There are a lot of things that one has to take care of while going on for a business trip to a foreign destination, more so when it is one’s first business travel. To make it convenient and comfortable, it is better that one hires the services of a travel agency. They will take care of all your requirements. There are a large number of travelling agencies in Australia who can fulfil all your travelling needs.

Some of the benefits of hiring travel agencies for the business trips are discussed below.

Since business trips are very different from the leisurely trips these need more meticulous planning and execution. These are more serious in nature and any loophole in the planning may lead to huge losses. Taking care of both the business deal and the business travelling details is not easy for a person. Therefore it is better to hire a travelling agency which understands these things and therefore give utmost attention to each detail.

These travelling agencies will look into all the details of your business trip and plan accordingly, right from the start of your journey to the last moment of your stay as well as getting back to your home destination.

For people who travel frequently for business purposes must go for travelling agencies specializing in the business tours. These agencies have a lot of experience in this field. They can provide you the best of services at very low rates.

From business air travel booking, hotel booking to meeting arrangements, everything is done by the travelling agency.

These agencies have a lot of experience in handling these business trips and therefore know each and every requirement of a business trip. This is the reason why you can rely on their services.

These agencies understand that businessmen travel frequently on business trips. Therefore to attract more travellers they give discounts on frequent basis. They have a lot of alluring business tour packages to suit the needs of all types of business travellers. These packages help you save a lot of your money but this does not mean that they compromise on services. These discounted packages provide you affordable business tickets, comfortable stay, fine dining options and the best arrangements for meetings and conferences.

You can also take your family along with you on the business trips. These travelling agencies can include all the facilities for the family members also. So your business trip can easily be turned into a family vacation.

They can in fact provide you with packages which have the business trip combined with sight seeing. After your work for the day is over you can indulge in a lot of pleasure activities also. The sight seeing will include visits to all the popular attractions of that place. There are many travelling agencies which provide these two in one services. There is always a lot of ample time between business meetings and work. This time can easily be utilized for sight seeing and pleasure activities.

Hiring the services of these travelling agencies will help you save a lot of your time, money and energy and you will have a comfortable trip without a doubt.

No matter which clinic I ever hold for shooting improvement classes I always get a boat load of questions and concerns about shooting mechanics. Here is a list that covers some of those concerns.

Question 1. How important are the feet when shooting free throws?

Answer 1. There are many answers to this because it really does not matter how the feet line up as long as the feet are not too close together or too far apart. Shoulder width is perfect. Also don’t get hung up on being square to the basket on a free throw specifically. You can shoot just as well if you are facing a left wall. As long as your shooting shoulder and arm can be square to the basket that is the most important factor. The feet have little to do with the shot. You should spend most of your mental energy on the follow through, the finger spread, wrist movement and index finger touching the ball last.

Question 2. What part of the rim should I focus on?

Answer 2. No specific part. Focus on the whole rim. It is too hard to watch a spot on the front or back of the rim. Focus on the rim as a whole specifically for distance and then your mind dictates to your index finger to shoot the ball straight and it is also a big part of the sensitivity and touch that helps make the shot go straight. Crooked shots rarely go in. Judging the distance is a lot easier than shooting the ball straight since about 78% of shots are crooked.

Question 3. Does any specific finger dominate in the shot release process?

Answer 3. Again there are various ideas floating around. But through scientific logic and the makeup of the bone structure of the hand it is best to place the index finger on the center of the ball at 90 degrees to the seams. Not 75 or 80 degrees.. 90 degrees. Look at the back of your hand with your fingers spread as wide as possible. You will notice that the tip of the index finger and the tips of the thumb and pinky form an imaginary triangle. since this forms an almost perfect triangle it stands to reason that the index finger should be on the center of the ball and doing the most damage. The index finger should also line up with the elbow joint, the center of the ball and the center of the rim. These should be in alignment just before you pull the trigger, even though they may not be aligned prior to the shot.

Question 4. How do you get perfect ball rotation?

Answer 4. Perfect rotation happens naturally with correct mechanics. It is hard to believe something so simple is really butchered by thousands of players due mostly to their anatomical structure, ball hand alignment and poor follow through. Simply place your index finger in the center of the ball spread your fingers as wide as possible without tensing up, and shoot the ball in the air with the index finger touching the ball last and voila, perfect rotation. If the middle and /or ring finger add any contact to the ball you will notice the angle of the ball is slightly tilted. Another killer of correct rotation is the guide hand thumb which adds some side spin to the ball. Millions use their thumb and did so ever since they were little. The culprit here is lack of strength then over the years it became a habit, (a bad one at that)

Question 5. Should you watch the rim or the ball in flight after the shot has been released?

Answer 5. The great shooters watch the ball in flight. Examples, Jordan, Stojakovic, Nash, Nowitzki, Bird, Palubinskas, etc. Your eyes start the shot by watching and measuring the distance of the rim. You release the ball and the moment the ball leaves your index finger on the follow through your eyes move from the rim to the flight of the ball. It is much better control and you can study the shot and tell better if the ball is going in or not. You can also tell if your rotation is bad and this will reveal to you that you have a mechanical problem that needs attention.

Question 6. How important is a pre-shot routine.

Answer 6. It has no relevance at all to the life cycle of the shot. If you have the strength the ball needs then you will always pause the shot in the shooting pocket before it is released. So if you do pause, then no matter what pre shot mumbo jumbo one does, the pause will kill any pre-shot routine. (remember K.I.S.S.) The less movement the better. But it is a personal preference to do some cool things, I guess. Jason Kidd blows kisses to the wind, Karl Malone used to pray before a shot. Go figure.

