Sunday, September 6, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
How To Improve Community Deveopment Service Delivery
How to improve community development service delivery.
I think in other to improve community –development service delivery, the department of social development have to find a way of teaching or standardizing the qualifications and training of community development practitioners.
The departments also have to consult stake holders in drafting a community –development policy, which is an important aspect for improving community –development service delivery. This envisaged policy on community development will integrate the norms and standards for community –development practice. I also think that the national department should provide strategic leadership policy to nine –provincial departments that are responsible for direct service delivery to citizens.
May be this can curb all the demonstration in the country by the local communities due to lack of service delivery by the municipalities.
By Jeffrey Shisinga.
I think in other to improve community –development service delivery, the department of social development have to find a way of teaching or standardizing the qualifications and training of community development practitioners.
The departments also have to consult stake holders in drafting a community –development policy, which is an important aspect for improving community –development service delivery. This envisaged policy on community development will integrate the norms and standards for community –development practice. I also think that the national department should provide strategic leadership policy to nine –provincial departments that are responsible for direct service delivery to citizens.
May be this can curb all the demonstration in the country by the local communities due to lack of service delivery by the municipalities.
By Jeffrey Shisinga.
Keeping Employees Motivated During a Recession.
http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz/
Keeping Employees Motivated During a Recession
Published by Dean van Leeuwenon July 17, 2009in Leadership and Recession solutions
I’m a big fan of BNET it’s a great source for business ideas and thought leaders and I’d encourage you to use them as a resource. But I came across this videocast on their site today which was so far off the mark that I had to comment.
In the video Sumi Des interview Caty Everett, Vice President of Alliance Coaching, on how to get more from dissengaged workers. She’s right – two thirds of workers are dissengaged, it’s a huge problem costing the USA about $350 billion and the UK £30 billion per year in lost productivity. Now Caty puts forward that improving engagement is as “basic as having one-on-ones…asking people what motivates them and what they enjoy about their job” so good so far but as Sumi puts it what if “your hands are tied and you can’t give them what they are looking for?” Caty responds by saying she believes that it’s enough to have “Started a dialogue” and that you need to manage expectations…say things like “I hear you, but not sure we can focus on that now… got my feelers out for you… you don’t have to give them an immediate solution”
Oh come on! As Bruno (aka Ali G / Sacha Baron Cohen) would say this is soooo yesterday’s approach to management. Today’s employees have heard this all before – coaching and 1-on-1’s – the “we’ve heard you now so get on with your job” no longer cuts it, especially not with Gen X and Gen Y workers, who seek instant gratification in their work now.
Coaching and 1-on-1s are important don’t get me wrong but if you want to get your employees more engaged and get more from less, then you need to be creating a deep rich culture that connects with people’s value systems, it’s about creating a tribe culture through regular, informal, company meetings and celebrating mistakes and not just success. It’s about building fun and even a little zaniness into the workplace. if you want to get more from less you need to be tapping into people’s value systems…Zappos is a company that appears to get this right. The Zappos management team got their workers to come up with their own company values and they didn’t come up with lame ones like trust, integrity and honesty, which lets be frank are values that everyone expects. They came up with this list and it forms the bed rock of their “tribe culture”.:
1.Delive WOW Through Service
2.Embrace and Drive Change
3.Create Funand A Little Weirdness
4.Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5.Pursue Growth and Learning
6.Build Open andHonest Relationships With Communication
7.BuildaPositiveTeamandFamilypirit
8.Do More With Less
9.Be Passionate and Determined
10 Be Humble
New workers are even bribed with cash to leave Zappos if they feel they can’t live these values. And the results:
- over $1 billion in sales within 8 years… not bad for a online shoe retailer!
Check out some of the activities they get up to in the Zappos as they live these values.
If you want to get more from less and improve engagement with your workers then you need to connect with people on a more personal level and to treat your staff like adults and partners who you need to get you through the recession and not like kids who you sit down with have a one-on-one and say “we hear you but can’t do much about it because our hands are tied” Take a feather out of Zappos’s cap and create a tribe culture. What they are doing is fun, inexpensive oh and by the way Zappos customers love them!
Keeping Employees Motivated During a Recession
Published by Dean van Leeuwenon July 17, 2009in Leadership and Recession solutions
I’m a big fan of BNET it’s a great source for business ideas and thought leaders and I’d encourage you to use them as a resource. But I came across this videocast on their site today which was so far off the mark that I had to comment.
In the video Sumi Des interview Caty Everett, Vice President of Alliance Coaching, on how to get more from dissengaged workers. She’s right – two thirds of workers are dissengaged, it’s a huge problem costing the USA about $350 billion and the UK £30 billion per year in lost productivity. Now Caty puts forward that improving engagement is as “basic as having one-on-ones…asking people what motivates them and what they enjoy about their job” so good so far but as Sumi puts it what if “your hands are tied and you can’t give them what they are looking for?” Caty responds by saying she believes that it’s enough to have “Started a dialogue” and that you need to manage expectations…say things like “I hear you, but not sure we can focus on that now… got my feelers out for you… you don’t have to give them an immediate solution”
Oh come on! As Bruno (aka Ali G / Sacha Baron Cohen) would say this is soooo yesterday’s approach to management. Today’s employees have heard this all before – coaching and 1-on-1’s – the “we’ve heard you now so get on with your job” no longer cuts it, especially not with Gen X and Gen Y workers, who seek instant gratification in their work now.
