably the weight. The prism and the optics do add to the overall weight of the camera and you may need to have a strong camera bag and even a tripod to use it if you are using a long telephoto lens. These cameras can also be noisy when the prism lifts up out of the way when you are taking your shot.For successful digital photography with an SLR you need to get to know your camera as well as possible so that you can easily use all the options available rather than have to keep looking at the instruction book. If you put some little time into doing this the results you achieve will far outweigh your best shots taken with a digital compact camera.
Risk Management Policies In Financial Services: Hedge Funds
Many financial services make use of a well-structured risk management policy to manage their day-to-day exposure to risk, including exclusive investment entities such as hedge funds. For many years hedge funds were considered the high-stakes bad boys of the investing world; an image that the industry despised and rejected in the public eye, yet celebrated behind the closed doors of their high-rise offices and their swanky exclusive nightclubs. Over the past 36 months the hedge fund community has stepped up their efforts to shed the negativity and weariness that is often associated with them. Of course in some ways this “risky market gambler” perception was always unfounded, especially considering hedge funds use complex strategies and investment vehicles to hedge away systemic and market risk.Due to their size and unique capital structure, hedge funds were previously allowed to operate outside the stringent oversight of investment regulators, but this has changed over the past decade. While hedge funds continue to abstain from using the comprehensive risk management ‘best-practices’ of other financial services such as banks and large fund managers, they have certainly increased their use of risk management policies. These processes have evolved to monitor not only how their range of investments mitigate inherent market risk for their investors, but also how they conduct their business in general.The organizational risk philosophy at any particular hedge fund typically reflects the interest-level and commitment of that fund’s top traders and officials. The greater these managers believe in not chasing greater return at the expense of risk compliance, the stronger the fund’s risk policy is embedded throughout the entire fund’s other personnel. Many hedge funds now employ a Chief Risk Officer and have doubled their expenditures on risk management processes and risk compliance. They are increasingly seeking individuals who have obtained at least one risk management certification, focusing on credit and financial risk. These changes are the result of not only clearer minds within the hedge fund management community, but also from changing investor expectations. While hedge fund have always used complex quantitative risk management models to quell investor fears, most managers will tell you that in the past few investors know, or cared to know, how they worked. While this sentiment has not dramatically changed during these past few months, there are changing expectations from investors, especially large institutional money managers, in regards to transparency, risk analysis processes, and how business is conducted. Fund managers typically benefit from long investment time-horizons and leeway from their investors, but even traditionally ‘sticky’ investors are demonstrating a willingness to pull assets out of hedge funds if managers do not comply with the changing risk expectations.As a consequence of the 2008 financial upheaval the fund community has witnesses the creation of a series of private oversight groups, such as the ‘Hedge Fund Standards Board’. These self-regulatory bodies are creating industry benchmarks and best-practices in risk management, and from which the community can develop their own risk policies.Hedge funds of all sizes have developed and incorporated risk management policies into their operational and trading strategies. These processes include limits on acceptable losses per trader, controls and limits on the types of investments made, and formal communication and internal policing procedures. These funds offer limited transparency on how they conduct business to anyone outside their inner circle of investors, and thus individual firms are expected to internally police themselves. An predominant precursor of risk in this business is the overuse of leverage, and risk management in this area has become a hot-button issue within the fund community. Many fund managers use borrowed money (funds borrowed against the assets provided by their investors) to maximize the return on their positions, and achieve the above-market gains the industry is famous for. However, this practice leaves the firm and its investors assets exposed to unforeseen market risks. The majority of funds now have risk assessment policies in place that monitor their liabilities-to-assets ratios and prevent individual traders from exceeding leverage limits.Due diligence in many aspects of the hedge fund business has increased since the 2008 financial crisis. Fund managers are now acutely mindful of their brokerage trading connections, as well as the structure of asset-custody with transaction partners. Since the 2008 financial crisis hedge funds have learned the hard way that counter-party risks certainly do exist in the financial services sector, and the domino effect resulting from the collapse of Lehman Brothers demonstrated that even the best and brightest can be left exposed.