Question 7. During any shot, what ‘mental picture’ should I have in my mind ,if any?

Answer 7. It should definitely not be an image of you making or missing the basket. This is a useless thought. If this is the case then this proves that there is no thought process on any shooting mechanics, exactly where the mind should be focused on. You should absolutely be thinking about the one or two worst mechanical flaws you are aware of that causes your most missed shots. Do you shoot short? Are you always left? Do you tend to shoot long? Every miss has a reason behind it. Recognize and rectify. Do you have a flying elbow? Is your hand scrunched up and in the cookie jar? Is your hand closed on the release? Does your wrist look floppy and loose after the release? etc etc. You get the idea.

Question 8. How important is it to shoot with the ball seams ?

Answer 8. No significance at all. Another personal preference. You can do it during free throws but during a game you don’t have time to line up the seams for a shot. You can shoot just as well with a seamless ball as long as the weight is official.

Question 9. Is there an optimal angle for a follow through?

Answer 9. Yes, absolutely. They say it is between 42 and 48 degrees, which will bring an average down to 45 degrees which is right in the middle. Understand that the higher the arc the more longer shots will hit the front of the rim. The flatter the arc the more perfect the shot should be because the rim flattens out reducing the area of entry.

Question 10. Does the hand as a whole shoot the ball or do the fingers play a big role?

Answer 10. Great question. Understanding this is the biggest and most important part of the whole shooting science. Mastering the hand placement, touch and feel control and release mechanism is more important than the rest of the factors involved in shooting. Too many players have the ball resting on the whole hand including all the pads and the palm. The way to get the palm off the ball is to widen your grip as wide as possible without too much tension. The wider the hand the easier it is for you and your mind to feel what fingers are applying the correct amount of energy to the shot. For example I number each finger to allow for accountability. The thumb is zero, the index finger is #1, the mid finger is #2, the ring finger is #3 and the pinky finger is #4. The thumb and pinky maintain support and width and are responsible for about 5% eac on the ball while the index finger is responsible for the other 90%. It does the lion’s share of the work. Notice I have left out #’s 2 and 3, since I believe they do more damage than good since they tend to go across the grain or in a lateral movement thus detracting from the perfect straight direction the ball needs.

Question 11. Why is it that the ring finger and the mid finger should have little effect on the shot?

Answer 11. Scientifically speaking, you will notice that there are no appendages (fingers) between the thumb and the forefinger. But obviously there are 2 fingers between the index finger and the Pinky. This creates a natural imbalance that does not benefit consistent accuracy. Due to this imbalance and the extra weight of these 2 fingers the tendency is for the hand to always move inwards towards the body causing lateral movement which is responsible for crooked shots. All the fingers must move forward to the basket without any lateral sway. Watch a bear, tiger, or bulldog walk and you will notice that their front paws always move back and inwards when they walk. Same principle. BUT, I will add this. For those weak individuals who have thin arms, hands and fingers I think it may be a good idea if they join the index and mid finger together on the ball which basically makes the index finger stronger. But there can be no more than a quarter inch extra length on the mid finger otherwise it will dominate the release point.

Question 12. Why is there somewhat of a difference between boys and girls shooting mechanics?

Answer 12. One main reason that separates the boys from the girls is the ‘strength factor’. Generally speaking until the age of puberty boys and girls are about the same in upper body strength. This ranges around 12-14 years old. I could be wrong here. Anyhow it takes longer for girls to develop a true jump shot because they really don’t jump very high and if your jump is only a few inches there is not much time within which to develop a ‘pause’ just before you release the ball. Plus the ‘shot pockets’ are usually much lower when strength is lacking. The ideal ‘shot pocket’ is just above the forehead but it takes strength in the upper body, arms and hands to be able to shoot from this position. Anytime you shoot from the chest, chin, or face area this means the ball is being thrust at the basket without any ‘pause time’ thus giving less time to aim.

Question 13. How important is ‘timing’ on a jump shot or a free throw shot in general?

Answer 13. It does affect some players who get their shot out of ‘sync’ due to leverage and improper mechanics. Anytime a player brings the ball past the top of their head or way to the side of their head and go into what I call a ‘negative’ phase, then this creates more of a launching mode where the first move is ‘at’ the rim. The initial movement of the ball should always be ‘up’ first then ‘at’ the rim. This changes leverage on a shot by bringing it way behind the head.
Also during a jump shot you do not want to have the ball in your hand on the way down. If you must it is better to shoot on the way up than on the way down. Shooting on the way down is a real strength drain.

Question 14. How important is it to be ‘squared up” before you shoot?

Answer 14. It depends. Around the basket it is not so important because you can twist and turn your body in relation to other bodies and use the wrist and fingers to maneuver the ball to the hoop. But when you are further out you want to have as much body control as possible and having your feet squared also squares your shoulders and you are basically shooting a free throw from all over the court. If you have the upper body strength you can afford to be less ‘squared up’ because you can make up for lower body irregularities with upper body strength. Not recommended but it happens all the time. As long as the upper body or shoulders are squared your chances are improved. What about one legged shots, or fadeaways? In these cases the lower body is irregular but the upper body is usually squared. Another important point here is that the key body part that needs to be squared to the basket is the shoulder elbow and wrist joints.

Question 15. You hear so much about the follow through yet there are thousands of different ones. Is there such a thing as a perfect follow through?

Answer 15. Now we are getting serious. This is where coaches and players should spend more time, on the perfect follow through. I can only answer from experience and how my follow through helps me shoot at 99% from the line. You can still be a great shooter with variations but the key is to follow natural laws or scientific.