Coaching and 1-on-1s are important don’t get me wrong but if you want to get your employees more engaged and get more from less, then you need to be creating a deep rich culture that connects with people’s value systems, it’s about creating a tribe culture through regular, informal, company meetings and celebrating mistakes and not just success. It’s about building fun and even a little zaniness into the workplace. if you want to get more from less you need to be tapping into people’s value systems…Zappos is a company that appears to get this right. The Zappos management team got their workers to come up with their own company values and they didn’t come up with lame ones like trust, integrity and honesty, which lets be frank are values that everyone expects. They came up with this list and it forms the bed rock of their “tribe culture”.:
1.Delive WOW Through Service
2.Embrace and Drive Change
3.Create Funand A Little Weirdness
4.Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5.Pursue Growth and Learning
6.Build Open andHonest Relationships With Communication
7.BuildaPositiveTeamandFamilypirit
8.Do More With Less
9.Be Passionate and Determined
10 Be Humble
New workers are even bribed with cash to leave Zappos if they feel they can’t live these values. And the results:
- over $1 billion in sales within 8 years… not bad for a online shoe retailer!
Check out some of the activities they get up to in the Zappos as they live these values.
If you want to get more from less and improve engagement with your workers then you need to connect with people on a more personal level and to treat your staff like adults and partners who you need to get you through the recession and not like kids who you sit down with have a one-on-one and say “we hear you but can’t do much about it because our hands are tied” Take a feather out of Zappos’s cap and create a tribe culture. What they are doing is fun, inexpensive oh and by the way Zappos customers love them!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Papa G live at Fest
Papa G is live at FestJeffrey Shisinga
The famous Isindingo actor Darlington Michaels has been catching a few shows during the National Arts Festival. This reporter last saw him attending Money Maker, a Abangani Theatre production written and directed by Julian Seleke-Mokoto.
Unlike most other celebrities who cooped themselves up, Michaels enjoyed talking to ordinary people before going in for the show.
“I’m not influenced by the television, but I influence the television,” he said as he waved his fingers, which as full of rings in real life as they for his Papa G. character on Isidingo.
You can catch Michael’s ‘Who’s To Blame’, a play he wrote and directed on the 10 July at 10:00 NG Kerk
Jeffrey Shisinga is a Media Studies student at University of Limpopo. He is participating in the Future Journalists Programme Winter School at Rhodes University.
Festival has not felt credit crunch!
The 35th annual National Arts Festival (NAF), taking place between 2 and 11 July in Grahamstown will sustain the city’s economic stability regardless to the global recession according to CEO, Tony Lankester. He was talking at a press conference arranged for the Future Journalist Programme yesterday.
The Rhodes Conferencing Office Manager, Carolyn Stevenson-Milln confirmed that over 4000 locals will be hired as temporary workers in Halls of Residence around campus. Rhodes normally rents out its residences to tourists and festival goers, and Milln said their rent helps keep the students’ residence fees low.
Lankester told the FJP press conference that the success of the festival has kept sponsors aboard because of its unrivalled capacity to generate profit.
Standard Bank has always been there for the festival, and it has upped its sponsorship up to 2011. Their CEO says Jacko Maree told the press recently that “the festival has always been a platform for freedom of expression and, in the corporate and financial world. “We know that a free society is the best environment for our business to grow,” Maree added.
Reporting and writing by Andile Dube, Jeffrey Shisinga, Sophiane Bengeloun, Anele Ngwenya.
The Rhodes Conferencing Office Manager, Carolyn Stevenson-Milln confirmed that over 4000 locals will be hired as temporary workers in Halls of Residence around campus. Rhodes normally rents out its residences to tourists and festival goers, and Milln said their rent helps keep the students’ residence fees low.
Lankester told the FJP press conference that the success of the festival has kept sponsors aboard because of its unrivalled capacity to generate profit.
Standard Bank has always been there for the festival, and it has upped its sponsorship up to 2011. Their CEO says Jacko Maree told the press recently that “the festival has always been a platform for freedom of expression and, in the corporate and financial world. “We know that a free society is the best environment for our business to grow,” Maree added.
Reporting and writing by Andile Dube, Jeffrey Shisinga, Sophiane Bengeloun, Anele Ngwenya.
Touching is believing
Blind supporters marched through the streets of Grahamstown, 6 July, to promote literature for the blind.“The blind are in desperate need for the books” said Andrew Brooks the digital technical assistant for South African Library for the Blind. The SALB is the only institution that produces an audio book in an audio digital format. All books used by the blind are made from six dots called “Briaile cells" said Brooks.“We want government especially Arts and Culture to sponsor the South African library for the blind,” he said.The march was honoured by the MEC for Sports, Recreation, and Arts and Culture Xoliswa Tom.
Jeffrey Shisinga- FJP
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