There are many companies offering free installation of solar panels for your home through “Rent a Roof ” schemes. Great news you say, no initial costs and free electricity for your home. Sounds too good to be true? There are many things to consider that you wont be told about when choosing to install free solar panels.

So what’s the catch?
Well the solar panels and installation are in fact free. So no catch? Not quite, although the panels are free and you do receive free electricity produced by the panels but you don’t actually own the solar panels. These are owned by the company that installs them. This company also receives all the Feed-In-Tariff Payments(FIT’s) which are guaranteed for 25 years.

What are FiT payments?
Feed-in Tariffs (also known as FiTs) are the payments received by the owner of a Solar PV system. This a government backed scheme that pays people for creating their own “green electricity”. If you opt for an installation of free Solar PV you will see nothing of these payments, which in the long run would give you a great return on investment if you purchased your own Solar PV system.

Selling your house? You may have a problem
There has been various problems exposed for home owners that are trying to sell their house with free solar panels installed on their roof. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), have advised against making offers to buy properties fitted where free solar panels have been installed.

The problem is partly due to the company that installed your solar panels now own your roof for the duration of the Feed-in Tariff life time, this is now 20 years. It is difficult for buyers to secure mortgages on houses with “free solar pv” due to not having full ownership of the roof.

What are the alternatives to free solar panels?
Solar panels have halved in price over the last year meaning the capital outlay is significantly lower that you might expect. A typical solar PV system now costs between £4,000 and £7,000 depending on the size. Another alternative to “free solar panel schemes” if you can’t afford the initial outlay upfront you can secure a low interest loan, such as the home improvement loans from Tesco.

The original outlay may be more costly initially, but in the long run you will be better off and will avoid running to any issues with your roof. You will also receive the full Feed-in Tariff, export tariff as well as generating your own electricity to reduce your bills. The total income on a typical 4kwp Solar PV system for example is £869.58 annually, this will increase year on year with in-line with inflation.

All payments and savings are tax free, index linked and guaranteed for 20 years. So a Return on investment over 20 years = 21.77% (Based on annual inflation of 4% and annual energy price increases of 8.7%).

Although the majority of sweets, or candies, have a high glycemic index, one or two candies in your daily eating schedule, would give only a slight rise to your blood sugar level. The glycemic response is dependent not only on the type of carbohydrate – simple or complex, but also the quantity you eat! Therefore, researchers have introduced the concept of the glycemic load index, to simultaneously assess quality and quantity of the carbohydrates in a meal.

The glycemic load index is calculated by multiplying weight of carbohydrates with the glycemic index of the product, and dividing the result by 100. For calculation purposes, the fiber is subtracted from the total carbohydrates and the weight is in grams. Calculated values of the index can be found in tables on a variety of web pages dedicated to the low-carbohydrates diets.

The value of the glycemic load index is based on the idea that it makes sense to eat a larger amount of food with a low glycemic index instead of eating a smaller portion with a high glycemic index. For example, a slice of a white bread will raise your blood sugar level 2.5 times more than a slice of watermelon.

A diet focused on a low the glycemic load index tends to estimate a quantity of carbohydrates which is necessary for the optimization of glycemic control. Such a diet helps to decrease total body mass, thereby helping to prevent the risk of increase in a blood pressure, the risk of cardiovascular diseases and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Here are some tips on how to reduce the glycemic load index of your meal:

• Increase a consumption of whole grains, nuts, legumes, fruits and an amount of starch-free vegetables.
• Reduce an amount of starchy and processed foods, such as baked potatoes, french fries, white and, especially, parboiled rice and white bread in your menu.
• Eat a limited amount of sugar-containing foods, such as regular carbonated soft drinks and sweetened beverages, biscuits, cakes and sweets. All kinds of sweets, pastries, jams and sugars tend to rapidly increase your blood sugar level.

An effective diet, which is based on the glycemic load index, has to be versatile. Do not avoid eating certain foods, as cereals, fruits, vegetables or even fats. Many of these products contain vitamins and minerals which are essential for your health. And do not feel deprived – eat your midday snack! A few pieces of your favorite candies after a proper lunch will not ruin your diet!

Information is the lifeblood of all businesses, but many business owners and high level managers often overlook the security of their business information to focus on what they consider more important; “the generation of revenue.” Many even know the risk well in advance but take on the mentality, “It will never happen to us.” Then the inevitable happens.

Experience has proven that the disregard for the protection of business information is disastrous. The smallest vulnerability in a business’s Information Security System (ISS) can and does cause businesses thousands, even millions of dollars in financial loss everyday. Experts have found that in the majority of the cases involving “loss” from the theft of information that the business owner(s) or managers were aware that potential breaches existed and did nothing to correct the issue. Experts also point out that in 99% of the cases that the cost to fix the breach would have been thousands to millions of dollars cheaper then the loss the business sustained from the breach itself.

According to “Trends in Proprietary Loss” (ASIS International, 2007) these are the top 5 reasons businesses of all sizes should have an active and progressive Information Security System (ISS) and Information Security Management System (ISMS) in place.

• Loss of reputation/image/goodwill – Taking a hit in the pocket could be bad but not as half as bad as taking a hit to your reputation. Many business can rebound from loss of revenue but repairing your business reputation can cost astronomical time, effort and money. The implications are overwhelming in most cases.
• Loss of competitive advantage in one product/service – When you have been working feverishly to stay ahead of the game but your competitor beats you to the finish line every time, “There’s a hole in your boat.” The leaking of trade secrets, product delivery timelines and other business processes can completely derail a business and destroy its competitive advantage.” In 2006 there was a well known case of information theft concerning an employee from a major beverage. That employee stole trade information and conspired to sell it to another beverage company for 1.5 million dollars.The employee was arrested after the competitor turned her in.
• Reduced of projected/anticipated returns or profitability – This can occur when your competitor knows your pricing strategy. If they’re selling the same type of product or service as your business they can, and will easily outprice you.
• Loss of core business technology or process – A quick Google search will give you some insight on how businesses lose billions in the process when technology is leaked or stolen. The case of the drawn out and costly battle of the “Cell Phone Giants” comes to mind. Do a Google search about it. There are some really insightful facts that you may not have known about the case.
• Loss of competitive advantage in multiple products/services

All of the above are sound reasons while your business should have an active information security policy. I am of the opinion that any business that regularly loses money and fails to implement processes to stop it,will soon be out of business. Therefore, I encourage all business managers, executives and owners to take the protection of their information seriously. Make time to review your current information security processes and policy with your security manager. Listen to his/her concerns and recommendations. After all that is what you hired him/her for. Concentrate on making your security a “Necessary good” instead of a “Necessary evil” and dedicate a reasonable but flexible budget to immediately address new or unexpected security threats. It could truly save you a life of headaches, court battles and money in the end.

Below are a few recommendations that I believe will help any business to begin improving their information security process. It will also help to improve overall security in general.

Recommendations

• Ensure that sensitive information is only accessible to a small group of people based on a need to know basis. This information is to be kept in a secure area with progressive and redundant security measures.
• The first level of security can be posted signage that designates the level of authorization required to be in specific areas. These signs should also advise the consequences for ignoring them.
• The second level of security may include CCTV cameras which are manned or unmanned (but have the ability to be reviewed later). Cameras serve as a good method to detect, deter and in some cases respond to nefarious behavior.
• The third level of security mandates designated key cards or key fobs to enter restricted areas. This authorization can also be indicated by color coded ID badges. A security checkpoint guarded by trained security officers is also an option.
• The fourth level of security concerns areas where the most sensitive information is held. This area should include CCTV cameras, locked file cabinets and safes. This should be supported by a well written Information Protection Policy created in partnership with an experienced security professional and it should be strictly adhered to.
• Lastly, a schedule for audit and compliance should be instituted and a designated person appointed the responsibility for its oversight. This recommendation has more to do with Information Security Management, which I will discuss in a later topic.

General Information Security Practices

The preceding concerned security strategies for highly sensitive information however, we must not overlook the need for the security of general business information. Information comes in many forms and businesses must protect them all. Here are a few more tips that I recommend to improve your current Information Security Policy:

• Ensure that all documents that contain personal, personnel and company information are always kept secure. This information should never be left lying around on someone’s desk or in their inbox. Always keep this type of information under lock and key and designate a person to ensure strict accountability.
• Ensure that you have a information security policy in place and share it with your entire staff. This policy should include how to file or discard company information.
• Ensure that your company has a shredder and include shredding regulations (what should be shredded, when and by whom) into your policy.
• Always ensure that someone in your organization stays abreast of current cyber threats. This person is normally the head of the IT department or your security manager. He/she should also ensure that your anti-virus and firewall systems are regularly updated and tested. If your company does not have a dedicated IT department of manager it wouldn’t hurt to consult with an IT Security firm to get a check-up.
• Ensure that your Information Protection policy includes regulations pertaining to thumb drives and portable hard drives. The policy should clearly state what information can be saved or uploaded from and to the devices. Also consult with your IT department to disable the USB ports on your computers and networks if necessary.
• Finally, every business should have a Non-Disclosure Agreement. NDAs set the expectations for your employees as it pertains to the privacy of your business affairs, processes and materials. It also provides the recourse for violating the policy. can be found on the web, but I recommend consulting with your attorney to ensure that your NDA provides you and your business optimum protection.

That about sums it up. I believe that by implementing these strategies that every business can improve the protection of their information and reduce the chances of suffering financial loss. In many cases you may even increase your profitability, which is why we are all in business anyway. I hope that you found this information valuable. Never underestimate what a solid Information Security Program can do for you.

Thanks for reading and I hope that these quick security tips help to kick start or rekindle your Information Security Program.

When deploying a bespoke information security awareness campaign, the ultimate aim is to build a mindset in which employees come to respect and protect the information they work with. To achieve this, it’s imperative that employees fully understand the value of that information.

Failing to understand the value of information is a major cause of information security breaches. For example, it’s the reason why sensitive information ends up in wastepaper baskets or recycling boxes, which subsequently exposes it to ‘dumpster diving’ – the practice of scouring company bins for useful competitor intelligence.

Failing to understand the value of information has led to some of the high profile ‘laptop left on a train’ incidents, where employees are walking around with sensitive information on their hard drives that hasn’t been encrypted for transport.

Failing to understand the value of information can even cause employees to talk themselves into doing things they’ve already been told is bad practice, such as connecting to an unsecure hotel wi-fi to check email. We’ve all been tempted to do it because of the convenience. What stops us is knowing how valuable the emails coming in and out are – all of which can be intercepted on an unsecure wireless connection.

Communicating value

The value of information is best communicated through a clear information classification scheme. For example, let’s use the traditional labels of ‘public’, ‘internal’ and ‘confidential’ information. One of the most effective methods of communicating value is to consider all of the information types within your organisation and categorise them under these headings. Turn that into a clear communication that allows employees to see exactly which information types should be considered under which classification. There are also some engaging and fun ways to embed this in your employees’ minds.

Make classification mandatory

Making classification of all documents mandatory also helps to embed this consideration of value. A classification must be assigned to every new piece of information that employees generate. Similarly, every piece of information they receive must be immediately checked for its classification. If a piece of information is passed on without a classification, then the practice of sending it back to the originator for classification will eventually cause this handling procedure to become second nature.

Protecting confidential information: Carrot or stick?

For most organisations, accidentally or intentionally disclosing confidential information is a disciplinary offence. As long as you state this as part of a campaign that simultaneously instils the value of information, then it can be quite effective.

However, bear in mind that the most effective internal communications campaigns succeed by aligning the objectives of the employee with the objectives of the organisation. Therefore, a more effective method is to make the employee see the personal value of protecting information at work. There are many messages that can be used, such as building the employee’s perception of their contribution to organisation success, and the need to protect the integrity of this achievement. You can also communicate how devastating an information breach can be – for example, through lost revenue or a fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office. An information breach could even cause enough lost competitive advantage that an organisation is no longer able to operate at the same size it was. This associates the concept of information security with job security.

OPENING BELL:

With the corporate laws becoming stricter in India and the ‘Right-To-Information’ Act being enforced in the ‘right’ spirit, coupled with the hyperactive media & proliferation of social networking websites, the word ‘Transparency’ has acquired a new meaning in the world of business. Till early 1990s, the word ‘transparency’ was just not in the business lexicon and today it is a stringent legal, a professional, business and a societal necessity.

Like a coin, the word ‘transparency’ has two sides. One side pertains to the information that the organization shares with the outer world (like government agencies, investors, business magazines, news channels, and voluntary organizations) for compelling reasons and the other side is about the stuff that the organization feeds or notifies to the employees for the intended reasons.

In the contemporary world, the employees are far more conscious and vocal about their rights. In fact, feeding them information is equal to “what the doctor ordered”; give them a little information and they ask for more. Why? Because they believe that the information (like knowledge) is power and more information is decidedly better than no or half information.

Employees born after 1992 (known as Gen x or Gen Alpha) are the blessed ones as they have escaped the era of ‘information starvation’. When they were growing up, India was getting progressively liberalized and information was becoming available more easily. Consequently, they became adult with the ‘mindset’ that they have a (legitimate) right to expect, get and receive information that affects them.

As of now, it seems that the HR profession in India has taken the partial cognizance of this ‘info savvy’ or ‘info hungry’ employees and their expectations for the ‘transparency’ in information sharing (within and from the organization). What information the ‘info hungry’ employees expect from the management or the company?

Let us explore in a telescopic way, i.e. from the personal level and to the organization level, and look at the instructive list of the information needs.

As an employee – Individual & direct information needs:

• How is my compensation calculated and what is my take-home pay?
• How do I plan for my income tax?
• What are the HR policies applicable to me and what each policy means? Whom should I give feedback?
• What are my entitlements and how & when do I receive or claim them?
• What are the performance measurement criteria applicable to me?
• How will I grow or get promoted and approximately within what time-frame?
• Whom should I speak to in case of any difficulty, personal or professional?
• What are the unwritten but important Dos and Don’ts, behavioral and otherwise, of the organization?
• Who are the key members of my immediate senior management and what are their profiles?

As a team (cross-functional) member – Individual, collective & direct information needs:

• Why I am chosen as a member? Why others are chosen as team members?
• What are the goals of this team?
• Why a particular employee has been appointed as the chief?
• Whom the team will report to?
• What is the timeline for presenting the outcomes?
• What resources the team has at its disposal?
• Will my job be at stake if the team does not deliver as expected?
• What are the extra privileges available to a team member?
• How the conflicts within the team will be resolved?
• How will my performance as a team member be linked to my annual performance appraisal?
• Who will help if I or the team requires training or other support?
• What if my Functional Supervisor hinders my participation in the team’s work?

As a member of the Function/Department/Unit – Individual, collective & direct information needs:

• How my function/department/unit has fared this year?
• Why my boss has assessed my performance as inadequate when the function/department/unit has done so well? Does that imply that the ‘sword is likely to be on my neck’?
• Why our function/department/unit is treated like an orphan by the management?
• Why I am not being given challenging assignments?
• What are the key developments in other functions/departments/units of the company?
• Why employees of other functions/departments/units get better or more benefits?

As a member of the organization – Individual & indirect information needs:

• What are the core values of my company?
• How my company has performed during the specific period and what are the central reasons for the performance?
• What are the significant developments (political issues, competition related, mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, government policies, etc.) that affect my company (and therefore, me)?
• Whom should I talk to if I receive unsubstantiated information about my company from the external or internal sources?
• How my company is planning to grow in coming 2-3 years?

CLOSING BELL:

Though the information needs become more specific, differentiated, and time sensitive as one moves up in the pecking order, it cannot be denied that the same information can be shared, of course, on a case-to-case basis, in different ways with different levels of the employees, at the same time or at different points of time. Reaching out to the employees at the right time is always a healthier option irrespective of whether the employees have voiced about their information needs. Information shared at a date later than the required, serves no purpose. All employees do not require all information, but some employees require some information. Correct?

Transparency in sharing of information implies ‘openness’, which is a key constituent of a healthy organizational culture. However, the degree of openness is a subjective criterion and it depends on the workforce’s collective perception, which is primarily influenced by the difference between the management’s advocated philosophy or business policy and the real practice of sharing the information. Transparency in sharing information is a key ingredient for trust-building between the employees & the management.

The real torch-bearer of the ‘transparency’ is the HR Head. She is not only accountable to make sure that every employee receives the ‘required’ information, but also should persuade or even insist when required, that the members of the senior management demonstrate openness and behavioral transparency, consistently.

‘Behavior speaks louder than words’ and here it means that no member of the senior management should be seen as ‘hiding’ or ‘suppressing’ or ‘tweaking’ the information. Practicing ‘transparency’ is an art as well as a science for HR the professionals. It is more an art when they have to be transparent themselves and it is more of a science when they have to make sure that the employees perceive the organization as transparent.

In this article we will answer the following questions and a whole lot more:

• What is a request for information?
• Under what conditions can I request information?
• What can I do if the company refuses to give me the information I requested?

The request for information comes from the obligation and duty to bargain and applies to contract negotiations as well as the grievance procedures that follow.

Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) in 1935 to protect the rights of employees and employers, to encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses and the U.S. economy.

An employer who refuses to provide information or unreasonably delays the provision of information violates Section 8(a)(5) of the Act.

Information can be requested by a Union who is certified to represent company’s employees for the following reasons:

• To prepare for collective bargaining negotiations
• To monitor the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA)
• To investigate a grievance

In order for a request to be valid it must somehow relate to one of the above issues.

For example, a Union is preparing for negotiations and requests a copy of all workplace rules and regulations, a list of all positions to include their duties, responsibilities and where their position is located at.

Another example would be if a Union was investigating the discharge of a member. The Union could request a copy of all information used by the employer to decide to terminate the member, including but not limited to, all evidence, statements, emails, photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, photographs and any notes.

Even though a grievance is not necessary to request information it is recommended that the Union has some form of probable cause to justify a request. It does not hurt the Union’s case to be able to articulate the reasons behind their request.

What types of information can the Union request?

It would actually be easier to list all of the information the Union cannot require from the employer. Here are a few examples of information that is not allowed:

• Information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)
• Trade secrets covered as propriety information
• Information which the employer has consistently enforced a policy barring disclosure so long as the employer provides an alternative or substitute form of disclosure

In order for your request to be effective it must contain the following items:

• It must clearly identify the information being requested.
• If the request is in connection to another matter such as a grievance it must be clearly referenced.

The following items are highly recommended:

• Clearly state where the information is to be delivered
• Clearly state how the information is to be delivered
• Clearly state when the information is expected to be delivered
• Clearly state that if any part of the request is denied the employer must state this fact in its response

Now let’s talk about delivery. In order for a request to be effective you must have proof of delivery. This can be accomplished in several ways. They are:

• Via certified mail, return receipt requested.
• By hand delivery, with a statement from the person performing the delivery.
• By fax or by email along with a confirmation copy, a reply or a phone call verifying that it was actually delivered.

What can you do if the company refuses or fails to provide the information requested?

The agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act is the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The NLRB is an independent agency of the United States government charged with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. As previously mentioned, an employer who refuses to provide information or unreasonably delays the provision of information violates Section 8(a)(5) of the Act.

This next part will depend how your Union is set up. Many organizations require Locals to go through their parent organization in order to file NLRB charges. You should check with your National or International before moving forward.

For those Locals or Independent Unions who are left to fend for themselves you can file the charges in two ways. You can fill out the forms yourself and either walk them into the NLRB or fax them in, or you can call the NLRB and the Information Officer (who normally answers the phone) will take the necessary information from you.

After a few days an Agent will contact you and tell you what you will need to do. Be prepared to provide an affidavit under oath as well as provide all relevant information or witnesses to support your case.

Generally speaking, NLRB charges filed over refusals to provide information are not subject to the NLRB’s policy of deferral.

This means that the NLRB will fully investigate the issue and if the violation is found to be valid, the NLRB can order the employer to provide the information requested.

Introduction

Information at the heart of everything we do as humans. We generate it, we consume it, we share it and we sell it. The careful managing of information is therefore the key to success in business. An introduction to information dissemination in a business provides a solid overview of the role of information dissemination. It gives guidelines on collecting the right information to the right people to support the firms. ‘ strategic objectives and “oil” the everyday operations of the business.

Definition

Dilman 1978, defined dissemination of information is the active and targeted distribution of information or intervention via determined channels using planned strategies to a specific public or audience.

Dissemination is a formal planned process with the intent of spreading knowledge and enhance the integration of the evidence, information, intervention or combinations of these into routine practice. Information dissemination has been characterized as a necessary and sufficient antecedent of adoption and implementation of organisational policies (Dilman, 1978).

Importance of Information Dissemination in Service Delivery

Before assessing the various approaches used to disseminate information, it is worth revisiting the reasons for disseminating information. There are usually good reasons why organisations decide to disseminate information. These reasons are not necessarily independent of one another but can nonetheless be categorized to emphasis the motivation of an organization when initiating dissemination. The reasons are usually to increase the value of one or more of the following attributes of the enterprise shareholders. The following among others are the reasons for information dissemination in organisations:

To Create Awareness: Information is often disseminated in order to educate, explain or promote a concept, process or principle. For example, technical specifications explaining system capabilities, instruction about alternatives to avoid congested transport routes and guidelines for the completion of work in order to ensure consistent appearance of project deliverables are all ways in which information is disseminated to generally encourage recipients to comply with a procedure in the belief of organizational or enterprise improvements.

To Enhance the Response of Customers: Sometimes information is disseminated solely in the hope it will cause some feedback that might require further information to be generated or be used to validate something. Examples include advertising, questionnaires, market surveys frequently asked question list and testimonials.

To allow Collaboration: Information is often disseminated in order for a group of individuals to share knowledge and routes of communication. Examples include workflow systems to support the flow of information between system entities in order to achieve a common purpose, mailing lists where like minded individuals can listen to and discuss common issues, libraries where people can access information, and control system where probes might detect and transmit warnings about certain event(Fink, 1983).

Background of Audit Service Sierra Leone (ASSL)

Audit Services Sierra Leone is the supreme audit institution of Sierra Leone section 119 of the 1991 constitution of Sierra Leone provides for the establishment of the offices and functions of the Auditor General. It started with establishment of the Audit Act of 1962. It was later called the Auditor General’s Department then the office was moved from the Audit General’s Department to Audit service Sierra Leone due to the Audit service Act 1998 which was implemented in 2004. The Act also created an Audit Service Board (ASB) an Advisory Board which has the power to appoint persons, other than the Auditor General to hold or act in offices as member of the Audit service and to exercise disciplinary control over such persons.

The Audit Service Sierra Leone is headed by the Auditor General who is assisted by four deputies. Its headquarters is at Lotto Building in Freetown with other offices in Freetown, Bo, Makeni and Kenema. Also, the Auditor Generals Mandate is specified in section 119 sub sections “2” of the 1991 constitution. It provides for the Auditor General to audit all government ministries, department, agencies, educational institutions and any other statutory body set up partly or wholly out of public funds. This mandate now includes the 39 aligned ministries and departments’ 19 council’s one hundred and forty-nine chiefdom authorities, 64 statutory bodies and donor funded projects.

Methods of Information Dissemination at the Audit Service Sierra Leone

This organisation uses both manual and electronic for Information dissemination:

Manual means of Information Delivery Dissemination.

The manual means of information dissemination in the Audit Service Sierra Leone are as follow:
• Printed copy of the Auditor General report and other document.
• Disseminate of copy of the Auditor General report and other report to various people.
• Disseminating of the Audit Services newsletter internally and externally to various takes holder.
• Organising meetings with civil society group.
• Awareness raising programs in various schools, groups and universities.

Electronic means of Information Delivery Dissemination.

The electronic means of information dissemination in the Audit Service Sierra Leone are as follow:
• Publishing the Auditor General (AG) report on the Audit Services web-site.
• Airing of the Audit Service juggle of various radio service.
• Disseminating of information through social media eg. Facebook, Whatsapp and Tango etc.
• Organising radio discussions or programs on various radio stations. During the radio programmes, listeners were given the opportunity to respond to issues discussed by making phone calls and sending text messages to numbers that were announced to them. The panelists responded adequately to the questions and comments during the radio programmes.
• Radio jingle-As part of the awareness raising programmes, the communication division produced a radio jingle in English and it was later translate in four local languages (Mende, Temne, Krio and Limba). The jingles are aired on various radio stations in the country.

Users of Information at the Audit Service Sierra Leone

A user of information is a person or an organization using the information created by another institution or organisation. In using the information the users are most often identifiable in advance. They use information on a daily basis because of certain work, assignment or work tasks. The following are the Information service of Audit Service Sierra Leone:

Administrative Personnel

Employees of an organization and staff of the HRM department to be specific can access records about their operational and organisation maintenance to make correct decision and solve administrative problems. Directors within the HRM will also obtain information from the record department for taking decisions pertaining promotion, recruitment, transfer and payment of retirement benefits.

Researcher / External user

Audit services are research oriented as a matter of fact, researchers use their information to gain knowledge of the department or the civil service researching on the activities and initiatives of the government. The outcome of these research activities is normally for academic purposes which will help the researcher to gain an in depth knowledge about the ways staff or civil servants, are recruited, promoted, and terminated.

Journalists

The other important users of the information generated at the Audit service office are journalist who may want to investigate claims pertaining poor recruitment and appointment of personnel in the various departments.

Types of Information Acquired at the Audit Service Sierra Leone

Operation Audit Information

A Future- oriented, systematic and independent evaluation of organization activities. Financial data may be used, but the primary sources of evidence are the operational policies and achievements related to organizational objectives. Internal controls and efficiencies may be evaluated during this types of information review.

Financial Information Audit

A historically oriented, independent evaluation performed for the purpose of attesting to the fairness, accuracy, and reliability of financial data. External auditors need this type of information.

Department Information Review
A current period analysis of administration functions to evaluate the adequacy of controls, safeguarding of assets, efficient use of resources, compliance with related laws, regulations and universal policy and integrity of financial information.

Investigative Information Audit

This types of information takes place as a result of a report of unusual or suspicious activity on the part of an individual or a department. It is usually focused on specific aspects of the work of a department or individual. All members of the community are invited to report suspicions of improper activity to the Director of Internal Auditing Services on a confidential basis.

Follow up Information Audit

These are information conducted approximately six months after an internal or external audit report has been issued. They are designed to evaluate corrective action that has been taken on the audit issues reported in the original report when these follow up audits information are done an external auditors reports, the results of the follow up may be reported to those external auditors.

Integrated Information Audit

This is a combination of an operational audit, department review, and its audit application controls review. This type of review allows for a functional operation within the institution (Silver, 2010).

Challenges faced in Information Dissemination at the Audit Service Sierra Leone

Some problems that Audit service encounters with audit information are highlighted as follows:

Finance Problem

One problem that is affecting the institution’s information delivery is finance, and for any organization to survive or sustain thorough development these should be some amount of finance. The organisation faces financial serious challenges in their information service delivery.

Poor Planning of Information Service

The information service is not well effective in the audit service because the people responsible for that are not professionally trained. Only few of them have the capability to do the work in the audit department because of the fact that the information is not received at the right time in line with the needs of the users. The committee does not meet regularly to discuss issues on that.

Lack of Adequate Staff

The challenge of inadequate and untrained staffing situation poses a serious problem for the smooth running of the organisation. The issue of inappropriate staffing can hamper the smooth handling and delivery of information.

In conclusion, information delivery of audit information plays a vital crucial role in the effective management of staff, in any organization. Information is at the heart of any organization or institution that performs the activities related to learning, teaching, research and generation of new knowledge. The goal of information delivery at audit service is to attract and retain a workforce that will enable the institution or organization to achieve its purpose and objectives. However, this work has considered some of the more common pitfalls that hamper effective in Information dissemination which auditors should avoid during the source of their work.

Scholarship, Practice, and Leadership

Information literacy is extremely important in the health and wellness industry, more specifically in the personal training field. It takes a short amount of time and education to become a personal trainer, and the pay is relatively high for what a person needs accomplish to become certified. An abundance of personal trainers exists because of the high pay, the short amount of time it takes to become certified, and the growing need for society to improve their health. In order for a personal trainer to stand out and become sought-after for their repeated results and excellent workouts, the trainer must be an expert at researching information, comprehending new research, and applying both.

In the article How we Failed the Net Generation, Badke discusses the World Wide Web saying, “… few of us had any idea what it would become in less than 2 decades. Many of our students grew up with the web, so for them it is not a novelty. It’s mainstream. It’s embedded in their lives” (Badke, 2009, p. 47). Most personal trainers only have completed a certification, very limited in information about exercise science, and not a degree at a college or university. Because of their lack of education, the first place most trainers turn for their information is the World Wide Web and not scholarly, peer reviewed research studies. The Internet is not a credible source for information. Anyone can write a blog or post fitness workouts and nutrition information based solely on opinion, and not scientific studies. In order for a personal trainer to ensure they are providing safe and effective workouts to their clients, the trainer must be able not only to read and study research studies but also keep up with the changing information.

One topic not taught in a personal training certification is how to find and decipher sound fitness information. Pia Russell discusses how students are facing the same issues as personal trainers in their studies.

Students have difficulty evaluating the glut of information available, and to cope they frequently depend on quick but questionable sources, like Dictionary.com, which can result in a blind acceptance of advertising-based information, or sources that depend on a truth by consensus approach such as Wikipedia. (Russell, 2009, p. 92).

In order for a personal trainer to be an expert in their field, someone people will listen to, and follow, the trainer needs to stay up-to-date on current research. Personal trainers need to know how to search for information when they face questions they are unsure of. A personal trainer’s job is not only to provide an effective workout but also to educate their clients with researched based information.

Larissa Turusheva discusses the importance of information competence in lifelong learning and education. In Larissa’s study she states,

Information competence is a skill:

• to determine the size of the necessary information;

• to use the necessary information effectively;

• to evaluate the information and its sources critically;

• to develop own knowledge base with the information chosen;

• to effectively use the information for goal achievement;

• to use the information ethically (ACRL, 2000). (Turusheva, 2009, p. 2).

In the personal training field every skill involved in information competence is important. A personal trainer must determine which information is important and which information is not. The trainer needs to evaluate where the information is coming from and apply the necessary information to help the trainer’s clients reach his or her goals fast and effectively. The most important skill a trainer must apply in information competency is using the information ethically. It is unethical for a personal trainer who knows their client has a heart condition to instruct their client to do contraindicative exercises when the trainer knows those exercises put the client at risk. This situation could occur for many reasons. The trainer could be working with a group and does not want to give an alternate exercise or the trainer could want to push their client harder. Implementing ethical practices is part of information competence and extremely important in the personal training profession.

Leo Appleton conducted a study about the information competency skills of student midwives. In the study, the students were taught information research skills and the grading requirements became stricter to promote credible information sources. The results of Appleton’s study showed, “Students reported increased confidence in using library and information resources. Appropriate and timely information-skills training embedded into health-studies curricula can lead to students becoming independent and lifelong learners, as well as improving the standard of their academic work” (Appleton, 2005, p. 1). Not only were these students able to learn how to effectively search and decipher information during their schooling, but also, the training followed the students into their careers in the health field. Personal trainers who have information competency will be able to provide their clients with everything they need to be successful, long term.
Conclusion

Information literacy is vital in every profession and should be taught and enforced when students are in school. Students need to be taught the valuable skills needed to conduct quality research and decipher the material. Those skills will follow students into their careers, where they will be considered experts in their field and leaders. Even if the students are just trying to become certified in a certain field, those skills should be taught during the certification process. Most personal trainers receive only a certification and are never taught how to research accurate information. Because of this the trainers turn to the Internet for their answers. In turn, many personal trainers are making recommendations to their clients based on opinion and not research. This practice has serious implications for the health of their clients and the personal trainer’s credibility. Personal trainers must learn the skill of literacy competence.
To your health,

Jessica Summerall

References

Appleton, L. (2005). Examination of the impact of information-skills training on the academic work of health-studies students: a single case study. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 22(3), 164-172. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2005.00576.x

Badke, W. (2009). How we failed the net generation. Online, 33(4), 47-49.

Russell, P. (2009). Why Universities Need Information Literacy Now More than Ever. Feliciter, 55(3), 92.

Turusheva, L. (2009). STUDENTS’ INFORMATION COMPETENCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE FOR LIFE-LONG EDUCATION. Problems Of Education In The 21St Century, 12126-132.